A Boss Pedal Reissue That Nobody Saw Coming // SL-2 Slicer

[@BOSSinfoglobal]

Arigato, Jorb! Your demos are always so wholesome.

[@dasczwo]

Boos thx. Maybe You saved me from going modular for stereo panning. But wtf?? Why not a tiny button to axcess panning modes? Pulling cables holding stuff… tedious. And no midi sync time quantisations via tempo knob? Please add that via firmware fast. No presets??? Might get 2 waiting for another year till you reissue the sl20…

[@ciatangallaghe2485]

Any place we can win one?

[@suitandtieguy]

Can I send MIDI to this from the Meris MIDI thru box and a 1/4"->3.5mm TRS cable?

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Keep bringing these awesome pedals, BOSS!! I'm a proud owner of the RV-6 and i will treasure it for as long as i can :)

[@AnodyneHipsterInfluencer]

You guys are _KILLING_ it right now. Whoever you've got on your team helping you decide what's next absolutely *GETS IT/US.*

[@davelordy]

After seeing your edit, I've got an overwhelming desire to own a giant BOSS pedal.

[@BOSSinfoglobal]

Never say never...

[@AtomPiken]

Ahhhh!!! Lol

[@aisforapple2494]

I have a Boss ME-80 guitar multiple effects pedal and it's awesome!

[@graxjpg]

Yeah man… I’ve got the giant GT3 and also the slightly smaller RE-20 space echo. Absolutely love em both..

[@jas_bataille]

Man this pedal makes me SO excited! It can be a tremolo, a filter, an arpeggiator... like this is a lot more than just a slicer.

[@_OopsieDaisies]

Through the combined efforts of my entire lovely family i scored a slicer and reface dx for xmas and i've never felt like my creativity and artistic opportunities expand this much in the course of a few hours! thanks for your videos and congrats for getting the call from roland :)

[@johncarter2741]

I use the boss slicer in the kitchen when I’m chopping up carrots. I get fantastic patterned carrots on my plate. A nice 16th sliced carrot arrangement makes for a good buffet. And because it’s stereo I can push two carrots through at the same time for when I have people round.

[@CatFish107]

Friendship ended with mandolin slicer, boss slicer is the new kitchen hotness.

[@scouthanamura2380]

The boss slicer is a handy best-friend of both musicians and those entertaining house guests!

[@Rompler_Rocco]

I'm so glad someone left this comment, because I started to form one about a pizza slicer which was going to be way lame.

[@johncarter2741]

@@Rompler_Rocco there isn’t enough comedy in the nerdy world of synths. I have been sent from the phuture by Behringer to bring balance.

[@SpikesStudio3]

Ive always been scared to death of my mandolin slicer, now there is one i can be friends with. 😁

[@LivewJack]

Congrats brotha man! So psyched to see you getting the recognition you deserve! shout out to BOSS

[@JorbLovesGear]

Really appreciate that, it is a big moment for me.

[@niceheartwhitesuit]

Congrats on getting invited to demo a Boss release, and a super cool one at that! In a world of infinite boutique pedal options, Boss still delivers amazing, reliable, inspiring effects.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, very proud I was asked to do it. They really are consistently great

[@johnstodmusic]

Gaddamn Jorb, your reviews are so straight forward and from the perspective of someone who actually uses them to enhance their music. Always look forward to seeing what you think about any product!

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏Really appreciate that, cheers

[@nicolasfieldsoundservices]

10:49 great application for house/techno production!

[@dicefall9]

Since it has a usb port on the back, and that it allows us to load more pattern from their website, It would have been Sooooo nice if Roland put a small app to let us design our own personalized patterns and let us upload them into the pedal. TR-8's green contour goes well next to this metallic green Slicer though.

[@joelkulesha8284]

I'd love to see more pedal x synth content on the channel! Your channel is kind of the only one that really ever touches on it.

[@JorbLovesGear]

I've been going heavy recently, it is honestly a lot of favorite stuff to do.

