Really good or just a programmable compromise? Boss OD200 Review

[@chugcaffeine7736]

The biggest strength of this pedal IMO is using it in parallel mode, and using the Drive Level and Boost Post Gain as a pseudo blend knob. It seems like this is a very intended use, as there is both a Metal Zone AND a Metal Core in the boost section, which very clearly would not be used as a boost. When the pedal is in parallel, the EQ section affects both the Drive AND the Boost section, whereas in serial it only affects the Drive section. A great example is getting strictly a clean boost by setting the Drive and Level to 0 in the Drive section, and strictly using the boost section on the clean boost setting. I feel like the workflow of this pedal doesn't really do it justice, but if you learn how to use it, you can get some great results. One of my personal favorites is combining the OD808 style (Scream) Drive setting, and blending it in parallel with a clean boost. Because you're mixing in a clean boost, you can control how much low end your actually removing from the tone, which you normally can't do just by using an 808 tone control. For me, it's a great balance between your stereotypical physical knob style pedal, with the functionality of digital style gear.

[@jeeeeev]

I wish you could make a simple step by step procedure for this.

[@hotchow8766]

I agree with this guy ☝! Please put together a short demo for us. You might not have an estrogen-soaked personality or a wall of amp heads like the original video presenter but your serial vs parallel technique is valuable to us who are squeezing tone with limited equipment.

[@xr8fairmont]

This is an outstanding pedal. I have setup a couple of stacked drives running direct into a variety of amps. All I add on the pre is a mild tweak of eq and that really rocks my world

[@Oris37]

Many, many years ago (mid 2000's I think) I was chatting to someone from Boss at a trade show and mentioned to them that my ideal pedal would be a digitally controlled Blues Driver - as I used to use a couple on stage and each one would have about three or four settings that I needed to get me through any sort of gig (I'm a freelance guitarist). I ended up buying a GT-8 which was amazing and I think I had about 5 different settings of the BD-2 with boosted versions of each. This pedal appears to be what I was asking for all those years ago - and more..! :-)

[@ShaneGelven]

I always look forward to watching your gear reviews. Never disappointed.

[@davidnuzzaci2459]

I ordered Boss 200 Series pedals this past week, received Friday. " There isn't a bad sound from any of them!!!". You won't be settling in anyway with these pedals. Your idea for using the EQ on both sides of the pre-amp is truly amazing. In the past I've ordered and returned many other Boss pedals because they didn't sound good at all, " I won't be sending any of these back." The 200 Series pedals are a Great value and Quality". Boss has hit a "home run" with this pedal series. Stereo sounds are also amazing from these pedals. Good video but the OD 200 can push the front end an amp to hard, just listen. Rock-on Big "H" keep doing it your way that's why I watch you!

[@smacker360]

You are definitely my favorite reviewer, you're humor and demeanor are awesome plus your reviews are always thorough!!!!! I have the Boss OD200, Plethora x3 and a Valeton GP200 and get great sounds. I no longer need multiple pedals to get the sound I like/need.

[@Metalbass10000]

Henning, much appreciated for this one, to you and your lady. Hope you're doing well

[@987654321ck]

I think this is your best shirt so far Great demo thank you for really playing through it

[@L.Scott_Music]

I think the whole Boss 200 series is a great choice for someone putting together a small studio on a budget.

[@TheKaappari]

Boss digital pedals in my experience have been pretty great.

[@PhilLament]

I've been interested in the 200 series, mainly the EQ. This video makes me want the distortion, too. Good job!

[@carriediamond3131]

I have the EQ 200 and I would highly recommend it. Just the icing on the cake for any board.

[@SuperMarcelloz]

the EQ200 sounds amazing but you just can't back up all 128 presets to a PC. Unusable for complex gigs via MIDI, I wrote to Boss about it and they might do something

[@samiam9059]

Can't beat the technical specs it has. Boss knows a thing or two. Analog and Digital hybrid

[@ShreddingFinn]

This could be great in a stomp rig where all your blocks are taken up by dual amp dual cab

[@christopherdunn974]

My dream board is the Walrus ACS1 + the 4 Boss 200 series pedals.

[@thegeardad]

I'm putting together a board slightly different, all the Walrus Mako pedals (ACS1, M1, D1, R1) and this as the overdrive. Hoping to get it all wired up with Midi and an epic ampless board

[@PooNinja]

Oooh the midi makes is roboriffic and a boost. And I Do need a metal zone or 2.

[@JoshuaSimonson909]

Wow! A pedal so badass that it will break your strigns, I gotta buy one!

