# ...your opinions on the "rarer" Boss effect pedals, please...



## Guest (Jul 9, 2011)

Hello all. I am hoping to get your experiences and likes/dislikes that any may have with Boss pedals, the more uncommon the better.

I have a few of the older MIJ's about but my DF-2 and my PF-1r are as "rare" as I go, presently.

I would welcome and appreciate any thoughts on this subject. Thanks


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

I would love to get my hands on a Boss VB-2 (vibrato) , they normaly go for around 400$ on Ebay! I bought the Behringer UV300 and I love it, it's supposed to be a clone and it's 30$


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

Would ya settle for one of these instead...???...a [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Boss PN/2 Tremolo/Pan...[/FONT]the price tag reads $189...but the ad reads $225...

Capsule Music


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## The_Penguin (Feb 26, 2012)

Iceman said:


> Hello all. I am hoping to get your experiences and likes/dislikes that any may have with Boss pedals, the more uncommon the better.
> 
> I would welcome and appreciate any thoughts on this subject. Thanks


I have a 1978 ish Boss DS-1 One of the originals Made in Japan, silver screw yadda yadda, still sounds as horrid now as it did in '78 

My 70's Chorus CE-1 still sounds sweet. I can't believe what they go for on Ebay. Tempting, but I'll keep it.


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## k tone (Oct 7, 2008)

I bought a CE-2 and HM-2 back in the day that I still have and I recently acquired a DSD-2 ($60) and an FZ-2 ($50). I like em all and am always scouring Kijiji for vintagey Boss stuff. When I was coming up as a guitar player Boss, MXR and Ibanez was about all you could get in the small town I lived in. I am currently assembling a small all Boss board for a grab and go jam board to go wth the 5F1 Champ I just built.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

If you haven't already, check out this site.

http://www.bossarea.com/default.asp


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I've had a Boss CE-2, DC-2, DM-2, DM-3 and OD-1. None are as rare as the Vibrato or Slow Gear, but they're not super common either. I loved every single one. They all were fantastic pedals, though I don't have any of them anymore. 

I wish I had kept the Dimension Chorus, that one was REALLY special. The DM-2 and 3 were also fantastic analog delays that I would love to own again.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I only have a few older Boss effects: a DF-2, HM-2, ROD-10, and RPH-10. The latter two are "micro-rack" table-top effects, rather than stompboxes. I have a Behringer Acoustic Modeller, which is their clone of the AC-2. I've built myself clones of the CE-2 and OD-1, and tried out the DC-2 and CE-1 for lengthy periods, as well as the behringer clone of the VB-2.

The DF-2 was interesting, for its time, and does some neat tricks, but has since been eclipsed by more flexible pedals, including a newer digital one from Boss. The interested individual is probably better directed to get the Behringer clone, given how often they are likely to use it. The HM-2 was given to me by a nephew. Personally, I wouldn't use it.

The DC-2 was simply one of the very best chorusses...ever. Wobble free and rich-sounding. It, too, has since been eclipsed by digital models of "multi-phase" choruses like the DC-2, and multiple BBD chorus effects built into many string synths and hybrid (digital/analog) synths from the early 80's (e.g., Arp Solina, Juno 106, et al). The CE-2 has a nice sound, too, but the DC-2 is better.

The ROD-10 is often overlooked, but has a number of useful sounds in it, including some functional equivalents of the BD-2 and a nice octave-up fuzz, all with full 3-band EQing. It falls into the under-recognized category because it isn't a stompbox. I got mine for $25. Maybe you can too. The RPH-10 is kind of a souped up version of the PH-2, with more bells and whistles. Both decent quiet phasers. I adapted mine for envelope control. They are both easily adapted to pedalboard or rack use if you know what you're doing.

The OD-1 has a slightly different sound than the TS-808 and SD-1, but not by that much. A little warmer IMHO.

The VB-2, or rather the Behringer clone of it, disappointed me, quite frankly. The idea for the ramping up of vibrato depth was an excellent one, but I found the shape and speed of the ramp up to be stiff and unmusical to my ears.

