| Author |
 Topic  |
|
BossLP
Copper Member
USA
11 Posts |
 Posted - 09/18/2009 : 04:56:51
|
I've been wanting to get my hands on a MIJ HM-2 for forever
& scour ebay & Craigslist daily for this & any other treasures
that strike my fancy & fit into my rather modest gear budget.
I was perusing today's CL offerings when i came across
an ad (w/ pic) for a BOSS HM-2 w/ power adapter for $60.
The pic was small & a little fuzzy but, judging by the placement
of the 'HM-2' on the pedal, it looked to me like it was Japanese.
I emailed the dude, he emailed back w/ his number, i called
him & we arranged to meet at his place so i could try it out.
When i got there to check it out the first thing i did was
flip it over &, to my delight, it was indeed an old MIJ HM-2.
My delight quickly turned to disappointment, however, as soon
as i plugged it into the little Micro Cube amp he had set up.
Straight away, the LED didn't light up & the pedal itself
sounded like the biggest pile of fizzy poop i've ever heard.
He had the pedal being powered by an adapter & also w/ a battery
& neither one sounded good or right, nor did they light the LED.
I told him i had to pass because of all the issues & that
there was no way i could give him anywhere near $60 for it,
considering i'd have to pay a tech to troubleshoot & repair
it, which doesn't come cheap, & i didn't want a fixer-upper.
He asked me what i thought it was worth & i offered him $20.
To my surprise, he said that'd be fine & off i went w/ my new
broken MIJ HM-2, which i figured i'd have fixed eventually.
After arriving back at home, i unpacked the pedal
from my gigbag & plopped it into my pedalboard, just
to see what it would look like & where it would fit.
As i plugged the HM-2 into the daisy chain, my eyes were
greeted by that familiar red BOSS LED glow, just as bright
& shiny as any of my other BOSS stompboxes, & a big, rich
& full E power chord oozed from my little practice amp.
Turns out, the AC power adapter the dude was using
(which he gave me as part of the $20 deal) was some
kind of Ibanez adapter & the pedals battery was dead.
So, after all was said & done, i came home w/ the vintage
MIJ HM-2 i've always dreamed of for the measly sum of $20.
The pedal's quite clean w/ very
little wear & dates to May 1985.
And it is, by far, my best BOSS score...EVER!
I'm SO freakin' stoked, you have no idea... |
|
|
Laurie
Double Platinum Member
Canada
4854 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 05:05:15
|
| Yep.. I can FEEL it with you~! Great score!!! |
 |
|
|
BossLP
Copper Member
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 05:20:10
|
Thanks, Laurie!
I've never felt such a cool low end
'whomp' in a BOSS distortion pedal.
I'm more of a "Hard Rock" to "Stoner Metal" guy, as opposed
to looking for those Swedish Death Metal/Black Metal sounds.
But, if anybody's got suggestions for some of your favorite MIJ
HM-2 settings, please feel free to throw a bunch of 'em at me.
I'm sure it's gonna take me a little time to figure out where
this thing sounds best in my effects chain & to dial it in.
SO happy to finally have found my Heavy Metal pedal though! |
|
|
|
Roger
Bronze Member
USA
81 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 05:22:27
|
Most excellent!!! Congrats  |
|
|
|
Right Foot Boss
Gold Member
USA
881 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 05:59:23
|
| Awesome score! Glad you are happy tried the HM-3 yet? |
|
|
|
starr36
Platinum Member
Canada
1172 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 07:16:22
|
| that's a cool story! |
|
|
|
BossLP
Copper Member
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 07:54:02
|
quote:
Originally posted by Right Foot Boss
Awesome score! Glad you are happy tried the HM-3 yet?
I have not. In fact, i've
rarely seen them for sale.
There's only one on ebay right now while
there are a bunch of MIJ 'AND' MIT HM-2s.
What's different between MIJ & MIT HM-2s & an HM-3?
Man...i can't wait until tomorrow afternoon when
i get to mess w/ this thing through my half stack. |
|
|
|
paperboycalle
Copper Member
Sweden
20 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 08:08:31
|
| Ten years ago I went into a music shop in Uppsala, Sweden and in the "Sales"-bin I saw a HC-2 Handclap and a NF-1 Noise Gate, both in original boxes. Price: 50 SEK (around 7 USD) each. Traded the NF-1 For an EHX Polyphaser later but the HC-2 is still used a lot. |
|
|
|
FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 10:13:39
|
Congrats..... his loss for not having at least a new battery for you to test the pedal with....nothing like the feeling of coming home with a new piece of gear that you think needs a repair and then finding out that it's 100% all along..... |
|
|
|
sp-1
Platinum Member
Germany
1454 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 10:41:06
|
great story  and congrats |
|
|
|
Dr. Bob
Moderator
Australia
6593 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 11:15:19
|
Hi BossLP
-Great Story.
-Great Find.
-Great Deal.
I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say,
we are all pleased for you.
Congratulations
Regards Dr. Bob |
|
|
|
Joske Turbo
Silver Member
Belgium
412 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 17:48:49
|
quote:
Originally posted by paperboycalle
Ten years ago I went into a music shop in Uppsala, Sweden and in the "Sales"-bin I saw a HC-2 Handclap and a NF-1 Noise Gate, both in original boxes. Price: 50 SEK (around 7 USD) each. Traded the NF-1 For an EHX Polyphaser later but the HC-2 is still used a lot.
I also came across a handclapper recently but the price was � 150...
People are getting insane... |
|
|
|
demon dave
Copper Member
Italy
27 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2009 : 20:30:05
|
Wow, congrats. I'm happy for you
I was searching for that pedal too, but I've found an HM3 that sounds great. Now I think I need the pair... |
|
|
|
BossLP
Copper Member
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2009 : 03:25:11
|
Thanks y'all!
Oh man...i'm diggin' this thing.
Some of the sounds are unusable to me, but
there are most definitely some sweet spots.
Unfortunately, i haven't gotten to plug into my half stack yet
to hear it w/ some tubes (couldn't find my speaker cables...ugh),
but it's producing some great sounds already through my little old
Yamaha 1x6 practice amp, which is just a little older than the HM-2.
SOOOOOOOOOO MARSHALLY.
The humbuckers in my Les Paul & Hamer STD
are LOVING this pedal &, w/ a little tweak, my
Strat's been interacting nicely w/ it as well.
I had no idea that, at some settings, the
HM-2s were so responsive to your playing,
similar to that BOSS Blues Driver thing.
So Cool.
Now where did i put those speaker cables... |
|
|
|
zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2009 : 05:13:13
|
| sweet score man, i am happy for you on that one. great to hear |
|
|
|
StratoSphere
Double Platinum Member
Canada
2232 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2009 : 08:47:17
|
nice! nothing beats an awesome pedal score |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
My Best BOSS Score EVER!!!
