Right on. I wish they'd do this more often. I want to hear WHAT signal is being boosted. I also love that he's doing it with a very clean Twin Reverb. It shows you just what the right pedal can do.
It is great when people review gear they love and use instead of just seeking views. I love this video, great job! I'm getting one and they should pay you.
I love how this pedal brings your guitar to life, I always run solid state amps and this blue little guy just makes everything more enjoyable, a truely "always on" pedal. Boss really nailed it with this model and it's so underrated...
@@starshot5172 : It’s more an alternative for the ‘ Tubescreamer ‘ freaks. It’s at it best as a booster avoiding the tone change ( which TS909 lovers desire) . In those days, the price of the BD-2 was way under those of the TS’s variants, even second hand ones.
I’m more of a rocker, just slightly more dirty, and if you’re going stack your drives this one is probably perfect, works great with screamers, boss ods, or Klon types equally.
I love running a Blues Driver in front of an amp that already has a bit of grit. It helps you get a smooth, musical distortion that cuts through and helps retain great note separation. My second favorite boss pedal is the SD-1, followed by the old DS-1. The Blues Driver is the smoothest of all and the pedal I'd recommend to most players.
This is a great illustration of a good stage setup: clean amp, and BD-2 set in the sweet spot where it cleans up with the guitar volume control. I use mine with remarkably similar knob positions, most recently into a 1989 Peavey Bandit.
I do exactly the same... Same settings, and for the past 9 months I've been running it exclusively through a Peavey Bandit. Albeit one of the newer ones.
I love this pedal....I use it all the time with a Boss eq and a DS 1 and between those three pedals I can get any gain tone I could ever use. I've used the same 5 boss pedals for many decades...they are indestructible. Great demo!
Boss DS 1 and Boss GE7 my board has those two plus the Blues Driver BD2 a Boss DD2 digital delay and a Boss Dimension C (chorus) Sometimes I'll put a Boss compresssor in the front of everything but my main board consists of those 5 pedals...a tuner and a power supply..it all sits in one of those old molded case BB6 pedal board cases. I have now other Boss pedals to plug in but rarely do such a wah wah and reverb and flanger. I use reverb on my amp and rarely use the other's anymore
@@gregmock6808 It's not too noisy? Thinking of getting the exact same setup, eq into bd, then into ds1. I have a modded GE7 ordered and im considering the blues driver. Currently just using a tube screamer in front of my ds1, it makes the ds1 really shine. Can the blues driver do the same as a booster? Does it have more clarity?
@@marcrchz I prefer the Blues Driver to the Tube Screamer...I run the EQ into the DS1 into the Blues Driver....I've recently also used a Nobels mini in front of the EQ and it's amazing as well. Play around with it and you''ll find you can dial in a wide range of tones ...I've put the EQ in the front, middle and back of gain pedals....right now I'm using it in the effects loop of my fender tube amp and I put a Tremelo on my board where it used to be. The GE7 is a great attenuator so you can crank the amp and lower the output with the EQ. The Blues Driver has more clarity than a Tube screamer to my ears and is clearer, less mid focused gain stage. The Nobels mini does what the Blues Driver does as well...with both I can set one as boost and one with more gain. The DS 1 I use with very little treble if any and the gain below 12 oclock
@@gregmock6808 Thing is, the ts works amazing as a boost for a ds1. On it‘s own tho, it doesn’t sound that great at all but rather muddy. I‘m thinking maybe with my eq pedal arriving I could use that to bump the frequencies and wouldn’t need a ts, but I’m also worried that a blues driver might be even more ice picky and be too fizzy with a ds1 and that I wouldn’t get that big distortion sound without a ts.
Thank you! I am a Stratocaster player. I just got a huge appreciation for the Les Paul!! Now i want separate volume controls for my pickups. I liked the simplicity of your filming. I love flash but sight distracts the ear. I was already going to buy a blues driver but I just got a great perspective using the pedals I already have. Thanks for making my Sunday afternoon!! Jared Keene NH, USA
I have about 15 boost pedals (many boutique)and the BD-2 consistently stands up against the ones I paid 3x as much for. Everyone loves the SD-1, but I have the SD-1w and I think the BD-2 drives my Mesas with a "wider" group of frequencies.
I paired this with ProCo Rat, though. I didn't like it boosting the Rat. :( Unless I didn't know how to set the knobs of BD-2 and the Rat. But I tried every settings and still doesn't sound good. However, I paired the Rat with a blues breaker clone and it was spectacular! So maybe I just need a low gain drive to boost the Rat. BD-2 is considered as a mid gain drive yes?
You use this to boost your mesa? I recently got a Mesa studio pre from my uncle..I'm having a tech take a look at it and then buying a power amp and cab...gonna try to use this pedal with it. I loved this epdal with my hiwatt combo
I have an burgera 5 watt tube amp and this direct warm overdrive Sound from the burgera is even warmer and better than my boss blues driver the soft dynamics are insane even if you boost it up to maximum but i believe nobody knows it, cause boss having the big name and also the direct out recording from the bugera takes automatically the warm tube sound into your daw system i bought this amp on amazon for 180 euro's i recorded the same solo's with both and nobody believed the sound was from the 5 watt bugera!!
