Boss ME-90 Multi-Fx

[Bob Zaod]

I think the main plus for the ME-90 over a Pod Go is the price; it's undercutting it by $150.

At $350 (US) i don't think there's a lot of gear out there matching the ME-90 for value, to be honest.

The MX5 is a pretty good value @399 but IMO it lacks sorely in delay and reverb quality. For me to say that, you know it's bad because I am not picky about either effect.

 

[Sascha Franck]

no product designer on the planet is going to think a product with per-encoder LED rings or scribble strips is more WYSIWYG than a simple digital delay pedal with non-volatile memory

As long as the latter isn't programmable, no.
But the ME 90 is programmable, so any WYSIWYG goes outta the window as soon as you make use of that programmability.

Seriously, I wish someone would finally come up with something like lotsa knobs with LED rings.
Fwiw, that's one thing where the VAmp was majorly winning over anything else at that time. Same goes for the BCR2000. And yes, pretty much genuine Behringturd designs.

 

[BrownNote71]

The MX5 is a pretty good value @399 but IMO it lacks sorely in delay and reverb quality. For me to say that, you know it's bad because I am not picky about either effect.

Ampero 2 Stomp at $380 is a beast too, especially if you like Plexis.

 

[dronerstone]

As long as the latter isn't programmable, no.
But the ME 90 is programmable, so any WYSIWYG goes outta the window as soon as you make use of that programmability.

Seriously, I wish someone would finally come up with something like lotsa knobs with LED rings.
Fwiw, that's one thing where the VAmp was majorly winning over anything else at that time. Same goes for the BCR2000. And yes, pretty much genuine Behringturd designs.

The hybrid WYSIWYG and programmable approach can be a good thing some times, imho:

When I was still using my Katana as a clean platform amp, I saved my (single) go-to setting as a preset. I usually went by the knobs, but if someone bumped them (or even worse: played/tweaked my amp without me knowing) and I needed quick access, it's only one push of a button away.

These days the Katana is my power amp.

 

[Digital Igloo]

As long as the latter isn't programmable, no.
But the ME 90 is programmable, so any WYSIWYG goes outta the window as soon as you make use of that programmability.

When speaking within the confines of hardware product/UI design (which is what I was doing), WYSIWYG is not necessarily related to programmability nor does it dictate that a physical knob's indicator must always point to its current state. In hardware, it deals with parameter mapping to dedicated tactile controls as opposed to menu diving. In software, it deals with the ability to enter data directly into a GUI that reflects the final interface; like Adobe Dreamweaver (or Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, Atlassian Confluence, etc.) vs. HTML.

I have no interest in Sascha Franck's definition of WYSIWYG; only what experienced product and UI designers understand WYSIWYG to be.

Fwiw, that's one thing where the VAmp was majorly winning over anything else at that time. Same goes for the BCR2000. And yes, pretty much genuine Behringturd designs.

Within the guitar processor space, sure. But the LED collar design was lifted from Mackie (HUI and Digital 8•Bus), like so many of their early "designs."

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I just wanted to pop here and note for anyone legitimately interested in this product, there's a Netflix documentary you also will probably be very interested in:

 

[Moe45673]

When speaking within the confines of hardware product/UI design (which is what I was doing), WYSIWYG is not necessarily related to programmability nor does it dictate that a physical knob's indicator must always point to its current state. In hardware, it deals with parameter mapping to dedicated tactile controls as opposed to menu diving. In software, it deals with the ability to enter data directly into a GUI that reflects the final interface; like Adobe Dreamweaver (or Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, Atlassian Confluence, etc.) vs. HTML.

I have no interest in Sascha Franck's definition of WYSIWYG; only what experienced product and UI designers understand WYSIWYG to be.

Within the guitar processor space, sure. But the LED collar design was lifted from Mackie (HUI and Digital 8•Bus), like so many of their early "designs."

Even so, B£#®!n&£® doesn't get a pass for their relatively few "genuine" designs when their empire was built on (and continues to be built on) blatant, unapologetic Xeroxing of other companies' real designs and trade dress.

As a software engineer for the last decade, can confirm.

A logical fallacy in Sascha's definition would be that, even if it was a unit that had no programmability and could only be used in manual mode, the three knobs for each model aren't always labelled correctly and thereby fail WYSIWYG. For example, for pitch shift:

Reductio Ad Absurdum? Sascha, you want to clarify?

