Boss OD-2R Turbo Overdrive

I've played this pedal since I first started playing guitar (which was probably about 8 years ago), and I've never really wanted to replace it. I've been through a boss distortion pedal, and a proco rat (which I understand are different effects, yes) and have decided to stick with this one. It can add a little buzz or a rediculous feedback-ey roar, which I consider a good thing. But like I said, takes a long time to really "get" what you like out of it.

I'm sure there's better overdrive out there, but I haven't found it. As with other boss pedals, and I don't think I'm the only person who feels this way, the tone that comes out of the thing can be annoying. I always keep it at less than half. Something about boss pedals and their tone knobs... I don't get it. Other than that, great sound.

Mine has been through a lot. Used to play in a punk band, beat the living piss out of it, it still works. It's a boss pedal, which means it's thick, metal, and durable. BUT it also means the stupid input/outputs come loose all the time, and maybe once every couple years will require the wires to be soldered back into place. Sometimes it picks up radio frequencies. Hasn't happened to me at a show yet.

Never had to call boss for anything

I play a lot of alt rock, I've been playing for 8 years, and if you can find one of these pedals buy it. They don't make 'em anymore. Solid tone, nothing cheesey or cheap sounding.

It's an overdrive pedal. This is guitar effects 101. Set your overdrive to mimic the sound of your amp, and you're done. Turbo mode creates distortion like a DS-1. Although this one has alot of volume, so getting it to not burn your eardrums off can be tricky. At one time it was known as the engine of feedback.

I've had this pedal for a long time now, played it with my first amp (barely working Vox Pathfinder), then into my 16 year old wet dream of a Guild S-100 (Dude, your guitar is just like the guy's from Soundgarden!!!!!) Sunn Concert Lead complete with matching 4x12. Well, long story short, I decided the distortion on that Sunn out competed this pedal any day, and I was already so loud I got screamed at by the heavy metal kids I played for, so it got shelved. I broke it out when I needed to get that feral volume/oversaturation with my Fender Twin, which distorted naturally at a high volume, but I needed a clean and transparent boost. It did that very well. Absolutely hated the Turbo mode though.

Now I'm just using a little Peavey Bandit 65, and I must say the tonal character is dramatically different through this amp (still have the heavy metal guitar though), the first mode is pretty identical, except I can hear the tonal coloring that this pedal imparts on the sound much more. Maybe it's the amp, maybe it's the volume drop, or maybe my hearing is more acute from recording music very intensely (almost daily) since then; but I can definitely hear alot of color on my sound. It doesn't bother me too bad because it's not like I spent alot of money for the thing anyway. The turbo mode has a great "thrash metal" character to it that's very incongruous with the rest of my sound.

It's also sounded really good for the Farfisa organ I bought a few months ago. Very reminiscent of the first Suicide album. I also remember reading that Jim Thirwell said that he used this effect constantly on everything, percussion, electronics, vocals, even mastering. I wonder if he still does.

Well, this is a tricky subject. When I got it, it worked great, then it crapped out, which is part of the reason it got shelved so soon in lieu of the Sunn. I took it to the Amp Doctor in Hermitage, TN, (Great guy, look him up!) and he re-soldered the connections and it once again screamed. It's worked good the little bit I've used it since then, but I don't feel I can trust it 100%. But then again, this thing is really old, but it's actually survived longer than some of my buddies' brand new equipment. Go figure.

Never ever dealt with them. Why would I on a $25 used pedal?

I play alot of unique song based material which uses alot of loops, and requires some unusual guitar technique that's very much rooted in punk music, folk, jazz, and minimalist composition. So I generally tend to use effects for utilitarian purposes only because most of my "sound effects" come from what my fingers and the strings are actually doing. This little trooper has definitely done it's duty for me without too much argument.

That aside, I've got tons of stuff that everybody wants to own as well; the aforementioned Guild, a Gretsch acoustic, an upright bass, Farfisa organ, Electro Harmonix effects, Logic Pro, some slick recording mics, and so on and so on. I'm the half talented guy with the gear addiction. (Although not near as bad as some people I've seen)

Recently I've been getting into building/modifying effects and I just grabbed this one to see if I could find any mods, but then I remembered what a good sound it has already, and figured "Why bother?" Eventually when I decide to actually build a SuperFuzz clone, this one will probably make it's way off of my pedal board and onto the shelf, where it can be on-call. Or it might make a good distortion unit for the organ in my band if the DS-1 mods don't make the sounds needed.

