Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor user reviews ( 8/10) - 35 user reviews

• 01/31/12

  King Loudness's review "Fair enough noise gate"

  Characteristics

  The BOSS NS-2 has been one of the standard "go to" noise gates or suppressors since the late eighties. It's pretty simple to use and very common to see in guitar rigs regardless of style or gear used, just to cut down on that ever present hum and buzz that many players are fighting in their rigs. It has a threshold control, as well as a rate control and a knob to select whether you want the pedal to reduce your noise or act as a mute, very cool feature for sure. Otherwise it's pretty standard BOSS as far as the features go and there isn't much to say about it. The construction is the standard stomp box fare and it really has a durable feel that will last for a long time.

  Utilization

  The setup of this pedal is either easy or difficult depending on your angle. I'm a huge fan of the ISP Decimator gate, which has a more gradual sweep and doesn't cut your tone off so staccato. That's really the biggest thing I find with setting this up. It can be more difficult to get it so it doesn't completely choke off your sound with its gate, whereas the ISP unit is more about keeping the tone and just removing the noise and not cutting off your signal. That being said, each has its place and if you want that sort of very abrupt cutoff, the NS-2 is a great pedal for thaat.

  Sound Quality

  This pedal is really best used in situations where either you're in a noisy place playing, or if your rig is high gain and has a lot of inherent noise issues. This particular noise gate would probably be of interest to a lot of thrash metal or death metal players where you can get those nice quick cutoffs and not be left with a wall of noise. Many players actually prefer the feel of the BOSS unit, but for me where I play more of a standard hard rock style and like having my tones sustain, I prefer a unit like the ISP which has that more gradual cutoff for the notes.

  Overall Opinion

  All in all I think the BOSS NS-2 is a decent noise gate for someone looking for a basic stomp box noise suppressor with a nice fast cutoff and more controls for adjustment. If you just want something to get rid of hum and don't need that fast attack, I would have a look at the ISP Technologies Decimator which does that job well and has served me quite nicely for a few years now. It really depends what you're looking for, but for most applications the NS-2 will do fine.
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• 01/27/12

  Hatsubai's review "Solid noise gate"

  Characteristics

  Noise is one of the things we higher gain players battle as we play on stage. One of the most annoying things out there is when your guitar starts to ring out and feedback, especially when you're in a metal band with fast start/stop riffs. Boss has been one of the go-to noise gate solutions for quite awhile now. The pedal features a decay, threshold and special selector knob to select between two different settings. You can also run this both in front of the amp AND in the loop at the same time.

  Utilization

  The pedal itself is housed in one of the best housings out there. You won't have to worry about this thing breaking on you while you're on tour. The knobs are also laid out fairly decently, although I don't know why they spaced them the way they did. The manual is fairly clear as to what everything does, but I find that this pedal lacks versatility. I'll get to that later, but the pedal itself is simple enough to set up and go.

  Sound Quality

  The pedal does what it should do. It cuts the feedback and lets you have silence while you're not playing. However, the issue is that this pedal sucks tone. It's one of the major things wrong with this pedal. Another one is that I seem to have issues with this when compared to the ISP Decimator. Where as the Decimator can do some great staccato gating, this seems to have some issues with the gating for whatever reason. The good thing is that this pedal can work in both the front and loop at the same time, but you'll want to be careful about ground loops. ISP now has a G-String which does the same thing, so I question whether this is really necessary today.

  Overall Opinion

  The pedal itself is solid, but there are better things on the market today. I vastly prefer the ISP stuff to the Boss stuff when it comes to noise gates. The Boss technology is just too outdated and doesn't sound as natural as the ISP does for the type of music I play. If you can get one of these cheap, get it. Otherwise, just get an ISP.
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• 07/29/11

  iamqman's review "Noise gate looper"

  Characteristics

  Boss has a pedal for every possible operation in music. They should be making a pedal that plays the guitar for you. Boss is like the iphone app store. When they say there's an app for that...well there is Boos pedal for that. They have effects pedals for just about anything and everything that you can think of and have done versions and new editions of a lot of those pedals. If you can't find something that you need I am almost sure Boss has a pedal for it.
  
