Deep Diving the Boss Blues Driver

[@bsriaudio]

The Waza SD-1 using Boss' discrete opamp architecture makes it quite a bit like the non-Turbo mode of the OD-2 or OD-2r which is an interesting plot twist.

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Once I started digging in for this video it hit me “oh yeah, that’s that whole discrete opamp stuff that BSRI was talking about at Relic”. I kinda want to make a truth table or venn diagram with all the circuit variations among the Boss drive pedals.

[@tipston3366]

​@@StompboxBreakdown Please do!

[@57ebartley]

I always loved the Blues Driver when I played in a band. I also had to get the Waza when it came out. I came to the conclusion that the Waza was just too smooth where the original had some rough edges in the sound that I liked.

[@Unusednickname_1970]

Great demo! The BD-2 is a solid, versatile dirt pedal, and the BD-2W is even more versatile with its custom setting. It’s not always on my board, but I will never sell my BD-2W.

[@michaelfowler3187]

I distinctly remember trying one of these and returning it right away, didn't know what I wanted - but years later I tried the fulltone OCD on a whim, and instantly loved it and felt at home. It made my ampeg bass amp breakup effortlessly where other pedals didn't penetrate. Years later I learn how much in common those two pedals seem to have. Also I always love a megaman blue color on my pedals. Excited to watch the video, but just wanted to share.

[@StompboxBreakdown]

There’s a lot to be said for the Mega Man Blue

[@samatskyline]

Rock’n’roll begins at Gain at 3:00. 🤘🏾 Another excellent video.

[@Wallybear770]

Great breakdown, as a recovering electrical engineer I love your neerdy enthusiasm! I've not heard of the Angry Driver, it sounds like a great pedal. Thanks for the video.

[@al271987]

The blues driver is a classic, I loved mine til I got the OD-3 and realized that did everything I loved about the BD-2 but event better, imho. Of course, that was eventually dethroned by the Barber Gain Changer which will do absolutely *everything* I’ve ever wanted from a 3 knob dirt pedal, but really you can’t go wrong with any of those pedals. Check out the Barber GC if you haven’t already, it’s a low key legend. Does the BD-2 thing, the TS thing, the BB thing, low gain, high gain, it really does just about everything.

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Absolutely love everything Barber. Haven’t gotten to try a Gain Changer yet but I’ve got a Direct Drive, Direct Drive Super Sport, LTD, Tone Press, and a kinda rare big box dual channel DD/DC. He builds some of the best around.

[@cheezyridr]

i'll be the first to admit that lots of guys know about this stuff more than i do. however, my experience seems a little different than what you and others are reporting. i have an ocd, and it sounds just fine with certain amps. there are other amps that don't seem to like it as much. but my blues driver gives me predictable results every time, no matter what amp i play through. it's taken me quite a while to get the sound i want, so i can do what i do. the blues driver has been on my board since it came out. for me, it just works.

[@PuttinOnTheRiffs]

Might have to pick up a waza blues driver after this video. Great video!

[@pattepato4592]

I always love to see the joyful passion in your smile when hitting a nice tone. If you're going to make a video about the Angry Driver, I'd appreciate a maximum dirt test (with humbuckers and maybe D tuning? 😬). I love my BD-2's grid with the gain knob at 4.

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Haha, I certainly will, just for you. Thanks for watching!!

[@ThePhantomnaut]

The Angry Driver is an excuse for me to not use a Tube Screamer or SD-1, also a lazy excuse to not buy a separate Angry Charlie and the Blues Driver, and I love it.

[@matthewgurlitz3514]

I have had the Angry Driver for some time now, and love it. I usually use it on the toggle setting between the two pedals, but the routing options are really neat sonically, especially the parallel mode. And I love the Blues Driver circuit to begin with. What an ingenious creation. It's a great pedalboard space saver. I also have the SD-1 and the Tube Screamer, and I like both, but I think the Blues Driver is better than either. And the Angry Charlie is also a great circuit, for me tasty gravy on the top.

[@gae7081]

Best pedal on the market!

[@callumalston5755]

For £75-90 these things are ridiculously versatile, everything from the blues to psych to shoegaze, phenomenal piece of engineering

[@angusorvid8840]

Great demo, great channel! I'm now subscribed. I've always been pedal guy. I've owned some of the finest, most expensive boutique amps in the world, and I'm perfectly fine with a simple amp with a good pedal. I know how to dial in a righteous tone with a good pedal. The Blues Driver is one of the best pedals out there. I don't care for super high gain pedals for the same reason I don't care for high gain amps as they often have too much compression and lack feel and organic tone. The Blues Driver manages to mitigate these issues when you crank it up. Great pedal.

