Boss DM-2 Analog Delay

very simple; but mine has the rate backwards (left is long!)

right now a '59 tweed deluxe with a tele.while it has the best rockabilly slap of any pedal i've tried (i own a dod fx 96 ' "echoplexinabox" and it does'nt come close. matter of fact, it sucks). what i find very surprising is that the dm2 has the most amazing small room sound. just turn the time and the intensity all the way up, repeat knob off. i've been looking for a long time for this sound, and i found it by accident. the perfect "sounds like the amp is being picked up by the vocal mike" early bb king, early howlin' wolf with willie johnson, early bob wills with junior barnard, early chess records, you get the idea. the boss rv3 delay/verb ai't that hot to begin with(what it does to the low end in particular is terrible) but i had been using it for a small room sound. not very convincing at all. i've been trying to get away from spring 'verb for a while now; all i was ever looking for was that "amp in a small room, mike 6 feet away" sound. put those 2 knobs on 10 and you're there! i'm elated! and no, it does'nt step on your playing at all like most very short delays do. think early otis rush cobra recordings or junior well's "it's my life baby"(the best buddy guy you'll ever hear) best of all, no twiddling! it's simply all there. live it's a 66 super reverb with strats and tellies and i plan on getting a vaughn mods ts9 for really small rooms. i'll have to find another dm2 for rockabilly slap, 'cause i'm encasing the whole thing!! think i'm kidding?!?

it was a basket case when i got it; no switch,power supply had been messed with. no big deal, a new switch and soldering one wire. won't work with a battery though, strange. i'm also using an ibanez cd10 delay champ for slap stuff; another pretty cool analog delay ($25) i've never had a problem with any boss pedal.

fixed it myself; it's fine

i've been playing for 30 years; been backing up traditional style harp players for 16 years in a variety of bands.i also play a '56 kay swingmaster archtop with 3 p-90's and a real '63 fender reverb tank. i'd have to get another dm2 'cause this is the only one i've found (and i've been looking for years, a lot of wasted money) that gives you that small room sound without screwing anything up. if you play in the styles that i play in, then i can tell you that this is the cat's ass.

This magenta colored stompbox is simple to use. It incorporates three dials rate repeat,echo and intensity,thats it! Set it were you like the sound and step on it.

I use it basically as an alternative to reverb,because the Vox AC30 has none.It does wonders for the depth of the amp tone,but it has it's limitations.It will not give you long time delays,but it can do some nice rockabilly slaps,and for me thats enough.I personally love useing this pedal and would find a big hole in my effects layout without it.This pedal is in line with my ts808,Jeckyl&Hyde,DOD bass chorus and my Vox wah.It's a nice touch to the line-up.

I have used it many times on gigs without a backup and feel confident in it's reliability.The only way this pedal will let you down is if you don't check the battery on occation,because it has an appetite for 9v batteries.

I play contemporary christian at the church I attend,and with my friends classic rock ,any thing from Beatles to Zep.

As simple as a stomp box an get. If this thing confuses you, please, take my advise and STEP AWAY FROM THE BONG.

Wow - isn't this the most dreamy analog delay you've ever heard? I also have a DM-3, which I love as well, but there is something about the DM-2 that draws me to her. Warmer & sweeter...that's the best that I can describe it. I like it best w/my Strat (w/Lindy Fralins) and Fender Super 60 tube amp. I usually run it with my Ibanez Tube Screamer & Boss CE-2 Chorus (an absolutely AMAZING chorus), occasionally throwing in a Boss Flanger or Boss Super Phaser to mix up my sound. Regardless of what I mix in the chain, it always plays nice with it's brothers and sisters!

My DM-2 is pretty old and in MINT condition in every way you can imagine. This thing will last FOREVER!

Never dealt with them.

This stomp box is not for everybody. I would not advise buying this pedal if you're playing style is more along the lines of Pantera & Slayer than Radiohead & Pink Floyd.

