BOSS ME90B (here at last)

[glassmoon]

And it's here!!!

 

[lidl e]

So cool.

 

Love BOSS.

 

€408 at thomann

 

[Big Low End]

I was expecting a lot more interest in this. Digital modellers have not been my cuppa in the past, but I was hoping this one might not have that obvious digital sound to it.

[tauzero]

7 hours ago, Enormous Buttocks said:

I was expecting a lot more interest in this. Digital modellers have not been my cuppa in the past, but I was hoping this one might not have that obvious digital sound to it.

 

It's rather a step backwards with a fixed signal path rather than the multiple building block approach that's been in favour for the last decade at least.

[SumOne]

£345 from Andertons and GAK etc. 

 

I suppose it fills a niche, it is good to have physical controls, it looks tough, and the DI XLR could be useful.

 

Not for me though, I think things have moved on from these sort of designs - something like the Boss GX 100 (£449 from Bax) gives a whole lot more control/editability in a similar sized and priced unit. 

[uk_lefty]

6 hours ago, SumOne said:

£345 from Andertons and GAK etc. 

 

I suppose it fills a niche, it is good to have physical controls, it looks tough, and the DI XLR could be useful.

 

Not for me though, I think things have moved on from these sort of designs - something like the Boss GX 100 (£449 from Bax) gives a whole lot more control/editability in a similar sized and priced unit. 

I agree there's "better" tech out there but this probably sits in the middle: great sound quality but physical controls so you don't have to be programming for hours on end. I can see the appeal of both.

[BigRedX]

On 21/04/2024 at 18:12, tauzero said:

It's rather a step backwards with a fixed signal path rather than the multiple building block approach that's been in favour for the last decade at least.

 

And no MIDI.

 

It should be compulsory for programmable musical devices ti have MIDI - and proper MIDI on 5-pin din connectors.

[Kev]

Seeing a multi-fx processer with that many physical knobs in 2024 is wild, the release honestly looks about 10 years out of date.  They kinda already did the budget GT-1000 with the Core version, what's the market for this?

[SumOne]

14 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

I agree there's "better" tech out there but this probably sits in the middle: great sound quality but physical controls so you don't have to be programming for hours on end. I can see the appeal of both.

 

I think I wouldn't mind that 'what you see is what you get' too much if it kept to that - but I assume that as it has presets and programming, each time you go to a new preset potentially none of the controls are actually in the positions where they are physically set, which I think could get really confusing. I suppose you could never change presets though and that'd solve that.

[Kev]

 

My first Boss pedal, released 2002.  Other than replacing COSM with AIRD, not a lot has changed....

 

I dunno, I think for those who want to go the multi fx route, there are a ton of options out there with proper interfaces and signal chain routing e.t.c., whereas this just seems so old hat, like from the days when Boss didn't really have any competition.  Just seems bizarre.

[uk_lefty]

Agree it's odd, I wouldn't have expected them to continue down this route when they have a high tech option, but I also expect they've done their research and these things will sell. 

 

Know what you mean about the presents but on my old GT10-B which was a phenomenal bit of kit the presets were actually usable bass tones on the most part and very well thought out, instead of wacky nonsense just because they could. If it has the functionality and some of the presets  of the old GT10-B but physical knobs it will be awesome.

[Baloney Balderdash]

9 hours ago, Kev said:

Seeing a multi-fx processer with that many physical knobs in 2024 is wild, the release honestly looks about 10 years out of date.  They kinda already did the budget GT-1000 with the Core version, what's the market for this?

People who are scared/confused about menus, don't understand the concept of one knob being able to have several functions, have a tendency to option paralysis, and think physical controls somehow magically will make it sound more analog.

 

Such people does actually exist.

 

Or simply people who just likes the concept of/needs having physical controls for all parameters, and prioritize that over having access to additional tweakable parameters, flexibility of routing/the signal path, and number of effects available.

 

Again I am certain such a user segment does exist.

 

For instance I would say this wins as a live impro multi effect over a traditional "modern" menu diving multi effect pedal, like for instance as a live noise and experimental electronic music effect processor that can actually be tweaked live on the fly, or whatever context elsewhat where effects are treated more so as musical instruments in their own regard, rather than just simply, well, effects (I do realize that with a midi controlled multi effect and a midi controller the same and even more would be possible, but that would also be much more circumstantial and require a lot of extra work to get going, less convenient and immediate).

 

In any case it is definitely a niche product.

 

But I am pretty sure also an actual exiting niche, with not a lot of other competitors on the market filling it out already, other than older used units that doesn't feature quite the same modeling quality (whether that then is desired or not).

