Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Kiichi on October 25, 2013, 11:07:07 PM
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Good day gentlemen!
The last few days I have been toying around extensivly with my pedal chain cause I got a Juansolo Boobtube and had to find the best way to use it. Now I run the Klone into it and it is great.
What I did notice during this trying is that with all the overdrive and boosting I got going on my signal ofc can become quite noisy. It is not insanely so, but more than I would like it to be. Thus I am looking into getting me a noise gate.
Looking around the forum the favorites seem to be:
Boss NS-2
MXR Smartgate
ISP Decimator
From what I gather the MXR is a real gate, no effect on tone and quite nice. The Boss is tried and tested, does affect tone and has some filtering and looping going on. ISP is the metal favorite, but said to be somewhat harsh in execution.
The setup it will end up in is: Guitar - Comp - Klone - Boobtube - MXR 10 Band EQ - Orange Tiny Terror
So no effects loop on the amp, just wanne reduce pedal noise and some of the SC hum of my SCs and P90s.
So now I wonder if you could shed more light on the difference between these and guide me towards what is best for. If that is not one of the three, let me know.
Cheers!
Kiichi
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i've used the boss ns2 for 5+ years and its worked great for me. granted i dont really use much else for pedals so i can't say it really effects much but i've never noticed it effect the amps tone at all
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If youve got the spare cash id say the ISP Decimator but you can pick up Boss NS2's off ebay for less than half price and theyre just about as good.
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Since I live in Sweden now the ebay thing is not my favorite choice as it does not really exist here. I would have to get it from the UK then.
The ISP would not be largely more expensive than the MXR Smartgate...if I am not going for the G String that is, which probably, due to lack of effects loop, is not really the best way here. Two votes for the NS-2 so far though.
Would one of you too gentlemen be able to give more of a comparative insight?
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The ISP Decimator G-String works well in my set-up, but you don't have an effects loop. I'm guessing that the regular Decimator would work well in front of the amp.
There would be no advantage at all in paying the extra $90-100 for the G-String version if it weren't in the loop, although I guess you would still gain the sensitivity feature.If you were to run the G-String in front of the amp what you would basically do is put the guitar in/out at the front of the chain and then the various overdrives etc then into the dec in and out the dec out before the various modulation effects.
If you use the regular Decimator ignore what I said about guitar in/out and just place it where I said the dec in/out goes
Whichever one you get just remember 'batteries are for diagnostic purposes only'
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Oh I should metion that I am also concerned about which one cuts my sustained notes least. Reading up on this this seems to be between the MXR and ISP, but I kinda trust you guys more than the rest of the interwebs.
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I would get the MXR over the others
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I used to have an isp decimator and stupidly sold it because i went through a little phase of using as few pedals as possible. Its simply better than the boss ns2 but the ns2 does the job too and is often what you see on many professional guitarists pedal board so good enough for the pro's good enough for me and its good because its cheap, reliable and easily replaced.
Oh and the boss ns2 sucks tone at low volumes but at 'gig volume' theres no difference at all.
For me the ISP is ever so slightly better and its built like a tank but for the money you might as well just get the ns2. Cant comment on the mxr im sure its good and it sounds good but its relatively new but ive seen pro's using the isp and ns2 on their pedal board and for a noise gate this is important as its less subjective than 'tone' as all my other pedals are boutique and a little less conventional.
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Oh I should metion that I am also concerned about which one cuts my sustained notes least. Reading up on this this seems to be between the MXR and ISP, but I kinda trust you guys more than the rest of the interwebs.
From this point of view it will probably be the G-String, just because it senses when your guitar is generating a sound in order to control the suppression. But as you wind up the threshold past noon it starts to get intrusive no matter what. I tend to run mine around 11.30, as below that the Peavey hiss still comes through. When you get to 1 o'clock the damping effect starts to get quite noticeable, so the window is quite narrow but it works well within it. This latter aspect of the threshold is the same for all ISP models. It's just the sensing of the raw signal that is the advantage of the more expensive version. As I said above you could make a little loop within your front end to run it. The main advantage is that if you suddenly acquire an amp with a loop you won't feel like buying another pedal, although some people do run two regular decimators (one before the amp and one after) or a regular and a G-String. The 'II' models have some kind of link that you can link pedals together, but I'm not sure how that works
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I have a MXR Noise Clamp and it cuts off notes, reduces sustain and doesn't cut off all the noise. Not recommended.