[@addicted2tone349]

People talk about the splatty decay of them but thats what makes them magical to me. Especially with single coils and a compressor.

[@BradRocker]

Excellent work ! Love this pedal.

[@user-wl7rb5ri5m]

Really well done video. They should all be like this.

[@denssession644]

Very informative and beautifully explained as always😎✌🏽

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Appreciate that

[@unfinishedBridges]

The BD-2 circuit is great!

[@Dorachagi1]

I've only ever played my Keeley-modded BD-2 that I found in an Atlanta shop a few years back, which I think is largely the same pedal as the Keeley Super Phat Mod and similar to the Waza. I have a Fairfield Barbershop that's pretty much always on as an "edge of breakup" thing, and the Keeley BD-2 is there when I want things a little past the edge, but still pretty restrained. Great pedal with killer tone and awesome dynamics.

[@erikavery1105]

I still use the OG SD-1 and BD-2 that I bought new in '96.

[@silviolutti1522]

I always watch your videos and I really like them. And I agree when you say in this video that the Boss Bd-2 Waza Craft made in Japan is your favorite. It's truly a fantastic pedal, in my opinion one of the best overdrives currently on the market, and it's a permanent keeper in my pedalboard. But I disagree when you say that the boss bd-2 stock and the boss sd-1 stock are practically the same. (although in your video they seem to sound the same and I don't understand how this can happen: you must have done some kind of magic😉). As I was saying, the bd-2 and the sd-1 are two completely different overdrives and have a different circuit. The bd-2 is a full range overdrive, a "tweed amp in a box", it doesn't cut the bass (it does just barely) and does not attenuate the highs, while the boss sd-1 is an asymmetrical tubescreamer style circuit, which noticeably cuts the low end even if it has slightly more bass than the ibanez ts-9. So explain to me how you can think/say they are identical. I attach one of the many videos comparing your pedals where you can listen to the significant difference for yourself. Links: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2q0kGNra5mFm9Usi=IxfcjSV1pVQvud32

[@StompboxBreakdown]

I agree, they’re not the same pedal at all. That was all sarcasm.

[@silviolutti1522]

@@StompboxBreakdown It didn't seem like just sarcasm to me. Also because in fact in your video the two pedals were very close in sound. But only in your video. In all the others video I saw they were completely different. On the contrary, I have always found the Boss SD-1 and the Ibanez TS-9 very similar.

[@sz5001]

shout out to Digitech Screamin Blues which has A) an incredibly tacky yet charming 90s visual design B) 2 separate EQ bands C) much more normal price than bad monkey

[@jw6588]

Gotta admit, I wish I had a dime for every time I heard "edge of breakup" on a guitar pedal video. As for my rig, I have an Angry Driver and it's great. Really versatile and my recommendation for anyone who only wants to have one distortion pedal and be done with it. As noted by the JHS guy, the TC Electronic cheap pedal called Cinders is basically a BD clone and I have one of those too. Also great, and costs under $50 a lot of the time.

[@cybersectech3171]

Sounds great, excellent rhythm tone!

[@tubularbill]

In my opinion, the best overall pedal ever made

[@paulrichardson3886]

Excellent video. Very informative. Thanks.

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@danthegeetarman]

I’m a sucker for 90s solid state amps with pedals

[@vanessajazp6341]

BD2 has more of a scooped sound, whereas the TS has that renowned mid emphasis. The way I run my BD2 is: Gain and Tone all the way up, tone knobs on my Strat all the way down. Gives you a great soft-fuzz sound. Just watch the treble setting on your amp.

[@ShaneStoneOfficial]

Just bought the 50th anniversary bd2 and sd1. I run the sd1 as a boost into the bd2 and dear god it’s heavenly

[@ShaneStoneOfficial]

Also love that reverend guitar! Besides prs, they are my favorite manufacturer

[@Backtoblack005]

Always wondered about these- have been tempted to go for the best of both worlds and get the Boss/Jhs blues driver

[@adambrady2932]

I’d heard the BD-2 and the OD-2 actually shared a lot of similarities as well.

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Yeah, those have a lot more in common from a circuit perspective, but I still think the BD-2 handles the lower gain stuff with a little more clarity

[@JasonAyalaSpare]

Nice video. I reckon Boss and JHS to do an Angry Charlie with a SD-1, that would be awesome.

[@kluker]

It's a great video and a great channel, man. Subscribed :)

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Thanks Luke!

[@antalantal2366]

I love you channel: great videos!!

