Forum response: Boss PS-2 vs. Boss PS-3 Differences (Basic Phone Video/Audio)

[@t.nieblas2679]

I didn’t know this until I looked at the owners manual for the PS-2. The tuner out is supposed to put out a signal that will tell your tuner what note the pitch-shifted signal is at. That allows for you to have some way to accurately tune in the interval you want. It is referenced to a C note. That’s why plugging the tuner out to the input gets you a weird synthy sound. It’s not a glitch, but the way they designed the pedal to deal with the cumbersome way of manually dialing in the pitch shifer.

[@PumpkinPieces33]

Yes! Always fascinates me how practical features of the time on older pedals can be used for creative purposes like using the PS-2 tuner out for drone/noise.

[@NoMoreKings1]

Woah wtf. I've been commenting on your matriarch videos and had no idea you were pumpkinpieces I used to love your pedal reviews on ilovefuzz and deviever etc etc. Damn dude ha admiral apricot!

[@PumpkinPieces33]

aye it's me! and thank you, hope to do more pedal stuff soon, so far only have a solid way to record synths in the new place

[@andrewjakes5296]

PS3 has been my secret weapon on the board for years along side a freeze and paired with minifoogers, Strymon reverb, alter ego delay pedal. Mode 7 for the nice weird reverse or mode 8 to drop octave for the freeze. Amazing pedal.

[@marvinrocco1213]

You prolly dont care but if you're stoned like me atm then you can watch pretty much all the latest series on Instaflixxer. I've been streaming with my brother for the last couple of months xD

[@keenanjaime3590]

@Marvin Rocco Definitely, been using Instaflixxer for years myself :)

[@nicholasjohnson1532]

cheers buddy. i ended up on deciding on the ps-2 after watching this video. that feedback loop with the patch cable has been wonderfully useful to me! i can't remember if you demoed this or mentioned it but you can also get a really cool chorus sound by setting the manual pitch to just a hair off unity. works super well for me on bass. thanks for the demo, much appreciated!

[@PumpkinPieces33]

hell yeah, thanks for the comment! If you ever mess with really gnarly fuzzes try putting that detuned/chorus setting into one. I used to do it with a devi ever soda meiser and ended up with some wild tremolo/trill/stuttery fuzz.

[@nicholasjohnson1532]

@@PumpkinPieces33 oh that's awesome! I use a TC Electronic Vintage Bass Distortion primarily, but I have a couple of wren & cuff clones at my disposal too. have never tried putting the PS2 before it, which I assume is what you're suggesting. Will give it a go! My signal chain is mainly TC Vintage > PS2 > mooer reecho > EH Holy Grail Max (set to plate). I rarely use em all at once but they're great noisemakers for ambient passages and feeding back to fill space when necessary. We're into stuff like Swirlies and Yo La Tengo and there's only one guitarist so it gives me a lot of space to explore. Next time we jam I'll try shaking up the order for sure!

[@nicholasjohnson1532]

@@PumpkinPieces33 I just checked that pedal out, sounds sick. Reminds me of the smallsound/bigsound year 4545 which I've been trying to track down for years. a noisemaker like this would be awesome. I'm hugely inspired by people like Avey Tare who don't often use a lot of gain based effects in their music (not at all, I don't think) but they do use the boss pitch shifter. So a fuzz like that with a ps2 would be all i needed ever. Awesome. Thanks for the tip!

[@andrewshoemaker9608]

thanks! helpful video! ended up finding use in getting both, it seems useful to have them.

[@stonedapesociety5628]

So basically the PS2 can be use also as a sort of drone machine..I have no words! Big thanks

[@PumpkinPieces33]

yes! by far my favorite use of the PS-2. I sometimes make drones and record them into a DAW to have samples to pull from for future projects

[@stonedapesociety5628]

Ehehe great! I was planning to buy a second one to effect the other Ps2 drones'..

[@rafaelsencine4946]

nice video man!! so informative! good job.. cheers from Brazil"

[@jiminandhanfuturewifey]

Ha. I thought I heard, "hey, this is pumpkin FECES". At the beginning. Lol

[@stivaocchi2464]

Thank you so much, I was looking for a demo like this. For the stuff I'm doing right now I think the lo-fi madness of the PS-2 suits me more, and it's also cheaper!

[@PumpkinPieces33]

Thank you! I'm glad it helped out :)

[@DenisSurette]

Very informative. Thank you and well done

[@PumpkinPieces33]

Thank you, glad this is still helpful!

[@Railgun_12]

Great vid man! Thanks!

[@codymichaud3277]

Great comparison, does the PS-2 automatically engage when power supply powers on?

[@PumpkinPieces33]

Thank you! Yes, that is true for mine, whenever the power supply is turned on the pedal is engaged immediately.

[@d_walsh]

Great now I don't know which one to purchase. Is there a ps - 5. ?

[@rcanderson4328]

These are cool pedals BUT… The PS-5 with the whammy mode and a medium length delay is awesome. I came here hoping either the PS2 or PS3 would have that feature and unfortunately they don’t😕

[@PumpkinPieces33]

The PS-3 does have an expression pedal input for a whammy function but yeah... way more cumbersome than today's PS5 and PS6. You're making me want to hear a PS5/6 whammy mode through the PS-2 delay modes. anyways, best of luck on your pitch shifting/delay quest!