Thank you, thank you! I've watched a lot of videos concerning this pedal. Hands down, you did a great job showing just what this pedal can do. Great explanation and great playing. 😊 Think I'll pull the trigger on it.
I hear your true love for this pedal & you showed all its true values..So much so lm about to order this pedal..lm.excited about what it will add to my playing..Thanks mate..Brett from Oz
I just bought this pedal and started experimenting with it after researching. It is exactly what I needed. The tone is important to the overall sound just dial it in and then adjust your guitar volume it works perfectly. I have a 2 channel 5150 combo amp and this adds a third channel between the clean and the highest gain, then adjustable almost infinitely. It is awesome.
I'm using this after the EHX SoulFood or any other Klon-type OD. Even though I don't use it so much on leads, because I'm in a punk/alternative band, I use it in rhythms.
Great video and playing. I too have used a bunch of different pedals and have liked my blues driver so much I’m gonna get a second one for solos and one for always on. 👏
such a versatile pedal, can function as a clean volume boost to an almost fuzz pedal and everywhere in between the clean compression and tube amp-like sparkle it adds honestly makes this my favorite to place at the end of the gain section as a vol boost to push the amp just past break-up into that musical distortion range that just sings!
Demoing simple sonic constructs is much more helpful than just doing licks. Thank you. BTW, I have a Tube Screamer and when I get my BD-2 I’ll use it as my primary source of overdrive/grit, while the TS will be moved to a different point in the chain.
I have always been wondering why it was called Blues Driver, it has way more gain than needed fro blues or even blues rock. Regardless, it is my most important pedal. It almost always stays at the end of the signal chain, it is brilliant with a Fuzz Face, they clean up really nicely. I mostly use less gain, around 9-10 'o clock-ish with an Ibanez 335 copy, sometimes I run the Fuzz Face followed by a modified DIY Range master into the Blues Driver to get a gnarly sound, sometimes I feed it with a Shred Master and it is always great. It is also a great booster set at low gain, like Tubes Screamers, different sound though. It is also a problem solver in muddy sound situations as it probably has some low-cut. I use a Boss Katana MK1 sometimes, it's clean channel is rather muddy, the Blues Driver makes it usable somehow. Boss magic, love it.
Great video. Along with a clean amp with reverb, the Blues Driver and the CE-2W is all I need. I’m now playing through a Bkackstar Debut 50. Though solid state, the BD adds warmth and a nice tube like breakup.
Well done Ben, I stayed till the end. Also what a great band you have. 4real mon. Saw you in Austin. You all really inspired me to get playing again. Thank you
I’m not a fan of overdrive or distortion pedals but I had to get me a Blues Driver…… The other distortion pedal I like is the Marshall JH-1 JackHammer…… Bought my BD-2 for 50 bucks too……. I agree….. Boss pedals last almost forever…. Bought the DD-3 Delay in 1988….. still works today….
I still have my boss DD3 delay I bought in 1989 and it still works flawlessly and sounds just as great as the day I got it. My boss tremolo from that same time period has a filter cap or something that is bad and you can here the clicking of the rate. I don't use it anymore.
Because I'm a studio rat, I have a 20 pedal pedalboard at home with lots of different gain stages. I recently had to make a mini board for a jam session next week and had to choose exactly the bare minimum of what I always use. For the gain stages, it's always the mxr timmy always on, and the blues driver. I just love it so much for everything. It can do clean boost, tighten the low end, add sparkle, fuzz, pop punk distortion, country crunch, stev vai lead, its perfect for everything. And with the timmy always on in front of it with a little break up its amazing. For those wondering the mini board ended up being: MXR Timmy > Blues Driver > Boss IR2. In the IR2 Effects loop is the Boss VB2 > Boss DM2W > Earthquaker Afterneath. With a Fender player series 2 tele. All I need right there.
I find a BD is great into a valve amp that has to be set too low (neighbours, for example) to give just that sense that the amp is working harder than it is. I will still use it when playing louder, but I tend to turn the Gain down a whisker. I really don't use it to get distortion/overdrive/whatever, certainly not enough to call the sound distorted. But it gives an excellent feeling of hair, just a little bit of peach fuzz. I also have a Klone and a Pi, and these actually go into the BD. As I'm only using the BD as seasoning, I still get the full Klon/e or Muff sensation when I switch them on. I can't believe I'm using 3 (4 if you include the gain on my amp) separate distortion elements! I convince myself that I actually use all this flexibility and I suppose I do. What we used to do in the mix I can now do straight into my amp. We are spoiled these days. Back in the iron age, we considered ourselves lucky if we could get a half-decent sound from some awful 100w solid state amp which was all many people could afford or what the club/pub insisted you use as they often wouldn't let you bring your own amp. This was to keep a lid on SPL. They didn't trust musicians. With good cause, I did a bunch of FoH engineering and there were plenty of bands into the noiseworks thing. Not the band, the noise. I would try to tell them that just turning every knob up to max wasn't always the best way to get impact :D
I have a blues driver on my combo acoustic and electric pedal board. Use for my electric guitar and as a boost for acoustic for lead runs. Just have to adjust a little when I switch over
The best pedal, I used to look down on them because of the title and the color. One day in a shop i tried one just the laugh, and I felt extremely stupide. Haha now it’s on my board, one in my gig bag for jams, i was so excited when I saw you were using one!
