Boss IR-2 - Very compact amp/cab sim pedal

[Sascha Franck]

I leave my IR-D on for days sometimes.

Why?

 

[GuitarBilly74]

Why?

There's no one/off switch on the IR-D and I always forget to unplug the pedalboard after band practice.

 

[KingsXJJ]

I leave my IR-D on for days sometimes. No issues.

High voltage tube circuits were used on many 24/7 applications back in the day, like radio stations, military equipment etc. They're not as fragile as some people think. Also, "high" voltage for a 12ax7 is about 12v so it's nothing earth shattering.

IR-D - “two glowing hot 12AX7 preamp tubes, running at the proper high voltage, are this pedal's beating heart.”

I think it’s the amperage myself.

 

[GuitarBilly74]

IR-D - “two glowing hot 12AX7 preamp tubes, running at the proper high voltage, are this pedal's beating heart.”

I think it’s the amperage myself.

Yeah high voltage compared to other tube pedals that have 5v or less through the tubes. But it's nothing crazy. Consider that the power supply only is 9v 500mA.
Anyway, there's no risk leaving it on.

 

[KingsXJJ]

Yeah high voltage compared to other tube pedals that have 5v or less through the tubes. But it's nothing crazy. Consider that the power supply only is 9v 500mA.
Anyway, there's no risk leaving it on.

I wouldn’t think so.

 

[Sascha Franck]

There's no one/off switch on the IR-D and I always forget to unplug the pedalboard after band practice.

Well, where I come from, we learn to switch all consumers off once we don't need them anymore. For good reasons, too.

 

[GuitarBilly74]

Well, where I come from, we learn to switch all consumers off once we don't need them anymore. For good reasons, too.

Thanks Dad.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Thanks Dad.

You're welcome.

 

[0XI0]

IR2 is 99.997% perfect but they phoned it tf in on RFIER. whoever did RFIER either doesn't play them, has never played them, or hates them. entry level modeling has gotten so good they can make the BRIT model have that treble peaker clang sound like a real JCM800 no problem, the hi gain and brown models you can turn the gain down low and they clean up like the real deal, they even made the SLDN model sound like god at all gain levels, SLDN doesn't even sound like a real soldano, they made it better, SLDN models are historically the absolute worst model in everything, but in IR2 it sounds and turns down like how boogie rectifiers behave in real life. then you get over to RFIER and it's literally Line 6 Insane all over again with that fixed cocked-wah metal zone mid that's baked in even with the gain barely cracked open. no RFIER in the history of palm mutes has ever sounded like that. for the SLDN to sound so fing good it's inexcusable to phone in the last one. BOSS. clean/twin/tweed/diamond/crunch make up for it tho, the first half is what IR2 is really about

 

[JiveTurkey]

IR2 is 99.997% perfect but they phoned it tf in on RFIER. whoever did RFIER either doesn't play them, has never played them, or hates them. entry level modeling has gotten so good they can make the BRIT model have that treble peaker clang sound like a real JCM800 no problem, the hi gain and brown models you can turn the gain down low and they clean up like the real deal, they even made the SLDN model sound like god at all gain levels, SLDN doesn't even sound like a real soldano, they made it better, SLDN models are historically the absolute worst model in everything, but in IR2 it sounds and turns down like how boogie rectifiers behave in real life. then you get over to RFIER and it's literally Line 6 Insane all over again with that fixed cocked-wah metal zone mid that's baked in even with the gain barely cracked open. no RFIER in the history of palm mutes has ever sounded like that. for the SLDN to sound so fing good it's inexcusable to phone in the last one. BOSS. clean/twin/tweed/diamond/crunch make up for it tho, the first half is what IR2 is really about

The Boss Recto is an abomination. I will never stop repeating this mantra when it's brought up until they fix it. AKA I will never stop repeating this mantra. HIDEOUS amp model.

IR-2 has for some dumb reason tempted me more than once just because I'm dumb. This description isn't helping and it would be a great match with the VP-4 for effects \m/

 

[0XI0]

IR-2 has for some dumb reason tempted me

it's really good, the SLDN is really really, unrealistically good. 96k IR loading is instant and painless, and 500ms long. the green-to-red channel switching is violently instant, not fast, zero gap, like a clicky ABY switch. you can run it amp+cab, amp only, or cab only. stereo fx loop post amp pre IR. but only runs for ~3 hours on a battery. but it's a 96k USB-C interface with a headphone jack. i just wish the green and red channels could each hold their own IRs, for the same model if you wanted. so you could load in a green IR and a red IR for each model

 

[Sascha Franck]

I don't get the praise for this, TBH. From all I know, it's the GT modeling - and I own a GT-1000, trying to avoid all dirt amps whenever I can.
Yes, they're certainly workable (otherwise I wouldn't have kept it), but way behind pretty much anything else.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I don't get the praise for this, TBH. From all I know, it's the GT modeling - and I own a GT-1000, trying to avoid all dirt amps whenever I can.
Yes, they're certainly workable (otherwise I wouldn't have kept it), but way behind pretty much anything else.

