Boss BD-2 Blues Driver

To get tone out of this little blue pill (box really) my sister can do. Tone comes along with a selection of overdrives and distortion, from a light, grilled, to the heavy stuff, and everything in between.

I am using this with a crate gx30m and a godin sdxt, running a dunlop crybaby in front of the blues driver sometimes. It makes no noise at all. Classic blues (both US and UK) overdrive of that warm overdriven tube amp are easy to dial in with any amp/guitar ived used the pedal with, including a fender hot rod deville, and a marshall tsl50 combo, a fender us strat, a '70 guild starfire IV, an ibanez rg (sorry i forgot the number) and a few others.

This box doesnt fail as long as u have a somewhat fresh battery or if you are using an ac adapter you are fine, gig with no backup, just check before you go....

I play blues and classic rock and am getting into some funk, and this pedal does it all. I have been playing for a year know (more actaully) if this was taken or lost, it would be replaced quickly. I like the simplicity, and it is just an overall great product.

The Holy Trinity of Level, Tone and Gain - Boss are great for limiting the numbe knobs you get on an effect pedal. Ideally, you shouldn't need any more then three on any pedal that distorts sound. Too many options make customising your sound take forever.

If you ever only have one effects pedal as a guitarist, it should be a distortion/overdrive unit like this. If you can't get a decent sound that you like out of the BD-2, you shouldn't own or play a guitar. Boss pedals are great, but the Blues Driver is one of the best ones I've used.

Any once can dial up for Overdrive, Turbo Overdrive, American and British Blues, Crunch and a whole lot more that the detailed, but unecessary manual dictates. I was able to get a brilliant subtle overdrive from the BD-2 in less then thirty seconds when I trialed it at the guy I got it from.

I understand there are mods available for this unit online, but I'm not very electronically minded and prefer not to mess around with stuff like that - I couldn't imagine it sounding much better anyway.

I play rhythm guitar/fills/sing vocals in a 5-piece indie-rock band with three guitars. I use the following gear with my BD-2:

'95 Epiphone G-400 SG > Boss DS-1 > Boss BD-2 > Danelectro DJ-1 Pastrami > Ibanez SC-10 Stereo Chorus > Danelectro DJ-11 Pedal Tuner > Peavey Blazer 158 or Rola 12" SS 40w.

The BD-2 is the current star of my lineup. It makes NO NOISE wherever it is placed in the lineup and when played in conjuction with DS-1, it gives a gritty, wailing tone that is great for just about anything. I usually run the BD-2 on a subtle distortion and add the DS-1 to beef up the sound on chorus' and it sounds MINT.

The Blues Driver sounds great on it's own and I play it with the mild overdrive on most of songs. It's brought my two solid-state amps to sounding more tube-like and gives a warmth the DS-1 can't match. I generally keep it on the basic overdrive setting but occassionally crank it to Turbo Overdrive by shifting the gain from 11 o'clock to 3 o'clock and use it without the DS-1 - gets a thumpier tone.

It can easily make my backup guitar, a Squire Bullet Strat with three single coils sound very Clapton and I'm very impressed by how responsive the Level dial is - the slightest turn with increase of decrease the volume very significantly - more so than any other pedal I know of.

Ideally, this is best used for an Overdrive effect and subtley colouring your tone - whilst it can go hard as metal-esque effect, I find it's best kept for what it was designed for - blues and rock. The only thing that could make it better would be if didn't lose so much treble coming into the higher levels of Gain, but that can be adjusted eaily using the tone controls on your guitar, though I tend to find it works better with humbuckers over single coils so if I had to use my Strat with it, the sound quality would not be as nice.

Give this baby humbuckers and listen to it howl and purr.

Boss quality is A+. Second to none.
Have my DS-1 as backup, so not a problem.

Never dealt directly with them, but Boss has a good website and I've heard they are quick to reply and well-knowledged.

I've been playing guitar since I was 18, about seven years, but only seriously in the last eighteen months. I play indie rock and alternative lo-fi and this pedal works a charm for those. Having said that the BD-2 is probably the most versatile pedal I've used and I've sampled a few.

I got it second-hand from a guy who was consolidating his guitar gear (his wife left him because he spent more time on his guitar!) and it was about 3-4 months old when I got it - had the box and manual and had barely been used. It was a spur of the moment buy, but one I have been very happy with.

I've compared it to other overdrive and distortion pedals from Boss - namely the Overdrive, Super Overdrive, Overdrive/Distortion and Hyper Metal - this one has a far warmer and more solid tone and is far more versatile. If I were to have this stolen or lost, I would probably buy another one despite the huge $249 price tag in New Zealand as it has opened up my sound setup so much more.

If you only ever buy one overdrive pedal, it's either this or a TS-9.

Super easy.

Nice warm tone, broad range of possibilities; subtle to severe...

