Boss OD-2R Turbo Overdrive

C'mon folks, if you made it this far on the internet, you should be able to figure out even the most slightly complex pedals. This pedals is pretty easy to use and tweak...shouldn't cause a problem for most.

I'm using this pedal with a variety of Strats and Telecasters through a SS/tube Vox hybrid.

I really dig this pedal on lower drive settings with Turbo off. A very good, crunchy, classic sound which could probably overdrive a pure tube amp very nicely (I plan on acquiring one very soon). It's very clean on lower drive settings, with just a little touch of grit. This is probably my favorite setting to use it with. Higher drive setting yield a pretty cool overdrive, bordering on distortion.

The pedal is very bright. I usually keep the tone between 9 and 12 o'clock. But I've found putting the treble all the way up on a Strat gets a very cool, almost filtered sound. Very plucky and bright, but not icepick-in-the-brain.

With the Turbo on, it sounds like the gain is kicked up. It's kind of distortiony, kind of overdrivey, but not really either one. I almost think of it is as a fuzz-distortion hybrid. I could see it being very cool for a Kyuss wall-of-distorto/fuzz type of sound (and I think Josh Homme still uses one of these). Great for "headscrathcer tones" ("What is that? A Fuzz? A distortion through a fuzz?")

For comparisons sake, I AB'd it with my unmodifed TS-9 RI. The OD-2r is definitely capable of some Tube Screamer-type flavors. I was pretty much able to match most medium drive TS-9 settings on the OD-2r. I think it would be extremely hard to tell the difference blindfolded. Settings with more Drive had the TS-9 sounding a bit more livelier and natural than the OD-2r. The OD-2r definitely sounded more "add-on" and synthetic, where as the TS-9 kept the character of the amp and guitar intact.

Lower, semi-clean boost drive settings had me digging the OD-2r much more...had a nicer edge and sounded very transparent. I also liked the pluckiness and brightness here more than the more rounded-attack of the TS-9. The TS-9 sounded more comfortable with the Drive closer to 12 o'clock.

Ralph Nader should lobby to have all automobiles designed by Boss/Roland. They could all look like Boss pedals with wheels. Of course, then he wouldn't have anymore safety issues to whine about.

never dealt

I've been playing for 14 years and have kind of dipped my toes into everything.

If this pedal were lost or stolen, I don't think it would be difficult to replace.

I really love this pedals versatility. It's not a highly smooth or refined pedal, but it does a lot of things very well. I don't use the Turbo mode much, but I think it's a terrific option to have. I do click it on every so often. Folks churning Nu-Psychedlia type stuff should definitely check this pedal out. Also sounds great for droning, heavily reverbed sounds. Great flavor option to have if you already have a fuzz pedal.

Mostly, it does very well what few pedals I've owned do: the semi-gritty bright/clean boost. I love the tone. Very aggresive and responsive. I haven't had a chance to overdrive a real tube amp with it, but I could see it being very nice and effective with those settings. Sounds great with my Telecasters. The TS-9 does the medium drive thing very well, but it just can't touch it in this area. To me, it's not even in the same ballpark (I can't even believe I'm saying that). Plus, the fact that the OD-2r can cop some TS tones quite easily in medium drive settings is a cool bonus. If my TS-9 ever went down, I could quickly dial up the OD-2r to pull medium gain duty. If the $99 price tag of a TS-9 RI is a tad much, these little guys can be had for around $40 or $50 used and I think it would be well worth the look. Folks who like TS-9s driven harder will probably find more satisfaction sticking with the Ibanez, as the OD-2r loses ground there. The OD-2r definitely has it's own sound and character in these areas, but I like the Ibanez better here.

The turbo footswitch takes a bit to figure out, but other than that it's extremely simple. I don't have a manual for mine, so I don't know how good it is, but it's controls are generally very easy to figure out (how hard can they be, it's an overdrive pedal).

I'm running a Strat into the OD-2R into a Morley Wah, into my Fender SS amp.

It can get really quite a wide range of sounds, and they are all quite good. It adds surprisingly little noise to the signal. When in non-turbo mode, it sounds more like a classic or bluesy overdrive, and when in turbo mode, you can get a more crunch or modern, almost distortion-like sound. When run into the dirty channel of my amp, it can get a super-heavy distortion sound. Very versatile overall.

I've only had it for five hours.

See "Reliability".

I play jazz, funk, and rock, and this pedal sounds gret for all of it. I like how versatile it is, and how great it makes my wah sound. It's much better than my amp's dirty channel, and I would recommend it as an overall distortion/overdrive pedal.