I just want to say that the previous submission from Axeman is not quite realizing the full story on using ANY delay with post distortion. Hang with me here folks. Don't be misled by parameter shy dweebs who can't seem to adjust their blend/mix knobs low enough. I have always placed my delays pre-distortion, as in before the buzz boxes or cranked amps. I think it sounds better, as long as you adjust the delay level/mix/blend/whatever low enough. Sure, it sounds like shit if you leave it set for a clean sound, and then hit your fuzz and all hell obliterates your tone. But just turn that mix knob down enough, yeah, that's right, it'll go down far enough, and then it sounds better than the distortion-before-delay-like-an-80's-processor-yuch-squeedle-shit-tone. I know what I'm talking about, I've got one of these and several other delays as well. All I'm trying to say is: Don't let some dweeboid tell you how to arrange your effects, not even me. The truth is: If it sounds right, it is right! F$%^ck'n dammit! Like, what are you gonna do if you're using your kickass DM-2 or Memory Man or Ibanez AD-9 or tape echo or whatvever the fook into a kickass cranked Marshall/Fender?Vox?whatever? Pass?, because it doesn't have an effects loop? Dumbass!! Shove that matherfacker into that badass amp, set the delay level correctly low enough, and F'in get on with life in goodtoneland!!!for godsake!!! Jeez, what are we out there, a bunch of cranked amp illiterates?!?! What the hell do you think they did before loops and multi processors? God have mercy. People who have sense: most effects work well if adjusted correctly before a distorted amp or box. Deal with it. You may find it sounds pretty damn killer. God, I mean tell that one to Beck(as in Jeff)or Page. These badboys were playing thier fullass Marshalls with a Echoplex and do you think they needed a wussass effects loop to sound right? Hell no, because they were master tweekers, unlike Mr. Axeman who thinks it's ok to tell the world to politely stick a classic delay where he thinks it oughta go. Sorry bout the rant here, but I get alittle fired up over this one dimensional crap. Latuh.

Still easy

This is just some added information on some things I have observed while using my DM-2:

I can't speak for every possible setup situation but I can tell you that, when using a lot of distortion, it is crucial to have the DM-2 *AFTER* the distortion. If you place it before the distortion then the delay effect becomes blurred and incomprehensible, in other words: Sounds like crap...

If you use a distortion pedal, then simply put the DM-2 after it. If you are using the amps built-in distortion, then place the DM-2 in the amp's effects loop. If you don't have an effects loop, well... then get a decent amp with an effects loop! ;o)

I always have my DM-2 at the very end of my effects chain (even when playing clean) and this is where it seems to work best for me.

Still works

Still never contacted them

I still love my DM-2 and will never part with it (no matter how high their price goes up on eBay)!

Three knobs. Two minutes to figure out and a lifetime of fun to play with.

Analog delay. Warm, funky, short (maybe 300ms tops), absolutely orgasmic sound. Never leaves my chain. I also use some digital delay in my POD and/or ME30 from time to time but this is my go-to box 99.9% of the time! This pedal is what delay is all about.

Absolutely dependable. Beat-up and rock-solid over 2 decades of use and abuse.

Hmmm... Don't think I need it.

I play classic rock and blues mostly. This pedal is perfect. Don't let short delay times turn you off. I thought I couldn't live with a delay less than 800ms but guess what I discovered. Effects are there to subtly enhance your tone - not make it. Buy one of these (if you find one) or an old 9-series Ibanez - you will fall in love. I traded a DOD Tec4 for this, a similar-vintage Pearl compressor (another wonderful, but obscure box), and an A/B box - good luck beating that deal. You'll be lucky to find one on e-bay for 150.00 or so. Even so .. it's worth it!

I have a fair number of vintage and modern effects but my gig rig currently consists of: Strat/Godin - TS9 - POD - DM2 - CS9 - amp.

The DM-2 has three knobs, two big ones and a little one if you are interested. (Repeats, Echo, Intensty.) It's the same size as my other Boss pedals, and uses the same 9v power supply, (Whew, thank goodness!). I didn't get a manual with it, but then again what do you need a manual for? I twisted the knobs around and found the delay I wanted. It's different from the digitals, but I think better. Why isn't this pedal made anymore? Maybe Boss should have a reissue, like Ibanez did with their TS-9.

The echo knob I would compare to a volume knob for echo. the more it is twisted clockwise, the louder the echo.

