Boss ME 50B for me all the way! Have had several over the years, regretted selling them, so got another about a year ago. So overall my opinion is that is does more things right than it does wrong. The average person will most likely not use all of the features, but that is totally ok. In my mind this is like a cross sample of a fair amount of the Bass effects Boss makes. Being a turn the knob guy, it is perfect for me. I do not do patches, but it will do that. Very well built and a proven track record. I would use the A/C adapter for prolonged use, but it will run on batteries if needed. The Owners Manual is available PDF to view or download for free. If you do get a used one, be sure to do a factory reset, to get the previous owners “stuff” out of there. Method is in the Manual, pretty easy. You certainly can run other effects in conjunction with this, but put them AFTER the ME 50B.
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EASY-TO-USE Multi Effects Unit for Bass?
- Thread starter zacharybass76
- Start date
I went from a Digitech BP355 to a Zoom B3n. Never looked back at that Digitech ever since!
The idea of the Pink dirty boost and the Orange comp in one box with knobs is definitely intriguing...I may have to look into this.
Norty, make it three effects and add the Emerald Prince preamp. Trust me, it's freakin' killer -- it takes everything you like about your existing signal and simply makes it even better. It's the only effect in my unit I leave turned on all the time.
I have a HX Stomp, but there are too many virtual knobs to screw with and as a result, I waste a ton of time with nothing to show for it. I'm considering getting an Eventide H9. I really don't need to chain a lot of effects, I just need a few that I can use here and there.
Seems to me that you do more knob tweeking and button pushing on a multi then with single pedals, at least the ones I’ve fiddled around with, very complicated..
I like my Fender Downtown Express. It doesn’t offer a huge number of effects, just EQ, compression, and distortion—but it does those three things so well that I find myself using it quite a lot. The only other pedal I have other than this is an MXR Bass Octave Deluxe M288 (I don’t count a tuner pedal as an effect).
Not for nuthin’, but effects that just add cheese to your sound don’t do it for me at all. By contrast, this pedal produces very organic tones that don’t prompt the listen to think “Oh, the bass player is using a pedal again now.”
Not for nuthin’, but effects that just add cheese to your sound don’t do it for me at all. By contrast, this pedal produces very organic tones that don’t prompt the listen to think “Oh, the bass player is using a pedal again now.”
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I am very pleased with the Boss ME-50B. Even the overdrives / fuzz work well for me. Read my gig report here:
Boss ME-50B Gig Report
Boss ME-50B Gig Report
Zoom B1 Four.
I had an ME50B for a while and it is certainly easy to use, but I found it rather bland. It does some things well, but the distortions to me were just not good and no drum rhythm to practice with. The me50b is also quite large which i didn't care for. Had a Zoom B1 on as well, but the B1 Four is easier to edit and has better distortions on it as well.
I had an ME50B for a while and it is certainly easy to use, but I found it rather bland. It does some things well, but the distortions to me were just not good and no drum rhythm to practice with. The me50b is also quite large which i didn't care for. Had a Zoom B1 on as well, but the B1 Four is easier to edit and has better distortions on it as well.
I'm extremely Terrible with electronics and don't know the first thing about pedals. I just knew I wanted effects. I went with the GT1B and it's been far more than I'll ever need and helped my creativity increase ten fold. It's simple doesn't get me frustrated or take forever to find something I like and get the lines walking. From the tutorial videos I've seen on it I'm maybe using 5-10% of its capabilities and couldn't be happier.
TLDR if you're a simple creature like me and needs a ready to go easy to use multi, the GT1B is boobies.
TLDR if you're a simple creature like me and needs a ready to go easy to use multi, the GT1B is boobies.
If you're not needing to program chained effects together, there's the Sushi Box FX Octopus for several pre-loaded effects present in one compact pedal. Pre-loaded effects that you get to choose, which is pretty rad. Note that, as far as i'm aware, it's not a preset/patch type pedal, but instead a multi-fx pedal in the most direct sense.
While currently out of stock, I think if you give 'em a shout, you'll get good info on when that could change.
While currently out of stock, I think if you give 'em a shout, you'll get good info on when that could change.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
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- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
I've owned countless multi effect pedals including a couple of Boss effects. I've brought lots of them to gigs, pretty much hated them all, and never got the hang of any of them...
The only one I ever LOVED and now use regularly is this one...
Its more straight forward than any other one I've owned, its cheaper, its lighter, it does everything I want it to, and it does it well. I love that it fits in my gig bag, and I especially love the tuner. I used to use a pitch black that cost the same as this, and this does a WAY better job. Its a lot more steady and precise.
You can check my 20 yr history here. This is the only pedal I've ever raved about
. And I have no affiliation with ZOOM.
The only one I ever LOVED and now use regularly is this one...
Its more straight forward than any other one I've owned, its cheaper, its lighter, it does everything I want it to, and it does it well. I love that it fits in my gig bag, and I especially love the tuner. I used to use a pitch black that cost the same as this, and this does a WAY better job. Its a lot more steady and precise.
