BOSS PS-6 Harmonist
118 Guitarist December 2010
£149 & £99
EFFECTS
BOSS PS6
Harmonist
£149
Taiwan
Harmony shifter pedal
No
Balance, harmony/shift,
Key and mode pots
Input, two outputs,
expression pedal input, all 6.4mm jack
9V battery or BOSS PSA
EV-5 exp pedal (£69)
OC-3 (£109)
Test results
BOSS ST2
Power Stack
£99
Taiwan
Distortion pedal
No
Level, bass, treble, sound
6.4mm jacks
9V battery or BOSS PSA
MD-2 (£85),
MT-2 (£99) or DS-1 (£45)
Test results
The Bottom Line
PS6 Harmonist
We like: S-Bend mode;
wealth of features
We dislike: Cluttered front
panel; flighty compared with
the best; difficult to use
under stage lighting
Guitarist says: An eye into
the world of pitch shifting for
enthusiasts rather than
serious shifters
ST2 Power Stack
We like: Ease of use; tonally
versatile; efficient EQ
We dislike: Nothing of note
Guitarist says: A wealth of
drives from classic rock to
metal, but don’t expect
stack-making miracles!
efficient and overall the unit is
one of the more versatile
overdrive/distortion pedals
available today. However,
where you’d use the ST-2 is
another question, as we found
its punch was wholly
dependant on what amp rig we
used. It’s a cool unit, but be
careful with your expectations
– despite the name, you’re
asking for a miracle if you want
it to transform your 1 x 8
practice combo into a full
Mesa or Marshall stack.
Verdict
These two pedals offer an
impressive selection of options
for a quick and relatively cost-
effective route to some usable
sounds for both practise
and performace.
The PS-6 opens the world of
harmony and pitch shifting to
beginners. The S-Bend mode is
a fun variation on the DigiTech
Whammy theme with more
than enough potential to excite,
but while the other features are
certainly usable, serious-
minded shifters will want
more refinement.
As long as you don’t assume
that the ST-2 can turn your
solid-state practice combo into
an all-valve amp stack – check
out this issue’s CD for a video
demo of its capabilities – it
offers a degree of amp-like feel
and clout, with huge levels of
gain on tap and a nicely
squashed pick attack.
control are quite small – doing
this on-the-fly at a gig is a
challenge without picking
the pedal up and squinting.
Sometimes the pedal
produces steps rather than
a smooth glissando when
bending over a full tone and we
can’t stress enough that you
need to be perfectly in tune in
the first place.
S-Bend is arguably the most
interesting of all modes and
setting rise time to seven or so
and fall time to around five
with the interval to -10 cent
gives the credible dive bomb
effect, and one that actually
works. The alien flutter option
is pretty cool, especially with
higher gains, and the detune
mode adds sparkle to any tone.
In addition, the bonus of
polyphonic pitch shifting – use
it on chords – is a lot of fun.
However, the performance of
the harmony and pitch shift are
tonally and operationally
compromised compared with
Eventide’s PitchFactor, for
example, though that unit is
considerably more expensive.
ST-2 Power Stack
BOSS produces more than its
fair share of metal-style
distortion pedals, but the ST-2
has just one thing on its mind:
to recreate the crushing power
of all-valve amp stacks. In real
terms this doesn’t relate so
much to the ferocity of the drive
but rather the depth and
percussive nature of a sound
produced by two 4 x 12 cabinets
thanks to their cubic volume.
It has three basic tones or
gain settings – crunch, drive
and ultra – accessed by the
sound control, and you can also
utilise increments between
each should you desire. There’s
also a level pot plus distinct bass
and treble controls, which help
a great deal in tailoring the tone
to your own desire: that’s about
as complicated as the ST-2 gets.
Sounds
Playing through a double
Marshall stack at proper levels
can be a daunting experience,
and even though the pedal’s
crunch option is pure classic
rock, you do have to willingly
suspend your disbelief when
playing the ST-2, especially via
headphones. Our Marshall
JCM900 and 4 x 12 cab doesn’t
need any additional oomph,
while either headphones or a
combo loaded with a single
12-incher will never be able to
compete with a full stack in
percussive terms, irrespective
of the pedal’s tonal heat.
The quality of the drive tones
on offer is above question,
though, and setting the pot just
past the drive point gives an
extremely satisfying hard rock
tone, especially when using a
bridge humbucker. Moving the
pot not only adds or reduces
gain but alters the tone’s
character, and turning it back to
ultra simulates cascading drive
and also gives a more scooped
tone for those metal moments.
The pedal’s EQ is perfectly
The quality of drive tones on off er in
the Power Stack is above question
There are lots of features packed in to just four controls
GIT336.rev_boss 118 11/8/10 10:05:39 AM