Effects Bay

Today I came across an interesting video for NextLevelGuitar.com and it was a demonstration on using the Boss DD-6 delay for achieving a rockabilly guitar tone. Also, he goes into some ambient delay setting as well. The Boss DD-6 is no longer in production since the release of the Boss DD-7, which I’m sure you can achieve the same tones with the DD-7.

Here is the video submitted by rockongoodpeople:

If you’re interested in the Boss DD-7 you can pick it up for $169.00 at Musician’s Friend. If you’re interested in finding a Boss DD-6, then use PedalNerd to find it on eBay!

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Some of you that follow me on Twitter or know me personally, should know that I’m on a big Cure kick right now. After getting the Disintegration 20th anniversary box set, I’ve been getting into the bass VI, chorus, flange, delay tones of Robert Smith. This is sorta odd, since that’s about as opposite as my guitar tone I run now. I like dirty amps, no modulation, delay / wah on solos only. Regardless, it’s been on my mind to have some fun and change things up (some times it really comes down to having fun with the rig).

One of the signature pedals that Robert Smith uses is the Boss BF-1 or Boss BF-2 (and I would imagine he’s using the BF-3 now). BF-1 and BF-2 are no longer in production, but the Boss BF-3 is currently in production.

About the pedal:

The Boss BF-3 Flanger gives guitarists and bassists an updated version of the classic BOSS flanger with the thickest stereo flanging sounds ever. Two new modes (Ultra and Gate/Pan) create flanging with incredible depth-—plus slicer-type effects and sounds that seem to swirl around you.

Boss BF-3 Flanger Features:

* The best flanging effects in a compact pedal
* New Ultra and Gate/Pan modes for ultrafat flanging with very low noise
* Momentary mode turns flanging on instantly
* Tap tempo adjustable via pedal
* Independent guitar and bass inputs and stereo outputs

Here is a video by BOSSchannel:

You can pick up the Boss BF-3 Flanger from Musician’s Friend for $129.00

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 3%

This is another great interview on DunlopTV featuring Mike Campbell, the guitarist from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Couple of interesting items in this interview.. particularly his cool guitars, minimal/small amp set up, and the use of pedals in line on stage. I also took a screen snap of Mike Campbell’s pedalboard and tried to identify all the pedals there. Besides what looks to be a true bypass switch, there is a unidentified ‘Reverse’ pedal there.

But first, here is the video by DunlopTV:

Here is a shot of Mike Campbell’s pedalboard:

I’ve identified the following pedals below:

Way Huge Camel Toe – Triple Overdrive
Line 6 DL4 Delay
Line 6 MM4 Modulation
Lelie Controller?
Boss RC-20 Loop Station
Cry Baby Wah
Boss TU-2
Digitech Whammy II
Reverse?

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Back in the late 80s and 90s I was a huge Cure fan. Loved the textures that band was able to put together. I started to move on after the Wish album, but recently starting to get back into them again. I just picked up the Disintegration re-issue box set, and that is absolutely amazing. Now all I’m thinking about is buying a Fender Bass VI (if that’s even possible) and working out some fun melodic lead lines. Love that sound.. and especially the mood of Robert’s playing style and tone.

I was curious what exactly he used or uses today, and it’s surprisingly not that well know. I figured there would be tons of sites or photos of his pedal board. I always remembered he used Boss pedals (especially in those 80-90 years). I was able to find some of the older Boss pedals he used. Please, if you know more.. please let me know.

Boss GE-7 Equalizer
Boss Chorus CE-3
Boss Overdrive OD-1
Boss Flanger BF-2

Apparently he used Boss DM-2, Boss DD-2 and Boss DD-3 for delays at different points.

I found a great page at Guitar Tone Overload which talks about replicating some of Robert Smith’s tone. You can read it here.

I also found a couple of fairly recent photos of Robert with his gear. Let’s see if we can name these pedals in the comments below.

Going down this memory-lane has been fun!

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So I just got an interesting email in my inbox via Boss. Looks like if you have some mad looping skills and own a Boss Loop Station, you can have a chance to win some serious prizes and a trip to Winter NAMM 2010!

Here is the quick rundown:

Los Angeles, CA, June 1, 2010 — Guitarists, bassists, keyboard players, beatboxers, looping musicians of all sorts: BOSS® wants you to bring it on. BOSS Corporation is pleased to launch the Loop Station World Championship. Start by submitting a video performance with any BOSS RC-Series looping product, and the result could be a trip to the U.S. Finals in Hollywood, California. Or, better yet, $3,000 in BOSS gear and a trip to the International Championship at Winter NAMM 2011 in Anaheim, California.

