Boss BD-2 Blues Driver

BD-2 is the simplest you can get. Level Tone and Gain.

I use it with my Epiphone Les Paul Birdseye, in a Fender Rock Pro 1000 with one extra 12 cabinet.
The sound is really great (for me). if you are looking for a bluesy, kind of sound it is great, but if you want something harder, well it does the trick (gust set the gain up).
I Use it like a booster (with high level mid tone and low gain), for the normal and gain channels, and the pedal increases the range of the picking sensibility of your guitar. While testing it I did it with a american telecaster (the real one) but it sounded better on my Epi. I Really don't care for brands but The boss BD-2 its the real sound for all the real old bluesy lovers. It can sounds sweet and hard at the same settings. I Really Love It.

It doesn't have much use but it looks like a very robust constrution, and of course you have the 5 year warranty from boss.
You can really gig with it but I sugest you to use it with a Power Suply (ok it's obvious) when you play live (you never now when the battery if goig death on you, and that is the only problem with this pedal)

Never used it.

My thing is rock, as simple as that, and BD-2 is a great tool for that, and if i lost it i would by another one.
I love the increase in the picking sensibility and the range of expression I can get using it and using it in the bridge gives you that old time radio bluesy sound, while using it with the neck gives you great body and solid bass sound.

Easy if you use the neck pickup, as this device does not like bridge pickup. It is modeled after the traditional overdriven guitar sound used to get the sweet "woman tone" found in british blues/hard rock. i.e. neck pick up, tone control at 0 to 2.

Just set the tone to 0 to 2 and add the drive until you get the tone desired. Same with level

I took a chance on thise device when reading how someone got a sweet "woman tone" overdrive sound from a jazz guitar. Well. I got the same sound from my Gretch "rockabilly" guitar. The drive is at 6, tone is at 2. Once again, use the neck pickup. It hates the bridge pickup, it sounds to brittle.

Furthermore, it does not like single 10" or 8" speakers (too brittle/tinny) - Use a 4 x 10, or 2 x 12 amp. It got great tone from a 2 x 12 solid state no name amp.

As well, I was able to get a good overdrive tone from my Gibson melody maker bass with a strat type single coil at the neck. Once again, use the neck pickup (tone at 2, drive at 4)

Boss is known for their reliability

Boss customer support must be like the Maytag repairmen commercial i.e. the loneliest people on earth

If you want to get the sweet overdriven "woman tone" found in british blues/hard rock, this is the pedal for you. It is much cheaper than an Ibanez tubescreamer.

Very easy - Gain, tone, level - like you know it from Boss Super Overdrive or Ibanez Tube Screamer Pedals.

There is a manual when you buy it new in the box. The typical standard settings for starting with - when you are new in using guitar pedals.

There is always music equipment that - because of what you hear and read - is VERY, VERY MUCH OVERATED. And the Boss Blues Driver is on of it.

It is so much overrated, I tried and tried, but it can`t satisfy me.

Boss picked up a good image and design (the blue colour for blues...) to offer an alternative to their yellow overdrive-line.

It's like the Boss Super-Overdrive (the standard and cheapest Boss overdrive Pedal) with more bass, but less mids and a bit more gain. Because it has more mids the Super-Overdrive got even more character in the tone - and character that was what I was looking for in a "Blues pedal". Here the Blues Driver sucks compared with the old Super-Overdrive.

And to become the leader in Blues Pedals it must be compared with the Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9. And the Tube Screamer has the overall much butter tone. The highs are much milder and smooth, the mids are a dream and the lack of bass in the TS-9 is no reason for me to swith to the Blues-Driver.

The Boss Blues-Driver is good for me for 70s Rock (Smoke on the water etc.) Riffs and Solos, but even there the cheaper Super-Overdrive sounds much better and more autentic to me.

There are sure a lot of players out there who like the blues driver ... but I`ve never heard one of them getting a brilliant sound out of it.

I will keep mine for reference use - but I am back to play with my SD-1 and TS-9 and the Proco RAT for the heavy stuff.

