Guitar World Verdict
If you’re after a compact rotary speaker emulation, the RT-2 is a game-changer. It has all the functional oomph of the larger RT-20, and the sound quality to go up against its boutique competitors. With a footswitch attached, it will work as a Uni-Vibe, and its more modern voiced modes are reminiscent of the fun, experimental features snuck into older BOSS pedals like the PW-10 wah.
Pros
- +
Excellent sounding rotary effect.
- +
Has all the features of more expensive units in a smaller package.
- +
If you squint, can cover for a Uni-Vibe.
Cons
- -
More notable difference between the modes would be welcome.
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What is it?
The Rotary speaker effect is a classic of the early rock n'roll era. In its original form, the effect was created mechanically by rotating horns around the treble tweeter, and a rotating drum in front of the bass woofer.
The end result is a speaker cabinet that creates distinctive pitch and volume modulation. Another famous modulation of the period was the Uni-Vibe effect, created using a phaser with a variable speed.
Although many assume the Uni-Vibe was inspired by rotary speakers, its designer has since said it was inspired by atmospheric modulation on long-distance radio waves.
Regardless, many units that emulate the one can pull double duty for the other, and that's a reasonable expectation here as Boss aims to bring back the goodness of its RT-20 unit in a more compact guise.
Specs
- PRICE: $239/£229/€269
- TYPE: Rotary Speaker
- MADE: Malaysia
- CONTROLS: Mode, Level, Drive, Fast, Slow, Rise/Fall Time Switch, Drive Switch
- FEATURES: 3 rotary speaker modes, drive control, ramping, visual speaker display
- CONNECTIVITY: Stereo In/Out, Speed Expression Pedal, Power
- BYPASS: Buffered
- POWER: 9V Battery or 9VDC centre-negative
- DIMENSIONS: 73x59x129 mm
- WEIGHT: 0.45kg
- OPTIONS: Additional footswitches, expression pedal, BOSS PSU
- CONTACT: Boss
Guitar World video demo
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★★
In typical Boss style, the RT-2 is a tank, and even the delicate-looking display is reinforced. RT-20 fans will recognise the display style from the RT-20 – a virtual rotor display with lights to indicate the treble and bass rotor speeds. It certainly looks cool too!
The only issue you might have is at 115mA (more than the RT-20's 85mA), which will limit battery life if powering off a 9V or on the go.
Usability
Usability rating: ★★★★★
It sounds fantastic in stereo, although at faster rates it's harder to distinguish the stereo movement
The RT-2 is straightforward, with most controls accessible on the front panel except for the Rise and Fall time (a switch to select between Slow and Fast) and Drive Balance. Impressively, it manages to cram most of the features of its predecessor, the larger RT-20, into this smaller footprint. This is achieved by combining the two footswitches.
Holding the footswitch changes between two rates, fast and slow, and their relative speed can be changed with the speed knobs. That's an improvement on many other pedals that use fixed rates like the original speaker cabinets.
A big bonus for usability is the rotary indicator. Though it seems gimmicky at first, in use it's reminiscent of the Neo Instruments Vent II or Mini Vent, which also had speed indicators for each 'speaker.' Here, the red light indicates treble, and the blue, bass.
Unlike stripped-back emulations like the Neo pedals, the RT-2 has functionality crammed in. With regards to those rear controls I mentioned, you can switch the Drive knob to instead control volume and rotary balance, or switch to change the speed at which the pedal ramps between motor speeds. The Drive control is also a tilt tone control, which is a bit of a negative for usability.
It's possible to attach an expression pedal to control the rate. Doing so results in something that can replace a Uni-Vibe on your board. However, this obviously increase the footprint and detracts from its compactness.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★½
Digging in with a neck single coil, there isn't a bad sound in the RT-2, and this thing has real mojo. I find that setting the speeds relatively close to one another enables more expressive use of the ramp function, while pushing up the drive results in pleasing saturation.
However, the pedal doesn't stack super well if you like a controlled sound. With a JFET overdrive pedal in front, there's a big jump in volume when engaged, and that's the case for every drive or fuzz I try.
Switching to Les Paul-style humbuckers, the pedal punches through a mix, though on a bridge humbucker, and particularly with higher-output, Ibanez 'buckers, the RT-2 gets a little 'scratchy' in Mode III.
Ultimately, it sounds better to switch back to Mode I or II, pull back the gain a bit and use an external drive or fuzz pedal.
With this done, clean, the RT-2 can be coerced into a Steven Wilson-style vibrato tone, with a wild, Hendrix-like scream available by ramping the speed and hitting a fuzz pedal.
It sounds fantastic in stereo, although at faster rates it's harder to distinguish the stereo movement.
Verdict
There's not much to tell between the modes – a wasted opportunity perhaps – but there are excellent sounds in here
This is an excellent-looking, intuitive pedal. Luckily, it also has sounds to match, and enough versatility to earn its space on even a tight pedalboard.
There's not much to tell between the modes – a wasted opportunity perhaps – but there are excellent sounds in here. It's a best-in-class rotary emulation and a serviceable Uni-Vibe style effect. Does it perfectly match the deep phase tone of the Uni-Vibe? No, but it's close enough.
Guitar World verdict: If you're after a compact rotary speaker emulation, the RT-2 is a game-changer. It has all the functional oomph of the larger RT-20, and the sound quality to go up against its boutique competitors. With a footswitch attached, it will work as a Uni-Vibe, and its more modern voiced modes are reminiscent of the fun, experimental features snuck into older BOSS pedals like the PW-10 wah.
Test | Results | Score |
|---|---|---|
Build quality | It's a Boss pedal. No notes. | ★★★★★ |
Usability | Rotary indicator is a huge help but BOSS has successfully delivered a range of controls in a compact format. | ★★★★★ |
Sounds | There's not enough difference between the modes to my ears but faultess elsewhere. | ★★★★½ |
Overall | It is not cheap but has everything you'd want from a compact rotating speaker emulator. | ★★★★★ |
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