YAMAHA

YAMAHA

In the 80s Boss pedals dominated the market, but other manufacturers

were also producing high quality units, and one such manufacturer was

Yamaha, a company renowned for excellence. Over the years Yamaha produced

pedals in many styles but none were more stylish, in my mind, than the 10M 'Sound Device Series' series. Firstly they looked futuristic and almost Lego like. The knobs were sunk under the foot switch and walled from the front to stop accidental movement of the controls. Very clever indeed. The 10M pedals were all matt black and only colour coded by name. They were incased in metal and every bit as tough as their Ibanez and Boss counterparts. These pedals are rare now today, and there is not an awful lot of information on the internet about them except for blogs and guitar forums. I have yet  to see catalogs and company literature on them. So my advice to anyone interested in them is, grab 'em while you can!

THE 10M SERIES

These babies came before the 10MII in 1984 and had a grey casing

with colour foot switch. All the knobs were black and greay. Very nice!

Note! I do not own any of the 10M pedals but I'm eyeballing them on line all the time.

I'll take them all please...

THE 10M II SERIES

These were all black and had no painted 

switches like their predesessors. I'm not 100% sure when these came out but it was around 1987. The knobs were black and colour-matched each model. There was 6 in the line up and I own five now so all that remains to own is the Graphic EQ.  

DISTORTION DI - 10M II
I guess this could be classed as a hard-ass distortion, the sound is clean and
transparent with a rich tone. It sounds a bit thin with single coil guitars but
much fuller with a twin humber axe.

Back to the future of analog bliss!

Aren't those knobs cool. Don't lose them!

Hear it on YouTube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVrepEqCgYk

OVER DRIVE OD - 10M II

This is a nice over drive and it does not colour your sound until you crank it.

It can be used as a clean boost with the overdrive turned down full and the

out level cranked up. The overdrive sound has been compared to a TS9 by

some, but all I can say is it's a natural sounding pedal that has a

nice rich transparent tone.

You can't go wrong with black and orange!

Industrial good looks!

Hear it on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjxiiepqeGI

FLANGER FL - 10M II

This box has a nice warm, full sound and has enough

variation to keep most Flanger fans happy. I prefer the sound

of this to the Boss BF-2 which is a bit muddy to me. You can

get mild sounds to far out sounds and it is always

pleasant to the ears!

Purple Reign!

One from the side!

Watch FL - 10M II  Demo on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN9J16bPCVc

CHORUS CH - 10MII

This is a fine analog effect with plenty of depth and

a lush sound all of it's own. It is mild in comparison to

other brands of chorus but that is fine by me. The 'Direct

Out' socket for stereo is in an awkward place and it is 

best to use an L shaped jack to neaten it up!

Relaxing in the grass!

The Direct Out for Stereo is in a funny place

but that's what I love about it!

See and hear the CH - 10MII on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nxbjH-Q8Pg

COMPRESSOR CH - 10MII

This was a recent auction win on eBay, it was cheap and at the last minute I thought I'd double my bid just in case. I won it for £33 which is pretty good for an analog classic from the 80s. You won't get anything of this quality new for that money today. I popped it on my board and it has a more elastic snap than my Boss CS-3, which I have been using non-stop since 1992. It sounds pretty quiet and who knows after a few gigs and some more chopping it may stay there for good!

The old squeeze! I really like the elastic feel this gives my Tele for country twang!

Hear it in action! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=golt-PiBGws

GRAPHIC EQ GE - 10MII

I do not own this as of now, but...

The most 80s colour scheme ever!

THE 20M SERIES

These were slightly wider and had more features. You can see the 

word 'digital' in small letters on some of them!

Harder, Faster, Stronger, Better!

Size matters! The difference is this!

DISTORTION MBD - 20M

It's mean, it's chunky, looks and sounds great.

The 'balance' control blends two separate distortion

circuits making it a very versatile unit indeed. My first 

impression was 'wow', the sound was big, very clear and there

was hardly any noise coming from it, making it very impressive

for such a high gain unit. This pedal sounds expensive and

you can more or less get any sound you want.

