80's Rack Tones in a Pedal? BOSS PS-6

[@emartinezr]

Wow this is one amazing pedal. It's like an octaver + chorus + quick whammy + detuner all in one

[@Dan_Ranger]

I use the PS6 regularly as a utility pedal for cover band gigs and it covers a lot of ground. Anyone deciding to use one then put it post overdrive or in your loop. It tracks really well and make sure your guitar is in tune! The detune is fantastic as well. One of those pedals that’s great to have on your board for a number of jobs.

[@DuckDuckGo512]

Does it cover the OC5 territory

[@Dan_Ranger]

@@DuckDuckGo512 It’s got a few octave settings that’ll get you there.

[@Dan_Ranger]

@@BryanClark-gk6ie It won’t track properly. Especially using the harmony sections. The PS needs to see the right tuning to give you the correct harmony. I tend to keep my level/mix at about 9 - 10 O’clock as well, it helps keep it more natural.

[@tomkehoe6392]

Thought I was a big Boss pedal guy, but I've never seen this! Sounds amazing and a great review (and playing)! Thank you.

[@MadDrummer100000]

Very strong Wishbone Ash vibes in the beginning with the clean tone. Such an awesome tool.

[@funnyharleyman]

I heard it too, Throw Down The Sword, LOVE that band.

[@peterharvin2775]

Delicious detune. Always one of my favorite effects and this does a very creditable job.

[@LeonTodd]

Thank you kindly!

[@CyberneticArgumentCreator]

The PS-6's best things it does, sound-wise, are the -1/+1 octave and the detune. You can output stereo detuned with a few cents high and a few cents low blended with the dry signal and panned hard left and right at the same time for an enormous stereo image. It can do it as -5/+5, -10/+10, and -15/+15 detunes in stereo. For the dirty section you were on the +15/-15, which is the largest detune spread in stereo it does. The 5 cent and 10 cent are way more subtle and great if you just want stereo separation with less of the chorusing effect. I've messed with all of its settings and it has a lot of fun inside, but I keep going back to the two octaves and the stereo detune as staple effects. Also, the pitch detune setting you did with the clean section demo is dry on one side and detuned on the other - which means the detuned side has a slight lag behind so one side sounds 'closer' because of the delay. For the best "clean" stereo spread, the second from the rightmost position on the shift knob is the +5/-5 mode which has no delay bias toward either side and is very glassy and wide.

[@hotchow8766]

Those POG sounds could be a stepping stone or even the key ingredient to the tone found in Satriani's song "Super Colossal", yet it is still not a one trick pony. Thank you, Leon. Happy new year and God bless you.

[@nicolasaraistrujak208]

this was the best harmonies demos that I have seen

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

Very cool.. I love that Detune.. That dive bomb thing is too fun.. I think I still love the eventide micropitch pedal better, but this would work in a pinch for sure.. Boss stuff just works.. very cool brother.. hope all is well my friend. Tim

[@smokestackstudiosgem]

I love the PS & Harmonist Boss family… especially in the amps fx loop or in my w/d/w setup in stereo mode. No robot voicings that way.🤘🎸

[@lastrolo1517]

I’m hearing Della Brown in those detune cleans and some Rush too - great tones!

[@heavybrett-al4082]

😊 now that sounds like so much fun....I could pretend Dave Murray or Adrian Smith are accompanying me on my solo's. 😂

[@rmax5150]

Man, you heard exactly the same thing I did. One of those settings totally reminded me of a Maiden solo. Great stuff!

[@robertdouble559]

Too robotic to sound like those guys, those LEGENDS!. Needs a "chaos" knob to add some humanity.@@rmax5150

[@Mr.D34]

I bought this pedal after watching your demo. There are countless demos on this pedal but you really showed the best what it can do. I think this pedal is a hidden gem.

[@LeonTodd]

I appreciate that!

[@lostwoods]

I'm glad you covered the PS-6. I just picked up one myself a couple of months ago. Really fun and versatile pedal. I got it for the pitch detune, but I also ended up really enjoying the the S-Bend feature. I'll probably end up getting an external expression pedal for that feature. It works great for those Buckethead whammy effects you hear on tunes like Soothsayer and Datura.