This is a open competition from June 1, 2010 to August 31, 2010. All you need to do is shoot a video (5 minutes or less), upload it to YouTube, and then fill out the entry form (http://www.BossUS.com/LoopStation). The entries will be judged and selected by Boss. They’ll be looking at creativity, musicianship, stage presence and technical skill of the looping performance.

After the finalists have been selected, the six entries will be flown in to compete at the Boss US Loop Station Finals at the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, CA.

Performances will be judged by a panel of music industry insiders, including:
> Jeff Baxter (The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan)
> Michael Molenda (Editorial Director — Guitar Player, Bass Player, EQ, Keyboard Magazines)
> Paul Youngblood (Vice-President of BOSS U.S., Director of BOSS Japan)

Prizes include:
> 1st Prize – $3,000 in BOSS Gear; trip to the International Championship
> 2nd Prize – $2,000 in BOSS Gear
> 3rd Prize – $1,000 in BOSS Gear

The winner of the US finals will represent the United States in the Boss International Loop Station Championship in Anaheim, CA.

Performances will be judged by a panel of music industry insiders and celebrities.
Prizes include:
> 1st Prize – $3,000 in BOSS Gear (2,500 EU)
> 2nd Prize – $2,000 in BOSS Gear (1,500 EU)
> 3rd Prize – $1,000 in BOSS Gear (750 EU)

Popularity: 3%

As you know Keeley has been pumping out some great pedals, but they’re very well known for modifying existing pedals and improving their performance. Today, I wanted to talk about the Keeley Modded Boss DS-1 Ultra Distortion pedal. Here Keeley takes a stock Boss DS-1 Distortion Pedal (normally $39.99 at Musician’s Friend) and replaces parts with high quality parts (ie: metal film resistors, poly capacitors) additionally the behavior of the pedal has been altered, going from symmetrical to asymmetrical distortion clipping. In the end, this pedal is WAY better than the original.

Here is the description of the modifications:

The Boss DS-1 has a very heavy metal timbre to start with. Keeley’s many modifications take the distortion pedal to a full metal jacket sound. Every component changed or added is of the highest-quality. Metal film resistors are used for a low noise floor; this is essential for a high-gain pedal.

The Keeley modded DS-1 distortion pedal has a lower noise level than the stock pedal. Metal film and poly capacitors are used in the coupling sections to provide the true midrange and high frequency transparency your guitar tone needs while increasing the bass response.

It goes without saying that the note definition has been improved. The final result is an awesome distortion pedal that provides more gain and volume while losing no note definition. Perfect for driving Marshall stacks and other high-powered gear. The DS-1 effect pedal has been modified to have asymmetrical clipping, which gives you second-order harmonic distortion. In addition to lending a very musical sound, the Boss distortion pedal produces an octave-type effect at very high saturation levels.

The Boss distortion pedal has been modified to have the Seeing Eye LED. There is an LED located in the “O” of the word Tone. This LED is not just a visual effect. It’s part of the circuit that clips the signal and gives it that full, distorted sound. The heavier you play, the brighter the LED illuminates, providing more distortion. The Extra LED increases the volume output of the pedal a bit, great for using the Boss DS-1 as a preamp to push the amp or to fine tune a low distortion sound on the DS-1 pedal.

The Boss DS-1 distortion pedal’s ultra mode has an even fatter, more robust tone. This is designed to give you the “Wall of Marshall Amplifiers” tone. This is perfect for beefing up a Strat or pushing an amp hard so that you get more natural tube amp distortion.

This Boss distortion pedal has a mode switch to dictate the different tones you use. With the switch positioned up, you have the Seeing Eye operation mode. With the DS-1 distortion pedal’s switch down you have the Ultra mode.

But how does it compare to a stock Boss DS-1? Well, I found a head to head comparison video by McKinoza. The pedal on the left is the Keeley modified DS-1:

It’s cool that you can now purchase these Keeley modified pedals at Musician’s Friend. The Keeley modded Boss DS-1 Ultra Distortion is $129.00 at Musician’s Friend.

Please check out PedalNerd.com for other modified Keeley pedal deals!

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 4%

Yesterday @dvpstar asked me what I thought of the Boss FRV-1 ’63 Fender Reverb pedal, but I personally don’t use reverb so I was unsure, so I thought I’d better look it up. Looks like Boss has a series of *Fender* series pedals and the FRV-1 ’63 Fender Reverb pedal is Boss’ way of capturing the famous Fender spring reverb unit in a compact stomp box.

Here is the official pedal description:

BOSS and Fender USA have collaborated to create the BOSS FRV-1 pedal, a stunning recreation of the legendary ’63 Fender Reverb via COSM technology. The FRV-1 puts that timeless tube-driven reverb sound under your foot in a tough, reliable compact reverb pedal.

