[Sponge Monkey]

It's effects time!
***sorry if this is a re-post, i did a few searches for each board and found nothing :S***

So, i've been looking for a multi effects board, and my searching has led me to the BOSS ME-70, and the Line 6 Pod XT-live.

I love the simplicity of the BOSS, and the ease of use, plus BOSS are reputable and famous for their guitar effects, (more so than line 6 i think). The in-built looper is a huge bonus, which the XT-live doesnt have.
But one issue may be that: you can only use one effect from each section at a time. SO say, if i wanted to use a flanger and delay whilst using the looper i dont think i could?

The XT-Live has more of everything, more sounds, many more footswitches, and i believe these are greatly customizable to suit your needs. you do have to pay for extra software packs, but the fact that you CAN use a computer to edit your sounds and share with other people is great.

I hear the distorition tones in the BOSS are lacking, and i do like to dable in the heaviest of the heavey occasionally...

so anybody had any expieriences with either pedal? Tales of horror?
or maybe theres a wildcard board i havent considered?

basically, im looking for oppinions and your' approval!

Thanks!

 

[kaoslord]

HI,

I bought an ME-70, it really impressed me when I tried at the shop.
then I went home and realised that thing was not what I needed.
sent it back after a few days.
I have nothing against multieffects but I think the ME-70 is only good for:
1) practicing at home with headphones
2 if you are a beginner
3) if you play in a cover bands and you need lots of different sounds in one box.

the me-70 is nicely built and very easy to use. compressor, flanger, chorus, delay and some other effects are very good quality I think. But the TONE is what is definitely lacking on the ME-70. The second guitarist in my band has a GT-10. The preamp section of the ME-70 (based on the same COSMOS tecnology of the GT-10) totally sucks in my opinion. Moreover the distortion effect is not of the same quality than the GT-10 and even more far from original boss pedals (MT-2, ML-2, etc...).

 

[Sponge Monkey]

I see, so what did you end up replacing your' ME-70 with?

 

[smooth55]

My guess is that you could pick up a used XT for a lot cheaper and they are very capable units.
You hit the nail on the head that the XT offers a lot more features than the Boss (outside of the looper function). The computer updates and support is pretty good but you are dealing with old tech so factor that some of that support will diminish. Still, it's probably a lot better than what you'd get on the Boss side of things.
To be honest, you need to play them both to decide if the tones are what you're looking for. Typically the Boss distortions are decent but not great but the effects are pretty good. Many will say Line6 models and distortions are better but effects are usually quantity over quality.
There's give and take with both so try them each out and see what you like more.

 

[smooth55]

By the way, what effects are you really looking for? I've found with all my multi effects experiences that I settle onto a handful of sounds and don't use too many of the included crazy effects. Basically, I don't use a lot of the features the pedal offers. Maybe you do and maybe you just like knowing that they're available if you want to use them, but I have gone back to a handful of individual pedals that I find much more effective for finding my tone.

 

[Sponge Monkey]

By the way, what effects are you really looking for? I've found with all my multi effects experiences that I settle onto a handful of sounds and don't use too many of the included crazy effects. Basically, I don't use a lot of the features the pedal offers. Maybe you do and maybe you just like knowing that they're available if you want to use them, but I have gone back to a handful of individual pedals that I find much more effective for finding my tone.

that's kind of why i liked the look of the BOSS. I'm after the extended basics: Distortion, delay, compresser, wah etc. aswell as flanger, pitch shifter, ocatave + a few others.

but i dont want to be overloaded by a load of extras i'll never use.
also a bonus with the simplified Pre-amp on the BOSS. its essential to enable recording, direct out to a PA etc. but im not particularly interested in hugely extended amp modelling etc., i've just bought a half decent valve amp.

having said that, these are both the same sort of price range (give or take £40 / £50), so it might be worth getting the XT and all it's extras for the sake of £50 odd.

 

[bloomz]

I had to answer this one...

