Do I own one of the worst distortion boxes ever made?

[JoeyD]

This is just out of curiosity, but a couple years ago when i picked up my first guitar and a blues jr, I asked the sales person which distortion pedal i should buy. Of course the salesperson at said store (Mississauga's Guitar Shop, great place) told me to buy a boss blues driver, as it's not too expensive (I was on a budget) but pretty good sounding.

So about a week later I stumble back into the shop with the BD-2 wanting a replacement. Why? It didnt have the cutting tone I was looking for (I was listening to a lot of tripe back then). Of course with more experience i would have been able to EQ my damn amp properly, but instead I swapped it for a boss DS-2.

Two years down the road, about a year of never using it, and im just starting to realize what a horrid pedal this is. At LEAST i should have swapped for a DS-1, but even better would have been a BD-2 (Im still in awe i traded one for the other ).

In any case... has anyone had the same experience with this pedal? is there *any* practical use for it? better yet, has anyone played an ever MORE disgusting distortion pedal? I find distortions are the easiest effect to sound like complete ass. I think ill just invest in an overdrive and get it over with.

 

[eric-d]

I think the BD-2 sucks myself. I didn't like the DS-1 either though. I do like the SD-1, but I gave it to a kid one night at a blues jam here in town. I'm quite content with all of my OD's, Distortions and Fuzz's I own now.

 

[Moe45673]

modded SD-1s are a hot ticket, as they're very versatile. If you want a heavier distortion, go for a modded DS-1.

my $0.02

 

[dave s]

You might not want to hear this but it might not the pedal. You may have bought the wrong tool for what you're trying to accomplish.

What are you trying to do with your blues jr. and (what guitar?) your guitar?

dave

 

[JoeyD]

Well the funny thing is I dont even really want distortion anymore.

Im playing a Les Paul through a Mesa Lonestar now, and the DS-2 has no place in this set up. While im sure you guys know a tonnes more about ODs/Dist boxes etc., I dont even really feel like I need one at the moment. Im sure eventually Ill pick up a nice OD (when I can justify the cost) and a fuzz (probobly no distortions though)... I was more just commenting on how BAD that pedal really is, I cant think of a single toneful use for it (even for back when I WAS playing over distorted rock tunes).

I always found it funny when people talked about the DS-1 (modded or not) but its ugly stepsister never even got mentioned. PS, from above, I wasnt saying how the BD-2 is the king of all pedals really, I have heard some pretty nice modded ones.... but even stock theyre way nicer than the DS-2. Serves me right for buying something with all capital letters TURBO on it... sounds like a cheesy marketing strategy for a kids toy race cars.

 

[bluescube]

You can send the DS-2 to me.....

 

[ToneDog]

The BD-2 is one of those pedals folks seem to either love or hate. I have a Keeley modded BD-2 with the Phat switch (that is usually "off") and I love it. But like most OD's, it has it's uses and misuses too. I use it for flatter, lower gain rhythm tones and chord work and not so much for single note lines because it's a bit on the thin side for that sort of thing - at least with low output single coil pickups. An overdrive or distortion with more "meat" will go alot further for lead tones, but the Keeley BD-2 does a fantastic job for a natural sounding and uncolored light overdrive.

 

[Kaiser]

yes, you do!!

 

[bluescube]

The OD-3 is PHAT and not thin at all. That's why I chose the OD-3 over the BD-2.

 

[oxtone]

I have a BD-2, and don't use it. Best overdrive pedal IMO is the Radial Tonebone Classic. :AOK

 

[crazy4blues]

I had the FBJ/BD-ii combo for a while, and I found that I didn't need both.

For overdrive sound, I liked the sound of the volume cranked to 12, "Fat" switch on, and the master set to whatever your venue calls for (living room/small club). Then just use the guitar's volume to control the amount of overdrive you want.

The only problem here is that the FBJ can sound too farty when pushed like this, and it's pretty much due to the over-biased factory setting and lousy cabinet it's in--and no OD pedal is going to help you there.

 

[DaveG]

+1 on the OD-3...
I don't know why it's not more popular, it blows the BD-2 away.

 

[Mullet Kingdom]

JoeyD: if you don't dig it then the answer is "yes!"

One of the grossest sounding pedals I've ever heard would have to be the DOD American Metal distortion. Yuck! But that's not to say that it couldn't work brilliantly with the right application--the same could be said of most pedals IMO. It's the middle-of-the-road sounding pedals that I really don't like.

Any pedal that can make your guitar sound like a wind-up toy in a garbage disposal full of broken glass should be cherished for all time--even if it only gets used once a year or less. In fact, if your DS-2 sounded like that I would buy it from you.

 

[ToneDog]

+1 on the OD-3...
I don't know why it's not more popular, it blows the BD-2 away.

I agree that the OD-3 is a cool pedal and it certainly has it's uses too. I used one quite a bit on a CD I did with my band about 5 years ago and it was great. But it does something different than the BD-2 does so they so it's not fair to compare them in the same capacity.

For example, I would never use the OD-3 as a rhythm pedal in a band setting because the mids and bottom end are too jacked up and it would just help congest the midrange frequencies - which competes with the vocals or any other instrument that might be featured. I WOULD use the OD-3 for a lead boost when I'm the featured player and it's my turn to shine and I want a fatter tone out front. The Keeley BD-2, on the other hand, does a great job at rhythms because of it's flatter eq - but that's also why it isn't as good at doing the lead thing. So the Keeley BD-2 works for me when I'm in a support role playing rhythm parts - a time when I shouldn't be slapping my big fat guitar tone all over everything else.