[@Guitar387]

I have the ps2 pedal. It’s bloody awful , probably because I don’t know how to use it , but sounds awful to me . Great video though.

[@tomjoad8939]

Would ps2 accommodate my digital delay dd-8? I'm new to pedals Ty

[@PumpkinPieces33]

Hey! I'm not sure what is meant by accommodate here. You can certainly use the two pedals together. The PS-2 would complement the DD-8 by providing a brighter more digitally distorted delay. Ultimately, both can provide a simple short, medium, or long delay. The PS-2 would offer you pitch shifting and the DD-8 has a plethora of modes as well. Whether that difference is useful really depends on how you want to use the two. For my own purposes, I enjoy using my PS-2 as a really bright and in-your-face type of delay effect, and if I want something more warm and/or subtle I usually add or use another delay or reverb in my set up. Let me know if I missed anything answering your question. Happy to provide any experience/info from using the PS-2 for so many years.

[@connerelmes3181]

Does the PS2 do that descending reverb effect you got out of the PS3?

[@PumpkinPieces33]

Yep! Set to mode 4 and adjust the fine/manual knob slightly off center (counter clockwise for descending, clockwise for ascending) and adjust feedback to taste. The main difference from the PS-3 is the descending "reverb" on PS-2 will get washed out and tonally thin the higher the feedback is set.

[@connerelmes3181]

@@PumpkinPieces33 Awesome thanks for the response! I just ordered a ps2, do you think it's worth having both? Or does the ps2 kinda do everything the 3 would do, cuz god damn the ps3 is so much more on reverb

[@PumpkinPieces33]

@@connerelmes3181 I would check ebay for some more reasonable prices on the PS-3. Sometimes you can catch them for under 150 usd. From my experience I had the PS-2, PS-3, and the montreal assembly count to five around the time of this video. I got rid of the PS-3, still have both the PS-2 and CT5. I even have a second CT5 and want a second PS-2 for tabletop use currently. Unless you are in love with the dual modes of the PS3, you can probably overlook it for more modern alternatives. The PS-2 has much more of a signature sound that is more difficult to acquire elsewhere.

[@TylerHodelin]

6:27 how do i get this sound on the ps-2?

[@PumpkinPieces33]

Hey Tyler! Mode 4. Set fine/manual knob around 12 o clock so that it is almost in tune with your dry signal. Then turn up the feedback to taste. It'll be more lo-fi than the PS-3 of course but that should get the same effect!

[@TylerHodelin]

@@PumpkinPieces33 yea i just tried it. It sounds really cool. I want to get a ps-3 down the line so i can get the best of both worlds

[@levijessegonzalez3629]

I have the PS5. is the PS2 worth getting? or would the ps3 compliment the ps5 better?

[@PumpkinPieces33]

They both could compliment the PS-5 in their own way. The PS-3's delay sound is warm and lush. If you want to have even more pitch shifting modes with an additional really good sounding delay mode, PS-3 is an excellent choice. The PS-2 is my favorite boss pedal so i'm a bit biased here. If you want a more hands on/experimental and less "set it and forget it" pedal, the PS-2 is so much fun. The delay texture is brighter and lo-fi. It sounds even more alive and intense when the feedback is set high. It's a wonderful texture to play with especially when using it as a looper. The pitch shifting carries that same bright digital texture but is functionally limited compared to the PS-3. The PS-2 puts your signal in the foreground and grabs attention to itself, where the PS-3 really excels at creating warm beautiful sounds and textures that blend into and fill out the mix.

[@PumpkinPieces33]

i hope that wasn't too long lol I love the PS series!

[@levijessegonzalez3629]

@@PumpkinPieces33 thanks! would you say there's any other pedals that can do what the ps2 can or is it pretty unique? I'm about to pull the trigger

[@PumpkinPieces33]

@@levijessegonzalez3629 the only other ones i can think of are the Boss Delay Sampler series. DSD-2 and -3 if I recall correctly. I haven’t played them myself but they seem to have a similar sampling/loop function. Other than that I’m unsure without further research.

[@luispereztasso]

Now I feel sad about having the PS3 lol thanks for the video!

[@PumpkinPieces33]

lol if it makes you feel better since I got rid of the PS-3 years ago I want one again every few months

[@luispereztasso]

@@PumpkinPieces33 Hope you get one! Even so, maybe you could try the rainbow machine too

[@PumpkinPieces33]

@@luispereztasso i had one of those when they first released! It'd be very interesting to go back and play one after the pitch shifter/delay/glitch wave the count to 5 started. I feel like I didn't use it to its full potential when I had it long ago.

[@luispereztasso]

@@PumpkinPieces33 You should give it a try mate! Also, the v2 has these soft-touch switches that allow you to do latch and un-latch!

[@PumpkinPieces33]

@@luispereztasso I did not know that and am definitely going to find a shop to try one out again!

[@andy.pitcher]

oh hey j

[@PumpkinPieces33]

O Hey A! 😊