Boss Review: ME-50

History:

Purchase: I needed a good multi-effect processor, coz i can't afford a whole load of stomp boxes, and this seemed like the best alternative. Bought in Matchetts in Belfast for £200, plus £15 for the mains adapter

What I Like About This Boss ME-50: Really easy to use. No menus to wade through, just twist them knobs and you're away! Most of the effect sound pretty good - a wide range of distortion, some good delays, and a whole host of modulation effect. Expression pedal is also a bonus. There is enough space to keep a whole load of your favourite sounds.

What I Do NOT Like About The Boss ME-50: Most of the pedal is pretty good, except there are a few niggles with it: 1: When switching between banks, there is a short period of silence (like 1/4 second), annoying when changing between a chorus and distorted delay for example. It may seem short, but its there and becomes quite irritating. However, this is only the case if you use memory mode; if you use the switches as stomp boxes, this wont affect you 2: The reverb selecter only has a 1/4 turn to ajjust itself, so it's a little difficult to be really presice. 3: When the expression pedal's on +/- octave, if it's left not in the fully up/down position, it makes a wierd,"wobbling" sorta noise. It would also be nice to have a seperate switch to select the pedal. 4: To switch between banks live (ie with your feet), seperate footswiches need to be bought) 5: NO EQ!! The only major problem out of these is the first one, which is not a problem if you're using it in a studio, only if its live. Overall, this is another quality Boss product.

Boss ME-50 Quality Rating: Hey - its a boss. I havent had it too long, but im not expecting any major problems.

Review Summary: Although the negative list seems long, i just felt that all the weaker features needed pointing out. Overall, this is a quality pice of kit, but if this got lost or destroyed, i would probably save up for the GT-6, especially if it didnt have that annoying delay between the memory bank switching. Still, its a good, user friendly box. Enjoy!

Rating of this Boss product: 4

This Boss ME-50 Guitar Effects Review Submitted By: Alex M

Review Date: 2003-10-22