I would get the newer ISP Decimator II, I've heard the NS-2 alters the sound (for better or worse)
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So some votes for everything...great xD Only the MXR Noiseclamp feels pretty much out, leaving MXR Smart Gate, NS-2 and ISP. Still the frontrunners are NS-2 and ISP. Right now I am leaning towards the ISP and now I am just wondering how well the version Agent Orange suggested for the G String works. Seems to makes sense, so I am tempted.
Anyone tried this perticular way of going about things? Is it worth it?
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The new ISP II can work as the the old g-string I believe, and a while back I played a 6505+ with an OD808 and ISP Decimator and it was the tightest tone I had ever heard, no noise.
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Mine is the ISP Decimator G-String II, it is the same as the original G-String with the addition of a link capacity to another one the same, maybe a few tweaks to a diode or something.
Once I worked it out it's really good.
You need a power supply.
You place it after your wah or guitar and then again in the loop before modulation effects.
Mine goes into the wah then into the ISP's guitar in jack. The out jack is connected to my tuner. From the send on my loop it does into an MXR 10-band EQ then into the Dec In jack on the ISP. After the ISP I have Flanger, Chorus, Delay, Boost then back into the amp.
If you were using with out a loop you would use the same order, but obviously the pre-amp would not have its noise suppressed by the pedal.
With a Peavey the pre-amp is the noisiest part, hence why it is good to have it in the loop, but maybe most of your noise is coming from pedals, so having it out is good.
My phaser is before the ISP (between my overdrive and a compressor) and works fine.
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I haven't tried the smartgate.
I like the decimator. If you want to use it both in the loop and out front, though, that gets expensive pretty quickly. If you need to do both, the boss more or less does the job (not quite as good as the decimator, but it works) if you use the x-pattern method for a lot less money.
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I haven't tried the smartgate.
I like the decimator. If you want to use it both in the loop and out front, though, that gets expensive pretty quickly. If you need to do both, the boss more or less does the job (not quite as good as the decimator, but it works) if you use the x-pattern method for a lot less money.
Nah, no loop for me at all. My amps don´t have that. This is front of amp only.
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I've built both the decimator and a modded smartgate with additional controls such as threshold, attack, decay.
They modded smartgate was far better in my opinion. More natural feeling very transparent and it killed more noise but openened quicker. The stock smartgate was pretty similar to the decimator.
The decimator overall was far too eager to close cutting off notes and felt really unnatural when opening i guess it would be perfect for djent in that respect it had a very processed feel as did the boss ns2 whilst not really cutting that much noise out(NS2)
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I haven't had this problem with the G-String when kept below 1 o'clock on the sensitivity dial. I can see how the regular version might do this tough
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I haven't tried the smartgate.
I like the decimator. If you want to use it both in the loop and out front, though, that gets expensive pretty quickly. If you need to do both, the boss more or less does the job (not quite as good as the decimator, but it works) if you use the x-pattern method for a lot less money.
Nah, no loop for me at all. My amps don´t have that. This is front of amp only.
ah ok. i'd get the decimator (bog standard, not g-string) then. maybe i was doing something silly, but i found the ns2 didn't really cut noise that well unless you used the x-pattern.
as i said, though, i haven't tried the smat gate, it may well be worth considering, too.
I've built both the decimator and a modded smartgate with additional controls such as threshold, attack, decay.
They modded smartgate was far better in my opinion. More natural feeling very transparent and it killed more noise but openened quicker. The stock smartgate was pretty similar to the decimator.
The decimator overall was far too eager to close cutting off notes and felt really unnatural when opening i guess it would be perfect for djent in that respect it had a very processed feel as did the boss ns2 whilst not really cutting that much noise out(NS2)
that's interesting :)
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I've tried all three, and would forget the Boss in this day and age.
I think you've already summed it up quite well. If you had something like a Strat, with a noisy rig, and you wanted a natural noise gate, I would reach for the Smartgate. I see the ISP, in front of the amp (not tried an rack item in the loop) as more of an effect for that br00tal cut off thing.
Now, its not really that clear cut, you can sound natural with the ISP, and get a close to that kind of cut off with the MXR.
Just my two pence. I brought an Decimator in the end myself.
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Yeah, NS-2 is pretty much out for me at this point. Heavily leaning towards the ISP. I think setting that on the lighter side will get me there. The MXR is still interresting though, seems pretty tweakable with the frequency selector and all.
