Boss MD-500 vs Strymon Mobius Comparison Demo with Tom Quayle

[@T-Hawkeyes]

12:52 Boss Chorus 13:13 Strymon Chorus 13:35 Boss Flanger 13:58 Strymon Flanger 14:21 Boss Phaser 14:45 Strymon Phaser 15:12 Boss Vibe 15:35 Strymon Vibe 16:01 Boss Rotary 16:25 Strymon Rotary 16:48 Boss Filter 17:12 Strymon Filter

[@Deeplycloseted435]

T- Hawk thanks dude.....so much yackin’

[@TalleyWacker1000]

I think the Mobius sounds killer! Keep reading that the MD-500 is better but it sure as hell doesn't sound like it!

[@CoolBreezeMusic7]

dude i can't even focus on the FX with this outstanding playing!!

[@febriandarifqi]

1:33 Don't forget to breathe, tom. You sounds like really surprised to vibrato effect :D

[@azhar49100]

I don't have the mobius. But I like the way it sounds.. warmer. I've a MD500 & H9. I find that the MD500 sounds brighter in most settings, and it's ability to stack two different mod effects and the slicer effect is a plus. While the h9 sounds darker with lots of parameters.

[@antonyfaulkner8649]

A perfectly executed 1 on 1 comparison. Is this a KZbin first? Nice one Tom

[@WackyMadly]

I have the mobius - Think they're both good but for chorus boss has the edge, mobius has a mid range push for some reason. You do good demo's Tom, excellent player! thanks

[@alexwong7]

On the whole I preferred the Boss, especially the chorus which is really lacking in analog warmth on the Strymon. Having said that, I have a Möbius and I wont be parting with it because the Boss wont fit on my board. It is a that little bit bigger and everything just fits on my board as it is.

[@Topsy_Krett]

By bigger, you must mean from front to rear, because the Boss's width is actually a hair narrower than the Strymon. I owned a Mobius before selling it after I bought the MD-500. (I liked both but couldn't justify keeping both)

[@StickmanCyclops]

All 3 of the guitar pedals are good. The Delay. The Echo. The Mod. The mod is a surprise hit. I don't know that you need both the delay and echo because they share some of the same sounds. The Delay arguably is the better pedal because it gives you those rare reverbs, like Tera Echo, you need too. However, my pedal--and maybe it's just mine--is a bit noisy even through Radial DI box, whereas the reverb is silent as people in "The Quiet Place," so I wound up keeping all of them at $250/pop used.

[@eattofuholmes]

It sounds like the mobius has a high shelf on the effect comparatively - I can tell even on laptop speakers. I bet you can get them sounding pretty spot on with just a bit a tweaking... Presets may be cleaner on the mobius but I'm gonna tweak and fiddle anyways - this vid sold me on the boss.

[@CoolBreezeMusic7]

the mobius sounds much more rounded in the bottom end yeah something was up with EQ

[@dyonight]

Exactely my thoughts, roll of the highs on the Boss and it's there. For someone who want to put the time it's the better unit. Not to mention that it can run two effects at once instead of one, pretty hard to justify a Strymon unless the simpler interface is preferable.

[@Robert.Buchholtz]

Dear Tom. I would like to suggest doing the same comparison (MD-500 vs Moebius) but this time using 2 microphones and the stereo loop from the JC-40 and also pointing out what is the setting you are using (for example there are many chorus at both units, for a fair comparison it should be set up quite similar, CE-1 vs Ce-1, etc). I believe this could bring us a better understanding of the possibilities of both units. Best regards.

[@jmproductions59]

I have a Strymon Timeline and BigSky, both of which I love. However, I have a Mobius and tried to love it for years, but it sounds so thin through my Mesa Express 5:50 with my Les Paul, I am giving up on it. Maybe mine has a problem. There are a few flanger and trem settings which are okay but I can't get happy with almost any other patch. The Boss looks like it might be the way to go...

[@NicholasGreenwood]

Excellent video. The Mobius sounds darker to me overall, in a way that I don't like compared to the MD-500. Plus, the MD-500 has the simul mode. Boss wins again. Strongly considering getting one.

[@ianjensen7989]

Boss is'nt so much in your face as the strymon, the strymon is a cleaner but harder digital sound.

[@MNGuitars]

Tom's suuuch a beast

[@orryfishburne5326]

I love your choice in amp!! Im using a JC40 and a Egnater Tweaker 40 combo in "stereo". I say stereo with quotation marks cause i have them stacked ontop of each other and not side to sides Lol. Im trying to decide if i want to add the strymon or the M500 or go for the M200 for budget reasons. Im really stuck on the Strymon or M500. Ive always love the quality of Strymon but hate the price tag, and ive never had any problem with any boss effects especially their modulation. I guess im leaning more on the Boss side but the Strymon was more about owning and using something ive always dreamed of and not settling for the cheaper option.

[@groen828]

And what did you buy in the end?

[@orryfishburne5326]

@@groen828 i ended up getting the MD-500. Its a really good pedal, extremely powerful, but not perfect. Some effects sound too "digital" for my tastes, but its still an extremely useful pedal on my board, and the functionality is far superior to the Mobius. I am curious on how the GFI Systems Synesthesia sounds though, but im just going to stick with the MD-500

[@widowmaker5544]

i think the MD500 Barely wins because of the ability to use two effects at the same time and also it's 225mA of power where as the Mobius is 300mA

[@BernieBriocon]

Very flexible hot demo 👌 ✨

[@pCeLobster]

One does not simply beat Boss at modulation.

