The Boss Multi Effects Line - Easy to Use, Rippin’ Tone Beasts!
When it comes to guitar effects, there is never an argument over who is the Boss. The Boss guitar effects line has been a leader in effects pedals and multi effects processors for more than three decades. And as a leader in the multi effects processor market, the Boss name has evolved from the formidable guitar effects pedal giant, to cover multi effects useful in every phase of music production.
Guitar Multi Effects of Today and Yesterday
I still remember my first Boss pedal, the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone distortion pedal. I had only been playing guitar for about 3 years, after switching from bass and was looking for a distortion that was crisp and sharp as a chainsaw. The MT-2 was it. Powerful, crisp controlled distortion with that eighties bite.
It wasn’t long after when I picked up my first delay – a Roland Space Echo. This was the early 80’s so this device was the original, ¼” tape version and not the digital version of today. Now I could lay down the “brown sound” with the best of them and thus started my gear head career.
Today’s Boss Pedals and Processors
These days you can get the best effects all packaged neatly in a single rack-space unit or in a pedal board. Multi effects processors have more power built into them than computers from just a few years ago. And the forms they come in are equally diverse. The floor style multi processor pedalboards are becoming very popular for their portability, usability and power.
Here are just a few Boss multi-effects processor examples available today:
• Boss ME-50 – Floor based multi effects processor (with expression pedal)
• Boss VF-1 – This is a half rack sized multi effects processor
• Boss GS-10 – A table top guitar effects processor with USB
• Boss GT-Pro – A rack mount style guitar multi effects processor
A Variety of Effects to Suit Every Need
Boss multi effects guitar pedals and processors provide the much needed flexibility in signal processing for both live and studio applications. Like its competitors, these gadgets contain all of the effects you have come to expect in a multi effects processor device.
Boss GT-8
This popular floor based effects processor has the standard Boss overdrive and distortion effects, chorus, delay, flange, pitch shifter, EQ and noise gate you have come to expect from any good multi effects guitar processor. There are 44 different effects in all, including is the ability to emulate a synthesizer using what Boss calls the Wave Synth effect, a sitar setting and guitar amp modeling.
Boss VT-1
Known as the Vocal Transformer, this vocal processor is primarily designed to alter the gender of the vocal. This is a very simple version of a vocal processor and it even contains a “robot” setting which will transform a vocal into a monotone, machine-like sound.
ME-50B
This processor is a version of the ME-50 guitar multi effects processor that is specifically designed for bass guitar. This floor based processor sports the standard Boss overdrive and distortion effects of its cousin, chorus, reverb, compression, wah, as well as preamp and speaker modeling.
Boss Effect Processors: Not Just for Guitarists
Nearly every guitar player has dabbled with effect pedals or processors. With the variety of multi effects devices in the marketplace today, guitar players are no longer the only ones having fun, tweaking their signals.
Like all the big players in the effect processor market, Boss has stepped up their offerings to include multi effects pedals for acoustic guitars, special versions of popular Boss pedals for the bass guitarist, , and even vocal processors.
A Final Word
When you look at today’s line of multi effects processors, you still find the essence of what musicians and professional engineers worked with when analog was king. In fact, these days many prefer to work with a classic like the well known Lexicon effects processor - the 960L, the Digitech S200, the Urei 175-B mono tube limiting amplifier or the Eventide H3000S harmonizer.
And still more professionals today are moving to the digital world. One where drum machines, effects and recording studios can be contained in a single device. These multi-functional devices are the future of the industry. But as Yoda told Luke in his Jedi training, “Choose wisely.” With so many choices it is best to choose a device that will meet your needs properly rather than one that has a multitude of features. In the end a properly researched gadget that performs the way you expect is better than one that can “do it all!”
