Everybody who plays an electric guitar knows how expensive it can be to find good-sounding pedals. And you need a separate one for each style you want to play.
Want to sound better? Reverb and delay! Want to play metal? Overdrive! Want to sound like Satriani? Another expression pedal!
I know firsthand how troublesome rewiring messy cables can get. Having spent my fair share of hours trying to setup pedals properly, I didn’t think twice about getting something that would save me from this dreadful chore.
In my search for the perfect pedal FX that didn’t cost me a fortune yet sounded awesome- I got a ME – 70. I have yet to regret the purchase I made many years ago and it still plays like a charm!
In this article, we take a look at the Boss ME – 80 to see what it can do for you. Let’s find out!
Table of Contents
Overview of Boss ME – 80 Multi Fx
Specification
- Tons of effects
- Internet access
- Battery Powered
Our Verdict
The Boss ME – 80 offers a solid value for your penny. It has a wide selection of tones and effects to choose from.
There are a plethora of pedals to choose from, and the horde only keeps getting bigger every year. Multi-effects pedals help cut through the clutter by offering the same features that individual pedals provide.
For the rest of us, it’s a great choice for a budget multi-effects FX you can have fun with and take out to gigs.
The Manufacturer
BOSS is known as one of the best pedal-makers in the market. Anything from weird twangy sounds to the iconic 80’s vintage rock- these guys have gear for it all.
The brand is favored for consistent high-quality and top-quality effects. You simply cannot go wrong with a gear from BOSS!
Specs
As a successor to ME- 70 Multi FX, it features a clean modular design with things placed in their neat little boxy corners. The white and black color palette makes for an elegant finish.
What you need to get a good sound out of this isn’t intricate at all, and it has a simple knob-based interface.
This may be biased (since it is one of the best ones I have) but the old ME – 70 was a damn great Multi FX. It had some very cool features and the ME – 80 builds on that with onboard expression pedal features.
Those were cheap for us broke guitarists and while Line-6 Helix was way better- I couldn’t afford one.
The wide range of effects types on the ME – 80 is quite impressive for the price.
Considering the choices of effects available, it is quite portable and easy to move around. If you like knowing what each knob does, there are a ton of them and you’ll have fun finding your unique personal sound.
The beast has many built-in pedal effects like Pre-Amp, Compression, dirty distortion, modulation, delay, and reverb controls.
Pre-Amp controls can be used for recording direct and to get driven guitar amp sound.
Everybody knows reverb! We’ll leave the details to experts but somehow it just makes your playing come alive. Good for adding ambiance as well.
It also has a generous array of customizable delay options. Reverse delay, Analog delay, Modulated delay- you name it!
The affordable ME- 80 multi-FX has eight buttons below the convenient controls. You can quickly explore the tonal possibilities with footswitch-style controls.
Compression, looper, expression pedal, classic whammy, built-in tuner, and cool preset effects are just some of the ME-80’s effects.
The compact tone processor uses the same expensive technology used in updated flagship-level COSM Amps. That’s pretty cool!
Boss ME – 80 pedal fx provides the option to save gig-ready patches in Memory mode. That comes in very handy for playing live.
There is also the choice to use it more like an individual pedal by avoiding preset patches. You do that by going into Manual mode and choosing one of the effects.
A friendly interface for easy patch selection from cool patch banks is something ME – 80 certainly nailed!
USB output is also new on this. An additional modulation bank was something many of us were waiting for. The ME – 70 had one packed with many features but it was limited to using just an effect at a time.
It’s powered by six AA batteries and also has AC output but the adapter has to be bought separately.
The huge array of choices allows for expressive real-time sound shaping with extreme ease. You can also add distortion to wah effect. Convenient access to all features is also a win.
It offers stomp-box style flexibility to quickly choose a multi-effects setup. This allows you to focus on your electric guitar without worrying about effects and produce better music.
The ME – 80 also connects to Boss Tone Studio where you can download amazing free patches. This also serves as a way to connect your electric guitar to your pc and tweak things.
It’s very good sounding and feels like every Boss pedal and Boss Katana in a single pedalboard with a wireless setup. The controls are meant for plug and play and require minimal fine-tuning.
It makes organizing sounds very easy with the Gig-ready Boss tone processing. The easy and intuitive interface for tweaking also helps enjoy music without thinking why certain knobs just don’t work!
How It Sounds
The sound of sus chords on the clean channel is beautiful. The crunchy tone from Pre amp controls is also nice.
Anybody would enjoy rocking out to some power chords with distortion dialed way up. You cannot beat the stage-ready sound of a ME – 80 paired with humbuckers.
There is also a selection of dry tones for playing fingerstyle like you would on an acoustic guitar. With a wee bit of reverb, it just sounds beautiful!
You can also get direct access to a wide selection of complex tones for experimenting. If you play around, you can get sweet jazzy tones for your melancholy 7ths and 9ths.
Boss Tone Studio with complete patch setups allows for huge additional tone choices possible.
Are you into metal? Yes? The BOSS ME – 80 does have a massive selection of sounds and there is the high gain option to dial in iconic metal tone.
The ME – 80 holds up for anything other than death metal or heavy things with drop tunings. But it still doesn’t feel or sound as aggressive as a quality Overdrive pedal.
As versatile as the multi-FX is- it’s just not as great as some pedal made specifically for playing metal.
Who it’s for?
The versatility of playing anything from R&B to Jazz and Metal makes it ideal for both beginners and guitar pros.
The Boss ME – 80 has a wide range of effects types that fit every creative need. So, it can be used for small gigs as well as a regular practice.
Score
Bottom Line
At just $300, Boss ME-80 is a serious bargain for anybody looking to dive into the world of guitar effects.
The ME – 80 comes close to the quality sound of a good looper or reverb pedal. The difference in sound is not that noticeable but a tone purist may still want to go for expensive individual pedals.
The power supply adapter is not included so you’ll need to buy it separately. But other than that, you get one, plug it in- and you’re good to go! It casually offers distinctive tone-shaping possibilities at a price that doesn’t break the bank. As a beginner or a casual guitarist, having a dependable chunk of stuff can really keep you motivated.
If you are looking for an affordable pedal with a Multi-Effects pedal, ME – 80 will do the job well. Unless you’ve fallen into the dark abyss of Norwegian heavy metal and the likes, Boss ME – 80 has got you covered for your diverse musical needs! For those also exploring foundational tone from classic tube amps, our Vox AC15 C1 review delves into a timeless option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it easy to use?
It’s made for the average Joe and has friendly knobs. You simply plug your favorite guitar and play around with the intuitive controls till you get a sound you like.
Is it good enough to gig with?
Yes, you can play almost all genres (that include an electric guitar!). BOSS ME – 80 has a wide array of sounds you can use for folk, country, blues, jazz, bluegrass, jazz, surf and even hiphop.
How long do the batteries last on a BOSS ME – 80?
Anywhere from two weeks- a month for a casual player. It depends on what effects you use and the duration of use.
What size batteries go in?
AA size, and six of them.
Does it connect to pc/mac?
Yes, the Boss ME – 80 comes with Boss Tone Studio which has a Graphical interface for easy tweaking on a pc/mac.