Boss BD-2 Blues Driver | The Best Overdrive Pedal Ever?
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- #boss #bosspedals #overdrivepedal @BOSSinfoglobal
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Thats an affiliate link, and if you buy a Boss BD2 through it (or anything else) you support my channel at no extra cost to you! Is the Boss Blues Driver the best overdrive ever? What does that even mean? Join me for a jam, discussion and settings run-through of this now classic and iconic guitar pedal. Using a Fender Stratocaster with Porter Pickups into a Marshall JVM, and a Gibson Les Paul with Mojo Tone PAFs into a Fender Bassman.
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just got myself a wazacraf BD2 last week , could not be happier
My favorite thing about the Blues Driver is its ability to fully shine with single coils and humbuckers. Not all pedals are near perfect with both pickup styles. Neck pickup with single coils at about noon gain is creamy and dreamy, as does middle pickup with the humbuckers. I NEVER got this with a Tube Screamer. I don't even get it with other Boss pedals. The Blues Driver could possibly be the only pedal one would need to get the sounds an overdrive pedal should deliver. Superb demo. Great playing. Thank you!!!
"when you hit your amp with it, it kinda feels like it boosts the whole EQ"- that's a perfect definition I believe, for what it does and why I love mine. A Telecaster>BD-2>Fender amp is one of my favorite sounds. Best overdrive? Well, I prefer the BD-2 over a tubescreamer, but my favorite overdrive would actually be a Tonebender Mk II fuzz, set very low.
If this is your format, I'll be watching more of your videos. You play well, your clean cut, you make eye contact through the camera, instead of looking at the wall to the right, and especially, you seem to realize foul language isn't needed to communicate! Well done and informative.
What are you going to do if he grows a beard??
Not to worry, I can't. I can develop a rugged looking Wolverine scruff, then I quickly start to resemble a broken etch-a-sketch.
No other distortion or overdrive sounds as good in front of my super reverb. Great every time.
Great pedal! Love it with my tube amps and paired with a little compression it’s a great way to make a solid state amp feel more like a tube amp.
Thanks for your thoughts. This is one of the most underrated pedals in our day. Take it and every Tube Amp gets alive, especially at the Living room Level. Sounds great react great.
Great review, Jack. The BD-2 is one of my favorite low/medium gain dirt pedals. High gain sounds are interesting, too.
I love how dynamic it is, and how well it cleans up when rolling back the guitar volume. Nice and jangly, almost like a fuzz face.
I’ve tried to replace it many times, but the BD-2 is still on my board. It just works for me.
Couldn't agree more!
Boutique and fad pedals come and go and are then forgotton, but the great cornerstone pedals will always remain. Thanks jack.
Yea man, I'm digging this. Have the BD. Think I'll fall in love with it all over again
Have had mine since -95 when it was released. Very happy with it. 👍
What you did at 12:58 was what I was looking for. And now i am convinced it works good as a trebley crunchy distortion as well. I heard it kind of does the trick for several things and your video supported these comments. Thanks.
First one on UA-cam I've seen capture the beauty of a blues driver into a marshall
Since the 90s I’ve gone back to the BD2 5-6 times, bought & sold ! I now have the BD2w and a Standard (as a back up)… I used a few OD pedals, I ALWAYS go back to the BD2… I seriously think you can’t get better. It does its job whatever amp/guitar. Built superbly. Lower gain/higher gain it plays lovely ! Great video 🎸🙏
Do you notice a difference between the 2? Been thinking of upgrading to a WAZA one.
It’s not a mega huge difference in the standard setting, but, if you have a Strat or a guitar with a thin/treble dominant pick up, the custom side can fatten up great!
I personally LOVE the BD2 (standard and Waza). Just my opinion though!
@@keviniverson that’s a good enough reason to get one! 🤣👍🏼
Sweet finish on that LP!!
