Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

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Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by soggy mittens » Fri Oct 15, 2021 1:50 am

Anyone feel like there are some pedals that BOSS still haven't got right in single pedal format?

I still don't think they have a decent enough flagship reverb pedal, nor a decent enough phaser. Their tremolo is very outdated by today's standards, same with compressor possibly tho I haven't played a CP-1x or heard one in person. For me I think they excel at delay pedals, to me that is their best product.

Not sure if this thread should include waza wishlists but kinda feeling like the PS-2 should get a look in one day.
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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Fri Oct 15, 2021 3:06 am

I agree with you on the reverb. It seems like plenty of people use them, but the current generation (RV-6?) just does nothing for me. Their delays are almost always killer, as is the Blues Driver. The standard tremolo is ok, but to me, it would need more wave shapes to be interesting. They really should bring the pan tremolo back, maybe as a Waza.
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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by Steadyriot. » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:02 am

I bet the RV-500 can do something you like in the Reverb world as it's infinitely programmable but thats also it's biggest downfall at the same time.
The Slow Gear would be on my list of "got right". It does one thing, and it does it good.
Also: the RE20.

If we're talking Waza Wishlist; I'd love a ce-1 in a standard (or double) Boss size. WITH preamp ofcourse..!
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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by JSett » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:42 am

I'm a huge Boss fan ("if it's good enough for Prince") and feel there's lots of great pedals that are perfect and great for the working/gigging musician. They rarely cost more than 100 and are almost impossible to kill...and if you do you can get a replacement at almost any guitar shop in the world.

TR-2, yeah it's basic but it does what it does perfectly
CH-2. Just a great chorus. Sounds like the Cure.
DD-3. Plenty of options, reliable, sounds perfect like a digital delay should do
BD-2. Again, can you beat this for a cheap overdrive?
FZ-2. Near perfect Shin-Ei clone with the benefit of a highly adjustable EQ. They should reissue this
FRV-1. It's not perfect, but 99% of the audience wouldn't even tell the difference.

The only thing I'd like would be an RE-20 but in single form.
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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Fri Oct 15, 2021 5:11 am

johnnysomersett wrote:
Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:42 am
BD-2. Again, can you beat this for a cheap overdrive?
Not just cheap, but it does something no other overdrive that I've ever owned has too. Granted, I had a Keeley-modded one (with fat switch), but when you max out the gain, it gives this very pleasing overdrive with fuzzy edge to it. Sounds SO good.
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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by shoule79 » Fri Oct 15, 2021 11:18 am

Put me in the Boss fan category. I'd say some of their dirt pedals have been misses, or can be hard to dial in, but they they have a lot of iconic dirt too. SD-1, BD-2, TD-2, DS-1, DS-2, HM-2, HM-3, all winners in my book. I've yet to find a digital dirt I really like though.

For trem, I am a big fan of the PN-2. Stick a tap temp input on a Waza version and I would be a happy camper.

For Phasers, the PH-1 and PH-1r are good, and the PH-2, although not a favorite makes some unique sounds if you are a noise maker.

They started the reverb pedal game. RV-2 is good, RV-3 is amazing, RV-5 has great modulated reverb, and the RV-6 i'd put up against any of the Walrus/EQD offerings. The RV-500 is the new flagship, but I would be more interested in an RV-200 if one ever comes out.

The compressors are there. They work, i've owned some of them. Just a utility pedal like the tuners, noise suppressors, and EQ's to me.

Agree about the PS-2, a Waza with a couple updates (time control on mode 7 anyone?) would be welcome and would get me to move on from mine. The VB-2 is one of my desert island pedals too, and a BF-2 is often what I have on my board as a chorus

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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Oct 15, 2021 12:33 pm

Another vote for Waza PN-2. Fix the range of the speed control, add a jack for tap tempo, maybe a harmonic mode?

I think sonically the CE-2 and SD-1 are pretty damn right.

I like my RV-6. I use it as a “special effects” reverb, and the delay/verb mode is good enough that I sold my DD-7.

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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by JSett » Fri Oct 15, 2021 1:33 pm

The speed on my PN-2 was utterly infuriating. I never run stereo so eventually it became defunct in lieu of my trusty TR-2. I prefer the sound of my Flint and it's replication of the bias trem but for gigging and playing with the band I just leave it at home.

HM-2 used properly achieves some of the best 'big' distortion you can get out of a Boss compact. With the gain on about 9 o'clock it sounds huge already but still with some clarity to the notes. The 'Entombed sound' with everything maxed is pointless and overrated.
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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by soggy mittens » Fri Oct 15, 2021 5:32 pm

Yeah there are some great rare BOSS pedals but if they're not available to buy either new or second hand, readily, then I can't really rate them or class them as being in the range due to well.. lack of availability. I won't deny that the PN-2 is a great pedal it is but rare af, same deal with the PH-1r. And pedals like RE-20 are brilliant but not avail in single pedal format. It does seem weird that they never did that, put it in single pedal format, that would sell so damn well, perhaps it is on the cards. Same with a proper CE-1 that seems like an end-game for waza, they'd automatically jump the shark with that release. xD
In my first post I was going to mention my experience with their dirt pedals but decided to leave that out but others mentioned it so, yeah back in the 90s when I started I was more into the rat and muff sounds and scoffed hard at BOSS dirt pedals but with time I warmed to them, most of them are truly designed for band mix over bedroom tonz which when I was starting out wasn't a think for me, but I eventually tried a bunch and now a happy BOSS dirt lover. I still have never owned a ds-1 tho, I just can't bring myself to do it lol, it to me is like the arch nemesis to the rat2 pedal and my loyalty to the rat is untouchable albeit completely irrational I know. But saying all this as much as their dirt pedals work well I don't any of them I would say are 100% and that I wouldn't change anything on if I could, even if to just make them all a little more versatile.