THE BYPASS IS JUNK. It definitely colors my tone (MCI D-10 Pedal Steel, into a Session 400 LTD). I've gone through an A/B/Y switcher to deal with it, and that seems okay, but it shouldn't be necessary to achieving an un-altered clean tone, which is most of what I'm using. Hence the 7: when it's on, all is right with the world, when it's off I'm irritated if it's straight through the signal chain. Hence the 6...

No trouble yet... seen it's share of "chuck it in the trunk" punishment without a whimper

Not a clue. Never broke on me.

I use this box for lap steel and pedal steel guitar, for a change in complexion; that whole "variety is the spice of life" thing. It adds the swampy bottle-neck slide tone on top of the clean crisp country and jazz sound.

Wah pedal through the switchable effects loop, for the same reason, otherwise straight clean playing into a super-clean 115 combo. Have to do some tapdancing around down there to turn things on and off, but it's cool. The only thing I detest is the crummy bypass, which I can't understand Boss not eliminating. Thus the 7. I dig the tone, and with an extra $50 in gear (A/B box), I have built my own bypass... but that's inexcusable. I would recommend this one, though, definitely.

Very easy to get good sounds out of this thing. What more does one need except LEVEL,TONE,DRIVE ?!

Im using a Gibson Les paul standard,Gibson SG special faded,Epiphone LP standard(w/tony Iommi pickups)going through a Fender Hotrod Deluxe 1x12.First off let me say I tried this in two different stores and i got the EXACT SAME SOUNDS! both were being played through small fender champs (the deluxe is at home) . THIS PEDAL IS WITHOUT A DOUBT BOSS' BEST OVERDRIVE/DISTORTION UNIT. why?? let me explain. First I sized this pedal up against the DS-1 Distortion, the OD-3 Overdrive, the MT-2 Metal Zone, the SD-1 Super overdrive ,the OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion,the PW-2 Power Driver and the MD-2 mega Distortion. Well my friends the BD-2 Blues Driver SMOKED them all on every level of judgment. The Volume on this thing is AMAZING, I tried all these pedals with there level on 5 0'clock and the BD-2 on at 12o'clock...the BD-2 was WAAAAY louder than them on half volume!! BUT not noisy at all...at least to me. Also the tone knob is better than all as well... why? the BD-2's tone knob really is versitile. Not like all the rest that sound razor sharp past 12o'clock and all fat bass below 12o'clock...this thing really can GRADUALLY get brighter or darker as you turn the knob right or left. Finally the drive is the best as well. You CAN actually get a boost,mild overdrive,or flat out distortion...(natural distortion that is). To me this pedal can handle most metal bands ala' black sabbath,COC,DOWN,BLS ,some metallica,early Van Halen, and espially classic rock and blues.

hell yeah...its boss

Please realize BOSS really advertised this thing VERY POORLY. It can be used for ALL types of music...really. I tried all of boss' Overdrive and distortion pedals, this thing ruled all! Dont get me wrong all the pedals i listed i think are fine( i own the DS-1 myself and love it...this is better) Myself , i play all types of music but mainly tuned down southern styled METAL. this thing rocks hard. great sustain...not as good as my proco RAT but still great, tone on this finally gives me the natural distortion sound i've been looking for I.E. van halen,frank marino, some-what Zakk wylde . just good hard natural distortion. I plan on using this as either a boost for my DS-1 or vise versa...either alone or as a boost this thing is wonderful. If you want to sound as the great ZAPPA put it "an electric ham sandwich" then get something like a metal zone or mega distorion, if you want to sound like you,your axe and amp... get this thing. i cant believe I didnt try this out before...like i said poor advertising. By the way BOSS says when you roll down you guitars volume pot you get a nice clean sound...there right...BUT! they and all who have made a submission for this product failed to mention this thing is LOUD (in a good way however) Need volume and natural distortion?? the BD-2 is the best.

Easy

this is definitely one of the boss' most organic sounding overdrives. i use it with Gibson LP / Fender Am Strat + shitload of other boss pedals into Peavey classic 50. i don't really understand why people keep complaining about how it lacks bass - it has tons of low end, enough for Deftones, probably. if you want even more bass, you'd have looked into basses ;))
anyway, it sounds quite smooth, set all knobs to 12 o'clock and tone to 10 o'clock - instant Robben Ford tone. it sounds fat, doesn't have much compression, or sustain for days - just enough of each to keep you fighting for each note, just how it is supposed to be. just pay more attention to your picking / fretting technique and you'll be find.

Usual rugged design by Boss, very good. mine has a little faulty gain pot, i don't know, may be it just needs to be cleaned

no opinion

a very nice and smooth overdrive / distortion sound that doesn't cover up your mistakes, doesn't impose its own character over your tone, and doesn't ruin it with ridiculous amounts of compression, very natural sounding and easy to use. works nicely as a solo boost - boosts volume and mids (a little). your alternative to TS9.
recomended.

Easy as it comes! 3 knobs.

I've owned/own several boutique overdrive pedals but have always been interested in the Blues Driver and bought one this week. I've practiced with it for a week, A/B it with a Keeley Mod'd TS-9 and a Pharaoh Amps Rodea Drive and gigged it (blues rock covers band playing a Tele). I'm writing this review to tell you that this pedal sounds as good as pedals that sell for a $100 more!

