Shhhh! Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor Pedal Review
Play live music? Have a ton of effects connected to your amp? There is a good chance that your signal may sound like the hum and buzz of a small jet engine.
Noisy instruments in a live setting can make your band sound unprofessional and perhaps a little too..."local". Enter the Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor Pedal.
All noise suppressors essentially work the same way. First, a noise gate will silence all sounds which are below a certain decibel. Set this to work with your playing style. Next, signals which are in the range of static and hum are digitally eliminated. Warning, the more noise reduction you use, the more original tone you lose. This is just the nature of the 'effect', so deal with it. In the end, the positives of this FAR outweigh the negatives if used correctly.
Live Results:
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Boss NS 2 Noise Suppressor Guitar Effect Pedal |  |
0 Bid | US $83.00 | 21m |
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Boss NS2 Noise Suppressor Pedal | |
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US $99.00 | 1h 5m |
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Boss NS2 Noise Suppressor PEDAL PAK | |
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US $119.99 | 1h 8m |
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Boss Noise Suppressor NS 2 Used | |
11 Bids | US $45.76 | 5h 17m |
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Boss NS 2 Noise Gates Guitar Effect Pedal | |
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US $50.00 | 19h 47m |
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Lot of 3 guitar effect pedals Ibanez TS9 Boss NS2 Boss TU2 | |
0 Bid | US $199.99 | 1d 1h 30m |
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Boss NS 2 Noise Suppresor Pedal | |
11 Bids | US $27.66 | 1d 2h 56m |
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Boss NS 2 Noise Suppressor | |
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US $99.00 | 1d 3h 13m |
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Boss NS 2 Noise Suppressor Gate Electric Guitar Effect Pedal | |
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US $89.99 | 1d 5h 23m |
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Boss TU 3 Chromatic Pedal Tuner Electric Guitar | |
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US $89.99 | 1d 5h 26m |
Selected YouTube Video:
Please skip right to :20 seconds into this video as it should have been edited out in the first place. The guy in this video showcases the NS-2 as it cuts the noise from a distorted signal. Keep in mind that when the guitar is distorted, loss of tone caused by noise reduction is less noticeable than when using clean effects. This video does a great job showing off the power of the NS-2 as it cuts out the crap:
I found the NS-2 does a pretty good job silencing most problem frequencies without changing the sound of your guitar too much. I suggest placing this effect behind noisy effects in your chain and in front of transparent effects, such as a clean reverb or delay. There's no need to reduce the noise of an effect that isn't producing any noise, right!?
If you don't feel like tweaking around with it, just place it closest to amp in the chain and neutralize everything.
As for flexibility, the pedal has 3 knobs (threshold, decay, and reduction) which allows you to isolate and remove hissing sounds as well as set how dramatic the effect will be. I've used the NS-2 with a bunch of different guitars, effects, and amps (Fender, Gibson, Marshall JCM 2000, etc) and find that there is not much room for improvement in this device. Most professional touring bands are using the NS-2 for prophylactic noise reduction. The NS-2 retails for about $85.00, and is well worth every penny. If you don't think you have a need for this effect, you probably really do. Get one and let me know how it works out.
Technical Info
Uses 9-volt battery or PSA-120 adapter (not included).
The NS2 effectively eliminates noise and hum of the input signal while preserving the original sound's tonality. The natural attack and envelope are unaffected thanks to Boss's unique noise detection circuit that precisely separates the guitar sound and the noise components. When connected to an AC adapter, the NS2 can supply power to 7 other Boss effects units via the PCS20A power connection cable (optional).
