Boss BD-2 Blues Driver

This is oddly, the most simplistic piece of equipment i own, and yet it has the widest range of sounds (if that says anything) The tone and gain controls are very, very responsive and it doesnt take much of a turn of either to stray from the sound you had. It doesn't take much at all.

I'm using a Faded les paul with a peavey bandit 112. I could never achieve a high standard of sound with the amp itself. When I plugged up with the BD-2 I immediately noticed a difference. The sound from this thing is amazing. I can achieve hard-cruncy zeppelin tones to a very slight clean crunch. I'm telling you that you can get any sound from this (EXCEPT METAL HEAD SOUNDS) and probaly more. This pedal is very very basic and easy to use. For instance if you want a clean crunch just turn the gain to 0 and the tone to 5-10 and SHAZAMM. Or if you want a good 80's sound turn the gain to about 3 o'clock and tone to about 1:30 or so. Everything is very sensitive so its sooooo easy to switch sounds with a little turn of the dials. Just play with the settings and trust me, you'll find the sound you want.

Seems as sturdy as a Sherman.

Never dealt with em.

I play classic rock, blues, anything with a good vibe and feel (new age? hah!!) This pedal if for a musician, not some punk who wants to write about how his girlfriend broke up with him so he plays powerchords even faster and faster. I pity how music is now. anyway, if it were stolen or lost I would find who stole it and beat him to death with the pedal itself! (it seems rugged enough to do so) I didnt compare this with any other products or even tested it before I bought it. I read alot of reviews on this very page. some are good, some bad (idiots.. this product is RITCHEOUS). If your looking for that classic rock/bluesy sound. Your on the right page to research it. It's here and its good, do yourself a favor right now and buy it. You'll love it. TRUST ME.

Super Boss easy.

I had been using a TS9, TS808, and SD1 to push the front of my "already crunched" setting on the amp and loved those pedals. But I now have a clean Marshall Plexi and those overdrive pedals were lacking a little gain when used by themselves. I loved the warmth of all those pedals and heard that the Blues Driver was very similar, but more gain. I tried it at a gig last night and my Boss SD1 was on ebay the next day (not dis'n the SD1 or TS, just wanted a titch more gain). We play a lot of AC/DC and classic rock. This BD2 is perfect!!

Havn't had one break in my 25 years of playing.

Not sure.

I use the BD2 for my cruchy AC/DC sound, and click over to the DS1 Distortion for my heavier George Lynch Dokken / Ratt hair metal 80's sound. I use a Boss GE7 EQ to boost for solos. These three pedals are beautiful!! I only use them for live though. I have a Line6 POD xt for quieter home practice and recording stuff. Both are cool set ups. The BD2 can be a bit bright and feedbacky. I have my tone at 9:00 oclock (almost off). But I have a very sensitive Plexi. Other amps probably arn't so picky. If you want a titch more gain than your TS808 or SD1, try this. If you back the tone off a little, the BD2 to me, has the same "general" sound with a titch more ballz.

Its a Boss, easy and simple

The sound is great, just what I was looking for, it sounds natural! and for those who complain about it? should get their ears checked or buy a better amp or guitar? I use a USA Strat Plus and a Epiphone Les Paul Custom with Seymour Duncans! they sound great with this pedal, especially with the strat! I get this very nice boost! Eric Clapton, classic blues tones

as for the hiss some talk about? turn down the tone and gain? pedlas do hiss when u crank up everything? the hiss isnt too bad compared to others but its pretty quiet when u mess with settings below 12 O'clock

this thing is one of the best pedal designs out there! better than Electo Harminx units that cost more!! (I own a Small Stone USA which sounds great, im not putting their quailty effects down but I feel that boss units have better build quailty)

ive dealed with boss before and they always respond and very helpful! this is the UK Roland firm

nothing is perfect but if u love the blues, you will love this pedal!

Very easy to get a good sound out of it. It's an OVERDRIVE, and very transparent. If you use this with cheap gear, expect to get a cheap sound. This will not fix tone that was crap in the first place. I set all the knobs around 12:00 and viola, the tone was there.