If I was just doing metal riffing I would have less of an issue just going ISP. Still I will, especially cause I got a good deal on one of those. Final decision tomorrow!
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I think if you don't want it whisper quiet, but just get rid of the feedback, the Boss is fine. I used it to very good results.
I had a Rocktron The Hush Pedal, which I sold along with my 5150. It worked really great with the 5150, I probably should have never sold it!
EDIT: This is the one. I don't know why people never recommend it, but I liked it and thought it worked really well.
http://www.thomann.de/de/rocktron_hush_super_c_bodenpedal.htm (http://www.thomann.de/de/rocktron_hush_super_c_bodenpedal.htm)
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I think if you don't want it whisper quiet, but just get rid of the feedback, the Boss is fine. I used it to very good results.
I had a Rocktron The Hush Pedal, which I sold along with my 5150. It worked really great with the 5150, I probably should have never sold it!
EDIT: This is the one. I don't know why people never recommend it, but I liked it and thought it worked really well.
http://www.thomann.de/de/rocktron_hush_super_c_bodenpedal.htm (http://www.thomann.de/de/rocktron_hush_super_c_bodenpedal.htm)
Feedback is not the main issue I am after. Just general noise floor for the most part. Ofc feedback is hardly ever welcome, but I am mostly just fighting what a comp into a klone into a boobtube into an amp with a good amount of drive on its own produces. Add to that that I not just use HBs but also SCs and P90s that can amount to quite a bit of base noise.
I would not mind whisper quiet (I think), but mainly I just need a good noise reduction. Clean things up a bit, you know?
The Rocktron reviews are not bad. Makes me really wonder what the differences between all these pedals are. Are the Rocktron, ISP and Smartgate basecally all just gates but they react differently due to different values, so you got different attack and release? Are the differences beyond that? I know the smartgate has the EQ on top, but they do all work by the same principle (cutting of signal under a certain strength), right?
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I don't know either, except the Rocktron goes in the effect loop and the Boss in front of the amp. Maybe the ISP is based on the Rocktron in part (the Hush technology is quite old, the ISP is newer).
If you order it with Thomann you have 30 days to return them. You could, in theory, order both and see which one works better with your rig.
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I've tried all three, and would forget the Boss in this day and age.
Actually the vast majority of pros are still using ns2's in this day and age......... mastodon, metallica, killswitch engage, machine head, steely dan, dillinger excapeplan, slipknot, periphery, symphony x the list is huge and its still the most popular noise gate amongst the pro's. Tone is subjective but I dont think noise gates are so ill go along with the pro's sure a few use ISP but who even uses the mxr noise gates??
I've had the ISP and the NS2 and MAYBE the ISP is ever so slightly better but for the money it really isnt worth it. Were talking about the smallest amount of noise reduction and does it matter when youre playing guitar any way? For pedal hum and a hi gain there may be a little noise but turn your volume down too and its gone and youve saved your self some money!
The things isin fairness I get you only need some thing in the front of your amp which saves on cost but if anyone wanted a noise gate for the input / fx loop the boss ns2 is £69 new (Cheaper 2nd hand I got mine for £30) and the isp decimiator g string ii is an extra £100 which is just robbery imo !!!
That being said if money isnt an issue go with the isp
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I don't know either, except the Rocktron goes in the effect loop and the Boss in front of the amp. Maybe the ISP is based on the Rocktron in part (the Hush technology is quite old, the ISP is newer).
If you order it with Thomann you have 30 days to return them. You could, in theory, order both and see which one works better with your rig.
+1
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I use an NS-2 and it works great. My Strat and Les Paul are noisy with high gain so I just roll back the volume and the pick noise goes away. On the Strat I have the volume on 8 and the Les Paul on 9. With the Strat I can hear the hum, it's really obvious, when I play with the volume on 10. Roll is back and it goes away. A better humbucker would fix this. With actives it's balls to the wall in volume. I don't even use the send and return. Doesn't alter the tone on anyway.
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I used to to always use an NS2 and have it on all the time.
Then I got some good pickups and realised I didn't need it at all unless I had to play loud in a tight space, and even then, turning it off when it isn't needed to curb feedback when a guitar part stops dead was the best plan for me in the end.
