A Box o' Pedals

[RW James]

A friend here at work just dropped off a box of used pedals on my desk - told me to take them home and try them out - if I like them, we'll talk price.

I'm in the mood for new pedals since my DOD pedals started failing on me, and my CFO (aka my wife) said I could buy some - so... here we go.

I would be interested in any opinions regarding these you may have. Here's the list:

Boss - SDS-2 Digital Sampler/Delay - MIJ (I've been wanting a delay, but this looks like a lot more than I had planned for... but here it is)
Boss - OC-2 Octave - MIJ (see FX-35 below)
Boss - HM-2 Heavy Metal - MIT
Boss - DF-2 Super Feedbacker & Distortion
Boss TU-12H Chromatic Tuner - MIJ Here is a picture

Has anyone tried mounting this on a pedal board? I'm currently using a Fender Tuner, but it is making weird noises. I suppose I could just Velcro it down - just seems odd.

DOD - FX35 Octoplus - MIA (see the OC-2 above - I can't imagine why I would need both - so which would be better? I know I've had trouble with DOD before, but this is an older one and MIA, so maybe this might be good?)

Ibanez - TS10 Tube Screamer Classic - MIJ (I have the Bad Monkey and Tubulator - is this just more of the same? Or so much better that I would be a fool to pass it up?)
Ibanez - CPL Compressor/Limiter - MIJ (I have the DOD Milkbox Compressor - and I guess it works okay - but I'll be interested to see how this sounds)
Ibanez - SML Super Metal - MIJ (Again, any different from the HM-2 above?)

I wish I could afford to buy them all, but I can't. So any suggestions will be considered and appreciated.

 

[jeremy]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

i would always take a boss over a dod. always.

the tuner and the oc-2 are cool pedals, check out the others and see if you like em.

 

[RW James]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

i would always take a boss over a dod. always.

the tuner and the oc-2 are cool pedals, check out the others and see if you like em.

Thanks... Boss > DOD - kind of figured that

I think I will grab the OC-2 - still not 100% sure about the tuner. I thought I saw someone here that had put one of these on their pedal board, but I can't remember for sure. But if they did, I would like to see a picture of how they did it.

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

the oc-2 is one of my favorite pedals on my board that i'll never let go of. once you learn how to use it and see what it can and can't do it's loads of fun.

a tip...it likes lead work/single note stuff and not chrods.

-Mike

 

[RW James]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

...a tip...it likes lead work/single note stuff and not chords.
-Mike

That makes perfect sense - but I can see a pedal dance when I switch between rhythm and lead - getting the octave and boost on and off at the same time:banana:

 

[baritone]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

The DSD-2 has a delay, but it is really short; I think it is up to 2 sec. The DF-2 is really fun to play with. The distortion of the DF-2 sound really close to a DS-1, but it has that extra feedback sound feature which requires a little tap dancing to operate.

Some of those Boss and Ibanez pedals listed are like collectors' items, but they're not too expensive on eBay. But as far as build quality and reliability, I can't think of any manufacturer that comes close to Boss.

 

[RW James]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

The DSD-2 has a delay, but it is really short; I think it is up to 2 sec.

According to one write-up: The length is switchable - between 50ms and 200ms in short mode and 200ms and 800ms in the long mode. So I guess just under 1 second.
Are you saying that's too short? I have no experienc with delays, so I don't know. But I was thinking that the really long delays would be just for limited use, while the short delays would be more commonly used.

The DF-2 is really fun to play with. The distortion of the DF-2 sound really close to a DS-1, but it has that extra feedback sound feature which requires a little tap dancing to operate.

Yeah I thought that was an interesting feature

Some of those Boss and Ibanez pedals listed are like collectors' items, but they're not too expensive on eBay. But as far as build quality and reliability, I can't think of any manufacturer that comes close to Boss.

I can appreciate the collectability, but I've never been much of a collector. I'm more of a user.

Thanks for the input.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

Personally, I'd take all the boss pedals (and tuner) if I could afford them. As was already said, the DF-2 is a nice distortion pretty similar to the DS-1, the DSD-2 acts as a good delay with some extra functions you can screw with, the OC-2 is just plain fun to play with, and it's always nice to go all HM-2 on a song or two . . .

 

[eaeolian]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

The TS-10s are cool - but they're not all that rugged, so make sure it works. Otherwise, it's a cool OD, and I think it sounds better than the BM.

Other than that, go with the Boss stuff.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

The SML is like a tube screamer with extra tone controls. It has a pre and post gain EQ section so its is a bit more versatile than a TS. In the hands of a modder I think it could be turned into a very versatile pedal.

 

[baritone]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

The classic Ibanez pedals would be fun to have also.

Oh yeah, the DSD-2 has up to 800ms. Most delay applications fit into this timing, so I think you would have some fun with it. I have the DD-20 Giga Delay, which has up to 23 seconds (think about it: hit a note, and then count to 23 in your head), but I usually keep it between 250ms and 500ms.

I have heard people claim that there is a difference between the Japan-made OC-2, the Taiwan OC-2, and the "OC-2" mode of the newer OC-3. The claims are that they get better as they get older, basically. I have only compared the Taiwan OC-2 with my OC-3, and I didn't notice much of a difference. The difference I did notice was the OC-3's advantage of having a polyphonic mode. But it might be worth snatching up that old OC-2 and trying it out next to an OC-3 one day.

 

[RW James]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

Update:

I just bought:

Boss DSD-2 Delay
Boss OC-2 Octave
Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal
Boss DF-2 Feedbacker & Distortion
plus two ACA power supplies

for $150

The other pedals either didn't work that well, or were unimpressive.

He's happy - and so am I

 

[Aceman]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

HM-2 Heavy Metal RULES! It's alittle black & orange box of 1982!!!! If you are into that.....tweeky sensitive treble knob also. It's a love hate thing. I love it.

I'd like to try the feedbacker too. Might be a cool thing to have on hand....

 

[Destroying Angel]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

Looks like you got some cool new toys to play around with. If you ever want to get rid of that DF-2, let me know!

 

[baritone]

Re: A Box o' Pedals

That's a nice collection of pedals. I have a more recent HM-3, which has a more scooped midrange than the HM-2.