Boss DM-2w - anyone got any first impressions?

aspnet

Tempted to pick one up now they are available - has anyone tried one? Any thoughts?

slate

Yes, ive got one and it's very good.
To my ears, it sounds just like my original DM2 .
Plus they seem to have fixed the ever-so-slight Volume drop that the original DM2 has when engaged and also the longer delay times are cool to have Too.
Mines already on the board

slate

Oh, and it's got an input for an expression pedal (time) which I didn't realise til it arrived.
Haven't tried that yet, might give it a go tomorrow...

aspnet

Cheers, 

Never tried the original, but keen to see what it is like next to a Carbon Copy

Travisthedog

I really want one

ICBM

The new one sounds really good until you hear the old one. The new one then sounds muffled and slightly too grainy, as if they've deliberately tried to make it 'more analogue'.

It's a shame it's not a great demo though, too much repetition to begin with and then after halfway there's not a close enough comparison and it wanders off too much.

I'd also like to compare the new one to the Maxon AD-9 Pro, which I've got a chance of buying...

guitargeek62

That's a shame, I liked the look of these but my ears agree with you @ICBM!

slate

ICBM;575844" said:

The new one sounds really good until you hear the old one. The new one then sounds muffled and slightly too grainy, as if they've deliberately tried to make it 'more analogue'.

It's a shame it's not a great demo though, too much repetition to begin with and then after halfway there's not a close enough comparison and it wanders off too much.

I'd also like to compare the new one to the Maxon AD-9 Pro, which I've got a chance of buying...

I can hear a very small difference in that video but mine sounds the same as my original through my rig...
that is a crap demo for sure though and he's also got the mix set higher on the new pedal .
Also, the originals have internal trimmers that are not meant for tweaking - they were factory set with an oscilloscope, although ive read that it's common that people mess with them in order to try to get a longer delay time but you can also change the number and level of the repeats.
I haven't looked inside the waza, but I suppose they have the trim pots too.
Hard to know if the original in the demo has ever been messed with .
Either way, fire up the band and turn the waza on during a song and you'd never hear a difference.

ICBM

If the original one in the demo has been messed with, it's been done very well since it sounds better than the new one .

They do vary a bit though, even if they haven't been. I had two of them at the same time, one was tweaked with when I got it so I used the un-tweaked one as a reference to get it back right - I just went by ear not oscilloscope since I don't know how they were supposed to be set up. Got it good enough that you couldn't easily tell the difference, but it took a fair bit of trial and error! And even then there was a slight tone difference when they were side by side.

I currently have the one I kept tweaked for a longer delay time, but it does get very grainy above the standard maximum setting - I'm not certain, but I think it seems to have got slightly worse over time too. That's really why I was interested in getting one with a longer time.

That demo is very poor though - there's no attempt to set them the same or to play exactly the same after the first few bits. It's obvious that the controls have quite different ranges from where the knobs are, but he doesn't even try to get them sounding the same.

I've tried the Maxon too and liked it, although it's possibly not quite got the character of the Boss - but I've never directly A/B'd them.

slate

I'd like to try the Maxon delays - I've read good things about the AD10....

aspnet

Thanks for the link @ICBM. I keep forgetting to check youtube - should really be a first port of call.  :-\"

There was a comparison vs a Carbon Copy as well - noticeably different, which is good to know. Might take the plunge before Easter and sell on whichever doesn't fit with whatever is in my head

jpfamps

There were at least 2 versions of the DM-2 as well.

The earlier version used the 3005 delay chip, and the later ones the 3205.

When compared with the 3205, the 3005 has higher distortion but lower noise (around 8 dB). 

The 3205 uses less power, so a useful feature in days when people used batteries in their pedals!

I've not been in a position to compare the merits of these chips in a DM-2