My amp has no loop, I was playing with a lot of gain. I used hardly any pedals and ran them all on batteries. The NS2 will last a good while on a 9V battery. I don't think the NS2 reduced the noise on the signal into the amp, the amps are the biggest source of noise anyway I find. I've never tried an ISP or Smart Gate, but then I try and use gates as little as possible and rely on a quiet guitar with solid pickups, simple signal path and a nicely laid out amp. I sceptical as to whether any of the pedals do any fancy noise reduction. I think they just cut the signal at a predetermined threshold, I've never heard my NS2 reduce noise while it was passing a signal. It does impact tone too but not in a way most people listening would notice.
My tip would just be whatever you get in the end... to remember you can switch it on and off. A lot of people don't.
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Actually the vast majority of pros are still using ns2's in this day and age......... mastodon, metallica, killswitch engage, machine head, steely dan, dillinger excapeplan, slipknot, periphery, symphony x the list is huge and its still the most popular noise gate amongst the pro's. Tone is subjective but I dont think noise gates are so ill go along with the pro's sure a few use ISP but who even uses the mxr noise gates??
By this logic we should all be using Duncans, Di Marzios, or EMGs. The 'pros' love getting free shite, and if it's free and it works they'll take it over something that they have to pay for every time. I'm assuming that both work, just that Boss/Roland has a lot more economic weight behind it than ISP. ISP didn't even make it onto Pedaltrain's pedalboard planner app - I wonder if you have to pay to get on that??
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Actually the vast majority of pros are still using ns2's in this day and age......... mastodon, metallica, killswitch engage, machine head, steely dan, dillinger excapeplan, slipknot, periphery, symphony x the list is huge and its still the most popular noise gate amongst the pro's. Tone is subjective but I dont think noise gates are so ill go along with the pro's sure a few use ISP but who even uses the mxr noise gates??
By this logic we should all be using Duncans, Di Marzios, or EMGs. The 'pros' love getting free shiteeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, and if it's free and it works they'll take it over something that they have to pay for every time. I'm assuming that both work, just that Boss/Roland has a lot more economic weight behind it than ISP. ISP didn't even make it onto Pedaltrain's pedalboard planner app - I wonder if you have to pay to get on that??
I wasnt using logic I was stating a fact and I doubt Boss pays any thing at all to them let alone give out free stuff to those bands. Those bands dont endorse Boss they just use them because they want to besides I dont think Metallica or Slipknot need any free fx pedals.
If you were to say that pro musicians who are trying to make a living would use the ns2 to save money then yeah id agree but also they might just prefer them its not for us to speculate it might be better to just take it at face value.
The major brand pickups argument isnt the same. Tone in pickups subjective, noise gates less so i.e which cut down on noise.
Also thats not fully what I said andits out of context it was a response to the statement that the ns2 was some how vintage or redundant...... In short what I was trying to say that the ns2's arent 'dated' and that ISP pedals shouldnt be any more expensive than Boss for what they do as theres barely any thing between them except a big price tag. The ISP may cut out a little more noise but imo its neigligible and not worth 40-100 quid more.
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Fair enough.
Like I said, they both work, just that one is cheaper than the other.
I only have experience with the ISP Decimator G-String II, which once you work out where it needs to be and have a decent power supply for it is pretty much flawless, although as I said above you only have a small window on the dial where it is working and still sounds good. When you turn it up more it clamps the signal and sounds terrible; below say 11.30 is doesn't get rid of the dreaded 'Peavey fizz'
What I like about the G-String is that the sensitivity feature really does seem to work. I don't know about the regular Decimator and the NS-2, I'm guessing they are on a par.
All that said, I can't imagine that a noise reduction pedal would be much use to me if I could only use it on the front-end. My pedalboard is very quiet (I think due to the T-Rex power supply more than anything else) with the exception of the compressor (which makes a small amount of noise) and the 10-band EQ (which is before the ISP In the loop anyway). 90% of the noise in my rig seems to be generated within the gain circuits of the Peavey pre-amp, so the ISP is only useful if it goes after that.
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Guys, no need to get heated over this. The Boss and the ISP are different concepts!
The Boss is meant to reduce noise going into the amp, or coming from noisy overdrive/boost pedals, the ISP (and Rocktron Hush Pedal which I mentioned) are more for going into the effects loop (and to cut down amp noise).
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Guys, no need to get heated over this. The Boss and the ISP are different concepts!
