Boss Review: BD-2

History:

Purchase: Bought in San Diego for the value. Paid $60.

What I Like About This Boss BD-2: Recently, I had my BD-2 Blues Driver modified by Robert Keeley. (www.RobertKeeley.com) It’s officially called a Tube Tone Mod or a BD-2 Mod. Having played many overdrive pedals throughout the years, this pedal, with the mod, is up there with the best. Stock models sound muddy at high gain levels. In addition, the tone knob is virtually useless. It only captures dull to harsh. Robert changes 6 capacitors in all to increase the bass response and change the harshness of the tone control. He uses high quality capacitors instead of what Boss chooses to use. Now, the pedal can dial in bluesy-gritty sounds or high-gain tones of a tube amp. NOT EXAGGERATING!! And, it sounds natural. The mod takes out the buzzy sound of a stock model. I can actually use the tone knob to dial in Fender or Marshall sounds. It is currently the only overdrive pedal on my board. I play through an old Marshall Plexi and a newer TSL 100. The pedal sounds very natural with both amps. Even through my practice amp, a Vox solid state 15 watter. Guitars include a Les Paul, Jazzmaster, Tele and a Hamer, and the pedal brings out the best in all guitars. IF YOU OWN THIS PEDAL, PLEASE GET THE MOD. IT WILL MAKE THE PEDAL A KEEPER, NOT SOMETHING YOU’RE USING UNTIL YOU CAN AFFORD A BETTER OVERDRIVE PEDAL.

What I Do NOT Like About The Boss BD-2: Stock models sound un-natural. With the Keeley mod, the pedal sounds great.

Boss BD-2 Quality Rating: Constructed well.

Review Summary: IF YOU OWN THIS PEDAL, PLEASE GET THE MOD. IT WILL MAKE THE PEDAL A KEEPER, NOT SOMETHING YOU’RE USING UNTIL YOU CAN AFFORD A BETTER OVERDRIVE PEDAL. ROBERTKEELEY.COM Without mod rated 2 With mod rated 10 on a 1 to 5 scale

Rating of this Boss product: 5

This Boss BD-2 Guitar Effects Review Submitted By: Roy

Review Date: 2002-01-30