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Fireguy8402 « Decent Bluesy Drive »
Published on 12/23/11 at 07:41The Boss Blues Driver (BD-2) is a typical Boss overdrive pedal. It has familiar settings, one tone knob to adjust the EQ of the pedal, one knob for overall volume, and one knob for the amount of gain. The pedal can be powered by 9 volt batter or external AC adapter. Dimensions of the pedal are Boss’s typical 2.4" x 5.1" x 2.9" and it weighs about a pound.
UTILIZATION
The Boss has the same build quality that has proven the test of time. It is a very reliable pedal and I’ve never heard any complaints in the build of the pedal or quality control. I wouldn’t worry about any Boss pedals breaking on you. It’s a very straightforward layout and the knobs seem sturdy and hold your settings well. The housing and jacks are metal and will deal with life on the road. I could have used a better EQ section than just the basic tone knob, at least a two band EQ would have been nice.
SOUND QUALITY
This pedal is not meant to be a super heavy sounding distortion pedal, so when I hear people complain about the amount of gain on tap it just seems silly. There is as much gain on this thing as you would expect for a pedal called a “Blues” driver. You can easily get those sustained rock leads, but there isn’t enough gain to get a saturated 80’s metal lead tone, as would be expected. The sound of this pedal does simulate the sound of a pushed tube amp fairly well (better than the Super Overdrive SD-1 from Boss), but it is a little sterile sounding when compared to a boutique pedal like the OCD from Fulltone for example. An added high and low EQ selection would be nice, but this pedal holds it own for those dirty rhythm and lead tones especially so with a Stratocaster or Telecaster into a tube amp.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall this pedal would be a good pedal in the 50US dollars market, but for 100US dollars there are better options out there. I prefer it to the similar priced Ibanez Tubescreamer, but once again I feel that pedal is overpriced for what it does. I like the Digitech Bad Monkey because it splits the tone into two separate knobs, allowing for more tweaking and it runs around half the price, but I do feel the BD-2 responds to picking attack slightly better (not 50 dollars better IMO). I also think the Danelectro TOD is way beyond this offering from Boss for half the money. Overall I feel my money would be better spent on an OCD in this price range, or with the Dano TOD if budget is a factor.
UTILIZATION
The Boss has the same build quality that has proven the test of time. It is a very reliable pedal and I’ve never heard any complaints in the build of the pedal or quality control. I wouldn’t worry about any Boss pedals breaking on you. It’s a very straightforward layout and the knobs seem sturdy and hold your settings well. The housing and jacks are metal and will deal with life on the road. I could have used a better EQ section than just the basic tone knob, at least a two band EQ would have been nice.
SOUND QUALITY
This pedal is not meant to be a super heavy sounding distortion pedal, so when I hear people complain about the amount of gain on tap it just seems silly. There is as much gain on this thing as you would expect for a pedal called a “Blues” driver. You can easily get those sustained rock leads, but there isn’t enough gain to get a saturated 80’s metal lead tone, as would be expected. The sound of this pedal does simulate the sound of a pushed tube amp fairly well (better than the Super Overdrive SD-1 from Boss), but it is a little sterile sounding when compared to a boutique pedal like the OCD from Fulltone for example. An added high and low EQ selection would be nice, but this pedal holds it own for those dirty rhythm and lead tones especially so with a Stratocaster or Telecaster into a tube amp.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall this pedal would be a good pedal in the 50US dollars market, but for 100US dollars there are better options out there. I prefer it to the similar priced Ibanez Tubescreamer, but once again I feel that pedal is overpriced for what it does. I like the Digitech Bad Monkey because it splits the tone into two separate knobs, allowing for more tweaking and it runs around half the price, but I do feel the BD-2 responds to picking attack slightly better (not 50 dollars better IMO). I also think the Danelectro TOD is way beyond this offering from Boss for half the money. Overall I feel my money would be better spent on an OCD in this price range, or with the Dano TOD if budget is a factor.