PART 1:
First Impressions ― This is What's Great About the ME-70

First, let’s compare the new ME-70 to its predecessor, the ME-50.

What interested me the most was its sound. The improvements in sound quality achieved on the latest DSP chip was beyond what I had imagined.

In addition to the spatial sounds that have been popular in the previous model, the distortion sounds were also amazing. ME-70 gives musicians a diverse range of tones with 10 types of distortion effects. And since you can combine this with its newly included preamp, you can create all types of distortion on a single unit.

In terms of usability, most of the parameters can be controlled on individual knobs just as on the ME-50, letting you create your tones just as you would on a stompbox. Whereas the ME-50 had three footswitches, the ME-70 has four, giving you more latitude in manipulating your effects or retrieving patches.

In terms of sound, the ME-70 gives you 36 presets (4 patches x 9 banks), and also lets you store 36 of your own patches on the unit itself. This should be more than you need for normal use.

It has more types of effects than the ME-50, and it also comes with a variety of functions that reflect the designers' attention to detail.

And, at last, the ME-70 comes with a "phrase-loop function," which is also included in the RC series and GT-10. Your solo performances can sound huge, larger than life, as you jam over layers of loops that you create on the fly.

The Difference Between the ME-70 and Stompboxes

Next, we're going to go over the benefits of multi-effects units for beginners who may be reading this.

1. Easy set up
Setting up a multi-effects unit is much quicker and easier than setting up a collection of stompboxes. In fact, if you use many effects, a multi-effects unit will also save you space. And since the ME series can run on battery power, you can set up fast and easy, which is especially useful if you don’t have much time between acts. Getting stressed during set up can affect your performance, so easy set up is crucial for a guitarist.

2. Switching between patches
If you change your tone frequently or perform songs from a variety of genres in a single performance, you can store your patches (tones) on your multi-effects unit and change your sound dramatically for different songs. And once you set it up, you can retrieve that exact same tone anytime you want, which helps you concentrate on your playing and not on the technical details.

3. Cost performance
You can dramatically cut down on your purchase price compared to buying a large number of stompboxes. And during rehearsals, for example, you can try out other effects that you may not normally use.

• If you had a stompbox for every effect on ME-70, here's what it will look like.

Reading this far, you might be thinking, "What's the point of having stompboxes in the first place?" First of all, stompboxes have unique tones that are only available on that particular model. And there's also the fun of creating your own tones by connecting them in different combinations.

If you like your stompboxes, we recommend that you use them in combination with a multi-effects unit. We're sure you will find a way to create the sound you want by utilizing the features you like on both of these types of effects.

You can supply power to your ME-70 via an AC adaptor. The optional PSA-series can be used with ME-70, which is also used to power the compact series. In fact, the PSA-series have been redesigned and are now lighter and smaller.

The PSA-series are designed to stay out of the way even when you need to connect multiple adaptors to your power strip. And because PSA-series are designed to handle up to 500mA, they can be used with a parallel cable to supply power to more than one effects unit.

•Redesigned PSA-series on the left, previous PSA-series on the right.