Advice On Using A Boss-me 80

[fitz]

So I have the dsl40cr. Are you saying you'd hook it to the effects port and not use the preamp? Is love any advice you can give to get the best sound out of the amp and the me80. Thanks.

to the forum.
Yes, I just used it mainly for a little chorus, EQ in the loop and some reverb options that the DSL does not have.
Other TBE are also available if you're into flanger, phaser, delay, etc.
I've since traded it for some individual pedals because I wanted a better EQ.

 

[Rolltide78]

Thanks so much! This help is much appreciated. Interesting..so yeah I'm confused what to do no now. Doesn't seem right bypassing the dsl amp classic/ultra by going guitar -- me-80 -- return. I'm really focused on just trying to get the best sounding tones for the stuff I like to play (hendrix/grateful dead/phish/zeppelin/gnr).

I also have it hooked up to my PC so am aware of how that works. I'm just ignorant to this me80 I bought last year and really how to dial in good tones. I kept reading all about not using the preamp yesterday and definitely don't want to screw up the great sound from the marshall unless I'm improving with effects.

Now I have a loop station and a big muff pedal as well. I guess that's another question... Where should those go in the path?

 

[gregr]

I’d ditch the ME-80 and get something else, to be honest.

 

[fitz]

Doesn't seem right bypassing the dsl amp classic/ultra by going guitar -- me-80 -- return.

I didn't bypass the DSL preamp, I didn't use any of the ME-80 preamp stuff.
I did guitar straight into amp > loop send to ME-80 input > ME-80 out to loop return - just used TBE stuff in the loop.
Easiest thing to do with additional pedals involved is everything out front and just use the ME-80 like any other single pedal.

 

[Rolltide78]

I’d ditch the ME-80 and get something else, to be honest.

Like what?

 

[Rolltide78]

I didn't bypass the DSL preamp, I didn't use any of the ME-80 preamp stuff.
I did guitar straight into amp > loop send to ME-80 input > ME-80 out to loop return - just used TBE stuff in the loop.
Easiest thing to do with additional pedals involved is everything out front and just use the ME-80 like any other single pedal.

oh ok that makes sense. So for a loop station and that big muff pedal would you put that on the front end or the fx loop?

NM...that's what you said....everything else in front of the amp.

 

[fitz]

oh ok that makes sense. So for a loop station and that big muff pedal would you put that on the front end or the fx loop?

NM...that's what you said....everything else in front of the amp.

I don't use a looper, but I think they DO go in the loop.
I'd assume if you want to repeat something, it would be after all your other stuff.

 

[end user]

I wish I could add anything other than to say buy a GT-1

 

[Rolltide78]

I wish I could add anything other than to say buy a GT-1

Thanks everyone. Ultimately I just want a great tube amp which I think I definitely have and then a pretty easy way to get most any tone possible in a reasonable way to allow me to continue to grow and get better at guitar. If a GT-1 makes sense to replace this ME-80 then that's fine. Honestly though I like the idea of this patch setup as I really want to spend more time playing and less tinkering with setups and trying to match tones. .

 

[Rolltide78]

I wish I could add anything other than to say buy a GT-1

hmm GT-1 at first glance looks very basic compared to the ME-80. Why would you recommend going to that one in particular?

 

[gregr]

In the loop only half of the ME-80 is worth using the other half is just wasting space.

Alternatives? What’s your budget?

A Zoom G3N, for instance. If you want an expression pedal to do something like control the wet/dry mix of your delay there’s the G3NX and G5.

Personally I would recommend a Line 6 M9. Excellent pedal and can be found second hand for a good price now that they’ve moved on to the HX Effects which is also a marvelous pedal.

TC Electronics plethora is another.

Basically a pedal that can be devoted to having the the effects that you want on hand and nothing you don’t like a wah wah or overdrive in the loop. Then you can put something like a wah and individual distortion and overdrive pedals in front. I mean let’s face it, there are a shit ton of great dirt pedals that a Boss ME-80 either doesn’t have or just don’t sound that good (and others, I shouldn’t single out the ME-80).

