BOSS ME 90B

[jimfist]

By latency I mean the time in ms. which passes from when the bass signal enters, is processed and then exits again. That is, the time for the A D and D A conversion.

Latency matters for me also, which is why I don't like stringing together too many digital processors coming out of my bass.

FWIW, Boss/Roland products are generally known to have low latency, but I've no idea what it is for the ME90B. I'd love to know this spec.

 

[GotGroove]

By latency I mean the time in ms. which passes from when the bass signal enters, is processed and then exits again. That is, the time for the A D and D A conversion.

Unless you can find someone with a very precise timer and feel for the stop button or someone who plays flawlessly in a DAW and give you the exact numbers, page 19 from the manual is probably all you're going to get:

Which, I'm sorry to say, isn't too much information. I don't see much exact conversion times mentioned period. Usually it's the method and bitrate and they leave it at that. But from the few hours I've had with one, these are my not-so-scientific findings:

Octaver: minimal to not noticeable to about F#/G, not noticed anything from A and up.
Synth: Minimal to barely noticeable below F#/G. Anything above is barely noticeable if you play properly. You may or may not have to get used to the right way of playing with such effects.
Pitch shifter down -1: ok-ish with the latency you can expect from most shifters. The volume drops noticeably and you'll have to compensate for that. It's certainly no better or worse than my B6. I found I could get used to it if I have to for a song or 2. The sound.. not so much but that's again the same with all shifters. I wouldn't do an entire gig with the shifter at -1. I'd go mad. An FA might be slightly better, but I don't have one to compare it with. Lower than -1.. I'd rather not on any shifter. I'd rather bring my 6 string for that.
The rest? If there was any I didn't notice it.

Notes:
I did not run this through a DAW or measure anything.
I don't do drop tuning, so I have no data on that.
I also usually don't shift up or use the -2 octave, so same there. Sorry.
I did not test the effects loop for any conversion issues.
I wasn't looking for any conversion issues, so if there are more I didn't find anything worth noting apart from the above. I was there just to see what it sounds like and did not turn everything up to max to see how much conversion time I could generate.
Lastly: My playtime was limited to a store and I used my ears. That is, when I was not surrounded by customers browsing, playing or wanting to try it out for themselves. As always YMMV.

 

[Bleeder]

Compared to the Pod Go Wireless, how do you think the timbres of the sounds, and the response to the touch?

I can’t give an objective answer to the sound question…they both sound fine to me…I couldn’t pick one out from the other if blind-folded.
I don’t know what you mean “response to the touch”.

 

[PietroStimoli]

But the pitch shift, is it monophonic or polyphonic?

 

[GotGroove]

But the pitch shift, is it monophonic or polyphonic?

this is what the manual says on page 2.

So it's mono.

 

[Mana Latte]

How is everyone who owns or has tried one finding the preamps? I have been fiddling with them for weeks and while most of them seem good, I find it hard to get a good SVT sound and have found just dialing the Preamp knob to the basic EQ setting is giving me the tonal options I expected from the backed in preamps. Overall I like the device but I may like it more in individual stomp box mode than several presets buts that's solely my take.

 

[Cball22]

Hopefully someone can help with this...

I just rec'd my ME90B from Sweetwater. So far so good. I like the knobs vs. multi screens and sounds are mostly better than good for the price. Great flexibility as well.
My problem is that I get no sound when my bass (Sire M7) is in active mode. The ME90B only works when the bass is in passive mode. The active mode on the bass and the batteries are all in fine working order. It plays great in active mode straight through an amp. When I'm plugged in to the Boss everything works perfectly in passive mode, but as soon as I switch to active mode I get silence. No buzz. Nothing.

Any ideas? I have called Sweetwater and they are also checking, but maybe someone here has run across this.

 

[moles]

Hopefully someone can help with this...

I just rec'd my ME90B from Sweetwater. So far so good. I like the knobs vs. multi screens and sounds are mostly better than good for the price. Great flexibility as well.
My problem is that I get no sound when my bass (Sire M7) is in active mode. The ME90B only works when the bass is in passive mode. The active mode on the bass and the batteries are all in fine working order. It plays great in active mode straight through an amp. When I'm plugged in to the Boss everything works perfectly in passive mode, but as soon as I switch to active mode I get silence. No buzz. Nothing.

Any ideas? I have called Sweetwater and they are also checking, but maybe someone here has run across this.

Are you sure it's not the bass? Check battery, pots, etc etc...

 

[Cball22]

Are you sure it's not the bass? Check battery, pots, etc etc...

That was my original thought as well. This was the first thing I checked. Active mode on the bass, batteries, etc. are all working fine. Even swapped batteries with new just because. The bass works fine direct to amp and with other effects in active mode. Just the ME90B has the issue. Really odd.

