uncle psychosis Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 [quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1438257788' post='2832967'] but it's worth mentioning that if you run several Boss pedals on your board, you will lose an appreciable amount of bottom end, noticeable even on a skinny-string! [/quote] Interesting. I've never noticed that, or heard it mentioned anywhere else. What I am aware of is that if you run enough Boss pedals you'll typically get a small volume drop which has the effect of making it sound like some treble is missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 A bit of ODB3 love over here, I like it because it sounds harsh and tinny which layered with the valve stage on my amp just sounds nasty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Edwards69 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1438100072' post='2831649'] More than likely. You see a good few pros using Boss pedals on their live pedalboards, if they`re good enough for them, gotta be good enough for us. [/quote] I would reckon one of the main reason touring musicians use Boss is due to their ruggedness. They aren't the greatest sounding effects in the world and vastly cheaper than many boutique effects that the same guys have access too. But when touring, with stuff being carted around in planes, trains and automobiles, and then blasted out at insane volumes, I think that they are prepared to let sound quality dip in favour of having gear that will perform correctly night after night without fail. The boutique stuff is left at home or in the studio! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizznit Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Most of my pedals are BOSS. Affordable, tough, reliable and sound pretty good. Enough said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 [quote name='Greg Edwards69' timestamp='1438346304' post='2833751'] I would reckon one of the main reason touring musicians use Boss is due to their ruggedness. They aren't the greatest sounding effects in the world and vastly cheaper than many boutique effects that the same guys have access too. But when touring, with stuff being carted around in planes, trains and automobiles, and then blasted out at insane volumes, I think that they are prepared to let sound quality dip in favour of having gear that will perform correctly night after night without fail. The boutique stuff is left at home or in the studio! [/quote] Valid point! I also think that it's easier to replace a damaged/lost/stolen unit while touring because most music stores will stock Boss pedals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyquipment Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 [quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1438356950' post='2833906'] Valid point! I also think that it's easier to replace a damaged/lost/stolen unit while touring because most music stores will stock Boss pedals. [/quote] Also legit point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FretNoMore Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 I don't care what brand a pedal is as long as I like what it does, I pick goodies from the whole smorgasboard. I have a few Boss pedals, but like dannybuoy I find there are often nicer alternatives for most of their pedals. Nothing wrong with Boss, they work fine but for the most part I find them a bit uninspiring. The same goes for EHX, I have a few of those too; like for Boss there are often more exciting alternatives - and better quality ones - though EHX should get some props for being inventive. I have no illusions about what boutique stuff does though; the difference between Boss and other brands are insignificant in terms of making me a good musician - I need more help than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottle Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 I don't get this brand snobbery - I don't class Boss pedals as 'cheap'. Inexpensive, maybe, compared to boutique stuff, but readily available and for the most part will do the job. I have a TU-2 and a CEB-3 and like both for what they do. I have other more expensive pedals but wouldn't turn my nose up just because of the brand (well, I [i]might[/i] draw the line at [i]Behringer[/i].... ) Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Like any other brand some pedals are great, some not so great. I have quite a few boss pedals that I love, but I did once give away a DS-1 as I just couldn't get a decent sound out of it no matter what I put into it! The only snobbery I've noticed is with the ODB-3, but whatever, I've seen John Stockman use his live with Karnivool [quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1438253484' post='2832895'] ... LM tend to raise the volume when i play softer and smashes the sound when i dig deeper... [/quote] It's a limiter just like any other, and works quite well. It sounds like you had the threshold set too low Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 [quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1438597921' post='2835617'] The only snobbery I've noticed is with the ODB-3, but whatever, I've seen John Stockman use his live with Karnivool [/quote] I'm not sure this is snobbery to be fair, that would be to say that people don't like the ODB-3 because its Boss......... .....I don't like it because it sounds awful in my setup lol. But I would be interested in re-trying it with the Monte Allums mod. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamg67 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 For my money, and style of music, Boss can claim the best guitar overdrive pedal ever with the BD-2 Blues Driver. I know plenty of other guitarists who rate it very highly as well. For bass, I'm only using overdrive at the mo (plus rack mount compressor), so Boss havn't featured yet, but not through snobbery, I'd try a Boss pedal anyday if it was likely to sound good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I've met people who hate the ODB-3 but have never actually used one themselves. I would class that as snobbery? But you're right, it's not really directed at the brand, it's just at this one pedal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoirBass Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) I've somehow ended up with two ODB-3's. So I modded one with a few mods from Brian Wamplers pdf's. I didn't bother with the 4148's, but the other 3 changes improve it a lot :- [color=#000000][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]easy mod to make it much nicer:[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]c10: 1uf[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]r31: 1k[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]c8: .001uf[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=3]for more smoother compressed tone, change d2 and d3 to 1n4148's[/size][/font][/color] Sounds quite good now (much less fizzy) and has even made onto my board a few times recently. Edited August 3, 2015 by NoirBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 [quote name='NoirBass' timestamp='1438610938' post='2835745'] I've somehow ended up with two ODB-3's. So I modded one with a load of mods from Brian Wamplers pdf's - Sounds quite good now (much less fizzy) and has even made onto my board a few times recently. [/quote] Let me know if you want to get rid of the unmodded one bud, I fancy trying the MA mods Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoirBass Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 [quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1438611326' post='2835752'] Let me know if you want to get rid of the unmodded one bud, I fancy trying the MA mods Si [/quote] I would do, but I quite like having the un-modded one as benchmark for testing other pedals against. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 No worries, one will pop up Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazWills Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 [quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1438615104' post='2835787'] No worries, one will pop up [/quote] one just popped up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) Are the Harley Benton pedals exact clones of the Boss ones.... e.g the [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_bod1.htm"]BOD-1[/url] or the [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_blm1.htm"]BLM-1[/url] ? Edited August 3, 2015 by ColinB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Just picked up a few cheaper on Amazon (guitar related) and I'm impressed. Isn't it funny how guitar gear always has the good offers compared to bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) [quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1438257788' post='2832967'] ... but it's worth mentioning that if you run several Boss pedals on your board, you will lose an appreciable amount of bottom end, noticeable even on a skinny-string! [/quote] [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1438258382' post='2832973'] Interesting. I've never noticed that, or heard it mentioned anywhere else. [/quote] It's mainly down to the decoupling cap at the input. This forms a high-pass filter with the first resistor - the smaller the cap value, the more low end it will shave off. Let's say it takes 1dB off your E string - you won't notice it. Chain 6 pedals like that and you will lose 6dB - I noticed that on skinny-string guitar, so imagine what that will do to a bass. Of course you then set your amp EQ to compensate, and it doesn't have to be a huge problem, but it pays to be aware of what is happening. EDIT: This is [u]not[/u] a criticism of Boss effects, just some information about what can happen when you chain buffered pedals! Edited August 3, 2015 by JapanAxe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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