[@Zwidawurzn]

Needs 220mA according to Thomann Website. Boss kinda nailed it with the digital 200 Series pedals, i have the DD-200 because it's great, a friend has the MD-200 because it's great and the OD-200 seems to be great aswell!

[@davidcarpenter9232]

Ole school sound guy ... The Johnny Guitars ,,, I've worked with couldn't keep there rig working ... So was not into peddle rigs ... Wow was I missing out ... Never loved 2 play so much ... Peddles R fun ... No batteries ,,, ratty patch cords ... All nice and new ,,, everyhing works ... Luv your vids ... Thanks ... D ...

[@davidcarpenter9232]

Was looking at the bliss ,,, but this dose almost as much ... Enough 4 me ... Thanks ... D ...

[@TigerFist]

I want the purple burst vola guitar.

[@ryanspencerlauderdale687]

6:02 Henning: “SILENCE!” Me: “I KEEL YOU!”

[@stoneysdead689]

Man- I'm stuck- I'm fixing to drop about 500 bucks on my rig, which I just started building this year so- it's got holes in it. Anyway- I could get a Celestion Greenback speaker upgrade and a JHS double drive- probably the Sweet Tea, and maybe a more affordable looper to boot. Or- I could buy the Headrush MX5 floor modeler and stick it on my board- turn off the cab sims and run it through my amp. That would give me 11 amp sims and 60 something fx. Plus, later on I can buy a cab or frfr speaker or something like that and run it that way. Or- I could buy a double drive from JHS and the RC-5 looper from boss- which is an amazing looper, it's nuts. You can store 99 tracks on it, up to 1.5 hrs long, 13 hrs total. With as many layers as you want to put on each track, it supports 32 bit play back which means it has no issues with complex sounds like distortion or fuzz, and it supports 44.1khz sampling rate- cd quality. It has on board reverb, 57 different percussion patterns, 7 different trap kits for each pattern, and buffered bypass. And you can store backing tracks on it by connecting to a pc and dragging and dropping Wav files to it. It's midi capable, has click track synch, editing, blah, blah, blah- yeah, not your dad's looper pedal huh? With it and the Sweet Tea- my rig would really only need a good speaker to be about where I want it. Plus, I'm buying a Cv strat as well- and swapping off the Affinity I already have. If all goes well by Jan. I'll have a kick ass setup.

[@briandevitt6903]

That Vola guitar looks and sounds awesome, and you can play it well too HP. Glad you are getting some cash to feed your dogs, Beagles love their food........they dont eat it as such but gulp it down, fun dogs.

[@che2335]

I found it to be a box of digi bees. I have a 6505 and ts5 so it was an uphill battle for it to begin with. It was a gift I sent it back to exchange for a Spark.

[@stoneysdead689]

Buzz, buzz, fizz, fizz, oh what a shitty drive it is.

[@mikecorey8370]

Sounded great through the Dirty Shirley.

[@Timoleon30]

I only bought it because there is no proper DIST.Pedal with an EXPRESSION input out there!! Really sad actually. But out of my desperation... it turned out that I know have ALL you can get. Total control of everything. And the best thing is (compared to an Ernie Ball Drive Pedal), that I use an EXP Pedal to control another 2 totally different effects at the same TIME. Many creative possibilities. @eytschPi42 You should make a special Video only about the EXP Pedal! ;-)

[@christopherburnett1745]

As usual, a great in depth look by Henning. The question I have is how close is it to nailing the BD-2? I mean in normal OD use and guitar volume clean up? If it isn't on the nuggets there, I don't think I would want it. If it's almost indistinguishable, then I can use the other drives as well to compliment and save some serious real estate on my board. I'm not really a fan of replacing analog pedals with digital emulations, but this seems like a pretty remarkable upgrade to me. Thanks!

[@stoneysdead689]

I would like to know the same thing- how it responds to pick attack, does it clean up when you turn the guitar down- 2 very important concerns no one ever addresses.

[@Hexspa]

I asked your dogs. They like the food. They say it tastes better when Roland pays for it.

[@rishabhbose29]

Need some help here folks. If I don't use a Tube Amp or any Amp and plug my guitar straight into the OD200 and record in my DAW. Then how good a job will this do. Because I am seriously planning to get this boy but can no means afford an Amp.

[@byronguitartv]

IR200 is a boss amp pedal in case you’re interested check it out

[@carlmcgilton1120]

I guess if you're into it then go. To much knob tweaking for me. I already get stuck in my own head. I could see myself never being happy with a setting and just driving myself crazy. Not saying its bad. I will just keep doing what I do.