The repeats knob simply speeds up or slows down echos. The DM-2 only has relatively short delays, not really long ones like the Dan-Echo or the POD, but, I've never used those long delays anyway.

The intensity knob. I found that the intensity is the perfect name for that knob. I twisted it up, and man, it got intense! I played a note and it slowly built up to a pulsating sound that sounded like it came straight from a Hendrix song. Cool! I consider that a bonus.

What drew my attention to the DM-2 was the claim that it was quiet and wouldn't color the tone. This is an analog delay. I have been used to using digital delays for a while, simply because that's what is available today. I have a Dan-Echo, and a Line 6 POD.

I found that the Dan-Echo is really good, but has a noticible "whirring" sound that kind of sounds like a distant electric drill. That really annoyed me. The POD's delay is good, a little awkward to set, but I have to use the POD to get it. If I used the POD's combination of effects, I have a hard time setting the darn thing. It gets too complicated. Like I said, the POD is good, I can't be bothered with it for what I want. I use the POD for recording, it's really good for that. But then when I record, I never have echo mixed with the primary track, I do that later, in the mix. Somebody told me to find an echoplex, but I want to uncomplicate my life, not have another job keeping another piece of hardware in working order.

What do I want? I want a delay that is on when I punch it in, and off, (completly off) when I punch it out.

Using the Dan-Echo and the POD left me with wanting a good delay I could slap on my board at the end of my chain which was quiet and didn't color the tone that I took so long to tweak.

I looked around a bit for a DM-2, got outbidded on eBay for one, (rats!) but finally found one (that actually worked). Well, I plugged it onto the empty patch cable where the Dan-Echo once was, powered everything up, and guess what, no "whirring" sound! Finally! HoooRay.

If it is like my other Boss pedals, I've got nothing to worry about. It's got to be close to twenty years old already, and it still sounds good.

Don't know. Never had to contact them.

I wanted to give my tone some depth with out having to crank up the reverb because too much reverb makes the notes mooshy and undistinguishable. This pedal is perfect for more depth without the mooshiness of reverb. I'll say this, the DM-2 is hard to find, but worth it. I'm keeping this one! Good luck, keep your eyes open.

Three Knobs that seem to be oriented backwards from the standard use of the knobs in delay but may be just how the analog circuitry reacts.

Nice and wet. I use this with a Fender Jazzmaster, Telecaster, Danelectro U2, Carvin Electric 12 string into a Peavey Heritage amp. With large feedback happening it washes out but that is what I got it for and is part of the analog sound for me.

Never had a problem with it.

na

Best analog delay I have had, prefer it over the d.o.d. and the Ibanez units I have used can get some nice Pink Floydesque sounds out of it and playing with the knobs live is great wish it was easy to replace each pot with a foot pedal and for some it may be but my electronic skill is not at that level yet

Three knobs- can't be to hard.

The sound quality is absolotely amazing. I love it. It is not an overbearing Delay, but it gets the job done. I have tried some of the other Delay's and this is the one I like the most. I really only got it because of the awesome price, but I am so glad I did.

I would definitly depend on this pedal. I would love to have a backup just in case, but with my tight budget that is not possible as of now.

If you ever see this pedal on the shelf, buy it. It is a pedal you can always find a spot to use it on and you will not regret buying it. If you absolutely hate it I have some friends who would love to have it. If it were ever stolen or lost I would search for another just like it. I really don't have any complaints about this pedal. I is one of the few that I don't.

I made a screw-up when stating the model of delay that I also have in the review submitted last week. I referred to a Roland CE-30 analog delay unit, and later in the same review I refer to it as a Boss CE-30 (hey they`re the same company, gimme a break). The unit (which is right in front of me) is a Roland DC-30 Analog Chorus-Echo, and is about the size and shape of a two-kilo bale of contraband south-american import goods (which,for the record, I have seen *only* on the TV news in the aftermath of one of the more successful skirmishes in George Bush`s *War on Drugs*; which, by the way, I wholeheartedly endorsed). I thought that those likely to be reading these reviews might get a more accurate picture of the size and shape of the unit from this description, than had I likened it to something less familiar (like an economy-sized box of concentrated laundry detergent, for instance). I will submit a review of it in the "Roland" section.