 

[Sascha Franck]

I have no interest in Sascha Franck's definition of WYSIWYG; only what experienced product and UI designers understand WYSIWYG to be.

But I do exclusively have an interest in SF's definition of WYSIWYG.

And in my book, WYSIWYG stands for "what you see is what you get" (hah), no matter what UI designers try to make out of it. It's not WYSISWYG (what you see is sometimes what you get) that I (yes, I, because I'm the consumer) want but WYSIAWYG (take a wild guess what that A stands for...).

As easy as that.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Sascha, you want to clarify?

No need to clarify as I never said the ME 90 was fully WYSIWYG.

 

[Moe45673]

No need to clarify as I never said the ME 90 was fully WYSIWYG.

even in preset mode there is some wysiwyg. You can see which effect groupings (comp/od/mod/delay/etc) are on/off

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

even in preset mode there is some wysiwyg. You can see which effect groupings (comp/od/mod/delay/etc) are on/off

No it isn’t!!! (Oh, and just fyi, my definition of wysiwyg is “what you see is white, yellow, and green”)

 

[Sascha Franck]

even in preset mode there is some wysiwyg. You can see which effect groupings (comp/od/mod/delay/etc) are on/off

Some. Yeah.

 

[Moe45673]

Some. Yeah.

So I don't get your argument. You are now saying there is some WYSIWYG in both manual and preset mode. Yet you're also providing conflicting definitions on the term.

Not to mention, even a standard compressor pedal isn't WYSIWYG. I've never seen "Sustain" as a parameter in a studio compressor. So is the Boss CS-2 not WYSIWYG?

Finally, I have to ask, the Boss ME-90 is not WYSIWYG..... compared to what? The platonic ideal? The AxeFX3? The ME-5? The electrode signals when I got an ECG?

Again, Reductio Ad Absurdum. Your argument needs precision or it's just your opinion and to hell with what most people like. Which is fine, but if you're gonna go full libertarian you should remember that noone in libertarian societies wants to hear about your unevidenced opinion either.

 

[ragingplatypi]

With all my gear what I get is ultimately much more than what I see.

At first I just see bliss. Then what I get is bliss and frustration. Then I get even more bliss than I ever anticipated. Then I get bored. Then I get the surprise of rekindled love. Then I get 10-50% of my money back when I sell it to get something else. That’s a lot of getting.

 

[Moe45673]

With all my gear what I get is ultimately much more than what I see.

At first I just see bliss. Then what I get is bliss and frustration. Then I get even more bliss than I ever anticipated. Then I get bored. Then I get the surprise of rekindled love. Then I get 10-50% of my money back when I sell it to get something else. That’s a lot of getting.

I get it

 

[JCW308]

I just wanted to pop here and note for anyone legitimately interested in this product, there's a Netflix documentary you also will probably be very interested in:

Who is that guy?

 

[Moe45673]

Who is that guy?

CC DeVille

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

CC DeVille

I'm not sure I could imagine a more perfect Saturday night circa 1991 than CC DeVille as a contestant on American Gladiators, a bag of Chex mix, a 64 ounce cup of Mountain Dew, and a Musician's Friend catalog pining away for a Boss BE-5 while waiting for Headbanger's Ball to start up....

 

[yeky83]

When speaking within the confines of hardware product/UI design (which is what I was doing), WYSIWYG is not necessarily related to programmability nor does it dictate that a physical knob's indicator must always point to its current state. In hardware, it deals with parameter mapping to dedicated tactile controls as opposed to menu diving. In software, it deals with the ability to enter data directly into a GUI that reflects the final interface; like Adobe Dreamweaver (or Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, Atlassian Confluence, etc.) vs. HTML.

So for example, WYSIWYG means that there's dedicated Bass, Mid, and Treble knobs, not that those BMT knobs show the correct values...? Huh.

 

[yeky83]

As a software engineer for the last decade, can confirm.

A logical fallacy in Sascha's definition would be that, even if it was a unit that had no programmability and could only be used in manual mode, the three knobs for each model aren't always labelled correctly and thereby fail WYSIWYG. For example, for pitch shift:

View attachment 9038View attachment 9037



Reductio Ad Absurdum? Sascha, you want to clarify?

So are you saying the ME-90 is not WYSIWYG and @Digital Igloo was wrong? Huh, the plot thickens.

I get it

But do you see it?