[@987654321ck]

OD200 just makes sense

[@francisco.amorim]

Funny thing, if you plug a blues driver (waza or standard) on your amp, you won't get these crunchy tones without messing a lot with an external eq.

[@jessereyna7408]

Nice pedal..the second guitar sounded much better…and on that note…can you give the exact make and model of that guitar? Thanks.

[@rafaelturse116]

Hi. I'm having issues to use the expression pedal. I'm trying a dvp4 and an ev30, both with trs cables and manuals instructions but still not working. Please, do you have any tip about it? Thank you for your time.

[@Furrylizard79]

Could this be the perfect companion to the drive/distortionless Yamaha THR?? Want some dirt going into the THR and put off with a) mess faff and wires of building a traditional pedalboard or b) getting lost in menus and manuals of a multi fx. Something simple like this looks perfect

[@stoneysdead689]

This unit is every bit as complex as in multi fx out there imo- but it would save you some cabling and space on your board. Boss has always been known to have complicated user interfaces. The Headrush floor modeler though- unbelievably easy to use, very intuitive. If you've ever used a phone or a tablet you can use the Headrush- it's a touch screen, drag and drop interface. If you want to move a pedal in the chain, you simply put your finger on it and drag it to where you want it- or drag it off screen to get rid of it. If you want to adjust a pedal- touch it, now it's selected, and you can change its parameters. It's super simple and you really don't even need to read the instructions- you can just figure it out. I'm fixing to buy one- maybe- I've held out until now, trying not to go over to the digital dark side but- they have cookies.

[@Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

Interesting :-) Timmy clone is not a clone but a clone of a clone. It is a astonishingly good knock off of the $375.00 USD Veruram Jan Ray. The Tube Screamer side is just as impressive. Put it beside the current Ibanez TS9 and be prepared for a shock. I have heard both compared side by side and any very small difference is inconsequential. In short a shade of grey!!!

[@belicosebumpkin]

100%. I have the OD200 and a TS9 and can get them to sound exactly the same. I had a blues driver and RAT as well which both sound exactly the same as the OD200.

[@IhWillEis]

If you have to compare The Boss DP-200 to the Source Audio L.A. Lady Overdrive which would be prefered?

[@EytschPi42]

Boss

[@stephane406]

For that price you can buy a used yamaha THR10X witch will give you much better distortion sounds (and clean/crunch, and a bass sound, and external input, and USB to use as a sound card, ...).Just comes to my mind listening to these sounds, you can get the same and better with it.

[@cypresslounge]

Is it possible to stack multiple drives on this, or can you only use one drive at a time?

[@EytschPi42]

you can stack 2

[@kainagami]

But since the boost is in the pedal wouldn't it always boost the the gain in the amp in either position you select it?

[@frmcf]

Sounds cool, needs more footswitches.

[@giffy5775]

Love love love your baby shirt.

[@guitarsrusinc2908]

someone should so a shootout between the fractal , the boss gt1000 and the helix and the kemper...

[@TM-guitar]

Great video! I would say, its an awesome pedal! ;)

[@1570ibanez]

is all the features is also the same in the gt1000?

[@pdp977]

Good lord that's a flexible piece of equipment. Add your own jokes. Interestingly that Friedman looks a lot like one of the Ibanez GRX 40's which as a modder I would like to see go through this pedal. Just out of, you know, idle curiosity...

[@MaPa60]

I’m not a clon guy, I’m not a tubescreamer guy, I’m not a distortion guy, I’m not a fuzz guy - so it makes sense to get this pedal, because sometimes I need these things. I won’t put it on my board for my core tone, but I’ll put it on my small studio desk as a multitool at hand. In a mix, Boss drives really cut.

[@shawnadams1693]

Comment for the algorithm. 🤘🏻

[@davidmusicstuff4979]

Can I have the boost turned on before turning on the main gain pedal (right one on before left)

[@OscarGomez-oe9de]

No you cant sadly. You have to have it on b4 you can use the boost side

[@tormenmashi_]

wait the amps that are on in the background, are they plugged into anything???

[@EytschPi42]

yes... they were all used

[@austinfailz]

These is a weird high end thing going on in a lot of the demo. Not sure what that is, but not a fan of that noise.

[@ssdravidian]

.....Food is a good thing....ask my dogs !!!! LOL .....Subscribed !

[@NYCguitarist]

I'll just keep the Nova drive

[@nizodizo9549]

Man, this thing sounds like an SD-1.

[@spirosim]

What is better to use amp drive channel or clean with drive/dist?