[@LeonTodd]

I love pedals like this where one feature is worth the price, but then you get a bunch of fun stuff as a bonus.

[@lostwoods]

Agreed. And like you mentioned, it's frequently available used for very reasonable prices.@@LeonTodd

[@z1g]

I got a PS6 a few weeks back for the stereo detune. It really is a nice cheap way to get that sounds. Probably just me, but it is a lot more fun to be in the room hearing it than comes across in a recording. When I have recorded with it, the sound is fine, but it sounds much better coming out of the amps. The room seems to instantly fill with sound.

[@funkyfeedbackband3035]

Great review. I use one and it’s a lot of fun, with heaps of interesting options. Some artists that have used it are the black keys, Tom morello, David Gilmour and more. It’s a sparingly use pedal. For a song or two. Highly recommended.

[@ontherocks1026]

I’ve had this pedal for several months now and I had no idea the S bend feature worked that way haha . I have to try it now ! Love the pedal . Very simple and effective . Enjoyed seeing it in action on your channel . 🫵🏼👍🏼!!

[@LeonTodd]

Enjoy!

[@4stringz.]

I love this pedal so much. It’s a Swiss Army knife of whammy effects to detuning, harmonizing, 12-string, doubling, chording, chorus/phasing, octave and so much more...

[@ReedHarrison]

I just got this pedal and I really love it. I wonder what the upgrade to it will look like in the future

[@algrundau9441]

I could tell by your facial expressions how much fun you were having with this pedal....SOLD!!!! I'm getting one! Cheers from Canada.

[@williamb2845]

He had the stanky face, like, “Aww, yeah.”

[@davidknipe3536]

I have the PS5 Super Shifter , Boss loved naming pedals “Super”, it’s got most of the same functionality, and tracks pretty well too. I agree, the detune is the most useable feature.. get that Ed VH sound without breaking the bank

[@drcockles]

I love harmonisers (I have the EHX one and a Whammy DT) but what I really dig in this vid is your heavy tone 🤟🏽🤟🏽🤟🏽🤟🏽

[@typangtv]

I have this always-on in detune mode after my wah/phaser/preamp going into a mixer. Makes it sound huge in headphones! I keep the balance around 10:30 or 11:00 so it sounds slightly more natural.

[@rahulsguitar]

seems like a very useful and fun pedal.

[@alanredversangel]

There was a Japanese review of this pedal back in the day and it was the craziest pedal demo I've ever seen. If anyone knows where it is I'd love to see it again. I'm sure it had people in mascot costumes and the guy sang into the pedal to get a chipmunk voice.

[@LeonTodd]

Yeah I'm gonna need to see this.

[@alanredversangel]

@@LeonTodd It might have been a ps-5. We're talking years ago though....

[@5urg3x]

Lol you need to find that link :D

[@nunoharris]

Hi. Whats the year of your pedal? Thanks

[@animad_studio44]

Wow, this is so much fun in one pedal!

[@steviebeavie1]

Quite court jester there in parts, "hello, your kingship, I have news from afar - plays boss harmony line - dost though want to harken??"

[@MickH60]

That stereo widening at 7:50 odd sounds great...

[@jasonalexander5253]

The first clean harmony of the video reminded me of Wishbone Ash. Very, very cool.

[@LeonTodd]

Wow, thank you! Love that band

[@RobUttley]

Great demo! I just bought one, looking to try and get some Big Country sounds out of it - although I don't think I'll be able to resist trying a few Rage Against The Machine tricks with the S-Bend setting, too.

[@visionaire101]

I really like how the detune work on clean at 7 :00 great multi voice chorus ..........

[@Dethfield]

I love this pedal. It absolutely nails the stereotypical heavy metal harmony leads when you put it after distortion. The detune mode almost makes a better chorus than most chorus pedals. I havent really fooled around much the S-Bend... but after this maybe i should look into it more.

