Are Boss pedals "old hat"?

57Deluxe

My BOSS ME-5 gives me the most deliciously self absorbing lush UniVibe (custom programmed) anywhere...

thecolourbox

If only they did a fuzz!

Teetonetal

Some people will say yes, some will say no.
I've moved back to boss for some stuff, not for others. Base it on sound not brand

ICBM

thecolourbox said:

If only they did a fuzz!

http://images.equipboard.com/uploads/item/image/5042/boss-fz-2-hyper-fuzz-xl.jpg

Best fuzz ever. Basically a Shin-Ei FY-6/Univox Superfuzz circuit but with active EQ and a clean boost mode. (And the other usual Boss advantages.)

There are also the FZ-3 and FZ-5, but I don't like those as much.

Samgb

I spent a decent chunk of change on my MD-500 and sold all my other modulation. Thing of beauty to get lost in. I also like my Waza BD-2 as a kind of always on 'more' pedal.  
Then at the other end of the BOSS price range I also recently had someone give me a bog standard SD-1 which id never tried before and its pretty much my perfect OD.
They make some good stuff and some stuff that i have no use for like everyone else.  

TTBZ

I like Boss stuff. The switching is the best, I like having that big pad to stand on rather than a little 3pdt switch. I've only got one boss at the minute but will definitely get more. My overdrive is a Hardwire CM2 which has the same style of switch but true bypass instead - tbh might just get an SD1 as I'm pretty much dialling in the eq the same as a normal TS after all! Keen to try a Blues Driver as well.

I wish they'd hurry up and do a Waza FZ2, it'll help push down used prices of the originals!

thecolourbox

ICBM said:

thecolourbox said:

If only they did a fuzz!

http://images.equipboard.com/uploads/item/image/5042/boss-fz-2-hyper-fuzz-xl.jpg

Best fuzz ever. Basically a Shin-Ei FY-6/Univox Superfuzz circuit but with active EQ and a clean boost mode. (And the other usual Boss advantages.)

There are also the FZ-3 and FZ-5, but I don't like those as much.

But only the fz5 currently I believe which when I tried sounded awful sadly, the Akai £25 job I tried at the same time walked all over it.

Which is a shame as every other boss I've tried sounded pretty good even with me playing it

ICBM

thecolourbox said:

But only the fz5 currently I believe which when I tried sounded awful sadly, the Akai £25 job I tried at the same time walked all over it.

Which is a shame as every other boss I've tried sounded pretty good even with me playing it

True, but the FZ-2 is not all that rare - although admittedly getting fairly expensive now.

Behringer actually do a copy of it - the SF300 Super Fuzz - which is under £25 new... I've been thinking of getting one as a spare. But I should have bought it a few weeks ago when they were under £20!

dindude

Kinda like a Nissan Qashqai - absolutely fine, but nothing to get excited about in the main. For every Boss pedal, I can think of many others I’d rather own. Only exception is for a straightforward digital delay the DD3 is still hard to beat.

tone1

I’m a recent Boss convert.... just need to try the overdrive side of things really but very happy with the DD-2 delay and Modulations...

LordOxygen

When i was learning to play in the early 90s I had a mate who was massively spoilt by his parents. He never really bothered to learn properly but had a load of cool gear including a substantial boss pedal board, which at the age of 13 - 14 was the shizzle. They would have been analogue ones, chorus, distortion, flanger and a few others. Fast forward 20 years when I started playing again and I went out and bought several boss pedals just because I've always wanted some. The handful I have are great for hacking away at home I see no point in spending more and they're built like tanks compared to the ehx ones I've got. 
In conclusion I like Boss pedals a lot. 

Keefy

I use two Boss analog delays, an original DM-3 and a modern DM-2w. As compact analog delays go, they're hard to beat.

To me it's a different story with drives - for example there are plenty of distortions available these days, many of them inexpensive, that urinate all over the DS-1 from a great height.

meltedbuzzbox

They're a good average pedal. 
I think everything they do has a better sounding equivalent from another manufacturer but for the most part they are ok, apart from their flanger anyway

AlexC

It’s unusual for a pro guitarist not to have at least one Boss on their board. Says it all really. Bottom line - they’re reliable.

Sporky

The DC-2 is still the finest chorus pedal ever made. Probably the finest chorus pedal that will ever be made.

Keefy

Sporky said:

The DC-2 is still the finest chorus pedal ever made. Probably the finest chorus pedal that will ever be made.

Tell me about it, could have picked one up for £30 in a shop sale once but didn't. Bugger!

Limehouse_Blues

I dig Boss pedals. I have their tuner and also the waza chorus and analog delay which are both super cool.

people seem to knock their drives and distortion but I like them. I chose the (digital) DS1X over a Suhr Riot as the Boss just sounded better to me. I’ve been equally impressed with the OD1X which is really versatile.

JezWynd

Limehouse_Blues said:

people seem to knock their drives and distortion but I like them. I chose the (digital) DS1X over a Suhr Riot as the Boss just sounded better to me. I’ve been equally impressed with the OD1X which is really versatile.

Agreed. The new digital drives are really impressive, not at all digital sounding, except that they give a clarity that analog can't achieve, esp at high distortion levels.

Re the DC-2 (I agree, it's a wonderful chorus) the behringer clone was a good copy and has been superceded by a TC copy called 3rd Dimension which I've read also sounds identical to the original save for there's no stereo output (and it's more  flexible 'cos you can press multiple buttons simultaneously).

MagicPigDetective

I never see much mention of the Harmonist PS-6, but it looks like it can do a lot of cool things,  check out the Killing in the Name Of solo at 5.15:

https://youtu.be/CZYt8PJDCZs

And craziness with an expression pedal:

https://youtu.be/iVPf6AFu32g

I need to check out this effect on the Katana. 

Gulliver

they’re cheap and OK - like McDonald’s. In my youth, perfectly acceptable and wallet-friendly.

These days, I prefer better burgers and better pedals, and have a wallet capable of allowing me to do so.