BD-2
Boss BD-2 Blues Driver. While there is a complaint that some have regarding the pedal being treble-heavy, this is otherwise a well-respected overdrive pedal that can also veer into distortion tones when the highest levels of gain are dialed in.
Controls
- Knob 1: "Level": Pedal volume. Turn the knob fully counter-clockwise to turn down volume.
- Knob 2: "Tone": Fully clockwise is maximum treble frequencies in the tone. As knob is turned counter-clockwise those frequencies are filtered out.
- Knob 3: "Gain": Sets the level of overdrive/distortion of the pedal. Turning the knob clockwise increases the amount of overdrive/distortion.
- Footswitch 1: "On/Off": Toggles the pedal on or off.
While characterized as a good-sounding overdrive/distortion, the Blues Driver is also known for being "ice-picky" in the tone department, with a preponderance of treble frequencies. Most players end up having to turn down the tone knob in order to roll off those treble frequencies.
Bypass:Buffered
All Boss pedals are buffered. The BD-2 is not an exception.
General Information
Having been created and released in 1995, the BD-2 Blues Driver is an overdrive/distortion pedal that is a late-comer to the Boss line-up of largely well-respected overdrive pedals.
In the middle of 2017, Boss appears to have changed the PCB that hosts the BD-2 circuit. Inside the updated BD-2 is a far smaller PCB indicating that the manufacture of the Blues Driver has gone to fully-SMD based fabrication.
There are modifications of the BD-2 that can change the tonal character of the pedal. Most specifically, we have bought a Monte Allums modification (linked below) for the BD-2. We have purchased the modification and are applying it to our own BD-2 in order to tame the "ice-pickyness" and deliver a smoother sounding overdrive. If you are intending to modify your Blues Driver, you're going to have to make sure you have a pre-2017 pedal so that the electronics are can be modified.
Pedal Manual
Phase Inversion:No
Our analysis suggests that this pedal does not invert phase.
| Schematic ID | Electronic Part | Action | Phase State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 2SK184 | Does Not Invert | Not Inverted |
| Q2 | 2SK184 | Does Not Invert (switch) | Not Inverted |
| Q3 | 2SK184 | Inverts | Inverted |
| Q4 | 2SK184 | Inverts | Not Inverted |
| Q5 | 2SA1335 | Does Not Invert | Not Inverted |
| Q6 | 2SK184 | Inverts | Inverted |
| Q7 | 2SK184 | Inverts | Not Inverted |
| Q8 | 2SA1335 | Does Not Invert | Not Inverted |
| IC1a | M5218 | Does Not Invert | Not Inverted |
| Q9 | 2SK184 | Does Not Invert (switch) | Not Inverted |
| Q10 | 2SC2459 | Does Not Invert | Not Inverted |
We may also end up changing out the IC that many consider cheap and substandard. We're thinking about replacing the stock M5218 for an OPA1642 for a better noise floor. However, it is also the case that the BD-2 is actually a pretty good sounding pedal in its own right and it may be the "cheapness" of the M5218 that provides the necessary character for the BD-2. We'll have to experiment and see.
Given the numerous amplification stages inside the BD-2 and given that the M5218 is but one of those stages, it's entirely possible that replacement would result in no discernable improvement.
Schematic
Artists
- Billie Joe Armstrong
- Randy Bachman
- Andy Timmons
- Additional Sources
