Boss NS2 - Does it suck? And why?

[LolloBlaskhyrt]

Ok guys! I'm going to buy a noise gate because I use now a Behninger NR100 and it's shitty. Someone says that Boss NS2 sucks. But...why? I'm asking! I don't know which gate buy between NS2 and SmartGate and Noise Clamp (too poor for ISP). So... give me your opinion! I don't want to pay for a pedal that sucks balls... My signal chain is: Guitar ---> TS808 ---> Gate ---> Amp Maybe with NS2 I could try with the X-pattern. Anyway, I play high gain tones and I need something that sweeps away the noise!

 

[Sephael]

Boss isn't bad. Noise clamp is good, it will be cheaper and you can still run x pattern.

 

[sleepy502]

You should also be checking to see if you are running unity gain between your amp/overdrive.

 

[Hene]

Go for NS-2! It´s great. Used mine with Engl Powerball and it sounded so tight and clean.

 

[ozzman619]

i have mine running in the 4 cable method with my 5150 II and its great, it never cuts me off too soon and when it is on its dead silent

 

[FireInside]

I have used an NS-2 forever and never had any issues. You can pick them up used for cheap too.

 

[havocvulture10]

The Ns-2 works great for me and I'm not even using the x-pattern. I'm running it in front of my 6505+... I tried the x-pattern when i first got it, but it didn't seem to work right, I might have just set it up wrong though...

 

[Floppystrings]

Based on what I have read, the ISP Decimator is better.

People were dumping their NS-2's left and right for a Decimator when they first came out. The G-major is a little expensive IMO.

 

[Heyitstahtoneguy]

I like my ns-2, never has let me down. Built to last

 

[leonardo7]

Between your guitar and amp the Decimator is slightly more transparent, but turn it up too high and you get such intense gating that you lose sustain when not doing staccato stuff. While its not as transparent, if you want very little loss of sustain but the ability to have the absolute tightest staccato stuff, the Boss is a gating master!

The way I describe the biting of tone of the NS-2 is like it sort of takes away some of the high end gainy structure of the tone, as well as some of the actual fundamental tone and dulls it down a little. At high volumes and in a live mix, I wouldn't worry though.

 

[Sephael]

when they first came out.

Operative words in that sentence. Not that the Decimator is bad, but the dumping was mainly because it was new, not because the Boss was bad.

 

[Andromalia]

As a rule, Boss pedals are solid for their price. They might not be the best, but I've never been disappointed by one, especially since with the numbers they churn out and their durability, finding cheap used ones is pretty easy.

 

[amarshism]

Whilst ISP and others are great there's a reason the good old boss ns2 is a standard when it comes to touring bands. Easy to replace, roadworthy and reliable. Plus if yours dies, goes missing or whatever, chances are someone else on the bill has one so it's not like you'll be trying to throw some different random noise suppressor in your rig and battling with it. Fwiw, most touring bands still use a ns2.

 

[loktide]

Between your guitar and amp the Decimator is slightly more transparent, but turn it up too high and you get such intense gating that you lose sustain when not doing staccato stuff. While its not as transparent, if you want very little loss of sustain but the ability to have the absolute tightest staccato stuff, the Boss is a gating master!

The way I describe the biting of tone of the NS-2 is like it sort of takes away some of the high end gainy structure of the tone, as well as some of the actual fundamental tone and dulls it down a little. At high volumes and in a live mix, I wouldn't worry though.

i second this. owning both, i've made the same experience (though the decimator it's a clone i made myself). i also like the ability of the NS2 to run the pedals in a loop, which is only present in the (even) more expensive decimator. also worth noting is that the decimator works better in the FX loop than the NS2, imo.

 

[VBCheeseGrater]

I run the Ns-2 in front of my amp, just straight input -> output, works great. As others have said there may be some tone loss, but honestly its nothing i have really noticed. I can turn it up to the highest settings and have never noticed any major tone issues.

 

[Floppystrings]

Operative words in that sentence. Not that the Decimator is bad, but the dumping was mainly because it was new, not because the Boss was bad.

This may be the case, but lots of people were A/Bing them at the time and went with the Decimator.

Also they hold their used value very well, so there is still a demand.

The NS-2 is more like the G-major which I feel is overpriced, after using a Decimator it seems to be all one would need to have complete silence between notes without premature cutoff.

A lot of times people just need to change out a noisy preamp tube, which is even cheaper than a pedal. Sometimes it is caused by a guitar cable that isn't shielded well, or pickups. Noise can come from many places.

 

[T-e-r-r-y]

Hey guys, this is my first post!

I used the NS-2 for years infront of an amp and it was good. However I've noticed with the 4 cable method (x-pattern) it has this irritating sort of swelling artefact. Anyone else this?

I now use the ISP G-string Decimator, and it is most definitely worth the extra cash.

 

[vanhendrix]

Just to put in my 2 cents: I actually started with the decimator G and ended up switching to the NS-2. They sound identical to me, and I needed a decay knob as well as a threshold knob. Don't give me that 'smart' gate nonsense where it can 'sense what you're playing and calculate the gate speed' on the fly. They absolutely cannot do that, so you end up with a gate that is too slow and strangles your tone out at the worst moments. Maybe I'd like to hold a note there Mr. G string? Don't you dare tell me when I should be heard or not!

 

[xCaptainx]

Before I went digital, I had a Boss NS2 - OD - tuner for probably the last 10 years. I had NO problems with it, it was a tank. Lots of friends of mine switched to decimator but I felt no reason to. I was just using it as a hard gate with high gain amps. Didn't really notice anything 'bad' and it did the job e.g. I couldnt hear shitty feedback and it stopped on a dime.

 

[LolloBlaskhyrt]

Thanks every one! I think I'll buy the Boss Thanks thanks thanks! And I also will try with X-pattern.