Riding the Boss Renaissance

[B.T.]

The earlier MIJ DD-3s have got the long chip as well.

There's some info on the various versions of the DD-3 HERE

I was just going to ask, thanks for the info link!

[-JB-]

Vintage Boss CE-2 remains in a league of its own.

I've many a times made entire "Boss Only" boards.

[CS]

I've used boss on and off since 1980 when they were the must have pedals. My brother went from tape delay to dm2 to dd2. Because each one sounded better. Let that sink in.

I got rid of most of mine because of the cumulative degradation of my bypassed tone. Now I have a gigrig maybe I should have kept them.

[hulakatt]

Always have a couple on my board

[-JB-]

The Waza lineup has changed the game a bit. Always looking forward to what they release next.

[sal paradise]

Stumbled across an interesting curio & couldn’t help myself. A first year (1995) Blues Driver for £60…

[JSett]

Stumbled across an interesting curio & couldn’t help myself. A first year (1995) Blues Driver for £60…

Damn. Not even I've got one of these.

That's not where you set the tone control is it?!?

[marqueemoon]

Calling my PN-2 back into service for a show on Saturday. Doing a cover that requires a hard chop.

[sal paradise]

Stumbled across an interesting curio & couldn’t help myself. A first year (1995) Blues Driver for £60…

Damn. Not even I've got one of these.

That's not where you set the tone control is it?!?

Haha, no I’d just unpacked it. No wonder the previous owner was selling if he needed to add that much treble

[JSett]

Haha, no I’d just unpacked it. No wonder the previous owner was selling if he needed to add that much treble

I was gonna say!

If you ever want to offload it, hit me up

[muffonrat]

Here is a boss serial number decoder website that can help with production dates.
https://serial-number-decoder.com/boss/boss.htm

Currently have a BD2 from 1996 that use mostly with another overdrive pedal before it but not in my main board.

Through time I had a couple of other boss pedals I think a delay and a reverb.

[MrShake]

I was reading this thread at work and trying to remember what I did and didn't have. So I figured when I got home, I'd take a picture...



Clockwise from the top:
- Texture Board
- Boss Board
- Main Board
- Boss Baby
- Bass VI board.

There are a few strays not pictured. Another RV-2, another RV-3, an RC-2 Loop Station, and a pair of DD-5s between my former and current live "band" boards. And there's a backup CE-3 as the lone Boss on my bass board.

And, uhhh... the RV-2 on the Boss Baby board is a placeholder until the backup DSD-2 I found a deal on arrives. I've fallen so hard for the Trigger/sequencing capability I never want to be without one of those.

But other than the RC-2, I think this pic encompasses (at least) one of every model I've got. Honestly, old Boss stuff is about all I'm interested in acquiring these days, and even then, I've got a pretty tight wishlist that's starting to look pricey for what's left, even as hypotheticals. I indulge if something crosses my path (a clean $99 HM-2 at the local shop down the street just over a month ago), or I find an unskippable deal (those HF-2s were $63 and $69, within the past calendar year).

I pick up spares for pedals that do a specific thing that only they do, usually in the dirty reverbs and delays. Other than maybe a Quadraverb, ive never found one that suits my ear like the RV-2, probably because that's where I started by accident, and played it for years, and that's what my ear tuned to, like my taste in delay. When we had a real practice space, and I kept my board there, but wrote and recorded at home, I wanted the same gear and a backup if one broke. Hence, having a few DD-5s.

5-10 years ago, back when things like a BF-2 and CE-3 would only run you $50, and GC didn't distinguish between MIJ and MIT, I couldn't help but impulse buy a few of them.

I should go through and list them out, see how many models I have. Boss rules. It all started with that DS-1. I bought it in 1994, missing one knob, and two incorrect replacements. It's a 1990 MIT "transitional" model - it's an MIJ at heart.

And, yeah, the DD-3's got the long chip.

[sal paradise]

I was reading this thread at work and trying to remember what I did and didn't have. So I figured when I got home, I'd take a picture...

Yes, Mikey! I've always wondered quite what your whole set of Boss pedals looked like. I love how you pick things up for its utility, & of course you've got multiples of all the super-cool, slightly oddball models

Seeing as I'm selling most of my collection, I think I shall live vicariously through yours from now on

[spiffy chap]

And, uhhh... the RV-2 on the Boss Baby board is a placeholder until the backup DSD-2 I found a deal on arrives. I've fallen so hard for the Trigger/sequencing capability I never want to be without one of those.

I've never spent enough time to get the Trigger capability of the DSD

How are you utilizing it?

[MrShake]

Yes, Mikey! I've always wondered quite what your whole set of Boss pedals looked like. I love how you pick things up for its utility, & of course you've got multiples of all the super-cool, slightly oddball models

Seeing as I'm selling most of my collection, I think I shall live vicariously through yours from now on

Lol, you're too kind! Yeah, it's just sort of a funny thing, but some things just jump out to me and if they fit my budget, I know it's gonna be hard for me to be disappointed in a Boss pedal I know I want. And if I already have one and like it... and the thought of it failing is more painful than the cost of a backup, well, the choice seems clear.

You've tried some great ones, and I'm glad you got to splash around in them for a while for some new inspiration and approaches! And here's hoping that Digital Metalizer and Hyper Fuzz find/found loving homes, those are my white whales on the remaining shortlist, lol, but I've been spending too much on other stuff lately.

I've never spent enough time to get the Trigger capability of the DSD

How are you utilizing it?

I run a Trigger Out line from my drum machine and program in 1-4 bars of a sequenced pattern for the DSD-2 to fire off. It integrates my guitar into my "drum machines and synths" setup, and can flip between patterns at the press of a button. Some people mic up a snare drum and tweak the knobs to get a big blast of delay when the snare hits. I detail it a little better in a thread at the "other" forum.

It's really wild, and lots of fun as a function - plus all the delays have that "long-chip/DD-2" voicing. https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index ... t-35997637

And before bed last night, instead of counting sheep, I did inventory. I'm not usually that kind of gearhead, but I had to know:

BD-2 Blues Driver
BF-2 Flanger (x2)
CE-3 Chorus (x2)
CS-3 Compresson Sustainer
DD-3 Digital Delay
DD-5 Digital Delay (x4)
DF-2 Super Feedbacker & Distortion (x2)
DS-1 Distortion
DSD-2 Digital Sampler/Delay (x2)
HF-2 Hi-Band Flanger (x2)
HM-2 Heavy Metal
LMB-3 Bass Limiter Enhancer
PH-2 Super Phaser
PS-2 Digital Pitch Shifter/Delay
RC-2 Loop Station
RV-2 Digital Reverb (x4)
RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay (x3)
RV-5 Digital Reverb
SD-1 Super Overdrive
TE-2 Tera Echo
TU-2 Chromatic Tuner (x3)

21 different models
15 duplicates/backups (across 9 models)
36 total Boss pedals

So, yeah, other than that wishlist of mine, or something cool crossing my path, I'd say I'm pretty well set.

That said, I think the SY-1 is probably on deck for next year, unless one of those other longtime crushes wanders past...