Boss Audio Systems ME-50 manual

Owner’s Manual Thank you, and congratulations on your choice of the BOSS ME-50 Guitar Multiple Effects. Before using this unit, carefully read the sections entitled: “USING THE UNIT SAFELY” (page 2–3) and “IMPORTANT NOTES” (page 4) . These sections provide important information concerning the proper operation of the unit. Additionally, [...]

2 USING THE UNIT SAFELY 001 • Before using this unit, make sure to read the instructions below, and the Owner’s Manual. .......................................................................................................... 002c • Do not open (or modify in any way) the unit or its AC adaptor. ...............................................[...]

3 013 • In households with small children, an adult should provide supervision until the child is capable of following all the rules essential for the safe operation of the unit. .......................................................................................................... 014 • Protect the unit from strong impact. (Do not drop it!)[...]

4 IMPORTANT NOTES 291a In addition to the items listed under “USING THE UNIT SAFELY” on page 2–3, please read and observe the following: Power Supply: Use of Batteries 301 • Do not use this unit on the same power circuit with any device that will generate line noise (such as an electric motor or variable lighting system). 302 • The AC ada[...]

5 Conversions Used in This Manual ● Words in square brackets [ ] indicate panel buttons or knobs. (Example) [VARIATION] : VARIATION button [WRITE] : WRITE button ● (p. **) indicates a reference page. Contents USING THE UNIT SAFELY ................... 2 IMPORTANT NOTES .......................... 4 Playing Sounds ................................ [...]

6 Playing Sounds Installing Batteries * Batteries are supplied with the unit. The life of these batteries may be limited, however, since their primary purpose was to enable testing. Insert the included batteries as shown in figure, being careful to orient the batteries correctly. fig.0010 • When turning the unit upside-down, get a bunch of newspa[...]

7 Playing Sounds ● Use a special cable (the optional PCS-31) to send output from the LINE/PHONES jack to equipment such as a mixer. Using an ordinary cable will cause only the left- channel sound to be output. fig.0030 Turning on the Power Once the connections have been completed, turn on power to your various devices in the order specified. By t[...]

8 Using the Effects When the power is turned on, the ME-50 always switches to Manual mode, and the OVERDRIVE/DISTORTION, MODULATION, and DELAY are switched off. * When the DELAY TYPE is set to HOLD, the DELAY indicator goes on, the DELAY pedal’s indicator flashes at a fixed interval, indicating recording standby is enabled. (p. 17) About the Effe[...]

9 Using the Effects TONE MODIFY fig.0090 This changes the characteristics of the connected guitar. TYPE knob OFF The sound is bypassed. * When switched OFF, the TONE MODIFY indicator goes out. FAT Fat tone with boosted mid range. PRESENCE Bright tone with boosted high-mid range. MILD Mild tone with the high end cut back. TIGHT Tone with the low fre[...]

10 Using the Effects COMPRESSOR fig.0110 This is an effect that produces a long sustain by evening out the volume level of the input signal. You can also use it as a “limiter” to suppress only the sound peaks and prevent distortion. SUSTAIN knob This adjusts the depth of the effect. Turning it to the right (clockwise) produces a longer sustain.[...]

11 Using the Effects OVERDRIVE/DISTORTION fig.0130 These are effects that distort the sound. You can use the TYPE knob in combination with [VARIATION] to get 22 different types of distortion. OD/DS pedal Each time you press the pedal, the effect switches through Overdrive/Distortion ON and OFF. When switched on, the OVERDRIVE/DISTORTION indicator a[...]

12 Using the Effects MODULATION fig.0140 An effect that broadens sound and adds undulations is called “modulation.” The ME-50 comes with 11 different types of Modulation effects. Select any one of these as the effect to be used. MOD pedal Depress the pedal to toggle Modulation on/off. When switched on, the MODULATION indicator and pedal indicat[...]