[@barryjefferies-nv9ek]

I second that emotion Bro,, FX Pedals go so well with synths and this one is really exciting 😉👍👍jaffa jenkins dawless jams

[@combfilter]

If you just want the gate function part of this and don't want to spend 170.00. Check craigslist or heck even sometimes on reverb for an Alesis Micro Gate. You can pick them up for 10-20 bucks and they will do the same thing. The really cool thing about the micro gate is that they had a trigger in on the back.. So if you had an old roland drum machine (808,909,626, 707, etc) you could use the trigger out on those into the micro gate trigger in and create any rhythmic pattern you want.

[@spdhc]

I've just bought 3 micro gates for about US$12 and spent other 20 bucks in a generic power supply for the 3 of them. Coincidentally, I have 3 drum machines: A 505, a Boss DR 660 and a Roland R5, can use this trigger thing for these machines? Is just as easy to plug the mono-out on the drurm machine to the trigger-in in the gate?

[@onlyusernameleft2]

Thanks for this demo. I saw the Cyberattack video on the SL-2 and you both seem to sincerely love it. Cyb's video demonstrated his method of incorporating it into the creative process. Yours explains the functionality in a concrete way, which is what I need to understand before I can utilize it in my workflow. Appreciate the time you took to explain it so carefully.

[@thecountertyrant9654]

Love when I find someone that loves the Slicer as much as i do

[@geordanhouse8247]

It's cool seeing how excited you are about this pedal, this is a new effect to me but just how you present it...I literally ordered one right away. Thanks for the awesome recommendation dude, Please stay passionate forever def a reason i continue to come back to your channel. Cheers from Canada man

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏 That all means a lot, thanks for saying it

[@pedroleal7118]

Btw, Boss still rules & rocks! Beeing a user for 40+ years, never disappoints, always brings the goods at affordable prices ! Boss are the AK-47 of guitarists worldwide!

[@chiefbucknell]

Glad that (and interesting how) you compare this to Microcosm! Hologram’s Dream Sequence is a more direct SL20 descendent, and some of that rhythmic/pattern pulsing made its way to Microcosm, too. Boss has some effects-Slicer, Scatter, and Tera Echo among them-that would (and do) appeal to the glitch/granular/ambient effects scene, but for Boss to release standalone versions for the likes of niche effects like Slicer or Scatter may be a bit of a gamble, considering their primary customer base? I’m glad they’re taking a chance, here.

[@orbithesun1]

Congratulations, you have rediscovered the trance-gate effect!

[@yourcitysleeps]

Just picked one of these up on sale for $99. I'm. So excited!

[@trickfall8752]

Great idea with the high hat pattern. I had one of the originals, but eventually replaced it with an EHX Mod Rex which does similar things and has full midi control.

[@imothy]

YAY, the audio is good and i can hear your voice clear finally! Good vid

[@basicsforbaroqueimprovisation]

Thank you for this excellent and thoughtful exploration. My pedal arrives in the mail tomorrow and I am very much looking forward to getting into it ! Best wishes - John

[@RegebroRepairs]

Cool. Second hand SL-20's are pretty expensive, so this is a good one.

[@patfinn2697]

Of course! Just the thing to put before my new Gen Loss which is on the Cue out of my Octatrack. It looks like there is a trs midi in? One would hope you could create your own patterns, and in a dream world control the hidden parameters with cc or some esoteric midi protocol, and then sequence the changes with the Octatrack! If there’s a way I’m going to do it! The stereo effect is key. Thanks as always Jorb!

[@supertakumar4728]

I think you can, there's a usb port on the back and you can create up to a 100 patterns via the app, and they say on the website that you can control the knobs with midi cc

[@alejandrosontoyo3670]

Got the sl20 the day it came out!! That thing has been a party favor ever since and will never get rid🤘🏽

[@SchuylerSiemens]

The world needs an SL-200!

[@Raku777]

Thanks for sharing. You have the presentation of a good dj who talks to the audience like a good buddy. You brought out the Slicer in a way that I could relate to. I saw one demo on another video that left me feeling a little bewildered.

[@johnwellingtonwells7639]

I've been on the lookout for the original pedal sine I read about it when it came out so now there will be this... great review by the way.

