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Boss HM-2 Re-housing?

Veldar

Veldar

Mar 20, 2012
1,303
515
28
kurri kurri, NSW, Australia
#1
Hello all,

Guess what I got yesterday, a boss HM-2 (I'm assuming you know that as it's the title of the thread)

It's a great pedal I'm loving it except for the feedback it makes but back on topic.

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And the only photo of the guts before the camera ran out of charge.
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As you can see it's a little banged up, but it was made in November of 1983.

So I want to re-house it and do a true bypass mod but I don't know how.

EDIT:I'm still not 100% I want to re-house it, I might just do a true bypass and fix the knobs up, any help one that would be appreciated also.

Also, I live in Australia and am willing to pay postage from America to Australia for parts if I have to, but I don't want the pedal to be any bigger if possible.

Cheers, Sam.
 
#2
If it were me, I wouldn't. Boss pedals are rock-solid already. The older one's have alot of character.

I've rehoused a few older pedals, but never a boss one. The size of the circuit board is what stopped me. It fills the boss case so perfectly, you really couldn't find a smaller case (and improve it in any way?). My two cents. Good luck!
 
#3
jewbageled said:
If it were me, I wouldn't. Boss pedals are rock-solid already. The older one's have alot of character.

I've rehoused a few older pedals, but never a boss one. The size of the circuit board is what stopped me. It fills the boss case so perfectly, you really couldn't find a smaller case (and improve it in any way?). My two cents. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Yeah I was thinking that in the back of my head, maybe I will just fix up the knobs.
 
#4
Can you solder? It looks like the pot shafts have collapsed, so any knob you stick on is going to be loose/fall back off again. If that's the case, you'll need to replace the pots. Its not a hard job.

If you're not comfortable soldering PM me, we can work something out. (I'm in Aus too)
 
#5
If you were interested in mods, Im pretty sure Monte Allum has a mod or two for this pedal. Check out his site, its pretty awesome what he has available and what he does. I ordered a stacked kit for the Boss SD1. Cant wait!! He will work on pedals and send them back to you too through the mail.
 
#6
Ibanezsr500 said:
Can you solder? It looks like the pot shafts have collapsed, so any knob you stick on is going to be loose/fall back off again. If that's the case, you'll need to replace the pots. Its not a hard job.

If you're not comfortable soldering PM me, we can work something out. (I'm in Aus too)
Click to expand...

I haven't soldered in about 2 years :D, but I'm wiling to give it a go, I want to do some DIY pedals one day so the more experence the better.

Where can I get new pot shafts and covers for them?
 
#9
According to this schematic, you'll be after a 10k pot for the highs, and a 250K pot for the distortion. I'm pretty sure that they'll both be a linear taper. You'll need to get 9mm pots (the tiny green ones) otherwise things won't fit. Check eBay for the parts, jaycar might have them, but they don't seem to have a great selection of 9mm pots. You could try Smallbear.com and PedalPartsPlus too, although postage can be killer when shipping to Aus.

Schem:
boss-hm2-heavy-metal-schematic.png
 
#10
Dazonbass said:
Could you please put up some clear pictures of the pots and then it may be possible to give you some advice on what type of pots you need.
Click to expand...

Sure!

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Ibanezsr500 said:
According to this schematic, you'll be after a 10k pot for the highs, and a 250K pot for the distortion. I'm pretty sure that they'll both be a linear taper. You'll need to get 9mm pots (the tiny green ones) otherwise things won't fit. Check eBay for the parts, jaycar might have them, but they don't seem to have a great selection of 9mm pots. You could try Smallbear.com and PedalPartsPlus too, although postage can be killer when shipping to Aus.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help, anywhere I can get some similar knobs?
 
#11
I'd try eBay first, but I have a feeling that you're gonna have some trouble getting replacement for the stock boss ones (I looked briefly, couldn't find any). Smallbear.com has a huge collection of knobs, you might have some luck finding some that you like on there.

Also, (as you can probably tell) the pots aren't the little green ones. They might be 12mm pots? It's hard to tell when you're looking at a photo. I'd still replace them with the green 9mm ones, just use some wire between the pot and the potentiometer sub-board.
 
#13
Hey !! I have the same pedal, but with the volume knob broken !! lol I'm inrterested in the development of your repair too !!

I have also a problem with the switch on/off knob... do you know a place where I could get some as well ??
 

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