Boss BD-2 Blues Driver

For me this Overdrive pedal has become one of the classic pedals that everyone knows and I think everybody knows at least one person who has one of these in their posession.

At first I was not really happy with it, I felt it was very bright and brittle but I liked the fact that it is a really dynamic pedal. After a while of playing around with it I turned the tone knob completely down and suddenly it sounded 90% like my amp (Fender ´57 Twin Amp RI) but with a nice rounded dynamic overdrive on top of it. Since then this pedal is probably my favorite Overdrive, as it does not feel like a pedal or even an artificial drive on top of my amp´s original tone. It does seem to cover a lot more of frequencies than most other drives I know. There appears to be no bass cut, mid hump or treble boost with the tone control turned down. By now I only use the tone control to add treble if I am playing in a really dark sounding room.

The Blues Driver reacts very good to other pedals in front of it, often I use it together with an Ibanez TS9 to get a bit more gain. But this does not mean that the BD2 has not enough gain, in fact in can be quite fuzz-like when you crank the drive knob. There are also immense level reserves in case you want to use it as a clean boost.

So if you are looking for a pedal that has a really transparent drive then here it is!

I use this as either a boost for leads, or in conjunction with my MXR Blue Box for a thick, angry sounding octave fuzz. I prefer this pedal's bright overdrive to the Tube Screamers thick, middy cream, as it helps clean up the low end a bit more and gives my tone a great treble boost.

One of the most versatile overdrive pedal out there. The range of this pedal can make your sound from clean boost, creamy tube overdriven and up into heavy distortion close to the border of fuzz territory

So, I have played with this pedal for a month or so. While it definitely adds the bluesy tone you would want, it also adds quite a lot of sustain, crunchy distortion and a crisp sound everyone will love. It gets a little wild when adding the Distortion DS-1X pedal to the mix, but that might be because my amp is pretty wack, I would be interested to try the two together as I think that you can create a really cool Blues/Rock tone. Thumbs up for the pedal.

When it comes to pedals, a lot comes down to personal choice. But for me, I'd be willing to say that the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver is a MUST. It's obviously great for blues, but it's also great for classic rock, punk, metal, and just about anything you want to get out of it. Very versatile and works great with other stomps.

Nothing more, nothing less, than a solid overdrive pedal; plenty of gain on tap, sounds great when you roll your guitar volume back, all that jazz. I have the gain rolled all the way off and the tone at around 2 o'clock and the level a little above unity; basically a mild treble booster. Pairs super nicely with a compressor for some beautiful low gain leads, and adds the extra little sparkle my Big Muff tones needed. I won't say it can't be beat for the price, but it's a solid option that'll suit most needs.

Kept buying boutique/expensive drives and this always sounded better. Second hand for £35

My favorite use of this pedal is for soloing. It really helps your tone cut through when it has to, and when used with my Bassman pedal... game over. I need to do more experimenting with this when my board is complete, but for right now, I love using it as a smooth, but crisp overdrive.

The BOSS BD-2 has been on my list of effects that I've wanted since i was a teenager. My brothers friend who was a fantastic musician used 2 of them, one as his main drive, the other to boost it into saturated heaven. I only have one myself but it took me 15 years to finally get around to getting one. I've gone through roughly 20 or so drive pedals (if not more) in that time, constantly trying to find something I love that I could say is MY tone. I have that with my Battlehammer (look in my gear for that) but i had to have a BD2 because i could never escape its allure. I love stacking it with the Bad Monkey as it makes it sustain for days. I use this as my primary drive when im doing covers, the BH is for the heavier stuff. I use it a lot and dialled back a bit when writing for passages that i want a lighter drive running as i feel it sounds better dialled back than the likes of the Hotwax (I think the HW is better dimed for that amp like crunch)

I have always adored this pedal, I would think with other effects that its due to the history I had with it while learning how to play and trying to find my own sound all those years ago but i think the BD 2 speaks for itself. Its infamously fantastic and I think its a pedal all other ODs should be compared to for how versatile they are. Easily in my top 3 effects units I've ever tried!

When I first aquired Blues Driver, I used it for, suprise suprise, Bluesy overdrive. Mostly by itselft to get that "Howling Dog" dry sound. After I build my own diy version of Dallas Arbiter -62, I´ve tune Blues drive down to serve as a boost which drives the amp to overdrive together with the arbiter. I get sum humming but also lots more sustain. Overall very versatile little pedal and best one from BOSS I´ve tested. Happy times!