Really interesting how you use the guitar's controls for each pickup to master your tone. Coincidentally, I just bought a Boss Blues Driver to replace some wilder overdrives, so your video is incredibly helpful. Rock!
I like the EHX Glove - it does everything but I still have a Boss Blues Driver and I go back and forth between a Caline Pure Sky and the Blues Driver. Between those three pedals I get it all.
Great video and tones! Love your tonal examples. I’ve had my BD-2 for decades and it’s always on any iteration of pedalboards I make. Definitely a go to and staple in my sound. I also used the Dude pedal from JRockett. Those two with a boost pedal created my rhythm and lead soundscapes. For a while I was using an ODR-1 too but it’s not currently on my board. That BD-2 delivers every time!
Randomly clicked on this video because, well, I wanted to talk about the Blues Driver. First riff sounded very familiar, but didn't think much about it. Same as the 2nd riff. 3rd riff and I'm thinking, this guy really has good taste in music if he's using ATW songs as examples. Then I exited full-screen and saw the name. Subscribed...
One is arriving the day after tomorrow. Can't wait. Boss pedal breaking? I have an original Chorus CE-2 that I bought in 1980. Still works great. Thanks for this really useful demo.
I don't want to sound like Dimebag Darrell when I plug in.That seems like what most stomp boxes offer. I'm looking for something between Clapton and Santana and I think you've helped me find it. Thank you, Ben
Thank you for this. I ordered a used one yesterday. I have a pirate "keeley" modded Tube Screamer and a Bad Monkey. I think the Monkey is probably better. More transparent. The thing is that clarity with less volume you mentioned. That sounds exactly right.
really great! I use the exact same always-on approach but right now using MojoMojo overdrive. It also cleans up really well and I think is less compressed than BD leading to more volume variation between the clean and full gain sound.
Thank you so very much. I own a blue driver and have? Been. Having issues of getting? It to sound right but there's really no videos that offer any tips or tricks except for this one. I really appreciate it I am going to try these settings. And say hi it works out for me again thank you have a blessed day
I like the BD-2 a lot. Enough to have 4 of them. Only 1 is factory stock. Borrowed a friend's to learn how much I like it. Found 1 on Ebay used. Modded by Alchemy and only $80. Great! Now after getting this I kept seeing videos with the Keeley sounding so nice. Found 1 of those used $124. Nice. Week later a Waza used $93. Hey had to get a stock 1 $45. Now I got 4. Did my own comparison test and ended up liking the Alchemy the best. Since I stack drives on my board and have 3 different types on there. The Alchemy doesn't add switches or anything. I use very little gain on my 3 on the board. Gain is noise especially through a board. The Alchemy gets the best low gain tone of any of them. Maybe switches? I don't know. But my 1st choice was best and is on my board 4 yrs later.
Thanks Ben. I have the BD2 and like you use it as my main drive pedal but have never utilised it like you do so will be trying this out with my LP and Katana set clean 👍
Still my favourite way to launch a solo. I use crunch amp break up as standard then use this to solo, and to clean up, I can roll back the guitar volume. Different to this poster.
Main reason you feel BD cleans up with rolled off volume is that the BD is not true bypass. It has an input buffer which acts a little like a treble bleed in the guitar … leaves the highs from being robbed by impedance load of the pickups
never was a big fan of these, but you make a good case for it. It seems better suited to humbuckers. Now that I think about it, I suspect that this pedal internally mixes in some of the clean signal with the overdrive, and automatically dials back the drive when the input signal is lower. but I'm just making that up. It's always jaw dropping when you hear a player whose tone you admire tell you that the secret to that tone is a pedal they keep on all the time that you have always sort of thought was junk.
I use mine in the exact same way... Clean amp, pedal on all the time, cleaning up with the volume. Even my settings are identical. Going from a Strat, to a Tele, to a Les Paul I never feel the need to change anything on the pedal.
I bought a used Blues Driver a couple of years ago and it didn’t find its way onto pedal board. It’s a great pedal and you are correct - it cleans up incredibly nice when backing off the guitar’s volume. And I my settings are pretty close to what you’re using.
Thanks for making this video. Always loved your tone, especially on Diamond. Killer song by the way. I was thinking about getting a Blues Driver, I have a few other ODs but they are either too mid range heavy or they don't clean up the way I want with the guitar volume. After hearing you talk about the way you use your Blues Driver and hearing the results, wow. I think I'll have to get one. Great video. Love your band. Thanks again
I have this pedal and like it as well as the DS-1W and the SD-1. What amp settings are you using on your Twin Reverb? Is it a the edge of breakup? I have Deluxe Reverb and am wondering, your getting a ton of tones out of 1 setting on the pedal.