I shopped around for a long time to get an overdrive pedal, and this one was definitely the nicest for the least money. I mean, I believe this is a for-real Japanese unit. And where else are you going to get a Japanese Boss Overdrive for $25??? I doubt that I would buy another one if it got misplaced, unless I didn't have any other pedal.

I use mine with an extra footpedal to switch between modes, its very easy to use. The two modes share the same controls so you have to find a happy medium between the two for live use, personally i just turn everything up to full on and roll some of the tone off, this works for me. I use a telecaster with this into a fender hot rod. I give it a 7 for live use because the two modes share the same eq and stuff. The good thing is the volume of the two settings are matched so that when the turbo mode is switched on the volume increases which is good for when you want to blow some faces off.

Dunno when mine was made, they only made these in the 90's for a few years, previous to that they had the OD2 which was essentially the same pedal but without the remote switch option. I had two of those also and they sound exactly the same except this version sounds more like my Japanese od2 as opposed to the tawain OD2 (which i sold now). Also the old OD2 wasnt very loud. The OD2r is stupidly loud so no problems there, in fact its the loudest overdrive pedal i own. When the turbo mode is engaged there is a further volume increase. The sound of pedal is your typical overdrive sound, it goes from very light to extremely saturated. I have owned the following overdrives/distortions - boss ds1, boss sd1, boss od1, marshall guvnor2, marshall jackhammer, Proco Rat (1987 LMN08 chip), Keeley modded proco rat, Proco rat 2004, Boss od3, ibanez tubescreamer, Roger Mayer Axis fuzz, EHX big muff. They are all great in their own right and will suit different guitar set ups etc. However in terms of the boss stuff i think that it has been an absoloutely massive mistake by boss to discontinue this model, a massive mistake. I've been trying to work it out but i cant. The reason is that this overdrive basically sounds the way a guitar overdrive is supposed to sound, but you have the added bonus of the turbo mode, i used to use a proco rat and an SD1 for boost, but now i just use the od2r cos it does it all. out of all the boss stuff i've tried its the best, hands down. The od1 has no bass, the sd1 sounds flabby, the od3 sounds good but sounds a bit synthetic, the od2 is the only one which sounded natural enough. its mint. Of course this may be my set up, it may not sound like this with others. The sound im hearing would be described as natural, bitey, warm, buttery, cuts through very well, nicely rounded (if you what i mean). no shrill 'icepick on the ear' here. Its very similar to a proco rat, but its much more pleasant on the ear. Its got LOADS of gain. on the turbo on mode its brilliant for that "massive wall of sound". I will never use anything else, ever. I'm giving it a 9, i spent years searching for the perfect overdrive and in the end i gave up, tone and stuff is all in the fingers which is true, but if you dont like the sound coming out of your amp it makes life difficult sometimes. I liked my guitar tone with a rat but sometimes there was that little thing which made me screw my face up, it just didnt sound very nice sometimes. Now with od2r i plug in and smile like a huge smiling smiley thing. Again i must stress that may just be me. But i really have tried owned all those pedals and i really couldnt find one to settle with. the other thing about the OD2r is that it responds to your guitars volume control much like an old fuzz will do - its perfect, for me.

I hope this thing never breaks, i reckon they may dry up on ebay soon. its a boss though

i tried to email them, no response

i wont say anything else other than Boss has made a mistake discontinuing this pedal, it makes no sense. They go for less than ??30 on ebay. Unbelievable

Really Easy. Level, Tone Drive, turbo On or Off, which can be remote pedal controlled (hence the R in the title!)
Easy to dial in sounds, much interplay between settings but bonehead simple.

Superb. Nice and crunchy or seriously Overdriven with Turbo mode. I dont know why others dislike this mode as it is the main selling point for me. Maybe they dont like to hear the industrial death that it produces at max drive settings. Better than a RAT! dial the tone down a bit and you get rid of some clang but still retain the vicious punch of this overdrive.

Doesnt look like it will EVER break down!

Never needed it.

