Should Boss roll out more Dual-OverDrive Collaborations - and if so which two pedals should be combined?
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 pristine Mint condition example from the Netherlands - at around about the right price too, While I will obviously pay a little over the odds once the import charges are factored in - but good to add that one to the collection at last!
The above speculative pairing is a smart combination of Ibanez’s wildly successful TS808 Tube Screamer, and the SD-1 Super OverDrive Boss then launched to compete with that - in many ways a softer version of the OD-1 - who’s Patented Asymmetrical Clipping got somewhat overshadowed by Ibanez’s slightly smoother Symmetrical Clipping Tube Screamer. Ironically it was Boss’s patent that encouraged Ibanez to go down this particular route - which of course resulted in the most ubiquitous overdrive of all time - and a permanent Overdrive association with the colour Green - rather than Boss’s Yellow!
I’m not sure Boss and Ibanez are necessarily on that friendly terms - being the most competitive of the overdrive manufacturers - only Ibanez can really hold a candle to Boss’s prowess in that area - while overall I feel that Boss has ended up with a few more iconic gain pedals than Ibanez - which is probably fair in many ways as most of Ibanez’s early pedals were designed and OEM’d by Maxon. If Boss doesn’t get any traction with Ibanez - possibly that could be another options - while I really like the ’Super Screamer’ moniker which could only really work for an Ibanez collaboration.
EB-1 Big Distortion Pedal Mockup - Combination of EHX Triangle Big Muff Pi, and Boss DS-1 Distortion
This exercise is actually a lot more tricky than some might imagine - as you need to select an appropriate complementary pedal pairing that not only works and fits fantastically, but one also that can generate a suitable moniker. I was at one time considering the Wampler Tumnus as a partner for the DS-1 - but just could not come up with a snappy name - and so ended up with the above 'EB-1 Big Distortion' instead - a match-up between Electro-Harmonix's Triangle Big Muff Pi, and Boss's equally legendary DS-1 Distortion.
I feel this could be slightly more plausible than the Super Screamer - as there'e less politics involved between those brands I would assume. Many players combine Big Muffs and DS-1's to great effect - and I feel they would make a stellar pairing here. Possibly not quite as iconic as the Super Screamer - but still a decent effort.
If I have any further genius ideas I will of course mock those up too and add to this feature - while I would really like to pick your brains on this subject also - so that we can jointly decide on what might be the best course of action - and what we would really like to see - and would genuinely acquire and deploy too.
I feel there is lots of potential for this format - while I've always stated that having dual footswtiches here would improve the pedals enormously - perhaps Alchemy Audo can start doing that modificaiotn - so your don't need to utilise yer another Remote Switch Pedal!
JB-2 Angry Driver Dual-OverDrive Revival - combination of JHS Angry Charlie, and Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, since 2017 - $206 | €165 | £175
So this is the pedal that marked Boss's Dual-OverDrive Format Revival - back in 2017 - as a Boss 40th Compact Pedals Anniversary Commemoration - collaborating for the first time with another pedal-maker - in this instance Josh Scott's JHS Pedals - I feel that momentous occasion marked both the resurgence of Boss, and the later rapid growth that JHS would experience.
This is just such a serendipitous pairing - and particularly on Parallel playback Mode - where those two pedals' frequency profiles are so complementary - and delivery a most amazing filled-in and textural frequency profile. This pedal deserver to sell as many as the DS-1 and MT-2 - for many people it's not just Boss's Best Blues Driver Pedal, but also its Best Marshall Voiced One too! I certainly love mine dearly - and while a lot of us Boss fans are very aware of its prowess - it often gets overlooked by others.
This is such a neat format - particularly in this version - Boss should, must really even roll out a few more editions - I feel they would go down very well indeed!
Original SD-2 Dual Overdrive (discontinued) from 1993-1998 - up to £250 equivalent on Reverb.com for pristine edition
This is obviously Boss's now much celebrated OG Dual-OverDrive format - which ran from 1993 - 1998 - and who's triple-concentric-knobs plus Mode-selector controls were so successfully revived for 2017's JB-2 Angry Driver. This has sort of gained cult status in more recent years - where the 'Lead' Mode / Voicing is much loved and used - and most prefer that as a richer bassier sort of version of the DS-1 - just a much fuller and more balanced profile - it's a properly liquid distortion - and it really sings!
The Crunch Mode / Voicing is not quite as strong, and doesn't quite deliver the same fantastic results - but there are for sure usable tones there too. If Boss ever considers reviving this - it will surely need to refine the Crunch Mode a touch.
I've long wanted one of these - and with all the priorities and commitments I've had, the timing just hasn't ever been quite right until now. Where I spotted a pristine edition in the Netherlands - courtesy of Reverb.com - I just need to wait for that to be delivered - and pay the somewhat unnecessarily harsh customs charges - but hey never mind. Just glad to have finally got one in the right condition and at the right sort of price.
I know a lot of my readers favour the SD-2 - please speak out those of you who have and love your SD-2 - and do share your insights and tips too!
Final Thoughts
So this is one of those Boss articles that is half fact and half fiction. While I do hope my speculations spur Boss into some kind of action. By all means keep up you own viral memes and social media posts to encourage Boss to do good things like me.
I've often said Boss moves in mysterious ways, and they don't always seem to capitalise on their successes. For me the JB-2 was / is superb and deserves some further follow-ups. And the SD-2 really deserves to be revived too - with some slight improvements to its Crunch voicing.
My speculations are really geared at carrying the conversation to Boss - and to encourage them to play to their strengths - and deliver more of their already substantial successes. I'm genuinely surprised that in the wake of JB-2's success - we don't have any similar collaborations. I guess some could point to the recent TB-2W Tone Bender - which was a collaboration with Macari's and Sola Sound - while that was not exactly a collaboration in the same way as the Boss/JHS Mashup - the TB-2W was really rather a replication or tribute.
There are certainly plenty of interesting discussions and dialogues on the web - and hopefully together we can encourage and persuade Boss to do more great deeds.
Which of you have a JB-2 or SD-2 - and what would you like to see next?
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