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Thank you!

[@Michael-o5k5l]

Thanks for the great Video

[@macsarcule]

Really nice video! ✌️😌🎸

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Thank you so much!

[@davidkastin4240]

I love my BD-2. It my almost always on pedal.

[@billleemusic7173]

Another one awesome analysis. I love your videos and I can say I would like to hear your take on the RAT controversy. The LM-308 scandal and your opinion about it. My 1st RAT was a cheaper knock-off and it was only in the last 2-3 years that I realized that it actually contained the LM-308. I loved it either way and only stopped using it because it took up too much real estate. How do you feel about making a video about it? Much love.

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Thanks! I actually wasn’t aware of any controversy, I might have to look into that

[@stanmuso1]

I think the BD2 and crunch mode of the SD2 sound pretty close lower gain. Any similarities in circuit?

[@joefriedmanguitarnut]

Love my BD2 - to MY ears; it sounds exactly like a cranked fender Champ…….. play some “Layla” on that thing and tell me what you think!

[@George-kn3nc]

Good information but I bought my blues driver. I the black box version and I'm pretty much done buying pedals. Mine sounds good on my acoustic/electric guitar.

[@bottomkitchen250]

When did they make the circuit board smaller? Also, does the smaller, newer version mean it's now digital? How hard is it to find the older version?

[@StompboxBreakdown]

The BD-2's went SMT with the smaller components and board around 2017, it looks like. It's not digital, just a lot smaller. It's not terribly hard to find the older full-size ones on reverb and other places.

[@squirelova1815]

I've noticed that it's nearly impossible to go "wrong" with any Boss effects and that includes the DS-1 and MetalZone as well and IF you pay ATTENTION to adjusting their settings according to your pickups and Amp type of course, That "little" easily fixed Detail seems to go way over people's heads and gives some Boss pedals a truly undeserved "Bad Rap". Would the greatly under rated guitarist Prince use a MetalZone if it was not pretty good?

[@shanemarcotte2062]

Do you have a Soul Food video? I love that pedal!

[@StompboxBreakdown]

I haven't. To be honest, I love the way Klon-esque pedals work when I'm playing live, but I can't quite get that same sound when I'm recording stuff in my own home. I've tried, maybe I'll try again some time with different technique, but to me, the appeal of a Klon-style pedal is really in the details.

[@max_destro]

I cannot declare this pedal a to be A Tube Screamer Or A RAT (my favourite pastime) because I do not know where the opamp is. Very sneaky, Boss.

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Sneaky sneaky

[@waynegram8907]

The boss SD-1 uses Op amps compared to the Boss Blues Driver uses Differential FET's they are completely different circuits. You have to set you tube amplifiers on the edge of breakup and then use the blues driver as a pusher. The harder your pick its yielding how hard you want to drive the edge of breakup. You would need to make a vid lesson about it. Get the Tonecity Big Rumble Pedal because its a dumble circuit that works like a blues driver to make a vid lesson about the tonecity big rumble pedal

[@noyd4172]

dabadidabadrive

[@Gutch220]

When did Boss switch circuit boards?

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Looks like around 2016-2017

[@promestein_wr]

Algo tarde pero se te olvido la edición de 50 aniversario

[@chrisraatz6672]

Is the Blues Driver just a Line Driver?

[@wesmitchem825]

I was just trying to trade for one of these but couldn't let my modded you dirty rat or Ibanez session man 2 for it so I went to the pawn shop and got a guytone compressor i dont need.oh well my big ass gain pedal im having built has a morning glory and angry charlie in it along with a 5150 preamp,eqd warden,eqd bows boost zuul noisr gate

[@crapmalls]

Wish it didnt have the bass cut

[@robbaskerville253]

No one has ever said the Blues Driver was like a Tubescreamer.

[@onikswanzovich]

Похоже что если подключить все педали которые там есть в наличии, то гитара все равно будет звучать хреново...

[@YoYaDude]

At 8:11-8:24 you made a silly statement about the SD-1 vs BD-2, you marked and compared the LED's resistor and the bypass flip-flop (both found in every BOSS pedal) as "proof" that they are "identical"... and you stated "Shocking! they are virtually identical and it's pretty obvious why if you look at the schematics, look they both got these things and these other things... look, I know a lot about pedals, you can trust me on this..." Well apparently you do NOT know a lot about pedal circuits and we cannot trust you on that!

[@StompboxBreakdown]

Boy do I feel foolish right now

[@mtm105]

Tonebone HotBrit and\or Plexidrive. Period. Stop.

[@StompboxBreakdown]

For… what?