Boss pedals - Japan versus the world

ThePrettyDamned

Okay, I know this has been done before...

I'm after a ds-2. They can be had cheaply on ebay, which is awesome - 30 quid should get me the clear, smooth sustainy lead sound I love so much, and not many other pedals seem to do it!

However, there are also older made in Japan stuff on there for a higher price. Do they actually sound better? Or is this just mythology from other pedals in the range?

For what it's worth, I'm planning on using it exclusively in turbo mode. Because turbo is FASTER.

Drew_TNBD

I think it's probably bullshit the Japan versus China thing.

frankus

I think some of the components differ is all and can be swapped out if need be.

Mor important is the length of the dash or the colour of the screws

ThePrettyDamned

Drew_fx;410049" said:

I think it's probably bullshit the Japan versus China thing.

I think you're probably right - it's never going to have collector value as they're common as muck, but I wanted to make sure I'm not missing out on da toanz.

frankus;410052" said:

I think some of the components differ is all and can be swapped out if need be.



Mor important is the length of the dash or the colour of the screws

BLACK STICKER DS-1 JAPAN TAIWAN RARE CHIP COLLECTABLE BEST

hugbot

I've never noticed any difference between the japan and taiwan ones ive had

Fazer

whats the price difference?
if its a pedal you love then there's no harm in paying a few £s etc for the japanese one, if those few £s make it 'feel' better to you.
but if its silly money difference and you're on a budget then i'm sure the sounds are pretty close, and maybe there's more difference between individual pedals anyway

Johnnyseven

Some Made in Japan pedals have slightly different components to the Made in Taiwan versions, such as the DS1 and SD1 - which do sound different when comparing MIJ to MIT. There is a belief though that MIT use some lower quality components and the build quality isn't as good, this could be nonsense though. Bossarea will tell you about any circuit/component changes.

steamabacus

Bossarea was resurrected as StompBoxZone. They've got a pretty usefull wiki-area for Boss stuff. From what I've leaned on there (especially from the guy who founded Dingotone pedals who's designed many a circuit and is very knowledgable about Boss circuits), some early Japanese versions are different/better than later Taiwanese versions, some aren't. Also, some early Taiwanese versions are identical to the Japanese (except for kudos and resale value).
You really have to take it on a pedal by pedal basis.

impmann

TBH, there are plenty of comparison vids on YT about Boss Japan vs Taiwan. And to my ears none of them are particularly different sounding...

steamabacus

@ThePrettyDamned

Have a read of this thread. 'Laurie' is the guy who knows his onions.

Taiwanese manufacture seems fine for the DS-2, save yourself some money.

ThePrettyDamned

Sweet. Going to bid on one now go Taiwan!

To be fair it's only really going to be used for one tone...

Slane castle lead tone. Boom!

Johnnyseven

steamabacus said:

Bossarea was resurrected as StompBoxZone.

I was referring to the website rather than the forum.

randomhandclaps

The way I look as Boss pedals and the whole Japan vs Taiwan debate is that I always mount them base down of my board so I can't see the colour of the sticker anyway - which after all is clearly the only difference.

samzadgan

not sure about all of them...but i can tell you on the HM2...the EQ of the MIJ one is slightly better for that buzzsaw sound...but to be honest, that slightly, is not enough to warrant the difference in cost.

but its interesting that some people will say that the MIT HM2's are rubbish compared to MIJ...maybe they have dog-ears and hear stuff i cant...

ThePrettyDamned

Well, I've bid on a ds-2 now. Cheers chaps.

Like I said, I need it to do one sound, which is that flutey, middy, super smooth lead sound. I've not heard anything else that does it so I should be happy

IanSavage

My MIJ GEB7 is a TOUCH quieter than the MIT one that I A/B'd it with in rehearsal for shits and giggles. Noticeable in a straight A/B, wouldn't be noticeable at all in a live context.

randomhandclaps

IanSavage said:

My MIJ GEB7 is a TOUCH quieter than the MIT one that I A/B'd it with in rehearsal for shits and giggles. Noticeable in a straight A/B, wouldn't be noticeable at all in a live context.

Dependent on when it was produced very early Taiwan model are exactly the same as the Japanese (with three opamps), but they then changed the circuit including 4 opamps and rather heroically and against all odds Boss' R&D team managed to source new opamps that were even noisier than the original and ridiculously noisy TL022.

As I did say once before Boss Japan seemed to whack TL022s is everything at one time after seemingly buying them in bulk cheap from the MOD as they were probably considered too noisy for use in military jet engines or missile guidance systems.  When you consider they then managed to 'improve' it to be noisier then those Taiwanese guys must have been working their socks off.

TheCount

Usual internet mythology, the old ones are always better.

 

Even if they used cheaper components in the later ones(has anyone ever proves this, seen purchase records etc?) who's to say that the cheaper comps don't sound better anyway. 

You pay a lot of money for a vintage muff and they're full of the cheapest low tolerance cack they could lay their hands on at the time

ICBM

The Japanese DS-1 I had not long ago definitely sounded better than a recent Taiwanese one when A/B'd - it had less gain, and was fuller-sounding and less buzzy. But the DS-1 is one of the few where I've ever noticed a difference.

I generally prefer the older *models* because I think they generally sound better, and most of them are made in Japan - but that's not necessarily cause and effect.

Interestingly I also had an SD-1 which appeared to be factory original with a Japanese-made PCB and a Made In Taiwan sticker on the bottom. Must have been a transitional model. It sounded good, had less bleed-through than most (they vary, seemingly at random) but at the end of the day it still sounded like a SD-1...

randomhandclaps

TheCount said:

Usual internet mythology, the old ones are always better.

 

You wanna cut down on your MILF-Hub usage.

mike_l

Maybe it's just me, but surely these pedals are designed to be all the same?

So whether it's MIT or MIJ shouldn't matter?

I'm thinking (and call me cynical if you want) that different people are hearing differences because they want to.