I did n't notice with one or two pedals.
It's when you have more than about four or five in the chain that it seems to make a difference.
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Boss Pedals
- Thread starter Stampy
- Start date
I did n't notice with one or two pedals.
It's when you have more than about four or five in the chain that it seems to make a difference.
"Retarderd saxophone" sound, I'm intrigued.
Did you mean that you get that from the Boss SYB-5 (or SYB-3)?
If so, on what setting? I'll try it out in the local music store.
A EHX BMS they don't have to test out. Can you get a less retarderd saxophone sound from that?
No idea. I was quoting someone who owns it from another thread.
Search time? (I'm lazy.)
On Boss bypass:
I've seen people say they won't touch Boss pedals because of their "crappy bypass", but use and love the Dunlop 105Q, which has one of the most noticably "messy" bypassed tones in the industry.
Go figure...
I've seen people say they won't touch Boss pedals because of their "crappy bypass", but use and love the Dunlop 105Q, which has one of the most noticably "messy" bypassed tones in the industry.
Go figure...
My TU-2 don't suck any tone, and neither does my PH-3. And there's no signal "leakage" with the PH either. I think the whole tr00 bypass thing has gotten a little out of hand. IMO.
Same thing with +/-3 vs. +/-1 cent. Add/subtract/whatever them together and you got a 2 cent difference either way, for a total diff of 4 cents. Its basically 6% vs 2%. To me thats a "whatever" kindof amount. Honestly I think that the +/- on the boss is prolly attributable to the LEDs more than anything. If I had mine here I'd count up how many were on up to the middle one, multiply it by 2 (cus two light up at once as a step between them), and prolly come up with the +/-3 from that lol
/rant
I had a ODB-3 for quite a while, and while it was buzz-saw like solo'ed (in a bad way) it really cut through and added a lot of width in a band setting (in a good way). Having said that, I've moved on...
One that I moved on to is a modded SD-1, which is incredible for midrange cut and growl. It seams a little over-the top solo, but again, in a band setting it sounds great. I was unusable on bass before the mod.
I've had CEB-3 for a long time, and I think it gets bashed a lot because it's a subtle pedal and a bit metallic. I like it BECAUSE it's subtle (I have a phaser for not-so subtle modulation).
I also have a GEB-7, which is my most recent BOSS pedal, and one that I'm kicking myself for not getting 10 years ago. I simply use it to go from finger style to slap. And it's awesome for that.
Now, this may sound like a Boss commercial... but I have more EHX on my board at the moment (including a BMS), and I wouldn't count the modded SD-1 as a Boss anymore.
I've never detected any tone degradation in tone with Boss. Not significant at least.
Simply put, they're tools and get the job done.
One that I moved on to is a modded SD-1, which is incredible for midrange cut and growl. It seams a little over-the top solo, but again, in a band setting it sounds great. I was unusable on bass before the mod.
I've had CEB-3 for a long time, and I think it gets bashed a lot because it's a subtle pedal and a bit metallic. I like it BECAUSE it's subtle (I have a phaser for not-so subtle modulation).
I also have a GEB-7, which is my most recent BOSS pedal, and one that I'm kicking myself for not getting 10 years ago. I simply use it to go from finger style to slap. And it's awesome for that.
Now, this may sound like a Boss commercial... but I have more EHX on my board at the moment (including a BMS), and I wouldn't count the modded SD-1 as a Boss anymore.
I've never detected any tone degradation in tone with Boss. Not significant at least.
Simply put, they're tools and get the job done.
I've noticed tone suck if I have more than 2 Boss pedals. I have a loop-master and used it to A/B the tone. I've put my TU-2 on the Tuner-out from my amp, and run my other three Boss pedals, my BDDI, and my true-bypass fuzz on on the loop-master.
If I had to pick one single pedal to keep or to carry with me, it would be my Boss PH-3. I wish I could use my OC-3 more - I really dig it, but it just isn't that useful that often in my current band. Maybe one song or two in our whole list of tunes.
So there are certainly pedals I like better than their Boss equivalent, I really profoundly dig some of the stuff they do.
If I had to pick one single pedal to keep or to carry with me, it would be my Boss PH-3. I wish I could use my OC-3 more - I really dig it, but it just isn't that useful that often in my current band. Maybe one song or two in our whole list of tunes.
So there are certainly pedals I like better than their Boss equivalent, I really profoundly dig some of the stuff they do.
In general, I'm not a big fan of Boss, but they do have lots of great pedals, and generally, their stuff is solidly built. For durability, they hold a strong place in the market. For sound... it depends on what you're looking for. For bypass... yeah, it's not the best, but it's still good, and it probably won't affect your tone enough for you to care. Plus, buffered bypasses present other advantages, and the relay-based switching system on Boss pedals is dead-silent (which you won't get with the conventional "true bypass" system that many of us love around here).
The Boss BF-2 Flanger and PS-3 Pitch Shifter/Delay are some of my personal favorites. The DD-6 Digital Delay is a classic, as is the OC-2 Octave. IMO, outside of distortion pedals and synth pedals, I'd say that Boss has a quality lineup.
Now, there are those who will disagree with me... their distortion pedals do have fans in the bass world. But I personally don't like any of them. Most of their distortion pedals have low-end loss issues with bass, which is part of my problem with them. And I'm usually looking for a different kind of sound anyway.
...actually, the HM-2 I tried was pretty bizarre but cool on bass.
The Boss BF-2 Flanger and PS-3 Pitch Shifter/Delay are some of my personal favorites. The DD-6 Digital Delay is a classic, as is the OC-2 Octave. IMO, outside of distortion pedals and synth pedals, I'd say that Boss has a quality lineup.