 

[Cball22]

Hopefully someone can help with this...

I just rec'd my ME90B from Sweetwater. So far so good. I like the knobs vs. multi screens and sounds are mostly better than good for the price. Great flexibility as well.
My problem is that I get no sound when my bass (Sire M7) is in active mode. The ME90B only works when the bass is in passive mode. The active mode on the bass and the batteries are all in fine working order. It plays great in active mode straight through an amp. When I'm plugged in to the Boss everything works perfectly in passive mode, but as soon as I switch to active mode I get silence. No buzz. Nothing.

Any ideas? I have called Sweetwater and they are also checking, but maybe someone here has run across this.

Found the problem, thanks to Sweetwater and Boss who gave me a long checklist.

Turns out that my cables were TRS not TS (Stereo vs mono) and for some reason that screws up the ME90B. I have always used these cables on stereo and mono inputs with and without pedals with no problems. Either way, glad it is solved and it works fine in both passive and active mode.

 

[ClaytonCroft]

I got this a few months ago, and sent it back for a few reasons, but I’m thinking about trying it again, if I can solve the issues (my trusty old 50b is great for gigs, but how can you NOT want an upgrade?)

Issue #1 Connectivity. It kills me that doesn't have an aux in. I suppose I could spring for the Bluetooth. I rely on my old iPad to learn songs, and I tried using a 3.5 headphone ack to the USB cord, no dice. I see in the manual there’s a download driver which I could also try?

Issue #2 Volume. Didn’t come anywhere close to the 50b in the headphone output, but maybe that’s also configurable?

Id like to try it again…

 

[Cball22]

I got this a few months ago, and sent it back for a few reasons, but I’m thinking about trying it again, if I can solve the issues (my trusty old 50b is great for gigs, but how can you NOT want an upgrade?)

Issue #1 Connectivity. It kills me that doesn't have an aux in. I suppose I could spring for the Bluetooth. I rely on my old iPad to learn songs, and I tried using a 3.5 headphone ack to the USB cord, no dice. I see in the manual there’s a download driver which I could also try?

Issue #2 Volume. Didn’t come anywhere close to the 50b in the headphone output, but maybe that’s also configurable?

Id like to try it again…

Update to my prior posts:

I also returned mine. After fixing the cable issue which was unique to the ME90B for me, I had a number of other problems.

The expression pedal was glitchy from the start and only got worse. Then the output control stopped functioning. I had updated the firmware, reset to factory specs, recalibrated the pedal, etc. I was spending way too much time troubleshooting and not enough playing. As usual Sweetwater was terrific both during the troubleshooting and the return process.

Looking at some other options now. So far the Line 6 Pod Go is leading a group of 4.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

I got this a few months ago, and sent it back for a few reasons, but I’m thinking about trying it again, if I can solve the issues (my trusty old 50b is great for gigs, but how can you NOT want an upgrade?)

Issue #1 Connectivity. It kills me that doesn't have an aux in. I suppose I could spring for the Bluetooth. I rely on my old iPad to learn songs, and I tried using a 3.5 headphone ack to the USB cord, no dice. I see in the manual there’s a download driver which I could also try?

Issue #2 Volume. Didn’t come anywhere close to the 50b in the headphone output, but maybe that’s also configurable?

Id like to try it again…

Get a small mixer.

 

[Theprezenz]

I would like to share my experience as well after I've tested it in a local shop.

The pre amps, distortions and fuzzes sound really good. Boss really improved on that. The looper is nice and simple.

The device itself is sturdy, you can trust Boss on that. The case is metal, yes plastic buttons but that's all fine.

But I couldn't get a nice enveloppe tone out of it. I've tweaked it a lot to get it right but it's just not there or maybe it was just me. Also all the pitchshifting and poly octavers are meh, especially when you want to combine it with enveloppe filters to get a more Thundercat like sound. The synths, as you probably already know, are not wow but it can be used in some cases. I didn't paid a lot of attention to the reverbs and delays, they sounded fine at first glance. I also don't like to activate the pedal with the tip of your feet. I prefer more the crybaby concept.

Also, before I went to the store, I've downloaded the app just to have an idea of Boss Tone Control and although the signal chain is fixed, depending which fx you select, it places it differently in the chain. For example, it's not possible to have a compressor in the beginning of the chain, even though 3 can be selected in total, they will be placed after each other, no way to reorder them.

It's also a bummer that there's no ctl input for an expression pedal.

But for me the biggest con is the fact that this is marketed as a 'handson' device, no menudiving or whatsoever and you NEED Boss Tone Control with your computer or app in order to access additional fx's that you can't on the device itself, which doesn't make sense at all. For example you need BTC to adjust the threshold of the noise surpressor, there's no other way to do it.

The Me90 for guitar has the exact same problem.