Multi effects pedals with a loop allow you to put things in front of your amp as well as in the effects loop of your amp. Some of these also have amp modeling that can be used to expand upon the preamp in your DSL; like a Fender, Vox or Mesa. This opens the door to a whole new family of floor boards. Because your amp has MIDI, most of these pedals can do anything the Marshall 6-button footswitch can do.

If you want to keep it simple go with the first three I mentioned.

 

[Rolltide78]

well I may not need to do anything as I just discovered the FX loop capabilities today so haven't even tinkered with the ME-80 now there. I had it in front before and was using preamp (since the patches I downloaded had it on). Soo...needless to say I think I was messing with the sound of the dsr. Knowledge for the win. Really just want to be able to throw a Jimi patch on and practice or a Page patch, or Garcia patch,etc...and just practice. That's all. i.e. Don't even know what wet/dry mix of a delay is The other day I was even wondering if I should've just gotten something like a Kitana a year ago instead of the Marshall just because of the ease of use. However, now the more I read it seems I made the better choice. Now just need to learn how to use the equipment. All that being said...if there's something that I can trade out like the ME-80 to make my life easier then cool. Heck, if I need to just buy a few pedals and ditch the ME-80 then so be it.

 

[gregr]

I use my foot to control the delay level instead of the level knob. Since you mentioned Hendrix, the old Uni-Vibe had a pedal to adjust the speed. Point being that the foot pedal can be used for more than just as a wah or volume control. I am not recommending that you use one.

For a long time my stripped down pedal board is was follows:

Guitar -> MXR Phase 90 -> Overdrive -> Front of my amp and a Line 6 M9 in the amp’s FX loop.

 

[Rolltide78]

Maybe I'll do something similar and snag a phase 90 and put that and the big muff on the front but just put the ME80 on effects loop. I've just seen pedals aren't cheap so once you get 2 extra pedals you are close to a multi effects processor! It's a shame the ME80 won't do 4cm. That'd be ideal for now.

 

[end user]

hmm GT-1 at first glance looks very basic compared to the ME-80. Why would you recommend going to that one in particular?

Much better overall. Better effects, better distortions, a decent acoustic emulator for starters.

 

[Rolltide78]

Much better overall. Better effects, better distortions, a decent acoustic emulator for starters.

I don't see Send/Return jacks in it. Can't do 4cm right?

 

[end user]

I don't see Send/Return jacks in it. Can't do 4cm right?

Not for disortions no. You could for everything else. If you want a send and return I suggest the Nux MG-30 but thats 100 bucks more. You might get lucky and find a used Digitech RP-1000 for a couple hundred bucks.

 

[gregr]

I had an RP1000. It didn’t last long.

 

[end user]

I had an RP1000. It didn’t last long.

I gigged one for 8 years. Many compliments. Mine died and I bought a Helix.

 

[gregr]

I liked the Carvin Legacy model a lot but no MIDI and just one effect per patch pretty well killed it. The matrix interface on the whole RP line was a PITA. I later bought an RP355 for a Whammy/Wah situation, but toggling between the two was tedious. By then I had already gotten the M9 which is a better unit in just about every way. I did like the RP treadles a lot though.

I bought a Line 6 HD500 to replace the RP1000. The effects (same as the M-series) and routing options were excellent but the amp models weren’t. I might go so far as to say the ones in the RP1000 were better. The buried menus and one scroll knob were every bit as bad as the RP interface. Sure the amp model controls were right there but I usually needed to dial in an overdrive to make them sound better and those controls are buried. The make-up gain
on the loop for 4CM at line level was so noisy that it made it unusable. The Engl Fireball was a good model though. It sounded a bit like OD1 Orange on the JVM.

I should mention that I always ran these modelers into a real amp (usually tube) and a real cab. Cab/mic technology, specifically IRs have come a long long way since then.

To touch upon interfaces, Boss did it right with the ME-50, 70 and 80.