Boss pedals, way to defeat auto-on when turning power on?

[sahlomonic]

I have 4 Boss pedals in my board, all hooked up to a power supply. When I switch the power supply on, 2 of the 4 pedals (RV-5 and OS-2) automatically turn on, while the other 2 (CE-5 and OC-2) are off. Is there a workaround to have them automatically be off when power is applied or am I stuck with this??

[Talking head]

My dd-6 and and PH-3 do this too. I hate it.

[rdm]

You're stuck with it that way. Just get over it and move on.

[frankiej]

Nope.

 

My Ps-3 does it. I dont see why it bothers people. Lets me know its working.

[fruvai]

Stop using Boss pedals

It doesn't bother me at all.

[pbone]

Yeah I have a bunch of pedals that do this. It's just a matter of switching them off. You could put them in a true bypass loop.

[guitargod0dmw]

Is it that hard to just switch them off? It's a great self test type feature...

[Talking head]

well Sahlomonic, I guess we are the only two that dislike it.

[jgs61]

I noticed this too with an RV-5 and RC-2. I didn't think it was a big deal though. The RC-2 I took off my 1Spot and put it on it's own power supply. It was noisy on the 1Spot and doesn't automatically turn on when it's isolated. The RV-5 wasn't noisy on the 1Spot, but it did turn on. I returned it though, because in the end I hate digital effects and it was pretty useless to me. The RC-2 and RV-5 are the only BOSS pedals I've used that behave that way, and both are digital. My analog BOSS pedals are fine with my 1Spot... no noise, no turning on, nothing.

 

I dont know what the OS-2 is... is it digital?

[orangesix]

why would this even be a problem???

[slight-return]

hmm, I've never had a boss switching system apart, but usually these things run off a flip-flop switch (it's a type of circuit that basiclly flip-flops...changes state when triggered)

 

these (usually you'll see them as their own IC) usually have S and R (SET and RESET) inputs -- if you drag one of them high, it will force a switching state (S forces the switch's state hi and R forces it low).

So, when you want a definite "power-up state" , usually one of the S/R input will be tied to ground (so it's always logic lo) and the other will be hooked up to a little RC net off the supply so that, at power-up, you get a logic pulse that SETs or RESETs the flip-flop's state

 

(now, if there are other times the state needs to be forced, there can be other stuff, but in this sort of app I don't think there will be anything else)

 

If you want to change the intial state, it can just be a matter of swapping the S/R connections so that the other guy (in your case the RESET) gets the power-up pulse

 

Being Boss, I have to imagine the switching system has been fully explored -- I'd hit up DIY type forums (fora??) to see if anyone has that already mapped out for ya

 

 

in the end -- I tend to agree that it could be more hassle than it's worth...but YMMV

and sometimes, eh you just want an "I'm bored" Thursday night project..so I can dig that

[SonicVI]

hmm, I've never had a boss switching system apart, but usually these things run off a flip-flop switch (it's a type of circuit that basiclly flip-flops...changes state when triggered) these (usually you'll see them as their own IC) usually have S and R (SET and RESET) inputs -- if you drag one of them high, it will force a switching state (S forces the switch's state hi and R forces it low). So, when you want a definite "power-up state" , usually one of the S/R input will be tied to ground (so it's always logic lo) and the other will be hooked up to a little RC net off the supply so that, at power-up, you get a logic pulse that SETs or RESETs the flip-flop's state

 

 

Boss uses FETs for switching, not an IC flip flop.

[slight-return]

Boss uses FETs for switching, not an IC flip flop.

 

Are you talking the audio path switching or the logic control OF the audio signal switching ? (ie what's controlling the gate of the FET doing the signal switching?) -- the flip-flop portion is going to be the logic control...not the audio signal switching itself

 

Are they using discrete components to make a flip-flop? [iCs re common, but it doesn't have to be] I mean something's flip-flopping, if the switch logic were being controlled by a latching footswitch it wouldn't always power up in the same condition (if so, you should be able to patch the same parts of that circuit that, essentially comprises the S/R in a Flip-flop IC)

[ElephantTalk]

i have a boss board full of 22 boss pedals and a muff usa. i like to stack a metal zone into a metal zone boosted by a sd-1. i would practice everyday for three hours but its been about two years sense i have even touched my guitar. this pisses me off too. what should i do:poke:

 

 

 

 

or maybe its my ocd that keeps me from playing. i have to say my name backwards 784 times before turning on the amp, picking up my pick and setting it down 8 times. is there a natural organic cure for me?

[iamdenialNJ]

hadn't given it a thought yet 'till this damn thread

[T Stre]

My TU-2 doesn't automatically turn on, but I wish it did...

[Naterel]

If you read the manuals of those pedals, it tell you that it happens and its nothing of concern.

[cleverbastid]

The only easy way is to not have the inputs plugged in!

[johnrambo]

why on earth would this matter to anyone?

[chisa]

my ds1 and ce3 do it. i don't mind. but the tu2 and od2 don't do it.

[JK049]

I actually have a WH-1 Whammy that does this. I have other pedals that do it too if I happen to have them engaged when i cut the power. They tend to still be on when I come back to play again.

[eship63]

My SD-1 automatically turns on and I wouldn't care if it didn't feedback everytime I powered up my board.

[WRGKMC]

This thread is 10 years old but still relevant. Boss pedals do not have true bypass. They have buffers which are always active and the bypass switch activates a set of transistors which bypass the effect. Problem is they default to an on condition when powering up and there isn't anything you can do about it besides redesign the circuitry and I'm sure the effect on condition was already thought through by engineers and thought to be the best option for that design.

 

Best thing you can do to circumvent the issues is yo either buy a loop pedals and use its true bypass to remove the pedal from the circuit or simply get in the habit of turning the amp on last, with the volume off on the guitar amp amp like you should be anyway. This would allow you to set the pedal for bypass before you power the amp up.

[Fender&EHX4ever]

This thread is 10 years old but still relevant. Boss pedals do not have true bypass. They have buffers which are always active and the bypass switch activates a set of transistors which bypass the effect. Problem is they default to an on condition when powering up and there isn't anything you can do about it besides redesign the circuitry and I'm sure the effect on condition was already thought through by engineers and thought to be the best option for that design.

 

Best thing you can do to circumvent the issues is yo either buy a loop pedals and use its true bypass to remove the pedal from the circuit or simply get in the habit of turning the amp on last, with the volume off on the guitar amp amp like you should be anyway. This would allow you to set the pedal for bypass before you power the amp up.

 

Interesting.

My PS-3s do this. I've always found it annoying, but not enough to stop using PS-3s. That pedal could poop on my foot every time I turned it on, and I would probably just live with it.

[WRGKMC]

^^^ That is kind of handy because the first thing you'd do is tune up.

 

I don't own too many boss pedals at the moment and to be honest, I don't remember them default powering to an on condition. Maybe that's because I had them set to bypass when I powered down? Most of my pedals are true bypass and stay however you leave them last. I always set effects to bypass when I end a song or powering down, at least on all gain boxes and compressor which might feed back or make noise. I plug in my guitar with the volumes off before powering up, my volume pedal is turned down and the amps volume before power up.

 

These are necessary habits you adopt as you gain experience playing live.

The last thing you want to do annoy your audience with your gear screeching or humming when you power up. Makes you look like the amateur you in fact are by doing that in front of an audience.