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MGR/George « Boss ME-50 »
Published on 03/18/04 at 15:00UK - £225
At last no more mounting my favorite Boss pedals on home-made pedal-boards with power supplies and leads all over the place... this unit has it all in one neat solid package.
I walked out of the store and thought I had finally the answer to all of my dreams as a live guitarist. After years of trying out patch-driven midi equiped over-the-top gizmos, I was sure this was the answer. All I wanted was a simple triple stomp-box backed up with a bit of technology to store my favorite patches/tuner etc.
But this unit has in my opinion serious flaws;-
There are two modes of operation....
1)"Memory Mode" where you can recall around 30 patches. These user-patches can store all of your desired tweaks including master levels/reverb/compressor and combinations of modulation, delay and distortion. Great so far. Only problem is you only select one patch at a time (i.e. you cannot have a modulation assigned to one pedal and a distortion to another and stamp on both pedals. Also as you change patches you get a slight delay, as per my 10 year old Boss SE-70, which is annoying enough to stop me using it live.
2) The other mode is "Manual Mode". Now this feels more like a live player's mode... you can use all three pedals simutaneously (e.g. O/D, Flange, Delay) and tweak global settings such as reverb & compressor. Fantastic - no delays in switching either....... BUT!..... no way to store these settings! BUGGER! My unit is only 2 days old and I am using Blu-Tac on every button to stick all of my manual mode settings so that I do not knock the buttons out of place!!!
My other gripe is power....
When I saw that the unit could be powered by 6 AA batteries I thought GREAT I will use re-chargebles. But for some reason they don't work - maybe the unit is very sensitive to voltage levels of NiMH (1.2V) batteries and only works on 1.5V Alkalines. This really p%^%^%ed me off as now I have to buy a PSU.
Quality is superb - this unit is as tough as nails and will outlive me!
What a shame it is so NEARLY there...but I still highly recommend it. My suggestions to Mr Boss for future improvements....
1) A save defaults mode for Manual Mode... and a "Lock" switch
2) A Midi port to back up patch changes to the "Memory Mode"
3) Design for re-chargeable batteries.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
At last no more mounting my favorite Boss pedals on home-made pedal-boards with power supplies and leads all over the place... this unit has it all in one neat solid package.
I walked out of the store and thought I had finally the answer to all of my dreams as a live guitarist. After years of trying out patch-driven midi equiped over-the-top gizmos, I was sure this was the answer. All I wanted was a simple triple stomp-box backed up with a bit of technology to store my favorite patches/tuner etc.
But this unit has in my opinion serious flaws;-
There are two modes of operation....
1)"Memory Mode" where you can recall around 30 patches. These user-patches can store all of your desired tweaks including master levels/reverb/compressor and combinations of modulation, delay and distortion. Great so far. Only problem is you only select one patch at a time (i.e. you cannot have a modulation assigned to one pedal and a distortion to another and stamp on both pedals. Also as you change patches you get a slight delay, as per my 10 year old Boss SE-70, which is annoying enough to stop me using it live.
2) The other mode is "Manual Mode". Now this feels more like a live player's mode... you can use all three pedals simutaneously (e.g. O/D, Flange, Delay) and tweak global settings such as reverb & compressor. Fantastic - no delays in switching either....... BUT!..... no way to store these settings! BUGGER! My unit is only 2 days old and I am using Blu-Tac on every button to stick all of my manual mode settings so that I do not knock the buttons out of place!!!
My other gripe is power....
When I saw that the unit could be powered by 6 AA batteries I thought GREAT I will use re-chargebles. But for some reason they don't work - maybe the unit is very sensitive to voltage levels of NiMH (1.2V) batteries and only works on 1.5V Alkalines. This really p%^%^%ed me off as now I have to buy a PSU.
Quality is superb - this unit is as tough as nails and will outlive me!
What a shame it is so NEARLY there...but I still highly recommend it. My suggestions to Mr Boss for future improvements....
1) A save defaults mode for Manual Mode... and a "Lock" switch
2) A Midi port to back up patch changes to the "Memory Mode"
3) Design for re-chargeable batteries.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com