Using this with a Fender American Stratocaster and Fender all-tube amp. It sounds delish; it has tons of gain if needed, but don't run it at that level or you'll be disappointed. What I didn't like was that it tends to chop out the low subfrequencies. There is a mod available from Keeleyelectronics.com that supposedly will compensate for this. As far as it being a smooth, musical OD unit at a reasonable price, this is the one. The tone is warm, and it gets a smooth, silky Hendrixian flavor if you work the sweet spot, and that means adjusting the guitar volume and tone knobs to drive it just enough. What it does best is smoothly overdrive an amp that was on the verge of breakup. Plus, if you work the volume knob, it cleans up so nicely.

It's a BOSS... no need to say more.

Never dealt with customer service.

Overall, this pedal sounds great. Don't listen to any fool who posted here dissing this pedal, it's likely they are into Korn or some other garbage and expected this pedal to magically turn them into Clapton. The BD-2 is a fine pedal, and it definitely has a character that is very different from the Tube Screamer. It's transparent, very flexible, and easy to setup. But as with any unit, don't use this with cheap gear and expect a miracle, or else you'll be whining like the rest of the poseurs who rate this pedal so low.

It is very easy to get a good sound out of the Blues Driver. This device is very easy to use: 1 tone knob, 1 level knob, and 1 gain knob.

This is one of the best overdrives that I have ever heard. This pedal is perfect for getting any desired blues tone. I use the Blues Driver with all my guitars but especially with my American Strat and my Nashville Tele through Crate and Fender amps. This pedal can dial in tones that range from a clean tone with a warm out put gain, to a chunky crunch, to a powerful screaming blues. The Blues Driver is designed for blues, however, it can produce a heavy overdrive that can be used for artists like Zeppelin and Aerosmith. I am really in to classic rock and blues. This pedal is great for playing Clapton and the Stones. I can dial in a good Keith Richards sound.

Ha.. of course I can depend on this effect.... YOU CAN NOT GO WRONG WITH BOSS!

I have never dealt with Boss.

This is a very good match for my classic rock and blues style. I have been playing for 4 years and own a number of distortions (Danelectro Fabtone and Daddy-O, Digitech Hot Rod, and the Boss DS-1). If my Blues Driver was stolen I would drive back down to Guitar Center immediately. Out of all my overdrives and distortions this one is my favorite. I chose the Blues Driver because of it's versatile tone options and price. If you do not own this, you need to get it now!

very easy to use, drive level and tone knobs...

I tried this pedal out at the store with a pretty good strat (cant remembr the amp) when i was looking for an overdrive pedal. Most people get there overdrive and are so proud of it, they give it all 10's just because they think its really really cool. Heres what i thought of it...
*Not overly noisy, but ive heard quiter pedals...
*Both in bypass and effect it masks (to a certain extent) the sound of your guitar, and is unresponive to picking technique.
*The distortion is thin, wooly bass, a horrible hissing high end, nice sweet mids though, but overall flabby tone...
*in order to get rid of the hissy high end, if you turn down the tone control, gets muddy and indistinct....
Alot of people claim it sounds very 'tube-ish' or 'valve-ish', but nothing could sound more unlike sweet singing overdriven power tubes.

seemed fairly robust apart from the switch, felt a bit flimsy..

n/a

save your money and buy a Pete cornish SS-2...

3 knobs - level, tone, gain. My tone knob goes from 3 o'clock to 3'o'clock. I'm not sure if the pot was turned or that is just the way it is. No big deal, I'm used to it now.

This is the most versatile pedal I've ever owned. I have found 3 very different uses for this pedal. I use a telecaster into a compressor, BD-2, then into a Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket with a Digitech RP10 in the effects loop for reverbs, delays, choruses, etc.

1. Hendrix-type fuzz. In the clean channel, turn the level to about 8 o'clock, tone to taste, and gain maxed. Nice fuzzy blues. Switch to the overdrive channel on the amp and it's Hendrix on steroids.

