Boss

Explore Boss vintage synthesizer equipment in the Vintage Technology Archive.

Drum Machines

• DR-55 (1980) — Boss DR-55 (1980) — four analog voices, step-write sequencer, first Dr. Rhythm. Median eBay sale ~$229; membrane buttons and sequencer faults are common.
• DR-660 (1992) — Boss DR-660 Dr. Rhythm (1992) — 16 velocity/aftertouch pads, 255 editable sounds, 250 patterns, stereo outs and battery power. The most intuitive Dr. Rhythm, priced around $150–$221 used.

Effects Processor

• CE-300 — Boss CE-300 Super Chorus — 19-inch rack chorus from Boss's budget rack line, sold at £230 in period UK dealer ads and listed in 1986 studio inventories. Specs undocumented.

Processors

• SE-50 (1990–1993) — Boss SE-50 (1990-93): half-rack stereo multi-effects with 16-bit converters, 32/48kHz sampling, 100 user patches, MIDI. Under $500 new; ~$50-120 used.
• SX-700 — Boss SX-700 (c. 1996), a single-rackspace studio multi-FX unit from Boss — 30 effects, five simultaneous, RSS 3D panning, praised by Sound on Sound.

Recorder

• BR-532 — Boss BR-532 4-track digital recorder — the budget BR-series box that shared catalog pages with the Roland VS-2480CD.

Samplers

• RSD-10 — Boss RSD-10 sampler/delay — 2000ms sampling, 2ms–2000ms delay, 7KHz sampler bandwidth. Rare Boss compact with pedal/pad triggering.

