Boss DF-2 queries

[Enoch-Fox]

Who has one? I've been looking into getting one of these bros but never had the chance to actually play one so I thought I'd ask since I saw a few of you have 'em on your boards... are they worth what they're goin for on eBay? And is this volume drop I've heard tell off as terrible as they say, can it be modded away easily, etc...

[dragline]

I have one and have had it for about 15 years or so. It's basically a DS-1 with a "hold" type function that holds the last note you played and creates a sort of feedback type effect. Not quite, but can be cool with delay and reverb stacked.

Are they worth the current ebay prices? Uhm...no, I wouldn't say so. Like I said, it's just a DS-1 - would you pay that for a DS-1?

As far as I know, Behringer, the ultimate uhm..."clone" factory...have done a copy of it. It's probably worth the $15 or so that they are charging for it.

But I dunno, as with anything on ebay, it's only worth as much as you are prepared to pay for it.

[Blurillaz]

Basically, it's a DS-1 with a infinite note thingy if you hold the pedal down. Distortion is mellower than the ds-1 IMO

[Wizard]

I got a Boss FZ-3 from a place called Music Go Round. They had a Boss DF-2 for like 75$ last i checked. And yeah, i really like the idea on it, but the distortion is like really not very appealing. But this pedal is what got me into the idea of feedback loops. Then i watched a video of Aen's hurricane.

[Communarchy]

They usually run for about 100-125 on ebay. I had one. It was interesting and what it does is hold one of the fundamental harmonics of the last note you played infinitely as long as you hold it down. The volume drop is an issue if you don't turn the gain up a little (even if the volume is all the way up), and then you are stuck using the (IMO) crappy DS-1 style distortion (it will accept the variety of DS-1 mods out there though!). This could possibly be counteracted with a clean/linear boost before it, though I don't know because I don't have it anymore.


As you hold it down you can bend over and change the tone of the harmonic being held out with the harmonic knob. It's kind of like having an ebow or a fernandez sustainer in a pedal. Cool, but it kind of has a learning curve to make it useable in a playing situation.

[Blurillaz]

I dont think that the DS-1 is a terrible distortion, but ever since a couple big shots used one (Cobain, Vai, Satriani) it became the norm and overused, so everyone just finds the soundd too generic.

[Roseweave]

Yes, whenever I think "distortion" I think DS-1. It's sort of like a tamer version of a high gain amp.

[dragline]

I have to admit I don't really get the hate that is often poured onto the poor DS-1. It was the first dirt pedal I used and it's served me well over the years. It's nothing fancy or special, but it has it's place, and I can get a wide variety of sounds from it.

Back on topic though - I would say that the DF-2 has a distortion that is milder than the DS-1. And, at least with mine, it's slightly darker as well.

[Wizard]

Yes, whenever I think "distortion" I think DS-1. It's sort of like a tamer version of a high gain amp.

TS-9 DUH

it became the norm and overused, so everyone just finds the soundd too generic.

i sold off my DS-1, Blurillaz was spot on in the reasoning why. I traded it off for an MXR Distortion +.

i guess boss never provided the proper dirt for my tone flowers to grow.

[tigerdriver]

DF-2 is one of the most disappointing pedals I've ever owned....paid $30 for mine, wasn't even worth that sound-wise.