I've been using Boss pedals since 1985. They've always delivered the mojo. I've never had one fail on me. They are built like tanks, like Tonka trucks. Don't waste your time with ultra pricy boutique pedals. A Boss will do.
I've really come to love this pedal. Just like you say, it cleans up great. I mainly play strats, teles, and jazzmasters, and it fills out the low end beautifully, not too much, not too thin, but always sounds rich and full, which is surprising in a way, considering the top end can be very present, too. I've tried dozens of other dirt pedals, but I couldn't find that BD-2 sound anywhere. Usually you do have to keep the tone down, about 10 o'clock is exactly what i've found works best in most cases, also. But on darker amps you can go to noon and it's no problem, so it's nice to have that headroom available. Gain at noon works for me, and level a little lower, 10 or 11. The one negative I'd add is with the tone and gain set too high it can sound "fizzy," but if you know how to dial it in and keep the tone in check especially it's no problem. Great video and demo on a great pedal!
I’ve had a tube screamer for quite a while now and lately I’ve realized that I need to acquire a few more overdrive pedals to give me some more gain stages. So I recently added the boss, blues driver and I’m pretty darn happy with it so far. It’s nothing weird or spectacular, just a good solid over driven sound.
You mentioned more boutique pedals. IMO the Southland Harmonic Overdrive from Greer Amplification has better cleanup than the blues driver, meaning a slight change in picking pressure allows you to go from strumming all 6 chords cleanly to having distorted sounds on a single string at similar sound pressure levels without even needing to touch the volume or pickup selector, let alone the pedal, and the breakup has better clarity, when I A&B-ed them. Have you ever played it?
I use two bd2s i set them both different. Two of them sound totally fuzzy but you can hear the note you are playing at the same time. It doesn't get lost in the fuzz.
I do the same technique w fuzz face style Fuzz pedals (Fulltone 69, for example, or even Carcosa if set right): I set unity gain with my volume rolled down, so that it’s basically a “clean” sound (although, with a fuzz, it usually still has a bit of hair, but it’s a really great tone: think “Little Wing” clean sound), and then my volume knob adds more and more gain until full Fuzz.
Finally someone has the sense to demonstrate his amp sound prior to using the pedal , thanks much appreciated.
+1000
Drives me nuts when people don't do this. Which most don't
Right on. I wish they'd do this more often. I want to hear WHAT signal is being boosted. I also love that he's doing it with a very clean Twin Reverb. It shows you just what the right pedal can do.
It is great when people review gear they love and use instead of just seeking views. I love this video, great job! I'm getting one and they should pay you.
I love how this pedal brings your guitar to life, I always run solid state amps and this blue little guy just makes everything more enjoyable, a truely "always on" pedal. Boss really nailed it with this model and it's so underrated...
What magnificent giant rock tones you get with this pedal and that Twin. Truly monumental. Majestic. Soulful. A rock and roll as it gets.
I worked in a guitar store when the BD-2 was released, and I said it would become the new ‘Tube Screamer ‘ at a lower price… and it did!
Have it and tried it and I'm not really sold on it. Doesn't change much in terms of its sound, fucking expensive tiny ass change to my guitar's sound
@@starshot5172 : It’s more an alternative for the ‘ Tubescreamer ‘ freaks. It’s at it best as a booster avoiding the tone change ( which TS909 lovers desire) . In those days, the price of the BD-2 was way under those of the TS’s variants, even second hand ones.
I’m more of a rocker, just slightly more dirty, and if you’re going stack your drives this one is probably perfect, works great with screamers, boss ods, or Klon types equally.
@@starshot5172something isn't right with your gear then.. The BD-2 is an excellent pedal with tons of tone.
I wouldn't call it that. I like the BD because to me it responds so differently than a TS would. I've never liked TS pedals or their clones.
Right on! The best example of why this pedal is special I’ve seen. Great playing
✨🔊✨
Of all the $2-300 boutique overdrives, if I could only have one, it would be my Waza Blues Driver. It’s so crispy and fun to play.
I love running a Blues Driver in front of an amp that already has a bit of grit. It helps you get a smooth, musical distortion that cuts through and helps retain great note separation. My second favorite boss pedal is the SD-1, followed by the old DS-1. The Blues Driver is the smoothest of all and the pedal I'd recommend to most players.
Your guitar work is incredible, love your playing so much, and of course all them witches
This is a great illustration of a good stage setup: clean amp, and BD-2 set in the sweet spot where it cleans up with the guitar volume control. I use mine with remarkably similar knob positions, most recently into a 1989 Peavey Bandit.
I do exactly the same... Same settings, and for the past 9 months I've been running it exclusively through a Peavey Bandit. Albeit one of the newer ones.