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏🙏

[@traitortotheliving]

Sweet! Good job showing this I’m also excited to see it again 🤘

[@strangersun7721]

Really cool pedal. Hope they release another bigger version of this. Thanks for the video.

[@eyeball226]

The Zoom MS70CDR has a pretty decent slicer effect included. Might not have all the options this thing does but it's a very affordable way to find out if you like the effect.

[@CedricSatterfield]

Ah the good old ms70 and hackable 50g. Gotta love them with synths

[@ricktheexplorer]

So this is a slicer, I am going to get one. Thank you for pointing out an awesome effect.

[@KyleCanessa]

I loved this in my Boss Multi back in the day

[@FAIRWEATHER_MUSIC]

I'm so stoked about this!!!! I've had 2 slicers but they're so damn big. Gotta find one NOW!

[@TheFlutecart]

I drank some beers last night. Feeling brave, I put one of these on pre-order at Sweetwater. It's going in the loop of my Superego+ along with a MXR Poly Blue Octave. I side chain the loop straight to my stereo amp, bypassing my other guitar effects. I shall wage a synth battle with our synth guy. I'm sure he will win in the end but the sounds should be crazy. This pedal should come with a light show rig.

[@seedmole]

I used to run stuff thru a DD-6's reverse mode, with 100% wet signal, to get a similar rythmic "slicing" effect on slow-attack sounds. Definitely room for something like that in the current pedal landscape.

[@SynthesizerSam]

Very cool video, thanks for sharing your knowledge! I'll definitely have to look more into this effect. I never heard of it until now.

[@jamtardio]

I have the old model twin pedal sl20 I've kept it and use if for fun, yes the stereo effects are very cool. I too used twin amps for stereo sound. I play guitar and keyboard. Glad to see it back out again even in the smaller pedal is cool. Nice video you made the pedal sounded good.

[@internalmethods]

Great job 👌 congrats on the opportunity 🎹🎶💯

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, proud of it

[@nathanielautomaton]

Just when I had convinced myself that I'm set for synth pedals (although Microcosm is definitely on my wishlist) Boss (re)issues this; and you make an excellent show and tell video for us… So tempted to pre-order from Perfect Circuit right now, but as an exercise in self discipline I'm going to plug in my Zoom MS-70 and play with it's slicer effects again first. Oh, but those swirling stereo options on the SL-2 are rather lovely though…will have to wait and see if they implement some of the suggestions. Clock division and presets and I'm totally sold. Fantastic review and demo. I always appreciate your approach, demeanor, and delivery. Serious congrats on Boss' recognition (and compensation) of your worth, time and talent. Keep sharing and doing what you love, keep it real, and I'll keep watching.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Appreciate that, really proud to be here. Clock division, I *REALLY* hope we see that in an update.

[@Bigwave3K]

I love finding new music gear channels thank you sir

[@JorbLovesGear]

Cheers, thanks for watching!

[@ClutterNyc]

I have the old one in another country and literally just had it sent back to me 2 days ago because I missed it so much, I just preordered this new one so I’ll have so much slicing! The boss rc-505 has the slicer on the input and output fx as well, slicing is my favorite thing to do! Great video!

[@ianmckenna29]

i've been looking at buying one of the old pedals for like a year or longer so this reissue release is like my most hyped piece of gear this year for me.

[@billyjeckel407]

So much love to Boss for keeping pedals interesting. That being said I think this concept applied to a eurorack case would be so rad. That way you could have a sequencer to control the rhythm of the slices. Anyway great work as always Jorb

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏Cheers, happy to do it

[@BryanSmith66]

This looks interesting. I'm a guitarist and love all things tremolo. This reminds me a little of my GigFX Chopper Pedal. Thanks for the demonstration!

[@LabRatWarfare]

Killer overview of this man! I'm getting the Slicer, it's so cool to see you did a review on it! Can't wait to try it out with some of my chiptune gear! 🐀

[@StephenMcLeod]

Oh dang, I've been looking out for an SL-20 for ages.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Yoo I feel like you would do some crazy stuff with a Slicer, you should definitely grab one of these

[@StephenMcLeod]

@@JorbLovesGear I must.