The Boss is meant to reduce noise going into the amp, or coming from noisy overdrive/boost pedals, the ISP (and Rocktron Hush Pedal which I mentioned) are more for going into the effects loop (and to cut down amp noise).
the 3 hush pedals (the first big one with 2 channels, the other blue one and the reaction hush) work pretty well in front of the amp
might try the guitar silencer sometime just to put the pedals in the silencer loop, but the reaction works really well for me at the end of the chain
I paid US$55 for the reaction (new from a store) and US$28 for a used 2 channel blue hush pedal
hard to beat that sort of cost benefit
those are very sturdy and effective pedals
recently got a new noise clamp for cheap and it was disappointing
and it also came wth a defective switch, like the mxr wylde
even the behringer noise reducer I had was more useful
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I've tried all three, and would forget the Boss in this day and age.
Actually the vast majority of pros are still using ns2's in this day and age......... mastodon, metallica, killswitch engage, machine head, steely dan, dillinger excapeplan, slipknot, periphery, symphony x the list is huge and its still the most popular noise gate amongst the pro's. Tone is subjective but I dont think noise gates are so ill go along with the pro's sure a few use ISP but who even uses the mxr noise gates??
I've had the ISP and the NS2 and MAYBE the ISP is ever so slightly better but for the money it really isnt worth it. Were talking about the smallest amount of noise reduction and does it matter when youre playing guitar any way? For pedal hum and a hi gain there may be a little noise but turn your volume down too and its gone and youve saved your self some money!
The things isin fairness I get you only need some thing in the front of your amp which saves on cost but if anyone wanted a noise gate for the input / fx loop the boss ns2 is £69 new (Cheaper 2nd hand I got mine for £30) and the isp decimiator g string ii is an extra £100 which is just robbery imo !!!
That being said if money isnt an issue go with the isp
I'm sorry but do you actually believe Killswitch Engage and Slipknot are PROS? I laughed way too hard than I should of at this..
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I thought that with the boss unit you create a 'loop' in the front end of the amp. For example, you could run the distortion pedals through this 'loop' and then go from there into the modulation effects.
Like this (loving the socks & sandals look!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV76RdTiIUA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV76RdTiIUA)
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Guys, no need to get heated over this. The Boss and the ISP are different concepts!
The Boss is meant to reduce noise going into the amp, or coming from noisy overdrive/boost pedals, the ISP (and Rocktron Hush Pedal which I mentioned) are more for going into the effects loop (and to cut down amp noise).
Im not getting heated mate I just think I was just misunderstood. I just wanted to make the point that the NS2 isnt 'redundant' before any thing else. By definition it cant be if so many pro's still use it which one is better is down to the individual but I think its misinformation to say some thing is useless and the music industry has moved on when its used to good effect by so many people.
Oh and KSE and Slipknot are pro's whether you like them or not doesntmatter im not a superfan of either but ill trust bands who play massive festivals and gigs which knowledgable techs to pick the right noise gate (And yes ISP fits in there too and as ive said is a tiny bit better)
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No problems whatsoever with my NS-2. I had the same issue once and I really wanted to get myself the ISP. Then I tried it out and realized I really like the coloration of the sound the Boss gives me, the ISP is very transparent and doesn't change your signal in any way. Turns out the NS-2 does something tonewise I really like. :D
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I've tried all three, and would forget the Boss in this day and age.
Actually the vast majority of pros are still using ns2's in this day and age......... mastodon, metallica, killswitch engage, machine head, steely dan, dillinger excapeplan, slipknot, periphery, symphony x the list is huge and its still the most popular noise gate amongst the pro's. Tone is subjective but I dont think noise gates are so ill go along with the pro's sure a few use ISP but who even uses the mxr noise gates??
I've had the ISP and the NS2 and MAYBE the ISP is ever so slightly better but for the money it really isnt worth it. Were talking about the smallest amount of noise reduction and does it matter when youre playing guitar any way? For pedal hum and a hi gain there may be a little noise but turn your volume down too and its gone and youve saved your self some money!
The things isin fairness I get you only need some thing in the front of your amp which saves on cost but if anyone wanted a noise gate for the input / fx loop the boss ns2 is £69 new (Cheaper 2nd hand I got mine for £30) and the isp decimiator g string ii is an extra £100 which is just robbery imo !!!