I love this pedal....I use it all the time with a Boss eq and a DS 1 and between those three pedals I can get any gain tone I could ever use. I've used the same 5 boss pedals for many decades...they are indestructible. Great demo!
what are the other 2?
Boss DS 1 and Boss GE7 my board has those two plus the Blues Driver BD2 a Boss DD2 digital delay and a Boss Dimension C (chorus) Sometimes I'll put a Boss compresssor in the front of everything but my main board consists of those 5 pedals...a tuner and a power supply..it all sits in one of those old molded case BB6 pedal board cases. I have now other Boss pedals to plug in but rarely do such a wah wah and reverb and flanger. I use reverb on my amp and rarely use the other's anymore
@@gregmock6808 It's not too noisy? Thinking of getting the exact same setup, eq into bd, then into ds1. I have a modded GE7 ordered and im considering the blues driver. Currently just using a tube screamer in front of my ds1, it makes the ds1 really shine. Can the blues driver do the same as a booster? Does it have more clarity?
@@marcrchz I prefer the Blues Driver to the Tube Screamer...I run the EQ into the DS1 into the Blues Driver....I've recently also used a Nobels mini in front of the EQ and it's amazing as well. Play around with it and you''ll find you can dial in a wide range of tones ...I've put the EQ in the front, middle and back of gain pedals....right now I'm using it in the effects loop of my fender tube amp and I put a Tremelo on my board where it used to be. The GE7 is a great attenuator so you can crank the amp and lower the output with the EQ. The Blues Driver has more clarity than a Tube screamer to my ears and is clearer, less mid focused gain stage. The Nobels mini does what the Blues Driver does as well...with both I can set one as boost and one with more gain. The DS 1 I use with very little treble if any and the gain below 12 oclock
@@gregmock6808 Thing is, the ts works amazing as a boost for a ds1. On it‘s own tho, it doesn’t sound that great at all but rather muddy. I‘m thinking maybe with my eq pedal arriving I could use that to bump the frequencies and wouldn’t need a ts, but I’m also worried that a blues driver might be even more ice picky and be too fizzy with a ds1 and that I wouldn’t get that big distortion sound without a ts.
I keep my BD 2 on all the time too. I play R&B, so I keep my gain way lower. It adds so much character to my tone while still staying really clean!
Thank you!
I am a Stratocaster player. I just got a huge appreciation for the Les Paul!! Now i want separate volume controls for my pickups.
I liked the simplicity of your filming. I love flash but sight distracts the ear.
I was already going to buy a blues driver but I just got a great perspective using the pedals I already have.
Thanks for making my Sunday afternoon!!
Jared Keene NH, USA
I have about 15 boost pedals (many boutique)and the BD-2 consistently stands up against the ones I paid 3x as much for. Everyone loves the SD-1, but I have the SD-1w and I think the BD-2 drives my Mesas with a "wider" group of frequencies.
I don't know why I took so long to get one of these.
They're awesome.
I paired this with ProCo Rat, though. I didn't like it boosting the Rat. :( Unless I didn't know how to set the knobs of BD-2 and the Rat. But I tried every settings and still doesn't sound good.
However, I paired the Rat with a blues breaker clone and it was spectacular! So maybe I just need a low gain drive to boost the Rat. BD-2 is considered as a mid gain drive yes?
You use this to boost your mesa? I recently got a Mesa studio pre from my uncle..I'm having a tech take a look at it and then buying a power amp and cab...gonna try to use this pedal with it. I loved this epdal with my hiwatt combo
I have an burgera 5 watt tube amp and this direct warm overdrive Sound from the burgera is even warmer and better than my boss blues driver the soft dynamics are insane even if you boost it up to maximum but i believe nobody knows it, cause boss having the big name and also the direct out recording from the bugera takes automatically the warm tube sound into your daw system i bought this amp on amazon for 180 euro's i recorded the same solo's with both and nobody believed the sound was from the 5 watt bugera!!
I have about 17
Thank you, thank you! I've watched a lot of videos concerning this pedal. Hands down, you did a great job showing just what this pedal can do. Great explanation and great playing. 😊 Think I'll pull the trigger on it.
Best guitar pedal demo hands down. Thanks!
This is one of the best pedal videos I've ever watched. Fantastic! 👏
Love your sound, love your tone. I have used a BD-2 for 12 years and love it!!
This video has changed my approach for live blues rock guitar 🎸- I play a SG --> Boss BD-2 Blues Driver
I hear your true love for this pedal & you showed all its true values..So much so lm about to order this pedal..lm.excited about what it will add to my playing..Thanks mate..Brett from Oz
Ben has Tone Tips and Talent !!
Great demo and playing! Thanks for the tips.
Great demo. Everyone should have a Blues Driver. One of the best dirt pedals ever IMO.
Wonderfully demonstrated and very inspiring Ben . Thanks
I just bought this pedal and started experimenting with it after researching. It is exactly what I needed. The tone is important to the overall sound just dial it in and then adjust your guitar volume it works perfectly. I have a 2 channel 5150 combo amp and this adds a third channel between the clean and the highest gain, then adjustable almost infinitely. It is awesome.
