So this is the culmination of my first ever ’Boss Month’ concerted focus on everything Boss! I do hope you enjoyed the broad sweep of all those articles - and had some fun with my speculative projections and suggestions. The natural end to all of that is of course to set out the pedal-chain as a Peak Boss implementation - using what I have within my extensive Boss collection. I of course had to add a few more units - but only a handful really. I’m guessing some who don’t...

This post was prompted by an Instagram follower - stating that Boss should really do more Dual-OverDrive varieties like the JB-2 Angry Driver - including resurrecting the original SD-2 Dual OverDrive in some way - which was in production from 1993 to 1998. Lots of people love that pedal - the ’Lead’ voicing in particular - in fact that pedal has long been an acquisition target of mine, and this article finally pushed me into getting my own unit - where I’ve ordered a fairly ...

Following on from my recent piece on Unsung Boss OverDrives and Distortions - I though I should also list which my own personal favourites were of all of Boss’s classic gain pedals. In fact I own multiple varieties and alternatives for all these feature ones - bar essentially for the original OD-1 - where I’ve always wanted one of the very earliest editions with the now super-rare 14-pin/leg RC3403D Chip - but not found one yet in the right condition, or at the right price! Most ...

Vitalii Bobrov is not the first to do a modern take on Boss’s celebrated FA-1 Preamp, while it’s my favourite take on that original to-date. I had long intended to acquire Josh Scott’s relatively recent Clover Preamp / EQ, but had never got around to that - while it had been at the back of my mind for quite some time.

As it happens, I was already receptive to getting in an improved and enhanced FA-1 clone - but thought for the longest time that it would take the ...

Boss is of course famous for its many legendary gain pedals - including the OD-1, SD-1, BD-2, DS-1, HM-2, and MT-2. There are however a number of lesser-known varieties which are somewhat more under the radar, and never really got their full due.

Boss has as many discontinued as active pedals in its range, and a significant number of those are worth hunting down. This feature covers 6 discontinued, and 3 currently active pedals that I personally still like - and have designs on those ...

Where once there were around 12 Boss 20-Series Double Pedals (per second visual below) - now if you scan through Boss.Info - you will find only a couple still on the books as it were. And I feel that the days of the RE-20 Space Echo and VE-20 Voice Performer are likely numbered too - which is why I’ve done a suggested mockup of what the RE-20 in particular might look like in 200-Series format.

As a long-term Boss and Roland flagship effect - I feel we will certainly see it being ...

I’m delighted to have finally got around to DryBell’s The Engine Foundation Preamp - as I’ve wanted it since I did the launch feature almost exactly one year ago on June 9th 2020 - I’ve just had a lot of obligations and priorities to cover off in the interim. I’m obviously a huge fan of MIAB style pedals and have several of those mostly in the compact enclosure form factor. I am firmly of the opinion that you cannot have too many Marshall-style pedals as each of ...

Readers of this blog will be familiar with my quest to find and collect the very best of HM-2 style twin-peak distortion pedals. The Grindstein is fairly unique in having two complementary channels which you can blend to your own preferences. It’s a unique collaboration between Carsten Pinkle of Klirrton Manufaktur and Metal Producer Kristian Kohle of Kohlkeller Studio fame.

The pedal is best approached via 3 distinct sections / rows :

CHAINSAW CHANNEL

Controls ...

I have featured celebrated Brit abroad Jesse Davey’s The Duellist a number of times on this site, from since TPS’s Mick Taylor first showcased it. Notably it’s one of the key Blues Breaker style dual-channel pedals - sort of following on in the wake of Analog.Man’s King of Tone, and taking a not too dissimilar path to Brown Amplification’s Protein, and VS Audio’s Royal Flush.

In any case - what’s distinct about most of Jesse’s pedals is ...

Reader Charles H requested that I do a roundup of Clean Blend Overdrives - which resulted in the following selection. Most Bass Overdrives have Clean-Blend by default - while all the ones I have selected here are more specifically Guitar Overdrives. I personally don’t find myself needing to use Clean Blend so much - but I can totally understand why so many players find this functionality useful or even essential. The Blend knob is variously labelled Blend, Clean, Dry and Mix. I’ve ...