Boss Digital Pitch Shifter/Delay PS-2

The Boss Digital Pitch Shifter/Delay PS-2 is a multi-effects pedal incorporating both a digital pitch shifter and digital delay. There are 3 delay modes and 3 pitch shifter modes. You can dial in from 125ms to 2 seconds of delay. By tweaking the delay time, you can get amazing digital sounding high-end cutting sweeps. The pitch shifter sections let you bend your sound up or down one octave and everything in between. A remarkable pedal for noise!

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User Reviews of the Boss Digital Pitch Shifter/Delay PS-2

Submitted by Adam from Washington, DC (22 points) on Mar 29, 2014
Love it. If you want that 90s Japan sound, if you want to be Incapacitants or Masonna, you need this thing. The delay feedback nails that nasty, raw digital dirt -- First thing to try when you have one in your hands, max the feedback knob and rock out on delay time. Shift the fourth knob to a shorter delay time for great stutters and pulses. (Shifting the time modulates the pitch)
Good Points: The octave up and octave down effects also have a distinct early-digital tone. They're completely different from a PS-5 or OC-2, and I find both interesting and usable. I also find myself setting the manual pitch-shift around noon, the level at noon, and then tweaking the pitch to the left and the right -- adds some chaos to the sound, I think parts of the two signals (dry and wet) cancel each other out. Another trick for tone: set the octave down with a high feedback, fade the level up from 0 until you find the right balance between hairy, digital growl and your clean signal.
Bad Points: I can't compare it to a PS-3, unfortunately -- If you're patient, you can have one of these for eighty bucks less on ebay. The only strict plus this has over the PS-3 is the tuner output: When on pitch-shifting modes, it sends out a square wave at that pitch. Add delays, ring mod, filters, and send it back into the PS-2; fade in the pitch shift, and its attempts to harmonize cause a "distortion" effect that I love. When you're on delay modes, the tuner out carries a lower-level mess of noise that I don't understand. Love it! Also makes a great sound source, or, boosted, delightfully fucks up the one you were using. Love love love this pedal, clearly
Price Paid: US$65.00
Purchased At: the ebay
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Submitted by Jonas from Ume?«© (6 points) on May 6, 2010
As with any aging technology one should be careful buying this without any knowledge of repairs. This pedal has it's origins in the 80's, which by now is almost 30 years ago. Mine broke after just a few months, the delay is not working which limits to 50% of it's pitchshifting. Pay attention to this experience before you spend your hard earned dollares on old technology.

Otherwise it is a great pedal, it gives you a very strong, almost plastic, synth sounds over you synth. Just like the PS-3 it this sound is slightly delayed which can be irritating while playing guitar.

In a feedback loop this one shines but I would be careful to say it is better than the ps-3. To me they seem equal although the PS-2 has less functions.

If you strive towards more organic and warm sounds you might want to sit out on this. This is as digital sounding as it gets.
Good Points: Works good in a floop.

Makes your guitar sound like a cheap synth from the 80's.

Makes unpredictable and funny noises while doing full on noise. Some more flattering then others
Bad Points: Is old, might break.