13 Using the Effects FLANGER Adds a undulation like that of a jet ascending or decending. RATE/KEY knob Adjusts the rate of flanging effect. DEPTH/HARMONY knob Adjusts the depth of flanging effect. E.LEVEL/RESONANCE knob Adjusts the amount of resonance. HARMONIST “Harmonist” is an effect which the amount of shifting is adjusted according to an [...]

14 Using the Effects ROTARY Produces the effect of a rotary speaker. RATE/KEY knob Adjusts the speed of rotation for the speaker. DEPTH/HARMONY knob Adjusts the depth of the rotary effect. E.LEVEL/RESONANCE knob Adjusts the volume of the rotary effect. Adding an Effect Synchronized to the Performance Tempo When any effect other than HARMONIST is se[...]

15 Using the Effects DELAY fig.0170 This effect adds delayed sound to the direct sound, giving more body to the sound or creating special effects. DELAY pedal The Delay is switched on or off each time you press the pedal. When switched on, the DELAY indicator and pedal indicator light up. * DELAY ON/OFF switches the Delay at the input to provide a [...]

16 Using the Effects HOLD Up to 2 seconds of performance content is recorded, then played back repeatedly. You can also layer this as you perform something else, then record these together (overdub). You can keep the recorded content playing continuously as backing and produce other special effects. “Using the HOLD Function” TAP  This is [...]

17 Using the Effects Write Procedures (p. 21) When the Tempo Has Been Set The delay time stored in a Patch (p. 20) is determined as follows. • If it is within the delay time range that can be set for the type currently selected, it is stored without change. • If it exceeds the maximum delay time that can be set for the type currently selected, [...]

18 Using the Effects NS (Noise Suppressor) fig.0190 This effect reduces the noise and hum picked up by guitar pickups. Since it suppresses the noise in synchronization with the envelope of the guitar sound (the way in which the guitar sound decays over time), it has very little effect on the guitar sound, and does not harm the natural character of [...]

19 Using the Effects Pedal fig.0210 You can make the setting that determines whether the ME- 50’s expression pedal functions as a volume pedal or as an expression pedal. In addition, when using it as an expression pedal, you can use it to control one of the special pedal effects that you select. Using the Pedal as a Volume Pedal When using the ex[...]

20 Saving and Loading the Created Tones (Memory Mode) The ME-50 features a “Memory mode” that allows you to store the various settings within the ME-50 itself, and then call up and use the settings. Switching Between Manual and Memory Mode The mode in which the tone produced reflects the panel settings just as they are is called “Manual mode.[...]

21 Saving and Loading the Created Tones (Memory Mode) Write Procedure The “Write procedure” enables you to save the created tone settings using the panel knobs and pedals, MASTER LEVEL knob setting, and expression pedal settings to Patches. * You can carry out the Write procedure in both Manual mode and Memory mode. * If the Write procedure is [...]

22 Saving and Loading the Created Tones (Memory Mode) If the Patch Does Not Change ● Is the ME-50 in Manual mode (p. 20)? ● Is the ME-50 in Patch Edit mode (p. 23)? ● Is the ME-50 in Tuner mode (p. 24)? Switching Banks with the Foot Switch With a foot switch (the optional FS-5U) connected to the FOOT SW jack on the rear panel, you can use the[...]

23 Saving and Loading the Created Tones (Memory Mode) About the DELAY HOLD When DELAY is ON and a Patch that has a TYPE setting of HOLD is called up, the pedal indicator flashes slowly, indicating that the ME-50 is in recording standby. Afterwards, the following conditions are in effect. • Holding down the number pedal: begins recording • Relea[...]

24 Convenient Functions Tuning the Guitar (Tuner) The ME-50 features a built-in chromatic auto-tuner, which allows you to tune your guitar easily, without any need to change any of your connections. Moreover, the sound output is muted in Tuner mode, making it unnecessary for you to turn down your amp volume each time you tune. fig.0330 1. Press the[...]

