Boss TR-2 Tremolo

It has three knobs, two more than me, it's that simple

I tried it out with my U.S.A Telecaster and a Vox VR30 amp.
At first it sounded pretty tinny/empty, I've just done the C4 modification, and it's been brought back to life.

I'd give it 2 before the mod, 10 after, i'm really pleased with it.

Since the C4 mod, it responds better than before, it's got a nice warm "worn in feel" like a good pair of shoes.

It's a Boss pedal, so it's really reliable, if it ever did die on me, i'd buy another and use this one as a doorstop.

Never had any call to use Boss support

My style varies a lot, i play 60's, Punk, Indie etc. I'd definatley buy another one if it was stolen.
The only thing is know, is to sort out my other Boss pedals, is there any diy mods you can let me in on.

3 knobs, easy.

SINCE I DID THE C4 CAPACITOR...... lovely and warm, very smooth old school sound, wraps you up in a mellow tremolo sound.

BEFORE THE C4 MODIFICATION..... sucked out all my vintage gears tone. I use '60's Fenders with '50's Fender amps and as with 99% of new Boss products it 'moderned' my sound to much.

It's not as good as old tube or boutique tremelos, but you wouldn't exactly want them on your used and abused pedal board! I was about to sell this Tremelo when i stumbled across the modification.

FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS OF A GREAT GUY A FEW REVIEWS DOWN FROM THIS, BUT IT ONLY WORKS ON OLDER TR-2's.

***** CHEERS FOR THE HELP MATE *****

Boss = RELIABLE. Most of my Boss pedals are pre 1985 and still work as they did then.

Never needed to use them.

But, in the 'Boss Book' the founder of Boss says that the new ones are just the same as the old early Japanese ones... we all know thats B.S.

Now i've modded it, i'm chuffed as punch. If you like the old school and roots, you will too.

Before that, just another 'ok' new Boss pedal.

If you don't know what i mean, Pepsi challenge the new Boss against the old.

Important update on the C4 mod...

I wrote the original C4 mod instructions back on 11/27/04, and apparently many HC readers have been happy with the results. However, I started getting emails from people saying that the couldn't find C4, and that their circuit board didn't look like the picture I sent them.

From what I gather, Boss has "upgraded" the TR-2 to a new design (possibly all digital). therefore, YOU CANNOT DO MY C4 MOD ON THESE NEWER PEDALS! I do not have a new TR-2 myself, so if anyone out there has more info on this issue, please email me or post it on HC.

Unfortunately, you cannot tell the difference between the old style and new style from the outside. You have to open the unit up and see if it has the new board or the old board. If you really want this mod, I suggest you find an older TR-2 from Ebay. I just saw a bunch listed, including units with the C4 mod!

Email me if you have questions. I can send you a picture of the old style circuit board showing where C4 is.

Three dials....it doesn't get any easier, just listen, rotate to taste and serve.

Well I was very cautious about this magical C-4 modification to stop the slight drop in volume. I had thought maybe the folks doing this mod really did not remember the old trem sound as I did.
OKAY, I bit the bullet and did the simply snip, snip on the C-4 and OH am I glad I did. The sound really cleared up and became much more vibrant so I'd have to recommend this modification to this pedal to anyone. I'm using it currently with a Roland Blues Cube BC-60 and with a Fender Highway 1 Strat, Samick SAT650 (355 clone) and a Tele.
All sound very very nice. Smooth.....like velvet. Tremolo is a very nice effect IF used selectively. I used it with a touch of delay and a little chorus and it surprised me and sounded like Danny Gattons Magic Dingus Box......well...close.

As they say 'Like a tank'. I have seferal OLD Boss pedals and they have all stood the test of time.

Never had to use it.

I've played a variety of music in several bands for more then 30 years. If this pedal got away from me I'd get another (and do the C-4 simple mod). Great value for just the amount I ws willing to spend and then some.

-Three knobs (typical boss pedal set-up), Rate, Depth, and Wave.
-A "check" light tells you if the pedal is on or not.
-Two 1/4" jacks for input and output, which are CLEARLY labeled.
-9v power adapter port on the "back" of it.

This setup (like all other boss pedals) is about as basic as you can get. My only complaint with ease of use is with the wave knob. If I did not know what they were referring to with the use of the word "wave," it would not be self-explanatory. Although everything is clearly labeled and explain in the user's manual, this could possibly concern a lesser-educated musician who perhaps bought the unit used and without a user's manual.