[@angelsantiago1566]

I have this pedal, and like it a lot. Kinda fattens up my sound a bit. Thanks for tips!

[@grahamb646]

I just bought a used one of these. Initially for that "Boston" solo sound, but I really like the Whammy effects. Have just bought a Nektar expression pedal to hopefully give a little more control over the Superbend function. Hours of fun awaits, I think!

[@LeonTodd]

Enjoy!

[@grahamb646]

@@LeonTodd I owe you some big thanks mate! You got me into the Digitech 2120 and the Lexicon MX200, both of which I found used but excellent and for cheap. I love them! Keep up the great work. Your demos are the best. Even a simpleton like me can understand them!

[@MichaelSorensen-bl3ec]

Stereo is addictive. I went through a period where I would run two amps through a Radial Tone Bones pedal, could choose one or the other or both together. Man,. it was tough to go back to a mono amp setup after that. But I think I get tired of the saccharine sound that pitch shifters tend to provide. You like it for a while and then you get this aftertase and say, 'Enough!'.

[@allenlocke1935]

Use both live a stereo rig and a mono rig :) There is no substitute for tone. Working on the wet/dry/ wet rig myself.

[@keeprocking3620]

Whammy style dive bombs sound surprisingly good!

[@DreidMusicalX]

I really like it distorted. Sounds killer! Well some of it.

[@noizewriter3324]

So I was looking to get a H9 so I could get some proper 80's but also didn't feel like dropping that much cash due to other responsibilities, and also saw this in the used pedal section as well for much much less and remembered this video. So long story short you saved me a tone of money and I can still get my 80's spread going on!

[@LeonTodd]

This makes me very happy to read!

[@noizewriter3324]

@@LeonTodd Well you made my EVHs effects loop very happy! Granted your videos on the Astro 20 are making my bank account a bit worried haha!

[@GasStationSushiiii]

Using the detune with another pedal makes it a crazy chorus sound

[@roscius6204]

Effects in this vein make a great case for Boss multi FX units, I have a GX700 and an SE50, whilst I enjoy them, I couldn't warrant a dedicated pedal for what it does. Then there's the midi preset functionality too.

[@Dave_Mannix]

Come said the boy! Love that song

[@LeonTodd]

Love Mondo Rock

[@allboutthemojo]

​@LeonTodd sounds amazing 👏. Couple of questions. Where in the signal chain do you recommend running this? And is this pedal similar to a doubler or octave pedal that brands like Mooer have on the market? Thanks for sharing this !

[@Cherry_Sunburst]

EXCELLENT...Thanks.

[@burresseffects]

Van Hagar setting is Detune with the Shift Knob all the way clockwise (-10 and +10). Adjust Mix to taste.

[@chrisb6561]

Awesome demo, my next pedal..

[@RipVDub]

Juicy! Appreciated! I'm not yelling!

[@swaggedup6934]

4:35 is such a cool riff

[@Terry_Aki]

A chorus pedal like Neunaber Inspire on tri mode in front of the ps6 detune with echo and delay is fun too!

[@Jared_Dill]

Amazing Video brother. sounds great that thing and your playing as always. keep up the great work. that's a great ass killer sounding pedal. I'd also like too say thank you for helping me out when I asked u a little while back how to dial in that killer hi gain John Sykes type tone or Doug Aldrich type sound that was me that asked u that but I got something insanely close to that sound today I dialed in with your tips and suggestions and advice and it blew me away of how fat it sounded dude thanks so much man. I tweaked it To my liking but did the tips you suggested to me. So anyway thanks so much brother.❤😎👍😌🤝🤝🤝🤘🤘🙏🙏

[@LeonTodd]

I'm stoked to hear that worked for you!

[@wajobu]

Steve Hackett has used one of these for years.

[@elenrirodbe]

Oh my 2:20 you say “with some distortion” and play a face-melting sound!!! Besides ps6 what are you using to get that tone? F****ing blew my mind!!

[@LeonTodd]

Hahaha yep. Using the Axe-Fx for the amp/cab sounds

[@darkwave108]

I play mostly blues and progressive solo. Should I go for this?