Costs a small furtune (if you compare to what it really does). I don't regretting bying one but I could have put in more thought into it.
Price Paid: US$130.00
Purchased At: Ebay
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Submitted by kk from Annandale On Hudson, NY (104 points) on Sep 4, 2009
i fucking love this pedal, i wouldn't ever get rid of it. it's one of the first digital effects Boss made so it's totally fucked and it self-oscillates like mad. the octave up with the feedback all the way up has that HEALTH sound (which is why i think this pedal got so expensive. this pedal has a very glitchy and digital sound. warning you in advance, if you don't like bitcrushed low-bitrate fuckery, steer clear. i, for one, love the fuck out of this pedal. i've had mine for ages, the only problem i've had is a loose wire.
Good Points: - bitcrushed digital fuckery, if it's your thing - self oscillates like mad - pitch knob is very smooth, which is impressive for a digital delay
Bad Points: - bitcrushed digital fuckery, if you'd rather use a tape echo
Price Paid: US$50.00
Purchased At: daddy's junky music
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Submitted by ryan from calgary (196 points) on Aug 13, 2008
Got this for 0 BUCKS BUY IT NOW ON eBAY. I'd say it was worth it. The delay is decent not amazing but you can get some pretty fucked up digital wreckage out of it. The Pitch shifter is where this pedal shines. The one up is goofy sounding, almost like a crappy cartoon voice. The one down slays for vocals. Built Boss tough, I've had mine for a few months now, and it's still going hard. The damn thing is almost 20 years old.....Japanese model. The pan knob is kind of cool , haven't really developed a knack for using it yet. As all the others have said kick ass pedal, but you will have to pay through the ass for one....unless you get lucky.
Good Points: Wicked octave down Manual pitch shifting The delay is useful Built to last Cool blue color Total and complete audio destruction can be had in delay mode
Bad Points: Pricey collector bastards make it hard to get Getting a little scarce The one up octave sounds cheezy but that's not that big of a problem.
Price Paid: US$150.00
Purchased At: eBay
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Submitted by apewrist from Kielce (306 points) on Jun 15, 2008
I've paid about 200$ for it which was a bit too much but despite the price, I am glad I got it. The delay sound is crappy, noisy and cheap but the pitch shifter is brilliant. Works perfectly in my setup (quick, cut-up, psychedelic noise), has a tuner out which makes it a good feedback loop starter. Recommended but be sure to check it out first.
Good Points: - Lightweight - Lots of possibilities
Bad Points: - Crappy delay
Price Paid: US$200.00
Purchased At: allegro.pl
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Submitted by Ferox from Los Altos, CA (432 points) on Mar 5, 2008
Neat little pedal with a pretty good range of tones. Very digital sounding...that may be good or bad to you.
Good Points: Wet/dry knob. +1 -1 octave. Good delay time. Turning those knobs creates a heap of digital wreckage. A lot of choices.
Bad Points: Octave up sounds awful if not put through something else. In other words, keep this to the front of a loop or chain.
Price Paid: US$112.00
Purchased At: noisefx.com
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Submitted by drikudaz from montreal (88 points) on Oct 8, 2007
the delay mode can change your sounds source in a wall of noise. the pitch shifter is cool for creating some droney sounds.good to mess whit vocals.
Good Points: delay mode pitch shifter price!!! built like a tank
Bad Points: not enough delay time
Price Paid: US$40.00
Purchased At: pawn shop
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Submitted by tapesss from Brooksville, FL (344 points) on Apr 14, 2007
great for noise. the delay portion has a unique quality to it, and self oscillates VERY easily. be wary! really good pitch control through just shifting the delay time knob with a longer delay. The pitch shifter section is great too, lots of bizarre tones to be had. sounds great to mess with the pitch knob while feeding a constant signal through it.
Good Points: noisey! plenty of options, sounds pretty digital
Bad Points: sounds pretty digital..hah
Price Paid: US$90.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by Charles from Asheville, NC (14 points) on Jul 1, 2006
This thing is way to good. The sound is such crap and has a tendency to be a little to noisey. But Thats why I use it. The pich bend isnt exact. The delay is the best. I really love mine, because it will sample something and if you turn the function knob it stays untouched, so you can do things over what was played without it mixing.
Good Points: Sounds horrible. Well built. The place I got it labled it as a phase shifter, so i got it cheap.
Bad Points: Not enough room to modify. But will keep it.
Price Paid: US$35.00
Purchased At: pawn shop
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Submitted by Rob2 from United Kingdom (40 points) on Mar 30, 2004
This is the most lofi and noisy pitchshifter ever. There are three delay modes up to two seconds of delay. No infinate repeat option. All the delays sound grainy and horrible - ideal for a lofi sound. Turn the feedback knob to max and the delays will self ossilate and you can get incredable waves of noise, by turning the delay time knob. It's much more usable than an analog delay self ossilation. The pitchshift modes are also horrible, you can get insect or volcano noises with lots of distortion in the sound. With the low octave you can make the room rumble. You can make any sound source sound synthetic. There is a third mode where you can tune the pitchshift to a manual interval and by tuning it randomly you can get some psuedo ring modulator sounds. It's near impossible to tune it to a perfect tone. The tuner out socket is designed to put a tuner to tune the manual mode. However plug your cable into here and you have a droning ossilator - ideal as a sound source. You can tune it to a pitch using the manual knob. One of the best all round noise pedals ever made.
Good Points: Self ossilation, huge sounds. Built in ossilator for sound source. Instant synthetic sounds. Probably the cheapest pitchshifter you can buy.
Bad Points: An early pitchshifter that sounds terrible by todays standard. If you want a standard pitchshift sound steer clear.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by josh from Las Vegas, NV (8 points) on Sep 7, 2002
one of the first pedals i picked up, used it quite a bit and still use it on occasion. the delay functions are pretty interesting although there isnt an infinte repeat function for it and you cant tweak the delay as it repeats or it cuts out(which could be used in an interesting way i guess). the pitch shifting i find is most useful when you use it at the lowest levels to get the real low end growls and rumbles, if you get above a certain level it just gets too cheesey sounding. it also seems to work pretty well for me in a feedback chain.
Good Points: sturdy casing like all boss pedals. interesting array of effects. can go use 2 outputs into separate chains.good in feedback chain.
Bad Points: pitch shifting gets cheesey at a certain point. cant tweak the delay,no infinte repeat.
Price Paid: US$75.00
Purchased At: ebay
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Submitted by maarten from Twello (64 points) on Aug 29, 2002
nothing to complain about? this is a digital pitch shifter and i never heard a nice pitch shifter ever. also this one does have that digital plastic chipmunk sound and no ever feedback sounds i have improved with it. maybe if you use it very subtle you can do anything with this but in general it's useless. wonder when there will come a real natural sounding pitch. The delaysection is better although you have to find out how it works without getting the pitch changed. It has 2 or so sec of delay but not an hold function. actually i do not like the delay as well cuz it's not nice manipulating it. actually the soundquality is good. never had problems w/ signal loss with any boss pedal.
Good Points: delay could be usefull if you don't get frustrated like me.
Bad Points: pitch shifter is worthless
Price Paid: US$60.00
Purchased At: www
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Submitted by Seth from Sydney (36 points) on Sep 23, 2001
This pedal has 6 modes, divided equally between delay and pitchshifter. First pedal I owned. Controls - balance: controls the wet/dry mix, Feedback: delay repeats/resonance manual: adjusts delay time/pitch, mode: DL - 125, 500, or 2000 ms of delay, PSH - manual, octave up,octave down.
Good Points: The best part for noise makers would be the ability to manually change feedback and delay times 'on the fly'. Raising the pitchshifter into osillation is a cool, spacey effect ditto with the delay. Full 2 seconds delay, great for an older stompbox.
Bad Points: can be a tad noisy (recurring them with my reviews), but on the whole, there's nothing to complain about. except the pitchshifting is pretty artificial, but I like it.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
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