Other Models

• Blues Driver — Boss Blues Driver overdrive pedal — 1MΩ input, -118dBm noise floor, 13mA draw. The compact dirt box that ended up in Billie Joe Armstrong's Marshall rig.
• BR-1180CD — Boss BR-1180CD: 10-track (8 + stereo master) hard-disk studio, 80 virtual tracks, 20 GB drive, CD-R, USB, drum machine.
• BR-1200CD — Boss BR-1200CD digital recording studio — 40 GB hard disk, 192 V-Tracks, 24-bit processing, CD-R/RW burner. A self-contained project studio from Boss's digital multitrack era.
• BR-1600CD — Boss BR-1600CD digital studio — 8 phantom XLR inputs, 16 tracks, 40GB drive, CD burner, COSM effects, $2,195 MSRP.
• BR-600 — Boss BR-600 digital multitrack recorder — archive holds service-manual parts data only; production years, price, and full specs remain unverified.
• BR-800 — Boss BR-800 digital recorder — battery-powered, 4 XLR inputs, onboard mics, DR-880 rhythm engine, SD recording, USB interface.
• BR-864 — Boss BR-864 digital multitracker with USB file transfer and built-in effects, reviewed by Sound on Sound and EQ in the mid-2000s.
• BR-900 — Boss BR-900 digital multitrack — sold in the UK 2005–2006, documented only in Sound On Sound dealer ads. Specs unverified.
• BX-600 — Boss BX-600 six-channel stereo mixer — 6 high-impedance inputs, stereo FX return, $240 in 1986. The quiet workhorse of mid-80s home studios.
• CE-2 (1979) — Boss CE-2 Chorus (1979) — the first compact Boss chorus, two-knob analog lushness, JFET bypass, MIJ build. Median used ~$197, original ACA units scarce.
• Chorus Ensemble — Boss Chorus Ensemble analog chorus pedal with MN3007 BBD, dual filter controls, 1MΩ input impedance, and −93 dBm residual noise.
• DD-2 — Boss DD-2 compact digital delay — 12.5–800ms across four modes, HOLD sampling, true stereo wet/dry split, 9V battery or adaptor. Early-digital character in a stompbox.
• DR-202 (1998) — Boss DR-202 Dr. Groove (1998) drum machine — service-manual deep dive: bulk dump before battery removal, MIDI channel 10, sine-wave test mode, and what Sound on Sound said.
• DR-220A — Boss DR-220A Dr. Rhythm (1986) — budget digital drum machine, 11 PCM acoustic samples, 32 preset + 32 user patterns, 12-bit D/A. The acoustic half of the DR-220 pair.
• DR-3 — Boss DR-3 Dr. Rhythm drum machine — 12-voice, 100 styles, 100 songs, 13 velocity pads, battery-powered. A pocket arranger with a bass engine.
• DR-770 (1999) — Boss DR-770 Dr. Rhythm (1999) — 255 instruments, 400 preset + 400 user patterns, 14-voice polyphony. A late-90s drum machine with individual outs and deep MIDI.
• DR-880 — Boss DR-880 Dr. Rhythm drum & bass machine — 32 voices, 440 drum sounds, 40 bass sounds, 20 velocity pads, guitar/bass input.
• DSD-2 — Boss DSD-2 digital delay/sampler — 50–800ms delay, 40Hz–7kHz response, FET input. Service notes confirm it's identical to the DSD-3 but for the pedal.
• HC-2 — Boss HC-2: a 460g compact with a BA662A VCA, an 18-stage shift register, and a piezo pickup. Service-note specs and what they mean.
• KM-04 — Boss KM-04, a battery-powered 4-into-1 micro mixer from the early 1980s, priced at $75 and pitched as a preamp for acoustic guitar and bass pickups.
• ME-30 (1997) — Boss ME-30 (1997) guitar multi-effects floor unit — 44.1kHz, 20-bit ADC, 30 user + 30 preset patches, six AA batteries. A capable, MIDI-less budget processor.
• ME-33 — Boss ME-33 floor multi-effects unit: 1.8 kg, 6x AA or PSA adaptor, stereo mini AUX in, no MIDI patch dump. Service docs dated May 2001.
• PSA-100 — Boss PSA-100 AC adapter — the 9V power brick behind countless Boss pedals, but model variants and third-party clones make genuine specs hard to pin down.
• RBF-10 — Boss RBF-10 Flanger — mid-1980s Japanese half-rack stereo flanger from the Micro Rack Series with built-in noise reduction and D+E / D−E outputs.
• RC-20 — Boss RC-20 phrase-sampling pedal (May 2001 service docs). Residual noise under -78 dBm, 11-position phrase select, dual-unit data transfer.
• RC-20XL — Boss RC-20XL Phrase Recorder — 16 min loop time, 11 phrases, 1.2 kg. Compact battery-powered looper reviewed by Sound on Sound at £249 in 2005.
• RGE-10 — Boss RGE-10 Graphic Equalizer — half-rack Micro Studio Series EQ, 9V DC at 50mA, 218mm wide. Documented circuit, period rack companion to the RDD-10 and RCL-10.
• RPH-10 — Boss RPH-10 Phaser — half-rack Micro Rack phaser with Manual/Rate/Depth/Feedback, three modes, stereo-linkable, ~£110–125 in the mid-1980s.
• RT-20 — Boss RT-20 Rotary Sound Processor: COSM Leslie emulation, four modes, twin footswitches, $299 original price, six AA batteries. A serious rotary contender.
• RX-100 — Boss RX-100 two-channel spring reverb box — mono/stereo in/out, early-'80s Boss rack gear. A no-nonsense spring tank for keyboard and studio rigs.
• SP-202 — Boss SP-202 Dr. Sample (1998) — 32 seconds of sample memory, built-in mic, battery power, $395 list. The cheapest way into hardware sampling in 1998, with a tricorder look and almost no editing.
• SP-505 — Boss SP-505 phrase sampler — 128x64 waveform display, 26 effects, S/PDIF, 500+ sample locations in a 3.12 lb box.
• TU-12 — Boss TU-12 chromatic tuner — the bench reference other manufacturers' manuals told techs to use. No published spec sheet; documented via service literature.