Congratulations, excellent video. I would like to recommend the Boss Bd-2 Waza Craft model made in Japan. In standard mode it is faithful to the stock bd-2 but slightly improved. In custom mode however, you have more body, more lowend, more mids & gain. Truly spectacular! Try it, you'll be happy, and I'm sure you'll never take it off your pedalboard again! Greetings!
I use my BD-2W for all my recording projects now. In Custom mode, my Strats sound fatter and more authoritative without losing one iota of their “Straty-ness”. On the other hand, I love how standard mode and the tone set to 1pm - 2pm, really makes the neck pickup on my 2007 Sheraton II sound very nicely defined, but still retains its woody, woman tone. I have the BD-2W gain at zero or maybe turned up10% for the Sheraton. It kinda gets a BB King Lucille tone, back when he played through the Lab Series amps.
After buying a few boutique overdrives, I’ve come to realise to keep things simple with BOSS pedals.
Great video! I agree with you, the BD is one of the best OD's ever made. As a bonus, it really works well with other pedals and can enhance what they do. The SD1 is awesome as well but has a mid freq hump where the BD is much more even in frequency boost.
I absolutely love this pedal. It's warm, sweet, and as hot as I'd ever need it to be. I've always adjusted this pedal in accordance with how much gain I've use and the pickups I use, be they single coil, humbucker, high or low output.
Love my BD-2. I bought a Power Stack at the same time. 2 different sounds and uses. Of course i still have my TS-9 and will never get rid of the Big Muffs or Fuzz Face. Thats history right there.
It was my first pedal and I’ll never get rid of it 👍
I love my Keeley Super Phat Mod Blues Driver pedal. It sounds great with all my amps. I love it through a Fender Deluxe Reverb with my Tele.
Very Cool, Thankyou. Awesome Demo/review. I use my Boss BD-2 before my Boss DS-1 and this allows me to achieve a huge range of 'Drive' Tones. Awesome Sound. All the best. Cheers
Same here..... love them together
How do you set the knobs on both.tnx
@@race1365 as for me, pretty much all the knobs on both the blues driver and the DS1 are hovering between 10 and 11 o’clock.. if you’d like to hear how that sounds through a Bugera V5 into one by 12 greenback cab, I just put up a video the other night on my channel, you have to scroll to the end of the video to hear it demo’d..
Loved❤ those tones with the strat, not fussed on the les paul
One of my biggest gripes with most OD pedals is that they thin out, tighten up with super focus gain. I prefer the big thick, gritty, hairy power tube breakup of NMV amps and thus find most OD disappointing. I don't own a BD2 but now that it's on my radar it's looking like exactly what I'm looking for!
Great video and demo! Thanks!
The BD-2 my favourite overdrive pedal ever, I will never take it away from board. If I could have only two pedals for the rest of my life, it would be the Electro Harmonix Soul Food as my clean boost and the BD-2 for overdriven tones. Also, Jack, why do I get better SRV tones out of my BD-2 (I play a 65 Deluxe Reverb) than with my TS-808 or TS-9? Thanks, your channel is simply the best. I'm addicted to it.
Thank you! Stevie's tone is hard to get in general because there were so many factors, including how loud the amps were and the fact that he used many different amps. I think the BD2 is one of the best at nailing the sound of an overdriven amp, so (assuming your deluxe isn't overdriving on its own) its filling in more of that tonal territory than the TS would. Im pretty sure SRV stacked TS pedals more as boosts too.
I have never owned a overdrive, I am currently looking into buying one and this is topping the list, its just more versatile thrn any other u can get more sounds and for the price its unbelievable.
I have to check this pedal out, currently I’ve been using and have been enjoying a exotic AC boost, it’s a transparent type of boost doesn’t change your tone, like some do, good video!
The analog man mod on it is pretty rad too. It takes all the shrill out of the tone knob. Replaces all cheap parts with the goods and turns the led to bright blue. I can tell a substantial difference.
I think best ever is too subjective for people to agree on, but it’s my personal favorite. I bought one in the early 2000’s and it’s literally NEVER left my board. I have many OD pedals that may rotate in and out but my BD2 is always on the board. Great vid man!
