Boss BD-2 Blues Driver

Simple! Three knobs... Gain, Level and Tone. Need I say more?

I am currenly using this effect in couple of different setups. At home it is in front of a Mesa/Boogie MK IV wide body combo. Playing live, its in front of a Mesa Triple Recto (yea... I'm a fan of Mesa Boogie). Are you wondering why I'm putting a Overdrive pedal in front of a high gain amp? Well... I'll tell you later. I use Ernie Ball/Music Man, Fender, PRS, ESP, Ibanez and Guild guitars. I get the sound of Steve via on the Orange Channel of both amps. I get REAL close to the Metallica "Master of Puppets" tone on the "RED/LEAD" channel on both setups. I don't use this pedal with clean settings. This effect adds lots of sustain and gives my amp a boost when needed. If you are looking for heavy tones, this pedal will help you find them.

Its in a solid metal case. Enough said.

Never had to use it.

I've been trying to play all types of music for over 25 years. I'm a tone freak... Always have been. I started out with cheap solid state gear then moved on to expensive tube amps. I've run through the spectrum on amps and I'm here to tell you that there really is no "perfect" amplifier out there. Tube amps are tricky. You can't copy a favorite rig and expect to get the same sound as a favorite album or artist. You have to copy the same levels (that means volume as well), effects, tubes, speakers, guitars and effects. So why am I putting an overdrive pedal in front of a high gain amp? I love that organic distortion sound (i.e. Steve Vie, early Van Halen etc.). However, I also love the sustain and compression that comes along with heavy distortion. Question... Have you ever plugged straight into a Marshall stack and wondered... "that doesn't sound like my favorite band?". Well... I'm here to tell you that most of our heavy artists out there use Mesa Boogie, Marshall, Fender, Bogner, Diezel with a nice overdrive in front of it. For the most part, I play straight guitar to amp for rythem. However, I can hit the BD-2 for the lead boosts and, it adds all of the sustain and overtones that I am looking for in that sweet spot. Will other overdrive pedals do this? Im sure. However, I really like the way this pedal makes my amps sound. This pedal gives me a true lead boost with that extra "magic" that makes the whole note sing. :)

three knobs..
and the most useful knob of all the Gain.. you just have to tweak the gain and tone knobs and your good to go..
the level just sets the volume and the tone is for the treble and bass..

for me..
i love the sound of the bd2, it really hits my ear..
im still using the stock mod btw..
i think i wont mod it to a keeley or something..
im satisfied with my sound already..
i think i found one of my charateristics in sound..

over the years, the paints just wear off..
i think i have my bd2 for almost 5 years..

hmm, never tried to consult anyway but in the site you can see their manuals..

i play blues rock, jazz and funk rock..
this pedal just kicks!

Three knobs, easy to tweak to get the sound you want, most difficult part is bending down with guitar in one hand!
I have my own idea about how I should sound but I did find the "examples" in the manual a bit OTT.

Usually play one of my Strats through this pedal, mainly on the middle or bridge P/U to get an edge for a solo. I always wire the second tone control for the bridge P/U so when rolled back a bit and with the pedal on you get a sort of humbucking sound.
This pedal makes an early "humming" Blues Junior sound really good.If I gig (rare!) my Laney VC 15 sounds equally good.
We all have our own way of playing, I like to use any effect sparingly otherwise you get muddy so a bit of boost from the BD2 cuts in well at the right time.

Well its a bomb proof Boss, I've used this one for 3 years and its still going strong. I would not bother with a back-up for a pedal.

Never had to contact the maker so it gets full marks! At some time or another they must have decided to make a reliable product that saves everybody grief!

I play blues/rock and find this pedal helps a lot for a quick boost.It is simple to use and needs little set-up to give a good sound. If it was stolen I would buy another one the next day, I would not play happily without it!

step on it, 3 knobs, easy

strat thgrough fender amps, with a vox wah,etc,etc. cover band WIDE range of styles 60's-80's...the blues driver is a workhorse for overdrive. It very similar to the ibanez tubescreamer reissue, but, the Blues Driver is either more trebly, or more bassy (depending on how you tweak it)than the TS--which has the midrange kick. Mine is stock, although I hear nothing but great things about the popular mods out there. Nonetheless, I really like the BD and it's ability to push the amp in blues situations, or color the rhythm sound with a great, mild distortion that still has chord definition!

it's a tank

It has 3 Controls: Gain, Level and Tone. Nothing too complicated here!