I have it for one year now - and its like new - well because I dislike it - I only use it a little bit at home to compare other pedals I test - but its very, very likely to be as reliable as the other boss pedals, and they live forever, if you take good care of them ....

Never tried to have a Boss Pedal repaired. When one got damaged - yes that happens - I get a new one and replace the full pedal. Working hours are so expensive - for me it makes no sence to bring a Boss pedal to a store to have it fixed.

I play Rock from 70s Rock to 80s Metal. I play since the 70s - well the later 70s.

Usually I play with a Strat or a Les Paul in a Marshall 45 Watts Head and a 1x12 (small Bars etc.) or a 4x12 Marshall (clubs, festivals etc.) Cabinet.

The effect chain I use at the moment is:

Cry Baby Wah
Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9
Boss Super Overdrive SO-1
Proco RAT
Boss GE-7 Equalizer
Boss Chorus
Boss Delay

The TS-9 is always on - it gives me "The Who" type clean/crunch sound. The Super-Overdrive I add to get a 70s Rock Sound, and the Ratt I switch on for a Mesa Boogie Type 80s Metal sound.

The GE-7 only boosts a bit the mids and the volume to be switched on for solos (that way I keep the character of the pre selected overdrive tone with the pedals). Delay, Chorus and Wah are only for certain effect parts.

I change me sutup every once in a while. The Blues Driver was intendet to replace the Tube Screamer and the Super Overdrive, when I saw Nazareth current guitarist Jimmy Murrison using two Blues Drivers in his bord live - but was so disappointed when I got mine. I sold one of the two I bought and went back to my "old" sutup.

3 knobs, Level, Tone, Gain. All are very sensitive which makes it easy to get exactly what you want. Manual has many setting you can use from Boss but you should just play with the 3 knobs and figure out what you like the best. Also has the useful 9v entry on back which i use.

Epiphone Les Paul Standard - Boss DS-1 - Ibanez TS9 - Boss SD-1 - Boss BD-2 - Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (tube 1x12). The Blues Driver is very quiet on both my clean and drive channels on my amp. I like to keep the tone at 10 o clock or below. When it goes higher, it just seems to sound nasally and very trebly. The gain sounds great wherever you put it, just dial in which sound you're looking for. I've compared it with the tube screamer and here's what i've found:

Blues Driver can get louder and can get cleaner and dirtier both than the TS9.

Because of this, the BD-2 is very versatile. Because it can get a little bit cleaner than the TS9, I like to use it on the clean channel of my amp to add a hint of overdrive. However, it can be used too push my drive channel harder and sounds great doing that as well. I like to boost the BD-2 with either the SD-1 or the drive channel on amp for solos.

Extremely reliable, never hard one problem with it. Since Boss offers a 5 year warranty, you can trust that their pedals will last much longer than this and will be very reliable.

I like to play classic rock. The pedal really sounds great for this style of music. I've been playing for 3 years. I stolen, I would buy another one. This is my most versatile overdrive pedal that I own. I love how clean and dirty the pedal can get. Has unique sound simlilar to TS9 but I like it's own character as well. Doesn't need anything else on the pedal, very simple but sounds great. Very glad I bought this.

It's an overdrive with three knobs--you can't get much simpler. Still, it's easy to get some truly nasty, shrill sounds out of it if you don't know what you're doing. Never got a manual and never needed it.

It's not perfect, but it is one hell of a pedal. Best overdrive/distortion box I've ever tried. It isn't transparent: it will color your tone with a raspy cranked tweed Fender/old Marshall sort of vibe, but it's a nice sound to my ears. Also, it has good bass and mid response, but somehow it sounds "hollow" to my ears. Like the sound takes up a wide spectrum and cuts through, but it doesn't have a lot of "oomph" or sustain to it--this pedal doesn't compress your sound much at all. That's why I mostly use it for rhythm work.