[@JayEdom]

I got this for the different tunings it can create on a minimal amount of strings

[@rickbrunet2559]

Really cool. Sounds like a bard playing in the streets of medieval times. Lol. Nice Leon!!!

[@5150forevermore]

You should try the 2nd to last shift setting Clockwise on the Detune mode. It's a little more subtle and a little tighter than the counter clockwise detune 3 voice settings.

[@fragallo1188]

Useful and well done

[@nickmellor344]

'Let's hear it with some distortion now'. Yes, let's...

[@Yarnhawk]

Now we need a PS-6 preset for the Fractal!

[@creamygoodness3018]

Awsome!!!! Thanx Leon!!! I dug one of these out of the closet and tried your last setting in this video… WINNING!!! 🤓👍🏼 lol

[@LeonTodd]

Nothing better than having a GAS attack and realising you already own it!

[@lacrimau4u]

In the the right rank-order of effect pedals connected with stereo & distortion that boss Harmonizer ps-6 sounds nearly like 3 guitars was played at the same time & it possible with standard tuning go whammy up one octave that some Digitech whammy dosen't do & as a guitar player we got everything in small tiny box...

[@Allan-ts1ux]

That is pretty harmonically distorted sounds you had goin on matey. Reminded me of something like an Indian wardance trance...lupin musta liked those two chime whines. First time I've ever heard that..felt it like choked my ears , funny to imagine how lupin imagined that..where is our little lupie lupin.. 😺, keep thinkin he'll show up for the show and harmonize with you.

[@LeonTodd]

Had Lupin working this remotely for me!

[@AlexandreCriado]

that detune is fire

[@NotAnotherSatchFan]

From what I hear I think you can nail the sound of Joe Satriani's Why on this pedal

[@ontherhodes8088]

Sounded a little Mondo Rock-esque there at oen point.

[@dominicgibson9529]

Oh, matey, missed a golden opportunity to launch it Jethro Tull's "To Cry You a Song" with that diatonic thing you had going. That would've been epic...I suggest you correct that rookie error✌

[@LeonTodd]

I shall stand on one leg while playing as punishment

[@dominicgibson9529]

@@LeonTodd You got 'er, Daddio❤😂

[@MikeHolliman]

Detune is killer!!!

[@Metalguitarpete]

The opening riff sounded a lot like Dr Phibes by Angel Witch

[@mikkywhalan]

6:32 i see you threw in Come Said The Boy

[@LeonTodd]

Great tune hey

[@mikkywhalan]

@@LeonTodd 100%, it’s one of my favourites. Mondo Rock has plenty of other great songs as well

[@LeonTodd]

We've run into their keyboard player a few times at the airport and mentioned we cover this. He was pleasantly surprised and a super nice dude. @@mikkywhalan

[@mikkywhalan]

@@LeonTodd oh cool! I’ve met the drummer a few times who also played with other Aussie bands like Dragon, really nice guy as well.

[@sonicaids]

sick pedal. they've come a long way from the harmonist in the ME-50

[@bmac5085]

I've been looking at buying one of these for a while. I've heard that the chorus sound is close to Eddie's Van hager days tone.

[@Taylor___]

Amazing. Leon, what amp are you usig? The fractal? It sounds killer

[@LeonTodd]

Yeah ODS for clwean and USA Lead Mid gain for dirt

[@rutger4131]

The harmony functions (on any pedal) never sound that pleasant or convincing when I try them. It really is more of an effect than a realistic doubler. Now, the pitch detune and the pseudo whammy mode are awesome. It's a great way to do whammy stuff on the cheap. Where's your Tom Morello video? :P

[@jamianankon8163]

I’m a newby ,so if you don’t mind me asking, for your case, did you or would you put the ps-6 before or after distortions?