[@joseca7509]

Actually I prefer the boss on this, the effects Sound some what more analog ish

[@kuchdizzle88]

Like the boss better for most of the modes except the filter. Mobius wins on the filter mode to my ears

[@kuchdizzle88]

ya, I think it's kind of splitting hairs. In most modes I thought they sounded good but you might prefer one or the other just based on the way it's voiced.

[@Deeplycloseted435]

I feel like the Mobius sounds heavy handed on every demo, and it sounds more like a decent modulation plugin. I dunno, my least favorite Strymon by far. I sent one back after comparing it to Valhalla Ubermod, which sounded much better to my ears. Analog for chorus/flanger/phaser always......otherwise software is fine when recording.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

@@Deeplycloseted435 agree the Strymon Timeline is better.

[@joelgold5991]

Having been the owner of a Mobius I have to say that all of the strymon pedals present some really nice artifacts into the signal chain. The boss has a lot of functionality but as far as tone goes it seems to be very digital and somewhat cold. That being said both of them are quite useful it's kind of like comparing a tape delay to a digital delay. I definitely feel that the strymon products are geared towards people who have a vintage year and are looking for very specific artifacts and their tone ality which the boss does not present.

[@Deeplycloseted435]

Joel Gold really?....I find the Mobius to be very heavy handed and digital sounding. Definitely not their best pedal. Its always too much it seems. I’m beginning to feel like everyone can hear a Strymon pedal from a mile away.

[@joelgold5991]

Kevin Harris I would certainly say that strymon pedals add these artifacts even when they're not engaged, maybe it's something about the preamp in them and having played the boss pedal and actually owning a ce1 I can replicate the ce1 with the strymon pedal more easily than with the boss pedal which is odd since the C1 is a boss pedal. I guess we all have different things that we are looking for in tonality and of course the amplifiers that we are running them through will also make a huge difference. Since on many of my amplifiers I don't have an effects Loop I'm running them front end and for me the strymon absolutely just kills the boss. I will Muk around with the boss some more with my Hughes & Kettner in the effects Loop to see if it yields something different but I can say through my JMP Marshalls the strymon sounds fantastic

[@loutielli]

I would have liked to have seen what presets were being used on the 500 during the first half of the video. Some were shown early on.

[@trey81373]

6:52 - dope.

[@martinnitschmusic]

does Tom use quartal tuning?

[@frankotorresmusic6791]

martin nitsch Yup. EADGCF

[@StickmanCyclops]

So, um, overpriced Strymon sounds like shit compared to Boss here. Strymon wins on only the Rotary and the Filter. Boss gets it on the others. And while it's hard to compete with Boss' flange sound which is arguably the best ever, Strymon's flanger just sounds like a phaser or something. There's no freakin' flange there.

[@TheKnutselaar]

The Strymon pedals (bigsky and timeline too) can get me to sleep with smoothness whereas the boss pedals (rv and dd too) sound like they want to stick a knife in my ears, sounding extremely harsh. I really want to prefer the boss pedals because of the great features and lower price but can’t.

[@silvebackmgmt.8929]

The BOSS 500 series pedals offer per preset eq'ing that Strymon can't touch; something to consider...

[@sghrd]

BOSS wins, for me.

[@wayneboucher4883]

hands down

[@jorgeband1111]

I hear too much mids on the moebius too much present the effect, in your face, I prefer the Boss, it sounds warmer and natural to me

[@angrygoldfish]

The Mobius generally sounds better, but it's miles behind in terms of features. I wonder will Strymon ever update their big box line to be more feature-competitive.

[@EverettDudgeon138]

Shocked there’s no Harmonizer.

[@daikuone]

Was expecting the 24-96 processing to make the difference, but I got to say the Mobius sounds better to me across the board. Surprised! Not so sure this is true of the RV-500. Looking forward to that comparison.

[@hcc9587]

daikuone I agree, boss has the higher processing yet strymon still sounds more hifi and modern than the competition. Boss still sounds like...well Boss

[@mafeitete]

STRYMON kicksoff boss ! that's all!

[@wabisabi6802]

Looks like the Strymon has a certain kind of color.

[@heyhowsitgoing1721]

Had to laugh...plays a Roland Jazz Chorus with the chorus turned up on the amp, then at 6:34, turns on chorus effect on the MD-500. I think he's a chorus fan.

[@jmproductions59]

Pretty sure the chorus is off on the JC

[@jmt-ri6ed]

its on the clean channel

[@RyanMcQuen]

Wow, the Boss sounds considerably better. The Strymon sounds artificial here.

[@thepedalpress]

Strymon sounds like something I'd like to own. The Boss sounds like something I'd eventually sell.

[@MrMicherman]

why there is no delay and reverb ??? BOSS please...

[@loon894]

Because delay and reverb are only time based effects, which per definition are not modulation. Since the md500 is a modulation pedal, there are only modulation effects on it. Btw, the strymon does have neither reverb nor delay as well.

[@allentaylor3325]

Sweet fast jazzy lick at 11:30-11:40 : {)

[@allentaylor3325]

Good demo but what's with the sore on his head. Might want to get that checked out. Should be photoshopped out. Maybe apply some cover up to that bad boy. Thanks for the demo though. Think I'm gonna go with a Strymon Lex actually because all I'm really after is an amazing Leslie sound. Don't need a lot of gimmicks I won't use.

[@neloramirezguitar]

Allen Taylor the fuck???seriously???

[@rgarcia4412]

??

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

WTF? I don't see a sore on his head- some balding spots but that goes with aging dude.

[@allentaylor3325]

Man the Mobius just blows the Boss away. Hands down.

[@hyyddraa]

pretty obvious!!! Strymon Mobius wins!!!

[@AlexPriceMusician]

Lol a boss pedal for $350? No thanks the Strymon sounded better on every front