2. Overdrive. I use it like this most of the time. I set the gain at 12 o'clock and the level so that when I am on the clean channel, there is no volume difference between pedal on or off. This way I get clean, step on BD-2 and get mild overdrive, and then switch to lead channel and get creamy distortion. No feedback in lead channel even with pedal on. BD-2 just adds fullness and a little sustain to lead channel.

3. Slam front end of amp. This really only works well in the overdrive channel of the amp. Dial in a nice crunchy distortion. Set the BD-2 to max level, tone to taste, and gain to 0. Now it acts as a volume boost. The sustain and drive you get is unreal. Supposedly this is what Zakk Wylde does with an MXR overdrive.

Sturdy construction.

N/A

I play hard rock and blues. This pedal adds the extra flavor and punch I need. If you have good gear and good tone already, this pedal will work awesome for you. If your tone is hurtin' then this pedal won't save it. A gem and a bargain all in one!

Super easy to use. 3 knobs: Volume, Gain, Tone.

I am completely blown away by this pedal! I needed a low gain boost pedal for solos, and this thing nails it. I use a RAT for my main distortion sound, and am using the BD-2 to kick-in for the solos. Plenty of volume on tap and the tone knob really works wonders. I've tried it with both single coils and humbuckers and works equally well (just need to adjust the tone knob a little). I've owned - and gotten rid of - the Boss DS-1 and SD-1 pedals, and was never all that impressed with the sound quality of those two. But, for my purposes, the BD-2 is perfect. I keep the gain between 9:00-11:00, and adjust the volume as needed to give me the required boost. Keeping the pedal at these settings adds no significant noise to the signal. If you crank the gain past noon, then there will be some noise that will start to be added in - but I find the overdrive sound to be a little fizzy past 1:00, so I never push it past noon. For a boost pedal, I don't really want a lot of additional gain, just volume and tone shaping. Even with little or no gain, this pedal adds some special kind of roundness to the tone that is sweet. By the way, I am commenting on the stock pedal, with no mods.

I currently own a Boss DD-2 and CE-5, and have had zero problems with them over the years.

I haven't had the need to contact them. Their website seems to contain helpful information and contact info.

I give the sound quality a 9 - since you could probably find something better for three times the cost. But, for an overall rating (and for my purpose) it is definitely a 10. It is perhaps slightly overpriced, but it is the best of the Boss overdrive series and I would buy it again. I've been playing rock, blues, jazz for 23 years - and use a wide variety of guitars and amps (solid state and tube).

Very easy to use - just gain, level, and tone.

The sound is awesome. I use it with my '98 American Strat with Gold Lace sensors thru a mid-70's Twin with a Blackface mod and a half power switch. It's a nice, fat, slight overdrive. Sounds really nice with the bridge pickup. I can get a nice Hendrix tone and nice early 70's Clapton tones in position 2. I haven't tried it much at full gain though. It can be a real icepick-in-the-ear if you're not careful with the tone control.

Just got it so I don't know if it's reliable BUT I've always known Boss products to be VERY reliable. It's very sturdy.

I've never had to deal with them. They're probably not much different from the other small to medium sized multi-national comglomerate subsidiary manufacturers.

I play blues, classic rock, jazz... everything really. I've been playing for about 25 years and I'm a professional musician in the NYC area. I also teach.

If your looking for bone-crushing, in-your-face, super-saturated, head-slamming, megastortion - look somewhere else. If you want your guitar to sound "dirty", this pedal will do the trick, and it'll do it well.

Easy to use as most Boss pedals are.

I tried this out from a friend and my DS-1 is better in my opinion.
Don't get me wrong.....this is a great pedal......
but the cost is too much for the sound it puts out.
Please keep in mind that sounds vary with solid state & tube amps.

Very reliable.....it's a Boss.

I've never dealt with Boss....I guess that's good thing.
My buddy bought this on-line (not modified).

My comment is just my opinion of this BD-2 pedal.
Like I said, I borrowed it from my buddy to try out.
I personally wouldn't waste my money on it. Very overpriced.
But everyone has that special sound they want to find.
This is not a pedal for the crunching Metalhead.
I'm into blues & classic rock and this pedal is average for that.
Please read my comments on my awesome Boss DS-1 pedal?