Boss ME-70 or ME-50: DON'T BUY before watching. Explanation, Thoughts, Guitar FX 

I have used nothing but the me 50 for years including playing on 2 Grammy nominated and multi-platinum records as well as 100s of majar venues including Letterman and Leno...ALL with my me50 ..I keep three at all times

Since when is boss a low end effect?....lol

You're tearing me apart Lisa!

I Brought ME 50 Yesterday....I Think I won the Game...Thank You

Good video,I am a ME 70 user hands down.I play R&B and Smooth jazz and find that the ME 70 does what is needed live on big stages and in clubs.I only use distortion on a few songs so it's not a deal breaker.I play for different r&b and blues artist so having their settings is a plus on stage.Once i get the settings of different songs I save them to a user bank and they are there.Songs range from Prince to Teddy Pendagrass. If you are looking for that no trouble effects board easy to edit and great sounds buy the Me 70.

I chose the Me-50 because it has stereo delay imaging. The 70 does not. I play thru 2 separate cabs simultaneously and the stereo modulation and delay settings are SO WIDE and so much more dynamic.

Both are Fantastic Systems..Both are professional quality...and both are still very significant today..years after their release..

"Not high-end"?!?! It may not be over-priced, hand-wired gear, but Boss pedals are most certainly pro-line gear. I wish people would stop being such gear snobs. It's not about the brand name on your gear... it's about how good your ear is. A great player can make either of these sound incredible. As far as not using it to record, I'm betting this will get at LEAST as good a sound direct as any of your plug-ins.

every time I hit the down load button for the cheat sheet nothing happens or if it does I cannot find it. M

Could you use one of these as an audio interface into you computer to use with Jamkazam?

Thank you sir for the review. Do you know if its possible to create a Dotted 8th note with the Me 50. Greetings from the Netherlands.

well i have found a used me70 for about 110$, but there is also me-25 for the same price, which one would you recommend?

So People... What is the Best multiefects? I dont understand this video because my english is bad but leave me your tips please

Great vid. I had the ME 50 a few years ago. Was good, but had a few limitations. I skipped the ME 70. But just got an ME 80. Besides it's improved interface and added features, the sound quality is really good. I use it in front of my clean Twin amp, so I use it without the preamp section on. Had to do quite a bit of tweaking, as the included presets suck (as usual). But the sounds are there. And there seem to be some decent sounds on the website for download as well. This seems like a cover band guitarist's greatest ally.

I appreciate the detail that you go into. Thanks for the video!

Oh man! I've been using my ME-50 everyday for over ten years now, and just last week my sound as gone to a whole new level. Two things happened. 1. My 2001 MIA Strat Standard had vintage Fender Gold Lace Sensor pickups installed in it about a year ago. A month ago I set them as far from the strings as I could, almost flush with the pickguard. Instantly I fell in love with the new vintage tone. I lowered the pickups in all my guitars and got similar results. 2. Just over a week ago I was using to vintage Fender amps in stereo with the ME-50, when I decided to crank up the compression to 3 o'clock (level 10:30) and drop the overdrive gain, tone, bottom and level to 12 o'clock. Instantly it was like a massive revelation. Almost every overdrive sounded fantastic, and the overall tone, clean or dirty, was AMAZING. I played guitar for at least 40 hours this week. I'm so excited. I sound amazing now. Everything I play now sounds like the original recording. The guitar plays soooo much easier. I'm shredding like Yngwie, nailing early Santana, Page, hendrix and even Ted Nugent. Just endless sustain and controllable feedback. Tomorrow I rehearse with my band...and I haven't told them yet. I'm just gonna plug in and hopefully blow their minds. But I've tried cranking the compressor in the past without so much success. The key is to use a guitar with pickups that are adjust at their lowest point. Otherwise all we do is compress all the nasty harshness modern pickups are notorious for, even 1988 Fender Lace Gold Sensors rated at 5.8k ohms.

Can you save presets into memory banks so I can kind of assign them per song? When I play live I hate having to adjust each time. having custom presets would be great

Is there any way to program two mods and save them on the same bank? Like have pedal one saved with chorus and flanger?

Can you use more than one effect at the same time with this pedal, e.g. apply a distortion effect while compressing the signal?

indicaria a boss me 50 em 2017 ?

Is it possible to alter the order of the elements of the signal chain with these units? I like to put modulations after the reverb so that the tail of the reverb is effected.

YES!! great man!! Glad I made a right decision, I got my ME70 last December 2013 until I found your review.. ME70 all the way!!

I'm an electronic music maker too -and also bought ME-50. Main selling point to me was quick hands on control to effect parameters. Basically same reason why ppl. prefer old style analog synths instead of menu driven workstations.. . My work flow really suffers if I need to dive in to menus and do all the editing via plus/minus buttons.