In use, the pedal is quiet with both battery and mains power. The controls do what they say and the tone control doesn't seem to color my sound to any noticeable extent.

It's a Boss, I'm sure it will be fine.

Never had to deal with Customer Support at any major guitar or effects company

Great blues overdrive! If my pedal board was stolen, this would be the first (maybe only) overdrive pedal that I would replace.

A VERY GOOD OVERDRIVE.

Easy to use.
Adequate battery life (compared to digital Chorus).

Fabulous sound quality - for blues only.
Settings will need to vary, a bit, when switching between single coil and humbucking pickups. Also, when switching between tube and solid state amps.

Bought it in '97.
I always gig without a backup.
Danger is my middle name.

I never call the company.
I don't want them to call me either.

This pedal is quite adequate for me. I play blues, oh, for about 35 years. I use a home-made strat, '77 LP, '99 PRS McCarthy. I gig thru
a '77 MusicMan 210-65, or 2 Fender blues Jr's in stereo (1 if it's a small venue). I use the BD-2 into an Boss Chorus, then into the amp.
I set the amps to have a 'brown' tone, i.e., gain around 6~7, Master
around 3~5, treble at 6, middle at 3~4, and bass at 2~3.
The BD-2 Vol and Gain at around 10 o'clock, its tone control at 9 o'clock. The chorus' leftmost 3 knobs are at 12 o'clock and the rate knob ist at 3 o'clock.

If it were lost or stolen I'd steal another lost one.

I compared the BD-2 against Cheezy-Poofs and Snacky-Smores.
Neither Cheezy-Poofs nor Snacky-Smores passed the On/Off tests.

I do wish that it had a built-in keg tap.

Three knobs, it doesn't get any easier.

I play a Strat that I put together myself featuring a Warmoth swamp ash body, '63 Jazzmaster neck, and Joe Barden pickups. I also play a '81 dot neck re-issue Gibson ES-335 and a '80 Gibson Heritage Series Les Paul. All of these guitars go through a '68 Fender Super Reverb. I have not found this pedal to be noisy at all and I have not found that it sucks tone as other users have experienced. The beauty of this pedal to me is that it doesn't color my tone at all but instead provides a little bit of gain for solos. It is probably more noticable to me, the player, than it is to the audience. In addition, this pedal is touch sensitive so even if it is on if you play lightly the natural sound of your amp and guitar is preserved.

I have never had a problem with a Boss pedal and would not hesitate to gig without a backup. In fact I don't bring backups to my gigs.

Never had to call them.

I play blues and jazz music in an organ trio. For blues, this is a wonderful pedal. I was going to buy a Tube Screamer. So many people love them that I thought that I was missing something and perhaps I am but I feel that this is a better pedal tone wise than any of the new or modified TS 9's that I tried. I have been playing for 25 years and I also own a Russian Big Muff, an old Chandler Tube Driver that the Blues Driver replaced only because the Tube Driver just got too many miles on it and became unreliable in live situations. I would replace it if it were lost or stolen. I set the volume and gain at about 10 o'clock and the tone at about 9 o'clock. This seems to give me the gain that I want without coloring the sound. This is an underrated pedal in my opinion which will certainly help a player make music. It's not for metal at all but why would anyone think that it would be?

Absolutely self-explanatory. Just 3 knobs and a switch that do exactly what say exactly the way you expect them to.

Duh! This thing like totally sucks, man. Like I turned everything up full and my axe still sounded, uh, y'know like a GUITAR, man! - er, yes, so certain contributors would probably say. But seriously, that is where this little blue box really scores - transparency! At all gain settings (and there's plenty enough there for serious wailing when you want it) you always still hear the dynamics of your playing style and the tone of your guitar and amp, NOT the pedal.
My own set-up varies as I am lucky enough to own quite a collection of quality gear, but typically I play a Strat or Tele (both seventies models, but much tweaked and improved to undo CBS's "product development" efforts - whatever some people will pay nowadays, mid/late 70's Fenders are NOT serious vintage instruments, simply old ones and not particularly good ones at that in standard fettle!) and either a Gibson Lucille or a 1964 SG Special (totally original and absolutely lovely!). Amps are Orange (70's Overdrive 80 model) or Fender (pre-CBS "Blackface" Super Reverb or "Silverface" Princeton Reverb). Other FX are Dynacomp, Expandora, Crybaby, Univibe, Vox flanger, HH tape echo and Orange stand-alone spring reverb (extremely rare!) - all with bypass mods where necessary to preserve the basic guitar/amp tone.
I use my fx sparingly, and my number one priority in a main overdrive booster for solos is to preserve natural tone as far as possible. Previously I was using a DX9+ Tubescreamer that fulfilled this function pretty well, but imparted a hint of nasal muddiness and slightly "artificial" sounding compression when added to clean-ish amp settings. The BD-2 does none of this, but simply has a similar effect to cranking the amp full-on, except with the addition of subtly enhanced sustain (and the facility to control the boosted volume of course!). Excellent! - and a bargain too at not much over half the price of the Tubescreamer. And the natural-sounding way the BD-2 allows the player to boost or soften the drive through picking dynamics is really like not playing through a pedal at all.
However I can't give a full 10 because, as other reviews have said, there is a very significant level of background noise. Facing away from the amp a few feet away it isn't too bad and is OK for most live situations, especially on moderate gain settings. But this aspect could prove to be a pain for recording. Overall though, a great little pedal (unless you actually WANT to sound like a chainsaw underwater - nu-metallers beware!).