SRV & Blues in general is what got me wanting to play guitar. I remember when this pedal came out in the early 90's. I kinda scoffed at it thinking "how dumb," a pedal for blues with blues in its name.
Now that I'm many years older and wiser. For sure better at understanding how to tweak things for tone. I recently purchased one. I love that dang thing!
I have BD2 and a few boutique expensive drives. I find myself going back to the bd2 more then any others. I hate redundancy but I’m tempted to buy a second bd2. One set to low gain and the other higher gain
Same here. Both sounds are good
I’ve had this BD-2 in my chain since mid-90s. It does the job with Strats & Lester’s.
What more can you want?
You can't go wrong with this one.
If my Blues Jr isn't available, I use my Blues driver to get that sweet tone
I need to crack my Jr way too much to get overdrive. Am I doing something wrong?
Anyway, the Driver is a gift from the heavens.
@TheTaralovesmakeup Use the volume to get breakup, master to volume you want. Use your guitar volume control to get more or less dirt. I get great thick tone with the master volume only on 2 or 3. It's the volume knob on the amp that drives the breakup, not the master volume. Hope that helped!
@@BobPerrone I gotta say, I’ve been doing what you said and it’s really really opened up the amp for me. Thank You so much. It feels like a new amp.
Hey Jack - my two bits here "yes" the Boss Blues driver is the best I've ever come across barr none. Can't say I've triedtoo many others tho but see no need to when this pedal does what it needs to (the Marshall re-release Blues Breaker not even close). Used to use multiple channels on amps to get the clean / dirty sounds now just the one clean channel with a bit of gain to get a nice spanky clean sound and when required the "Blues Driver" gets punched on. Took me a long long time to find my tone, lots of moving parts, but to me the two most important things are #1 the pickups #2 the amp.
I'm a rookie to this UA-cam stuff so perhaps you have already given these a test run, but if not, give them a try on your Stratocaster - "Bill Lawerence - pickups" the hot ones! Turned my Stratocaters into monster blues guitars. Best investment ever and less $$ than most replacement pickups.
I traded off my bd-2 a year ago, for a diamond j-drive, and I miss it. I'm definitely buying another.
Perfect timing, Jack, I am intending to get one this coming week. Great playing and great tone! I like the versatility you've demonstrated it has, and the (appropriate) cool blue color, as well. I'll have to see if it qualiifes for my best overdrive pedal ever. With gain pedals, It's a little like comparing apples and oranges. I love my Ibanez TS-9 (level all the way up, gain all the way down just to fatten up my Fenders). For medium gain, I really like my Wampler TumNus, and for in your face high gain rock distortion, nothing beats my Friedman BE OD.
04:43 The opinion as a OD.
05:12 The opinion as a Tube Amp.
05:51 Quiet frequency range.
06:36 The best OD ever?
07:53 Personal opinion.
08:20 The tone knob.
09:09 Quick demo.
I only have one inexpensive overdrive now, and I'm very happy with it. Sold the rest. It's the DOD Looking Glass. It is a ridiculously good pedal for the money, about £120 British pounds when I bought it. 👍🏻
@@creamwobbly You are aware that some overdrive pedals cost thousands of pounds. In Andertons online store OD pedals cost up to £900. That said £120 is inexpensive.
I'd agree. There's a difference between inexpensive and bargain or "dirt cheap" as we say. 120 for an OD isn't bad at all.
Yes. To answer your question, yes. The Blues Driver is the single greatest and most useful pedal in history. Shout out to the Angry Driver and Waza version.
Angry Driver in the parallel mode is amazing
The world of pedals has become so vast and confusing that I now stick to the 2 main manufacturers: Boss and Electro-Harmonix. It’s still vast but much less confusing. Blues Driver is indeed king.
For a low gain, usually always on, semi transparent, and touch sensitive OD the BD2 is probably my favorite pedal.
SG or Tele>BD2 w gain around 9 o'clock, tone to taste>
Bassman or Marshall clean channel
set it and forget it, perfect touch sensitive edge of breakup.