I love the remote footswitch for the turbo mode, because it's exactly the type of feature I would use on any pedal (I hate bending over to change settings, and like being able to change on the fly).

For 50 bucks including a footswitch, I figure it's a pretty damn good deal.

Pretty Simple folks, level, tone, drive and turbo control. Wish my sex life was this easy to operate...

Ok, sound quality. Getting a good tone is easy but it may take you some time to coax a great tone out this pedal. Initially as i was used to amp distortion i found the tone of this pedal not as natural sounding but once you balance your setup and put this pedal in it's correct perpective (it's overdrive, not distortion!) you'll really get this puppy to sing.
I am using this pedal through either a Marshall Bluesbreaker 2x12 combo or a Peavey Classic 50/410 combo. It sounds great but different through both. Guitars are an American Strat, Tele, EB Musicman and Epi 335.
With the Strat I can get an almost Eric Johnson sound out of it (on a good night)I NEVER USE TURBO MODE, I HATE THE SOUND! The tone really lets the guitar sing, usually I set the tone to a touch under halfway and the drive to about 75%. It's important to note that I "daisy chain" this pedal with a Boss BD2 Blues Driver as well. This really opens up your options if you use pedals exclusively for your dirty sounds as you can go from lightly distorted (BD2) to that singing lead tone (OD-2R) and everything in between depending on how you set each pedal (each pedal will afeect the sound of the other). I only use them both together for solos or heavy riffs. My signal goes Guitar - Jim Dunlop Wah - Boss BD2 - Boss OD-2R - Boss CH2 - Boss Tuner pedal - Boss RV3 - Boss Line Selector and finally either one of the above mentioned amps.
The pedal is a little noisy but you really have to expect that.
I usually get a lot of comments on my tone and how "sweet" my rig sounds

Well had it now for going on 5 years. I've dropped it, had lead singers walk on it and it's been in my car's trunk sometimes for weeks on end.
I have made a carry case for all my pedals so this protects them but I have total confidence in the reliability of this product.

Never had to, I'm sure they're as good as anyone else.

It's a great unit, very much open to your playing style. It doesn't really make me sound like anyone but It does have a hint of that Eric Johnson violin tone in there somehow.
I may or may not buy it again, I'd love to check out some of the newer pedals out now like the Boss OD3 and the Line6 distortion Modellor etc
I am a pro guitar player who does all styles and has been playing for 9 years, currently Music director of a church, doing my Jazz degree and just generally playing my ass off and loving it!
This is a good product for a reasonable outlay

it's pretty easy to use i guess no one has problems with it, just 4 knobs

I use a Washburn guitar, and a marshall g30rcd, it doesn't sound that good, i mean is good but sometimes i think i'd need to be more distorted, i use it with all knobs to the max, and sometimes i don't feel it when i switch between clean and this overdrive, also it maybe need some other knobs, like punch, contour, i don't know something else.
I think the distortion of my amp is a lot better.
Needs a little more drive, it's all i ask

i use it in all my gigs, 'cause i don't have anything else but it's good

Have never dealt with them, but it's Boss so i guess it should be pretty good.

I play pure grunge (Nirvana, SIlverchair, Bush) and specially it isn't a good match for Nirvana, 'cause Kurt was very noisy (actually the pedal has lots of noise, and i like it) so the od-2r isn't enough to play Nirvana.
I'd not buy another, i'd rather buy an Boss Turbo Distortion DS-2, the one that Kurt used, just because i was very disapointed when i was about to play in a gig and in the sound check i played something and sounded distorted, then i looked at my pedal and it was off, so i turned it on and sounded clean, compared to the sound before, i checked the pedal and everything was ok, the drive amp was very much powerful than this overdrive, so i tought it should be a turbo cleaner or something like that, because it just cleaned the sound and trashed the dist.
Anyway i guess it's good to people that don't need so much distortion.

Yellow Boss stomp box. Four knobs...Level, Tone, Drive, Turbo On/Off. I don't need no stinkin' patches!

I have used this pedal to get warm bluesy grit or a singing classic rock type lead sound. Does decent crunchy chord stuff, too. Pretty easy, I'd say.

I play a MIM Strat with Fralin Vintage Hots and for slide a Hohner ST-59 Strat copy with a JB Jr. I plug these into a Peavey Classic 50-410. I use batteries for the pedal, don't want extra cables to trip on, but may end up using a power source to eliminate batteries. Sometimes I play thru a Peavey Transtube Studio Pro amp...when I do, I don't use this pedal, I use the amp's overdrive instead. It sounds a bit tinny thru the solid state amp, but great thru the tube amp.