I use this pedal with a '71 Traynor YGM-3, which is very similar to the Fender Deluxe Reverb. The pedal allows me to VERY faithfully reproduce the tone of my cranked amp, but at a much lower volume. The only exceptions:

1)Bass response. The Boss BD-2 is just a little weak on bass - almost unnoticeable. Otherwise, I can easily tweak it to the point where you almost can't tell the difference between the amp and the pedal. I plan to buy one of the mod kits to rectify this. Just a small capacitance increase will bring the bass up a bit.
2)The well known "fizzy" distortion at higher gain settings. Again, the mod kit should takes care of this as well. I rarely crank the gain past 12:00, so it's not really a big issue for me anyway.

Never had to deal with them, but, by all accounts, Boss stands behind their stuff.

I think it's a great pedal for the $70 or so it costs new. Boss has released a Fender Deluxe modeling pedal (at $140 or so), but I honestly can't imagine it doing much better at reproducing that particular amp than the stock Blues Driver. I play Blues, Country and classic rock using a Mexican Strat which I've upgraded with Fender 57/62 pickups (I HIGHLY recommend this upgrade!!), and the afore mentioned Traynor amp. I set the gain of the Pedal around 10:00, which gives me a relatively clean sound for chords, but overdrives nicely when I hit it hard. I believe that's the role this pedal was born to play.
I've been playing about 30 yrs and have developed a very critical ear, so I don't dole out the praise easily. If it were lost, I'd replace it in a heartbeat. When I kick in the GCB-95 wah that I've modded in front of the BD-2, it certainly evokes all the sounds you'd expect from this combo.

I got a Boss Blues Driver which i had modded to a A BD-2 Ultra Fat Mod. Originally the Pedal had quite a " Fizzy " type gain and a low bass sound . When the pedal was returned to me i was immediately Struck by the Brightness and crispness of the Sound the Fizz had disappeared and was replaced by a very Bassy sound ideal for Harmonics with just a simple flick of a switch .

I use a Tweed Fender Amp ( Blues Junior ) with a Fender Strat ( U.S.A ) from the Blues Tones of Hendrix and the overdriven sounds Of Rory Gallagher this pedal pretty much covers all my Blues playing needs

Boss are good quality Pedals and reliable so i don't think i would take or use a backup

With Excellent Communication and a friendly Service from Pedal Mods i was in constant contact pretty much every day through E-mail when i was researching what kind of Mods they do .They offered information on what sounds might achieve the tone i was looking for .
Very Quick reply's to E-mails and very helpful

If it was Stolen i would certainly buy another without hesitation it is a brilliant addition to my other Pedals

Very easy to "use"...

Terribly weak and kind of noisy...

Forget about what kind of music and such... I have played for 30 years, and I love overdrive pedals... This is - by far - one of the cheapest I've ever come close to... Wonder why, because BOSS does have some nice and lasting units...

I am scared of the rating this reviewers give to that unit... It is obscene!!!... Get informed... Do not pay hundreds for silly mods... There are good and fairly priced units on the market.. (Barber, BBE, Voodoo Lab, etcetera...

probably about as easy to use as an effect pedal can be.(3 knobs, battery easily accessible, etc.)I pretty much ignoerd the manual.A lot easier to use than a Marshall Guvnor, although that is also a good pedal.

The sound quality is very good, it doesn't thin out the sound as much as some overdrives. It is very trebly, however, I have to turn the tone knob all the way down, which is something I rarely do on any piece of equipment. It sounds a lot better as a boost/overdrive than as a distortion, the manual doesnt really mention this, but I knew what I wanted when I got the thing.I use it with a Gibson Sg Special and a Fender Hot Rod Deville 4x10, and it sounds excellent with the more drive channel. I crank the level, turn tone all the way down, drive on 9-10 o'clock or less. I sometimes use a wah pedal with it, but the wah sounds better with the Marshall Guvnor for that harsh, Stooges wah sound.