That being said if money isnt an issue go with the isp
I'm sorry but do you actually believe Killswitch Engage and Slipknot are PROS? I laughed way too hard than I should of at this..
I imagine they're a lot more professional than you are.
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No problems whatsoever with my NS-2. I had the same issue once and I really wanted to get myself the ISP. Then I tried it out and realized I really like the coloration of the sound the Boss gives me, the ISP is very transparent and doesn't change your signal in any way. Turns out the NS-2 does something tonewise I really like. :D
The NS2 boosts the signal and rolls off the high end a touch. It can be used to your advantage. However it can be a nightmare if you try to use it with a loop that's +4dB
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Ok guys, thanks for the lively discussion and the insight. For now I have settled with an ISP Decimator clone from our dear Juansolo. Works out to cost me less than a new NS-2, so that seems to be cool.
Reading all of this I would however still like to learn more about the NS-2 and Smartgate (and Hush for that matter) and try them at some point. It really is an interresting topic.
Oh and say about guys like Adam D. and Jim Root what you will, but they are great players and surely are pros (especially Adam D. I mean he also is a producer who graduated from Berkley...not too bad in my book).
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Actually the vast majority of pros are still using ns2's in this day and age......... mastodon, metallica, killswitch engage, machine head, steely dan, dillinger excapeplan, slipknot, periphery, symphony x the list is huge and its still the most popular noise gate amongst the pro's. Tone is subjective but I dont think noise gates are so ill go along with the pro's sure a few use ISP but who even uses the mxr noise gates??
I've had the ISP and the NS2 and MAYBE the ISP is ever so slightly better but for the money it really isnt worth it. Were talking about the smallest amount of noise reduction and does it matter when youre playing guitar any way? For pedal hum and a hi gain there may be a little noise but turn your volume down too and its gone and youve saved your self some money!
The things isin fairness I get you only need some thing in the front of your amp which saves on cost but if anyone wanted a noise gate for the input / fx loop the boss ns2 is £69 new (Cheaper 2nd hand I got mine for £30) and the isp decimiator g string ii is an extra £100 which is just robbery imo !!!
That being said if money isnt an issue go with the isp
I'm guessing they use the boss because they're easy to get hold of. If I were in a world touring band I'd use what I could get hold of easily, too, just in case everything decided to die.
I agree that the g-string is very expensive. Kiichi said his amp doesn't have a loop, though, so he only needs the bog standard decimator, which is a lot less. Also, as I said, I had limited (read: no) success with trying to cut anything other than pedal noise with the ns2 if I couldn't use the x-pattern (which you need an fx loop for). Those pro guitarists' amps probably have fx loops. If your amp has a loop, I'd agree that while the boss probably isn't quite as good as the decimator, the decimator is an awful lot more expensive for slight improvements.
Guys, no need to get heated over this. The Boss and the ISP are different concepts!
The Boss is meant to reduce noise going into the amp, or coming from noisy overdrive/boost pedals, the ISP (and Rocktron Hush Pedal which I mentioned) are more for going into the effects loop (and to cut down amp noise).
you can use the ns2 in the loop if you use the x-pattern method, though
Im not getting heated mate I just think I was just misunderstood. I just wanted to make the point that the NS2 isnt 'redundant' before any thing else. By definition it cant be if so many pro's still use it which one is better is down to the individual but I think its misinformation to say some thing is useless and the music industry has moved on when its used to good effect by so many people.
Oh and KSE and Slipknot are pro's whether you like them or not doesntmatter im not a superfan of either but ill trust bands who play massive festivals and gigs which knowledgable techs to pick the right noise gate (And yes ISP fits in there too and as ive said is a tiny bit better)
FWIW I agree it's not redundant (and I like KSE :lol: ). I do prefer the ISP, though- like Toe-Knee says, the Boss isn't that transparent. I wouldn't say the ISP is totally transparent, either, but it's a lot more so. Now, of course, some people (like GuitarIv) might like what the Boss does to their tone, and that's their prerogative.
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I can relate to the NS-2 sucking tone, i don't use it anymore but since i'm hoping to upgrade my amp to a high gain one i will have to reintroduce it into my board i think!
Have read alot of good things about the ISP (G string one) esp if its just for controlling noise coming from the pre-amp and not noisy pedals. I'll most likely get one cos the only pedal i use in front of the amp is a tubescreamer.
Haven't tried the MXR to comment, sadly.