Very thankful for this. I just got a question, I have never understood all that stuff about the relation of the pedals and the amp. I've always thought that an amp is much better depending in how many watts and effects they have. Why is the amp so important in this? I have a line 6 spider III anyways...

Great review and love your detailed analysis. I am considering one of these used, however I realize the ME80 is the newer model, any comparisons/recommendations against the ME50 please? I use the Digitech RP1000 however tend not to use it live as I feel it sounds too thin if that makes sense.

Totally agree with you. There is one thing you did not mention and it is that the ME50 has boutique pedal simulators and the best FUZZ effects on any multi-effects pedalboard. the ME50 has them, the ME70 does not. Not even the GT100 has these fuzz emulators! BOSS removed them probably because of cease and desist lawsuits by third parties. the ME50 has a Big Muff Pi, an Octavia Fuzz, a Fuzzface and Rat among others. These alone give this pedal an edge over every other effects unit …ever.

I used an ME-50 for several years for gigs until it was stolen. The 70 was the closest I could find, as the 50 was discontinued. In my opinion, it is a really good unit and stands up well for live performances.

Question: When you were playing through the ME-70, what was the compressor set to? I ask because you can lose a lot of low end if you're compressing too much.

hi guys, i want to know what is the best option to play in a live performance me 50, me 70 or me 80????

Thanks so much for the the video bro, was realy helpfull. Especially the sound analysis about the raw signal when plugged in and the tone differences! But please, do the same with the ME 70 and the new ME 80! Would help so much!!!

Is there a fix this..... i stored 3 customized patches, say in bank 1. Im on patch 1....while sitching to patch 2 there is a sound gap between the two patches. How dk i deal with it? Or is thre like a remedy for that issue? Thanks

Hello! I own an ME-70, however, when I'm using the pedal fx (-1 Octave) and i pluck 2 strings at the same time, the sound is completely messed up as the me70 tries to alternate between pitches. Do you have this problem also?

Still use my ME-50 thru some old high end computer speakers. Awesome for home practice and the stereo is lush!

too much talking. u need to demo demo demo.

Will an ME-50 work with a synthesizer? As in (w. applicable synths) be able to plug it into it and get the effects running through?

Great review of the pedals, very informative! I've been studying up on multi-effect pedals and the ME50 looks like it may be the way to go for me. I was wondering how well the 50 works with pedals running into it. My plan is to use it for only modulations and run OD's/Distortion pedals in front of it. Do you have any advice on using it as such?

I bought my ME-50 way back in 2004 I think. Everything on it is solid. Some of the dist/ODs I wish had a little better EQ, but I'd you have a separate band EQ, you're good to go

I own a Boss ME-50. I purchased it because it is Boss, and versatile. I also consider it vintage. It is packed with features and I don't have a mess in my small apartment. I am also witness to some pros still admitting to owning it also some use it on tour as the last back up. I found mine at pawn shop. Took a risk and scored. Also own a Boss RC3 looper. That is it!!!

Hello, Thanks a lot for this video...I liked your research and just wonder (apart from Me-50) is there any multi effects processor that DO NOT colors the guitar tone,YES i m very sensitive about that..can you plz get me your views?

I want to buy a m 50 and conect it to my digital piano. would it work ? do you know what voltage has the m 50. my digital piano has 2200 Ma - 12 V

Did you notice with the ME-70 that inserting a plug into the rec out/phones jack activates the built-in guitar-amp simulator, enabling good guitar sound with headphones and the same effect is applied to the guitar amp output at this time too, so without a dummie headphone plug inserted you don't have that guitar-amp simulator at all from any output.

does any delay accurs when activating the effects? I mean, i lik to change sounds while playin, for instance in the middle of a solo y activate a flanger or whatever- Some multi effect use to delay a bit and that sucks.

is the USB direct recording for Boss me 70 , is it good? I'm willing to get one btw. and what's better, Boss me 70 or Zoom G3? for those who 've been usng both

Nice videoI I love the Me-70. I use it in all my videos (just direct, no amp) and I think it sounds pretty good. I'v used it a couple of times live too and it sounded great as well.

Anyone plays me50 without amp? I mean does anyone plug it directly in mixer?

Thank you for the video ! I used ME-50 in my early live show then i felt that there was too much buzz so i went on pedals and now i am wondering about the Zoom G5. To all musicians here ! Never give up ! Keep it real and keep the pleasure alive !

Hi ! are these better quality then just getting pedals?

great video, but what do you guys think about these for headphone use. ive been using a line 6 pod 2.0 for a while now and im looking for a better sound quality for playing with headphones.

my god man!!!!......get to the point!

