Multi effects unit that can be used the same as individual pedals

Yeah, I bought this pedal when I was first getting into effects. I looked at it as a sampler platter, so to speak. It's led me to buy most all of the pedals that the ME-20 is simulating. If you are a tone snob, you won't like this pedal very much. I don't like Boss pedals that much anyway, and these are sorta cheap renditions of pedals that I don't love. But it sounds like you are not so much a tone snob, so it might be fun.

I am not convinced that multi-effects units have arrived yet, and the ME-20 is pretty much the poster child for that. Limited is the best word I'd use to describe it. Most of the distortion sounds are bad, the reverb is weak but the modulation effects seem decent. The unit has an ok EQ section, although it's a Boss pedal so it's pretty ham fisted when it comes to handling your overall tone. But it's got an onboard amp sim that will let you listen through headphones (that was a great feature at the time I first bought it) and if you are resourceful it will work just fine.

The patch feature is decidedly Boss, it's fiddly and complicated. But if you take the time to learn it, it's really useful. And the preset mixes are actually pretty good. I think you are describing it correctly, you add the effects that you like then dump it all into a preset for use later. It's adequate if you think of a song as an A section, B section and maybe a bridge. It's not a soundscape device, it has its limitations that you just have to work with. And if you learn how to use this pedal then the rest of the multi-effects pedals become pretty intuitive.

DO NOT LOSE THE MANUAL. Don't. Or if you do, just Google it.

Good luck. I'm sure you will love it for a while.

 

I have been so married to the ME50 in terms of performance and my comfort zone it took a good while to commit to using the 80 on a gig. I even brought the 50 and left it in the car. In the end, I'd say yes to the difference, and overall flexibility. The 50 was direct and to the point and the 80 offered that many more options in tone and selection of effects. The preamp section is just an extra bonus and I paired it up with a Tech21 PE60 and was quite happy. (The band at that time wasn't up to taking DI to the board, but I would have been all in.

Dez
NYC

 

I had that Ibanez series the offered in a rack mount with a nice long cabled foot controller. Loved it.

 

Here's one to keep an eye open for...used Fender Mustang Floor. Discontinued, but you can still get the Fuse software (if you even need it). At the end, they were blowing them out at $200-250, so should be reasonable if you can find a used unit.

 

Roland GP-8 if you can find one with the FC-100 controller. Very flexible.

 

FWIW:

I've spent some time around the Tonelab ST & EX. I got an ST as a pedal newb who just wanted to experiment with effects that I wasn't familiar with.

Differences between ST & EX is that the EX has footswitches for each major effect. If you're going to play out, it prob wins. But, you can set up multi-effect programs to switch up on-the-fly in both, so that might or might not matter.

Both units have a simple MIDI-USB interface to laptop. Both have a VOX Librarian to deal with stored programs via Laptop.

OTOH, if you're playing at home, there's a 3rd party freeware laptop interface for the ST. It looks just like the ST itself on-screen and you move the controls with the mouse.That's a major plus: you can record to the laptop and tweak settings with your mouse as you test/play. Major convenience. Also a major boon when setting up multi-effect programs. There is no program for the EX to do that so you have to bend over to change settings and work it all on the pedal itself.

Effects wise, the limit on both is that you can only get one effect at a time per knob. Example: Trem and Chorus are on the same knob, so you can't have both at the same time. So study the faceplate to see what shares a knob. Some effects have only one control knob (boost/distortion); others like modulation have two knobs and a rate setter. Might not matter as the pedal has EQ and volume. But it might matter if you want a five knob compression pedal.

Last, I like many of the amp (and speaker) models. Some are very good, some not. But mostly good. But it's a nice way to get some significant sound changes just with the amp/cab change.

PS. There are two more upscale models of these pedals, LE and SE, that are a little more "pro". Much more flexibility. The major difference besides that is that they MIDI requires an interface vs. a USB plug-n-play. Limited software.

 

The Tonelab EQ's are neutral at a mid (5) setting. Turn them up past 5 for a boost in that band; turn below 5 for a cut.

 

Can others input their experiences with the Fender Mustang Floor unit? I have one but I'm an old fart and I'm having issues with setting it up to act as individual stomp pedals the way I was hoping for. Anyone have a forum link for Mustang Floor users? THANKS!

 

You can set up a patch using the built-in screen or with Fuse. Leave the Amp part off and set up pedals for each button. Save the patch. Use the button located near the top left to switch to "Manual" mode. You can then toggle the 4 assigned effects using the corresponding foot switches. Also, take a look at some of the patches (I think in the 70-80 range) for some factory "pedalboard" sets that you can use or modify.