The key to this whole pedal is to be careful with the knobs. There is a WIDE range of gain to be had here, and the tone knob makes it REALLY trebly when turned up. I like keeping the volume set pretty high, the gain somewhere below 3 o'clock, and keeping the tone below 12. There a surprising number of crisp, gritty sounds to be found there.

You CAN do Metal with it. It just depends on what you mean by metal. It does AC/DC and 70s metal well, and I've found that for, say, Danzig and other bluesy metal, it also excels. Just keep the tone knob set fairly low, because it is one trebly MFer, and turn the volume knob up to keep the sound crisp. I wouldn't try to get SOAD, Hatebreed, or any of the bottom heavy stuff out of it, though.

For blues, it's great at a crisp, biting, '50s and '60s blues tone. For earlier stuff, which often sounded pretty muddy, you'd be better off with just a small amp cranked up loud, with no effects at all. For a more modern "blues" sound (and by this, most people mean SRV, Led Zep, and other blues rockers) it does a pretty good job, too.

I think this pedal was really designed to get you from a range from, say, Albert Collins up through Aerosmith, and that's what it does. Great gritty sounds there, and it can do some honky tonk stuff as well.

For people who want a crystal clear Pink Floydish space-rock tone, you'll be disappointed. Same goes for jazzbos.

Never had a problem. Boss is known for making indestructable pedals and this looks like one of 'em. But then I can't afford to abuse my gear.

Never dealt with 'em.

Lately I've been playing a sort of spaced out blues punk type of thing and it works great for rythmn, though I prefer a cleaner sound for leads. It's a great, great pedal with a lot of versatility, and if you play something with a blues-flavor to it, you'll love this. It's definitely not for everyone, but the tonal complexity and versatility has won it a wide following

Its easy to use mate.
I also find that less is more when dealing with electronics, take the old plexis for example......

I always play strats, they are the most responsive guitars on the market today. STILL.
I did think the bd-2 had a strange sorta eq to it, the high end is fizzy, really nice mids and bluesy bass.
I use a fender twin amp which may have added to the dynamics of this pedal also.
Overall i think it would be a fantastic pedal when run with the right combo of geeetar and amp,
Some does not suit so well

yep.

Easy enough to work with. Three knobs.

I use it with a Roland Jazz Chorus and it's good for any style of music, as long as it's blues. I use this with an Ibanez AF-85 and play through a Crybaby Classic, an MXR Dyna Comp, and a BOSS Chorus Ensemble set permanently on a Leslie-type sound. Not good for metal, but I don't play metal, so it works out nicely. Gain up 3/4, tone up half way and kick up the volume, and you've got yourself some nice overdrive. Nice in front of a distortion too, for a bit of fuzz.

Don't have any problems with it.

Don't have to deal with them.

Pretty darn good. Cheap too.

Simple dials.

Brian Moore i8>Dunlop Custom Crybaby>Boss BD-2>DeArmond Dual Volume>Boss GE-7>Boss CE-2>Line 6 DL-4>Fender Twin Reverb ('65 reissue).
It doesn't generate noise. it might accentuate some that's already there.
You can get bad sounds out of it. It's really raw so I keep the tone toward about 8-o-clock. It sounds ok before a Roland Jazz Chorus but with a tube amp, it's really meaty.
I like a more classic sound and love the pedal. Even though I like harder stuff, I don't need all of the gain on this. I guess that's what harder picks (1.5mm), and strings (10-52) and louder pickups (Duncan JB and Alnico 2) are for. I usually keep it at 3 or 4 o-clock.
Of course I like it. It's a good overdrive pedal in front of a Fender tube amp. To solid-state or direct it sucks, but that's not what it's for. I get a sound I like out of it. It's nice and fat and has more gain than I use regularly.
I have no qualms about the bypass.

No problems thus far.

I play rock and it fits my style. I've been playing for about 4 years. I am a musician and listen to my sound. If stolen, I would use my friend's. He liked my sound and got one. I'll probably also get a tubescreamer because it's smoother and I like variety. With knobs on my guitar, I can get a number of sounds, but more pedals would yeild to more diversity and flexability.

three knobs - ultra simple. Gain, Tone and Level. If you can't manipulate these with ease, you have major problems and should probably take up the flute.

