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chaosmonger
Copper Member
Chile
13 Posts |
 Posted - 02/26/2009 : 18:15:10
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A question for you guys:
How do you recognize a MIJ HM-2 that doesn't have the label or serial number? Battery Clip Colour? something else I should be checking out?
I have this girl who swore to me she had a MIJ one to sell, but she doesn't remember if there was a label or something, so I'm a bit suspicious.
Can anyone help me?
Cheers! |
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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2009 : 19:17:41
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| All MIJ HM-2s will have the serial number sticker in the battery compartment. It would be very unfortunate if both the label and the serial number sticker was gone. If I saw a pedal like that, I would suspect that it perhaps never had a serial sticker in the battery compartment. |
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chaosmonger
Copper Member
Chile
13 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2009 : 19:44:36
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Thanks for your reply!
Well, I'll see what can I do. I have noticed from pics that MIJ ones have green components (resistors? .. IDK) while MIT ones have orange or transparent ones. My MIT pedal's are transparent. Would it be a safe bet to look for green components at the circuit in case everything else fails?
cheers |
Edited by - chaosmonger on 02/26/2009 19:45:23 |
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Mesjoggah
Gold Member
Netherlands
595 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2009 : 20:03:55
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The one on the right is a MIJ, watch the text closely and you'll see that on the MIT pedal the 'hm-2' text starts right under the 'E' while on the MIJ pedal the 'hm-2' text starts between the 'M' and 'E'
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Edited by - Mesjoggah on 02/26/2009 20:04:45 |
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chaosmonger
Copper Member
Chile
13 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2009 : 20:08:07
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WOW! ... that was helluva great tip!! .. thanks a lot dude, I'll be watching that "H". I'll be telling you how it turned out.
Igor |
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chaosmonger
Copper Member
Chile
13 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2009 : 21:00:22
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MMMMMM .... ok, then it seems like the one I've been offered (shown on the pic below) is a taiwan one actually ... the other thing that looks suspicious is the "5 year warranty" sticker on the box ... did pre 88' Japan ones have that sticker in their boxes?
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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2009 : 23:11:45
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Thanks Mesjoggah, I'd completely forgotten about the font difference. This time I've written it down so hopefully Il'l get round to including that info on the HM-2 page. 
The 5 year warranty sticker has been around for a long time. I don't know exactly when they started with it but I have several Japan-pedals with this sticker on the box. |
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chaosmonger
Copper Member
Chile
13 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2009 : 13:22:28
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OK, guys, I met this girl to get the pedal. At first I was skeptical because of the font thing described above, which indicated the pedal was not a MIJ one.
In fact, both the label an the serial number were missing, the battery clip was black, so I told the girl "this is not a japan one" ... then I proceeded to open it up and check the circuit. To my surprise, the caps were green just like in the MIJ ones I have seen on pics, so I was like "whatever, it's still quite cheap, so I will give it a try".
Once at my place, I put new duracell batteries in both of the pedals and connected them in series.
As expected, there was difference between both, being the "green cap" one more dynamic, with a fuller sound and deeper bass response. The "transparent cap" one sounded like the same pedal, but with a subtle sort of "am radio" quality: more compressed, more shallow bass response ... pick attack was a lot more defined in "green" while "transparent" seemed to choke the attack a bit. I changed the order of the chain and also tried each pedal alone directly in front of the amp, switched batteries ... basically discarded every other factor besides the pedal itself and the result was the same.
All in all, "green cap" is clearer, fuller and dynamic. It is also perceived louder, BTW. Definitely better. Not a "night and day" difference, but still noticeable for anyone with half an ear, and I can assure you, this is no placebo effect :-)
So, now I'm not sure about its procedence. For example, this pedal on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1981-Boss-Heavy-Metal-HM-2-Distortion-Pedal-by-Roland_W0QQitemZ190289003696QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item190289003696&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A570%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50
Seller claims it's from 1981, and the serial number confirms that, but still the font looks like a MIT one.
Or maybe in my case some units were produced in Taiwan, but with Japan specs (green caps?) ... I don't know. I still would like to compare it with a real japan one, because I wouldn't be surprised if this "unknown procedence one" sounded exatly the same.
At the end the only thing that matters is that I love the way this pedal sounds. Period. I just wanted to share my experience with you guys.
Cheers!
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Edited by - chaosmonger on 02/27/2009 13:39:46 |
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0ffs3t
Copper Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2009 : 19:02:08
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Mine is a MIJ HM-2 and has the "H" between the "M" and "e" but it also has the MIJ black sticker and valid serial number so it is easy to confirm.
   
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Edited by - 0ffs3t on 02/27/2009 19:05:21 |
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chaosmonger
Copper Member
Chile
13 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2009 : 19:24:50
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Can you please please with sugar on top take some pics of the circuit inside?  |
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verivorax
Platinum Member
Canada
1185 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2009 : 00:01:50
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There's no such thing as a 1981 HM-2.. at least according to the bossarea product ref. Wherever he got that 6-digit number wasn't from the battery compartment! Maybe some component code inside..
The font does look MIT, so I'm sure it's later he's claiming. Buyer beware!  |
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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2009 : 10:48:51
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quote:
Originally posted by verivorax
There's no such thing as a 1981 HM-2.. at least according to the bossarea product ref. Wherever he got that 6-digit number wasn't from the battery compartment! Maybe some component code inside..
The font does look MIT, so I'm sure it's later he's claiming. Buyer beware!
Yes, I agree with that. Serial 132987 sounds rubbish. All serial numbers earlier than 79xxxx ended with 00 but there are some oddballs out there like vicix's MIT HM-2 with serial number 093434. There's no way the seller bought his pedal 1982. |
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Plastic Stan
Copper Member
United Kingdom
14 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2009 : 15:52:52
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quote:
Originally posted by bossareaYes, I agree with that. Serial 132987 sounds rubbish. All serial numbers earlier than 79xxxx ended with 00 but there are some oddballs out there like vicix's MIT HM-2 with serial number 093434. There's no way the seller bought his pedal 1982.
I noticed it also has a black battery connector. What year did they change over from grey to black? I know all of my MIJ pedals have a grey connecter, and all my MIT have a black one.
Can the colour of battery connector be used to date a pedal or its country of origin?
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Topic |
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Recognizing a MIJ HM-2