The pedal of course has some noise if I use the Turbo On setting with a high amount of drive, especially with the single coils. But it doesn't add a lot of noise, no more than any other pedal. I'll forego the usual number rating thing here and just say that I like this little pedal a lot.

Currently, with the tube amp, here's my set-up: guitar - Boss compressor -- Turbo Overdrive (turbo on - moderate drive) -- Boss stereo chorus. I use the amp's overdrive to get a more bluesy, less overdriven tone. I really like this pedal for my leads. With the compressor in front of it, I get a really sweet, singing, sustaining lead tone. Think Dickey Betts playing the second solo on "Blue Sky." Or Clapton playing the lead on "Badge." Much better than when I tried using the amp's overdrive for leads. I have the Turbo circuit on with a pretty healthy amount of drive. Tone control about 11 o'clock to straight up. Fralins are great pickups and really hold together great with a decent amount of drive. This pedal might not work as well with humbuckers, but a little tweak on the tone knob and some experimenting might yield some very useable tones. This pedal does what I want it to do, and then some. I really like the Turbo on/off feature. I can get a nice warm rhythm tone with Turbo Off, but am using the amp's overdrive to do that now (except when using the solid state amp - and that's partially a logistics/space limitation issue). It sounds great with the compressor in front and the Super Chorus behind it. All in all, a very good sounding overdrive pedal with more than enough guts for classic rock. Definitely not for metal or shredding.

Reliability? It's a Boss stomp box...it's a little yellow brick! I do depend on it. I do use it at gigs without backup. Very reliable...I've owned it for about 5 years...just keep a fresh battery handy. Very reliable in my years of using it.

N/A.

I play original blues/rock/country-rock, modern praise and worship (many styles). I prefer a vintage tone (not high gain shred) and this pedal delivers what I like.

Been playing seriously for about 25 years. Eek! My age is showing! I have the two Strats, the Peavey Classic, various home recording gear.

If lost or stolen, I'd probably get another one. I'm satisfied with the range of sounds it produces and can't see paying huge bucks for another type of botique pedal.

I love that it's a Boss foot pedal...practically indestructible. Hate nothing. Favorite feature is the Turbo On/Off circuit. I haven't tried the extra switch option...no use for it yet. I did compare it to some other things at the time. Marshall Guv'nor was too metal sounding. Fab Tone sounded putrid, really dark and heavy. Tube screamer cost more. This pedal definitely helps me get a sweet, singing lead tone.

I've noticed that among youger players (generally speaking, of course) there are fewer true "lead guitar" players. I see lots of guys with a bag full of pedals or an all-in-one processor trying to sound like Korn or Limp Bisquit or whatever. Guys, do yourself a favor. Put the pedals away for a while. Focus on your clean tone. Learn how to get sustain, emotion and nuance with your fingers and your instrument before unleashing a floor full of pedals. Try playing with just a compressor for a while. That'll open things up. So what if your heroes don't play anything clean...play your own stuff. Noodle around for a while with the neck pickup on whatever guitar you play. Use your tone controls and see what happens. I'll shut up now.

Easy to use...Level, Tone, Drive and Turbo on/off knobs. Just tweak 'em till you get what you want. The little pamphlet that came with it has some sample settings. I don't worry about those, I just go with what sounds good to me at the moment. It's a stomp box...no brainer type of stuff.

I use a MIM Strat with Fralin Vintage Hots (great pickups!). Also use Boss compressor and Boss stereo chorus (guitar into compressor, then OD-2R, then chorus, then to amp). I use a Peavey Classic 50/410 or a Peavey Transtube Studio Pro (a 1995 era model) amp.

When I use the Transtube amp, I don't use this pedal, it sounds a bit nasal and tinny. The Transtube distortion circuit just sounds better than this pedal. With the Classic amp, however, it sounds great.

I've used it both with Turbo off and Turbo on. Currently I use it with the Turbo circuit on for leads and slide playing (with the Classic amp). While I really prefer the amp's overdrive for crunchy chords, I get a more singing lead tone using the Turbo OD. I've used it before in Turbo off mode to get a bluesy grit, where I can back off the guitar volume to clean it up. Worked well, very nice and authentic blues tone. And, of course, it's a Boss pedal. Rugged and well designed. I'll give it an 8 because I find it easy to dial in a variety of authentic and useful tones...but there's probably something better (and more expensive) out there.

I;ve depended on it for 5 years. And I always use it without a backup. I do make sure I always have spare batteries, though. No problems with it ever. So it gets a 10 for reliability...I figure 5 years of steady use qualifies it as reliable.