With that in mind, it's very very easy to get a great sound out of it.

I don't understand any of the poor quality reviews below. I absolutely love this pedal - the highs *I* get are NOT ear-destroying, the bass is tight, the gain is just sizzling. It's the best overdrive pedal I've used, and I've owned at least 30 over the last 15 years. Boss really put the lights out with this thing.

However, I think a really big factor is 1) what kind of pickups you use and 2) what kind of amp it's feeding.

I actually get the best sound with a solid state Behringer amp set on a wonderful plate reverb. It results in a completely amazing sound. I could not possibly improve on it.
However, the pedal doesn't respond to any of my tube amps in quite the same way. It just isn't as "full" or "round." I'm not sure why.

Also, it definitely likes humbuckers and other high-output pickups MUCH more than single coils. I guess it likes being fed a real hot signal. This is just from practical trial-and-error experience. AND, I should also say that I can still get great tones from it using a vintage strat and tube amp. It's just not as skillet-hot as when using humbuckers and a solid state.

Tone is so subjective, it's impossible to predict what some people like and don't like. My blues listening friends love this thing. My metalhead friends even appreciate it the nasty breakup it can deliver to an amp perched on the verge. However, people who like really muddy mellow tones hated it. So did people who played mostly jazz. Go figure.

It's a boss. I could shoot it with my 12 gauge and it would probably somehow break the 12 gauge. Boss is Boss. They never break, ever, EVER.

No idea

This is the best overdrive pedal, bar none. I've had three different Tube Screamers, including an original, and it just wasn't the same. Amazing little blue pedal. I recommend it to anyone who wants to add some bluesy bite to their arsenal.

But don't just take it from me, or any other reviewer. Make your way to the nearest Boss dealer and play it yourself. Bring your favorite guitar. Try several amps. It's the only way you'll know for sure.

easy

Uh, I borrowed one from guitar center and it hurt my ears. The high frequencies produced from this pedal are ear piercing. Definitely full range! Tight bottom. Punchy even. Could sound good if the gain is all the way down but when even half way up the higher frequencies are lethal and probably causing hearing damage even at lower volumes.

I used a 2000 Fender American Series Strat and a 2004 fender Champion and do wonder if the Blues Driver would have sounded better on a tube amp...tube amps being less high fidelity [oh, shut up, they are too!]

I noticed that a tube screamer sounded good on my solid state amps but went to mud on a tube amp.


I figure Boss pedals are designed to work with tube amps and Les Pauls. Just the way it seems.

I like my Boss O/S-2 a lot more than this ugly blue box.

It's no wonder Keeley mods so many of these boxes. They have potential but just don't quite live up to their potential.

There is no support

I like metal and grunge.
I've been playing electric guitar since 1975.

I think the Boss C/S Compressor is my favorite pedal Boss makes.

I own about 20 Boss pedals.

I like the HM-2. MT-2, DS-2, DS-1, SD-1 and especially the OS-2 pedal. With a CS-3 in front and my DD-2 Digital Delay in back I can make any dirt box sound EXCELLENT!

But the BD-2 is the worst I've heard from Boss.

Fender 1970 Strat w/ Fralin 69' Pickups + Gibson SG. This pedal is not a blues driver. It has way too much treble, too much bass, and impossible to level and balance out. To give it credit, it does have a nice crunch on low gain with high volume with the tone all the way down. Other than that, lets just say it doesn't make me want to get up in the morning and say "Hey! I can't wait to use my Blues Driver!"

Don't get this pedal if you are looking for a vintage tube sound. You people are crazy for giving this pedal good reviews!! Although I have heard that the older japanese models are very sweet, but haven't tried it yet. I your looking for a nice tube sound, try the Fulltone Fat boost, or if you can get ahold of an older japanese Boss Overdrive, those are pretty nice as well, but i do have to say that i have been disapointed with the reccent Boss stuff.

