Boss's ME-90 Hands-On Knobs-based Multi-FX Pedal is a massive upgrade and replacement for the previous ME-80 Model
Boss has a wide variety of Multi-Effects / Guitar Effects Processor units - whose roster currently consists of 8 devices of various sizes - with the GT-1000, and GT-1000 Core kind of sitting on top of that pyramid as the most potent and menu-driven of those systems.
The recent GX-100 offered a number of innovations with a full-colour touch-screen - as a slightly more entry-level alternative to the GT-1000.
This ME-90 unit replaces the former ME-80 and takes a quite different approach to Boss’s other Multi-FX units - where the 75 Effects Types and features are fully accessible on the pedal’s facia (no menu-diving), courtesy of 30 knobs, 4 button-switches, 8 footswitches and an onboard multi-function expression pedal / treadle.
This is intended as a ’knob-tweakers’ delight - so you can have direct and immediate hands-on control over every function and parameter - while this digital platform then allows you to store those various settings as presets.
Lots of players still prefer this approach to the more modern and more compact menu-driven systems.
At its heart this unit uses Boss’s AIRD (Augmented Impulse Response Dynamics) technology for the core amp / signal modelling.
It’s feature set is slightly limited compared to the very best of the menu driven devices as there is a limit to how many direct hands-on controls (knobs etc.) you can feature within a reasonable defined real-estate. To have every feature of the flagship GT-1000 pedal - this ME-90 unit would need to be twice or three times as large - which just would not be practical. It’s as feature rich as it can be for this size of format!
As with any pedal choices you make there are pros and cons in every device - and you need to weigh those up against your own preferences. Lots of people like using more conventional stompboxes - as it’s immediately evident at a glance - which setting is set to what! That is indeed the key consideration and methodology for this device.
Here follows an overview of the Interface / Control Topology by control area / segment :
PREAMP
Type - Natural / X-Crunch / X-Hi Gain / Maximum / Juggernaut / X-Modded / Twin Combo / Tweed Combo / Diamond / Brit Stack / Recti Stack
Controls - Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Level
EQ / FX-2
Type - Phaser / Trem-Pan / Boost / Delay / Chorus / EQ
Mod Controls - Mode, Rate / Time, Depth / FB, Level
EQ Controls - Bass / Middle / Treble / Level
REVERB
Room > Hall > Spring
COMP / FX1
Type - Comp / T.Wah Up / Slow Gear / Defretter / Octave / Humanizer / Feedback / [AC Sim] / [Solo] / [Tune Down] / [S-Bend]
Controls - Sustain / Sens / -1 Oct, Attack / Tone / -2 Oct / Depth, Level / Peak / Direct
[Alt Controls] - Low / Pitch, High / Rise Time, Level / Fall Time.
OD / DS
Type - Boost / Overdrive / T-Scream / Centa OD / Blues OD / Distortion / Turbo DS / Rat DS / Metal DS / Core / Muff Fuzz
Controls - Drive, Tone, Level
MOD
Type - Phaser / Flanger / Tremolo / Chorus / Vibrato / Pitch Shift / Harmonist / Rotary / Uni-V / Delay / [Overtone]
Controls - Rate / Key, Depth / Harmony, E.Level / Resonance
[Alt Controls] - Upper, Lower, D.Level
DELAY
Type - Standard / Analog / Tape / Warm / Modulate / Reverse / [Tempo] / Tera Echo / Shimmer / Phrase Loop / +Reverb
Controls - Time, Feedback, E.Level
[Tempo Controls] - Dottetd Eighth / Quarter
2-DIGIT LED SCREEN
Switches - Exit, Write, CTL, Edit / Hold + Bank ↓↑
+ Output Level Knob
PEDAL FX (EXPRESSION / TREADLE / ROCKER)
Type - Wah / Voice / +1 Oct / +2 Oct / -1 Oct / -2 Oct / Freeze / Osc Delay / OD-DS / Mod Rate / Delay Level
FOOTSWITCHES
Upper - Bank Down / Amp, Bank Up / EQ, CTL / Reverb, Memory / Manual / Tune (Hold)
Lower - 1 / Comp, 2 / OD-DS, 3 / Mod, 4 / Delay
Right - Expression Pedal / Treadle
REAR PANEL
- Grounding screw
- Input socket
- R Output socket
- L / Mono Output socket
- Gt.Amp / Line Switch
- Phones socket
- Send socket
- Return socket
- Bluetooth BT-Dual Adaptor Connection
- USB Mini Port for Tone Studio and Updates
- Power Button
- DC In
- PSA Cable anchor / winding post
- [K] Kensington Lock
ME-90 Features and Specs
Compact, battery-powered, and filled with premium BOSS tones, this versatile all-in-one processor makes it easy to build customized sound setups for every playing situation.
- All-in-one guitar processor with premium BOSS amps and effects
- Easy stompbox-style sound creation with an intuitive knob-based interface
- Superior sound quality with 24-bit AD/DA, 32-bit floating-point processing, and 48 kHz sampling rate
- Eleven onboard AIRD amp models and 60 different effects derived from the flagship GT-1000
- Dedicated amp section plus seven simultaneous effect categories with multiple types to choose from
- Edit parameters, swap out amp and effect types, and more with BOSS Tone Studio
- Eight multi-function footswitches and a newly redesigned expression pedal with toe switch
- 36 ready-to-play preset patches and 36 user patches for storing custom setups
- Manual mode for pedalboard-style operation and Memory mode for switching complete patch setups
- Rear-panel switch to optimize the audio outputs for a guitar amp or full-range sound system
- Load up to three user speaker IRs with the ME-90 IR Loader software for Windows/macOS
- Send/return loop for external pedals
- Light, durable design and colorful status LEDs
- Powered via four AA batteries or optional AC adaptor
- USB-C connector for communicating with BOSS Tone Studio and audio recording/playback with music production software Download and share ME-90 Livesets at BOSS Tone Exchange
- Optional Bluetooth® Audio MIDI Dual Adaptor allows you to edit sounds and stream audio from an iOS or Android mobile device
- Power Supply : PSA-S Series - 9V DC [-] with 190mA Current Draw
- Dimensions : 443 (W) x 220 (D) x 67 (H) mm | 17-1/2 (W) x 8-11/16 (D) x 2-11/16 (H) inches
- Weight : 2.9kg (6lbs 7oz)
- Comes with : Alkaline Battery (AA, LR6) x4
- MAP / RRP : $349 / €359 / £311
Recommended Accessories
- AC Adaptor: PSA-S Series
- Bluetooth Audio MIDI Dual Adaptor: BT-DUAL
- Carry Bag: CB-ME80, CB-BU10
Demos
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