Never dealt with Roland or Boss. Upgrade shmupgrade. Never needed repair.

I play contemporary Christian (many styles), rock, blues, country, folk-rock, country rock, etc. Works great for these styles. I've been playing 25 years or more. Own the usual gamut of guitar player stuff. If it were lost or stolen, I might look for something else, but am very satisfied with this pedal. Love - it's a pedal, not a puppy dog. Hate - nothing. My favorite feature is the Turbo circuit. Gives more tonal options. I chose this because I wanted an overdrive pedal...not fuzz...not distortion...not a metal thing.

Basically, I'd say that guitar players these days look for gadgets and gizmos to help them with their "sound." Learn to get a good clean tone first and don't waste time trying to sound like someone else. Then add an effect if you need it. I know this is pretty old school advice and lots of young players wanna sound like Limp Bisquick or whatever is trendy. I grew up on Clapton, Allman Brothers, Rory Gallagher, The Who, Steely Dan, Hendrix. That's the tones I go for. The modern ultra high gain dropped D stuff just sounds like noise to me.

Overall, the pedal rates a solid 8. It's sturdy, it's flexible and does what I need it to do. I like the nice singing leads I can get with it.

It is a very versatile pedal. With turbo off, is a great overdrive, for me is better than tube screamer because it has much midrange so the sound is more creamy and it has more gain too.
With turbo on it become a distortion but it keeps his overdrive caratteristic, with a good booster such as compressor you can play metal with turbo on. I like it very much !!!!

It's Boss Ok !!!

This unit is good for almost any kind of music.

The OD-2R is Boss's (Roland's) standard Turbo Overdrive unit. It takes practice to get the sound you want, since the variable resistors are very sensitive and offer a wide range of selections. I wouldn't reccommend trying to copy someone else's sound with this, because it's a very general piece of equipment and it's hard to nail a specific tone.

With my Strat and Fender Champ amp it works fine. It is a decent piece of equipment that produces good standard overdrive distortion. The Turbo is an inclusion of optional Feedback to add to the distortion - the feedback is more of an addition to the sound than its own separate entity. It sounds decent, but I don't have much to compare it to. Gives a good screech when you want it too, so it's fine.

I got it nearly brand new as a gift last Christmas and it has performed faithfully ever since. I don't know much about battery power, but Roland suggests buying the adaptor; I agree. It seems like it would be difficult to break; few moving parts, just a footswitch and knobs.

I've never had to deal with them. The adaptor is a standard 9V, so it was not difficult to find at all.

It's a good distortion, neither here nor there. I don't have hi-end equipment, so I couldn't tell you about things relating to that. I reccommend it as a good supplement to your rig. Rather expensive; you'd think they'd give you a footswitch for the Turbo and an adaptor for how expensive it is brand new.

Incredibly easy, and totally effective.. extra footswitch is a must for full capabilities.

Excellent. I have 4 other OD pedals and a boss vf1, including a marshall Jackhammer, and although the jackhammer & my Boss VF-1 have the ability to sculpt the sound more, this remains my favorite overdrive. Its very warm on low gain, and incredibly crunchy with higher gain. This pedal with my 7 band graphic EQ is unbeatable for tone, the overdrive is very natural, even through a solid state amp.

its Boss... enuff said

Its boss, it doesnt break, so I have had no contact with the company

After all the OD/distortion and fuzz I have tried this remains my favorite. Its a classic OD used even by The Edge, and with a 7 band EQ I would happily take the pepsi challenge against any other overdrives. The high gain is good enough for heavy stuff like limp bizkit thanks to the turbo mode, and the low gain is beautiful for chording and slower stuff...

A lovely pedal, just make sure you get the footswitch for full features!

Boss makes some of the most technueqly advanced foot pedals out there. Not only are they techniquely advanced they are also easy to use. This pedal works great for all types types of music. I use it for mainly Metallica stuff(they are some of the best musicians that ever lived). However I do use it for Led Zeppelin. Since you can turn the turbo on and off, it makes it easy to switch betwen two types of music. Since I got mine on sale for a great price It was one of my best buys I ever made. I recomend Bach to Rock on Rout 23 in New Jersey the guys there are great.

This pedal sounds so sick especially for metal music but good for all types of music. I'm kind of limited on what I can say because I have to be off the internet soon. This pedal is awsome!!!!!!!

Of course you can, it's made by Boss. I have just resently bought it but I have heard many good things about it.

This pedal has a great sound, it's easy to use and it's worth the money so I recomend I to all guitarists that play all types of music. What more can I say?