Boss 50th - Limited Edition Retro Pedals

[ElmerJFudd]

 

https://www.boss.info/global/boss-50th-anniversary/
 

 

[Larryz]

+1,000 Boss has made some great roadworthy pedals at some great prices!  Silent switching in and out. Most of them are still in use today... 😎👍 

[surfergirl]

I've considered getting a DS-1, I don't think I would pay the extra $20 for the anniversary. Although they do look kinda cool and the 3 pedal 40th anniversary box set are selling for between $750 and $1000.

[Caevan O’Shite]

9 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

 

https://www.boss.info/global/boss-50th-anniversary/
 

 

Quite a trip down Memory Lane there...   

[Caevan O’Shite]

     Cool...   
 

 

[RABid]

I've debated getting a Waza Craft Boss pedal for years but never got around to it. But for only a $10 difference between the normal and the 50th BD-2, I may have to grab that.

[Winston Psmith]

A DS-1 was my first Boss pedal. A buddy who played Keyboards gave it me, when he wasn't thrilled with what it did to the sound of his Electric Piano. I've thought about getting a new one, and might check with my FLMS to see when they come in.

[surfergirl]

Another option for the DS-1, the Waza is now $99.99, down $50. I have 2 more payments on my Walrus Audio reverb from Zzounds, so I have 2 months to think about it. 4 choices the regular, 50th, Waza or none. 

[Caevan O’Shite]

8 hours ago, RABid said:

I've debated getting a Waza Craft Boss pedal for years but never got around to it. But for only a $10 difference between the normal and the 50th BD-2, I may have to grab that.

If the added features of the Waza Craft BD-2w particularly appeal to you, I'd suggest that model- I don't think that the 50th Anniversary model has those, I believe that the 50th Anniversary model is very much a good, limited-edition 'reissue' of the original, classic BD-2 with no real changes.

And if the BD-2w's additional Custom Mode with more lows and focused mids appeals, I can very heartily recommend the Keeley Super Phat Mod (smooth) and Retro Super Germanium Phat Mod (gainier and more aggressive than the SPM) overdrive pedals. The included "Phat Mod" Mode that Robert Keeley came up with is likely the inspiration for the Custom Mode of the Boss BD-2w!
 

 

7 hours ago, Winston Psmith said:

A DS-1 was my first Boss pedal. A buddy who played Keyboards gave it me, when he wasn't thrilled with what it did to the sound of his Electric Piano. I've thought about getting a new one, and might check with my FLMS to see when they come in.

If you want more or less of a 'collector's item' pedal, go for the 50th Anniversary DS-1. Or, if the original that you remember is most to your liking, a new or used 'standard' DS-1 should do you very well, for less. If 'more', and greater versatility interest you, the Boss Waza Craft DS-1 should satisfy quite well.

You're already VERY familiar with the original Boss DS-1; here's an excellent demonstration of the Waza Craft DS-1w version:
 

And Brother @Winston Psmith, note the following: (And @surfergirl, check out the video above)
 

4 hours ago, surfergirl said:

Another option for the DS-1, the Waza is now $99.99, down $50. I have 2 more payments on my Walrus Audio reverb from Zzounds, so I have 2 months to think about it. 4 choices the regular, 50th, Waza or none. 

If I didn't already have a few pedals that are excellent overdrive and distortion stomps that cover much pf what that Waza Craft DS-1w does, I'd be on that deal like a wolf and snap one up!

[RABid]

2 hours ago, surfergirl said:

Another option for the DS-1, the Waza is now $99.99, down $50.

Wow. You are correct. This morning when I posted Sweetwater listed it for $149. Now the price has dropped. I notice on Reverb some dealers have dropped the price and some have not.

[o0Ampy0o]

I have been out of the loop. If it has not been brought back I have always wondered why the Roland CE-1 was discontinued. It has a unique sound. Back when Neal Schon was in the first iteration of Journey I wondered what he used to get his different effects. My sister’s new BF was the guitarist in a band. He emulated Schon and had most of the same gear. That is where I discovered the Roland CE-1. Schon used it in a unique sequence in the chain. This was confirmed watching the BF demo it and it being Schon’s sound.

 

Funny though, this BF also tended to tell tall tales. (He had supposedly attempted suicide when a previous GF broke up with him. He supposedly attempted it again when my sister broke up with him but the paramedics told her he was faking the whole thing.). I asked about an effect I did not know the source of. This BF described a pedal he said Neal himself had shown him. Years later I learned the effect was achieved by running a guitar through a Leslie speaker cabinet. Carlos Santana had done it when Neal was in Santana. Even back in the late 70’s I tried to describe it to a guitar store salesman and he was of no help. I had heard it on a bunch of songs over the years but it wasn’t until the Neo Ventilator was released that I learned it was the sound of a guitar going through a Leslie speaker cabinet.

[Caevan O’Shite]

43 minutes ago, o0Ampy0o said:

Schon used it in a unique sequence in the chain. This was confirmed watching the BF demo it and it being Schon’s sound.

Would you be so kind as to expound on that? Thanks!

[Winston Psmith]

FWIW, the Waza Craft CE-2 has a CE-1 setting, which Boss claims will reproduce the sound of the original?

 

Now, if they release a Waza Craft Feedbacker, I'm in . . .

[o0Ampy0o]

19 hours ago, Caevan O’Shite said:

Would you be so kind as to expound on that? Thanks!

It has been many years since I used an amp and pedals. In a sequence I was familiar with it all worked to sound like you were pushing the amp then the gain caused each pedal to react a certain way. If your amp had an effects loop certain effects like modulation would take the amp output and modulate it cleanly instead of being driven by the gain.

 

This didn’t sound better to me when you moved the distortion to the effect loop. IMO distortion sounds best and also influences the guitar’s response favorably when you consistently have it working off that pushed amp concept. Otherwise it produces a more fuzz tone sitting on top of the signal and it is less responsive because it is independent of the dynamics taking place before the signal reaches the distortion device.
 

The CE-1 had chorus effects that did not sound like all choruses. Everything may have been reproduced since then, I just had my limited exposure and preferences at the time. Neal also prefers lead clarity with less fuzzy sustain even though I have heard him very muddy live.  Neal manages to have consistently biting distortion in lead and rhythm tone but the modulation is placed on the other side of the distortion pedal and wah wah so they effect the signal at a different stage of processing. 

 

I have not had the hearing perception a musician needs to figure out what is played. It extends to how gear is set up as well. I only understood it when it was shown to me and each component was turned on and off to hear the difference. Some things need hands on  experimentation. More needs hands on experimentation in my case. You might be able to imagine it all then arrange the gear after.

 

I hope this made sense and was useful.