Now, there are those who will disagree with me... their distortion pedals do have fans in the bass world. But I personally don't like any of them. Most of their distortion pedals have low-end loss issues with bass, which is part of my problem with them. And I'm usually looking for a different kind of sound anyway.
...actually, the HM-2 I tried was pretty bizarre but cool on bass.
gotta disagree there. i have a ph-3 and was instantly wondering why i hadnt gotten rid of it yet. i get a noticeable volume drop and it all sounds kind of dead to me.
that said- i do use a boss fz 2- but only into a sansamp bddi. otherwise its the same story- bottom end drops out (more on the fz-2 than the ph-3) and it sounds like someone threw a lead apron over my amp.
some boss pedals sound great. if they didnt- pros wouldnt use them- as they can afford not to. some sound awful on bass though- and only seem useful in conjunction with other pedals- or in a loop- or with a signal blender.
id say dont buy boss unless you try it out first. but- since im a hypocrite- i will probably buy the dd-7 site unseen in the near future.
I think Dan was talking just about the bypass though. What Boss pedals do when ON is another story. 
The great thing about Boss pedals is how common they are. You can walk into practically any music store and try them out.
But if you do that, ask to use a bass amp with those pedals - otherwise, you'll get a skewed presentation of what they really sound like. Normally, those demo racks they have are connected to guitar amps.
The great thing about Boss pedals is how common they are. You can walk into practically any music store and try them out.
But if you do that, ask to use a bass amp with those pedals - otherwise, you'll get a skewed presentation of what they really sound like. Normally, those demo racks they have are connected to guitar amps.
As you can tell by my signature I have an Ibanez GSR200. My amp is a Hartke B150 thats all I need since I am just a beginner, but there is a lot of noise coming from it.
Hmm... do you know if it's hiss or hum?
Hum is a continuous "hmmmmm" that doesn't go away unless you touch the strings or the bridge.
Hiss is white noise that is decreased when you turn down the treble. Kinda like a TV when you're seeing static, except milder.
Knowing which one you've got allows us to help you better.
TBH, though, beginner gear is usually fairly noisy...
Hum is a continuous "hmmmmm" that doesn't go away unless you touch the strings or the bridge.
Hiss is white noise that is decreased when you turn down the treble. Kinda like a TV when you're seeing static, except milder.
Knowing which one you've got allows us to help you better.
TBH, though, beginner gear is usually fairly noisy...
I would describe it as more of a hum. It is very prominant when I am plugged directly from bass to amp, but it gets a little quieter when I plug it into my Zoom 607 pedal.
Hmm. Turn the volume for your jazz pickup to zero. That should kill most of the hum. Single-coil hum from a single jazz pickup is common (a pair of jazz pickups can cancel out the hum, just like in a humbucker or split-coil P pickup).
If you like the tone you can get from dialing in that J pickup along with the P pickup, then you should consider possibly upgrading your pickups. The EHX Hum Debugger will solve the hum problem, but I don't think it's worth it - upgrading to better pickups or even a better bass will be more worthwhile in the long run.
A Boss NS-2 can't effectively deal with hum. It's designed to cut off hiss when you're not playing, like most noise gates (but the NS-2 is better than most at what it does).
If you like the tone you can get from dialing in that J pickup along with the P pickup, then you should consider possibly upgrading your pickups. The EHX Hum Debugger will solve the hum problem, but I don't think it's worth it - upgrading to better pickups or even a better bass will be more worthwhile in the long run.
A Boss NS-2 can't effectively deal with hum. It's designed to cut off hiss when you're not playing, like most noise gates (but the NS-2 is better than most at what it does).
Like Boo said, I was talking bout the bypass. In terms of volume level when the PH is on, I can get quite the boost on rise/fall or 12 stage if I set the depth lowish (around 10 o'clock). On the other hand, if I set the depth to max (and for greater effect res to max as well) then the volume/bass drop is horrible. And my sound right now is so midrange its amazing there is still bass to drop 
(im kidding a little on that one)
Like every other pedal out there there are settings that work and settings that dont, and some of the settings that work dont please everyone
(im kidding a little on that one)Like every other pedal out there there are settings that work and settings that dont, and some of the settings that work dont please everyone
I love my old Boss Flanger. I bought it in a pawn shop back in the 80's and have used it ever since. That plus my EH Clone Theory pedal allow me to capture the mid-80's post-punk bass sound, in all it's glory.
That new Korg tuner is a lot better then the Boss one, not one does it seem to be more accurate to my ears, but it's a hell of a lot easier to read in a dark & smoky bar or nightclub. After getting it, I gave my old TU-2 to my wife, who teaches little kids to play violin.
I like the RV-5 Digital Reverb too. It gets closer to the sound I want then my Lexicon.
That new Korg tuner is a lot better then the Boss one, not one does it seem to be more accurate to my ears, but it's a hell of a lot easier to read in a dark & smoky bar or nightclub. After getting it, I gave my old TU-2 to my wife, who teaches little kids to play violin.
I like the RV-5 Digital Reverb too. It gets closer to the sound I want then my Lexicon.
The only Boss bass pedals that I don't like are the SYB-3 and the ODB-3; I think I've owned every one but the SYB-5, too.
My SansAmp BDDI gets a sweet overdriven sound, if I ever need it. Not something I strive for though.
I will try that, thanks! Yeah this is just the bass i'm using until I get somewhat decent, then I plan on upgrading.
I get hum from my jazz cus I just use the bridge pup solo'd with the tone open. Lots o' hum from that bitch! Crikey!
But I love the output level and sound of it too much to mess with a good thing. If I have both pups going my output falls and the bass looses all the juicy midrange GROWL.
But I love the output level and sound of it too much to mess with a good thing. If I have both pups going my output falls and the bass looses all the juicy midrange GROWL.
