Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

I love every BOSS Pedal I own

CH-1: Subtle Chorus effect, great for cleans...chorus is pretty much useless with distortion IMO anyway. It gave me the EXACT chorus effect I was after with minimal tweaking (think Iron Maiden's children of the ****ed, or old Metallica).

DD-20: Still exploring the amount of crap you can tweak on this thing! Pretty heafty for my first delay pedal but SOO glad I grabbed it, I got 4 VERY useable settings right now but definatly need to keep playing with it. The Warp and Twist modes are pretty much just for fun (reverse too...unless its infront of your amp) but the analog and tape delay is GORGEOUS, I would spend the same amount of $ even if it only had these 2 modes.

GE-7: Can't live without it, PERFECT for a mid/volume boost for solos. Noisy stock for sure, I modded mine to be a little more transparent and to reduce some of the noise. Actually contemplating getting a second one for my board. As long as you don't shoot the faders super high the extra noise is bareable...but if used just as a boost it wont bother you as all (since its only on for solo's etc).

NS-2: Good reduction pedal. I personally found the loop in it to be pretty useless except to send the signal to my tuner (no return...that way the tuner doesn't affect my tone). At first it was an OK pedal...once I sat down and actually set it properly its been MUCH more usefull.

Overall I love BOSS products and trust them 100%, they are good reliable, good sounding pedals for decent prices! (the DD-20's a kicker though).

My 2 cents.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

i have various rigs and use different Boss units with each rigs....... i use the Boss Line Selector a hell of a lot.... great pedal.... i use a few DS1's, the turbo DS2, SD1, Flanger and Chorus's... my 20 year old Boss Flanger is the be all Flanger for me... it does the job... and i am in love with the Boss Tremolo pedal....

 

[jerryjg]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

i've always thought the Boss Chorus pedals were never 'drippy' enough for me. It was like the chorus was barely there.

I use the CS3 for really squeezed sounds, and the new favorite is the DD-20 for delays and looping with variable feedback (yay!!).

The RC-2 looper is pretty good for practice, but like the rest of the Boss loopers, it has severe limitations for live use (for me). I have one to work out solos and stuff, but for pedal looping, I much prefer the DD-20 or the Line6 DL4.

what about the Boss Ce-1 Chorus? Thats pretty much very highly regarded. Voodoo Labs even makes a Clone.

 

[jerryjg]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

SD-1 - Alright better as a booster then as pure overdrive but not the most satisfying.
RV-3 - Terrible I mean it is ok at best. Reverbs were a little unnatural and fake. Delays were too harsh if you had multiple notes playing over each other it was an ear bleeding mess. Decay was quite bad.

have you tried an AnlogmaN/Keeley modification of the Boss SD-1? Most people say that the SD-1 becomes a transformed pedal when modified..an excellent pedal, while many agree there are serious shortcomings with a stock SD_1.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

I adore the DS-1. After having a bunch of them, all modded by Joelap and/or myself, I'm convinced there's nothing you can't get that pedal to do. The one I'm running now is always on, and works equally well with humbuckers or singles, with no adjustments.

 

[Pierre]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

I only ever used the SD1 and DS1.

Both can become VERY good pedals. The SD1 is slightly easier to mod to get a great tone out of it I found. It took me a lot more component changes and experiments to get the DS1 where I wanted it. I'll probably buy another one as soon as I have some dough and start exprimenting again.

Stock, the SD1 is a fun pedal but the gain on it is meh. It's fun as a boost if you're not too picky about having a perfectly clean and flat boost.

The DS1 is totally NOT useable for me stock. There is not ONE sound from it I liked. Modded it can be made into basically anything though.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

My first ever pedal was a DS1. I still like that pedal.

The only boss I have right now is my TU2. I had a DD5 that I really liked, but it took a walk somewhere.

I'd be quite interested in the DD20. I should a/b it next to a line 6 DL4 at some point...

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

I forgot to mention before, but when I went to see Incubus, Larry showed me Mike Einziger's gear. His guitars were old Gibsons and a Fender, his amps were a plexi & an AC30, and his pedals were all DOD, MXR, and Boss. Any of his pedals could be had for $100 or less, and his tone was great. Totally warm and organic.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

what about the Boss Ce-1 Chorus? Thats pretty much very highly regarded. Voodoo Labs even makes a Clone.

Now I actually use a Digitech Chorus Factory, which clones both of those pedals very well- it is also a lot cheaper
The Boss is more transparent than I like for electric (think Alex Lifeson)- when I use a chorus, its pretty over the top...speed slow, depth as high as it will go.

 

[metalmike]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

good not great:

purple flanger - extra points for the gate/pan mode when used in mono for a stuttering effect if one is feeling Morelloesque. And for being purple

green phaser - extra points for 4, 8, 10, 12-stage modes, plus the rise/fall modes sound cool. And for being very green. Looks cool next to the purple one.

ns-2 - works well, but a sustain robber

when I use these it goes phaser->ns2-> front end of my XXX with the flanger in the loop. phaser was too big in the loop. I like to split my signal with the flanger and send one side to a Roland Jazz-Chorus 120 with the chorus on of course, which always plays the same channel as the XXX.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

I've had experience with the following:

BAD:

Metal Zone - personally hated this buzzy little insect, my son got the Keely mod and it's an improvement for sure, but still...

DS-1 - hate this less than the Metal Zone, another son has this Keely mod, still don't like it. Blows me away that Vai, Satriani, etc. use this and sound good.