Dont really care for the higher gain fuzzy thing though.
I like something smoother and more compressed for that like a Nobles, which pairs great with the BD2 BTW.
I tend to agree with you. This pedal really shines in the edge of breakup territory.
I had a really hard time gelling with this pedal, until I ran it through a Vox AC4...total game changer.
0:32 i have to 'steal' this lick! it's awesome! of course, bd2 is no doubt amazing pedal.
Love the blues driver. I use the Keeley Super phat mod and the Keeley red dirt (TS) and those two separately or in combination get me all the dirt I need.
The Keeley Red Dirt may be a top contender for my favorite overdrive. Vick Audio Mount Pleasant is up there too.
I got the Super AT Mod version. Love it. out of 50 or so overdrives I really like this one.
It's the best I've ever had
I have the BD-2/super, Analogman’s mod. When listening to you I was thinking about it and I think on a desert island with just one or two drives, the Blues driver would be very much in the mix. Indeed, if permitted two I’d take it and David Barber’s Compact Gain Changer. Not need anything else.
I'd have to play with one for a while to really see what works for me, but honestly, for years I've kinda had my heart set on a Bogner Ecstasy Blue. But I'd really have to test drive them both to make a solid determination.
I’ve tried to knock the BD-2W off my board so many times but can’t. It holds its own against my JHS AT+, JHS Morning Glory, and Revv G2. I prefer it a bit gainy at around 2 o’clock.
I play through a 5-watt tube amp for dirt and a Jazz Chorus for cleans (and for the headphone jack when I have to practice after the house has gone to bed). If I had to dump an amp, it'd be the tube amp because I can push a Blues Driver through the Jazz Chorus and get as close as I need to for those dirty tube amp tones. I actually think the Blues Driver sounds better through the Jazz Chorus than it does through the tube amp for some of my guitars.
Out of interest which Jazz Chorus do you have, 22 or 40? Am thinking of JC40 as a pedal platform, what do you think?
BD2 is a great pedal, with a sizzling high-end and a generous gain that defines its personality. That said, I prefer the OD3 that rolls off high frequencies.
BD-2 is THE BEST. it NEVER leaves my board.
Another great video Jack. I'm not sure it's the best ever but I've had one since the late 90's so I guess that says a lot about how much I like it.
Ben McLeod of All Them Witches uses one as his main OD and it sounds incredible.
My favorite OD pedal to play the traditional role of generating some some amp-like drive is probably the Wampler Belle. I’ve somehow never played a Blues Driver.
In my book it’s the best overall pedal ever made. Does it all. The desert island pedal.
it sounds like one of those perfect pedals that amplify the guitar into the amp without stealing something from the guitar
It does!
I only have the one built in to my Katana but it is my favourite. I am tempted to buy a standalone one or a Waza clone but some reviews say the Katana version is 99% of the real thing so not much point.
Definitely one of the best. I tend to favor the Angry Driver version, just because I like to get rowdy.
Great pedal!
Funny I just picked up a used Waza, my first OD pedal! Thanks for the insight., as I'm just learning how to play! I probably didn't need it, but can you blame me? Much respect!
Dude, nice start.
Never tried the BD, my favorite over the long haul is the Xotic BB Preamp.
That’s a great pedal!
The Boss Waza Blues Driver is awesome.
I wonder how it will perform on the clean side of the Hot Rod Deville 2 x12 / I hear lots of preference for the reissue Marshall Blues Breaker pedal. The original is in the $700.00 Rage WHAT?
I was excited when I bought the wampler belle but when it arrived I thought it was ok but it felt like it was a crappier version of the bd-2. I always come back to bd2 always on with sd1 going into it for lead 🤷. Other pedals just keep comin and going
Pretty sure you'd make a first act guitar through a first act amp sound good..
I loved this video. I love this pedal. It's on my board as an always on for my rhythm tone. Idk if it's the best. I don't have the necessary experience or authority to say. I do think it holds its on with my boutique overdrives though at a fraction of the cost.