  
  
  This pedal is simply a noise gate. Not too much to talk about other than it limits the amount of noise one would experience in their guitar rig. The reason for a pedal like this is to give guitar players a limiter on how much noise they will experience in their signal chain. This pedal can be hooked up in two different ways. You can hook it up in your regular signal chain using the normal input and output and then you can hook it up in the effects loop of the pedal to act as if it is a kill switch.

  Utilization

  Specifications
  
  
  
  Controls: Threshold, Decay, 2-way Mode Switch
  
  Connectors: Input, Output, Return, Send, 9V DC In, 9V DC Out
  
  Current Draw: 20 mA (DC 9V)
  
  Weight: 400 g (15 oz.)
  
  Recommended AC Adaptor: PSA Series

  Sound Quality

  This Boss pedal will limit the amount of noise you will have through your effects chain. This is for the guys who use a lot of distortion and possible some extra overdrive peals for high gain purposes. If you don't use high gain then you probably don't experience a lot of noise in your tone and signal chain. For those who do use a lot of gain and possibly some high output pickups would need something to tame all of that noise.If you play blues rock or a soft rock then you probably would never need a pedal like this.
  
  
  
  I have found that a noise gate also helps when playing gigs in different places where they might not have good electrical outlets and you get some added noise. Possible the wiring is off and so extra noise is introduced into the line. A noise gate would help in that situation just to have in case you ever run into that problem.
  
  
  
  This pedal can act like a kill switch. If you run all of your effect in the send and return of this pedal you can step on the foot pedal and shut off all the sound from your rig. You can also run it like its supposed to when it will shut down the noise form the rig. All you do is set the threshold and and decay to how much and how quickly it will shut off. You will need to switch that up as you see fit from room to room outlet to outlet.

  Overall Opinion

  At new you can find these pedals for right around $115, which isn't bad for this pedal. I would recommend everyone who regularly gigs to have one of these pedals because the noise from room to room will affect you rig each time and it can be needed if you have high gain in your tone.
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• 05/07/11

  VishNuRoXoUt's review "Great addition to a pedalboard!"

  Characteristics

  The Boss NS-2 is a digital noise suppressor pedal designed to cut white/unwanted noise from you guitar signal. This particular noise suppressor has your standard Input and Output as well as an effects loop Send and Return. All of which are 1/4" jacks.

  Utilization

  The Boss NS-2 is very easy to set up, and has a couple of ways to do so. The most effective ways being Guitar Signal into Input then Output into Amp, then have the noisy pedals (I use mine just for the dirt section.) in the effects loop of the NS-2. The other way is a little trickier. Guitar Signal to the INPUT of the NS-2, then the SEND of the NS-2 to the amp input. Then the effects loop SEND of the AMP into the effects RETURN of the NS-2, then the OUTPUT of the NS-2 into the effects RETURN of the AMP. This is called the 'X Configuration' or 'X pattern' and is effective for eliminating noise from the front of the amp and the amp itself. It works best for high gain amplifiers that get noisy when the gain is increased. Other than that the Threshold and Decay are set to taste. It's a fairly easy pedal to use. You just find a setting and leave it.

  Sound Quality

  I've used the NS-2 for guitar and bass. It works well for both. It doesn't really change my sound too noticeably in a live setting, but there is a subtle change to your tone. The gate can cut your sound if you set the threshold too high, but it can be set to not effect your sustain if you set it up right.

  Overall Opinion

  For the money it's definitely a worthy pedal for any board. It does it's job and is very affordable. I've tried a few others and haven't found a real need to switch from my NS-2. I sold my original NS-2 and recently came back to it. It's a great pedal. Built like a tank, like most Boss pedals.
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• 04/23/08

  Heavyspender's review

  Characteristics

  This is a straight noise suppressor with really only one purpose: and that's to suppress noise ! I believe it is digital. It cannot be edited via computer. This is a floor pedal, so it is not rackable. This unit has an input and an output for going from the guitar to the rest of your guitar pedal chain then to the amp. However, it also has additional send and return inputs and outputs, which essentially turns your pedal rig into an effects loop. This unit is definitely most effective when utilized in this way.

