Boss ME-20 Guitar Multi Effects Pedal

The ME-20 is a great idea -- three "virtual" pedals that you can program to be whatever you want. It is small enough to fit into the front pouch of the average guitar gig bag, yet heavy/solid enough to survive years of stage use. You can honestly think of it as a 3-unit pedal board that has roughly the footprint of an iPad. What keeps the ME-20 from being a true "home run" is the sound quality. I expected it to sound just like my legacy Boss stompboxes, but it doesn't quite....Footswitch 1 is your virtual overdrive/distortion pedal -- you can program it to be a Boss Overdrive, a Boss Blues Overdrive, a Boss Metal Zone, or a couple other options.Footswitch 2 is your virtual modulation pedal -- you can program it to be a Boss stereo chorus, flanger, rotary, and other options.Footswitch 3 is your virtual delay/reverb pedal -- you can program it to be a Boss delay or Boss reverb.The unit also has a built-in 4-band EQ, noise suppressor, and a wah function that can be applied at any time.Using the ME-20, in Manual Mode, really is like having 3 pedals side by side. You hit the "OD/DS" button and tweak the four knobs for the distortion you like; same for the "Modulation" and "DLY/REV". If you want to keep the stompbox settings for later, you tap the "Write" button and save the settings to a Bank/Patch. When playing, you can stomp on any footswitch to turn it off/on, just like you have 3 individual stomp boxes. The expression rocker pedal always defaults to a master volume pedal, but you can make it a Wah.Using the ME-20 in Memory Mode, you can toggle between your saved stompbox configurations. Each Bank has three "Patches" (or saved stompbox configurations), and in this mode the foot switches will switch between Patches. For most uses this is perfect -- in each Bank I usually have a "clean" patch, a "rhythm" patch, and a "lead/solo" patch. Switching between Patches is instant; switching between Banks takes a few seconds, though -- you won't be able to switch between Bank 1 and Bank 2, for example, in the middle of a song.I like the "OD/DS Solo" feature, you can add a "boost" to any Patch while you're playing, for doing leads. It works well... just hold down the #1 footswitch for 2 seconds and your patch is boosted... hold it down again, and the patch reverts to normal. Boss recommends getting an external footswitch, so you can switch to "Solo" instantly, but I haven't been bothered by it.What keeps the ME-20 from being a true "home run" is the sound quality. The distortions all sound very digital, especially the "distortion" and "metal" settings. No one will mistake any of your distortions for a tube amp! The modulations are nice and clean, but I was disappointed by the lack of "wideness" in the stereo chorus and rotary (I run my amp in stereo). The delay and reverb sound the closest to their Boss pedal counterparts, but again seem to lack some "crispness" and "depth". The Wah is useful but not awe-inspiring. If you're patient, you can tweak some pretty good sounds out of the ME-20 -- the EQ, especially, can make a ton of difference -- but, there is nothing in the ME-20 that I would consider "studio quality". However, it is a useful tool for live playing.If you're a tone snob, you will be happier with real Boss stompboxes. But if you're looking for something more convenient (and cheaper) than maintaining a full-blown pedal board, the ME-20 is a great alternative. It will meet the needs of most amateur garage-band guitarists.

BOSS is great quality! Have used BOSS products for decades and have never been dissapointed. I bought this ME-20 to replace a ME-50 which was stolen from me. Not only is this one offered at a lower price, it also performs as well and more user friendly than the ME-50. Easy to use, powerfull, awesome- buy it.

The Pedal works great " did run into a problem in setting it' but the Seller e mailed me the instructions and they were very helpful in talking me through with the instructions " I'm very satisfied"

It has a lot of sounds, does a lot, but the quality of the sounds is pretty mediocre. There are also some problems when you adjust some of the sounds so that things will just go berserk when you try to adjust the gain on some of the distortion sounds for example. They tried to do a lot with this box and partially succeeded.

I bought this a couple years back. Always thought Boss was the best in the business and this lookslike a steal on features/price. Though I use it occasionally for rehearsals and some gigs whereit's just easier, I have to say, the loss of overall tone even when all effects are bypassed isa huge downside for me. The other, less critical thing I miss sometimes is to combine tremolowith phase/flanger/chorus. Finally you can't really use this in effects loop it has to be infront of the preamp.{61 gibson es350t,80s us maple strat w/duncans, epi les paul w/duncans} into fender super 60.

This item is awesome. No need for multiple foot pedals, all in one greatness.

Got this about a year ago now and, while it does take some time to dial in your tone, it sounds amazing!! I run my Jackson X series (emgs) with this through my carvin tube amp, and it sounds gorgeous clean, yet heavy and full when distorted. Rugged and durable, have definitely given it some bumps but it's very sturdy. Can't go wrong with this pedal.

Can't go wrong with any of the Boss multi effects. The ME and GT series are one of the best out there, IMO.