I repaired a friend's CE-1, and had it for awhile before returning it. Its chief virtue is that it uses different modulation for vibrato than it uses for chorus. Apart fro that, I honestly can't see what all the fuss was about.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

I've never met a Boss pedal I didn't like. Sure I have found lots of pedals I like more than Boss, and I don't have any on my pedalboard at the moment, but I have owned dozens and still have a few of my faves... DM-2, CE-2, CE-3, DC-2. 

Boss really are the standard by which all other pedals are judged. 

:banana:


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## k tone (Oct 7, 2008)

It is my opinion that Boss is dropping the ball by not reintroducing a "classic series" line of pedals and start building some of the ccts that have been discontinued. COSM is not the way to go in my opinion. Why would you COSM a fuzz pedal (FZ-5)? How many components are in a fuzz cct (like 12?!)?

We guitarists are a simple lot. He11 we still use vacuum tubes in our amps.


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2012)

k tone said:


> It is my opinion that Boss is dropping the ball by not reintroducing a "classic series" line of pedals and start building some of the ccts that have been discontinued. COSM is not the way to go in my opinion. Why would you COSM a fuzz pedal (FZ-5)? How many components are in a fuzz cct (like 12?!)?
> 
> We guitarists are a simple lot. He11 we still use vacuum tubes in our amps.


More often than not, components that made those classics sound as good as they do are no longer available. In the case of BBD-based devices that's pretty true. So it isn't a matter of "won't" but "can't". Or if they "can" it's "prohibitively expensive" to make them.

It's okay though. It's paved the way for smaller guys to fill the niche. You've got people like Fromel issuing wickedly nice updates on classics like the DC-2: http://fromelelectronics.com/pedals/Seraph


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## Jeff B. (Feb 20, 2010)

I have about 8 or so Boss pedals around here in various places and states of repair. A CE-2 is the oldest Boss pedal I have, I'm quite fond of it as it's just a nice sweet sounding simple pedal. 
My SD-2 Dual Overdrive is kind of a "modern rarity" as it wasn't a big seller back it the 1990's when it was released. It's 2 seperate switchable drive circuits are a fantastic modding platform for those inclined to do so who are not happy with the stock sound of it. I missed out on buying a CE-3 last week for only $25.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

k tone said:


> It is my opinion that Boss is dropping the ball by not reintroducing a "classic series" line of pedals and start building some of the ccts that have been discontinued. COSM is not the way to go in my opinion. Why would you COSM a fuzz pedal (FZ-5)? How many components are in a fuzz cct (like 12?!)?


Major manufacturers are migrating to digital en masse. Apart from the difficulty of sourcing critical components in the needed quantities for worldwide large-scale distribution, there is the matter of the ease and low cost with which pedals can be produced using surface-mount components and wave soldering, as well as the space aspect, consistency of product (all copies of a given COSM pedal sound the same, analog through-hole not so much), and something which Behringer has made abundantly clear in recent years: the number of features you can provide per dollar to the end-user. Through-hole analog demands many more components for any additional features, where digtal can pack many more features in with little or no additional parts. The FZ-5 is actually an excellent example of that. It would take a lot more "stuff", and introduce more quality control issues, to be able to stuff three different fuzzes into that same box.

Finally, as a great many boutique manufacturers have learned the hard way, if people can see what you used and how its connected, then they don't need _your_ pedal. Having how and what the pedal does in invisible firmware makes pedals virtually clone-proof, increasing their shelf-life as viable products. In many cases, as well, manufacturers can stick with a basic "platform" and create many duifferent pedals from it. EHX does that with many of theirs, and so does Line 6.


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## k tone (Oct 7, 2008)

All very good points and I know what you are saying. All I am saying is that I think that MXR/ Maxon/ Ibanez etc have done well for themselves with some of their classic reissues and that Boss has enough of a back catalog to do the same. If you look at threads full of expensive pedalboards full of boutique effects you usually see a discontinued Boss or 2 on there. Very rare that you see an FZ-5 on any board because they sound like $hit compared to my FZ-2 or the FZ-3 which are all analog (and they have had bands record entire albums using these effects).

FZ-2 for the Stoner crowd
RV-3 for the Shoegaze people
DM-2's for everyone!!!

I know they cater to the Metal Zone playing 14 year old and that Roland eclipses all of Boss in sales. I would just like to see it for my own selfish reasons and I think it would make a splash on boards such as these. When is the last time anyone got excited about a new Boss pedal release?