  Utilization

  The general configuration/setup is simple. Sound/effects editing is easy. It's got two modes: one to mute your signal and the other is the actual noise reduction mode. It's got two knobs, threshold and decay. You need to tweak these two knobs to get the maximum, most effective noise reduction possible without compromising your tone and sustain, which the unit can do if you set the threshold too high. I bought this used, so I don't have a manual. However, I don't think it's necessary.

  Sound Quality

  As said, this effect is for one thing and one thing alone. It is for noise suppression. It does what it does very well. It reduces hum, feedback, and other noise very well. I own a DOD Yngwie Malmsteen preamp overdrive pedal, and Yngwie himself will tell you that that little unit is noisy. When you put this pedal before the DOD in your chain, utilize the effects loop function. You can hear the wonderful sustain from the DOD without the annoying noise, as long as you don't set the threshold too high, thanks to the Boss Noise Suppressor.

  Overall Opinion

  I've been using this unit since the beginning of this year. I love it's noise suppressing capabilities. It's not the most glamorous pedal, but I feel it is an essential component of one's pedal chain. I don't know what I did before I bought this unit. The only thing I don't like about it is that it kills your sustain if you set your threshold too high. This is unfortunate, because the higher you can set your threshold, the better the noise suppressor effect. If you can be successful at finding a happy medium between these two factors, you will also be happy with the unit. I checked out rocktron's version, but nobody swears by their noise suppressors as much as people do with their Boss noise suppressor. The pedal is kind of pricey in my opinion, but since it is so essential to your rig, it is money well spent. I have no regrets about buying this unit. I needed it, plain and simple, and it does its job well.
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• 05/18/03

  MGR/Superdown Ritual's review "Boss Noise Suppressor NS-2"

  Characteristics

  Utilization

  Sound Quality

  Overall Opinion

  100$ at Sam Ash. Got it because I have a psychotic DOD pedal called Death Metal Pedal, its not the name it was the feedback and noise it gave while youre not playing it and when I put that psycho DOD with my precious and clean Boss V-Wah - not a good mix, like the two pedals arent made for each other -theyre not.
  
  
  
  And I like the fact that the Noise Suppressor brings the DOD and the V-Wah together and eliminates all the size noise and feedback. Now I am actually able to put the DOD full volume without blood coming out of my ears. And also it acts as a power supply, so I bought a daisy chain for 15$ and hooked up my Zoom Drum machine, Zoom 606, DOD, V-Wah all together, so now I only have one adapter in the outlet and all of them are working, instead of unplugging and plugging 4 adapters into 2 outlets.
  
  
  
  Dude, its a Boss, you have to love it. No you dont. Seriously, its a noise suppressor what wouldnt u like about a noise suppressor? It does its job, my case was extra hard, I dont think MXR Gate would do the job.
  
  
  
  Its a Boss, ahem a Tank! And the quality is smart, the whole noise eliminating thing works great, for 100$ is kinda a lot, but if it will last me a life time, its golden.
  
  
  
  If youre dealing with insane pedals, example: trying to have 2 low-end distortion pedals on at same time without getting a headache, its possible!
  
  
  
  This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
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• 12/16/01

  MGR/dj's review "Boss NS-2"

  Characteristics

  Utilization

  Sound Quality

  Overall Opinion

  Paid $35 through internet auction.
  
  
  
  The unit is very easy to use, and very effective. It has a very useful decay knob that lets you control the gating action.
  
  The gating is very smooth unlike traditional gates. I have owned rocktron rack pieces and I prefer the Boss NS-2.
  
  
  
  I'm pleased with everything.
  
  
  
  Like all Boss pedals, it is built like a tank. It should provide many years of reliable service.
  
