[iggs]

I like my Boss NS-2 ... and I'm pretty snobby when it comes to pedals so it's the only Boss pedal that I like/use ... It does affect the tone but not a lot and not in a negative way, what I like the most about it is that it has a send/return loop for your noisy pedals and a separate control for Decay and Treshold.

The separate Send/Return works fantastic because you're setting the threshold based on your dry guitar signal and not the noise floor introduced by the pedals themselves ... when the Gate kicks in they are completely out of the loop ... the problem with in-line NGs is that if you place them before a noisy pedal you still get some noise even when the gate is on and if you place them after the noisy pedal your threshold has to be set to include the noise floor of the pedal as well which is usually too high and is problematic with dynamic picking or altering your guitar volume.

 

[iggs]

Just to add ...

NS-2 is a Noise Gate not a Hush type circuit that works at eliminating the buzz/hum from the signal while you're playing. It only helps eliminating the noise when you're not playing or in stops, breaks ... etc.

Noiseless single coil pickups are the best way to go for a noise-free playing.