I thought it could be fun & informative to start a thread about the most common effect we guitarists use: overdrive/distortion pedals!

I know there is a difference in Overdrive vs. Distortion, but really teh applications are close enough that a players needs could require one or the other or both.

So, without further adieu, I am posting my review/impressions(this review is a couple of years old at this point) of the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver pedal, which absolutely straddles the line between Overdrive, and Distortion...


My first encounter with the BD-2 was while jamming with Will Ray of the Hellecasters. The rig on hand was the BD-2 into a Peavey Classic 30 amp. The tone I got from my ASAT Special with this signal chain haunted me for years, until I finally shelled out my $89 for my very own BD-2.

My brief experiences of the past hold true: it's got more gain than a TubeScreamer or Super OverDrive, but less than a DS-1 Distortion. Really holds the middle ground between the two types.

No lack of low end in this Boss pedal it seems, though the higher frequencies have a "fuzz" around them. Almost a "sharpness" with a "rough edge" around it. Like a rusty scapel, if you can get a sonic impression from that image. I don't mind it personally: my idea of "distortion" has this characteristic, and in the BD-2 I'm having no trouble dialing it down under the "annoying" threshold.

There's a "looseness" to the grit this pedal has that sounds very organic & natural to me. A little amp being pushed into overdrive generally displays the same "I'm gonna blow up" quality. Just like the old blues-rock records in my stepdad's collection. No super-smooth overdrive sounds here, but you get a relatively smooth OD by turning the Tone knob more to the left.

Please note: the majority of my testing has been done with an American Series Telecaster and a G&L ASAT (as well as my stock, un-modded DRRI, which was my amp at the time), so some of the "sharp" sound may be exacerbated by the bright character of these instruments. A brief noodling with my chambered, mahogany bodied Hamer yielded darker tones with a bite to them.
The touch sensitivity of the BD-2 is staggering. Dig in, it distorts more. Hold back, and you can get a very slight edge of breakup tone...all without adjusting the controls on the pedal, or the knobs on your guitar. I've encountered many pedals...some very "high end"...with this feature, but the BD-2 is extremely sensitive to pick attack. So much so, that I went "Zuh?" immediately.

All in all, a great pedal stock. I dunno if I would get anything I'd be looking for by having it modded.

i understand that most players use pedals ....
but here is how i see it .... if you have the right guitar , pickups , amp , ect for your style why should you need a crappy pedal to make it all sound good ?

if you NEED an OD/Dist pedal to give your amp some oomph and pizazz , then you dont have the right amp.

Oh, I disagree. Since most of the time what people refer to as amp distortion is preamp gain, I see no reason why a device driving that preamp is not a valid option.

Also: You can have different flavors of dirt, without changing amps.


Personally, I like an low wattage EL84 power section working overtime to give me my rhythm sound (think Malcolm Young), but I what a more "liquid" lead sound, so I use an OD pedal for that (I have a single channel amp).

i know what you mean about the preamp vs pedal thing.
and anything that gives you your tone is cool.

but think about it ... somebody just paid $2,000 / $3,000 for the current "best amp ever" , and they have to plug a shitty $100/$200 pedal into it to make it sound the way they want it to.

that just seems insane to me.
i think we are TOO stuck in the pedal mentality .... there is nothing wrong with pedals , but its like beer ... a beer or two is a great thing , but many people get TOO into it and become addicted.

guitarists seem to think we are SUPPOSED to spend our money on these little boxes ... to cover up the fact that our amp dosent cut the mustard.
i prefer to actually find the right amps that work for me.
now if i am playing thru my $100 Epiphone Valve Jr but i feel like playing something heavy , it NEEDS a pedal or preamp , or SOMETHING to give it the kick in the ass it needs....
that is because it isnt the right amp for the job.
but is isnt an over priced , over hyped , and sadly over rated piece of gear either.
if i want a "do it all" little rig , i will skip the pedal board and put my Line 6 Pocket Pod in the guitar case
i just find the whole pedal mentality to be silly ... but thats just my opinion

but , whatever works ... it is the tone that matters

My philosophy is: my MAZ Jr. has a phenomonal tone, but only gets so overdriven. I have always liked the sound of the amp being pushed harder a lot more than the sound of an amp with a metric f-ton of gain being dialed back.

The quest, for me, was to find a pedal that goosed the amp harder, but kept the tone of the amp intact. Found a couple I like. Now it's all about the playing for me.

