Boss DM-2
Is there still a reason to get excited about
the compact delay box that started it all?
I say yes. Even though I own almost every
cool delay known to man, the little magenta
box still sounds so warm and wonderful. It
just sits right in the mix and magically never
seems to be off sync with any tempo. I have
owned three DM-2 variants at vari ous stages.
The coveted MN3005 version was the first
on the block and I gigged with it for years.
I eventually had to give it back to a friend
that let me borrow it and opted for the less
desirable MN3205 version when I finally
found one. Again the difference in price was
huge and it sounded and felt exactly the
same, even in an A-B test. The magic in the
Boss DM-2 lies in the repeat filtering and
collaboration of the circuit.
all the mojo of the original in Standard Mode.
Plus, I can jack in an expression pedal to
control the rate and run it in stereo. Custom
mode adds clarity and 500 more milliseconds
to the fold. This is a perfect example of echoes
from the past oscillating toward the future. It
is progression, which is what this increasingly
medieval world needs to embrace more of.
Just because it is older, does not mean that
it is better.
I actually interviewed for a job with Boss a
few years back and they asked me the ageold question “what would you change about
Boss if you could?” I was honest and said the
most glaringly obvious thing that sprung to
mind—I’d reissue the DM-2. They told me
there was no chance because the company
ethos is “always look ahead,” which is
admirable, but my belief is to keep making a
magical tool that everyone still wants to use.
Fast forward five years or so and I am looking
at the Waza-Craft DM-2W on my board. It still
has a place amongst the Strymon, Eventide
and Source Audio delays because it does
what it does better than anything else. This
is because it has character and that character
comes from the circuit as a whole, not the
individual components. It sports readilyavailable CoolAudio BBD chips and retains
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TONE TALK //
Do Components Matter? A Case-By-Case Study