You want overdrive? Maybe you have a footswitch to use with it for maximum utility?
Well done Boss. A true sleeper classic

dead easy as soon as i got it there was no problem i just just stuck it on my pedal bord and made my my windows shake lol

i play an ibanez sa 160 qm the transparant gery one and a dean two tone razorback with a danelectro tripl wah,behringer cs-100,digitech hyper phase,mxr zakk wylde overdrive,marshall guv'nor 2,boss turo overdrive,boss chorus ensemble,line 6 echo park,behringer 7 band eq, behringer noise gate. and a peavey 5050 head with a peavy 4x12

this pedal sounds brilliant you can get the sound of joe walsh to the sound of michael angelo batio to the sound of kirk hammet. i put the turbo on the tone at 9 o'clock the level at 2-3 o'clock and the gain max. the setting for me is just what i need to get a craking sound of a heavy overdrive.!!!!!!!

built like a tank one of the first pedals i got and it still is inperfect order you could propbabley run it over will a steam roller and it would still be fine. lol

never needed it

it works for me especialay with a echo and a sustainer on my sweep picking comes through perfectly i am in a very versitial band the play shred to pantera to joe walsh (the blues king). if your looking for a high gain overdrive this is the best to get

I had no manual for this... it was my dad's old one. It's been my extra booster for a lil crunch w/o the turbo. With the turbo, it gives me a punk-rocky sound which is fun but one i don't use too much.

I use this with my Fender american strat hooked up with 4 or 5 other pedals. For now im stuck with my lin 6 spider amp, which although its convenient, I'd take a marshall tube w/o effects any day. Not terribly noisy... When I OD on effects it gets a lil shakey tho. I can get the sound I want.

Boss nuff said

never had to deal with them

I like this one a lot. It's my mid song crunch booster. It gives me the extra distortion that I switch in and out of during and even between songs. I'm keeping this for as long as it works

Dead easy. If you can't figure this pedal out you should probably stick with acoustic guitar. I never read the manual - just threw it over my shoulder and plugged the thing in. I bought it because I was at a blues club and I really like the tone the guitar player had. I got up to take a piss and walked by the stage to see what he was using, making a mental note I bought one the following week to replace my DOD Tube Screamer.

I use this pedal with Fender Tele & Strat and vintage tube amplifier. Works like a champ. Very low noise even from single coil pickups. Tone is spot-on for that nice thick bluesy tone.

No problems in 10 years of use. The only distortion pedal I really need.

Never had to call 'em! Come to think of it, I've never had any musician friends kill any Boss guitar effects pedals.

I play many styles but bought this pedal for my boogie and blues more than anything else. It does work with more vintage metal though if you goose it up full blast. I'm rating it 10 because I've yet to hear a better sounding overdrive pedal.

I bought mine over 10 years ego. It is a same thing only doesn't have remote control socket. Easy to use unit anyway.

It is not a transparent sound pedal, it has it's own sound suitable for from soft to hard rock. If you got crappy amp than the normal mode is good for rhytm and basic leads. Will do blues too. Turbo mode is suitable for more demanding stuff.
Settings on both modes are best at 2/3 to 3/4. Anymore specially on the turbo mode will sound too muddy and thin.
When I use this pedal, my settings are: from the pedal to tube amp drive channel set only to slight break up (for rhythm). I have the pedal set on turbo mode which I set 1/4 to 3/4 depending on what I play. NOTE - that low settings at turbo mode will produce decent somewhat tube like break up. When the pedal is on, the sound is good and full but not mushy. It does depend on the amp and if it takes the pedal well so best bet is a tube one. With this simple setup I do music from clean country to blistering rock with only push of a pedal and use of my guitar volume knob. No hassle. Off course nothing can beat going straight to tube amp. I play gigs with music from 50's to 90's so with combination of amp settings and this pedal I get a good average sound for all types of music. WWith the pedal I do loose some the subtle bits only a tube amp can produce but it is a fine for live gigs. For recordings forget it particularly for low distortion rhythm but it is usefull for some leads if the amp can't cut it.
It is a bit sterile sounding pedal but that's why I use it
because I can do for example James Burton or Satriani leads without having totally inapropriate sound to them.
Over all, it is the only pedal that I've kept in my 25 years playing history and in my opinion it is an "industry standard" - meaning that no matter what, I can always get an average sound with it for any music.

No problems in over 10 years.

Didn't need any.

Mostly said above...but if I was to compare, there was only one oter pedal I liked and that was Ibanez tube screamer which is lot more transparent than this pedAL. How ever the Tube screamer won't do all kinds of music so i's not versatile enough for me.

Easy to use. I don't consult the little manual. This is actually an update of an earlier review, as I am using the pedal more than I used to. I like stuff with knobs. This has knobs...four of 'em.

I use a Strat with Fralin Vintage Hots and a Samick "Greg Bennett Design" SG with humbuckers. I also use a Boss compressor and Boss stereo chorus. Pretty basic setup. I plug these into either a Peavey Classic 50/410 and frequently use a Peavey Studio Pro 112 solid state amp at church.

Lots of the reviews have favored the Turbo Off mode of this little box, and rightly so. I can dial in a very warm, bluesy drive with slight volume boost that's great for blues type leads and just great for slide guitar.