Under the hood!

How I love to see 'Japan' printed on chips!

SEE MBD - 20M ON YOU TUBE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUj1xcfRclQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UU5s0pTM1NTM7ngNdtc6L4Cw

DSC-20M DIGITAL STEREO CHORUS

This is a very clean sounding effect and has three

different modes, Chorus, Alpha and Beta. How scientific!

If you put a dummy load on output A you can get a vibrato effect.

Digital meant an entirely different thing back in the 80s and

more likely an analog circuit processed by digital ICs.

A peep under the hood. It looks like a model

of a large factory in there!

A chip! This controls the show!

SEE DSC-20M ON YOU TUBE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUMbxku5skU&list=UU5s0pTM1NTM7ngNdtc6L4Cw

DIGITAL DELAY/SAMPLER DDS - 20M

This must be one of the most underrated digital delay pedals of them all.

The sound is warm and beautiful and I think I prefer it to the boss DD3. The sampler

is a nice touch too and handy for the odd moment you feel like playing over your own

riffs. These are rare now and you don't see them that often. When they pop up for sale you will pay around €100 for one. This one was bought online, the seller said it was not working. I got it very cheap and got it working again. The jack plugs are attached to the board and are held to the casing with two plastic brackets, this is the weak point of this design

which can move with use.

SEE DDS - 20M ON YOU TUBE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFypuqSf4Ds 

THE 01 SERIES

These predate the 10M, 10MII and 20M series

THE DIY SERIES

Do It Yourself! Don't laugh, but these babies

were plugged into a masterboard that 

had switches to control the pedal.

The socket!

The masterboard. Now isn't that Japanese

ingenuity in all fairness?

PSK

PSK DELAY DLY-2

I bought this second hand in 1990 and straight away you will see that it is a plastic copy of a Boss pedal. I love analog delay pedals and this one was a lot of fun. It was great especially when self-oscillating. I used it on vocals as well as guitar when recording onto my Fostex cassette recorder. Fast forward to mid 1993 I plugged in a power supply at too high a setting and smoke came out of the pedal. It never worked again sadly, as I must have fried the board. I was a bit pissed off to say the least and to finish it off I dropped a 56Lb weight on it and it was atomised! A tragic end to a lovely pedal!    

This baby was atomised back in '93!

A selection of old PSK pedals. Notice the Ibazez/Maxon style dials 

on some of them and the Boss style text especially the Chorus and Overdrive. Even though some are plastic the earlier units were die cast metal like Boss.

SUPER OVER DRIVE SOD-2

Another online score, this one is in mint condition. It's been so long since I've held one I've forgotten how cheap it feels. When I plugged it in the light stayed on and wouldn't switch off until I opened the unit up and gave it a shake and it works fine now. It's noisy with hum clearly audible when switched on. The sound is warm but the filter control is muddly until around 7 on the dial. It's clearly not a professional unit like a Boss or Ibanez but that won't stop you having bedroom blowouts from time to time!

FRONTLINE

FRONTLINE SERIES II

I don't know much about these pedals, but what I do know is that they were made in the 80s and they are quite rare now. They pop up occasionally on eBay and seem to sell for very little. I think they were made in Japan by Coron and branded for Frontline, a guitar accessories company based in the UK. The pedal is a die cast metal shell with plastic battery cover. The plate the control knobs are attached to is metal as is the footplate and the actual switch is the same as the one found in Boss effects. The plastic knobs are not the best but these were after all budget pedals.

STEREO FLANGERThis was second pedal I ever bought in the summer of 1988. The flanging sound was a little unengaging if unclear and diffuse. As far as I can remember it was heavy on batteries. I sold it down the track so I don't know what became of it. But I now own one again thanks to eBay and while back in '88 it might have amazed me, today it sounds thin, noisy and messy. The pedal is in mint condition, hardly used. The self-oscillation is way over the top but absolutely gorgeous like a puppy crying for food!

