Boss BD-2 Blues Driver

Lots of options for good tone here. It's easy as turning the knobs.

I was really impressed with Rick's SD-1 and now use it regularly with my set-up, so I was motivated to look into his BD-2 when he came out with it recently. I play through a Mesa Boogie Tremoverb 2x12 dual rectifier with Gibson LP Standard and I really dig the sound of this mod.

I've used the normal, unmodded Boss BD-2 for years, which has alright tone, although it gets fuzzy when you crank any of the knobs past 3/4. The new franklin mod gets rid of those limitations and the most noticeable improvement for me (possibly due to my guitar style) is the depth of the sound. It's much thicker, and clearer, specifically in the bass frequencies. The stock pedal is alright, but nothing to write home about. This pedal is so versatile and kick butt, that it inspired me to finally get onto harmony central and leave some feedback. You can dial this thing all over the map, and I've put in the series with the Franklin mod of the SD-1, and they sound phenomenal together. I played this thing through a peavey tube amp and 4x12 at a friends how today and messed around with the heavier sounds this thing can put out and the tight bass response reminded me of my dual rectifier and a few of my favorite Mark Tremonti licks. Dialing down the gain and tone knob can cover blues and warm overdrive for that southern rock sound, as well. Great job in this one, too, Rick.

Overall, this mod is awesome. I'm thinking these are going to get pretty popular just because of all of the different, quality tones you can pull from it. I'll be keeping an eye on future mods from Rick Franklin, because you can tell he takes pride in his work. He makes an already decent product just plain better.

It is easy to use
nuf said

supreme
let me tell you this
if you have a solid-state 20-watter or say Bassman or Bluesbreaker
see the difference in using this stomp?
ahhh
first, learn to play
uhu

10

10
use your ears
sounds are many

Very easy!

Very great sound. There were two ways I used this pedal: One, I had the gain up to about six or seven on my Crate amp and then had the gain at about 45% and the level about 55% on the BD-2. And the second way, I had the gain on my Crate amp all the way (not very strong, but still great) and the the level BD-2 to about 75% and the gain at about 25% (great boost for going into solos.) Also sounds good driving your clean channel for a real blues sound.

It's Boss. Need I say more? Yeah, I think not. . .

Never had to deal with Roland/Boss customer service.

Over all. I like it. It's Boss, it's really great. This is kind of like a Tubescreamer (without putting a dent in your wallet). Great Stevie Ray-type sound.

The pedal has three tweak knobs, as you can see for overall output level, gain and an EQ ( tone control). So anyone that can understand what each of those do... will find this a very easy pedal to use. Plus you get a manual so if your that stupid... it will give you some recommended settings.

The problem with most guitarists.. is they actually cant play guitar.
They think a little distortion in a box is going to make them sound ridiculously different. Tone comes from the way you play.. all the pedal does is help you achieve your ears desired reaction from your playing, so if you're #$%^ then you will still sound $%(! just with a better sounding tone.

the pedal works best with single coil pickup guitars through marshall amps but sounds great on my ibanez to, it has a lot of low end boost and responds really well to playing dynamics, though you have to spend some time tweaking the settings on your amp as well as the pedal especially when the amp is loud as your playing can sound abit to trebly and twangy. Apart from that, it has a gritty sound so hence yes its probably abit noisier than ppl think... but thats why its a blues pedal??? dirr! this pedal is designed to be scruffy but toneful to. this is great for most things apart from shred, but for rock and blues its fine. Stop moaning about the pedals and learn to play all you whiners.. plus learn to use the volume controls on your guitar.. which no one does! You can get a really cool gilbert tone if u wack up the gain, put output about half way and turn your volume control down on any ibanez guitar.

