Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor

-looping is a little tricky, especially the tangle it creates on a home-made pedal board but well worth it for the effect.
-3 knobs. if you can't figure this out, you're a moron.

-esp viper, fender tele thru a bd-2, bf-2, and a roktek vibrator(!), looped into the ns-2 then into various delays thru a fender prosonic head and a home made 2x12.
-sounds and functions wonderfully, although there is signal loss in the higher settings as previously mentioned (kind of functions like a compressor on cheap drugs on these settings).

it's a boss. if it breaks you could use it as a weapon.

never had to w/ boss stuff.

-i play really experimental stuff. so i do both things that this pedal was made to alleviate(use a lot of pedals and play really high gain).
-i'd murder anyone who tried to take this from me.
-overall, i'd say this pedal is invaluable to effects freaks (if as a power supply if nothing else).

It did take a little playing around to get the optimum setting for me, but it wasn't difficult even without the manual (which I didn't get when I bought the pedal used). I can see that if you didn't know anything about noise gate use you might get confused, but that's not BOSS's fault. Once you get the hang of it you pretty much set and forget.

The only reason I didn't go with a 10 in this category is the annoyance of having to compare different setup options in terms of whether or not to use the loop.

As others have mentioned, finding a good setting is a compromise between how much noise you can accept versus a possible loss of sustain. That made it kind of hard to choose a rating, but in the end I'm happy with the sound I get with my preferred settings - I'm able to cut out at least some noise without degrading my tone, hence the high rating.

I find with medium settings (Threshold somewhere between 11 and 2 o'clock and Decay between about 10 and 1 o'clock) I'm not noticing a lack of sustain or degredation in tone, and noise is reduced to an acceptable level. 'Semi-extreme' settings were O.K. for rhythm playing, but reduced sustain in leads. Really extreme settings killed the tone and the sustain for rhythm or lead.

I use it between guitar and Yamaha DG-Stomp (which goes direct to PA), or between guitar and Rivera combo. Both Stomp and Rivera are nice and quiet on clean tones; I just wanted a noise suppressor to get rid of that high-gain hum that can be really annoying in bits of songs where the guitar is quiet.

Putting the DG-Stomp in the NS-2's loop was definitely quieter than running the NS-2 inline before the Stomp, but that seemed to have too much effect on the reverb and delay results. Things sounded more natural with the NS-2 inline (not using the loop), though the loop based hookup is an emergency standby for venues with really noisy wiring (lots of light dimmers or whatever).

No problems so far. Bought used it has happily survived whatever treatment the previous owner(s) gave it, and it wasn't kept in its box. Of course (all together now) it's a BOSS.

Low rating here solely because they don't have manuals available online. The Roland/BOSS website is O.K. apart from this. Never needed to deal with them for a repair, for this or several other BOSS pedals.

It does everything I expect of it. The whole sustain versus noise reduction problem is an issue for this effect type regardless of brand or model, so I wouldn't penalise BOSS for it.

Simple pedal with 3 function knobs however it has the best features a giging musician would want.Not only is this pedal a noise reducer it is also a power supply for 6 other pedals , has a mute function and its own "effects loop"

I use 2 of these pedals in my rig,one before the amps input and another in the effects loop.I set both pedals differently.The pedal going to the amps input is used for noise reduction/power supply for my pedals that sound best in this configuration-that is not in the effects loop- and any noise extraneous noise coming through my guitars circuit.The second pedal I run through my effects loop and has the mute function enabled so I can toggle between noise reduction and mute.This way you dont have to put your amplifier on stand-by or "off" as the case may be (My rig is tube)My rig is dead silent when muted none of the amps hiss or any other noise is heard (this is not the case if I only muted the input pedal)it also powers any pedals I'm using through the loop.

HIGH GAIN USERS take note; like most noise reduction devices if you set the threshold too high (settings above 3 o'clock) it does start reducing signal gain (as a few have noted/complained about)I play rock and "metal" music and use a VHT pitbull to do all the chores.I also use a treble boost with virtually all my guitars and as you can imagine the VHT is capable of very high gain.The pedal manages my sound very well and I dont expect it to work over its design limitations.

I would recommend a "gate"(instead) if you are constantly playing super high gain or extermely high volume heavy music and require immediate shunting of signal.Also keep in mind good left and right hand technique is paramount to keep noise minimal when using high gain and high volume for riffing.You have to be tighter than your own equipment.

As most Boss pedals it's been very reliable

Dont know never had to contact them.

There isnt anything else available that offers these features for a typical stomp box price.

I can't say anything that hasn't been said before.

Apart from the drop in volume wheen it's turned on and the click you hear sounds great I just turn the threshold allthe way up and the decay about halfway sorted. I plug my Ibanez RG550 into the NS-2 which then goes to my Marshall AVT150 Head into my Laney TF412A Cab I drive my amp pretty hard so when take my hands off my guitar instant feedback which I don't want with this switched on I get NO feedback. I give it a 9 cos of the click and volume drop but nothings perfect right

It's a Boss indestructable (Nearly).

