BOSS tone suck, am I a snob?

[D-Rock]

I just can't bring myself to use BOSS pedals in my setup.
I ditched my OD-3 and SD-1 six months ago because of the weak tone and yesterday I hooked up my CE-2 and again, signal degradation. Like my guitars tone or volume dial was turned down a notch.
Took it out of the path, and bang...back in business.
Am I being a true bypass snob? Because that seems to be all I'm willing to use as a result...

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

Well you're not the only one who complains about Boss pedals sucking tone so no, I don't think you're a snob.

Everyone has their personal preferences

 

[mboogman]

Nope!

 

[guitarslinger]

I like the way the boss pedals flavour my signal

 

[Johnny LaRue]

Everyone complains about the TU2 AND NS2 but you look at a lot of the "pros" boards and there they are. Having a couple buffered pedals can help if you have some long cable runs.

 

[jerrydyer]

Thats why its gotta be in the amp. A lead boost in the amp. I sat with a Boss Super Overdrive and a stock 2204 going back and forth with pedal and no pedal (out of the signal completely) the full spectrum gets killed with it. You can hear highs and lows just dissappear. The CE2 not as much. At least the effect of the CE2 makes it sound and feel like its not killing it. love the old ce2.

 

[D-Rock]

Thats why its gotta be in the amp. A lead boost in the amp. I sat with a Boss Super Overdrive and a stock 2204 going back and forth with pedal and no pedal (out of the signal completely) the full spectrum gets killed with it. You can hear highs and lows just dissappear. The CE2 not as much. At least the effect of the CE2 makes it sound and feel like its not killing it. love the old ce2.

I love my CE-2 as well, my complaints are when it's off, and sitting in the chain

 

[droptrd]

Well, i went from a board with 8 Boss pedals down a board with 2. TU-2 and PS-5. Maybe Im a snob too

 

[moltenmetalburn]

Everyone complains about the TU2 AND NS2 but you look at a lot of the "pros" boards and there they are. Having a couple buffered pedals can help if you have some long cable runs.

Both of those pedals suck tone horribly. just because a pro uses it doesn't mean anything.

Sure a buffer is great for long cable runs but why settle for a mediocre buffer at best?

 

[moltenmetalburn]

Thats why its gotta be in the amp. A lead boost in the amp. I sat with a Boss Super Overdrive and a stock 2204 going back and forth with pedal and no pedal (out of the signal completely) the full spectrum gets killed with it. You can hear highs and lows just dissappear. The CE2 not as much. At least the effect of the CE2 makes it sound and feel like its not killing it. love the old ce2.

I love my CE-2 as well, my complaints are when it's off, and sitting in the chain

time for a TB looper.

 

[Draelyc]

Everyone complains about the TU2 AND NS2 but you look at a lot of the "pros" boards and there they are. Having a couple buffered pedals can help if you have some long cable runs.

This. If I run even a single true bypass pedal (and most of mine are) in front of my amps, when I roll back my guitar's volume knob, I lose all my high end. Toss even a single buffered pedal (like a Boss tuner or tremolo, fer instance) into the mix, and BAM, back in bidness. Does it sound as good as just plugging the guitar straight in? Perhaps not *quite* as good ... but it does help me get a LOT more mileage out of my guitar's volume knob, which for my style is essential.

But to the OP ~ I don't think you're a snob. It's just a question of knowing what works for you... and what doesn't.

 

[FuelGTRX]

Everyone complains about the TU2 AND NS2 but you look at a lot of the "pros" boards and there they are. Having a couple buffered pedals can help if you have some long cable runs.

People complain about tone suck on the TU-2

I've had one on my board for years and never really heard a tone change between it being in my signal chain and being out.

Now the NS-2, yeah, I can't stand the way that pedal sounds. Then again, I'm not big on noise suppressors and gates

 

[Johnny LaRue]

Everyone complains about the TU2 AND NS2 but you look at a lot of the "pros" boards and there they are. Having a couple buffered pedals can help if you have some long cable runs.

Both of those pedals suck tone horribly. just because a pro uses it doesn't mean anything.

Sure a buffer is great for long cable runs but why settle for a mediocre buffer at best?

Nothing sounds as good as guitar straight into amp but to say they suck tone horribly is a bit of an overstatement. I use the loop on the NS2 for tuner, wah, OD, and to my ears it's not a noticable differrence. Add bass, drums, vocals, 2nd guitar and no one will tell the difference.

 

[Sixtonoize]

If I run even a single true bypass pedal (and most of mine are) in front of my amps, when I roll back my guitar's volume knob, I lose all my high end. Toss even a single buffered pedal (like a Boss tuner or tremolo, fer instance) into the mix, and BAM, back in bidness. Does it sound as good as just plugging the guitar straight in? Perhaps not *quite* as good ... but it does help me get a LOT more mileage out of my guitar's volume knob, which for my style is essential.

But to the OP ~ I don't think you're a snob. It's just a question of knowing what works for you... and what doesn't.

That's pretty much exactly what I was going to post.
I don't think that the buffers in Boss pedals are so bad (at least the ones I own - a TU-2 and an OS-2), but there is a definite difference between plugging your guitar straight in and plugging it into a bypassed pedal. However, the benefits of the buffer in my TU-2 outweigh the tone loss.

If you don't like Boss pedals because they color your tone when you're bypassed, that's not snobbery, IMO.
Snobbery is when you refuse to use Boss pedals because they cost less than $300 and don't use NOS caps.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

Nothing sounds as good as guitar straight into amp but to say they suck tone horribly is a bit of an overstatement.


My goal is always to achieve as closely to the amp into guitar sound as possible, buffers included.

As for the tone suck I disagree. a boss buffer compared to a good buffer is like night and day. Smeared high end, loss of dynamics, you lose some low end. You may like the sound of them but ill say to each his own, I for one hear a degradation in tone that is anything but slight.


I use the loop on the NS2 for tuner, wah, OD, and to my ears it's not a noticeable difference. Add bass, drums, vocals, 2nd guitar and no one will tell the difference.

Again if it works for you that's cool, but I can tell you I can tell the difference easily and its for the worse.

 

[Badronald]

I have a couple Boss pedals on my board along with my boutique pedals. I've never noticed any tone loss.

My motto is, if it sounds good, who cares?

 

[firejack]

My goal is always to achieve as closely to the amp into guitar sound as possible, buffers included.

As for the tone suck I disagree. a boss buffer compared to a good buffer is like night and day. Smeared high end, loss of dynamics, you lose some low end. You may like the sound of them but ill say to each his own, I for one hear a degradation in tone that is anything but slight.

Again if it works for you that's cool, but I can tell you I can tell the difference easily and its for the worse.

This is how my ears hear it.
For me and my rig, Boss pedals have always been tone-vampires.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

tone-vampires.