I have to agree! It’s so versatile and can do the cranked amp thing so well. I’ve used a Super Phat Mod forever now and if you get the chance as well try the Super AT Mod
@neonthunderbird can confirm they did do that. Cutting frequency/ changing the clipping and whatever else they did cut the fizz and also gave it a really nice more open sound. Slightly less gain though
I have the AT Mod, and it is a fantastic pedal. Unfortunately it doesn’t work for me. The AT setting cuts too much bass, and the Phat setting has too much lower midrange, for me.
The clipping is a bit smoother than the Boss, which is great.
I still prefer the stock BD-2 sound, with the tone control rolled back to around 10 o’clock.
The Boss’ crackly decay is a bit annoying in isolation, but in a mix it’s not noticeable.
@neonthunderbird I may be splitting hairs, they’re both great, but the BD-2 works better for me. My ideal pedal would be the stock BD-2 sound with slightly softer clipping and a smoother decay. Not sure that exists. Again, the crackly decay of the BD-2 is only noticeable, to me, in isolation. It’s not an issue.
I actually agree - I have a Super Phat Mod and love it, but I never use the Phat setting.
@@JackFossett Same here...
I have a bd clone and i agree its a wonderful overdrive but recently ive found i prefer my boss sd1 for the garage psych type stuff i try to do, it sounds more lofi to me or something im not really sure what it is i like more. They sound pretty good together too
The BD paired with a TS and a klone and an EQ. Those 4 are all ya need for a set of 4. More is better...
You should shoot this out with the OD3, they both do low-medium gain so well
It’s on my to do list!
Wampler Tumnus is best OD for me, followed by the East River Drive
I like to run a TS into a BD . Give it a try
I tried one and found it very harsh sounding with my strats
It does get better than the BD-2… the BD-2w!! 😎
Ive owned and sold a couple Blues Driver’s (both were Waza). Too fizzy on the top end for me. The Catalinbread 5F6 does a very similar thing without the fizz.
With my Les Paul into a Fender I use a morning glory. And don’t find I need more. I put an sd1 in front for a mid boost occasionally. I sold my ocd though cause it was just too much. With the Les Paul. Wonder if this would be worth it. Sounds good on both.
Your LP pickups look pretty low which makes sense. I have an EHX green Russian so if I wanna go big I just hit that. Anything bigger and I can’t sing.
But the JHS Morning Glory regardless just sounds like more of what I have already which is why I like it. I don’t wanna have a guitar that sounds like it could be eighty different dudes.
So in the comparison videos and in my personal experience it’s my pick. Doesn’t go into distortion muff too much like a lotta overdrives do now. But I don’t need an overdrive for that.
Hola!
Deberias hacer un video con el BD empujando el canal OD del JVM para mostrar su versatilidad y versatilidad.
Gracias!
Wow. That is too specific. Maybe make that video on your channel?
How does this compare to the mxr 78 badass?
J. Rocketts HRM v2 might change your mind 😉👍
😎✌👍❤🖖
The OD-3 is the best overdrive pedal ever, but you’re pretty close with the BD-2.
They’re pretty different IMO. OD-3 rolls of a lot of high end, and is very compressed. Great for pushing a dirty amp. The BD-2 is much more open/dynamic, and it has a sparkly high end that the OD-3 can’t match.
I like them both for different reasons. ;)
I actually like this pedal more than my Ibanez TS-808HW.
If I could only buy one brand of pedal, it would be either BOSS or Fulltone. Tough call.
Fulltone sound awesome. I still have 4 of them, each sound great.
Short answer? Yes.
But it definitely (for me) was one I had to “come around to”, because it doesn’t overwhelm you initially.
After I tried a bunch of OD/Distortion pedals, (embarrassingly I have over 25 now) from mass produced to boutique, I realized the BD-2 just simply does everything you want an OD to do, and then some. When cranked, it distorts nicely, and at it’s top end has a nice fuzz.
