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A question out of curiosity

Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

TalkBass' resident Bongo + cowbell player
Nov 10, 2000
6,935
155
59
Bucaramanga, Colombia, South A
#1
Hi everybody.

I remember reading a post from Lord Bongomania in which he said something along the lines of "some Boss pedals are great, others not so much". In my extremely limited experience with effects, I have the notion that Boss pedals are not so great (yet sturdy) utilitarian units. Which Boss pedals are truly great (not only because of tone but also having a really good bypass)? Thank you in advance for your input!
 
#3
Ay yi yi, I hope nobody gets the idea that I think of myself as "Lord". :p

Anyway when I said that about the Boss pedals, I was probably using the word "great" rather generously, so that Boss fans wouldn't think of me as a snob. In general I agree that Boss pedals tend to be rugged, reliable, decent-sounding, and a good value for the price--but I don't think of any of them as Truly Great. :)
 
#6
I've never had a Boss pedal that had a clean bypass. They are OK but not great.

As for Boss pedals that I think are truly 'great' in terms of the effected sound, the OC-2 is indisputably great given that it's still prized for its sound despite plenty of competition. The Dimension C is also something of a classic with a unique sound although I was never very keen on it myself. I think the Metal Zone is a great guitar pedal but I've never tried it on bass. Not sure what else, anybody?
 
#7
I have 3 pedals that I'll never get rid of, and all of them are Boss: my DD-7, CE-5, and BF-3. To me, they are absolutely amazing pedals for their price, construction, reliability, and tone. Are there better pedals out there? Definitely, but for what they are they are VERY hard to beat.
 
#9
How about the
odb-shimmy-shimmy-ya-mens-t-shirt-51478-p.gif


:hiding:
 
#17
I use the TU-3 Tuner, Line Selector LS-2, and Loop Station RP-30. Used to own ODB-3, DD-6.

The tuner is ok, I've heard the TU-2 is better, I'm not sure why as the TU-3 is the only one I've used. It does the job, but I'm sure there are more efficient ones out there.

The LS-2 is a GREAT pedal, ever since I bought it my dist/fuzz sounds have been earth shattering using the blend setting. It also has alot of other functions, if needed you could own 2 or 3 of these things, and at a good price.

The RC-30, I only got yesterday, still messing around with it. I certainly like having a few drum loops to practice with. And its cool for recording idea's if your like me and don't have recording software etc. The main reason I bought it was to have preset ambient loops for between song noise. So far, enjoying this pedal.

The ODB-3 was my first distortion pedal, and at the time I thought it was awesome. But have since moved on to better things. Not a bad pedal, not a great pedal.
The DD-6 was ****ing GREAT. Was stolen a few years back. Their delays are actually my favourite delays on the market, must get myself another one.

I've used a fair few Boss pedals in my time. And I think they are pretty reliable and you get what you pay for. Mmmmhm.
 
#18
The TU-2 is one of the sturdiest pedals I've seen. All the time I see guys who have been using the same one for years. They may end up looking terrible from night after night of being stomped on, but I have yet to see one fail. Mine has never had a problem and has a super clean bypass. I cant audibly hear a difference between running it and going straight into my head.
 
#20
Jazz Ad said:
If you take a look at the pedalboards of pros, you will find Boss more than any other brand.
They are honest, reliable pedals that sound good, more than often they serve as a reference point for the way an effect shall sound.
Click to expand...

I bet most of them aren't stock though! Which brings me to....

This is my problem with multifx units, esp Boss. It seems the consensus among experienced musicians is that most Boss effects are ok, not great, but ok. But with a little modding, some of them can be fantastic, the famous Keely DS-1 for example.

With a Boss multi, yes you can a ton of Boss effects in one unit, great bang for buck. But they're modelled on stock tones. As one would expect from a Boss multi. I believe that it's for this reason that I've never been overly impressed by a Boss multi, as they can only ever sound average, not great.
 

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