SEE "SOUND QUALITY RATING" BELOW:

I bought this pedal to get a "warm-and-fuzzy" feel for the softer songs by my indie rock band. First plug-in, and I felt like the pedal fails. I noticed a definite output level drop when the pedal was turned on. At first I figured that I was imagining things, as the pedal was MADE to swell or alter the output, but I clarified this by turning the rate/depth knobs all the way off, (which causes the pedal to do nothing) and the output was in fact lower.

The actual tremolo effect itself seemed to be dry and boring, almost as bad as some low-end digital effects. I took the time to research the pedal online, hoping I just got a defunct one... which is when I found out about the C4 mod!

HERE IS HOW YOU PERFORM THE C4 MOD:
Materials:
(1) Phillips-head screwdriver
(1) Bowl or cup (you don't want to lose any screws)
(1) Pair of small scisors, wire cutters, or nail-clippers.

-Take the battery out of your pedal, and/or unplug it from a wall outlet adapter.
-Unscrew the bottom 4 screws from the pedal, and put them in your cup or bowl.
-Take the bottom panel and plastic covering off underneath that.
-Pull out the circuit board, keeping in mind you will have to pull out at an angle so the 9v adapter box can slide out of its hole with ease.
-Locate the larger of 2 small "silvery pillow" objects (capacitators, if you know what they look like) and cut/clip both leads from the circuit board.
-Tape the C4 inside your pedal somewhere so that you don't lose it. (Encase you decide that you hate a good sounding pedal, you can solder it back in.
-Put the circuit board back in, replace the plastic cover, screw the bottom panel back in, and you're done!

Benefits of the C4 Mod:
-No output drop when the pedal is on
-Warmer, more vintage tremolo sound (think 60's/70's psychedelic records)
-Less "hiss" from the TR-2 in your pedal chain

SOUND QUALITY RATING:

WITHOUT THE C4 MOD: 4

WITH THE C4 MOD: 9

It's made out of some kind of heavy alloy or metal, so the casing won't break. The inner circuitry is protected by some soft plastic, and is held tightly in place, so its not going to wiggle around inside the pedal. Overall, I trust the dependability of this pedal 100% and wouldn't even think to ever need a backup.

I've never dealt with boss's support line, but I've heard the good the bad and the ugly about it. I'm sure it's on a case-by-case basis that you get good or bad service.

Coming from a guy who plays anything from jazz to heavy rock, I find this pedal pretty useful and versatile. I believe in moderation and variation of effects, so I try no to over-use them in my music. The great thing about this pedal is how many different sounds you can get out of it, from a warm-and-fuzzy love song feel to a heavy Mars Volta jam-esque sound, this pedal is a must-have in my opinion.

it's that simple even a bass player* can work out how to use it...

3 knobs Depth, Speed, Wave Shape which ... um.. well... surprisingly...control the
A: depth
B:speed
and...
wait for it...
wait for it....
C: wave shape.



* I AM THAT BASS PLAYER... :P
well I mostly play bass but I swap roles with the Rhythm guitarist, playing a Rick for our "jingle jangle" indi pop or a Bass VI for trashy swampy rock tracks.

Perfect for classic 60's surf, UK pop/rock and 80/90/00's inti/alt rock


Set up - Fender Aerodyne Telecaster , Rickenbacker 350/6, Fender Bass VI.

effects - Line6 DM, Crybaby, boss chorus ensemble.

Amps - Laney VC30-212 + Vox AC30 run together in stereo, and, occasionally, a Roland Jazz Chorus.

I put the TR2 last in line in to the Laney VC30 after the stereo split on the chorus pedal so the Vox AC30 uses it's own built in tremolo unit, I deliberately run the TR2 and the VOX with slightly different speeds (al la Johnny Marr style) which causes some crazy stereo volume shifts (insert evil grin)


Look I use one unmodded and it still sounds great - honestly when your cranked over six tenths on your valve amp and the other guitarist, bass player and drummer are making a racket a bit of hiss is not going to ruin your day and a slight overall volume drop... meh I never noticed it on stage or in rehearsals, when I'm practising I just ignore it knowing it won't show up in the final mix .