The overall control arrangement is very straightforward and easy to use.

I use this with my Strat (SCN pickups, S-1 switch) and my dual humbucker Tele. The amp is a Blues Junior or Hot-Rod Deville.

The BD-2 is fairly quiet although there is some hiss which I consider typical for overdrive pedals. The quality of the sound tends to be a bit more harsh than the "Blues Driver" name would suggest. In my humble opinion the sound of this pedal is well suited for classic rock when the "drive" control is turned up and more suited to a Blues sound when used as a signal booster with the drive set low.

Like all Boss products, this pedal seems bulletproof.

I've spoken to Boss customer service in relation to tech support for another Boss product and i was greatly impressed. These guys are OK if you ask me.

I play Jazz, Blues, Classic Rock, Oldies, C&W and on and on and on. The BD-2 is a good and versatile pedal although it has its limitations. I would suggest this and a Boss SD-1 to cover the spectrum of overdrive pedals needed for the music I play.

As a clean boost or very slight crunchy sounds this Blues Driver
is OK,no more than that.But it ends there.The more you turn that drive knob the more
you're about to dislike it,this ain't a good overdrive pedal,at least
compared to what you can get today.To all of you guys that gave that
pedal such stellar reviews i say:WAKE UP NOW!HAVE YOU EVER TRIED
ANYTHING ELSE?Let's get real folks.If you still drive your Ford Pinto
and like it to death doesn't mean you have to convince us it's a great ride...

Skip those Boss overdrive and distortion pedals.Really not worth
buying nowadays unless you want to sound like shit.Have a great day.

Easy to get a great sound out of this. Beware if you use cheap gear, because you will get a cheap sound. Set the knobs at 12 o'clock and go from there. It is not a standalone distortion unit, it is an overdrive unit, so use it that way.

Used with a good strat and a fine tube amp, this thing sounds great. Not particularly noisy. Best used with an amp setting that is on the verge of breakup. Really smooth distortion, in fact, you might want to roll the highs back some on your amp. Anybody who complains about this pedal is likely using cheap gear to begin with.

It's a Boss. No need to say anything else.

Never needed the tech support.

Good pedal, good bang for the buck. To fully appreciate this pedal, you need to use it with good equipment. If you use this pedal with sucky gear, expect sucky results.

All pedals are easy to use.

I play a strat, tele and Korean Hamer (like a cheapo PRS) through a SF Deluxe reverb, SF Bassman head or a Rivera 30-12. I bought this pedal for a lo-gain rhythm sound ala "castles made of sand". The pedal has a huge gain range but the upper range sounds almost like a fuzz and is useless for what I want. At first I thought the pedal was great because it had more bass than a Tubescreamer and a flatter midrange which definitely made it better for rhythm tones. However I soon found the hi end to be harsh, the mids were a bit too scooped and the distortion sounded a bit fizzy. Worst of all the decay on sustained chords and notes had an unnatural transistorized sputtering quality. I found directions for the Keely mods on the web and after I soldered them in, the pedal had more lo-mids and slightly less fizz. Unfortunately the lame decay was still apparent and seems to be a basic function of the circuit that you cannot dial out or mod away.

Its a Boss

Has anyone ever needed their customer support?

I had heard many good things about this pedal being excellent for low gain OD. In particular the clips on Jason Barker's web page were a deciding factor in my purchase. However, even with mods, the BD-2 did not live up to its billing. The deal breaker was the really unnatural decay that just started to drive me crazy after a while. Tubes and amplike pedals decay from OD to clean in a fairly smooth and musical manner. The bluesdriver does not. In fact I went back and gave a listen to those Barker clips again and sure enough I heard the tell tale sputter. Boss seems to make OD pedals (DS-1, SD-1, OD-3) that are ALMOST GREAT but tend to suffer from an achilles heel that eventually drives players to look elsewhere. The BD-2 is another ultimately unsatisfying addition to the line.

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?