Boss BD-2 Blues Driver

Boss pedals are the industry standard for ease of use. I have not done any mods to this because I like it just as is.

This is my favourite pedal in my chain. I play predominately Blues, Blues-Rock and old school R & R so this pedal was the perfect choice for me. Warm, smooth, sustaining overdrive at just about any setting I am in the mood for. No need to dwell on the virtues. This pedal was made for me.

It is a Boss. Enough said.

Never needed it.

As I said before, this is my favourite, made for me, go to pedal in my chain. The chain consists of a Boss CS-2 (compression), BD-2 (my beloved Blues Driver Pedal), DS-1 (distortion for heavier R&R), EQ-7 (for subtle tone tweaking), Marshall RG-1 (a great modulation pedal) and an Ibanez DE-7 (for delay and echo effects). All of this runs through a Vox AC30CC2 and extension 2x12 cab. If you play electric Blues or Blues based Rock, you can not go wrong with this pedal, and it will last you a lifetime of fun and enjoyment.

Simple to use, but it may take some time fiddling around with the knobs to find a sweet spot that suits your particular set up.

I play a Strat through a Blues Deluxe. I was looking for something to coax a little more growl & sustain out of the Blues Deluxe which is not a high gain amp and never really breaks up on its own. Unfortunately the BD-2 isn't the ticket. It's hissy and, as others have noted, tends to suck away rather than add tone. At least it does in my rig. It adds a kind of midrangy edge that in my opinion doesn't necessarily improve the sound coming from the amp, just more or less clutters the tone. On the other hand, it sounds virtually identical to a TS-808, which I also have, and people seem to love the TS-808, so go figure. I think it really depends on whether you have a solid state or tube amp, what kind of pickups you have, what kind of music you are playing, etc. My advice is try before you buy.

It is virtually indestructable. Boss knows how to make pedals that don't break.

Never dealt with Boss.

Been playing 30+ years, all rock. Still gigging. Over the years have come to realize that when it comes to guitar effects less usually is more. Most pedals tend to add a layer of haze to your sound rather than improve it. Maybe I'm becoming a cranky old man. Oh well, like I said, try it first and see if you like it.

It's a standard three knob overdrive box. Pretty much anyone that has used a distortion unit will know how to use this.

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?
It's a Boss product, so generally people will say pretty easy. In fact sure, I'll even say it's pretty easy, too bad for...welll we'll talk about that soon enough

It's a Boss box...it's not true bypass, it's got some cap's and resistors that change the tone bypassed or not...get a tech to rip them out and replace them with some clearer units...or do it yourself if you know how.

When active the box can provide some interesting tones. I find it can be pretty bright, and can constrict the tones of your guitar a bit making some more open complex chords muddy or incoherent. Needless to say this gets even worse when the gain is turned up...

For me I run it pretty mild, and use it to thicken up my tone while providing some fat girtty saturation. I'm using it with a Gibson ES-335 and a Vox AC30 from the early '70s.

It's still pretty decent compared to most other Boss boxes in my opinoin, and can make provide some good tones in a pinch.

I've had this box since the late 90's, and it has had the CRAP beat out of it! Not much paint is left, and the knobs are missing the inserts, but it's still providing the same tones it always has. Pretty indestructable.

never delt with them for problems, but their local reps kick ass.

I play mostly rock music that is influenced by most of the popular generes from country, blues, classic-rock, metal, punk, that I have a need for something versatile. My basic rig is comprised of Gibson guitars (Les Paul, ES-335, SG) and a Vox AC30. But my pedal line up is always changing...currently this box is in it. But I'm still looking to replace it with something a bit clearer in the mid range.

I won't be selling this unit anytime soon, and there is a good chance if it were stolen I'd buy a new one for the price. It's a great box to rely on if you can compromise some of the mid range mud it provides...and if you can control it's top end.

It'a about as simple as it gets.

As an overdrive/ distortion pedal, it has never gotten the type of tone I wanted. I play blues in a gigging band. have used this pedal quite a bit for songs requiring a little more bite. The only other overdrive I use is tube screamer TS 9 and sometimes a Tech 21 Double drive. My biggest complaint about using this pedal for overdrive is that it sounds very thin and trebbly. Even with the tone all the way down, it always sounds very tinny. Especially with a strat. Once the gain is turned up, it sounds very muttled and is almost useless.