You can check my 20 yr history here. This is the only pedal I've ever raved about
. And I have no affiliation with ZOOM.
I have owned both. The ME-50 has a rugged metal chassis and decent sounds, but it is an older unit with a slower chip so there is a lag when you switch presets. That caused problems for me in live performance. The GT-1B has an excellent chip with fast patch switching. It is smaller and lighter and has a plastic housing, very portable, but probably not as durable in the long term compared to metal chassis. I usually practice with the GT-1b with its aux input. I think the sounds and presets are very decent, and tweaking and programming is actually very easy to do on your computer with the provided software.
I have had a Zoom B3 first gen, with the much needed for me, XLR DI out- for years. I've used in in all kinds of situations, and venues, and it really shines on in-ears only going direct gigs. They seem to have eliminated the Balanced XLR out on the newer model - and I have no idea why. Before acquiring it- I had a pedal board with a Radial Tonebone Bassbone, and about four effects pedals. The Zoom cost less, and I have no more unplanned power connector and interconnect cable failures! It KILLS that setup, I carry it in a laptop bag with all my cables and peripherals, and it doesn't weigh 35-40 pounds in an anvil case. I love it.
There IS a learning curve to selecting different patches, and to selecting parameters.. nothing someone who has figured out how to play a musical instrument and get gigs can't handle. There is a patch select button- with which you can choose your pre organized groupings- three different pedals for each. The combinations are really beyond practical use. What I like the best- is, the effects sound FAR better than any of my Boss pedals, and the bass synth effect, is actually usable, and gets looks of surprise and pleasure from bandmates. There's multiple amp simulations, a bunch of bass pre-amps, EQ's, and a couple of Sans amp type effects, along with every effect known- reverse delay, ring modulators, fuzz boxes, Distortion, octaves, chorus, flanging, phasing, several usable echo/ delay effects.. Buy one. you will not be disappointed!
There IS a learning curve to selecting different patches, and to selecting parameters.. nothing someone who has figured out how to play a musical instrument and get gigs can't handle. There is a patch select button- with which you can choose your pre organized groupings- three different pedals for each. The combinations are really beyond practical use. What I like the best- is, the effects sound FAR better than any of my Boss pedals, and the bass synth effect, is actually usable, and gets looks of surprise and pleasure from bandmates. There's multiple amp simulations, a bunch of bass pre-amps, EQ's, and a couple of Sans amp type effects, along with every effect known- reverse delay, ring modulators, fuzz boxes, Distortion, octaves, chorus, flanging, phasing, several usable echo/ delay effects.. Buy one. you will not be disappointed!
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I have the Boss ME -50B as well . Even though my gig rig has a pedal board , I still use this for open mic and jams. It has always served me well. It was my entry into effects and will always have its place in my gear inventory.
I've owned countless multi effect pedals including a couple of Boss effects. I've brought lots of them to gigs, pretty much hated them all, and never got the hang of any of them...
The only one I ever LOVED and now use regularly is this one...
Its more straight forward than any other one I've owned, its cheaper, its lighter, it does everything I want it to, and it does it well. I love that it fits in my gig bag, and I especially love the tuner. I used to use a pitch black that cost the same as this, and this does a WAY better job. Its a lot more steady and precise.
You can check my 20 yr history here. This is the only pedal I've ever raved about
Thanks! So, would you know if there's a significant difference between the B1 Four and the B3N?
You can always get an image of the old OS like Windows XP on VirtualBox or other free virtualisation software, and use it on your new PC just as another application. Pass the host's USB port through to your Virtual Machine, and you're good to go with any old software. That's what I did with U-Key Brain software for my old CME U-Key 49 MIDI keyboard.
I've had the the Boss ME-50B for over ten years now and it has always done whatever I needed it to. It currently lives at a church I play music at where I mostly use it for compression and a slight overdrive. Occasionally I'll throw a chorus or delay on too. Definitely recommend it.
GT-1B I’ve had for about 18 months. I bought it because I thought it would be a good intro to using effects. It was but if I was starting from scratch again I’d probably buy a Tech 21 Fly Rig. In fact, I’ll probably sell the GT-1B to fund it. The issue with the GT-1B is that I would never use the majority of the pre programmed patches. So that means setting up your own, which involves going in and out of menus and making sure you save your settings etc. I’ve ended up getting an additional foot switch and using it like a stomp box. I’ve created a clean patch from where I can turn in and off preamp, octave, compressor and delay. I found that the tuner isn’t as good as my TU3 and I don’t use the looper at all. That was one of the reasons I bought it in the first place! So, if you want simplicity without programming and stomp box use ability, look elsewhere. Ditto if you want something to gig with. I’ve heard people use it for gigs but there’s better out there. If you want to experiment and have a single compact and portable nit that does it all, then for the money it is a good and well built unit.
Thanks. I'm leaning more toward a Zoom processor at this point. Overall, they seem to be more user-friendly and from what I gather, their overdrive sounds are a little better.
