Boss ME 80 vs GT 100 [2023 Review]

Learning the guitar does not stop in the spot where you master the strings. If you can say you know how to play the guitar, then you must also know about guitar pedals.

There are different types of pedals for different purposes, and given the fact that there are billions of brands out there in the market, it makes the decision process a lot difficult. We know that you also do not want to spend thousands of dollars on one, too, you did not even pay for that much for your guitar anyways.

We are not denying that high-end pedals might sound better, but you will probably end up with something much more bigger and difficult to use. If you are a beginner, getting a multi-effect pedal might solve your every problem when deciding which guitar pedal to get.

The advantage of multi-effect guitar pedals is that they include lots of options and it saves you to buy 50 separate pedals to find out how they work and how they sound. That being said, in this Boss ME 80 vs GT 100 review we will look at two of the most popular multi-effect pedals in the market: Boss ME 80 vs GT 100.

If you are wondering what if the difference between these two guitar pedals, you should keep reading our Boss ME 80 vs GT 100 review because, in a bit, we will explore every detail about these two.

If you are unsure about which one is a better option for your needs, you can find the answer here. Here in this Boss ME 80 vs GT 100 review, we collected everything you need to know to compare them according to your personal needs.

If you are interested in this model, keep reading our Boss ME 80 vs GT 100 review for more information below.

Boss ME 80 Review

Features: The first thing you will notice when you look at Boss ME 80 is probably will be the knobs. There are lots of them because ME 80 offers a variety of settings. However, this should not scare you at all. Even a beginner can use them because the effects are grouped by their type.

Boss ME 80 has released with Boss’s COSM technology. This feature will allow you to have preamp settings, and explore your imagination and inspiration without having a limit. You can mix those settings in every way you can imagine and have a unique piece of art of your own.

Thanks to the variety of effects and the easy navigation through the screen, you can mix the effects up and combine them without any effort. There is also something amazing about ME 80, which is you can save your settings using any of the 36 memory slots.

Another thing that is unique to ME 80 is, you can manually change the effects. Owing to the footswitch, you can switch between the effects you have learned before without leaning down to the floor to change them.

Boss ME 80 is designed to be used everywhere. Be it a concert or a music class, you can use this multi-effect guitar pedal without worrying about where to power it. This is all thanks to the fact that you can use batteries to use your pedal, which offers true portability.

Boss ME 80

Boss ME 80 and Boss GT 100 share a lot of similarities because as you might have already known, they are made by the same company. So, we can say that they have the quality, which is durable and reliable. Without further ado, let’s look at the main differences between these two guitar pedal models.

Both of these guitar pedals have a display. However, GT 100 has a more versatile and more reliable displayer than ME 80. The one used in ME 80 is, to be honest, outdated and you cannot see in modern guitar pedal models and it does not really show much info.

When working with a guitar pedal, it is really important to see what you are doing so the display is the core feature for that. For the case of display, GT 100 wins that fight with its backlit LCD.

We are not saying that the ME 80’s screen is not working or it is of bad quality. It just does not have the versatility of GT 100 and we are comparing them.

ME 80 comes with an input impedance of 1 M ohm (guitar); 27 k ohms (Aux In). On the other hand, GT 100 has the value of 1 M ohm (guitar); 47 k ohms (Aux In). If you are not sure what this is, this is the part that measures the resistance from your guitar.

Even though it sounds bad, you should prefer the higher value with input impedance because that means higher volume and better sound. As you can see, both Boss ME 80 and Boss GT 100 have the same value for that. However, GT 100 beats ME 80 for the value in AUX-In.

This means that if you will be using your guitar pedal through an AUX more, you should prefer GT 100 since you will get a better sound.

One of the most important issues between these two is probably the money. Their costs are definitely another aspect that we have to consider in our Boss ME 80 vs GT 100 review.  Both ME 80 and GT 100 had a decrease in their costs since the first time Boss released them. However, GT 100 has always been more costly than ME 80.

The main difference between these two multi-effect guitar pedals is their purpose of use. You can use ME 80 almost anywhere thanks to its portability and ability to work without power. So, we can say that it is made for stage use and performances.

On the other hand, GT 100 requires to be connected to a power station at all times, which limits its area of use. But you will have no problems using GT 100 at home for recording or at the studio for whatever you want.

If you do not consider this main difference, we can say that these two are pretty similar to each other in terms of their features.

If you are planning to use your pedal online, MIDI connectors are probably what you are looking for in guitar pedals. If that is the case for you, ME 80 is not your ideal choice since it lacks MIDI connectors completely while GT 100 has them.

Ext Loop feature is also one of the newest aspects of guitar pedals. Even though ME 80 lacks this one again, GT 100 comes preloaded with it. Ext Loop feature is known for putting sound effects in the best way possible to your music. Thanks to that, GT 100 gives you the option to change the location of your pre-amp.

Your audio, as well as the way you loop and test audio, is influenced by the sequence of effects on your pedal. The sequence of effects on the ME 80 is unchanged which means that you cannot adjust it. When you choose an effect, it goes in a particular order without giving you the freedom to choose which is really frustrating.

Boss GT 100 allows you to switch and adjust effects to create various sound configurations and offers you freedom of creativity. This means the effects of GT 100 are not in any particular order.

Winner of Boss ME 80

Now it is time to declare who wins the battle of Boss ME 80 vs GT 100. Even though these two multi-effect guitar pedals are from the same brand, they have differences on their own. According to those, which one to buy is definitely up to your preferences.

However, according to our Boss ME 80 vs GT 100 review, the winner is GT 100 because of numerous reasons. First of all, GT 100 is considered an upgraded version of ME 80. Whatever ME 80 has, GT 100 has it better.

The display screen of GT 100 is easier to use and better than ME 80’s. Along with that, you will have more freedom when it comes to effects and creation with GT 100. We think that it the core of guitar pedals so it was a very important detail we took into account when we made our decision.

However, if you are planning to use your pedal on the go, you should pick ME 80 because it offers more portability. You can use ME 80 with batteries but GT 100 requires a power supply to work.

Conclusion: Boss ME 80 [2023 Review]

Both Boss ME 80 vs GT 100 are powerful multi-effect guitar pedals that can make you feel like you have another guitar. These are from the same brand so they share the same quality and many similar aspects.

Yes, they have more similarities than differences but in most cases, they are used for different kinds of situations. For that reason, think about why you want a guitar pedal and make your decision based on that.

We can say that ME 80 is better for performance because of its portability and ability to work even without a power supply. We recommend ME 80 for the artists on the go. On the other hand, its competitor GT 100 is best suitable for studios or homes because it needs to be constantly connected to a power supply.

Another thing is, GT 100 seems to have more to offer than ME 80 in terms of features and effects. With GT 100, you will have long hours of musical exploration. We hope you liked our Boss ME 80 vs GT 100 review and it was helpful.