That being said, this pedal is an outstanding as a clean boost. I've been using it lately exclusively as a clean boost. I keep the tone around 3/4, gain at zero, and the volume nearly all the way up. I adjust the volume on my super reverb reissue to an acceptable level. To me, it majorly enhances the sound and fattness of the tone. It gives it a driven sound that adds alot of life to the tone. With the tube screamer behind it, I can get an incredible tone. It really brings out the tube screamer and makes it sound SO MUCH better. It seems to make up for some of the transparency you lose when just using the tube screamer. If you have a blues driver, try it out as a clean boost in front of your favorite overdrive. It sounds good.

NEVER had a problem with it.

Never dealt with them.

As a clean boost, it sounds as good or better that clean boost pedals I've tried. Highly recommend it for that purpose. As an overdrive, I don't like it at all. It might sound better with something else, but with a Strat, it sounds tinny and weak. I'm a stevie ray freak and to me, using the pedal as a boost with a good fender tube amp and a tube screamer gives me a tone very close to Stevie's tone from the "live at the elmacombo" days. It will deliver a very fat sound, it will give it a driven tube amp sound at a reasonable volume, it will enhance an overdive and make it more usable and transparant.

I owned it for about 3 months before the dialing in was done - It's the same old story where what you hear in a rehearsal space has nothing to do with the sound in a larger room. No need for a manual.

I mostly love the sound of a regular old strat or sometimes my tele into a tweed bassman - I have a subtle amount of compression on all the time ( just enough to knock down the transients a little ) - Carl Martin compressor. Most of my sound comes from that clean fender into fender with the 4 10" swirl - I wouldn't give that tone away for anything else. BUUUUUTTTTTTT - I need something to add to the bridge PU to get the right break-up in about 10 songs. This is the pedal I have stayed with now for along time - I have either sold or else they are rattling around in my kitchen drawers the following: budda phatman S10, TS9, sparkle drive, "real tube", Maxon 820 ( ithinkthatsthenumber)keeley fuzz head, black cat OD-1 ( this one is my second favorite) fulltone OCD, fulltone distortion pro, big muff, roger mayer mongoose, voodoo lab fuzz, and others.

there really is something about the full range thing - no mid hump that does it for me. The gain is at about 10 am - never adjust it.

maybe 18 months, 25 gigs, lots of banging it around.

pop-rock, r+B, - all the goofy dance songs people like - for 35 years - past 10 in a cover band - no interest in recording ( there ought to be a separate review section for this - way different animal than live) I Keeley modded it about a year ago - even better now but it was pretty decent straight up. This thing with a single coil bridge PU gets it for me.

Easy to use but you must spend a bit of time tweaking it to your taste.

I only play straight ahead Chicago-style blues in clubs. I've used it successfully in a variety of amps and it does sound good. I spent an afternoon at Guitar Center trying a dozen pedals. This was one of the cheapest but the best they could bring out for me to try. Very good tone without being fuzzy. I only use Gibson 335-types of guitars with 40 yr. old humbuckers.

So far so good

Haven't needed it.

Been playing 40 yrs. Only blues. NO FUZZ TONES--NO SILLY PEDALS. This si the only one I now use.

EASE OF USE: ....you come this far... i think you can handle it!

SOUND QUALITY.... - i'm reviewing the stock BD-2 - i'll keep in short and sweet - here's the thing .... with single coils it's not bad within the context of my rig ( fender vibro champ through a 4x12 cab with a compressor / wah / eq etc... ) but i like to use a PAF equipped guitar too and then.... most of the faults that others have pointed out on here on this site are true (unfortunatley ) which accounts for the big differences in reviews here - i have no idea about the robert keeley mod, but i let my stock one go because there are so many options out there and i need something thats better across both platforms - single coils and humbuckers - if your strictley a strat guy then the stock one will perform for you , maybe not as well as a keeley modded one but if your a PAF lover like me, the "stock" BD-2 aint gonna make it ! because of that i give it a 7 -

it's not a hyped boutique pedal but I never had ANY problem with ANY boss pedal period !