It's possible to get a few usable OD sounds from the ME50 but you have to spend some time with it and don't expect the controls to work like an analog box...even the ones that are labeled on the selector knob. Heavier distortion will mask the harshness you hear on light OD settings. You can also turn the Drive down to clean and just use the Bottom & Tone as extra EQ's. The rest of the FX aren't bad, some are pretty good even.

I just bought an ME 50 for $50 a week ago. It's been working well but recently it odd starting to randomly produce a bunch of static regardless of what effects are on and even without a guitar plugged in. Had anyone else experienced this issue??

the blues driver setting and the exciter eq setting togethersound good with a strat on 2 and 4 pup positions!

I am using a Boss me50 since 2004 and still quite like it. Only thing I’ve added is a digitech Polara reverb and then you notice that the reverb on the me50 is ok but not as good as the Polara. Also I more prefer an analog drive/distortion. It’s all plugged into a mixer combined with a digitech trio plus. I was considering to replace it with a me80 or gt100 but have my doubts. Beside the sound the me50 looks great!!

I know this is a 10 year old video but just have to ask... have you experienced any glitch problems with ME-70? Mine started changing parameters for settings at random a few months ago, its almost like the machine has a mind of it's own. I did a factory reset, am using the proper power supply. Still have issues.

Do any of these have an effects loop for your boutique pedals?

Cool Dude! Well informed with your breakdown! Good job!

I'm currently playing thru Boss ME50 with an old Carlsbro amp. Still going strong with an American Strat single coil custom pics. love the reverb Mod setting with the wah engaged. Agreed I rarely use the tone modify but dial it in now and again. Best $$ I ever spent....

Wish you would read the Manual & mention IMO...First all ,The ME50 has a Amp Sim(preamp)..I took a Stereo cable solder it into a mono 1/4 plug cable for my P.A that goes out from the phone jack of the me50 for my mono P.A...It's all about dialing in your sound(Tweaking) to get the best out of these units. A lot of guys give up to soon & label them as junk...They are good All in one but you kinda have to know how to use them.

What are your thoughts on the newer GT1? (not GT001)

What's the flutter rate on that unit?

Can you run a comparison between boss me70 ang Zoom G5?

Boss ME -50 or Zoom G5. ??

Impressive review. I would have liked to see you compare them on video to get a better idea of their strengths & weaknesses. I have the ME-50. I like its simplicity. I have run it straight through a Mesa Simulclass 295 producing some impressive sounds having the full tube stereo on the back side. I also have a Johnson JM-250, which I have run through the Mesa 295, which gives you a multitude of modeled sounds while having Full tube sound on both the front and back side. For those that don't know, the Johnson uses two 12ax7's to produce its unmatched modeling tube sound. Even to this date I believe it is unmatched. Unfortunately it has a solid state power amp, but when you use the XLR direct outs to a unit like the Mesa 295, you get the best amp modeling available with tubes on the preamp & power amp side. The sounds are truly amazing. The drawback is that you need a PHD to program the Johnson for live situations. I am always in awe of the live artist who can just take a tube amp, a RAT, and some 9V pedals to produce some of the greatest live sounds!

I get most of my fat overdrive tones from the ME-70 and the pre-amp. It's great for practice and session. I'm not too big into the ME-50. I think the most versatile effects boards are the: GT-6(also Boss), ME-70, and the ME-80. The important thing to remember is to give the ME-70 good output. I read comments about people complaining about tonal adjust and too much fuzz. The fuzz is easy to control by adjusting the individual pre-amp knobs, your output amp, and getting a medium amount of compression. Aside from Electro-Harmonix...Boss will always be my personal top line preference.

ME-50 Rat distortion is awesome!!

Just finished using the ME-50 on a recording. Wah and Funk sounds - recorded directly: Telecaster + Stratocaster -into Fender Princeton ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jtrbFyX9Zpo.htmlm14s

Great review of the ME pedals! My simple rig - Epi ES339 Pro -> ME-50 -> GE7 -> RC10 -> Fender Champ 40. Pedals, EQ, Looper, Amp. Light weight. Can get 98.975% of anything... Shop smartly and the rig ex-guitar can be had for $700. Tons of settings to play with.

Hi, i'm planning to buy either one of these, is me-50 really better? I am mainly playing heavy stuff. Your response is much appreciated.

It's awesome! I used to have the ME-30 but later I got this and started making all my vids! \m/

What about the ME 80? would it fall in the same place as the 70?

I enjoyed this video, including the talking. I might be looking for ME 50 (hard to find).

It depends on your preference, but my preference is BossME-70, because their is Loop phrase & Amp moduler.. :)

Great video. Thanks for ur thoughts

can you use multiple modulations in these fx units?

Thanx bro... But need to ask, Which one would u Prefer..?

does the boss me-50 have a up and down pedal

Boss is the best. Very good sound.