I wanted to share this story, after long investigation and due diligence - I bought a Boss ME-70, and farkled with it for almost 3 months - getting virtually nowhere - I managed to create ONE sound I liked (Pink Floyd Shine) and saved. The rest of the time I got lots of noise out of it. I spent a gaggle of hours looking on the web for some clue about where to start, patches settings, just a good starting point. I got nowhere - they just aren't available out there anywhere on the web. And the couple I found I would spend 5 minutes twirling knobs and settings and it wouldn't sound anything like the title of the supposed patch. I'm sure somebody loves the ME-70, but it ain't me.

I thought the lack of digital interface (ie- knobs to twirl) would be good but I was way wrong.


More investigation and I bought a Pod XT Live and the best description I can give it is - it is Sex in a Box.

With headphones on it's hard to keep from blowing your own mind, the sounds are so lush.

But the best part is, any sound or song I want - I can just get (download) a patch or 3 or 4, just about anything, and I haven't yet had to farkle with the knobs and start from scratch like I was with the Boss unit. And there are thousands of patches out there for this unit.

The delays and chorus's are so incredibly lush. And tweaking a sound a little bit, like adding Wah or whatever, is done so easily on screen and re-saved and renamed. (Boss lacked names for the saved patches, just numbers)

I have nothing against Boss products, but even tho I am a techy person, I lacked the technical fortitude to use the thing, and the Line 6 Pod XT live is everything I wanted or needed. The lack of a looper is nothing compared with the ease of use.
Absolutely incredible. Sex in a box.

 

[Sponge Monkey]

Thanks for the reply bloomz. nice overview of your' experience with the products. in the end i bought a GT-10, which i think covers some of the pitfalls you out lined in the ME-70. There's more of a digital interface as well as names for the patches. you can download other peoples patches and load them onto your GT-10 (although im not convinced the community is quite as large as that of the line-6 gear).
But i am impressed with sound quality as well, although i haven't compared to an XT-live yet, so i can't pick one over the other.

 

[fluid1993]

Hey I just wanted to give my input on the Pod XT. I was in a similar situation two or three months ago. I tried my friend's boss gt-8, gt-10, me-70 and me-50. I also got to try a pod 2.0 and a pod xt. I really liked boss's products and the gt-10 was very easy to use. HOWEVER, it was easy to make a sound, but it was particularly hard making a sound i liked or could use. There were really nice effects, and i was certain I would get it. I then tried the Line 6 products and I have to say I wasn't quite convinced. I picked up a pod xt + floorboard+ all 3 amp packs for 250$ of craigslist, and now i am certain i made the right choice.

The POD XT has one thing that BOSS doesn't, it has nice distortion. It has effects, that aren't as perfect as the BOSS ones, but they aren't bad either. I actually prefer the flanger and the delay better on the pod. The POD has another thing: computer interface. I took this for granted at first, but then when i realized the possibilities of using it through GearBox, my tone improved drastically, not to mention I could double many different patches and just edit them to my exact specifications.

People have already commented on these features, but i though i might as well share my opinion. If you are stuck between the boss and the pod, just ask yourself how much time you are willing to spend on finding a single decent tone. If you don't want to spend hours dialing in an okay tone, get the pod xt and dial in tones or download them to spend that time playing, not tweaking.

Best regards, Alex.

 

[rockguitar4ever]

if you want it for the effects themselves Boss ME70

for amp sounds line 6 pod xt live

 

[Assumer]

Guitarist in my band plays his tube amp with an ME50. Sounds killer. I cannot get a good sound out of multi-effects distortion but he does. Effects sound good also. Look at what each has to offer and try the one you choose out. If it works keep it. If not get the other. Tried the ME-70 in a store and thought it was a nice box.

 

[Macka]

I can't stand digital all in one units, I've had three different ones but they all sound crappy in a live band situation. Sure, with headphones on or at home playing on your own or even recording with, it's awesome but get some live drums and bass bashing in there and you get washed out out totally and just can't cut through.

Boss ME5, ME33 and Pod XT - all couldn't cut it live. I now use Boss and MXR stompboxes exclusively.... the downside to that? I have to dance a jig to change from one sound to another sometimes, but the quality of the cranked sound is worth the trouble.