Too early to say, though it is sturdily built and Boss do have a good rep for durability.

Who cares? When it does eventually die, it's probably cheaper to replace than repair at this price anyway.

I've been playing for over 30 years, using a variety of good, bad and indifferent gear, playing various cover and original rock/pop/blues/prog etc. Nowadays I play mainly blues and blues-rock (Hendrix, ZZ Top etc.), where style and expression are all-important. And this pedal suits that purpose near-perfectly. In the UK these retail typically for around #65 (but SoundsLive in Newcastle turn them out for #56 by mail order), which is an absolute bargain. Would I buy another if it was lost/stolen? I think the answer to that is pretty obvious from the rest of this review!

3 knobs, turn it in every way and you will always get a good sound. The manual are two pages, the most interesting part is "how to change the battery"

I'm using it with sucking amp and veeeeeery good guitar (Gibson SG voodoo) and I always get a good sound. I played with my bd-2 on sucking guitars, and they sound good. TIS PEDAL HAS NO SUSTAIN! IT ONLY CRUNCHES! If ya want to play like Angus young or Ritchie Blackmore, forget this pedal. If ya want to play like Clapton, take it.

How can I broke a pedal? To broke my bd-2 I will have to jump on it or throw it to my fans, so it will hit the ground...

Good.

This is a stupid question, 3 knobs.

I use a variety of guitars, a fender jagmaster, fender startocaster and an acoustic electric. I use this pedal for a booster really, it does have that bluesy tube amp sound and I like to use it for that.
It can growl like a mofo though. I run it through my amp with the amps bass all the way up and everything on the pedal on 10 and look out it's nasty and BIG!!!!

Well as far as reliability, let me tell you this.
Currently it has some random replacement knobs on it and it looks like shit all scratched and dented. Blemished is not even an educated thing to say here. I have dismantled it many times and have used the box and circut in all different ways. I finally put it back together and I installed a new switch cause I lost the real one. Anyway it still sounds as nasty and ballsy as the day I got it even after all I put it through. Now if you can send a pedal through hell, and destruction and it's still alive and kicking, doesnt that pedal deserve a 10?

Never needed them its a boss duh!!

This is a monster I could never trade it in or sell it, I just have that much respect for what it's been through and what it still dishes out.

If you can turn a knob youre set.

This was my first distortion pedal. With my strat and little practice amp this thing was just blindly crunchy. However, when I ran it through a Princeton Twin it was just magnificent. Plugged it in, set the knobs offhandedly, and played. Now that Ive toyed with it a lot Ive noticed a few things. It really picks up the noise off my mexistrat bridge pickup and makes the hum Really obvious. However, in the middle positions its just great. I like to play it with the distortion and tone most of the way up through my bridge and middle pickups to get a really hot and creamy SRV type sound. Also, through a marshall head with the tone all the way down, this pedal gives a very crisp but mellow lead sound.

Boss. Nuff said.

For the sort of rock/blues I play it gives a great tube screamer sound without making people deaf. Id be hard pressed to play without it, as its an integral part of my setup. A good trick is to run it after a DS-1 type pedal with a tinny crunchy distortion and use them both at the same time. If you've ever heard 'One' by metalica, the DS-1 on its highest tone setting is a great solo tone... but the BD-2 on top of it gives the low end some serious bite.

3 knobs level, tone, gain.
It seems as though the way to get distortion from this pedal is related to how you use the tone and gain knobs. And of course if you want more fullness you can turn up the level knob.

I use this pedal with my washburn strat copy through a peavey rage III. I don't really know any blues songs, but it sure sounds like I'm playing the blues when I am jamming along with a blues cd.
The ad that Boss has for the blues driver says that the bd-2 is for playing blues or for full on distortion. If you crank the gain on the bd-2 to get the full on distortion it will sound like crap. If you want full on distortion buy another pedal.

Boss pedals are pretty reliable, but I've had some problems with them. Yes, I would gig without a backup.

Like I have read from other reviewers, customer support is what you expect for the price you pay for these very well made, but low priced pedals.

This pedal is a great match for blues players. I have been playing seriously for about three years. The other guitar equipment that I own is a boss ds-1, and a Boss tu-2, and a boss bcb-6 pedalboard. If it were lost or stolen I would definately buy another bd-2. I love the ease of use (hint to Boss: 3 knobs.)
It definately helps my creativity when jamming.
I gave this little devil a 10 because of the quality you get from Boss pedals even though you can get them at such an inexpensive price.
One more thing try it unmodified before you pay to have it modified!

