Vintage pedals always seem to have an indescribable “Cool” factor going for them. Maybe it’s the chipped paint, missing knobs or ripped-off back label, but you can instantly see they’ve been through the ringer, and have still survived. This shows you that they are A: Built to last, and B: Good enough for folks to have used them over and over again throughout the years. Today’s vintage find is an odd...
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The King of All Octavers! The Boss OC-2 is one of the most sought after octavers. The original, the Octaver, was produced back in 1982. The name changed to Octave in 1984 and production moved from Japan to Taiwan. There is actually a difference in quality between the Made In Japan and the Made In Taiwan versions. The Made In Japan is a lighter shade of brown and the quality of the build seems to be better. The OC-2 doesn’t just...
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The TE-2 Tera Echo from Boss is a fun pedal! Very different than any other pedal you’ll ever see. Hard to explain as well. Starts of with a great echo/ reverb effect that has a massive decay time. 4 knobs: Effect Level, Tone, Feedback (decay) and S-Time (spread time). The spread time knob spreads out the effect sound: Shorter S-Time sounds like a mix between a shooting laser and some sci-fi movie stuff, while the Longer S-Time...
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With all of the awesome Boss delay pedals out there, finding the right one can be a bit tricky…but what if it was a delay PLUS something else? That’s where the PS-2 Digital Pitch Shifter / Delay pedal comes in. Made between October 1987 and March 1994, this little blue beast has stood the test of time, and remains a popular pick of old school digital delays. Mine is nice and beat up, the 9V power section doesn’t work...
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Another Boss Delay? Well, if they would make a bad one, then we wouldn’t have to keep reviewing the good ones, would we? And, at least we’re not reviewing another overdrive pedal… All kidding aside, the DD-6 Digital Delay is a stripped-down version of their DD-5 model, which had a TON of options, too many for some folks. Going from 11 Mode choices to 6 simplifies everything, but still leaves all the options...
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Anyone who knows about the original Roland RE-201 Space Echo knows how sought-after and incredible they sound, but one of the main drawbacks for today’s musicians is the fact that they are really expensive and pretty rare. Well, look on eBay no more: the folks at Roland & Boss have an answer for you in the form of the RE-20 Twin Pedal Space Echo. We know, RE-201 purists, it’s not the same thing…but it is REALLY...
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On its own, the CE-2 from Boss has a smooth, natural-sounding chorus effect, which is what has made it one of the most beloved chorus pedals since it’s introduction in 1979. Not trying to be fancy, not trying to do too much, just doing its job (and doing it well). You can set the Rate and Depth knobs fairly deep to get more of a tremolo-y effect, but where it really shines is backing off the dials until you get just the right...
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The Twin Pedal Collection from Boss has produced some interesting and quite useful pedals – one of my favorites (and, a bunch of other guitarists, apparently) is the DD-20 Giga Delay. Flush with options, tones, sounds and surprises, the DD-20 takes some getting used to, like any pedal of this magnitude, but once you get it down, it’s a ton of fun to play with, and can really be utilized on stage and in the studio to meet a...
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There are a lot of tremolo pedals floating around these days, and honestly, each of the ones I’ve played have sounded great, in one way or another. So, I suppose (like most pedals) it comes down to personal preference, and what fits with your other gear, as well as your style of playing. I gotta admit, I’m a bit of a sucker for pedal mods – I think they’re fun and exciting ways to make a so-so pedal into...
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The Boss NS-2 is your basic noise reduction system, it does exactly what it says and takes the unwanted noise and feedback you get from playing at high volumes or with a lot of gain. Specially when your not playing and just standing by your amp. This pedal comes with 3 different knobs on the top THRESHOLD, DECAY, REDUCTION/MUTE MODE the Threshold knob adjust how much or how little feedback you would like to reach your amp, The Decay...
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BOSS PS-3 Pitch Shifter / Delay Made from 1994-1999 Three Delay modes Seven Pitch modes One Expression mode There’s A LOT in this lil one-stomp pedal. Various options for pitch shifting – from slight chorus-y shifts to drastic intervals! And classic spot-on BOSS digital delay settings. My personal favorite is ‘Mode 7’, which is a pitch-shifting reversing delay. Depending on where you place the settings it will...
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Playing synthesizer sounds through your guitar is always a blast, and the (now discontinued) Boss SYB-3 Bass Synthesizer makes it even more so. 11 different modes allow for literally ENDLESS possibilities; you could play this this every day for a year straight and probably never hear the exact sound twice, it’s that versatile. And if you mix and match it with other fun pedals in your arsenal (delays, reverb, ring mods, etc.),...
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The Boss RV-3 is a really fun pedal, and the combinations and settings of reverb and delay are pretty much endless. There are 3 Delay modes offering times up to 2,000ms, plus 4 Reverb modes with simultaneous delay, ranging from 32 to 1,000ms and using Room, Hall and Plate reverb types. Time and Mode knobs let you select how much of each effect you want in the mix, while the Balance and Tone knobs let you customize the sound coming...
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The Boss DS-1 has been a staple pedal on many boards since its release in 1978. Now, the stock pedal sounds good, and will give you some nice distortion tones, but the Ultra Mod from Robert Keeley Electronics makes it sound like an absolute dream. Described as “Marshall-Amp Tone-In-A-Box”, this mod includes the special “Seeing Eye LED” and switch, to go from Ultra to Seeing Eye mode with just a flick. Lower...
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The BD-2 Blues Driver delivers the creamy, yet crunchy sound associated with great blues guitar. This popular pedal provides instant access to the kind of warm overdrive and emotive distortion usually reserved for 30-year-old tube amps. With the JHS Blu-Drive mod, however, the BD-2 becomes very transparent and extremely amp-like in its response and character. You will notice a huge range of gain that reaches from clean boost to all...
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The DM-3 was the last analog delay pedal produced by Boss, and it is one of my favorite delays EVER. The circuitry is similar to the DM-2’s but it isn’t identical. The DM-3 has a built-in high speed noise reduction circuit and an additional filter, which make the delayed tones sound smooth and oh-so-analog-warm. You can mix-and-match settings between the Repeats and the Echoes, which can do a killer slap back (what this...
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