CUSTOMER SUPPORT: .... never needed it, which may be the best kind!

picked this up to try it with my blues rig ... playin for many years... with a lot of varied gear (some that cost alot, some a little and some too much ) - i don't pay as much attention to hype as my ears... I LOVE FINDING SLEEPERS - if it were lost (lol)?? I didn't wait for that to happen... i sold it on ebay .. but i liked it with single coils (within the context of my rig) -just not with PAFs - with single coils had enough bass for me and some dynamics which are importnt to me and when pushed by my compressor and EQ'd even some harmonics BUT with PAFs it just hurt my ears the pickups weren't even that hot but i guess it overloaded it - I STILL WANT TO TRY A KEELEY MODDED ONE just in case ... ( I have a feeling his mods JUST MIGHT resolve the issues )

I bought this pedal because I was unsatisfied with similar pedals.
I use it in stock configuration.
The Boss Blues Driver has 3 knobs (Level, Tone, Gain). So it is very easy for beginners to get a good sound out of it. The manual shows some great settings to start with. I give the ease of use a 10 because there are not to much or to less knobs.

It is very easy to get a good Cream or Hendrix (don't think about his heavy fuzz songs!) sound out of it. Also BB King or Albert King is no problem. If you use it with a phaser it sounds perfect for Pink Floyd rythm stuff. I use this pedal with my standard mexico telecaster lefty, the Digitech Digiverb pedal into my Epiphone Valve Junior amp. It's a very puristic blues rig.
Sometimes the sound of the BD-2 is a bit to low (for instance if you use it with an Es-335). So I'm giving it an 8.

I would definitely gig without a backup because Boss effects never let you hang.

I've never dealed with them.

I play blues music and this is the perfect pedal for this sound.
I started playing 3 years ago and I use lot's of other blues pedals like the Digitecg Screaming Blues or the Ibanez Tubescreamer. But let's be honest: they have no chance against this one. Overall I rate it 9 because it can always be better.

It is the standard Boss Overdrive layout: level, gain, & tone. I say standard boss, because their are other brands that don't use a tone knob.

I have not been able to ascertain, as to why these manufacturers do don't see the need for one; I would guess, that they think people should only use the tone that they think people should use.
Maybe they are worried that the stoners might be unable to fight off the blue people, in order to get the mouse inside the pedal to change it.
I think that the manufacturers are garding the classsic tone that made the pedal famous or made it just right for an artist that had success with it back in 197-something.

Boss has never really done that. Artists use the same pedal as the rest of us and find their sound, using the same controls.

To make a long story longer...

You give the pedal the sound, using the countrols. Boss gives you all the tools you need to find your sound.

I like Boss pedals and they are a major part of my rig. I like the Line-6 pedals and DOD pedals as well, in the fact that you can shape your tone.

This pedal is not very hard for anyone to use and there is a small book that will tell you everything you need to know, in order to use it.

The hard part is finding a battery in your junk-drawer. This is why I use an AC addapter

I was playing some SRV style blues through my fender blues jr. amp, using my ESP EX-100 (lefty), last night (one in the morning), and it sounded good.

I used an OD-3 to get a boost and got a nice fuzz. The OD-3 gets a cleaner gain, but the BD-2 is more versatile and and can be turned up.

The Blues Driver will give you clean boost and will also give you a really nice distortion for thouse leads that you can't get in a normal overdrive.

This is one for my top ten distortions. I would say that a novist guitar player could have trouble appreciating this pedal, I know I did.

I went through the Metallica only faze...
Back then, I was using my Boss MT-2 all the time. I was in my first stent in college and was trying to get Mesa/Boogie sounds out of a Creat GFX-15 and a standard fender strat.... This was not going to happen. Once I could play a whole lot better, I started to branch out. You are not going to get thrash out of a BLUES DRIVER, don't get one, hoping your going to sound like the Back album, and wine about it. Because it's not going to happen with the BD-2, it's not a mid scouping monster distortion.

That's why we have mesa/boogie triple rectifiers, Boss' MT-2s, Line-6, and Rocktron.

If you want good overdrive for boost, a bit-o-grit, or a mid-level distortion, you've found your baby. I have used an Ibanez TS-9 and have yet to use a TS-808. I will say, as far as the TS-9 is concerned, Boss Has taken the the tweed, this time.

As far as I have heard, SRV only used his TS-808 to get a gain boost. The People at GuitarGeek.com will show you that SRV needed two TS-808's to get that tone. This also leaves out the fact that the amps could be pushed to the edge too.

Yes you can depend on it.... It's built to last through the next world war!

I Have two, but I could use it without a backup, and not have any worries.

I'm sure -Bob- in India would be -most happy to do the a assistings of the me's-, but I have yet to find out, Boss makes them right the first time (most of the time).

Once again...