Great Job! I have tried a Me50, Me70 and Me80 all great fx. Really love the Me50. I think boss pedals are great ,if you like great emulations better go for line6 products.

Hey man, very good point. I know what you mean by the me-70 coloring and compressing the sound. however, last year I had an idea. I just put a boss pedal with a good buffer ( some are good some aren't) in front of the me-70 and it felt much better playing it. My clean tone, while still colored, became very usable. And it helped also a lot with the drive section ( must be used with the EQ section to get something «not bad»)Try it for yourself, I was about to sell it and I'm now happy with it. I still use some drive pedals in front of it, but not all the time.

Great analysis thank you

Just because its not top of the line doesn't mean its not any good. Why spend $549 for the GT-100 and get 200 effects when you're only gonna use maybe 20 of them? Thats stupid. A guy don't need a top of the line box to use in his garage. Who is he gonna play to.....the spiders crawling on the floor?

Thanks so much for the info, straight explanation and personal opinion. Great video style too. Too many of these review videos simply read off the words and labels written on the unit with no explanation of how to adjust, which anybody can read the devise. lol. Thanks again.

Me- 25 and me-70 owner. Very pleased

thank tou for that research sir!! it help me soo much on choosing which is better,.soo ill get boss me 50 :)

I've used both units as well as a gt10 and 100.. I preferred the ME series because it's size and for a real guitarist who's used to stomp boxes the ME series gives you that option.. I travel and your and for fast gigs that are in and out fairly quickly you can't beat a smaller unit! The cosm makes things better on the 70 and with the new 80 it's just amazing. For studio work it's work if you know how to tweak it.. I've used the 70 onstage with monster players like Billy Gibbons etc who sound amazing 24/7 and I held my own. Another great little unit that I just got sent to me from digitech is the brand new Rp360 XP.. If you're into and know pedal arranging and what amps are what you'll love it.. And the footprint is even smaller then these ME models. Line 6 as you stated is good but I've found that for a live situation I preferred the ME70.. Now I'm all about the digitech RP360 XP or single pedals on a pedaltrain board.. But for the most part the 70 in my opinion is far better then the 50 simply because the cosm.. There ways around your compressed feeling u get and I think it's probably setting up your out put level versus your amp or mixer level.. Aloha

does these have sustain and compressor?

And also.. do they have reverb?

I have the ME-50, Lately I use it very few because what I'm doing now can be done with a good amp, a wha and a OD, but I still like the unit because it is easy to use and quick to get the sounds from it. I agree all that you say, It's great to be used as a effects unit with an amp, but the worst for me is how it sounds by the line out. In a gig I had to connect it directly to a PA and was terrible.

When you get a chance check out the ME-80,got one for a stand alone unit.My ME-70 is on my rig and it's a bit much when I'm not touring with an artist.The ME-80 is a good second unit for clubs and small venues.'I'll let you know how works out.

is this the same for the ME-50B ??

Thaknks for the video. I wanna buy the ME 70. I watched lots of videos, and I think it's a good choice. Everything is aranged well, and instean of buying moare pedals you have them in one thing.

can you do a me 80 and me 50 comparison?

I nabbed a 50 a few months ago and have been very pleased with it. I use it mainly for the modulations. The chorus is almost as good as my 15 year-old CE-5. The flange and phaser are also quite nice and warm sounding. The mods on the 50 have a smaller sweet zone than the individual stomp boxes, but the sounds are more than good enough for me. The univibe and rotary are also quite nice. The Dist/OD's are ok, nothing overly special. I run a T-Rex Yellow Drive and a Boss Distortion into the 50 for my overdrives. The delays are also quite usable on this device, but I use a Behringer Echo Machine after the 50. The Compressor is good as is the Noise Gate. The Reverbs aren't that great, but I have a nice Reverb in my AC15 amp. The Tone Modify helps out the neck pickup on my Mexican Strat. Overall, I really can't complain about anything from the ME50.

which one should I get? I play metal. thanks

re: can't see on stage: that's why the ME series has patches & banks so you can pre-set your knobs saving you from desperate fiddling in the dark. With patches (24 I think) you can make each patch a song or specific group of effects & simply scroll from effect to effect in order through a song. Negating or making moot your concerns over reading the painted display during performances.

Nice.... hey, just saw that you are running through a tube amp..... sounds really good...

How do you say "super loud lip smacking" in French?

Thank You...and compare the chorus...it's also better on ME50

some says me50 destortion are crap... so which i gonna save my money for.. a 25 or 50...

Played on both of them!ME-70 has way more possibilities,sounds,effects.Phrase loop is just great..you can improvise,practice..make a bass line,whatever..I don't know about bad input on ME-70,I just turn my Marshall Amp volume for enough power and thats it.