CS-3 - as much as I hate the Metal Zone, this gets my vote as the Boss pedal I've had the worst experience with. I'm the first to admit I am not an expert on how to best use compression, but I never was able to find one setting with this that I thought added anything positive. I've since bought a Barber Tone Press and love it on my clean tones.

MEDIOCRE:

CE5 & CE3 - OK but nothing to write home about. CE3 was warmer to me, but never really satisfied, got a TC Electronics, end of story.

TU-2 - well it is a tuner but didn't like it is the chain, got a StroboStomp, now THIS is a tuner!

SD-1 - Can't say I've tried any Boss OD or distortion that I'm comfortable with

GE-7 - OK but noise issues, always would've liked to try a modded one.

GOOD:

EQ-20 - now this is an equalizer to love. 10 band, noise issue solved, programmable... too bad you can't have easier access to your settings in live use, but still you can easily toggle between a preset, your current manual setting and off. Only negative in my opinion is the large footprint, I just can't give up anything currently on my board to make room for it.

Would like to try their Tremolo pedal but that's about it. The Looper is a cool practice tool and fun toy (had one on loan for awhile), I have a couple of friends that have 'em sitting in their closets.

 

[millsart]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

DS-1 Classic distortion and one of the best band for the bucks around. Even better wtih mods

SD-1 Classic OD and again, excellent value, I like this one even stock

TR-2 Very nice Tremolo pedal, though for the money I like the EHX Pulsar a little more as it gets a little more over the top if you like that sort of thing

MT-2 I'm not a fan of this pedal anymore but about 10 years ago when I was into metal and had crappy amps, this thing was pretty sweet. It really was one of the first of its kind and the para eq was nice. Can't knock it though I wouldnt use it

DD-3 A classic delay pedal. Gets the job done though by todays standards its a bit plain jane. I like the Line6 Echo Park for the same price more as its got more options and digital delay is pretty much digital delay.

BF-3 I used to think this was a pretty sweet flanger, it definatly got some serious metallic jet plane sounds. Anymore I think its pretty crappy and much to digital and steril sounding. If you want an obnoxious over the top effect might still be a good way to go.

OC-3 Pretty poor octave pedal. Doesn't track well at all and even playing carefully still doesn't cut it. Much better options out there

PH-3 Like the flanger, this is just too digital sounding. Just not musical at all, sounds like it should be coming from a really cheap mfx unit. Dispite all the options I think a nice phaser like the Small Stone blows this away. It just sounds nice and musical with classic tones.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

Let's talk about Boss pedals, particularly ones you've owned or currently use.
I want to hear which ones you like, dislike, or consider OK.

Please....no parrot info here...post about ones you've used with your rig, not 3 mintues at the store, running through a tiny SS practice amp. :chairshot

The only Boss pedals I have used (and still use) are:

Boss DD3. I have 2 of them and use both.

Boss CE2, and a CH1. I use both also

The other Boss pedal that I have used is a Boss Super Overdrive. I used this for a long time and have replaced it with a TS9 modded by Strat Deluxer. I still own it and use it on occasions, but the TS9 is a lot better sounding. That does not mean it sounds bad..... The TS9 is better.

Basically I use a DD3 and a CH1 running through the loop in my Shiva. I have the CE2, and a DD3 running into my Komet. Very happy with the Boss pedals I have.

 

[Diego]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

GE-7 Equalizer: I use it all the time. It's good! As long as you don't go nuts with the bars, or it will get noisy. Reliable as Boss pedals are. Nothing else to add! It does it's job, and it does it good.

MT-2 Metal Zone: Thin, buzzy, too compressed, and sounds almost the same no matter what guitar you put on it. Don't like it one bit. Bad pedal, good for a beginner but that's it.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

I have only had one Boss pedal a EH-2 enhancer. Great pedal and very versatile.

 

[Dirtyking]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

The TU-2 tuner pedal is priceless. I use a BF-2 flanger as well since it's the only Boss pedal I've owned that didn't hiss. Didn't care for the Super Chorus or Phaser.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

On my acoustic guitar board, I have a CS-3 Compressor and a TU-2.

On the electric board, there's a CS-2, a TU-2, a CE-2 Chorus, and a PH-1r Phasor.

I think the best of these is probably the PH-1r. I bought this one back in the early 1990s after my Mutron Phasor died. I like some things about the Boss, but the Mutron did some things better.

My chorusing has always been done with a DOD FX pedal until recently. I switched to the CE-2, and like the phasors--the DOD does somethings very well and the Boss does other things better.

The TU-2s and the Compressors work fine for me, though I am sure there are better units. I have a Strobo-Stomp, but I have been using it at home to tweak intonation. The Boss units are not accurate enough for that.

Bill

 

[thucydides]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

The SD 1 worked very well for me when it came to getting more dirt out of my Hiwatt.

 

[BlueSky]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

Really like their delays, flanger, tremolo, and pretty much all their stuff is quality.

Really dislike the metal zone, and i've never tried but I'm pretty sure that metal core isn't so hot either.

 

[fenderiarhs]

Re: Boss Pedals. The good, bad, and mediocre.

The really good:

Boss bd2.....this would not be in the really good pedals stock but after some mods it compares with the best boutique od pedals......

Boss DD20.....awesome (the only other delay pedal i would compare it with is the tc electronics nova delay)

Boss CE 2 THE chorus

The quite good:

Boss PH1R: that would be a nice phaser......but the volume boost when engaged is not something i enjoy

Boss Cs3 compressor.....nice pedal (especially after some mods) but the cs2 is better

The bad:

Boss metal zone: well it sounds like........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz:chairshot