OVERDRIVE

Look at all that blank space on the control panel, you could write a book in there! I also have the Heavy Overdrive also with the 4 controls. I got this very very cheap online and it's a superb sounding overdrive. It is one of the best I've ever tried. If you crank the level to 3 o'clock and the drive to 9 o'clock it drives a tube amp beautifully and you get to hear all the nuances of the guitar. By the way, white is a pretty bland colour for a drive pedal in my book, red, orange or yellow would be far sexier!

MONO CHORUS

I managed to pick this up on an advertising site and l love the colour and the word mono written on it. It sounds full and lush with nice vibrato. As chorus sounds go, it's more in the 80s but still mature and workable.

HEAVY OVERDRIVE

This is a great sounding pedal. Although it breaks up early on the drive dial like a distortion it's warm and clear adding a creamy smooth bite to the guitar. The treble never hurts your ears like other pedals can but too much bass can be a bit muddy with neck pickups. Still in all it's a great pedal with big balls and one of the unsung heroes of rock! Definitely a keeper!

DISTORTION

Another eBay grab for just £10. The seller said it's untested as he hadn't the time so I the gallant risk-taker placed my bets! It's in the post as I write! (2 weeks later!) Well, it never arrived and I was notified by local police it was stolen from the post office along with other peoples stuff and was being held as evidence for an upcoming case! I will receive it once the case ends, until then it remains in custody. My first guitar pedal to be arrested!

That's showbiz!

Hauled from eBay, this is a pretty simple Compressor with just Level and Sensitivity, which obviously controls the squeeze!

There's something charming about them! The Digital Delay Sampler looks like it has red LED on it, very Buck Rogers! How cool is that?

Note! I do not own all of the pedals in this photo but I'm working on it! 

😈

BAD MONKEY OD

B-B-B-B-BAD TO THE BONE!

DIGITECH BAD MONKEY TUBE DISTORTION

The Bad Monkey is what's known as the Tube Screamer sound

for a fraction of the price. Made in China but with good build quality this pedal 
sounds great and is a joy to use. The minute I plugged it in to my Marshall TSL602 clean channel and blasted off a few riffs I liked it a lot. The sound reminded me of early 70s Rory Gallagher and even though it's raw, it's warm and clear. It enhanced the sound of my Gordon-Smith G-60 guitar like a good pedal should, bringing out the nuances of the instrument with good detail. The controls are good making this pedal pretty versatile for all kinds of music. There is an 'Mixer' output which emulates a speaker cabinet for those that wish to record or go through a PA. All in all, this low price overdrive is fun and sounds better than a lot of the more expensive boxes. The name and the cartoon style graphics I find a bit childish but this pedal rocks!

The sparkly green monkey machine!

Monkey business. The controls.

Side view, obviously!

SEE IT ON YOUTUBE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDR0uhsbKBw&feature=c4-overview&list=UU5s0pTM1NTM7ngNdtc6L4Cw

BOSS

Boss. If I was to try and say something about Boss that has not already been said,

I would be stuck for words or telling lies. What can one say about the legendary

effects that amateurs and pros love the most? Every guitarist, has a Boss pedal

they love, and I know what it is to love them too, as I have been
using them for almost 30 years now. 

Before I go any further, I would like to start with some of the quirkier Boss pedals that I like,
instead of blasting on about the very popular models that everyone has.

DIGITAL METALIZER MZ-2

A hybrid of analog and digital cutting edge distortion 1987 style!

The mid to late 80s was a funny old time for music. The synth dominated pop music along with sequencing and click clack production. Rock was processed just like food and sterility was creeping in. So what did guitar gods need? I'll tell you. Digital Processing! From rack mount units to amps the sound was getting 'synth-like' treatment. Step in then, the Boss Digital Metalizer, the distortion that offered 3 modes of 'Doubling' and 2 modes of 'Chorusing' in glorious stereo! The effects are fixed of course, well what do you expect? This pedal is heavy on a 9V battery so power supply is recommended.