PS. I do not really care for the boutique thing at all. I have seen attrocious builds in some and have had noise/ grounding issues with others as well. Plus if you buy online they are a pain in the a$$ to return/ get serviced. Almost all of my pedals are off the shelf from major manufacturers.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Well, with Behringer cloning their (Boss) entire back-catalog (as well as many Line 6, MXR, and EHX pedals), I don't think that's about to happen.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

k tone said:


> PS. I do not really care for the boutique thing at all. I have seen attrocious builds in some and have had noise/ grounding issues with others as well. Plus if you buy online they are a pain in the a$$ to return/ get serviced. Almost all of my pedals are off the shelf from major manufacturers.


Not to go off topic here too much, but I recently had Z.Vex service my SHO after I had messed it up quite good trying to installed an LED and 3PDT switch. I told them what I had done, and they took my pedal, fixed it, did the mods I wanted and returned it to me all during the holiday season with very little turnaround and only charged me for shipping. I can't see Roland doing the same.


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## k tone (Oct 7, 2008)

hollowbody said:


> Not to go off topic here too much, but I recently had Z.Vex service my SHO after I had messed it up quite good trying to installed an LED and 3PDT switch. I told them what I had done, and they took my pedal, fixed it, did the mods I wanted and returned it to me all during the holiday season with very little turnaround and only charged me for shipping. I can't see Roland doing the same.


Last Boss I shipped out was a DS-1 with a switch problem. They replaced it and and all it cost was shipping to Roland Canada in Vancouver. They wanted to courier it for $20 and when I said I could buy a used one for that they did it via Canda Post general for $9. It was still within the 5 year warranty though. 

A few years back I bought two pedals off of a boutique manufacturer (name withheld) who had a great rep on another forum. When I received them the Trem depth knob did not work at all and the fuzz that I bought had no output when engaged. I opened up the back of the fuzz pedal, the switch was not soldered and it was grounding out on the cover (I pulled out the iron and fixed it). He told me to ship them back and he would repair them. I said I would ship them back (it was at my cost as well!) and he could refund me. I bought a Voodoo Lab Trem and never looked back.


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## k tone (Oct 7, 2008)

mhammer said:


> Well, with Behringer cling their (Boss) entire back-catalog (as well as many Line 6, MXR, and EHX pedals), I don't think that's about to happen.


True. It would be cool though.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

k tone said:


> Last Boss I shipped out was a DS-1 with a switch problem. They replaced it and and all it cost was shipping to Roland Canada in Vancouver. They wanted to courier it for $20 and when I said I could buy a used one for that they did it via Canda Post general for $9. It was still within the 5 year warranty though.
> 
> A few years back I bought two pedals off of a boutique manufacturer (name withheld) who had a great rep on another forum. When I received them the Trem depth knob did not work at all and the fuzz that I bought had no output when engaged. I opened up the back of the fuzz pedal, the switch was not soldered and it was grounding out on the cover (I pulled out the iron and fixed it). He told me to ship them back and he would repair them. I said I would ship them back (it was at my cost as well!) and he could refund me. I bought a Voodoo Lab Trem and never looked back.


Depends on the builder, I guess. FWIW, Z.Vex's warranty is lifetime (his lifetime, not yours )

I'm sure there are some that aren't as great, but that happens with big companies too. I asked Fender about an issue with a pickup I had bought and they basically told me to buy a new one. Gee, thanks.

The one good thing about these Boss pedals is that they seem to last forever. All the older Boss pedals I have bought and sold all work solid, MUCH better than their 80's Ibanez counterparts that suffer from sketchy switches.

The one thing that bugs me, though, is people who have messed with the trim pots inside an old DM-2 or DM-3. You can really make those pedals sound TERRIBLE by mucking with those and it's a bit of trial-and-error to get them back to normal.


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## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

If you put a dummy jack into to the "B" output of a CH-1, it becomes a vibrato pedal. I've never tried another vibrato, so I don't know if it's a good one, but it's worth a try.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I would love the DC-3 Digital Dimension--the one with dials, not the push buttons--but they're rare now & pricey.

I would have bought one years ago, but I didn't have the cash that day--I went back a week later & it was gone.


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