Easy 3 knobs. Like all boss pedals not making the fabled 29 day boomerang back to guitar center.

This thing is as good as a transistor box gets. Use It with a strat and a boogie nomad plus a wall of celestion speakers. Good boost sound with gain on 5 and the level at 10, It gives a very heavy metal distortion sound with the gain at 10 and the level from 5 up. Yes I said met. This pedal lacks the goofy midrange that the other boss distortion/od pedals have. The bypass blows, as you can hear the bypassed sound change as you turn the tone knob. Sounds best hitting a tube amp set on crunch. If you don't have a tube amp, you are foolish to be wasting cash on pedals.

Let me say this as a warning to potential buyers. If you are looking for thick sustain and compression THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT THE PEDAL FOR YOU!. The thing I like about this pedal is its lack of compression, thats why it maintains pick dynamics, which is what I really like about it. Plus, the gain is highly agressive. At high volumes through a tube amp, sustain is really not a problem in any event. As a boost its pretty transparant for single coil guitars. As a distortion effect It will give a very agressive mean distorted tone, but no lower midrange thikening (which I like like, as will most strat or tele players. I don't have any humbucker equipped guitars anymore to try it with.)

For beginning players looking for a distortion box, this thing won't cover your butt like a big muff or tubedriver will. Rhythmic inaccuracies will be magnified, as will poor technique. However if you have a very dynamic pick attack and solid rhythmic chops (or just like to shred) you will love this thing, as it will play to your strengths. This thing will punch your guitar into the high midrange where you will be free from much of the frequency interference of the bass and rhythm guitar. Basically it will scream rather than sing, and bite rather than chew.

One of the output jacks nuts was a bit loose. It gets a nine. Old boss pedals would get a 10.

Never Dealt with them.

Overall a good hassle free pedal. Recommended for players:
a) looking for a dirty crunchy rhythm sound
b) a brutal metal rhythm sound in concert with an amp with some gain potential.
c) Single coil players looking to maintain the character of their instrument distorted or boosted.
d) experienced lead players looking for an agressive hassle free distortion that doesn't mask or interfere with their chops.

A note on mods: I haven't played a modded version of this pedal, but the mods as they are described (more bass etc), would completely destroy the reasons I like this pedal. However they obviously work great for some players, so more power to them. My advice with any stompbox is buy it from GC and keep returning them until you find one that works. But a good guitar and tube amp are far more important to your tone than any effect. Of course chops are the most important, but the better you get the more picky you will be about your gear (and the less effects you will probably use.)

3 knobs. A switch. That's IT.

OK, before I continue, I have to mention the fact that this is a MODIFIED BD-2. It isn't an actual Keeley pedal, but it has all of the Keeley mods. If you have no clue what the heck I'm talking about, you can go here: http://robertkeeley.com/audio6l6/KeeleyBD2.html. That should give you a good idea.

My main set up is a Telecaster through a Hot Rod Deville...throw in a Boss DD-5, a Boss equalizer, an Electro-Harmonix Small Stone, and a Boss Tuner, and BAM!...you've got my rig.

Now, I've never actually heard a stock BD-2. From what I understand, they're pretty good on their own. However, I would have a *TOUGH* time believing that they sound THIS good. I'm not a tone professional, and I haven't been playing since dinosaurs ruled the earth, but I KNOW what sounds good and I know that I've gotten a TON of compliments from other people on how good my sound is. I highly recommend getting in touch with the man who made my pedal...Steve Dudley ...I don't think he'd have any problem drumming one up for you too. He recently told me that he's adding ANOTHER switch aside from the "phat" switch that will allow you to choose between the stock symmetrical clipping and asymmetrical clipping.

I've never looked forward more to playing my guitar than since when I started using this pedal.

It's a Boss pedal...built like a tank.

Steve is a GREAT guy. Responds quickly to emails. Plus, he sells this pedals for a LOT less than Keeley does...thats why I bought mine. Contact him to find out...

I know I'm gushing, but I really love this pedal. Contact Steve and buy one.

3 knobs. Easy to use just everybody else has said.

TONE TONE TONE TONE!!! I've been playing through a Boss SD-1 (Super Overdrive) and an Ibanez TS-9 Re-issue, and borrowed the BD-2 from a buddy of mine. All I can say is TONE TONE TONE!!! This pedal brings out a whole new dimension to my playing and Tele tone. In fact, I like it so much that I sold the SD-1 on eBay! Yes, it's more costly, but for the extra $30ish that the BD-2 costs, I think it's WELL WORTH IT!

