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Boss MD-500 Modulation Pedal

Name: Boss MD-500 Modulation Pedal
Brand: Boss
Rating: 4.5 (16 reviews)

Modulation Multi-effects Pedal with 12 Modulation Modes, Customizable Control Settings, Graphic Display, Patch Memories, Selectable Buffered or True Bypass, Stereo I/O, and 32-bit/96kHz Processing

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Item ID: MD500

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The Most Powerful BOSS Modulation Pedal Yet

The MD-500 multi-effects pedal harnesses all the power of BOSS's popular DD-500 in a stompbox loaded to the brim with gorgeous-sounding modulation effects. Tonal adventurers will never run out of inspiration, thanks to the 12 onboard modulation types. And editing these sounds can be a straightforward affair or take tone tweakers down a deep well of options and sonic perfection. BOSS has a long legacy of lauded modulation effects, such as their CH-1 Chorus and TR-2 Tremolo. The MD-500 is like your own personal library of all these industry-defining tones.

12 inspiring modulation effects

As awe-inspiring as they can be, many modulation effects are relegated to a couple of small moments in your band's set. Add all those little parts up and that's a lot of pedals eating up your unbearably heavy pedalboard. Or you can place the BOSS MD-500 on the board and have instant access to every mod tone out there. This makes the pedal an ideal partner for stage, studio, and home use. And you'll find everything from the warm analog-sounding choruses BOSS helped make famous to modern Slicer and Ring Mod sounds, all being processed through the pedal's astounding 32-bit/96kHz.

Deep options, simple workflow

Even with a world of tonal shaping onboard, the BOSS MD-500 modulation pedal is equally suited for control freaks and the plug-and-play types of the world. The pedal's intuitive layout of top-mounted controls allows you to fine-tune your sound's depth, level, rate, and more. You're even able to save your custom presets with a few pushes of a button. But when it's time to go deeper, you'll find the bright display and vast menus urge you to conjure every tone you can dream up.

Thoughtful user interface

Once they got it in their hands, Sweetwater musicians — even keys, synth, and bass players since it works equally well on them all — were thrilled to see a versatile set of inputs and outputs. True stereo performance will split your modulated tones to two separate amplifiers, creating a tone that simply has to be experienced to be believed. With its ability to be switched from true-bypass to buffered operation, there isn't anywhere in your signal chain that the MD-500 can't handle. And you have up to 297 preset locations for all your sonic creations.

BOSS MD-500 Modulation Multi-effects Pedal Features:

Modulation multi-effects pedal
32-bit/96kHz processing delivers studio-level sound
Unlimited creative possibilities with 12 distinctive modulation modes
Customizable control settings for unrivaled real-time expression
Graphic display for easy-to-follow operation while performing and editing
Onboard patch memories for storing your favorite effect configurations
Selectable buffered or true-bypass operation
True stereo operation
Tap tempo rate control

Resources

2017 Summer NAMM Rumors: CONFIRMED

Jul 5, 2017

BOSS MD-500 Modulation Pedal Demo

Jun 29, 2017

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Tech Specs

Pedal Type: Multi-modulation effects
Inputs: 2 x 1/4" (instrument in), 1 x 1/4" (control/expression)
Outputs: 2 x 1/4"
MIDI I/O: In/Out
USB: 1 x Type B
Bypass Switching: Switchable - buffered/true bypass
Power Source: 9V DC power supply (sold separately)
Power Usage: 225mA
Batteries: 4 x AA batteries
Height: 2.5"
Width: 6.75"
Depth: 5.43"
Weight: 2 lbs. 4 oz.
Manufacturer Part Number: MD-500

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Reviews

4.6

Customer Photos & Videos

To my ears it does all of the modulation sounds are good if not fantastic. I don't think any of the effect types are bad. You may have to sit there and tweak parameters for a while before you end up with something you like, but the potential is there. Now, if you're looking for a super specific sound that you can only get out of a specific pedal, the MD-500 might not be able to pull it off and you'd be better off buying whatever that other pedal is. But for a pedal that does multiple effect types very well, allows for lots of tweaking, and allows you to save as many presets as you'd reasonably want to, this pedal is an outstanding deal. While it's perfect - for example, the standard presets it comes with are mostly blah - I gave it 5 stars because as far as value goes it's kind of insane.

For this price point I highly doubt you'll find anything comparable. .

Cons
- Bult-in presets weren't the best in my opinion and initially I was somewhat underwhelmed because with my other big box pedals they impressed me right out of the gate.
- Sometimes all of the tweaking parameters can get a bit overwhelming. For example, some of the patches have over a dozen parameters you can tweak. In the long run I don't think this is a real con - a pro, in fact - because the more control you have over your sound, the better. But at first it can seem a bit daunting. That being said, it's still easy to use right out of the box.

Pros
- All of the effect types sound good if not outstanding.
- The usefulness of this pedal versus what it costs gives it incredible value.
- The ability to tweak lots of parameters to dail in the sound you want.
- Being able to run two effects simultaneously is fantastic and adds even more to its value.
- I really like the fact that the screen on the pedal is big enough to allow you to see multiple editing parameters at once, as compared to the Strymon big box pedals that only show one parameter at a time (not a big deal, but it is nice).
- Did I mention its outstanding value? Just want to make sure.

If you're looking for a multi-effects pedal, just buy this one already. Even if it only did the standard mods like chorus, tremolo, vibrato, vibe, phaser, and flanger, it'd be a great product. But then to have fun extras like slicer, dimension, and overtone just put it over the top. It's a super fun pedal to have.

PS - Value vs. cost is insane... Buy it. lol

I have one in a rack at my practice space controlled by midi and another on a Pedaltrain Jr. I was underwhelmed with the pedal until if realized the INSERT LOOP is the most important feature. This allows you to virtually move the effect placement before or after overdrive in each preset. For example, I find chorus is more subtle if you put it before dirt and rotary sounds better after. This is the same for phaser and tremolo. Since this can be done per patch, you're sure to get the best possible effects order with all effects in the unit.

I had the RV-500 and the DD-500 prior to getting the MD-500. My only complaints about the MD-500 are the same ones I have for the RV-500 and DD-500: the computer-based editing software is not very intuitive and you have to go deep into understanding of MIDI if you want to control the pedal with external controllers. That being said, these pedals aren't bad for kind of stuff, but I think they could be better with an improved UI/UX in the editor tools.

BUT now on to the MD-500 specifically....

I've seen people complaining about the sound quality of the MD-500's effects relative to those of the DD-500 and RV-500 and I don't share those same concerns. I think the MD-500 sounds great! I have several different version of chorus, flanger, phaser, uni-vibe, etc. and the MD-500 is really good at doing them all. Is it as perfect as some of my individual pedals? No, but I wouldn't expect that. It's the same as with the DD-500 and the RV-500: if I wanted the _best possible_ version of the specific effect, I'd use a dedicated pedal. Where these multi-effects units shine is when you need 80-90%-good-enough effects and you want a bunch of them with handy presets all in one box. So if you want the flexibility and options of a multi-effect unit, the MD-500 is excellent. If you want the best possible versions of each effect, maybe consider getting individual pedals. However, I think most people will be more than adequately pleased with this pedal given its purpose and intended use.

Personally, being able to replace chorus, flanger, phaser, and uni-vibe with one pedal on my "big board" will be extremely handy. Plus, I get other effects for free that I didn't already have on my board, like rotary, tremolo, etc. The MD-500 has impressed me and I'll be enjoying all the versatility and control options it affords me using my other 500-series pedals and the ES-5 switcher.