Boss ME90

[Dr Nick]

It had to happen - stuck at home after surgery, bored...got me one of these. 

Decades ago I used to use a GT-3, and decided to take a (sort of) nostalgia trip, just for practicing - I've got a small mixing desk and some powered speakers in my "practice room" that I can run it through alongside keys and vocals (or tracks) when rehearsing/practicing. 

Interesting gadget. Not overloaded with options, but the way it's set up means you can pretty much use it as a pedalboard as well as a multiFX with presets unit, which is neat. 

And the interface is quite straightforward, which is a good thing. 

The big issue is speaker IR's. It has a standard one plus 3 empty slots to add your own. Was a bit worried about some of the nuances initially until I discovered the custom options, so scouring internet for some decent IR's to upload and test. The standard one is a bit too "in your face", top-y, and there's a hint of that high end fizz you get with digital amps and high gain that I think I can dial out with the right IR. 
This'll make the time fly!
 
 

[eduardoritos]

I was very tempted with this guy when first appeared, mostly because of the downtunning option (for my singer at the time, who forced us to tune 1/2 semitone below standard).

Try this Bogren free IR pack. It's very good for the price
 
https://bogrendigital.com/pages/free-ir ... sH6DkNKXg3
 

[Dr Nick]

Cool thanks! Found some half decent ones and some real garbage out there (muffled+++).

That'll pass a few hours!

[bourbonsamurai]

dude, i got one, and i love it.  i love the analog orientation of the setup, too.  these typa shits always pissed me off in the past, because i don't like using a lot of gain, and most all of them are set up for that, at the expense of more nuanced and dynamic sounds, unless you're fucking with a Fractal or a Quad Cortex or something really expensive.  this is a good and flexible unit.  i had gone to purchase one of those Boss amp in a box plus IR pedals, which is also nice, but when i started fucking with this thing, i was like, WHY?  every good live band i hear now is using some kind of modeler, and there's no denying the practicality.  we're a LONG way down the road from a Line 6 POD, with all two of its usable sounds.

[eduardoritos]

dude, i got one, and i love it.  i love the analog orientation of the setup, too.  these typa shits always pissed me off in the past, because i don't like using a lot of gain, and most all of them are set up for that, at the expense of more nuanced and dynamic sounds, unless you're fucking with a Fractal or a Quad Cortex or something really expensive.  this is a good and flexible unit.  i had gone to purchase one of those Boss amp in a box plus IR pedals, which is also nice, but when i started fucking with this thing, i was like, WHY?  every good live band i hear now is using some kind of modeler, and there's no denying the practicality.  we're a LONG way down the road from a Line 6 POD, with all two of its usable sounds.

 

I was tempted too with the new Boss amp/pedal, but for almost the same price, you have the amp thing, plus tons of fx.
Anyway, I decided goin the most analog I can (and no many fx). I have my band so I decide my tone (cover bands are a different story).

[Dr Nick]

It's interesting. Every single IR I've found has been "muffled" compared to the default ones. But some have better mid/low characteristics, so I've had some fun with the EQ to compensate. Not used an EQ live for over 2 decades. Also found that my two main guitars react very differently to the gadget, so got completely different tone control and EQ settings for each.