Boss DM-2 Analog Delay

Ultra-simple to set up and operate!

I have always loved the sound of this pedal. Use it with Strats and Teles through a Reissue Deluxe or original 65 Super Reverb.
This is my second one. My first DM-2 was stolen after I had gigged with it for 22 years. I missed this pedal so much and didn't realise how really great it was til it was gone. Lucky to have found another one. A friend who runs a local music store let me trade a Boss CE-5 Chorus and a DD-6 Digital Delay(which I had NO USE for)even up for it. He could have gotten a couple hundred off of eBay for this so I was really happy. I basically begged him to let me have it!

I expect this to outlast me.

Maybe not an issue because all their pedals are really well built..

I've playing for 30 years. Play out 4-6 times a month. I finger pick a lot so Fender guitars and amps are my favorite. I tried to enjoy playing with a "replacement" DD-6 Delay, but it didn't do anything for me. Too clean, too precise. I own an Echoplex and the DM-2 sounds pretty much just like it. The DM-2 has been with me since 1982. I've never depended on any other pedal more!

Yes..mine WAS stolen and I DID replace it as soon as I could..I HAD TO!

peice of cake, tho i use one of the knobs to get the weirdest sounds out of it. i like to push it up high and then hit my tremelo, and with the delaey knob in one hand and the tremelo speed in the other start tuning in tokyo. the most bent sounds i have ever heard. don't use too much overdrive when doing this, the sound chokes. the delay has the best retarded-dolphin sounds out there. just don't blow it up/fry it like i did, 'cos you'll have to make do with not-as-cool pedals till you can get it fixed!!! after all that tho' you do have to fool round with it to make it do what you want. worth it tho!!

i run my firebird/mustang/white falcon/ricki through a heap of pedals: tuner-baez overdrive-curtis overdrive (the baez is a aussie made custom little muff kinda thing, the curtis is like an original tube screamer, custom made over here in aussie..) then thru a early boss chorus-mxr phase 90, smallstone, old flanger, octaver, ibanez analog delay boss dd-5 digital delay, purple dunlop tremelo, bass wah and then into an old 0range 120 watt head thru my custom half cab. when i get the dm2 fixed i'm gonna get it off the floor and tape it to my guitar. more freedom then to bend heads with!!! i love my whole setup and usually have about 5 pedals i've nicked from mates to fool around with on the side of my regular set up. the dm-2 sounded great thru my old re-201 tape echo. why the hell did i sell that? oh yeah, the dm-2 kicked it ass!!! and the tape echo whs too unreliable. at the end of the day the dm2 is probably my most favoured effect i've got! doesn't hiss around either.

i fried it somehow, now it smells like a blown-up slot car or something. there's a guy here in melbourne who'll fix it tho. an ex-girlfriend's brother gave me the pedal for free (as in happy birthday) i was just like cool, old crappy purple delay for free. when i found out what it was and how good it sounded i was stunned. so reliability isn't %100. trying to make do with an old analog ibanez delay, but i doesn't cut the mustard. can't wait till it's alive again. it was a big part of my signature sound, so i really wan't this little beast back.

never dealt with boss. i get all my stuff secondhand. not into new gear really.

the is the most inspirational little pedal. if anyone out there says pedals shouldn't make u write songs/a good song can be played onto an acoustic/don't rely on gimmicky sounds/ra ra ra, then they should find one of these and go nuts. i did. i'm a huge late 70's early 80's nut, so this does all that weird post-punk shite, like the cure/echo and the bunnymen, really dark cool stuff. anyone else out there into this kinda stuff? overdrives and volume are cool, but delays and modulations are where it's at i reckon... thanks for reading my ramblings...

you could operate this pedal blindfolded.

If you want an old sckool/dubby/atmospheric echo vibe - this pedal is THE SOUND IN YOUR HEAD, but could never quite find.I can't give it a ten - noone wants their atmsophere pristine. I run it in line with an AKAI headrush in delay( which are excellent, takes some tinkering - but worth it) to get the low fi and the ultra modern pristine layered up.

If after 22 years doing the same thing I was still as rocking like this pedal I want a ten too.

BOSS

Sell your testacles, sell your surgeons testys - find it, buy it.
I have alot of cool FX, mostly of the same type - delays,tremeloes - reverbs.,., but I always just have this and the guitar when I'm playing mellow at home. The DM2 bottom line.

Easy to figure out, hard to master....

I use an american tele and fender amp. Some people here say this pedal sucks, and to that I reply, you either aren't the type of person who plays music for this kind of equipment, or you didn't give it enough room to breathe. When playing this pedal, you should keep it right at the point of self oscillation, and use the dynamics of your picking to either create the "smudge" or the crazy synthesizer feedback. If you can get on top of the feedback wave you can ride the tone and then "tune" the feedback to be a warbly chord against your melody. It is an extremely subtle thing, but once you master it, people will be asing you "where are your analog synths?". Then you show them the DM-2 and watch them look at you like you are a nutcase or something.

Boss, reliable, tank.

I think that this is one hell of a delay pedal. Once you figure out the subtleties of it, is will grow on you and pretty soon it will be your main weapon in your sonic arsenal. I have recorded songs where my wife has gotten pissed thinking I went out and bought a hammond. For real, this thing is more like an analog synthsizer with an lfo than a delay. Once you master it, that is.

I bought this yesterday in Mellbourne, Australia. It took me a few seconds to get a fookin great sound out of it. It came in the box and is in great condition.

Im using it through a fender 4'10 Deville, playing a vintage jazzmaster combined with an mxr distortion(these 2 sound great together), jim dunlop rotovibe, Wah, boss pitchshifter delay ps2, and a line 6 delay modeller. The pedal doesnt affect my tonal settings at all (very rare in many pedals)I can pull the sounds ive been hanging to get for a long time, eg The Doves, Coldplay, Pink Floyde!