[@bmjames]

Depends on the amp, and your preference. The drive channels of many good amps give classic and sought-after sounds. But you might not be using such an amp, or you might want a different sound that the amp can't provide. When you want to put other effects after the drive/distortion, if the amp has an effects loop you can put them after the amp's drive stage, but if it doesn't then you can use a drive pedal then other effects, into the clean channel.

[@alexhiggin]

1:01 Tom Scholz Rockman sound! 19:25 and again

[@sonofromel]

I don't know why I would need an all in 1 when I can just use an SD1 or TS for everything. One thing I can think of is if the amp is shitty or only have the clean channel as the only usable channel like most venues then maybe you can use it as your primary distortion.

[@DavidHanks90]

If you only play a specific sound then yeah this wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense but if you like to play a lot of different genres or just experiment, this thing is great. I’ve had mine for a few weeks and I love it.

[@sonofromel]

@@DavidHanks90 I get you man. That's why I said you can use this as a primary distortion if you are switching from amp to amp because it has all those different sound but I'd only use 1 voice I like the best on it if I have one I'm a one pedal guy anyway. And I'm sure one voice on it is versatile enough on everything. Great pedal tho. I would recommend this to that 1 pedal guy who isn't me.

[@jasonmusic9938]

what strings were those lol

[@jips123]

I have one and think it is a pain to program...

[@Heretic_Chick]

The potential is cool, unfortunately the pedal’s noise and hum comes right up in the audio every single time the guitar playing starts, and I can hear that just on phone speakers. It’s extremely distracting. I’m not sure if that’s poor set-up in the gate parameters, or that the pedal simply can’t manage its own noise well. Either way, I’ll stick to my far quieter OG single stomp boxes for now :)

[@garyclements6946]

This thing has world class noise reduction at per patch level. If you are having noise and aren't able to dial it out with the NR on this pedal, its something else causing the noise.

[@Heretic_Chick]

@@garyclements6946 whatever the reason is, for each patch played it sounded like noise was mixed in with the guitar. As soon as he stopped playing, you could hear the decay of the gate activating. That’s not normally something I hear in his videos of other products.

[@ickebins6948]

Sounds alright. But is it me or is this thing noisy af???

[@Keaneo]

Nice 👌.

[@jesmararaujo9152]

This guy has the same vibes that NoHo Hank from "BARRY" 😅😅 great review though.

[@sassycat]

One box to drive them all..

[@system1007]

What happened to your shirt?

[@sean8553]

1:19 REEEEEEEEEEE!!! 12:06 DOOOOHHHH!

[@djlane74]

👍👍👍

[@StratsRUs]

It just sounds 'off' compared to the TC Nova Drive

[@knowitall1694]

Puh, all the usual You-Tubers have demoed it and, as usual, all the responses are predictably the same: "wow", "great sound", "the possibilities are INSANE" and more "wow". Peter, Pete, Rabea, Ola, Leon, Guitar Bro (who seems to be sponsoring Coka Cola now) all think it's the hottest thing since sliced bread...or margarine. Guys, of course, these demos are sponsored. Yes, the idea is great, the price is OK and it actually sounds OK. Kind of. If you run the OD200 through a nice valve amp, it will definitely sound "OK" as long as you don't let the notes ring out. That's because the chip can't compute what the note would sound like for more than a few seconds. I got sick of my Progressive Grid Bias amp because every note or tone was predictable. If you let the note fade, it started to break up and fizzle out. Pfui. If you ruthe OD200 through a transistor amp, I bet it will sound like a fart through a plastic pipe (i.e. trockener Furz durch Plastikrohr). That's because most digital fuzz boxes, if not all, can't seem to shake that annoying plastic, artificial nuance in the sound. If you compare the OD200 side by side to an analogue pedal into a valve amp, then the analogue pedal, in my view, wins. Although my Laney IRT60 is less versatile than my Boss Katana 50 Mark II, the few sounds that the Laney does deliver (especially the overdrive sounds) shits all over hybrid, modelling or those types of amps and pedals. You will never get the tonal depth, roundness, umpff, random overtones or whatever you want to call it, with digital stuff at this time. Yes, it gets close. It's convenient. It's cheap. But if I were to ever go onstage again (unless I'm playing at a kindergarten fest), my Laney will accompany me. And oh, by the way, I had the Boss GT 1000 and sold it quick smart because the tones sounded fake. The compression and tactile response "as if playing through a tube amp"as promised wasn't there. This is not a dis-endorsement rant, it's a "be careful what to expect" rant.