Thanks, nice tip with the selector switch at the end
Best demo out there. Buying one immediately. Thanks
Hi Ben, Thanks for reaching out to us. Love my BD2. Tucson, AZ
Amazing sound.
Great video Ben, big fan of ATW, great to hear all these familiar licks dude, next video let’s see you playing brother. All the best ❤
Great tone!! Great playing!!
What a gorgeous looking thing ! I would love one myself 😊 yes its a lovely rug ( and i like the pedal too )
thank you for sharing your knowledge and your personal ideas, thank you very much
Stellar playing..and tone! Gonna look into one of these now.
Great video
BD2 stock &
Johnny Hiland sweet spot super drive.
Are my favorite 🎸
And...now I need one. Thank you Ben! 😁
I'm using this after the EHX SoulFood or any other Klon-type OD. Even though I don't use it so much on leads, because I'm in a punk/alternative band, I use it in rhythms.
Nice I use SoulFood as a drive going into a Tube screamer acting as a boost. Nice lead tone.
Great video and playing. I too have used a bunch of different pedals and have liked my blues driver so much I’m gonna get a second one for solos and one for always on. 👏
This and the Digi Screamin' Blues are my to favorites. Great video!
such a versatile pedal, can function as a clean volume boost to an almost fuzz pedal and everywhere in between
the clean compression and tube amp-like sparkle it adds honestly makes this my favorite to place at the end of the gain section as a vol boost to push the amp just past break-up into that musical distortion range that just sings!
Demoing simple sonic constructs is much more helpful than just doing licks. Thank you. BTW, I have a Tube Screamer and when I get my BD-2 I’ll use it as my primary source of overdrive/grit, while the TS will be moved to a different point in the chain.
I have always been wondering why it was called Blues Driver, it has way more gain than needed fro blues or even blues rock. Regardless, it is my most important pedal. It almost always stays at the end of the signal chain, it is brilliant with a Fuzz Face, they clean up really nicely. I mostly use less gain, around 9-10 'o clock-ish with an Ibanez 335 copy, sometimes I run the Fuzz Face followed by a modified DIY Range master into the Blues Driver to get a gnarly sound, sometimes I feed it with a Shred Master and it is always great. It is also a great booster set at low gain, like Tubes Screamers, different sound though. It is also a problem solver in muddy sound situations as it probably has some low-cut. I use a Boss Katana MK1 sometimes, it's clean channel is rather muddy, the Blues Driver makes it usable somehow. Boss magic, love it.
Great video. Along with a clean amp with reverb, the Blues Driver and the CE-2W is all I need. I’m now playing through a Bkackstar Debut 50. Though solid state, the BD adds warmth and a nice tube like breakup.
Well done Ben, I stayed till the end. Also what a great band you have. 4real mon. Saw you in Austin. You all really inspired me to get playing again. Thank you
I’m not a fan of overdrive or distortion pedals but I had to get me a Blues Driver…… The other distortion pedal I like is the Marshall JH-1 JackHammer…… Bought my BD-2 for 50 bucks too……. I agree….. Boss pedals last almost forever…. Bought the DD-3 Delay in 1988….. still works today….
I still have my boss DD3 delay I bought in 1989 and it still works flawlessly and sounds just as great as the day I got it. My boss tremolo from that same time period has a filter cap or something that is bad and you can here the clicking of the rate. I don't use it anymore.
@@fiddlefolk those DD-3s are built like a tank!!!!
@@Bernz66 Yes they are and they sound great!
I have the blues driver and JH-1 jackhammer together n my board but for some reason, my blues is giving me a terrible twangy sound
Because I'm a studio rat, I have a 20 pedal pedalboard at home with lots of different gain stages. I recently had to make a mini board for a jam session next week and had to choose exactly the bare minimum of what I always use. For the gain stages, it's always the mxr timmy always on, and the blues driver. I just love it so much for everything. It can do clean boost, tighten the low end, add sparkle, fuzz, pop punk distortion, country crunch, stev vai lead, its perfect for everything. And with the timmy always on in front of it with a little break up its amazing.
For those wondering the mini board ended up being: MXR Timmy > Blues Driver > Boss IR2. In the IR2 Effects loop is the Boss VB2 > Boss DM2W > Earthquaker Afterneath. With a Fender player series 2 tele. All I need right there.
I find a BD is great into a valve amp that has to be set too low (neighbours, for example) to give just that sense that the amp is working harder than it is. I will still use it when playing louder, but I tend to turn the Gain down a whisker. I really don't use it to get distortion/overdrive/whatever, certainly not enough to call the sound distorted. But it gives an excellent feeling of hair, just a little bit of peach fuzz. I also have a Klone and a Pi, and these actually go into the BD. As I'm only using the BD as seasoning, I still get the full Klon/e or Muff sensation when I switch them on. I can't believe I'm using 3 (4 if you include the gain on my amp) separate distortion elements!