To me BOSS own vanilla digital delay first and foremost and their reverb game is weak af, sure the rv-500 is ok but again not a single pedal format which is what I was hoping this thread would focus on, I do have high hopes for what ever replaces the rv-6 for flagship single format tho, even if I will probably always favor the unique tones of the reverbs that EHX do..... if BOSS could just do a good vanilla reverb (single format) that doesn't sound so fake and digital with all the right controls (proper pre-delay and proper damping) then I'd be interested. : )
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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by mackerelmint » Fri Oct 15, 2021 10:53 pm

The TR-2 is hot trash. I know some people love it and even swear by it, but that thing sounds like poo to me. It bewilders me that they still make it so that the volume drops, and to me it just sounds dull. Like mush. Like oatmeal that fell on the floor and got stepped in by a muddy boot. Like I need to clean my ears.

It wouldn't be hard to deal with, I dunno why they just haven't.

I've got two SD-1s, though. One modded, one stock. Love their ODs.
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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:34 am

For all the love the PS-2 is getting here, I far prefer my PS-3. I had an overseas gig one time so had to be canny about which pedals I packed, and in the end the PS-3 did everything I needed at the time, except overdrive. Fitting digital delay, subtle and unsubtle chorus, octaves and aleatoric pitch-shifted craziness into one small box is pretty impressive, especially in 1994 money.

The BF-2 is another classically versatile pedal that covers chorus, flange (obviously), and almost gets into ring mod territory. I like the RV-2, but prefer my RV-3. Bit of a pattern emerging there - like the first iterations of a few of their digital pedals had quite some room for improvement, or just took a leap forward when new vital components improved exponentially.

I have a PH-1 but I've never really loved it, preferring EHX's and MXR's takes on that effect. Maybe I should track down a PH-2, which I've also owned previously and let go, to see if it got markedly better second time around (well third really, following the PH-1R).

I do prefer the sledgehammer hit of the CS-1 to its latter-day cousins, so along with the DM-2 some of the analogue pedals are definitely worth having in their original forms.

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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by cestlamort » Sat Oct 16, 2021 7:21 am

The BF2 is totally great. The DD-2, which I resisted for years as a lesser pretender to the analog delays is amazing.

Funnily, I had always leaned toward the Ibanez side of the flavors for chorus, analog delay and compression, etc but the classic Boss stuff is all over my record collection.

The RV500 was too much for me to get my head around (I was super excited to have it replace the RE20 but with modulation, which would be on my ultimate wish list — i never got it right though and the rv500 was just too much to dial in for me)

I picked up an old ME5 on the recommendation of a few people here on OSG, if that counts, and it is a great way to have some boss sounds on a budget.

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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by garyfanclub » Sat Oct 16, 2021 8:18 am

c'mon... this is the only pedal i've owned for 20+ years

I don't own any others, owned a TR-2 and quickly flipped it (didn't do anything my pulsar couldn't already do better). All others I've tried (DDs, ODs, etc.) have been pretty blah and sterile.

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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by Surfysonic » Sat Oct 16, 2021 10:13 am

My Boss pedals:

3x Chromatic Tuner TU-3 (on 2 guitar pedalboards, 1 bass pedalboard) - the only tuner that I would consider an upgrade would be a Petersen StroboSoft, but the CT TU-3 works fine for me.

2 x Equalizer GE-7 (on 2 guitar pedalboards - honestly, I don't utilize them as much as I should, but when needed, they're on my boards.)

Bass Equalizer GEB-7 (on bass pedalboard)

Digital RV-5 (on bass pedalboard) - decent, but it's on the bass board since I prefer my other Reverb pedals on my guitar boards.

'63 Fender Reverb FRV-1 - great for surf, emulates Fender Reverb Unit very well to me. There are newer, better, drippier Spring Reverb pedals out there now (I have some of them), but the FRV-1 still holds it's own and I consider it a classic.

2x Noise Suppressor NS-2 Forgot about these. Used them for a little while but eventually stored them away.

I really should get a Digital Delay. I have 2 delay pedals, with the MXR Carbon Copy my #1 and the other being an Electro-Harmonix Canyon. Lots of options with the Canyon but I only use the tape delay, which, for my needs...is ok.
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Re: Pedals that BOSS still haven't got right and ones they've got right

Post by JVG » Sun Oct 17, 2021 1:13 am

The waza chorus is the pedal that made me enjoy using chorus. Admittedly i’d never tried an old ce1 or ce2, but had gone through various other chorus pedals and always found them cold and sterile. The waza changed that, and i still love it.

The waza delay is great too. The addition of the bright switch makes it more versatile than the originals.

Love my old ph-1r and hope they make a waza version of that one day.

In short, i reckon most boss pedals are somewhere between good and awesome.

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