”The PS-2 has long been one of the most forgotten pedals in history, at least by me, that I only used it in cascade with other delays just for its 2 seconds delay without realizing that I actually have an authentic Swiss Army knife with so many possibilities that even Boss itself could not have discovered.
Lorenzo
I did not know I was holding an authentic Shoegaze pearl (Slowdive, Stars of The Lid, Mono) and I did not know that this pedal was practically a younger brother of the RPS-10, leader of the Mini Rack series and now one of the most sought after. vintage effects by Boss/Roland.
But let’s get into the details of this pedal.
The PS-2 is a Boss-pedal format multi-effect that contains both the first Pitch Shifter produced by Boss and an old generation digital delay, therefore very warm, with delay times ranging from 30 to 2000 ms and at the time performance like that could only be goggling.
The pitch can be set one octave lower or higher than the source sound or manually adjusted as desired.
There are six settings:
• 30 to 125 ms delay
• 125 to 500 ms delay
• 500 to 2 seconds delay
• pitch shift manual setting
• +1 octave
• -1 octave
The PS-2’s fast pitch shifting circuitry virtually eliminates any delay issues and signal quality differences between the source sound and sounds processed with pitch shift or delay.
You get chorus, octave and a variety of harmonization effects with quality pitch shifting (twin guitars, 12-string effect and various peculiar possibilities) and confirmation of the note pitch is available via the Tuner Out output by connecting a chromatic tuner to it.
It will be the latter to reserve a further surprise since from there comes the signal of an oscillator integrated in the pedal circuit that can be pitched with the Fine/Manual control and processed through the effects of the pedal itself, as can be seen in the finale of the Pepe Music demo.
Demo of the BOSS PS-2 by Pepe Music
Of course with the digital multi-effects disguised as pedals that are around today, machines like the PS-2 no longer have much surprise “effect” but everything must be related to the context and such an instrument in the second half of the 80s was surely never seen, certainly not understood in all its potential and which still reserves its beautiful surprises today such as deep and violent self-oscillations, a low-fi pitch shifter and surprisingly usable in different music genres, a very long delay with a very warm sound that does not make you regret an analog echo.
The amount of effects obtainable is explored in the demos linked in the article, one of which (that of the excellent YouTube channel Pedal Partners) is actually a psychedelic journey in the form of a small art film to be enjoyed over and over again, in loop.
Watch and listen to BOSS PS-2 demo by P. P.
BOSS PS-2 Digital Pitch Shifter/Delay
Specifications
• Controls: Balance (between effect in direct signal), Feedback (for amount of repeats, and very unique pitch shifting effects), Fine-Manual (for adjusting delay times and pitch) and Mode (for selecting any of the 6 modes).
• Connectors: Input, Output, Tuner Out (for plugging into a tuner), AC Adaptor
• Current Draw: 60 mA (DC 9V)
• Weight: 460g/1.01 lbs.
• Input Impedance: 1Mohm
• Residual Noise Level: -90dBm (IHF-A)
• Recommended Load Impedance: 10kOhm or greater
• Delay Time: 30ms to 2000ms
• Frequency Response: 10Hz to 30kHz, +1/-3dB (Direct)
• Recommended AC Adaptor: PSA Series
Labels
• Blue – Made In Japan
• Blue – Made In Taiwan
The PS-2 was marketed from October 1987 until March 1994.
