Boss "combo" pedal board

[Fozzie Guillen]

I was recently poking around the treads about Boss reverbs and Boss delays – along with the what's Boss gotten right / wrong thread – and thought to myself: what kind of board can I put together with Boss "combo" pedals / stomp boxes that do more than one thing, but aren't bigger multi-effects units?

Here's what I'm thinking so far:

OD/Distortion: OS-2 – I have one of these and love it for what it is, even if neither side copies exactly what they're meant to model; it particularly rips with my Jaguar.

Reverb/Tape Echo: RE-2 – I go back and forth about whether to pick up the earlier RE-20 or an El Capistan, but I have the RE-2 currently and dig what the expression pedal brings out of it.

Reverb/Delay: RV-3 – currently on the hunt for one of these.

Modulation: BF-2 – I've had mine since the mid 90s; technically not a pedal advertised as a combo, but it obviously does various modes of modulation quite well.

What else would y'all add? PS-5? JB-2? Should Waza craft count because of the switchable modes (leaning no)?

I'd like to keep it small – maybe one or two more. Interested in hearing how other folks would think of this exercise in entirely unnecessary constraint.

[ryland]

That sounds like a solid selection!

I may change things around, but it really doesn't matter if this is a board that works for you.

I'd probably add a compressor, a looper, and trade the flanger for a tremolo...and maybe switch out the OS-2 for a BD-2 and a fuzz. The RV-3 would stay!

[BearBoy]

SD-2? I've always thought it was an Overdrive/Distortion, rather than two Overdrives.

Should Waza craft count because of the switchable modes (leaning no)?

Maybe CE-2w would count given that it's got Chorus and Vibrato modes?

[Fozzie Guillen]

SD-2? I've always thought it was an Overdrive/Distortion, rather than two Overdrives.

Should Waza craft count because of the switchable modes (leaning no)?

Maybe CE-2w would count given that it's got Chorus and Vibrato modes?

SD-2 had escaped me thus far! And the Chorus / Vibe options in the CE-2w, too – not all that familiar with the switchable options in the Waza series, after all!

[Fozzie Guillen]

That sounds like a solid selection!

I may change things around, but it really doesn't matter if this is a board that works for you.

I'd probably add a compressor, a looper, and trade the flanger for a tremolo...and maybe switch out the OS-2 for a BD-2 and a fuzz. The RV-3 would stay!

I've got the RC-3 looper and am thinking of picking up a CS-2 (I currently use a Mooer Yellow Comp on my main board; went cheap to try it out, and every time I think about buying a Keeley I realize I've no complaints about the Mooer and it's almost always on, so why find a solution in search of a problem?). Adding the CS-2 here would side-step the combo idea, I suppose.

I'm actually thinking of selling my pulsar. I don't use tremolo nearly as much as chorus / vibrato. Maybe I should force myself to play with the Pulsar for a month and just make the decision one way or another. It's been off my board almost since the day I brought it in.

I *am* interested in the Waza fuzz...but beyond the Boss-theme here I usually use a op-amp Big Muff or dime a Rat2, and I've got a Fuzz Master General I need to mail off to EQD for repair (been broken since it arrived, unfortunately, so I haven't been able to properly check it out)

[MrShake]

Not sure if it's up your alley, but the CE-3 Chorus does a good "icy cold" chorus and you can cheat a vibrato mode out of it by switching the Mono/Stereo knob in Mono mode...

[Fozzie Guillen]

Not sure if it's up your alley, but the CE-3 Chorus does a good "icy cold" chorus and you can cheat a vibrato mode out of it by switching the Mono/Stereo knob in Mono mode...

Interesting! I've got a Walrus Julia for chorus/vibe that I've been pretty happy with. But this is good to know, thanks! I haven't looked much into the differences throughout Boss' CE line.

[Zork]

PS-3 does a super thick chorus and all sorts of funny things as well. An OC-2 would also be on board for me.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

As highlighted elsewhere, I find the BF-2 a very versatile pedal as it flanges (obvs) but also does a nice chorus effect with depth and speed set relatively low. It can also be coaxed to produce ring mod-like clanging industrial tones.

The PS-2/PS-3 has digital delay as well as pitch-shifting, also covering chorus and octaver. The RV-2 and RV-3 have digidelay alongside nice reverbs too. The DSD-2 (?) has a sampling function, ultimately not that different from the 'hold' function on the DD series, except it can be triggered externally.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

I'v also often wondered if the MT-2 would clean up enough to be used as a parametric Eq. Anyone have any experience...?