I play lead rhythm guitar in my church's worship team and have been looking for a pedal that allows a good bluesy/overdrive sound while simple rhythm strumming - as opposed to a "marshall distortion" sound that the SD-1 produces. This BD-2 sounds fantastic! It really brings out an incredible clean tone, but still with that crunchy bluesy overdrive! It's pretty fantastic! Combined with my TS-9, it offers a pretty decent palate of overdrive tones. I'll likely re-purchase an SD-1 at some point just to offer some more flexibility, but for now, the BD-2 and TS-9 combo is great for me.

It's a boss pedal. Not much more needs to be said.

n/a

I play primarily clean tones (Fender Twin-ish) but like to have the option of having some mild overdriven tones in there. Combined with the TS-9 and a Boss CS-3 compressor, it sounds fantastic. I did end up needing to buy an NS-2 to take care of the buzz that the CS-3, TS-9 and BD-2 create (especially when they're all on at the same time), but it's great still. I'd certainly keep this pedal on my rig full-time. It really does a great job at creating that bluesy overdrive as opposed to the SD-1's more "Marshall-ish" tone. They're both great, but when you're on a tight budget, I'd choose the BD-2

This great distortion box sounds great at most settings. It's way easy to use with just three knobs: Level, Tone, and Gain.

I have used this stomp box with everything from a Marshall stack to a small solid state practice amp. Even used it in front of a Zoom 505 II (a small multi-effects box best used as a cheap recording direct box or as a headphone amp (dubiuos value in front of a loud amp but good with a small practice amp)). In every case the Blues Driver performs well.
Here is the bottom line... any effect box, especially a distortion/overdrive type needs to be transparant. By that I mean that it retains the sound of YOUR guitar. It should not add its own personality. This does that in spades!!! Fantastic! My Strat sounds like a strat not like a generic overdrive or distortion sound. Your guitar and set up is not changed except for the added overdrive.
Here is the next most imporant thing that you need to evaluate in an overdrive/distrortion, is it dynamic. Does it respond to touch and your guitars' volume setting?
I can easily set this box to give great sustain and overdirive with the volume knob full up. When I turn the volume down it cleans up real nice and sweet, all the while keeping the inherent sound of my guitar intact. It also responds well to your picking attack. Pick hard and it gives you the grit you want. Pick softly and its nice and clean. This is one of the main benefits of a tube amp turned up loud. This box emulates these characteristics better than any other distortion box I have used. An Ibanez Tube Screamer does this as well but what I like about the Blues Driver is that it can deliver a lot more gain if you want it.
If you use a box like this as a clean boost than this one cannot be beat. It keeps the sound of your guitar intact and just boosts the level to your amp to get a bit of extra preamp distortion.
I have been playing guitar for over 40 years and I cannot think of ANY overdrive pedal that performs better. It is my favorite stomp box and can not imagine playing with any setup without it

I have used this pedal since it first came out... 7 years ago?... and iyt has never needed any more attention than changing the battery. Boss boxes are as sturdy as they come... almost indestructable!

Never needed it.

If you can't tell from my other comments I think this box is the best of breed. If I lost it I would run out and get another the next day!
It does not need other features it is perfect.

If you are in the market for a great overdrive that wont mask your playing run out and buy one today. This is an essential pert of my setup and I think you may feel the same.

Three knobs for volume tone and drive. Very easy to use.

Better than the Marshall pedals but maybe not as good as the Maxon pedals. It does sound like an old tube amp, but its a bit bright and harsh and the tone knob needs to be kept down low at around the 9:00 setting. At full drive the pedal has more gain than the Maxon OD-808. Good volume boost available- I found unity gain at around the 10:30 setting on the volume knob!

Built Boss tuff.

Boss is Roland. Roland is Boss. Boss is good.

This pedal is great value. I also like the Boss SD-1 very much. I play Strats and Pauls into tube amps.

It doesn't get much easier than this. Three knobs. If you need help stop reading this.

I mainly play a fender strat through a Rivera R55 combo. I was never much of an effects pedal user until, while looking for a boost pedal, I stumbled upon this from another guitar player in my band. Well what a surprise. It sounds great. I keep the tone all the way down because it seems to retain the original tone of my amp this way. The gain is at about 11 o'clock. I find myself leaving it on most of the time now. It gets a "9" because I don't think "10" exist for sound unless you are Stevie Ray.

Boss is great quality, unlike my experiences with DOD.

Tube screamers, SD1, Guv'nor original, Fulltone fulldrive, to name a few that I have tried including "boutique" pedals. This is one of the better ones. I've been playing for 32 years. All of these pedals are good and serve their purpose. For rock/blues this is for me. P.S. the secret to the "holy grail" of tone is right there in your fingers.

It's pretty easy to use. Has 3 knobs.
The booklet has some good info on each knob but isn't really needed to use the pedal.

This has a really nice overdrive sound. It has a nice warm distortion, when used in a moderate gain level (the gain knob about 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock) in this setting the pedal is not noisy. As you turn the gain up past 3 o'clock it starts to become a little noisy (but 95% of all distortion / overdrive pedals I've played get a little noisy when the gain to cranked up).
This pedal works really great as a clean boost (having the gain off and using the volume just to push the level up for solos).
The tone knob really doesn't do much unless you move it past 12 o'clock.
I've used this pedal with strats, teles, Les Pauls, etc. going through a Peavey Transtube 112 and an Ampeg Superjet.

