Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 12:21:00 -0700 From: "Brigman, Corley" To: analogue@hyperreal.org Subject: info: Boss Se-70 multieffect & questions Ok, the first bit for the archives, more info on this beast: (hey, it's part analogue....and vocoders show up a lot on this list....) boss se-70 1/2 rack multieffect. what it is: 145 programs, 1-100 user programmable, 101-145 are presets, each with a unique algorithm (there are 45 total..see?) that you copy to edit. 45 algorithm includes 4 guitar multi setups, a couple bass multi setups, a keyboard multi, and many dedicated setups for reverb, chorus, flange, vocoder, hum cancellation, mixer, etc. lots of weird stuff. details: First, a (partial)list of effects (from memory): auto-wah, eq, noise suppressor, enhancer, de-esser, compressor/limiter, chorus (several types), flange, phaser, regular wah (I think), reverb (generic for guitar + several dedicated types), ring mod, slow gear, delay (several types), guitar synth, bass synth, hum canceller, vocal canceller, mixer, pitch shifter, maybe some others I can't remember? this does lots. Impressions: For reverb, it's decent. Better than all the other units I have used, at least as good as the Reflex I used to have (imho, of course). Has a hall, two rooms, and a plate. Pretty editable. The distortions are good, according to the manual they are actually analog. I believe it, with the levels high enough you can even get feedback in the distortion! Very analog sounding at least. The digital effects are very clean, hardly any noise coming out of this thing. Has some very wild options, an 8 voice chorus, a chorus with editable waveforms, a "band chorus" (which I didn't investigate yet), a 20-stage phaser, and a 20 tap delay (in 2000ms, what can you do with 20 taps??) It has some other options: Ring mod. This is my first ring mod I got to put whatever I wanted into, voice is very interesting, and I put a string pad through it (just what I was testing the unit with) and it was kinda metallic sounding. Fun anyway. This was also my first vocoder, and it's not what I was expecting. But I like it. I tried the typical voice-over-synth thing, it's decent for that. I also tried using my voice as both carrier and modulator, that was pretty cool as well. A nice warbling effect, maybe for background vocals or something. It also features a guitar/bass synth, a monophonic 1-osc synth with TVF/TVA, kind of like an SYB-3 i suppose. I think they are the same, just each one's tracking is different. Didn't play with it too much, but it's definitely a digital filter, Roland but still digital - reminds me of a 1080 filter or something. Programming: Can be tedious. One knob and a parameter forward/back. For a reverb with 10-15 parameters, not bad. For a 20-tap delay or a multi-setup with a lot of effects, it can take a lot of pushes of that parameter-forward button to get anywhere. Also, why can't you put a space in the name?!?!? Says you have to have an external pedal for this, what were they thinking? Anyone know of an editor for this thing? It's straightforward to edit though. There's a sampler in it (actually 2), although I didn't You can assign up to 4 midi controllers, including pitch bend, aftertouch, and various CCs to just about anything, plus it takes an expression pedal in the back (prob. intended for wah, although it can modulate anything). So you can get reasonable external MIDI control. Final: A good unit, definitely worth what I paid for it. Also, lots of cool effects I wouldn't get any other way, at least not right now. I think analog effects are a little better (from what I've played with its phaser, the Boss RPH-10 I have filling the other 1/2rack space is better) but they are very nice. Questions: I didn't get the Algorithm Guide (?), just the owner's manual. The owner's manual is pretty worthless, a standard Roland manual I guess. It doesn't even list all the effects in the manual - I had to go scroll through the presets and look at the algorithms to see what it can do! Most of it is pretty obvious, but some aren't - does anyone have this anywhere or is it online somewhere? Anyway thanks! corley brigman intel corp. corley.brigman@intel.com speaking for me, not for intel.