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hungrymusician
Bronze Member
Malaysia
95 Posts |
 Posted - 05/26/2006 : 22:29:11
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Hi all,actually i have more questions as ive just got to know more about vintage or japanese boss pedals recently.
Can anyone please tell me what does the term silver screw or long dash mean? Does it mean the screw that is turned to open the battery compartment is metal instead of the normal black plastic ones? Ive got a ce-2,in the label there is an instruction:use a coin to open battery compartment lid when replacing battery.but the screw is plastic,does it mean its not a silver screw version?
Besides the ink-stamped label inside which shows the serial number,is there any other way to find out the s/n?i have 2 mij pedals that doesnt have the ink stamped label.
Finally,regarding these vintage or japanese pedals that are not in production anymore,what are the benefits and prospects of owning them? As far as i know,pedals are electronic and usually electronics will go down in price,not like a guitar as electronics may encounter corrosion or technical problems over the years?
Im just astonished by the popularity and the price of these pedals nowadays.Is it worth collecting them now for future prospects?
Your suggestions and opinions will be greatly appreciated,thankyou! |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2006 : 23:13:21
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quote:
Originally posted by hungrymusician
Can anyone please tell me what does the term silver screw or long dash mean? Does it mean the screw that is turned to open the battery compartment is metal instead of the normal black plastic ones? Ive got a ce-2,in the label there is an instruction:use a coin to open battery compartment lid when replacing battery.but the screw is plastic,does it mean its not a silver screw version?
Besides the ink-stamped label inside which shows the serial number,is there any other way to find out the s/n?i have 2 mij pedals that doesnt have the ink stamped label.
Finally,regarding these vintage or japanese pedals that are not in production anymore,what are the benefits and prospects of owning them? As far as i know,pedals are electronic and usually electronics will go down in price,not like a guitar as electronics may encounter corrosion or technical problems over the years?
You're correct; there are two different screw types: the earliest production Boss pedals had a slotted/knurled all-metal screw, as opposed to the black plastic-capped ones you see today; they're scarcer and apparently more collectible because of that. Since it is an easy part to remove and replace, it is sometimes faked to fool buyers. It sounds as though someone replaced it on your CE-2 with a more recent one -- perhaps the original broke, or was removed for use on another pedal.
The "long dash" refers to the hyphen in the model number painted on the footswitch actuator; the earlier versions of some pedals had a longer dash (it's usually spotted by where the letters in the model number line up under the pedal name). There was a long dash CE-2, for example.
The buzz surrounding Japanese pedals is part hype, part truth -- some of the effect circuits were altered as production of the pedals was moved from Japan to Taiwan. Sometiems players see "Japan" and make their minds up instantly that it's a superior pedal, but probably couldn't tell it apart from one made in Taiwan in a double-blind test. Sometimes there are audible differences -- but such a thing could even occur between two Taiwanese or two Japanese pedals, depending on variations within tolerance of electronic components and differences in aging. For some people additional value is ascribed to MIJ for absolutely no other reason than it's MIJ -- but the DS-1 made in Japan has a completely different circuit than the revised circuit in the DS-1 made in Taiwan. So it depends.
C.K.
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hungrymusician
Bronze Member
Malaysia
95 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2006 : 23:44:31
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Thanx so much C.K. Wow,so my ce-2 may be a silver screw version after all
So i guess the instruction use a coin to open... is another characteristic of the silver screw version,rite?
Does anyone know about the ink-stamped label thing?(if its missing,is there any other way to find the s/n?thanx. |
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Vim Fuego
Gold Member
Denmark
566 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2006 : 23:50:47
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I also have a CE-2 and a NF-1 with a bottom plate that says "Use a coin..." and both has a black screw..
apparantly the bottom plate lived longer than the silver screw so in a period these combinations where seen..
Cheers  |
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fuzzface
Bronze Member
United Kingdom
121 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2006 : 03:24:24
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It's obviously very easy to forge a 'Silver Screw' model in some cases - just swap the screw and baseplate to a 'use a coin' version but this would mean that you'd degrade the value of the pedal you took these from.
I've seen a few pedals that have Silver screws that I'm still not sure are genuine or not (DM-2 and CS-2) but it's very difficult to verify.
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Big Boss Man
Gold Member
USA
564 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2006 : 04:51:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Vim Fuego
I also have a CE-2 and a NF-1 with a bottom plate that says "Use a coin..." and both has a black screw..
apparantly the bottom plate lived longer than the silver screw so in a period these combinations where seen..
Cheers
Yep, I also have pedals (an SG-1) like this. There must have been some cutover period where they were still using the "Use a coin" bottom plates with the new black screws. |
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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2006 : 11:11:46
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The "use a coin..." back plate was used for a long time after the thumb screw was replaced. It may have taken as much as a year for Boss to introduce the "Use your fingers" plate. As a result most pedals with 6 digit serial numbers starting with 0 or 1 have the old "use a coin" back plate. If you look at the label page you will see that the type 4 label also have the text "use a coin". The type 4 label was used in the beginning of 1982, well after the silvers screw disappeared.
Some people use the phrase "metal screw" instead of "silver screw". P refer the latter as the black screw is also a metal screw. It's just coated with a black plastic layer. The term "plastic screw" just doesn't sound right to me. 
If the ink stamped serial number or the ink stamped sticker has been removed, there really is no way to find the original serial number. You cuold still find out approximately when the pedal was made by looking at the date codes printed on the integrated circuits and transistors but the serial number is not printed anywhere else. |
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hungrymusician
Bronze Member
Malaysia
95 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2006 : 20:39:59
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| Well,thankyou all,sincerely.Just wondering,does it mean that there is actually no difference in electronic circuit or sound quality between a silver screw and a black label?besides the silver screw an earlier version thus more collectable? |
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hungrymusician
Bronze Member
Malaysia
95 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2006 : 20:54:31
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| Thanks for the reference pic,Bossarea,my ce-2 blackplate label is similar to type 2,guess that clears it |
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hungrymusician
Bronze Member
Malaysia
95 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2006 : 20:57:31
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| Oh no,here comes another question from me again,whats the difference between a black label and a green one? |
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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2006 : 21:19:30
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In most cases there's absolutely no difference in sound between the silver screw and black screw version. In some cases the circuit has changed and there may be minor differences.
The different coloured labels doesn't have anything to do with the sound of the pedals. Sometimes the label text changes and to make it easier to see Boss changes the colour of the label too. |
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whats a silver screw?