  
  
  If you need to quiet up a high gain rack or pedal board, you couldn't find a more effective, and reasonably priced unit than the NS-2.
  
  
  
  This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
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• 09/02/12

  Delmaphisab's review ( translated ) Improve this translation " A Noise Gate-effective!"

  Characteristics

  For specifications, we note that the inner loop processes the effects more "talkative" such as overdrive and high-gain distortion. Mute mode in which the action of the pedal completely cut the signal. Those who have never changed guitar on stage can not understand the usefulness of such a device ...
  
  I agree, I unplug my jack, I change my guitar and I rappuie ... not a crack devastating to baffles and ears! And I still mode Noise-Gate. The other mode is a classic on / off effect.
  
  The case is in the classic boss, indestructible and easy to fit on a pedalboard. 9v battery or power adapter with output 9 v to chain another pedal.

  Utilization

  For use, it is almost plug-n-play, provided that we understand that this "effect" is used to mitigate or remove noise much. By no means a miracle will happen! Basically, the threshold will adjust the threshold beyond which the effect will pass the signal from the instrument and destroy all the buzz résiduels.Le decay determines the time that must be put in effect acting: either a very brutal is progressive with a gradual rise in his.
  
  On an amp with a clean sound with a guitar electronics correct, no need noise gate. With single coils and a little crunch to your amp, a very soft setting can improve things especially when we stop playing. On distortion free, it becomes essential at high volume on stage as the audience will take the buzz as much as music.

  Sound Quality

  The noise gate is effective although I find its useful range relatively small and somewhat progressive. The best is obtained by passing the distos in the loop as recommended by Boss, the guitar is simply plugged into the "in" of the pedal.
  
  The sound is consistent with what is found in almost all competitors, a slight loss of high frequencies, so a noticeable slowdown of the spectrum and dynamics attenuated. Nothing insurmountable, this corrects the EQ. In reality, only a little more Decimator preserves the signal from the instrument. It's subtle, perhaps too subtle to be really critical when using a huge distortion that compresses and kills the dynamic design.
  
  I use it on my pedalboard NS2 to calm the ardor of my HTdual.Le NS.2 is permanently activated.
  
  Nothing to say! its clear, without touching anything, my signal is preserved and my sustain. In overdrive, it is equally effective cost of a slight loss of sustain acceptable, but high volume is very comfortable for your ears. With the gain on the bottom Blackstar, we understand the usefulness of the device, the signal is preserved but the game must be sharp and precise.

  Overall Opinion

  I repeat, if your aim is to play at moderate volume on a Stratocaster plugged into a JC120 or Twinreverb, the NS2 is not for you. Archi useless as all his peers!
  
  If you do the scene with a more muscular and chaining pedals important, I do not see how the impasse. Between models Rocktron Hush rack type, and very upscale mentioned above, this small Boss NS2 to its usefulness. So much so that since I got it, I had almost forgotten except to use his "Mute" function when I needed changes guitars on stage.
  
  However, I find this product quite expensive. It is disturbing to drop 82 euros for a fact ... that is not one.
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• 08/31/12

  MacB's review ( translated ) Improve this translation " Disappointing, useless, asphyxiation sound totally "draconian" to her!"

  Characteristics

  The effects of this pedal are:
  
  - Mute = cut its
  
  - Reduction which displays two options:
  
  = threshold of reducing your unwanted sound effects of your distortion, overdrive pedal and other bruillante.
  
  = decay which is reduced a little feedback
  
  
  
  For me, the technology used is not completely analog, after not being on I do not develop on this topic.
  
  
  
  connectors for transformer 9V and can feed it with 9V battery.
  
  Also possible to connect a supply chain to power your other pedals which is nice.

  Utilization

  The configuration is simple but totally useless. There is no need for manual if you simply plug the front like me, with no effects loop. Editing sound is the humor here.
  