[@EytschPi42]

Did I say once that it can compete with good analog pedals? No, I did not.... I said exactly what you said.... affordable, flexible, programmable. It costs as much as one good analog pedal.... so yes, this is a positive review...because, for what it is trying to be and for what they are asking for it, this is a good pedal. Nobody ever said it could replace your favorite drives. At least I didn’t.

[@DelScully]

I cannot decide between this or the Xdrive from IK. I wish someone whose played both could help me decide which one is slightly better sounding!

[@stoneysdead689]

So- what did you end up with man? It's 8-9 months later, I'm assuming you pulled the trigger on one of the two by now. Curious to know if you're happy.

[@steveliberty]

So this covers drives, and Boss makes other 200 series pedals that cover modulation, delay, etc. But why not just an HX Stomp instead?

[@jumpingman8160]

because they sound different.

[@steveliberty]

@@jumpingman8160 Certainly if the sounds you want are in the Boss, go for it. But Henning was making the case that this pedal can let you preview stuff, and frankly the Stomp can do that as well, offers more varied choices, and can combine multiple effects into one device. Now, on the flip side, if you don't like the Line 6 modeling, then no, its not for you.

[@jumpingman8160]

@@steveliberty taste is subjective. I never cared for Boss dirt boxes, but fancy their delays and some mod. Don't care for Line 6 for the most part but dig their delays and filters. One is not better than the other, they just sound diferent. If you fancy the Stomp, go for it. There's no wrong or right. Just subjective taste.

[@powerfunk6588]

Personally I thought this was a terrible sounding pedal. The distortions were all really scratchy and farty. You could get a decent sound by using some of the cleaner tones to push an amp, but the higher gain tone on this pedal alone sounded awful.

[@bradmodd7856]

Analog pedals will soon be over... analog delay pedals are already history...strymon, source, meris, boss etc know this

[@barrylafratta5720]

nice shirt , just saying.

[@MOAB-UT]

Sounds digital. I will keep my OC3 and EQ2 EQ pedal. Get a Strobe HD tuner too- makes a difference in your tuning.

[@K24U76]

I purchased the Od-200 to use with my Roland jc-40 due to it taking pedals very well. Most of the time the Jc-40 can accurately reveal the sounds and characteristics of most of my pedals due to its incredible transparency clean tones that the amp is known for. That being said this pedal was horrible to my ears. It was extremely sterile sounding. I have a Waza blues driver and that sounds almost valve like running through my JC -40 so I figured since the Od200 is made by boss that the all in one Overdrive was possibly modeled after the kantana line in which in my opinion is a very good modeling amp, for the price. I think I liked maybe 3 sounds out of the pedal. To me the pedal felt so processed that I lost the natural characteristic and feeling that you would get out playing. Not for me.. sorry boss this was disappointing.

[@meulia]

Or maybe because the JC family is too sterile to begin with any drive pedals? I bought Yamaha THR10C for bedroom practice and suddenly all my dirt pedals sound more alive. Don't get me wrong I love Jazz chorus in pair with modulation and delay pedals.

[@K24U76]

@@meulia Actually not true, I got the line 6 podgo and that sounds excellent. I am new to amp modeling so I turn off the IR amps and cabinets and just use the go as a fill in for effects that I do not have like, overdrive and some modulations. For some reason I thought the Jc40 was a FFR amp however not the case. Yes, I agree the JC line is absolutely great with my Strymon big sky and timeline. Cleans are incredible and running it in Stereo through the amps effects loops and using the pod go in the front of the amp for overdrive is an awesome setup.. I also have a Yamaha thr10 2 and that thing sounds awesome not matter what I through at it and all of its built in effects are pretty darn good too, that speaker is a full frequency response speaker being why it plays nice with overdrives too. I guess I expect my jc40 to be able to do it all but in reality it really is better as a clean amp unless you are willing to really tone shape and experiment with various hookups . The pod go works very well but a much more expensive option when you can just purchase a katana or black star modeling amp for cheaper and get kick ass overdrive. I”ll tell you one thing is for sure as soon as Yamaha comes out with a full combo amp with all of the goodies of the THR line I will buy one. I hope they come out with a 2 10in or 2 12inch option..

[@Mwhbmnabjms]

Series/ parallel not serial henning.

[@sassycat]

Cereal?

[@franktank1803]

Das Teil klingt so schlecht wie dein Englisch 🤷‍♂️

[@EytschPi42]

Boah… hart… und echt nicht korrekt… ich spreche fließend und grammatikalisch korrekt. Ich habe 10 Jahre in den USA gelebt und muss mir sowas nicht sagen lassen.