[@Lennie_peled]

i know this is an old video but can you tell me if the ps6 was before or after the distortion? or did you run it in front of the amp? the detuned gain sounded gorgeous man

[@Soloist1983]

You have to do Satriani's "Why" with that pedal, it's a requirement

[@zombiemosher1139]

It's amazing how far Boss have come since the PS-2 which I owned & has a killer Delay. My bandmate has this one. Its great but the only downside for me personally is it doesn't do 4ths.

[@brentheathersimons7042]

Quick Leon! Play the opening riff of Territories by Rush! 😀

[@GasStationSushiiii]

My favorite pedal I have

[@robb4340]

Great Versatile Pedal, I regret selling it. I might buy it again.For the Rack Unit Guys, I use a PCM80 For Pitch. The Preset Split Pitch? You can edit the % in S.4 edit mode.

[@LeonTodd]

Love the PCM80/81 :D

[@wakjob961]

I can't remember which Harmonist I had, but if I put all the controls straight up to 12 o'clock, it made for a perfect static chorus.

[@fillo1971]

Assolutamente fantastico 🤟🏻💪🏻🎸💯👍🏻

[@eoinjennings519]

this is instant Thin Lizzy or Iron Maiden for a single guitar home player like me! Only problem is I don't know what key the songs I'm playing are in so I just twist the knob till it sounds right!

[@LeonTodd]

If in doubt just use your ears :)

[@fredericadda]

Probably Em in 90% of the cases 😂

[@syaifulmakmun9265]

Is the BossbPS-6 placed before or after the distortion pedal? Thanks for the answer ❤

[@LeonTodd]

After

[@syaifulmakmun9265]

@@LeonTodd ok, thanks FYI 😀

[@mattg082]

I ended up looking at this.. as I saw some Whammy 5 new for $180 plus tax. Pretty good deal, but do I really need one, when I have an OC5 and prob use it for one thing this pedal does? This Boss Harmonist looks way more interesting, or a Ricochet if I want that back and forth thing.

[@martincockburn6821]

Great pedal.... does some cool things... only really gets used for metallica harmonies in my set up.. Orion, moth into flame, master of puppets etc....the detune sounds mint... was waiting for a tom morello whammy solo tho 😜😅

[@LeonTodd]

Yeah this Rages hard

[@martincockburn6821]

@@LeonTodd 😅😅

[@Yalbou]

What settings do you dial to get the metallica harmonies?

[@martincockburn6821]

@@Yalbou balance middle, shift middle.. key A and mode major... its not quite right but works good enough for me not to change it for different songs. the setting i have in my katana head is better but i cant remember what that is.. i need to have a look and see if i can get the ps6 the same

[@spetersonmusic]

That's pretty cool.

[@MusicFed]

I wonder which one is better, this pedal or tc electronic quintessence?

[@Tatted-ne7tu]

What kind of pickups are in the PRS, sound great

[@WyattBrown377]

Sounds amazing in stereo. Does it hold up in mono?

[@TmanUtube]

Never thought I'd hear Mondo Rock & Iron Maiden like Harmony riffs on the same episode. 😂❤🇦🇺🤘

[@timlaine6268]

I have the precursor PS5, still a great pedal.

[@nickmagan9667]

Detune sounds glorious on dirt channel, through the front of the amp or fx loop?

[@fredericadda]

I have the HR-2 one!

[@Cerusicus26]

Where is the right position of Harmonist on the pedalboard ? I’d like to use with distortion using to create the maiden sound

[@LeonTodd]

Depends what you like tonally, but probably post distortion for that

[@Yalbou]

Man i have this amp but no idea how to use it to get those iron maiden or metallica melodies

[@kellerbenjaminjames]

I feel obligated to tell you that my dumbass had mine plugged into the output b leading into a single amp so like half the settings weren't changing the tone output at all... so thanks for the video lol.

[@fdxhcpunk8735]

in the pitch detune mode sounds like it has a compressor?

[@Rich-TheCosmicSurferBand]

It's the best chorus on the market

[@MickH60]

3:30 Sabbath tone

[@xsisterwifex]

Sounds like some Wishbone Ash-ish riffs at the beginning!!!

[@brCharlieNagy]

Does it have some latency (like the Behringer Uh300)?