[@RJ_Eckie]

Dang that sounds absolutely awesome!! Boss if you’re listening - I 100% agree on the presets point, plus my personal point: midi program change for the presets. As a singer songwriter - not having these makes it a dealbreaker because I can’t go and edit my pedal parameters between every song. Besides that I REALLY love this pedal!!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Other comments have mentioned there are slicer modes in the MD200 and MD500, maybe worth investigating

[@RJ_Eckie]

@@JorbLovesGearThanks! It just so happens that the SL-2 would fit my needs perfectly. I don't need the extra complexity or other mod effects, and it comes at a cost of a higher price and more pedal board real estate. I did a quick google and apparently the 8 types x 11 variations are stored as presets that can be backed up and edited from your computer. Less ideal than saving them right from the pedal - but personal preset functionality is already built in nonetheless. Also there is a (very minimal) integration of midi CC. It kind of looks like recalling presets over midi could just be a firmware update away? Edit: Same for the stereo modes, it's a shame they are locked away so deeply while they could be selected with a single CC. This could become a real synth-staple if they spent some time on getting the midi implementation right.

[@orpheuscreativeco9236]

This is cool! I wish someone would make a pedal style Gross Beat (from FL Studio). This is the closest I've seen, but it doesn't have some of the key features. You had a great point about being able to have/save presets. 🙏 That would be SO helpful! Thanks for sharing this, great demo ✌️

[@incubusrok]

Jorb is the only gear dude I'm willing to admit I sub. All killer no filler.

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏🙏cheers, appreciate that

[@NunyaB1s]

I believe the slicer's first use in gear was on the MC-505 which was my first ever synth/groovebox. It also exists in the BOSS VF-1 as one of the many multieffects in that unit. There was also a slicer in the Fantom-S, so there are MANY ways to get your slicer fix. Love the effect, love your channel.

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏🙏

[@henrygreen1367]

Great review Jorb, there aren’t many comprehensive videos showing what this pedal can really do. I’m a musician that plays live for dance classes and having bought this pedal a few months ago, it really adds a punchy rhythmic element to my board. I use the midi out and connect it to my RC500 looper so I can build patterns with the drum presets and Slicer patterns with flexibility. It’s also good fun with an octave pedal. Overall a great pedal.

[@kurtklingklang5918]

FYI - the Zoom MS70CDR pedal has a Slicer effect in it’s library of effects, with a number of preset patterns In some ways it’s more flexible than the Boss pedal, because you can choose the other effects that accompany it; phaser, flanger, filter, reverb, slow attack, etc

[@andrewstanworth529]

Fantastic! And I learned something! Cheers!

[@toomuchmidi]

You know, I've never realized that it was a part of my sp303. Im ashamed of myself! It sounds so good.

[@JorbLovesGear]

more than just the vinyl sim, smh

[@HeavyListeningMusic]

Thanks for the demo! This is a really cool effect. I bet I can implement similar things in my Zoia.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Thats an excellent, excellent idea, would love to see it

[@moogsynth87]

This would be cool as a eurorack module.

[@dkdowntown]

Trey from Phish has it rack mounted and wired to a foot controlled expression pedal that he calls The Jedi pedal which he tried to keep secret.

[@gamepad3173]

Now this is also a pedal I'd consider grabbing for a third pedal board I'm working on. as this one is geared towards keyboards, digital guitars and keytars.

[@roryjamesscammell]

This is a game changer for me. I've had a SL20 on my board for years, with the RC-300 sending it a midi clock. I use it with Hurdy Gurdy, to create live dance trance music. This may revolutionise the way my board works and make it lighter....

[@JorbLovesGear]

With a hurdy gurdy, wow, im sure that sounds so so cool.

[@roryjamesscammell]

@@JorbLovesGear kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnypdYOabs99f5I

[@roryjamesscammell]

Sadly I don't use the slicer in this video, but this is the pedalboard.