However, recently I've used the Turbo On mode a lot more and am enjoying this thing a lot. With the SG, I prefer the pedal to the overdrive on my Classic amp, as the amp's overdrive sounds great with the strat but is not quite crisp enough for with the SG. Enter the OD-2R. Turbo on mode, a tweak of the tone for more high end and a moderate dose of crunch and the SG sounds great thru any amp I use.

Last night I played the Strat with the Studio Pro amp (solid state), used the OD-2R with Turbo On, got really thick crunchy power chord stuff that also sounded great with the guitar volume backed down a couple notches for playing lead. This morning I used the pedal in a similar fashion with an old Peavey Backstage Plus amp (single 10" speaker), playing the Strat. Thick, juicy crunch (cuz this amp's crunch sound is too transistorized sounding) and a sweet, sustained sound for some slide playing when I rolled guitar volume back.

Some reviews have rightly noted that the Turbo Off mode is much more transparent, particularly with single coil guitars. However, the coloration that this thing adds in higher overdrive settings and especially with Turbo On settings, I think is minimal. My Strat still sounds great (love those Fralins) and the SG sounds great as well.

Recently a young guy heard my band and asked me if I was using some sort of drive pedal on a song where I played some slide. I told him about the OD-2R (I used it in Turbo Off mode that day for slide) and he went out and found one on Ebay for $31. They're available there for 30-40 bucks.

I'm very happy with the versatility I get with this pedal. I use it in both modes and am equally happy with either. I was GASsing for a Barber Direct Drive, but I think I'll direct that money to something else I need more. My overdrive bases are nicely covered, from warm boost to bluesy grit to thick power chords. Between my amp and this pedal, I get what I need.

I'll give this an 8 because it's not totally transparent, but I like what it does and I'm keeping it. In fact, I might try to find another one on Ebay just cuz I like it so much.

Reliability? It's a Boss pedal. Basically a yellow metal brick. I've used this pedal for 7 years or so...no backup. Just keep a fresh battery in...and BTW, this thing isn't a battery hog like the Dual Overdrive/Distortion pedal. But I do unplug it when not using it to conserve battery power.

I've never dealt with Boss. No upgrade needed. If it broke, I might try something else just for curiosity (OD-3 or Barber Direct Drive), but would not hesitate to buy another one.

I play classic rock, blues, some country, some pop and uptempo praise and worship (many styles). I been playing a bit over 30 years. Other Boss pedals (compressor, chorus, soon to add delay and acoustic simulator).

I love this pedal's versatility. It's thick and fat and crunch if I need that, or it's sweet, warm and singing if I need that. I chose this because it sounded better than the DS-1 to me, way better than Danelectro Fab Tone and was yellow. It definitely helps me with my music and is part of my sound, coloration/transparency not an issue for me. I've really come to rely on this thing more and more over the past few months. It sounds awesome into the Peavey Classic amp. I'll give this one a 9. Maybe there's better stuff out there, but it does just what I need it to do and I'm happy with the sound.

Pretty simple to operate, however controlling the effects on this one isn't as good as other products. See remainder of review for details on this. I give it a 7, and you'll see why later.

Running with Turbo off, it sounds good. Warm and crunchy through my Princeton Chorus, with enough gain to make itself heard. Well balanced. Not quite a TS-9, but comparable to the crunch channel on the SD-2 (I couldn't tell them apart really).

Switch on Turbo, and the sound changes dramatically - gets a lot harsher and less controllable. You lose the warmth and most of the crunch for a very hollow tone. Useless for the most part IMO.

My main beef with the quality is to do with the LACK of controls on the Turbo mode. Why couldn't this pedal have been built like the SD-2 with a double pot to adjust at least the level of both modes independantly. Plus the inability to switch between Turbo and Normal (not that I ever wanted to use the horrendous Turbo mode) mode without a footswitch is annoying - again, couldn't we get controls a-la SD-2 here ?

Sound on Normal, judging pedal as a single mode overdrive = 9.
Overall = 6

Can't fault Boss here - its damn near indestructible.

Never needed to.

I used to run this pedal with an Ibanez RG470, Kramer Shadow & Squier Strat - Normal mode sounded best with the Squier by a good margin, however the RG was able to coax a semi-reasonable tone out of the Turbo mode (but only just !). I tried to include this unit in my rig, but alongside the SD-2 it just paled in comparison, so I sold it. I find that any worthwhile sounds on the OD-2R are easily matched by the SD-2 - I can honestly recommend passing on the OD-2R and getting the SD-2. You won't regret it !