The idea was simple: Take an analog distortion circuit and integrate it with digital effects.
Is it any good? Hell yes, the distortion is warm, harmonically rich and it is great fun to mess around with. The Doubling mode gives a great Brian May style effect and the Chorus gives you that Def Leppard stereo chorus rhythm guitar crunch, what more could you want! The downside is that even rolled back to minimum the Drive is still distorted, even though it's slight it's a bit of a bummer as I'd like to hear the pedal's effects clean! Anyway that's a minor quibble and with looks and sounds this good, we're on a Highway to Hell, and no serious pedal collector in their right mind would pass on this seriously cool weapon of mass distortion!

I love the name, the metallic black paintwork and the red text. 

This pedal looks like it was made in hell!

The demonic controls!

Yes, a stereo Boss distortion!

A double deck board sandwich

Where Mr. Analog meets Mr. Digital

VISIT IT ON YOU TUBE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klzUZHnVj-M

DIMENSION C DC-2

A chorus that sounds like it's made in heaven!

This is one of the oddest pedals in the Boss catalog looks wise but sound wise one of the best. It is also very sought after by collectors and it's no wonder as it sounds fantastic. In stereo it gives a 3D type effect hence the 'Dimension' in the title and the 'C' which stands for chorus. Now, what do the buttons do? Well as you may have gathered it has four preset modes each of which gets a stronger as the number gets higher. Simple as that. You cannot adjust the sounds but just ask anyone who owns one if that is a negative and they will tell you it matters not as the sounds is so good. The unit was produced from 1985 to 1989 and is analog in it's nature, offering lush, warm and very rounded tones and designed to be used with two amps or a mixer where it really shines. I have every Boss Chorus pedal from the CE-2 to the CE-5 and let me tell you mode 2 on this pedal just makes me weep it sounds so beautiful. These are now expensive on the used market and getting one under €200 is a bit of a challenge, a mint example with box can cost you €350 plus! Is it worth the money? I would have to say yes, once you hear it for real you may get hooked! One another note you are advised to be gentle with the buttons and avoid pressing more than one at once!

The strange looking Boss effect or the 80s in box!

 Take your pick!

VISIT IT ON YOU TUBE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX60zGVeu9k&list=UU5s0pTM1NTM7ngNdtc6L4Cw

BOSS DC-3 DIGITAL DIMENSION

(also known as Digital Space - D)

Produced from 1988 - 1993, this fully digital hybrid chorus achieves a spacious stereo sound with less of the modulation of an ordinary chorus effect. It is a true stereo unit that modulates both signals like the DC-2 before it but it is very different to that effect. Again, it's best when run through two amps or a mixer. Long discontinued they are now sought after by the more discerning guitar players who appreciate the concept and Boss ingenuity. Soundwise, it's pretty subtle and you have to crank the level well past 12 O'Clock to hear it's effect. The effect is slightly metallic and pristine making it a pretty unique unit all the same. When it was discontinued in 1990 it was rebadged Digital Space-D and only sold in Japan.

CE-3 Chorus

This was the first Boss effect I ever bought, kinda! I did buy a used CE-3 in October 1989 but I managed to deface it in 1994 with a can of spray paint! This was it's replacement that I got from a friend! I like this in stereo when recording. I had it on my board for the best part of 20 years but I don't use it now.

DS-1 Distortion

I bought the DS-1 brand new for my 21st birthday in 1990 and it was my one and only distortion for a long time. This pedal has been around the world as I took it with me

travelling in 1997.

HM-2 Heavy Metal

A friend of mine had a HM-2 in the late 80s and even though I'm not the jealous kind I was jealous of this. The black paint and the deep bass tone and growl had me by the klackers!

I bought my own used in December 1991.

CS-3 Compression Sustainer

I was listening to an Adrian Belew album in early 1992 and then I read he used comp on his guitar. I just had to get a taste of the action and in April 1992 I bought the CS-3 and it was on my board always on from then until mid 2016 when I replaced it with a CS-2 and then last year I replaced that with a CS-1 which is the one for me!