[@samborn7120]

My days of side chaining are FINALLY over! Gonna pick one up for sure!

[@stephencarr7173]

Nice job going through the different settings to show what it actually does.

[@rekall76]

since the first time i watched this video, i acquired my own sl-2 and Love It... rewatching it now, i realized i hadn't even noticed the midi in jack, and to my surprise, plugging it in to a digitech sdrum does, in fact, cause the slicer to synchronize with the sdrum. (so, it would appear that the jamsync output on the sdrum sends out midi as well as the proprietary signals used by jamman loopers.)

[@JorbLovesGear]

I wonder if that's what the jam man stuff was always sending out. Cool tip!

[@YayoSalvatori]

To be honest, this review made me buy one Keep up the good work man!

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏🫡🫡

[@B_SIDES]

Bought an original one of these a couple months ago, excited for anyone who hasn’t been able to try it (but sad for myself because everyone will now know my secret weapon)

[@ConsciousBrosCommunity]

Congratz, Jorbyjorb :)

[@johnvdl]

Thank you for making this video! Very well done, keep up the good work😉👌👍👍👍

[@BachelorMachinesTV]

Another gadget that can provide this kind of effect is a Dave Smith Evolver. But those are no longer being manufactured and they cost more used now than they cost for a new unit when they were still being made.

[@sandyturner1911]

Wow! Great demo! I have one on the way. Apparently, there are more options, per the Tone Studio App. I have a SY1 and a MOOD MK2, that I think will work nicely, with this. Thanks!

[@magmasunburst9331]

I used to get this effect with my Roland System 100 model 101. The Roland System 1M hasn't been a great external processor like I thought it would.

[@metalguccisolid]

Good call on asking to buy the big muff too. such a good pedal, it's a key sound to a certain staple post punk connecticut band

[@wren23_bass-synths]

They did have a dual Slicer pedal a few years ago. I been looking for one, and now this!

[@JorbLovesGear]

And less cash than the old ones, wins all around

[@chiefbucknell]

Fantastic story and demo! I’ve been saying they need to reissue the Slicer; I got an MD-500, primarily for Slicer. Lots of SL20 love on Instagram, et al., and used prices have been relatively high. Glad they finally did this; I hope it’s a success. (By the way, I have a JC40, too-it kind of got me back into playing some guitar; haven’t gigged it, but proud of you for insisting on stereo mic-ing, back then!)

[@JorbLovesGear]

I bet the MD-500 with midi and presets would be really hand for the slicer.

[@harfenspieler]

Great addition! Also keep in mind that the Boss MD-500 has the original SL-20 fully integrated, plus full MIDI implementation and syncing - might be important if you use it in a larger, timing-sensitive setup.

[@JorbLovesGear]

This has come up a few times, seems like a really good option

[@PacificIslandDrive]

Sounds like you could get that Johnny Marr (The Smiths) ‘How Soon Is Now’ tremolo effect, fairly easy with the Slicer.

[@RobUttley]

Very mediocre guitarist here, I had pre-ordered one of these on the strength of a few early KZbin previews, and then saw this one today. This is a great video, and the bit about setting it up in ping-pong has blown my mind, I can't wait to see what else is hiding in there. We don't get the pedal here (UK) until around the 20th so I'll just have to soak up some of these preview/review videos!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Hope you enjoy it, cheers

[@ashtonkatt]

Thanks for the demo!

[@SylvainPoitras]

Looping legend Rick Walker once told me about his favourite trick with the SL-20: set the stereo mode to random and put a dummy plug in the right output. The left output will give you a random and non-repeating pattern.

[@JorbLovesGear]

Great tip ooo

[@jamesberry5968]

i love how it creates transient shapes in some of the more complex examples.

[@randyupchurch1899]

...LOVED-IT,my Brother...Peace...

[@CyberattackWorld]

video rules and that oscilloscope is beautiful

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏🙏Scope has become essential for all my stuff, honestly feels like part of my visual identity now hahaa

[@tjatkinson88]

So cool!!! Thanks for the video.