BTW, the title of the thread being what it is, it is perfectly acceptable...heck, even needed...that you discuss/describe your gain theories and secrets. This isn't just a pedal thread!

i understand what you mean ... you do what you have to to get your tone.

my point was to exaggerate to help make the point that "we" are far too dependent on cheezy pedals for our tone.

too many are of the mindset that they should spend the bucks on an expensive amp that some hotshot uses , or a yahoo in a magazine tells them they should like , and then have to plug in all these pedals and do other complicated signal chain tricks to make it sound the way they want.

the "tube snobs" go on and on about " all tube tone " , solid state amps are crap , ect .... yet they have no problem with a Tube Screamer between their guitar and amp.
seems kind of silly to me

it seems that you have taken the time to find what works for you .... thinking for oneself is a good thing.

i have an old Ibanez MS10 Metal Charger , and a Marshall Gun'nr II ... but i RARELY touch them.
my guitars , pickups , amps , and speaker cabs all do a great job of giving me the ooomph and pizazz i need.

great review on the BD-2 pedal...

Chuck, i see your point and its quite valid, but for someone like me who's a college student (and therefor, quite poor, lol) Having a versatile amp with a good pedal just makes the amp even MORE versatile. I'm currently running a blackheart combo and i have the ability to get the sounds i want from it just going guitar into amp, however, i like having a distortion pedal because then i don't need to adjust everything during a live set, its just stomp and go.

plus, sometimes getting 'your sound' with just an amp isn't possible if it needs to be cranked. A buddy of mine plays a Gibson ES-333 straight into a British made Vox AC30 and he really has to crank the thing to get his sound (which naturally pisses off alot of sound guys) so he reverted to getting a Way Huge overdrive pedal so he can play softer but still get the sound he likes.

Really, its all personal preference.... even Hendrix used a fuzz pedal sometimes

i agree .. its all personal preference ... and thats cool.

i wasnt trying to tell anybody what to do , just expressing my point of view.

the guys in the old days used all sorts of devices to distort their tone because the amps of the day NEEDED some help.
gear really sucked back then.
you had very few options , replacement parts didnt exist , so you had to improvise .

and if your tube amp is too loud to crank it to the sweet spot at a reasonable sound level , and the tone of the sweet spot is what you are after ... a power attenuator is a fine option.
it just depends on if you prefer the sound of a distortion / overdrive pedal or the tone of your cranked tube amp .

we have so many options now ... it boggles the mind.

do you use screaming hot pickups to drive your amp harder ,or go with weaker vintage pickups , and a pedal ?
how about a high gain modern amp with a hot preamp VS a vintage style with little preamp gain?
do you go tube , solid state , or digital , hybrid ???

whatever works is the best choice .

personally , i like high output pickups into a high gain tube amp with a Dr.Z Airbrake power attenuator to tame the volume.
that way i get preamp sizzle AND the thick , rich ,molten power tube saturation that only a tube power amp being pushed hard can give.

yeah, its deff all personal preference.

For me personally, i like to have my amp cranked close to the point of break-up, so i can dig in and get some overdrive or play lightly and have things clean up. Then i use my pedals more just to boost the signal instead of distort it. I run a Jekyll and Hyde and use the Tubescreamer side to push the amp for harder rhythm, then use the distortion side to push the tubescreamer side for leads.

If i could find an amp that works for me and is in my price range, i'd prob go sans-distortion, but i just love the way the Jekyll and Hyde interacts with my current set-up. Unfortunately, its tough to find a 3 channel amp that runs at around 50 watts, with a half power switch as a 212 combo that actually sounds good AND is priced for under $500

you are right about that ... the amp makers just dont give us what we really want and need.

and if someone DOES build it , it costs a fortune.

they keep pushing overpowered amps on us.

i would love to have a low watt tube amp with clean , crunch , and lead channels and a built in power attenuator.
yes , i can just use my Airbrake with my current amps ... but why "waste" all the power , and have to spend the cash on re tubing all the time ?
a cranked 5 watt tube amp through an efficient speaker is pretty darned loud ...
5 watts is half as loud as 50.

and all the pedals and preamps in the world are not going to push your power tubes into the thick saturated overdrive that makes tube amps so awesome at low volumes.
the only thing that will allow that is a power attenuator and a cranked amp

Oh yeah...forgot to mention I am using the Airbrake, as well.

the Airbrake is an amazing piece of gear isnt it ?