yep absolutely

its good

Easy as ABC
if you know ABC

Bassman 59 ri
nashvilel tele (or Peveay strat 1985 USA) - bd-2 - (sd-1) - rat2 - boss delay dd-20 - classic wah dunlop )
- sometimes - handmade (Ukraine) marshall and supra stomps (great )) marshall was presented to Mr Marshall himself
great stomp (in info)
:)))
ok
enough
BD-2
VERSATILE as can be
transparency - absolutely suited for modern MUSIC whatever
had all Tubescreamers - none was retained
all gone - see no point
buy it and learn to use
it'sa keeper - right as you Americans put it
agree

try ibanez ts-7... series
ha ha ha

why

10
some rate it way too low as 3
boys.
i don't know
if John (yeh the shot one) was here he would know how to use it
anyroads
play

easy

Teles, Strats, through Fender amps...classic rock, funk, country, blues-of course...great tweakable settings..also good for solo boost clean, to overdriven, very versatile!

yes and yes

really cool pedal

3 knobs!

It's one of the better Boss Overdrive pedals. It's also way too noisy.

Maybe there's a modded one out there that doesn't have the clipping, farting low end that this pedal has. There's no possible way this pedal is helping anyone achieve great tone. A Daddy-O pedal sounds better than this pedal does.

I've had this pedal too long 5 years.

It will last forever except for the switch!

Boss/Roland is cool to deal with, but not on warranty issues.

I play Hard Rock/Punk Rock & that's usually it.

This pedal actually is worthless. I wonder what the hell people are listening to when they try a pedal out (myself included). Finally after far too many years I have figured out what I want from a pedal. The Bluesdriver is not the answer.

If you want a truly Good, Clear sounding Overdrive pedal try one that doesn't pump out a million per year in a factory in Asia.
Do some research & save yourself a lot of time & money.

Theer are plenty of companies making killer sounding stompboxes, Boss & DOD have enough of our money & their pedals need to be modded to get them to sound & perform decent. Even after a mod they still don't sound like you want them to.

You can be 100% happy with an Overdrive pedal. I would never buy this pedal again at any price.

sounds good wherever its set. some settings better than others. three knobs. all you need. the magics in the guts, not the bells and whistles.

the selling point for this pedal to me, was the low end thump it gives your sound. it infinately beefs up your tone and gets rid of the bad beef. every note thats picked smacks your ass. imagine SRV's "so excited" from the el mocambo DVD. the style is more of a scooped mid high and low end boost. the tone knob is usable i geuss but 90% of the time sounds better at 12 o'clock. obviously great blues and rock tone.

seems sturdy to me, but i have seen older boss pedals and other newer ones that have whent tits up. if you dont build a house with it, it should be fine.

no matter what your setup...marshall 15 watt to 100 watt plexi, this is a tone boosting overdrive that adds some balls to your tone with that oh so special thump i mentioned that just thickens every note beautifully.

Just 3 knobs: Tone, Level, and Drive. It's all I need.

This pedal, for me, blew the BOSS OD-3 OverDrive, Ibanez TS-9 and TS-9DX away. It is so warm and thick. It also has a good amount of gain, so you can use it like an overdrive or distortion pedal. It also cleans up when you turn down your guitar's volume control. My favorite part is that it retains the clarity of your clean sound. It also picks up your pick attack really well. This pedal loves my Fender American Series Strat and Fender Blues Deluxe. I love this pedal.

I don't think I could break this if I wanted to. It is a BOSS pedal.

Never dealt with them, probably never will.

This is one of my favorite pedals. If you want an overdrive or even a distortion pedal, this is the one to get. It is wonderful for solo boosts.

This Pedal is really Easy To Use, with three knobs you can't get confused with that, though the knobs may be missleding because the tone has some effect to the sound but only enough if you full crank it in each direction.

has a very rich sound if you have it just right, i find if you dime the level with very little gain it makes a very blues sound for rockin blues.

i used it on a couple jams and gigs and found if you dont righten the screw to keep the pedal down all thw way screwed in, it turns on and off at will, or will turn its self back on after you turn it off.

but the pedal is pretty indestuctable, ive dropped it 1nce and nothing happened to it.

never delt with em

i like boss pedals and this pedal works for me, but at times this pedal is alot heavier then a blues pedal, but when its set right, its one amazing sound