The Fender Spring Reverb is the sound that launched the surf-music phenomenon, and is a staple of rockabilly, country, and blues. Later, it became commonplace in grunge and other modern genres. Now the same legendary sound can be had in an affordable, rugged compact guitar effect pedal.

Boss FRV-1 ’63 Fender Reverb Guitar Effects Pedal Features:

* Recreates the legendary sound of the 1963 Fender Reverb via COSM technology
* Easy operation with 3 classic controls for Dwell, Tone, and Mix for creating sounds from buttery warmth to sparkling twang
* Cool, retro appearance
* Road-tough BOSS metal construction

Boss has a great video by Steve Trovato. I was really impressed with this guys’ diverse playing (country – surf – blues):

You can pick up the Boss FRV-1 ’63 Fender Reverb for $129.00 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 4%

For today’s post, I wanted to talk about the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone. I’ve seen this pedal on a few Pedal Line Friday submissions, so thought I would give it a closer look.  With the MT-2 Metal Zone, you have have a very high gain distortion pedal that can give you great metal tones.  The pedal also has a 3-Band EQ allowing you with some tonal options. The EQ will allow you to have a scooped mid tone or something with a meatier low end.

Here is the official pedal description by Boss:

The Boss MT-2 Metal Zone Effects Pedal offers precision control over tone. Dual-gain circuits scream with super-long sustain and seething distortion. A 3-band EQ includes High/Low shelving knobs plus a midband parametric EQ. The Boss MT-2 Metal Zone Effects Pedal has separate Level and Distortion knobs to put just the right amount of edge on your signal.

I also found a video via BOSSchannel that goes into detail of what this pedal can do:

You can pick up the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone for $87.00 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 3%

Hello all. Just received a press release from BOSS. Thought I would pass it on here:

Los Angeles, CA, April 20, 2010 — BOSS(R) is proud to announce the availability of the ME-25 Guitar Multiple Effects to its popular line of floor-based multi-effects. The compact and durable ME-25 inherits its high-quality sounds from the flagship ME-70, and packs a ton of BOSS tone tools into one amazingly affordable package.

Sporting a quick and easy user interface for professionals and newcomers alike, the ME-25 features a full compliment of COSM(R) amplifier models. The onboard Sound Library comes loaded with 60 effects combinations suitable for a wide range of playing styles. The ME-25 runs on six AA batteries or AC power, and its portable size makes it ready to rock anywhere.

The ME-25 is stocked full of the best BOSS effects — distortions, overdrives, modulation effects, delay, reverb, harmonist, and many more. The built-in expression pedal controls a number of pedal effects, including wah, octave up/down, and a unique freeze effect. Three heavy-duty footswitches allow the user to select sounds and perform other functions, such as accessing the built-in tuner, tapping in delay times, and enabling the SOLO feature.

The ME-25 is the first multiple effect processor at this price point to include BOSS’ renowned COSM(R) amp-modeling technology. There’s a range of classic amps from clean combos to raging stacks, along with a Super Stack function that gets big amp tone from a small practice amp. A 38-second looper is also included for real-time sound-on-sound recording.

The ME-25 also includes USB connectivity, allowing users to stream audio and other data back and forth with their computer. A powerful librarian is available as a free download to manage sounds, and the ME-25 is bundled with Cakewalk SONAR 8.5 LE for multi-track audio and MIDI recording.

The ME-25 is now shipping with a retail price of $276.50.

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@imaustingood asked me what my thoughts were on the Boss CE-20 Chorus Ensemble Twin Pedal. I’m personally not too into modulation pedals, occasionally I use my MXR Phase 100 pedal. The part of why I have this blog, is to definitely look outside of my rut and see what’s out there, so I definitely like these questions, please keep them coming!

Looking at the Boss CE-20, I see it’s a ‘twin’ pedal and is a the big brother of the CE-1. The first pedal engages the manual settings of the chorus, while the second pedal manages presets.

Here is the official pedal description by Boss:

The Boss CE-20 Chorus Ensemble Twin Pedal is one of the best chorus effects pedals made. Lush but transparent. Models classics such as the CE-1 and SDD-320 and lets you create entirely new effects including chorus for bass and acoustic guitars. Brilliance and Ambience knobs provide unprecedented control over the effect engine. 6 chorus modes, 4 user memories with pedal recall, stereo I/O, headphone jack, and BOSS 5-year warranty.

Boss CE-20 Chorus Ensemble Twin Pedal Features:

* Models of classics
* 4 user memories with pedal recall
* Brilliance and Ambience knobs for more profound control
* Stereo I/O
* Headphone out
* 5-year warranty

I found a nice video going into great detail of what this pedal is capable of by azb24.

You can pick up the Boss CE-20 Chorus Ensemble Twin Pedal for $169.00 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 5%