Size and (most likely useless) spec envy. Looking at the manual and it's definitely a slog to use. I was hoping there was a way to separate cab emulation on one output and none on the other but unsurprisingly; no such luck.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Size and (most likely useless) spec envy. Looking at the manual and it's definitely a slog to use. I was hoping there was a way to separate cab emulation on one output and none on the other but unsurprisingly; no such luck.

The size certainly is great, but I'd rather get a Tonex One in case I wanted a super small modeling unit on my board. Would never use any switching anyway (simply because balancing two sounds quickly is hardly possible...), but soundwise decent Tonex captures run circles around the Boss modeling.

 

[JiveTurkey]

The size certainly is great, but I'd rather get a Tonex One in case I wanted a super small modeling unit on my board. Would never use any switching anyway (simply because balancing two sounds quickly is hardly possible...), but soundwise decent Tonex captures run circles around the Boss modeling.

Whether you are wrong or right; I'm never grabbing a Tone-X anything. Not my bag at all.

 

[Jarick]

IR2 is 99.997% perfect but they phoned it tf in on RFIER. whoever did RFIER either doesn't play them, has never played them, or hates them. entry level modeling has gotten so good they can make the BRIT model have that treble peaker clang sound like a real JCM800 no problem, the hi gain and brown models you can turn the gain down low and they clean up like the real deal, they even made the SLDN model sound like god at all gain levels, SLDN doesn't even sound like a real soldano, they made it better, SLDN models are historically the absolute worst model in everything, but in IR2 it sounds and turns down like how boogie rectifiers behave in real life. then you get over to RFIER and it's literally Line 6 Insane all over again with that fixed cocked-wah metal zone mid that's baked in even with the gain barely cracked open. no RFIER in the history of palm mutes has ever sounded like that. for the SLDN to sound so fing good it's inexcusable to phone in the last one. BOSS. clean/twin/tweed/diamond/crunch make up for it tho, the first half is what IR2 is really about

In my limited testing, I don't like anything above "High Gain" for models. I'm not even a big fan of the "Modded" which I'm assuming is the X-Modded amp, which I did like with the GT-1000. But for me the "High Gain" model with the gain up sounds great. "Brit" sounds good too with gain high or low. "Crunch" is good even with the gain low for near cleans. Lots of neat sounds.

The Boss Recto is an abomination. I will never stop repeating this mantra when it's brought up until they fix it. AKA I will never stop repeating this mantra. HIDEOUS amp model.

IR-2 has for some dumb reason tempted me more than once just because I'm dumb. This description isn't helping and it would be a great match with the VP-4 for effects \m/

Like I said, I think this is going to go down with the HX Stomp for "just great to have around" pedals.

I don't get the praise for this, TBH. From all I know, it's the GT modeling - and I own a GT-1000, trying to avoid all dirt amps whenever I can.
Yes, they're certainly workable (otherwise I wouldn't have kept it), but way behind pretty much anything else.

It's not going to be for the people who want the best amp modeling. It's extremely practical and dead easy to use. And can sound decent to really good depending on the amp model and IR. Again to me it's just a really good tool to have, an amp model in the size of a Boss compact pedal that can run off 9V batteries or any basic pedal adapter.

The size certainly is great, but I'd rather get a Tonex One in case I wanted a super small modeling unit on my board. Would never use any switching anyway (simply because balancing two sounds quickly is hardly possible...), but soundwise decent Tonex captures run circles around the Boss modeling.

Soundwise I'm sure Tonex is better, but the Boss is so, so much easier to use and you don't need to hook it up to a computer. With Tonex One if you want to switch across different amp tones, you have to do all kinds of weird button presses and memorize the colors of the LED's and just a lot of fussing around. With the Boss everything has a knob and it's all printed out on the device.

Again I don't see this as the type of pedal that's going to convert a tube amp die-hard or even someone who has a current generation Fractal. But it's going to be awesome for people who want to build a little fly rig direct board, or throw in the bag as a backup, or to use while practicing with headphones, etc.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Whether you are wrong or right; I'm never grabbing a Tone-X anything. Not my bag at all.

I may never get one, either. But getting one is still likelier than getting an IR-2.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Try the Krampus pedal. Ms80ir. It also has the 7Heaven with extra gain stage. Its my favorite model, even though i play std 6.

If you are considering the ir2 i cant believe you wouldnt consider the zoom. Even just to try it ironically. Then we could argue about each others preferences.

I have now been listening to quite some MS80 demos on YT. Pretty much all amps seem to sound average at best.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Then we could argue about each others preferences.

 

[paisleywookiee]

I have now been listening to quite some MS80 demos on YT. Pretty much all amps seem to sound average at best.

I’d rather have a POD HD. Every demo, even pro ones, sounded mediocre to bad.