I convince myself that I actually use all this flexibility and I suppose I do. What we used to do in the mix I can now do straight into my amp. We are spoiled these days.
Back in the iron age, we considered ourselves lucky if we could get a half-decent sound from some awful 100w solid state amp which was all many people could afford or what the club/pub insisted you use as they often wouldn't let you bring your own amp. This was to keep a lid on SPL. They didn't trust musicians. With good cause, I did a bunch of FoH engineering and there were plenty of bands into the noiseworks thing. Not the band, the noise. I would try to tell them that just turning every knob up to max wasn't always the best way to get impact :D
New to electric guitar here,I know nothing about pedals but this to me sounds amazing from one pedal
Great review 👍
I have a blues driver on my combo acoustic and electric pedal board. Use for my electric guitar and as a boost for acoustic for lead runs. Just have to adjust a little when I switch over
Boss should pay you royalties - you sure sold this pedal to me !
The best pedal, I used to look down on them because of the title and the color. One day in a shop i tried one just the laugh, and I felt extremely stupide. Haha now it’s on my board, one in my gig bag for jams, i was so excited when I saw you were using one!
Really interesting how you use the guitar's controls for each pickup to master your tone. Coincidentally, I just bought a Boss Blues Driver to replace some wilder overdrives, so your video is incredibly helpful. Rock!
I love my blues driver! Use it all the time.
I like the EHX Glove - it does everything but I still have a Boss Blues Driver and I go back and forth between a Caline Pure Sky and the Blues Driver. Between those three pedals I get it all.
Great video and tones! Love your tonal examples. I’ve had my BD-2 for decades and it’s always on any iteration of pedalboards I make. Definitely a go to and staple in my sound. I also used the Dude pedal from JRockett. Those two with a boost pedal created my rhythm and lead soundscapes. For a while I was using an ODR-1 too but it’s not currently on my board. That BD-2 delivers every time!
I love the BD-2! I had it mod'd to get it slightly fatter, and it IS amazing. Sounds and plays a lot like an amp, 100% agreed!
Randomly clicked on this video because, well, I wanted to talk about the Blues Driver. First riff sounded very familiar, but didn't think much about it. Same as the 2nd riff. 3rd riff and I'm thinking, this guy really has good taste in music if he's using ATW songs as examples. Then I exited full-screen and saw the name. Subscribed...
One is arriving the day after tomorrow. Can't wait. Boss pedal breaking? I have an original Chorus CE-2 that I bought in 1980. Still works great. Thanks for this really useful demo.
Love my Angry Driver. I use the Boss Blue Driver settings mostly without the JHS MIAB switch on.
The only pedal I own that I can never be without and they are Affordable. Great review
at 12:10 I love the way that melody sounds.
I don't want to sound like Dimebag Darrell when I plug in.That seems like what most stomp boxes offer. I'm looking for something between Clapton and Santana and I think you've helped me find it. Thank you, Ben
Nice. Thanks for posting. Been listening to All them Witches for a few years now. You guys are awesome. 🤟
Thank you for this. I ordered a used one yesterday.
I have a pirate "keeley" modded Tube Screamer and a Bad Monkey. I think the Monkey is probably better. More transparent.
The thing is that clarity with less volume you mentioned. That sounds exactly right.
really great! I use the exact same always-on approach but right now using MojoMojo overdrive. It also cleans up really well and I think is less compressed than BD leading to more volume variation between the clean and full gain sound.
totally agree with you! always loved Boss and still!
ANGRY DRIVER and FZ1 Wazza for me!!!!
Thank you so very much. I own a blue driver and have? Been. Having issues of getting? It to sound right but there's really no videos that offer any tips or tricks except for this one. I really appreciate it I am going to try these settings. And say hi it works out for me again thank you have a blessed day
I like the BD-2 a lot. Enough to have 4 of them. Only 1 is factory stock. Borrowed a friend's to learn how much I like it. Found 1 on Ebay used. Modded by Alchemy and only $80. Great! Now after getting this I kept seeing videos with the Keeley sounding so nice. Found 1 of those used $124. Nice. Week later a Waza used $93. Hey had to get a stock 1 $45. Now I got 4. Did my own comparison test and ended up liking the Alchemy the best. Since I stack drives on my board and have 3 different types on there. The Alchemy doesn't add switches or anything. I use very little gain on my 3 on the board. Gain is noise especially through a board. The Alchemy gets the best low gain tone of any of them. Maybe switches? I don't know. But my 1st choice was best and is on my board 4 yrs later.
While I love my Browne Amplification Protein, my Blue Driver 2W has a special place in my heart. Getting ready to put it back on my worship board
Came for the Blues Driver, but I stayed for the music 👍🏻
The best pedal, I agree , I have a tube screamer too , it sits on the shelf
Great video man. The jhs @ pedal is damn goo as well.
It Does Sound Ahh Ma Zzzzzzing!!! ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️ Great
Demo. Thank You !
