New BOSS pedals!

[Pepe]

The mock-up boss knobs with the coloured caps weren't 3D printed, though. Someone really tried hard to achieve the best possible optics. The quality was really good.

[bigtone23]

I have a DF-2 in a similar condition. What is it with DF-2’s getting beaten up !

Ha! So true! However, after the DS2 (normal mode), the DF2 is my 2nd favorite sounding Orange BOSS pedal, so some wear and tear makes sense.

I have two DF2. Both MIJ
--One is a 11/85 Dist-FB, has some chips and scratches, the rubber skid pads show wear, and the general mechanics of the pots and switch are about 90% or so. Probably lived some life off of a pedalboard and stashed in a duffle bag between gigs. It's not nearly as beat as Pepes, and yours, Doc.
--The other is a 06/86 FB-Dist and is very clean. I don't think this one left the house much, if at all. It operates at 98%. I only got it because it was clean, MIJ and a really great deal.

I wish the D-F was the cleaner and better working of the two, as that is the one I will always keep. Oh well.

[zentropa]

So far this DF-2 sounds good. It looks gruesome in the current state (pictures below). Right now I have no time to clean it (since May I have been renovating two rooms for our children), but I'm going to do that soon. Hopefully I can get rid of the marker traces without destroying the original labelling.

Years ago there were shops at ebay that offered unoriginal but quite good looking BOSS style knobs. I have bought a set of five back then. Where have they gone? I can only find original knobs that cost a fortune! That's why I looked for other knurled push-on knobs at Banzai Music. The only ones that I like and that might look good are these mock-ups of the black BOSS VB-2 (BF-2, CE-3) knobs:

I think you should hunt for an underpriced pre-smd DS-2 to strip the knobs from and resell with replacement knobs. At least that is what I have done to resto some old DF-2 and MIJ DS-2. I am not sure how the smd Ds-2 and waza -2 pot shafts are, but if they would fit you could probably order them from roland parts.

[Pepe]

The SMD versions have potentiometers with D-shape knob shafts. And underpriced DS-2s (no matter which version) are very rare these days.

A few years ago I bought lots of original black BOSS knobs (MT-2, PS-3, etc.) for knurled shafts that I used to replace the coloured knobs on my other pedals. I didn't like the colourful look back then, but now I think differently about it. I'm going to use four black knobs for the DF-2 and I'll keep the two original orange ones. Maybe I can purchase a cheap DS-2 in the future and then I can swap them against a full set of orange knobs again.

Yesterday I was able to remove the "FÄRZÄRRÄR" scrawl. I carefully used a dirt eraser and isopropyl alcohol and it is almost invisible now. Thanks God! That was so ugly.

[BearBoy]

Glad you've managed to do something about the scrawl.

How is it noise wise? Better than your experience with your previous one?

[Pepe]

So far it isn't noisy. In my memory the Taiwanese model that I had was humming. But that was more than twenty years ago (!) and I used cheap wallwarts back then. I don't remember if I ever used it with a fresh battery. Anyway, I bought a Japanese model a few months after that and it didn't hum. That's why I hoped that this DF-2 that I received right now might be Made in Japan. Well, it works and it sounds good, plus it wasn't really expensive. These are enough check marks on the Pro side.

[chromandre]

DF-2s are cool!

my newest boss is just an FS7. I had a little revelation, I was using the RC-500 to fairly complex ends and it was frequently crashing until I got the idea to use a FS-7 instead of a DIY external switch. For whatever reason the FET circuitry system gives a 100% reliable stomping on the RC-500 whereas the raw heavy duty footswitch to jacks will eventually run into error, at least in my experience!

[laurie]

my newest boss is just an FS7. I had a little revelation, I was using the RC-500 to fairly complex ends and it was frequently crashing until I got the idea to use a FS-7 instead of a DIY external switch. For whatever reason the FET circuitry system gives a 100% reliable stomping on the RC-500 whereas the raw heavy duty footswitch to jacks will eventually run into error, at least in my experience!

Interesting...

Found something similar here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=568&p=5106&hilit=footswitch#p5106

[Pepe]

Argh! The shaft of the Overtone potentiometer broke when I carefully tried to bend it in the correct position again.

It is a rare 10kG potentiometer with special taper characteristics. I'm going to replace it with a linear potentiometer soon and then I'll see if I can live with that.

[laurie]

Argh! The shaft of the Overtone potentiometer broke when I carefully tried to bend it in the correct position again.

It is a rare 10kG potentiometer with special taper characteristics. I'm going to replace it with a linear potentiometer soon and then I'll see if I can live with that.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=733&p=7279&hilit=taper#p7279