DD-3 Digital Delay 

In November 1993 I bought this from a chef that worked in my town. I still have it and it was on my board until 2011 when I replaced it with a DM-3 which suited the country stuff I was getting into. The DD-3 is a classic and amazing for it's time in the mid 80s.

NS-2 Noise Suppressor

I bought this in late 1993 so I could 'complete' my pedal board chain as it uses a send/return and also can power multiple units. It's been on my board almost 25 years turned on making it my longest serving Boss pedal!

BF-2 Flanger

I bought this used at Christmas 1993 as a mate had one and I loved it. It's a beast and lots of fun. It's a pity flangers are out of vogue nowadays.

PH-2 Super Phaser

I bought this baby new in July 1994 and I can say I got a lot of mileage out of it. It's a great pedal with a distinctive sound and 2 modes for piles of phasing fun. 

DS-2 Turbo Distortion

I bought this not long after the phaser and it replaced the DS-1 on my board. I was in a band at this stage and about to buy a Marshall JCM 900 head and cab. This blasted me into orbit with that big amp!

PS-2 Digital Pitch Shifter/Delay

I bought this used from a private seller in December 1994. Well, it's of its time and pretty outdated now but what the hell, I had so much fun with it with my voice sounding like a complete weirdo!

TR-2 Tremolo

I was living in Melbourne when I saw the TR-2, the FZ-2 and the OD-3 in a shop poster celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Boss Pedals in 1997. I bought one the following year, and yes I love it even though it has the volume drop. A very cool and unique pedal.

PSM-5 Power Supply & Master Switch

I found this used in a guitar shop in late 1998 and jumped on it. It's very handy on a spare pedal board for powering units when gigging or recording. This was the last Boss effect I bought in the 90s and it would be almost a decade before I bought another. I fathered a child and Boss was put on the back burner!

BD-2 Blues Driver

The first Boss pedal I bought in over a decade in November 1998 and had I some catching up to do! I remember it coming out in 1995 and I thought it was a funny colour for a Boss OD which were almost always yellow.

SD-1 Super Over Drive

The story behind this one goes like this, I was put on a 3 day week at work for a few weeks and we were given a welfare card. I got €50 for mine and I went to a music shop and asked them what new Boss pedal could I get for that amount? The SD-1 was €49 and I had €1 left over

for food! ;)

CH-1 Super Chorus

I bought this from a friend in late 2008. It's a pretty cool unit and lots of fun. The clarity is great and the warp mode and reverse are really cool.

PH-3 Phase Shifter

This one was pulled from a pawn shop in early 2009 and it being a digital model with stacks of modes at first sound nice but there's something tiring about it. It's now consigned to the shelf.

OS-2 Over Drive/Distortion

This one was also pulled from a pawn shop and most likely an impulse buy. It's a funny one indeed with it's dual circuit. You can get a good Bryan Adams rock sound out of it!

PW-2 Power Driver

I bought this in late 2009 in a guitar shop, the shop that Rory Gallagher bought his Fender Strat from in Cork city. It was mint in the box even though it was used. The PW-2 was a flop but at least it looks awesome!

CH-1 Super Chorus

I bought this in late 2009 in a pawn shop. Again more an impulse buy as I've never really used it. By now I was collecting Boss pedals and anytime I came across one I bought it.

MT-2 Metal Zone

I bought this in late 2009 from a private seller. Why? Oh why? I don't even like it. I even have the box. It's a paperweight now.

OC-3 Super Octave

I bought this in late 2009 in a guitar shop and It's hardly been used. Oops! An impulse buy! It's not bad but I should have chose mose wisely. Well at least I didn't buy an FZ-5!

TU-2 Chromatic Tuner

I treated myself to this late December 2009 and it's a great pedal and always on my board.

CE-2 Chorus

This was also pulled from a pawn shop in June 2010 for €45!!! Yes and it is made in Japan 1993. They must have not checked the internet that day as it would be easily €100 back then!