[sessylU]

Not going to be a popular suggestion, but the PW-10 vWah is excellent if that's your sort of thing. Very good wahs plus some other stuff (a load of decentish drive sounds, uni-vibe, bass synth thing, voicebox type dealio).

[Fozzie Guillen]

Not going to be a popular suggestion, but the PW-10 vWah is excellent if that's your sort of thing. Very good wahs plus some other stuff (a load of decentish drive sounds, uni-vibe, bass synth thing, voicebox type dealio).

I'd never heard of that. Not quite my thing, but cool to know about!

[doctor_capleson]

Reverb/Tape Echo: RE-2 – I go back and forth about whether to pick up the earlier RE-20 or an El Capistan, but I have the RE-2 currently and dig what the expression pedal brings out of it.

What else would y'all add? PS-5? JB-2? Should Waza craft count because of the switchable modes (leaning no)?

If you're digging the RE-2, I would not recommend the RE-20. Had one for a while, it was cool or whatever, but pretty "meh" in general. And it had the preamp always on, so it didn't necessarily play well with lots of other gear.

I've used a PS-5 for about a year, and I wouldn't recommend it. I'd go for Either the PS-6, or the PS-2 or 3. I think the PS-3 is the en vogue "collectible" one at the moment, so maybe the 2?

The shifted pitch tracking broke on my PS-5, so the shifted pitch was never correct. For example, if set to one octave up, it would create a sound that was *nearly* one octave up, but not quite. With any dry signal at all on, the result was horrible. It does this for every shifted pitch now. The effect is not quite as bad in Harmony mode, but that really only works as a workaround if one is only going for fifths or octaves (things that are never key dependent).

I had hoped to use the PS-5 instead of a Whammy V. The worse note tracking was not a problem for me, but once the pedal stopped shifting pitch correctly it was game over. Now I just go without pitch shifting altogether.

Boss PS-2 does the cool modulated delay thing, the octave doubling (I would use it like the Whammy set to +1 oct in harmony mode) and it can do a detune effect sort of like the Dimension (a "not quite" chorus type thing). As long as you're okay with the pitch shifting only being octaves, then the PS-2 has more to offer than the 5. If you're after a more standard pitch shifting effect, then the 6 is generally an improvement over the 5.

[Fozzie Guillen]

Reverb/Tape Echo: RE-2 – I go back and forth about whether to pick up the earlier RE-20 or an El Capistan, but I have the RE-2 currently and dig what the expression pedal brings out of it.

What else would y'all add? PS-5? JB-2? Should Waza craft count because of the switchable modes (leaning no)?

If you're digging the RE-2, I would not recommend the RE-20. Had one for a while, it was cool or whatever, but pretty "meh" in general. And it had the preamp always on, so it didn't necessarily play well with lots of other gear.

I've used a PS-5 for about a year, and I wouldn't recommend it. I'd go for Either the PS-6, or the PS-2 or 3. I think the PS-3 is the en vogue "collectible" one at the moment, so maybe the 2?

The shifted pitch tracking broke on my PS-5, so the shifted pitch was never correct. For example, if set to one octave up, it would create a sound that was *nearly* one octave up, but not quite. With any dry signal at all on, the result was horrible. It does this for every shifted pitch now. The effect is not quite as bad in Harmony mode, but that really only works as a workaround if one is only going for fifths or octaves (things that are never key dependent).

I had hoped to use the PS-5 instead of a Whammy V. The worse note tracking was not a problem for me, but once the pedal stopped shifting pitch correctly it was game over. Now I just go without pitch shifting altogether.

Boss PS-2 does the cool modulated delay thing, the octave doubling (I would use it like the Whammy set to +1 oct in harmony mode) and it can do a detune effect sort of like the Dimension (a "not quite" chorus type thing). As long as you're okay with the pitch shifting only being octaves, then the PS-2 has more to offer than the 5. If you're after a more standard pitch shifting effect, then the 6 is generally an improvement over the 5.

Thanks for this, the 2 and 3 seem more in the spirit of the idea than does the 5 after diving more into the line overall, too. With an Rv-3 on its way, I may be set until I find a deal on one of these old, weird pitch shifters, and maybe a CS-2. Unless I decide I just HAVE to get one of those waza fuzzes, but I've lived without one pretty easily until now...

[bubba899]

That's a great selection. I'd personally make two additions.

I like the OS-2 for what it is, but id swap it for the JB-2. The gain staging options in it are great.

My other addition would be an FZ-2 at the front of the chain. Use it as a mental fuzz or a lead boost into the JB-2