No piece of equipment is truly indestructible, but this is as close as it gets. You would have to try really hard to break this thing. Would you use it on a gig without a backup? I have, who the **** bothers to bring backup pedals to gigs?

Never dealt with the company, nor do I intend to.

I play rock, influenced by 70's rock, 70's punk rock, 80's hardcore punk, 80's underground rock(Replacements, Husker Du),some heavy metal(Saint Vitus, Black Sabbath)and a few other things. Basically I like the more stripped down, basic rock n roll bands. I've been playing since the 7th grade, I'm 22 now. If it were stolen or lost, I would be really pissed off, but I wouldn't go out and buy another immediately, I still have my Guvnor.(assuming they didn't steal that too!) If I lost it, I'd kick my own *** like in the movie Liar Liar. I love how it doesnt sound like some silly effect, it just gives me more volume and disortion without negatively affecting the overall sound.(the Guvnor, on the other hand, does change the sound somewhat, but in a good way) I'd say it helps me make music, it certainly doesn't get in the way. I compared it to other Boss pedals, but they weren't that great, especially the OS-2, which totally sucks. My other gear is the aforementioned Sg, Deville, and Guvnor, plus a Les Paul DC studio and a Jimi Hendrix Cry Baby.

Three knobs, all do what they say. Straight forward.

My setup is as follows:

fender jazzmaster-Korg DT10 tuner-Boss BD2-Barge concepts BBjr fuzz-keeley RAT2-EHX small stone-EHX small clone-Dr.Scientist tremolesence-Boss DD3-analogman analog delay-Fender Blues Deville 2x12 Combo

Now, this is NOT a blues pedal. That doesn't mean it isn't any good though. I use it for ballsy overdrive sounds: it has a lot of bass and sweet highs, no mid hump (like the Ibanez tubescreamer and to some extent the Boss super overdrive), its VERY responisve to your picking attack and guitar volume: almost like a real amp. Its suprisingly transparent and barely colours the tone at all. Suprising amount of gain too, though it gets a bit fizzy past 3 oclock. A bit more classic rock than I was expecting! Great either with clean sounds or on top of a driven tube amp: piles the gain on and gets very dirty indeed.

I've had my DD-3 for 5 years, gigged regularly and used it almost every day and not a single problem so far. I anticipate no problems.

I wouldn't bother getting in contact with boss directly: frankly I think theyve got bigger fish to fry than dealing with a low end stompbox problem.

I looked into this pedal after falling in love with carrie brownsteins tone on the last sleater kinney album 'The Woods': she gets great, great tone from it and I consider the tones on that album to be some of the best I've ever heard (I recommend you have a listen if you're interested in this pedal, particularly on the track 'jumpers').

I think this is a great pedal and is a major assest to anyones board, particularly if you prefer heavy overdrive to distortion (ie the difference between trail of dead and nirvana). It can go from light to heavy and bassy to nasal. What it wont do is make you sound like SRV, it doesnt have that mid hump and has a lot of bass. Tone is in the fingers, this just gives you the balls to back it up.

EASY!
I bought the pedal from www.theguitartoneshop.com and it is WICKED!
My review is about the modified pedal, not the stock one.
I have a stock pedal and there is no comparison!

I have used this pedal with my 72 StratRI and my 78 Gibson Les Paul Custom and on my Fender Hot Rod Devill (410) and my Blues Junior.
I am finally able to get those tones!
Jimi, SRV, Buddy Guy, Clapton, and so on!
I put my Crybaby in front of it and it makes me want to play all night!

I have had no issues with this pedal (or the stock one) as of yet!
Soundless swithing from clean to effect, even with the monster gain this pedal gives!

Scotty is a great guy to work with, so I know if I have any problems he will take care of it.
I have actually ordered another one of his pedals that I will write a review on after I get a chance to play with it.

Has everything I want in and OverDrive pedal and gives the most unique sound I have heard from a Stomp Box!
It sounds like it is almost another Amp in itself.
If you can, you got to get one of these mod'd pedals!
You'll Love it!
I know I do!