  
  
  I remember the context in which I bought this thing. At the time I wanted to reduce the feedback from one of my old amp (Laney VC30), which I used as qu'harmoniciste blues, with special connecting a microphone etc. ... In the end I could only used it on mute, so I completely cut feedback when I played, however as soon as I played the feedback was sent directly to my special micro, suitable for playing on the lamp I said. I finally put aside for a time, saying that it was not the best solutions. Me being forwarded back to the electric guitar with a better amp (high range: FENDER PRINCETON REVERB 1965), looking left and right I said is they all have the famous pedal, why not try.
  
  
  
  Retry in 2012, to remove the unwanted light sound effects caused by the combination of a BIG MUFF and overdrive, connected with a delay. I have to respect the fact that it should not be connected behind a delay so I connected to the pedals behind offending.
  
  
  
  Balance sheet for editing sounds:
  
  
  
  - Net loss of signal, power
  
  - Change my sound delay (despite the fact that the NS2 was before)
  
  - Almost no steps to maneuver when adjusting the knobs of the NS2
  
  
  
  So editing sounds is easy connect front but totally useless in the end

  Sound Quality

  The effects are totally inadequate and ineffective, not talking about realism because ultimately I'm not sure that Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend or needed this kind of thing in concert! After I could see some rock guitarist known today had this kind of effect, both on the connected amp lamp time, I think the explanation is simple in 3 words: sound engineer !
  
  
  
  So personally test is done with a FENDER PRINCETON REVERB 1965, with a branch in front (no effects loop). The pedal was plugged behind a BIG MUFF OVERDRIVE and. The instrument used a GIBSON SG P90 chrome limited edition guitar and my amp is not to blame. In addition, I only use professional jacks with solid metal tip, and pedals directly connected with their respective power supply transformer so no buzz related to my cable or transformer.

  Overall Opinion

  I decided to reuse this year, it fesait a week that I was reused (see previous section the circumstances of my purchase), I did not try other models and I hope not in the future .
  
  
  
  I love nothing in this pedal except for its sturdy design (BOSS, brick! Power and function pedal with chain which can be handy). The price / quality ratio: Quality = 0, = price why not! though!
  
  
  
  Of course with the experience I will not repeat this choice for two reasons:
  
  - The first product is generally poorly designed and I think this is the case of his cousins ​​from other brands.
  
  - The second for the sake of Efficiency, power, and especially natural sound rendering, it is not really useful to have a pedal like this. The sound must leave breathing, not compress, feedback, noise nuisance it is part of his natural linked to. As for the feedback, very good amp little or no feedback (after the space where you are etc..), So the solution is a good amp to consider, not that kind of thing! A distortion, a fuzz, a slime od it, it drips, it's rock'n'roll, this pedal is all just "draconian" sound, his expression! A beautiful mistake, the frica fouttu in the air did not invest this kind of thing, you put money aside you bought a good amp and the rest will follow, your doights, guitars ...!
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• 11/01/11

  Falco2's review ( translated ) Improve this translation " pedal essential"

  Characteristics

  Reducer of noise generated by pedals (compression, distortion etc.).

  Utilization

  configuration very simple. Guitar NS2_IN, NS2-Out_ not generate noise effects (Delay, Chorus, Reverb, etc.) to amp (IN). loop: very simple connection: NS2 (Send) to the factories to noise (compressor, distos), connected in series, of course. Out on the last pedal to the Return of NS2 and the circle is complete.

  Sound Quality

  Impressive results (or at least in my case. Parasitic noise reduction is effective upon Inrush of the pedal. The sounds of the strings in the game are stifled. He takes time to tame sustain adapting his style of play.'s once the guitar becomes more docile the game more flexible, it changed my way of reasoning is perfectly jouer.la and harmonics softer.
  
  on the other hand, I do not see what use has the MUTE (if someone just enlighten me, it would be nice)

  Overall Opinion

  I use it for some days now, there is the NS-2 before and after. this is the first of its kind pedal, I bought it in excellent condition at prices argus (€ 50), very reasonable for "relief" enfin.j 'would have the long time.
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