25 Convenient Functions * When tuning guitars equipped with tremolo arms, you may find that after tuning one string, other strings may go out of tune. In such instances, first do a rough tuning of each string in order to get them close to their respective notes, then repeat with the fine-tuning of each string. 7. Press [EDIT/EXIT] to return to the [...]

26 Appendices Returning the ME-50 to Its Factory Settings (Factory Reset) You can restore all of the ME-50’s settings (thirty patches and tuner reference pitch) to what they were at the time the unit was shipped from the factory. This is referred to as “Factory Reset.” To perform Factory Reset, carry out the following steps. fig.0380 1. Turn [...]

27 Appendices Troubleshooting If there is no sound, or if it appears the ME-50 is not functioning correctly, first check the points below. If the following measures do not solve the problem, contact your dealer or the nearest Roland Service Center. No Sound/Volume is Low ● Are connections to other devices correctly made? Check the connections onc[...]

28 Appendices Specifications ME-50: Guitar Multiple Effects ● AD Conversion 24 bit + AF method (*) ● DA Conversion 24 bit ● Sampling Frequency 44.1 kHz ● Patches 30 (user) ● Effects Tone Modify Compressor Overdrive/Distortion Chorus Phaser Flanger Harmonist Tremolo Pan Vibrato UNI-V Rotary Delay Reverb Noise Suppressor Effects for Express[...]

29 Patch List BANK NO. Description 1 1 Lead distortion sound with sustain. 2 Loud rock Patch effective with low sound. 3 Persistent twin lead sound. 2 1 Solid drive sound, perfect for lead. 2 Crunch sound with particularly rough distortion. 3 Organ style Patch that uses the ROTARY effect. 3 1 Patch with stack amp style distortion. 2 Clean sound eff[...]

30 Factory Settings BANK NO. TONE MODIFY Expression Pedal COMPRESSOR OVERDRIVE/DISTORTION TYPE PEDAL MODE EXPRESSION SUSTAIN LEVEL TYPE DRIVE BOTTOM TONE LEVEL 1 1 OFF VOLUME WAH OFF MODERN DS 68 68 56 41 2 PRESENCE VOLUME WAH OFF LOUD 50 72 62 45 3 FAT VOLUME WAH 13 34 MODERN OD 100 62 62 41 2 1 FAT VOLUME WAH OFF RAT 84 72 62 41 2 OFF VOLUME WAH [...]

31 Factory Settings MODULATION DELAY NS REVERB MASTER LEVEL TYPE RATE DEPTH E.LEVEL TYPE TIME FEEDBACK LEVEL THRESHOLD TYPE LEVEL Off 100–500 ms 68 19 56 20 Off 50 Off Off 20 Off 50 HARMONIST 0 40 30 100–500 ms 94 24 34 20 HALL 5 50 Off 100-500 ms 72 29 50 20 HALL 18 50 Off Off 20 Off 50 ROTARY 80 50 50 Off 20 SPRING 10 50 ST CHORUS 1 13 84 29 [...]

32 Blank Chart BANK NO. TONE MODIFY Expression Pedal COMPRESSOR OVERDRIVE/DISTORTION TYPE PEDAL MODE EXPRESSION SUSTAIN LEVEL TYPE DRIVE BOTTOM TONE LEVEL 1 1 2 3 2 1 2 3 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 5 1 2 3 6 1 2 3 7 1 2 3 8 1 2 3 9 1 2 3 0 1 2 3[...]

33 Blank Chart MODULATION DELAY NS REVERB MASTER LEVEL TYPE RATE DEPTH E.LEVEL TYPE TIME FEEDBACK LEVEL THRESHOLD TYPE LEVEL[...]

34 Index Numerics 0-30 ms .......................................... 15 -1 OCTAVE .................................. 19 +1 OCTAVE ................................. 19 100-500 ms .................................... 15 25-125 ms ...................................... 15 400-2000 ms .................................. 15 A ACOUSTIC ...................[...]

35 This product complies with the requirements of European Directive 89/336/EEC. For EU Countries For Canada This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations. Cet appareil numérique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur du Canada. NOTIC[...]

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