Just bought one. Waiting for it to arrive.
Thanks Ben. I have the BD2 and like you use it as my main drive pedal but have never utilised it like you do so will be trying this out with my LP and Katana set clean 👍
Still my favourite way to launch a solo. I use crunch amp break up as standard then use this to solo, and to clean up, I can roll back the guitar volume. Different to this poster.
Main reason you feel BD cleans up with rolled off volume is that the BD is not true bypass. It has an input buffer which acts a little like a treble bleed in the guitar … leaves the highs from being robbed by impedance load of the pickups
But that’s true of nearly all boss pedals. So does the BD clean up better than other boss pedals like the SD1? Or just as good?
all boss pedals are actually buffered bypass..
Clever stuff with switching pickups for clean and distorted 👍
never was a big fan of these, but you make a good case for it. It seems better suited to humbuckers. Now that I think about it, I suspect that this pedal internally mixes in some of the clean signal with the overdrive, and automatically dials back the drive when the input signal is lower. but I'm just making that up. It's always jaw dropping when you hear a player whose tone you admire tell you that the secret to that tone is a pedal they keep on all the time that you have always sort of thought was junk.
I use mine in the exact same way... Clean amp, pedal on all the time, cleaning up with the volume. Even my settings are identical. Going from a Strat, to a Tele, to a Les Paul I never feel the need to change anything on the pedal.
A superb video about a superb pedal, with some pretty cool playng to match. Thanks!
I bought a used Blues Driver a couple of years ago and it didn’t find its way onto pedal board. It’s a great pedal and you are correct - it cleans up incredibly nice when backing off the guitar’s volume. And I my settings are pretty close to what you’re using.
Dyaaamn , that thang is saucy !!!! Love that pedal
Just saw this a week ago and bought one the next day. You should get a commission sir
Thanks for making this video. Always loved your tone, especially on Diamond. Killer song by the way. I was thinking about getting a Blues Driver, I have a few other ODs but they are either too mid range heavy or they don't clean up the way I want with the guitar volume. After hearing you talk about the way you use your Blues Driver and hearing the results, wow. I think I'll have to get one. Great video. Love your band. Thanks again
My favorite also. Agreed very underrated since True bypass became a thing.
I have this pedal it works in many styles and I like because of this and when I use together with the feedbacker booster in solos is pretty Good todo.
Thank you just bought one great info
So good!! Well done! TY!
I have this pedal and like it as well as the DS-1W and the SD-1. What amp settings are you using on your Twin Reverb? Is it a the edge of breakup? I have Deluxe Reverb and am wondering, your getting a ton of tones out of 1 setting on the pedal.
I've been using Boss pedals since 1985. They've always delivered the mojo. I've never had one fail on me. They are built like tanks, like Tonka trucks. Don't waste your time with ultra pricy boutique pedals. A Boss will do.
I run the TS into the BD-2 and use the TS for a boost
I've really come to love this pedal. Just like you say, it cleans up great. I mainly play strats, teles, and jazzmasters, and it fills out the low end beautifully, not too much, not too thin, but always sounds rich and full, which is surprising in a way, considering the top end can be very present, too.
I've tried dozens of other dirt pedals, but I couldn't find that BD-2 sound anywhere. Usually you do have to keep the tone down, about 10 o'clock is exactly what i've found works best in most cases, also. But on darker amps you can go to noon and it's no problem, so it's nice to have that headroom available. Gain at noon works for me, and level a little lower, 10 or 11. The one negative I'd add is with the tone and gain set too high it can sound "fizzy," but if you know how to dial it in and keep the tone in check especially it's no problem. Great video and demo on a great pedal!
I’ve had a tube screamer for quite a while now and lately I’ve realized that I need to acquire a few more overdrive pedals to give me some more gain stages. So I recently added the boss, blues driver and I’m pretty darn happy with it so far. It’s nothing weird or spectacular, just a good solid over driven sound.
Try boosting the bd2 with the ts9.
You mentioned more boutique pedals. IMO the Southland Harmonic Overdrive from Greer Amplification has better cleanup than the blues driver, meaning a slight change in picking pressure allows you to go from strumming all 6 chords cleanly to having distorted sounds on a single string at similar sound pressure levels without even needing to touch the volume or pickup selector, let alone the pedal, and the breakup has better clarity, when I A&B-ed them. Have you ever played it?
Wow Ben What a helpful video this has been. I just discovered U 👍
A very good presentation of this awsome pedal. I also love it and it is my always on pedal as well 🤘
I use two bd2s i set them both different. Two of them sound totally fuzzy but you can hear the note you are playing at the same time. It doesn't get lost in the fuzz.
I do the same technique w fuzz face style Fuzz pedals (Fulltone 69, for example, or even Carcosa if set right):
I set unity gain with my volume rolled down, so that it’s basically a “clean” sound (although, with a fuzz, it usually still has a bit of hair, but it’s a really great tone: think “Little Wing” clean sound), and then my volume knob adds more and more gain until full Fuzz.
love these videos!!