It's a Boss do they ever, really, break?
love 'em or hate 'em these things (even the newer non Japanese units)... never ever seem to break...
I still have and use units I've owned since school days which means they are close to (cough) 30 (cough) years old - no problems bar the occasional lost plastic knob and the odd broken battery connector and one slightly split case (due to an Ampeg 8x10 fridge falling on it). Never had a "catastrophic" failure.

see reliability... I've never needed to take a Boss pedal in for repairs but I've dealt with Boss/Roland for synth and amp repairs if they are the same guys then I'd give them the overall ratting of "generally very happy"

a great basic effect that's cheap enough to be in any guitarists kit....

It will take some time to get it set just right. A lot of it has to do with the tempo of your music and what application you're using this for. However, the controls are really straightforward.

I did modify this unit by cutting out C4 or whatever that piece was. What a difference! Much more responsive. Sounds like a vintage trem pedal now. It's really clear, and there is no volume drop. It also works extremely well with other pedals. It's not noisy at all in my setup. I run it first in my chain, and then it goes through about 8 or 9 other pedals.

My only gripes about this pedal are the lack of volume control, and the subtlety of the effect. You really have to crank the depth knob to get the effect to stick out. But, most trem sounds are supposed to be subtle, so this is a good replication. Without the mod, I'd give the sound a 5. With it, the sound is an 8.

Boss.

Boss.

A really, really good trem pedal. Just do the mod! It's bonehead simple if you have a functioning frontal lobe. Don't spend $200 dollars or something on a trem pedal. This is the real deal!

This "review" is more about the much hyped-about C4 mod. I love modding and bending equipement, and even build my own little noise boxes. I'm not an electronics pro, but I get by for simple non-DSP stuff. I had some time to kill last night so I thought what the heck! I also devized to add a switch to toggle the C4 cap circuit "cut and uncut". Fun little project.

When I got it done and plugged it in, I was a bit confused to hear absolutelly no difference. I had a simple circuit done so that I could AB back and forth it in an instant to compare. I went back to the table and checked each wire and each solduring point with a multimeter, and to make sure that no solduring points were accidentally bridging to others. I was using a low-watt iron and was quick with my solduring, no chance to burn out the cap.

I test again. I crank the volume on my Peavey C30 and SOS a riff so that I can try different knob settings while Abing the mod. The differencs I DID hear are very slight boost to the low-end when using a square wave. It's so slight that you really have to look for it with no distractions though. This is definatelly not the night-and-day difference I keep hearing about.

So I'm very confused and dissapointed. On one hand, I hear no difference (I only knwo of one other person on another forum that heard no difference with his), on the other hand, dozens (hundreds?) of people are raving about this mod. So many that it's impossible that it's fake.

Could it be some TR-2s are built differently than others?

Very straightforward design. This pedal is ruggedly constructed like all Boss pedals, and is very easy to understand and use. Anybody can add it to their effects chain and dial in their desired tremolo sounds in seconds.

This pedal does exactly what you would want a Tremolo to do: it operates cleanly in that it does not color the sound of your instrument in any way, and it can create all the vintage tremolo sounds of the 50's and 60's in one package. I have had this pedal for years and played it with various amp and guitar combinations, and the results are always the same. Since the pedal is so transparent, it will sound great in any rig. The only reason this pedal gets an 8 for sound quality is the slight loss of overall volume that occurs when the pedal is engaged. However, the difference really is slight and probably inherent with this type of effect.

Boss pedals could survive a nuclear holocaust along with the cockroaches. They are virtually indesctructible, thanks to their design and rugged metal housing. Buy one and give it to your grandkids some day.

I've never dealt with them, because their products are so damn solid and reliable. (think of those commercials for Maytag with the out-of-work repairmen!)

This tremolo is designed to fill a particular niche in the guitar effects market. It's not for every guitar player, only those whose styles (country, blues, surf, etc.) call for tremolo sounds in the first place. Within this small category, however, this tremolo does it all. Whether you want the choppy aggressive sound of a helicopter taking off or the smooth warble of juke joint blues, this pedal absolutely owns the competition.

Super simple interface.

You gotta do the mod that people are talking about here. Clipping C4 and swapping R19 for a 4.7k ohm are HUGE improvements that cost less than a buck. Big ups to Zuff (11.27.2004) for posting it. The differences are: 1) No volume drop when effect is engaged (which was annoying) and 2) A lot more response from the wave knob, especially down at the square-wave end. Chucka-chucka-chucka...

It's a Boss built brick.

See above.

Bought it used, paid a good price, and post-mod it's a great shaping tool.