All user reviews of 3/5 for the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver

pedal analog overdrive / distortion

UTILIZATION

typical configuration 3 knobs (tone, volume output volume effect)

SOUND QUALITY

used with a Fender mexican classic 60 (neck pickup fender wide range), several fender amps (25 field, twin reverb, deville) RPET and studio recording

I kept this pedal a few weeks I did not like the sound supposed to be hot and blues. I find the sound too acidic ... far from a TS9 or TS808. I made a small modification very easy on the condo tone but not convinced.

again, I do not know if this is standard but I think it is a little too much buzz engagement (quality of electronics?) yet I bcp pedal overdrive / fuzz and it happens mostly on old 70's / 80's.

pushing the gain a background you come to a saturation / fuzz, not bad but also not its primary use it seems to me (again the buzz is even more important)

OVERALL OPINION

I bought it used for 50 euros and sold it three weeks later to 60 euros ... I much prefer a TS9 / TS808. In the end it will just served me a recording of a song on a pretty chorus "grunge" sound is for use cleaner than what I had on hand at the time studio (big muff / boss ds1 / Ibanez MT10)

a listen here https://andellipsis.bandcamp.com/track/be (on the chorus so)

but I do not have that choice, I really do buy secondhand ^^

The 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.

(Originally written by Dlz/translated from Audiofanzine FR)

Boss pedal with standard PSU.
Only three controls (vol. - gain - tone), no bass boost or switch for the modulation.

UTILIZATION

With only three controls, it's plug and play.
The controls bring a certain versatility but the sound quality decreases with extreme settings.
An overdrive pedal is often used as pre-boost for a distortion but the result with this pedal is not convincing.

SOUND QUALITY

The sound is ok with basic settings but its quality rapidly decreases when the gain increases. The last turns of the gain knob produce a mushy sound...
You'll hardly be able to use the unit as a pre-booster because its frequency response is less than ideal. I chose this pedal because I was very happy with my SD-1 as a pre-boost effect and I hoped to get the same quality but with a fatter sound.
The sound is fat indeed but I regret its poor definition, precision and overall quality.
While the SD-1's frequency response isn't totally flat (it has a slight boost in the mids), the DB-2's frequency response actually alters the sound. Therefore its use as a booster is very disappointing, specially if you consider that the SD-1 is a lot cheaper.

OVERALL OPINION

It's probably not a good idea to purchase a BD-2 if you already own an SD-1. Its fat sound can be interesting for some applications but the good old SD-1 seems a better choice to me.