Haven't had enough experience with it yet, but its a boss. Strong as a tank!

Haven't had a problem yet!

An incred find. Searched for one of these all over the world and the only place I found one was in LA at the guitar centre for $300 US. The best music stores in London, New York and New Orleans hadn't seen one for a long time. The day I got back to Melb I found it in a pawn store for $60 Australian ( app $40 US)The most amazing delay pedal I have ever heard! Soooo easy to right songs now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Initially the DM-2 takes some time to get around as the controls are quite sensitive. But after a while you get comfortable with it. Still with 3 control knobs, you can't go wrong.

The DM-2 is very warm and you can achieve those great 70's-styled echos and is in no way noisy (but I've had mine recently serviced by a friend). I also love the fact that the delay is slightly inaccurate and is not exactly perfect. So if you love pristine sounding digital delays, I would advise to steer clear of the DM-2 as you will definitely HATE it.

Very reliable. It's an old Boss pedal, what more needs to be said.

Never bothered

If it was stolen or lost I would be most unhappy as these pedals go for absolutely insane amounts on ebay. There are many doubters out there (probably Pod and Line 6 owners!) who sneer at "vintage", but put simply the DM-2 is one of the best delay out there. The more modern digital delays out there just sound way too clean and for a lack of a better word, polite! And who wants to sound like that?

Very easy to use compared to today's very complicated multi-tap, midi-synced effects. The DM-2, apparently uses all analogue circuitry.

A very mild and warm delay pedal. The overall sound is buttery smooth,simple the feedback is very natural...believe the hype. While tape echo is more often used as a multi-tap delay the DM2 sounds exactly like a space echo in single delay mode.The feedback has a way of adding odd harmonics to the signal..creates many natural overtones...similar in many ways to roland's RE series tape echo. When you turn the knobs you get a very smooth transition...very small increments can have a profound effect on the delay, go too far, too fast and the thing will create bizarre alien landing fx and screeching. Use it for anything, piano, vocals, fx, guitar... not JUST a guitar pedal. It has a bit of noise I guess, never a problem. The feedback loop that can be created is reminiscent of old reggae dub records- it is a very special sound.

Ultra-reliable! Bought mine used back around 89' for about 50$, it was all beat up...has been around the block and more...takes a lickin' but keeps on tickin'.

If Roland would only make more analogue gear like they used to the world would be a better place,

I also have the chorus echo re301, digital reverb srv3030. Even though the re301 sounds t similar to the Dm-2, the dm-2 has no tape warble and is more reliable- but it still can't replace the space echo's spring reverb and mutlitap delays. The dm-2 has been with me for years...the little pedal goes with any style.

8-this guy was a little confusing at first,just because i am a newer guitar player and am used to pedals witha thousand"tweeking"knobs.3 knobs isnt quite enough for getting detailed and trippy,but you can definately get a variety of sounds

it is an older model and a few of the guys i have talked to about this item say it can be scratchy because of its age.but not to worry,your local electronics store has a can of cleaner that does the job perfectly,and WHAM-O......no more scratchy pots..the thing sounds great though my marshall....(even though what doesnt sound great through a marshall?)...i found it a little tricky to c onfigure in my set-up,but took the time to line it up right....

like i said ,these are old units,so reliability is not an issue you can really depend on.A used car is only as good as it's last owner.chances are you wont find one of these puppies in mint condition unless you are shelling out big bucks and happen to be on ebay at a miracle moment in time.that doesnt mean if you find a broke one that you shouldnt grab it.99% of the time your local music repair house will be able to ressurect that "simply dead"pedal back to it's natural functioning self again.For the most part,these guys have been around for quite awhile,so i would have to say they are DEPENDABLE!!!!!

i bought mine from a pawn shop a few years ago,used,beat up and working for $25 bucks.talk about a steal!!!THIS UNIT HAS NEVER FAILED ME!!!!!! why would i need to put down anything for support?thanks again roland!

not the most versatile unit,but a great addition for any collector.i found it quite useful in so many scenarios,it is impossible to count.i use it along side a digitech rp3.i use the dm-2 for one amp mono for slow drueling delays,while i use my rp3 for long delays,going stereo.they all go through marhall 100watt jpm half stacks.other than that i simply use my amps distortion channel,and occasionally a digitech whammy4.

no prob, very simple. maybe too simple, i dunno.

Read below for a good insight into the pedal. i just got one and was worried because i couldn't get any trippy effects out of it, then a guy from guitargeek told me it might be 'tamed'. So i opened it up and fiddled with the trimpots to get back the feedback effect. it was the one labelled 'bias'. Hope this might help someone in the same predicament. Now it's crazy time. :) For what it is, I'll give it a 9 for quality of sound. If you're lucky you can still find one for a reasonable price, and even sell it for more later on (when you can afford a roland space echo or something) if you want.

Hope so

dunno

if you want something a little different and less predictable in sound than a digital, go for it. think it will be good for your coldplayesque melodies and zanier moments.

Good luck.

None simpler

I went on a quest for the perfect Delay. In the last year I have had all the following Boss DM2, DM3, Ibanez Ad9, Ad99, Boss DD3, DOD FX96, Line 6 DL4 mod, Electro Harmonix memory man, Danelectro Dan Echo, genuine Echoplex EP3 tape was great just to finicky to play out, I just had to put in my two cents since these pedals are selling for an obscene amount right now. Some folks have more money than ears I guess. It is true it is a nice analog pedal and it does have great tone, but not as good as Ibanez DE7 echo delay the De7 Ibanez is the one I have kept each and every time over the others. The Boss is nice but is not the Holy Grail

Oh yeah it is a boss tuff