I've used this pedal for years and have always been happy with it, but ever since I've been getting into tube amps, I wanted something with a little more tone control (plus I like to have different overdrive sounds for different songs).
But overall this pedal is 100% reliable.

They have a great website ... but I've never had to contact them about anything.

Overall a nice overdrive pedal. Really great for blues playing and classic rock type of guitar playing.

3 knobs. Sometimes I think it's TOO easy to use... :)

I use an Epiphone Explorer through this stomp box which goes straight in a Marshall 8100 head and a Laney 4x10 cab. Settings on the Blues Driver:

Level and Tone: 12 o'clock
Gain: All the way up

This pedal sounds like both a valvestate and an all-tube amp at the same time. Amazing how Boss was able to achieve this with a simple pedal effect.

A noiseless distortion device doesn't exist. Personally, I DO need the noise that comes out of it as I use it with a flanger or a phaser to create ocean-like sound effects.

Whether you play metal, punk, grunge, rock, blues, jazz, or only need a sound boost, the Blues Driver is for you. It fits all kinds of music.

I own several Boss stomp boxes and I NEVER had and trouble with them, and God knows how rude I can be with my gear at the end of a gig...

This is now my main distortion device until I can get my dream amp (won't name it for now).

Never needed to.

For someone like me who plays in an alternative rock/grunge band who needs a very dirty and kick-ass crunching distortion, this is the perfect stomp box distortion to use. Before, I was using the distortion of my Marshall 8100 but the Blues Driver has a juicier, dirtier sound that fits my musical style better.

When I listen to my favorite artists such as Slayer, Silverchair, Creed, Fear Factory, STP, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Chuck Berry, their distortion all lack something... they need the magic touch of a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver!

Very easy to use - no manual needed.

I have gone through hundreds of overdrive/distortion pedals, ranging from boutique to dirt cheap (many times cheap doesn't mean cheap sounding). This Blues Driver pedal is EXTREMELY impressive. My gripes in the past have been that "distortion" pedals generally don't have enough mids, and "overdrive" pedals are almost ALL mids with attenuated highs and lows. The Blues Driver seems to be right in the middle, with plenty of lows, mids, and highs (I guess that's what you call full frequency response) which I believe is perfect. You can use low gain settings for mild boosts that really sound transparent, or higher gain settings that are really "juicy" and rich. I usually don't go past about 2 o'clock on the gain, though, as it will start to mush out. Also, the pedal is on the bright side, so I usually have the tone knob down around 9 o'clock (sounds great). This pedal is so versital that I am considering getting another so I can run one as overdrive (low-gain setting) and one as distortion (high-gain). Sounds even better when the battery starts to die (???) I gave it a nine because I can't bring myself to give anything a ten in the "sound quality" category. A "ten" is the sound I hear in my head.

Seems totally reliable - BOSS, you can drive nails with it.

I have played professionally for 13 years. Rock, Jazz, Funk, Reggae. Way into Steely Dan, Old VH, Beck(Jeff), Eric Johnson, Danny Gatton, Kenny Burrell, Marley, lots of classic rock. This pedal can cover just about all of these styles - legitamately. Go get one.

Three knobs, one for Volume, one for gain and one tone knob. Just like any overdrive pedal. Extemely easy to use.

Today I use a tele into a Laney amp with a colorsound volume pedal, Blues Driver, DOD Grunge, Vintage Rat, Boss DM2, MXR Blue Box & an EH Frequency Analyser. My effects change a lot but I don't use too many, just a selection of fuzz's and subtle delay or ring modulation. I don't get on with most effects.
This is a great overdrive pedal. It has lots and lots of gain. I use it as a boost, last in my chain and I pretty much leave it on all the time. You can add a slight amount of grit & sparkle to the boost too which is nice. I use it to get a pavement-ish boosted clean sound and to make my distorted sound better. It does make everything sound better and makes me stand out more. It's got plenty of gain and you can boost it more than with EQ pedal. I prefer it to the other OD pedals I've owned because I've found them all to be too grainy or trebley. Unlike the SD1 & the others this pedal sounds full and responsive. When I used an SD1 or tubescreamer as a boost my sound became too thin and trebley so I had to put the overdrive first where it got lost.
You can get distortion out of it too which sounds good with a band. It actually has all the distortion you actually need, if you don't use amp distortion you will only get a good tone from something mellow like this. At high distortion levels this pedal does get a bit fuzzy. I prefer my RAT for general distortion/fuzz though. It sounds fuller and has more character. If you use this pedal for distortion it can sound a bit flat.
As a booster it is a bit noisy but anything where you boost the sound will result in some noise. It's much quieter than an EQ or SD1. I think it's the quietest boost without going into zvex SHO territory.
The tone knob doesn't do that much.

