Boss ME-80

I've owned different pedals, but for last few years I've played guitar-straight-to-amp and haven't bothered myself with pedalboards. I had never owned a multi-fx before, although I had tried few zoom units which some friends had years ago and those couldn't impress me as they were lagging and I couldn't find a good tone. Anyway, as technology develops, I decided to give it one more try and was torn choosing between HD500X, GT-100 and ME-80 (yes, there's GT-1000, Helix etc, but that's in another price range). Unfortunately any of those units were not available to try in local store so I had to decide only by the price and reviews. I started with ME-80, because it seemed almost the thing what I want. It's with lot of knobs, so I can modify the sound quickly and easily without going into deep menus. I thought if I'm not satisfied with it, I can always return it and try HD500X or GT-100, but after messing it for a while, I decided to keep it. It has every effect I ever need and they all work brilliantly (tera echo is absolutely amazing). It's also good that some effects can be used under several sections (chorus, phaser, boost, delays etc) and it's possible to turn them off and on together with saved patches. I use memory mode and manual mode both and getting to switch between them and edit them on the go, is something I really need. There are few cons of course as well. It took some time to dial high gain sound and what I finally found is fairly okay. I'm still on the search for better one, but I'm sure it's there. If not, I can just connect it to loop and use amp channels instead. Other con is that it doesn't have ext loop, it's possible to use it only in front of an amp, in amp loop (using amp channels for gain) or connect it directly to amp loop. But 4 cable method is not possible. Wah is bit sterile, looper is only 38 seconds and loop patch can't be stored. But probably all this is bit too much to ask for a fx-unit for this price.

If you need alot of different effects and buying each separate pedal for that will break the bank, then this is certainly a unit worth to try. You'll have most of BOSS effect pedals just by your feet which all sound amazing.

I've chosen Boss ME-80 for a main simple reason: You can edit everything you like with physical knobs on panel! That's it! No hidden screen menus! Is that simple and straightforth!!
Aside this, is a high quallity guitar multi effects unit!
So, let's see the main pros & cons:

Pros:
Hands on operation (back to basics!)
Quallity of amps & effects (9 COSM amps, 8 categories of effects)
Looper & freeze function!
Memory & manual mode!

Cons:
Just one con (for me!)
There is only an "old school" 2 digits small screen, so it's not so easy to recognize presets names!

Conclusion: A fantastic retro "old school" guitar fx unit with all controls given clearly on panel!! Highly recommended, if you like this direct style-function!

I have used this unit solidly for three years, for rehearsals and gigging, and it is the only one you'll need. The effects are first-rate, as you'd expect from Boss, and the value is remarkable comparing to the separate cost of each effect.
PRO's: The unit is small, light, and the battery backup feature is very useful. The knobs are easy to see and use, and so much quicker to adjust than stepping through menus (which you can still do if you must). Very robust construction. Great effects with very low noise. Everything you'll ever need. Loads of patches to be found on the web. You can save your own to your computer. But the preset ones cover 90% of what you'll need.
CON's: The only things I don't like is that you must use a separate plugpack, and that the upper row of switches can be tricky to use without standing on something else. It is just a little cramped, but you can always use a separate MIDI controller if this is a problem.

I find this pedal very beautiful, the buttons were placed in a way I find practical, It doesn't give me a hard time configuring, and I enjoy studying it. Boss ME-80 gives me so many effects and customization sets, I still haven't seen all of them. I like to solo, so combining the Wah Wah with some other effects it's amazing, and I don't need to go trought a lot of efforts to find what I need, every "section" is well described. Lastly, with the USB port, its amazingly easy to connect to my computer and record my songs, noise free, delay free, it's completely stable and I use it everyday for my recordings and rehersals.