BOSS DD-500 vs DD-200

[echorec]

Who has used the DD-500? Is anyone excited about the 200, who wasn't inclined to grab the 500?

My previous experience with the RV-500 was one of the most frustrating experiences I've ever had. I hated the interface and thought it was one of the least user-friendly multi-FX units I've ever used (don't care for the H9, Mobius, Timeline, or BigSky either). I love the Volante, but it doesn't have any menu-diving.

thoughts on the RV-500:

NSFW: show

After eyeballing the RV-500 for a long time, I finally pulled the trigger last month, and man did I hate this thing. I've never used a pedal before, that required a manual just to browse the modes. Going through (200?) factory presets in order to import your desired algorithm and tweak it---what is the point of that? Mine was a factory refurbished model, and at first I thought I had just been dumped into an alternate browser path. After flipping through the manual, I didn't find any evidence that was the case. I just don't understand it---why would anything be designed this way? On any other fucking multi-mode pedal I've ever demoed, all you have to do to switch modes is to rotate the mode selector pot/switch. On the RV-500, though, when you toggle the mode selector you don't find yourself working with a new mode and a basically clean slate. Instead you need to enter the factory presets and tweak & edit them, rather than just starting from scratch by using the mode selector & adjusting the other pots to your tastes.

When I did get into editing, I found little nuance from one bank to the next. Sure I heard character differences from shimmer to Space Echo, but plate vs hall (for synths) really didn't offer much of a leap without advanced adjustments.

The pros for the RV-500? Improved processing power over stuff like the RE-20 and longer delay times (10 seconds?). The interface disgusted me---I had to box it up, before I smashed it.

Back to the 200. My initial reaction: Oh great, it's more compact (don't care). You save $100---good...oh wait, it doesn't have standard MIDI cables and only has 4 onboard presets. The $100 you save, you'll be giving right back by purchasing specialty cables and a proprietary MIDI convertor. I think I'd rather just have everything in the box, except I hated my previous RV-500 experience, so I'm not inclined to get the DD-500. Maybe it lacks menu-diving and such a shitty user interface, so perhaps that's a huge hurdle cleared.

https://www.boss.info/global/products/dd-200/

After visiting the BOSS site to more closely examine the specs, here's my 2nd reaction: It's got a dedicated Drum (Binson) mode, cool. It's got a pattern mode for glitch (possibly cool). I'm guessing with 16 reported delay lines, it will have a fairly pristine texture. I do love having more rhythmic options, even if the algorithm has a digital sheen. Pad Echo (not shimmer, phew) is mildly intriguing, but I don't think BOSS included this in the first demos. If this pedal doesn't have menu-diving, I'm certainly intrigued. It doesn't hurt, that it's slightly more colorful than the clinical look the of the DD-500.

I never used the previous model, so I won't miss what I never tried---SFX, the digital rack emulators, Slow Attack (evolving into the Pad Echo?). It's my understanding the 500 had sub-modes for Echoplex/Echorec/Space Echo algorithms, but I prefer having these divided up on the 200. What is the board's temperature on the new model? Love it, like it, TBD?

[resincum]

don't really get the idea with these, but as someone who HATED the rv-500 as much as you - the dd-500 is NO WHERE NEAR as hard to program. neither was the md-500. I don't understand how they made the rv-500 such a pain in the ass to program.

[tremolo3]

As an owner of the DD-500 since the first week it came out, I'm not excited about the 200.
Pad Echo is indeed intriguing, also the Glitch one, but I have the feeling these, along with the rest, are just tweaked 500s algorithms, the difference being that you don't have to do the hard work.

"Complex" UIs kind of excite the nerd side on me, but if I were to gig in a rock&roll environment, I'd definitely take the 200, or a DD-3 tbh.


Used (and I mean in almost mint condition) 500s are less than $250, something to consider.

And unless I'm missing something, there's nothing proprietary in the MIDI cable (WTF Boss), just a TRS to DIN5 cable you can DIY for $5, unlike that Chase Bliss/Meris thingy you have to buy separately.

[BoatRich]

I fucking love my RV-500 and definitely want the MD-200 because I just won’t use the entirety of the 500. Same with the DD-200 I think, but I’m not convinced the SFX engines and stuff aren’t worth the bigger pedal.

[echorec]

don't really get the idea with these, but as someone who HATED the rv-500 as much as you - the dd-500 is NO WHERE NEAR as hard to program. neither was the md-500. I don't understand how they made the rv-500 such a pain in the ass to program.

Someday I'll observe another unit to find out if it was just my unit that was designed to initiate a psychological breakdown. The 'Exit' button only worked in certain situations---you couldn't just clear out and jump from mode-to-mode. All I wanted to do as a new user was sample the modes---not scroll through hundreds of factory presets. It was an exhausting headache, and I gave up after less than an hour or two.

As an owner of the DD-500 since the first week it came out, I'm not excited about the 200.
Pad Echo is indeed intriguing, also the Glitch one, but I have the feeling these, along with the rest, are just tweaked 500s algorithms, the difference being that you don't have to do the hard work.

I wonder if you'll be able to edit custom sounds and then import them via the USB port. Have you used the editor tool or just the onboard menus?

I fucking love my RV-500 and definitely want the MD-200 because I just won’t use the entirety of the 500. Same with the DD-200 I think, but I’m not convinced the SFX engines and stuff aren’t worth the bigger pedal.

I wanted to love it, too, but that was not my experience.

Hopefully a desktop editor will allow for the importing and exchanging of presets, ala Source Audio & TC Electronic. I'd certainly like to sample the other modes.

[tremolo3]

I wonder if you'll be able to edit custom sounds and then import them via the USB port. Have you used the editor tool or just the onboard menus?

I don't have that clear either, if internals are the same as the DD-500, then it doesn't make sense to keep the 500 and would totally get the 200.

Yes, I have used the editor a few times, mainly for some presets I made in the pattern mode because it's truly a PITA to edit 32 steps with the onboard controls, here some of them:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30T6WS3As7E[/youtube]

[BoatRich]

I fucking love my RV-500 and definitely want the MD-200 because I just won’t use the entirety of the 500. Same with the DD-200 I think, but I’m not convinced the SFX engines and stuff aren’t worth the bigger pedal.

I wanted to love it, too, but that was not my experience.

Hopefully a desktop editor will allow for the importing and exchanging of presets, ala Source Audio & TC Electronic. I'd certainly like to sample the other modes.[/quote]
The editing is a huge PITA, but once you get the hang of it it’s capable of a ridiculous amount of stuff. I’ve got a patch where the delay and reverb are separately modulated by LFO with a hold on the control switch, some massive sounding parallel stuff, and one in series that tricks it into almost infinite reverb.

[Errant Tiger]

Never shelled out for anything more than a DD-5, but I’ve been contemplating the 20 for awhile now. The 200, though, looks pretty sweet from my position.

[D.o.S.]

As an owner of the DD-500 I'm not excited about the 200.

No A/B/Y Shenanigans available and a relatively limited bank (of presets and styles) kill my interest. I've still never used the PC editor so the menu diving hasn't been much of an issue for me, although I know a few people who have bailed on the pedal because of it. It doesn't shine when you have to tweak it on the fly but if you have 20 minutes and a clear idea you can get pretty much anything you want out of it.