It’s such a good pedal, I recently picked up the Waza BD-2, thinking I’d give my buddy my regular BD-2.
Now I’m thinking about keeping it for a separate board!
Fun Fact: Billie Joe Armstrong used this pedal when recording their 3rd studio album 'Dookie'.
I dunno if you're looking for good crunch and metal tones. What you need is a badass amp that already has a good distortion channel like a Marshall Or Mesa. A pedal just doesn't do it for me on a Fender amp. Still sounds thin.
When I first started playing guitar I chose between sd-1, blues driver, and tube screamer. I chose sd-1 and love it to this day. But sometimes I wonder what could have been
Man, this is total click bait. Lol
For real tho, great review on what is my favorite pedal! And it was the 1st one I ever dropped real coin on. After years playing with it, I started using multi-fx pedals. Eventually, ended up coming back to stomp boxes & dusted off the ol' BD & remembered why I loved it so much. Then, I did do the Fromel upgrade & liked it even more after! Rock on & Rock out!
I mean… you’re not wrong. 🤷♂️
Its not a clickbait title when it is the best overdrive.
2 or even 3 BD2's will do everything just as good as anything out there and I think that sums up how great and versatile the BD2 is, because there's no other pedal I think that about
Most do a thing well, but not multiple things (Ok, that thing can work well in different contexts).
What I especially like is that it is like a dirty amp, there is that hair whereas too many overdrives are too soft, like listening to a recording of a cranked amp rather than actually being there with one, so all soft clipping overdrives are useless to me as "main drive" pedals, its like throwing a blanket over an amp and its the same with too much of a mid boost, I tend to prefer mid heavy British amps, so most are only good for boosting an already dirty sound. The BD2 just works with the amp, whilst it has its own thing, you kind of get your sound with distortion, or even a subtle boost (It can even work as a sort of treble booster if you crank the tone knob and keep the gain low).
What I don’t understand is why there are basically no clones. You can get a million different Klons, tube screamers, blues breakers, and rats, but I don’t know if any clone blues drivers. It’s weird.
The Keeley Super Phat Mod is kind of a clone - it's a pedal based on his famous Blues Driver Mod. But otherwise yes you're absolutely right.
Better than the OD-3?
Actually never tried a Blues Driver. I'm kinda interested lately though. I love the grimy grind it provides.
My fave overdrive is probably a dumble style, specifically a Shin's Dumbloid. I've tried it against other dumble style pedals and still prefer the Shin's sound.
Interesting. This one uses transistor distortion at low gain and hard clipping in the output stage. I prefer soft clipping in the feedback stage like Boss SD1 or Tube Screamer (although the Tube screamer really cuts a lot of the lows and highs so is not good in a lot of applications).
I loved the Blues Driver until I tried out the BOSS OD-3 OVERDRIVE.
I use mine differently now. I have a three channel solid-state amp, and that eliminated the need for distortion pedals in the chain. However for me, having the BB-2 always on with the gain at zero or a hair above fattens up the solid state sound. Jack is right to say there is a character imparted from the pedal, but a nice fat one. What that gives me is a hint of hair on the clean sounds, and a richness on crunch and solo amp channels. It's like 3 extra sounds, besides what ever else is in the pedal chain. Dial it in with the tone control. Works really nice to step on when going from verse to chorus while playing clean. My 335 style guitar with 80's Di Marzio's, on the crunch channel (Crate) suddenly sounds like Leslie West's P-90 tone on Mississippi Queen. Awesome!
All that aside, it's an awesome distorsion pedal. That's why I bought it 25 years ago. I should run 2. One for fatness at zero, and one for distortion supreme.
At the point this video was made, I might have said the BD-2 was the best analogue overdrive pedal ever made...by Boss, but the new BP-1w is probably even better. In no case would I ever have said the BD-2 is the best overdrive pedal ever. It's a good one, but it's not in the top tier, in my opinion.
If not it's a close second to the SD-1
Is this pedal good for other styles of music? just not blues?
Use it for whatever you like 🍻