Never dealt with them and probably wont have to.

This pedal does what I need it to I play melodic hardcore and all I wanted was to get rid of unwanted feedback which it does I was gonna by a Rocktron Hush rack unit and a Korg rack tuner but now I've got this I'll probably buy a Boss pedal tuner instead(you can get a NS-2 and a TU-2 for the same price as a Korg DTR-2) I stick this pedal on top of my amp cos I have it on all the time so I don't need it cluttering up the stage. If you want a well made, reasonably priced noise suppressor buy the NS-2.

Very simple to use. You can use it to mute all sound or to supress unwanted noise. Choose one. One control for time befor supressing sound has a recommended setting of minimum.

Even buzzy multiple effects are silent when the note stops sounding. The sound basically cuts off.

Seems very rugged.

Don't know.

This pedal makes a tremendous difference if you need to eliminate noise. Essential if you want to play in a quiet setting where people can hear the buzz. If the audience is drunken and rowdy maybe you do't need it. This is a pedal that does exactly what is supposed to do.

Three knobs: 1.- cutting, cut, cutter; 2.- Tring to fix; 3.- working/shut up. There is in the manual a important note: keep the delay/reverb out and far. It can feed really long chains.

Silence. Just silence...

Hard shell. NYPD has it as offensive non-firing weapon.

Don't know those guys. Hope never know them.

Nothing would be better than a good shielding, well-shielded cables, and well-grounded gear, but this little box its helpful when the above can't be met.

Just three knobs, Decay, Threshold, and the two modes - Reduction and Mute. Decay controls how fast the noise is reduced after a signal is passed through the pedal. Threshold controls how much of the overall noise is reduced. Neither of these knobs is functional when the mode is on Mute. Of course, Mute doesn't allow the signal to pass through the pedal and out of the amplifier.

It doesn't eliminate entirely all of the noise, but it is a very significant reduction. I'm not sure how this compares with other noise gates, this is the first and only noise gate i've owned or used, but i haven't had a reason to try another one or change. It satisfies my desires.

BOSS... if you can break one. Well... damn, good for you.

They've helped me out with a few operational questions of pedals that i don't yet have, and just wondering about the specs of it. I've heard from many many people that they are pretty crappy with other stuff, if i built pedals as reliable as BOSS does though, i logically wouldn't put too too much of my concern with fixing the three that were ever broken. But as far as i've been with them, they aren't too bad.

Like i said, the only thing i can complain about with this pedal is that it doesn't eliminate all of the noise, but i can't complain much, it reduces it A LOT. another small complaint is that it slightly reduces the overall volume of my guitar when it's turned on, but i leave it on all of the time, so if i just turn my amp's volume up a little, it's not really noticeable to anyone else. I'm very satisfied with this pedal, but the point of this thing is to criticize it, so there you have it. I recommend it.

Very easy to use....

As, far as sound quality goes, the NS-2 doesn't mess with your sound until you have the gate knobs cranked...after that, it's just a little 'rise' effect when you start to play clean guitar. other then that, it doesn't really effect Distortion settings (unless its surpressing feedback or string noise)

Boss = the Boss

haven't dealt, probably never will...

I use the NS-2 to not only surpress feedback, but I also use it to power all my other pedals using a daisy-chain. This makes it very convenient for me because then I dont have to mess with batteries or worry about power running low during gigs. If you use lots of pedals and like to control unwanted feedback or fret noise... Go to buy an NS-2 noise suppressor.

Very easy to use with a handy information pamphlet.

There are two basic ways to hook this pedal up when using a simple setup which consists of Guitar, Overdrive Pedal, NS2 and an amp.
The booklet shows the Overdrive being put in the effects loop of the NS2.
This effectively sets the gate to be triggered by the signal from the guitar pickups.
Less threshold is needed this way, but I notice a slight thinning of the tone. This would get a 7 rating.

On the other hand, if yoy simply hook it up inline without the effects loop..(ie.. simply guitar >> Overdrive >> NS2>> Amp) then the tone is not effected and the feel of the guitar is maintained as though you were playing with no NS2 at all.
A 10 this way !!

I have never had a Boss or DOD pedal go bad.

Never needed

Better than HUSH units and other fancy stuff for quieting a noisy gain boosted Tube Amp.

Very easy, even if you have to refer to manual because you're unfamiliar with noise gates.

Not really a "sound" effect. But it really does its job. No popping or cracking as the gate opens and shuts as with some noise gates.

BOSS! I have owned it for nearly 10 YEARS! It stayed in a drawer for 4 years as I didn't have a need for it for awhile. I let friends borrow and they did who knows what to it. I use it in my current bass setup and have never even had to resolder the battery connector as I have only used batteries and most pedals break here. BOSS!!!!

BOSS!

I love this thing. I have it as long as I have had my wife. I would replace the pedal and my wife if someone stole them.