Boss pedal. It's solid and you can step on it and it feels good.

Never tried but I very much doubt they would help.

I play all kinds of music, mainly in the alt rock/noisy side of things. I love this pedal and I leave it on nearly all the time to boost and enhance my sound. I can also step on it to turn it off between songs and I get quiet to stop me feeding back. This is my favourite overdrive pedal and it's a great booster. It's quieter and more useful than an EQ pedal and it's not grainy like all the other overdrives I've tried.
As a distortion pedal it's pretty good, but I prefer my other pedals. I normally prefer FUZZ to distortion/overdrive. But you can get a good tight defined distortion sound from this.
Great pedal and a MASSIVE and fantasic boost. A Fair distortion. You can easily add 25bd to the sound with this. Good pedal.

The blues driver is a straightforward overdrive pedal, one knob for gain, one knob for volume, one knob for tone.

I use this pedal with an Epiphone Dot (Semi-hollowbody guitar with humbuckers) and a Fender Twin. It gives an excellent overdriven sound through the clean channel at lower settings (I cant really crank my twin up to naturally overdrive in small clubs). I should mention that I liked the sound of this pedal when I first started to use it, but it seemed too grainy at high volumes. My friend and I spent an evening resoldering about 15 different components (given below). This made the most amazing sound difference . . . as far as I'm concerned, this is the best overdrive pedal that I have ever heard after the mod. It really lets your guitar tone shine through.

(This is basically the mod that Robert Keely does. I think he throws a switch in for a fatter sound? . . . if you have this pedal, go to your local electronics shop and do this 10$ mod yourself!!!)

D3 -> Change this 1SS133 to a different (1N4002) diode for asymmetrical clipping. This adds second order harmonics. This adds to the tube type sound. I like the sound of this change.

D7 and D10 -> Change these diodes from 1SS133 to 1N4002. More second order harmonic distortion. Although the change is slight, I like it.

C1, C7, C6, C12, C13, and C15 -> Change this electrolytic capacitor to a 10uF tantalum. Tantalum capacitors sound better than electrolytic capacitors. It would be best to have a non-polarized cap here. I like these anywhere there is signal coupling at this high a value. Tantalum capacitors are easy to find in this range.

C14 -> Increase input coupling capacitor value to 0.1uF for increased bass response from your guitar.

R1, R2, R18 and R19 -> Here is some magic. Change the resistors to carbon composition. These old resistors probably have some frequency dependent component, which means that there is a capacitive element to the resistor. This is because of the spacing in the material. Add these for vibe, MOJO, and magic.

C100 -> Here is where we can affect the tone control. I prefer a little more lower-midrange and bass frequencies through the tone section. You can increase the lower frequencies by increasing the capacitor value to 0.033uF.

Well, I did modify it . . . however I still think that the heavy casing should keep this pedal in good condition. Never had any problems with it after two years of the mod . . .

Dont think that they would help me after I screwed around with the guts of the pedal . . .

I play blues, rock, surf, punk, and even some metal. After the mod, this pedal can accomodate a WIDE avriety of tones very well. It can give an exact Ckuck Berry sound to a good Dick Dale to Jimmy Page to a fair Randy Rhodes (it's not quite creamy enough for metal). If it was lost or stolen, I'd get another pedal and do the mod again. It is cheap, easy, and makes a huge difference.

Also . . . CHEAP!!! To get even close to this kind of sound you could easily be paying in excess of 100$ . . . wouldn't you rather be playing than paying?

Everyone familiar with overdrive/distortion devices should have no problems with this pedal. It takes some time to uncover the pedal's full potential though. It's NOT a one-trick pony.

I've used this pedal with a number of setups, my current setup includes a Strat, a Tele, about ten other pedals and a reissue Fender Twin.

I play everything from George Harrison to Slash, and this pedal is probably the most versatile overdrive/distortion device I own. It works well as a gain booster (although a Super Overdrive is better at that), but really excels at medium to high gain sounds. It actually sounds pretty amp-like - lots of touch-responsiveness and great tone - and with the gain at max, it gives a totally convincing high gain distortion (with a powerful input signal).

I've owned both the JMP-1 and V-Twin in the past, and, honestly, I sold the V-Twin because the BD-2 actually sounds better at what those preamps is supposed to do.

I don't at all see the need to modify it. Fizzy? No, not at all, but remember it's NOT a Super Overdrive/Tuber Screamer type of pedal. Those pedals contain separate distortion/clean circuits running in parallel, and are far more middy than the BD-2, which gives what I'd call "true" overdrive, with no clean signal mixed in. Thus it's my main overdrive/distortion unit, and my SD-2 is used in front of it to boost it.

It's been reliable so far like the rest of my Bosses. They're a far cry from the Russian-built E-H pedals I reviewed for a musicians mag, which were broken on arrival.

Roland Scandianavia are helpful, but I have never approached them with a guitar-related problem.

A great, versatile pedal which can sound really expensive through a good amp. Just don't expect it to be a TS-9, because it really is of a completely different breed.