For playing, blues, (some)rock, jazz, classic rock, this pedal will do fine for that. If you want to play, Metal, Hard Rock, nu-metal, or phych., your going to need a boost and/or another, for a more powerful distortion; there are a great meny to chose from, on the market. To you I say, happy hunting; It depends on you, in the end.

I have been playing for the last ten years and own a footlocker full of stompboxes; I hope to keep this one as part of my arsenal, for years to come. Not that it's the end-all-to-end-all, but I like what it does, when I want to play some blues lead or a lite rhythm guitar with a crunch; this, I like very much. However when I want to play some Metal buzz-cruching power chords, I need something with more power.

Last thought...

I am going to go headlong, against the years of tridition and convention here. Buy this before you buy a tube-screamer TS-9 or dare I say, even the TS-808. Better yet. try them out in the store, side-by-side; I know guitar center will let you do this. I would think that most stores these days would too.

-...and that's how the angel got on top of the christmastree!-

It's a Boss Pedal...thay never take much science: Gain /Volume/ Tone.

As with any opinion about sound/tone, it's best to know what equipment I play and in what genre. I play a 1979 Neck Thru Greco Speedway with DiMarzio Humbuckers and Single Coil . I use a JH-1 Hendrix Wah, MXR Super Comp, Digitech Whammy, Boss Phase Shifter(Now sold, didn't like that one!) into a Line 6 210 Spider. My Dimarzio's have a very hot sound to them(especially the bridge) and the pedal really makes them stand out and sing. I typically have the gain somewhat pass three o' clock and the volume closer to 9 o'clock.My tone has ALWAYS been no higher then 9'o clock or else I find it too harsh.though it's no High End Tube Amp, I enjoy the Line 6 for it's clean amp setting(I adjust my eq's to acheive a good tonal balance) and it's "Crunch" ("Marshall Plexi")setting(With the right adjustments, you can get early Santana tone...trust me, I have fooled many!!)and it's DEPENDABILITY(no broken tubes, blown tubes,or expensive maintainence)Even so, the BD-2 is pretty essential to my sound(This amp does have some pretty stale distortions though. The Plexi is the only exception to me, and just for solos for that matter) I play funk/blues/Jazz Rock and would rate my distortion as Sustain/Overdrive heavy, which the pedal has done wonderfully since day 1. On the "Plexi" setting, I use the pedal as a Volume Boost and end up holding notes for a loooong time. Superb sustain. In my clean amp set(I use it most often) the pedal delivers great crunch to contrast my clean rhythm strums.
As you have read, your guitar's volume makes great differences in the distortion's attack and tone. Vol on 10, Strong Overdrive On 7-8 Crunch but articulate enough for chords. On 5 I can strum open chords with a pleasant break up. That's the great thing about this pedal. As for what it lacks, I would say a little more tinal control would be good, but I get a good eq from my amp and my p/up's.
Also, I have ALWAYS used a 9V in this pedal. I have heard of certain guitar greats that prefer batteries to weaken some to get a warmer tone and have found this to be TRUE! This pedal ALWAYS sounds more spongy when my light starts to dim. Try it for yourself....you may be suprised.
BOTTOM LINE: Great Overdrive/ Easy To Find Tonal Characteristics when you watch your guitar volume

People, I brought this pedal used six years ago and honestly have used it AT LEAST Three times a week, EVERY week since thenand have had not one malfunction. The pedal has been so used, that it is even starting to show it's original grey, metal casing, works the same as day one.
My only advice, be sure to always check your input/outputs for loose nuts, they can produse horrible noise if you forget to tighten them, but that's a small case of maintainence. NO ONE BEATS BOSS FOR DURABLITY

Couldn't say, never had to call

This pedal is a valuable purchase that you would not regret, reguardless of your style. I have shown up for recording sessions/shows without my amp and just my pedals on several occasions and was always pleased with my results. The BD-2 is a great stand alone distortion unit and EVEN BETTER when mated to another HIGH-GAIN Distortion pedal as well!(I have personaly used a HM-3 Hyper Metal with it for a while and pulled out some Great Mesa-Like Crunch (a la 311's "All Mixed Up" /Rage's "Vietnow") From my perspective, using an excellent Humbucker Guitar and an "alright" amp, it has proven to be invaluable. I only give it an Eight because there are some INCREDIBLE Overdrive pedals that really are Perfect Ten's, but they also make you pay for it.....you can find this thing for 50 dollars on Ebay and get it either modded or get another High Gain Pedal and have a World of tone at your disposal for a fraction of the costs......choice is yours and I have never regretted mine!