[@tobymearing8407]

exemplary demo - thank you Sir

[@DetroitMicroSound]

11:10 😄 The one you don't like, is one of my favorites.

[@LondraCalibro9]

really good demo! thank you for the hard work!

[@JorbLovesGear]

🙏 🙏 🙏

[@graxjpg]

Awesome. I’ve got a slicer in my GT3, where i believe it was first introduced according to the marketing stuff for the GT3. Great for buckethead type stuff if you want to go there… also of course the GT3 loves synths.

[@jscan]

I love the clamp hack! Genius.

[@JorbLovesGear]

love little framing tricks like that, nice to know someone else is on board

[@moyinski5637]

Hi Jorb, I like your videos. I don't know if you will read this but I wanted to tell you that I notice something interesting about distorsions/overdrive/fuzz pedals ; if you take a bass version of those pedals you can have a "blend" knob which gives you the opportunity to have access to completely dry or completly wet noise progressively with this knob instead of the switch. I notice that because with a traditionnal guitar pedal you can't, it's on/off. But with a bass version you can be progressive which I find more usable on a synth. I purchase the Electro Harmonix Deluxe Bass Big Muff Pi which have it or there's the Boss ODB 3which is cheaper. Excuse me for my bad english . It's a tip I wanted to share with you.

[@JorbLovesGear]

I've heard that a few times, often bass pedals are just blended, or fuller EQ versions. Which, of course for us synth guys makes perfect sense. Good tips!

[@pedroleal7118]

Hello! I've been watching 'Slicer ' demos for a while, and contrary to most, as you're a synth guy, your explanations are much more clear , make more sense and are less anecdotic (?). Thank you for sharing. ps I've been trying to achieve the Slicer sound for a while (with pedals, tried everything!)), and would come closer, but never right there (except with my guitar synth, but that's not 'pedals'). Take care!

[@jimicrumb3700]

this runs really well with the hologram dream sequence.

[@krienmineel]

I had the sl 20 but at the time i was playing guitar like 5 years and experimenting with a lot of pedals. I did some cool things with it but eventually sold it and bought something else for it but like any pedal i which i never sold it hahaha. Especially now ive been getting into synths more

[@eerbrev]

omg i need this pedal in my life

[@DeadWhiteButterflies]

The original Slicer was already tricky to get hold on even at it's time, mainly 'cos I remember being pretty pricey to begin with. Some £200 (I'd imagine it was similar in dollars). Which ain't great if you want people to get on board with something that's somewhat niche. So this is a definitely surprise to me, and I welcome it.

[@JorbLovesGear]

I know I got lucky, but when I got mine in 2016 it was part of a lot the broke down to about 60$ per pedal. But the second one, exactly right was $200 around 2017. I would honestly believe boss could make reissue decisions based only on what stuff is overpriced on the used market

[@arcologies]

major Underworld vibes on a couple of those sounds :) great video

[@benedictjephcote6815]

That opening sound in this video reminds me of 'Beat' by Chris Carter from 'The Space Between' (1980)

[@Wild_Echoes]

So I too was obsessed with the slicer. When I got it, I found it a bit too ‘digital’ and abrupt. I couldn’t believe there was nothing else that did it until I found the AC Noises Respira which to my mind is more ‘musical’ than the slicer (not quite as many stereo variations though)

[@Wild_Echoes]

…and no midi clock in (just tap tempo) which is essential for the sort of stuff you’re doing here.

[@JorbLovesGear]

There is midi clock! I use it throughout the video.

[@Si_G]

The implementation in my MD-200 is good fun

[@JorbLovesGear]

I really really want to try it now

[@AndrewJohnClive]

What a rad pedal!

[@BishopEddie5443]

Finally a slice of rhythmic happiness!

[@joeaidonidis8030]

I appreciate this review. Thanks!

[@cmmn_crdnl]

I wonder if I could send MIDI clock from my RC500 with this while also still using my MIDI controller… I will have to do some experimenting! Great demo by the way

[@JorbLovesGear]

Yup, not sure of specifics, but look into midi thru boxes if you dont have the jacks / hardware to just use multiple midi outs