Also €50 for a bluetooth adapter is too much if you want to tweak the fx with your phone if you don't want to hook it up to your computer.

So my personal conclusion: it's not a bad device but at its current retail price I better keep an eye on the used market from now on.

 

[ClaytonCroft]

Get a small mixer.

Definitely something I should do anyway. Have to get my mind away from this “perfect” all-in-one idea, as I only need the headphone/aux capability at home anyway The use ability live is really the important thing.

 

[higgybaby74]

I have been able to go through the different amps and effects and I am happy with my ME90B. Some of the presets are usable and some are wild and weird - maybe they can be used for an intro to a song. The phaser and flanger are two of my favorites so far. The distortion and overdrive are perfect and I like the various uses for the wah pedal. You can also get compressor from a few different places so that versatility is a plus. There are times to use the preset patches so you don't have to think and tweak. All the settings on all effects will save exactly as you set them. There are times to play and tweak with manual mode as well and you can change the setting with knobs just like individual pedals, but I prefer to have everything saved as a preset so I don't have to think about it. I was able to download tones from the Boss Tone Exchange using the Bluetooth dongle. I would recommend getting the Bluetooth Audio MIDI Dual Adaptor (BT-DUAL) as it allows you another interface and the ability to listen to music from your phone and play along. I would also recommend getting a power supply as it only comes with the 4 AA batteries. I don't trust batteries and doubt they will last a gig. Get a padded gig bag too to keep it protected and the cables organized.

Overall I am very happy with my purchase and will give it the real test when I play with a full band this weekend.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

Get a small mixer.

It helped me. I am not up to speed on a lot of tech stuff musicians need to know now. Mixers, easy.

 

[higgybaby74]

I have been able to go through the different amps and effects and I am happy with my ME90B. Some of the presets are usable and some are wild and weird - maybe they can be used for an intro to a song. The phaser and flanger are two of my favorites so far. The distortion and overdrive are perfect and I like the various uses for the wah pedal. You can also get compressor from a few different places so that versatility is a plus. There are times to use the preset patches so you don't have to think and tweak. All the settings on all effects will save exactly as you set them. There are times to play and tweak with manual mode as well and you can change the setting with knobs just like individual pedals, but I prefer to have everything saved as a preset so I don't have to think about it. I was able to download tones from the Boss Tone Exchange using the Bluetooth dongle. I would recommend getting the Bluetooth Audio MIDI Dual Adaptor (BT-DUAL) as it allows you another interface and the ability to listen to music from your phone and play along. I would also recommend getting a power supply as it only comes with the 4 AA batteries. I don't trust batteries and doubt they will last a gig. Get a padded gig bag too to keep it protected and the cables organized.

Overall I am very happy with my purchase and will give it the real test when I play with a full band this weekend.

 

[JustFunk]

I have been able to go through the different amps and effects and I am happy with my ME90B. Some of the presets are usable and some are wild and weird - maybe they can be used for an intro to a song. The phaser and flanger are two of my favorites so far. The distortion and overdrive are perfect and I like the various uses for the wah pedal. You can also get compressor from a few different places so that versatility is a plus. There are times to use the preset patches so you don't have to think and tweak. All the settings on all effects will save exactly as you set them. There are times to play and tweak with manual mode as well and you can change the setting with knobs just like individual pedals, but I prefer to have everything saved as a preset so I don't have to think about it. I was able to download tones from the Boss Tone Exchange using the Bluetooth dongle. I would recommend getting the Bluetooth Audio MIDI Dual Adaptor (BT-DUAL) as it allows you another interface and the ability to listen to music from your phone and play along. I would also recommend getting a power supply as it only comes with the 4 AA batteries. I don't trust batteries and doubt they will last a gig. Get a padded gig bag too to keep it protected and the cables organized.

Overall I am very happy with my purchase and will give it the real test when I play with a full band this weekend.

Great feedback! Just to clarify, the ME90-B in batteries mode lasts at least 2 gigs at full power (meaning with 3 bluetooth connected: input, output and its bluetooth module connected to the phone).

The problem is that doesn’t seem to be so communicative regarding its energy drop. I didn’t look at the low battery led so I found myself 2 times just with the multieffect turned off istantly

 

[higgybaby74]

Great feedback! Just to clarify, the ME90-B in batteries mode lasts at least 2 gigs at full power (meaning with 3 bluetooth connected: input, output and its bluetooth module connected to the phone).

The problem is that doesn’t seem to be so communicative regarding its energy drop. I didn’t look at the low battery led so I found myself 2 times just with the multieffect turned off istantly

Your experience is why I do not trust batteries. I don't want my effects dead in the middle of a set. I also don't want to keep replacing batteries so the power supply was a must have for me. I ordered from Amazon for $399 and they threw in the plug, picks and cables so I thought it was a good deal.