 

I'd say this is a wise move from Boss, who (unlike Zoom) rarely mess around.

 

Edited April 23 by Baloney Balderdash

[glassmoon]

Fantastic video just released by Nate Navarro ... 

 

 

[funkydoug]

To those puzzled by this product, and who think it is dated… remember that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder ! 
 

To me this is the perfect product and far better (for me) than any screen based multi-fx. I’m not visually impaired, I just like this interface. 
 

Horses for courses ‘n all that. 

[Al Krow]

Not for me, but if it scratches folk's multi-fx itch in a way that a bunch of other multis don't then it's got a market, just as vinyl records have.

Edited April 24 by Al Krow

[Owen]

I am on my second screen-based Multi FX. I have used neither. I love the idea that they can do all sorts of exciting things. I am totally drawn in. But I suffer from option paralysis. As soon as I have to decide between A/B/C/Ch/D/Dd/E/F/Ff/G/Ng/H (as we say in Wales) then I just cannot make a decision. I do not want to miss out. Which is ironic being that I have to wear 26 dB cut earplugs to play so never hear any detail from what I do anyway! I can totally see how one of these would work for me.

[rwillett]

@Owen I thought that was just me. I have a Mod_dwarf which could probably take me to the moon and back, but it's complicated. So I go back to simple things and keep thinking I must get back to the Mod Dwarf and set it up properly. I don't.

[uk_lefty]

The more I think about it the closer I am to buying one... And undoing almost three years worth of work on my pedalboard!

[glassmoon]

7 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

The more I think about it the closer I am to buying one... And undoing almost three years worth of work on my pedalboard!

If you do, we'll all be waiting for a full review @uk_lefty

[uk_lefty]

I'm not sure I could do it to myself... But the logic is that selling off all my individual pedals will more than cover the cost. I should then no longer have multiple points of potential failure or having to keep buying new effects for a particular sound then selling it to get one I like better, upgrading certain pedals, and the latest problem: volume differences across different pedals. So frustrating. 

[glassmoon]

Having just joined a covers band, I'm in a similar position, except I have no more pedals save an octave and chorus and my preamp. I need a few drives and possibly/probably a fuzz/sub (for synth sounds) and this looks like a good idea to me. Having said that, I've been eyeing out the new Line 6 POD Express Bass... I'm torn. I have a soft spot for BOSS pedals. 

[glassmoon]

1 hour ago, uk_lefty said:

I'm not sure I could do it to myself... But the logic is that selling off all my individual pedals will more than cover the cost. I should then no longer have multiple points of potential failure or having to keep buying new effects for a particular sound then selling it to get one I like better, upgrading certain pedals, and the latest problem: volume differences across different pedals. So frustrating. 

Having just joined a covers band, I'm in a similar position, except I have no more pedals save an octave and chorus and my preamp. I need a few drives and possibly/probably a fuzz/sub (for synth sounds) and this looks like a good idea to me. Having said that, I've been eyeing out the new Line 6 POD Express Bass... I'm torn. I have a soft spot for BOSS pedals. 

[evan47]

I am thinking of getting shot of my GT1B for the ME90B. 

Fed up with menu diving to adjust sounds and would much rather have the physical controls in front of me.

[uncle psychosis]

On 23/04/2024 at 09:10, Kev said:

Seeing a multi-fx processer with that many physical knobs in 2024 is wild, the release honestly looks about 10 years out of date.  They kinda already did the budget GT-1000 with the Core version, what's the market for this?

 

The market is people like me - people who like the idea of multifx but who don't give a toss about complex routing, who like WYSIWYG controls, who hate menu diving but who want the ability to add a few different effects here and there. The ME series has long been my favourite of the Boss MFX and I suspect I'm not alone. 

 

I'm no luddite - I use Helix Native, and I've owned an HX Stomp, a Gx-100, and god knows how many other effects --- but this seems right up my street. 

 

I'm sorely tempted to order one tonight. 

Edited May 3 by uncle psychosis

[uncle psychosis]

On 23/04/2024 at 08:29, BigRedX said:

 

And no MIDI.

 

It should be compulsory for programmable musical devices ti have MIDI - and proper MIDI on 5-pin din connectors.

 

I'd argue that anyone who wants MIDI doesn't want an ME-series Boss unit in the first place. If you're going to control it remotely, then you're kind of defeating the USP of these units and would be better served with a Gx-100 / GT-1000-core which will offer a lot more options to the MIDI fiends.