So which is the best Boss overdrive?

longshins

OD-3 for me, it's like a better SD-1. More volume, more gain and more bottom end.

Johnnyseven

I really like the BD2 when run with the gain around 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock. I liked the OD3 too but prefer the BD2. I bought a new SD1 recently to see what the fuss was about and really didn't like it.

ICBM

For me it's the DF-2 Super Distortion & Feedbacker. I know it's a 'distortion', but it just sounds better than any of the overdrives, to me. I also like the OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion, with the mix control a bit to the distortion side.

Of the actual overdrives I like the SD-1 into a dirty amp, and the SD-2 into a clean one. I didn't like the OD-3, it sounds blander than the SD-1 to me - in some ways 'better' as in more refined and with more bottom end, but it doesn't have the character of the SD-1.

gubble

SD-1 all the way for me.

I've been through countless overdrives and end up coming back to an SD-1 as a boost every single time.

Might purchase an OS2 - really fancy giving one a try 

MattG

I actually quite like the BD-2 for this

gubble

Well after reading this thread I managed to bag a BD-2 for a very cheap price, so I've now an SD-1 a DS-1 and a BD-2 on my board. Can't wait to plug it in and see what it's like

Cabicular

Don't be shy with the gain in the BD 2
Admittedly mine is the waza one but it sounds great

Pete24v

Cabicular;944379" said:

Don't be shy with the gain in the BD 2
Admittedly mine is the waza one but it sounds great

Love my Boss BD-2w.. Its seen off quite a few boutique overdrives.

ICBM

gubble said:

Well after reading this thread I managed to bag a BD-2 for a very cheap price, so I've now an SD-1 a DS-1 and a BD-2 on my board. Can't wait to plug it in and see what it's like

The interesting thing is going to be the right order… for me, the SD-1 goes best in front of both the DS-1 and the BD-2, but I've never tried a DS-1 and a BD-2 together. If I had to guess I'd probably go SD-1 > DS-1 > BD-2, but they're both at the more scooped end of the tone spectrum so it's not a foregone conclusion.

Dave_Mc

^ does the bd2 suffer from the stacking problem of the screamin blues? from what i remember when i tried it, the screamin blues didn't really like to be second in a stack... didn't really react the way you'd expect and hope.

hugbot

The bd2 is nice but very flat EQ wise. I like it for rhythm but it doesent jump out for lead.

Od3 if you want something that sounds great and lively into a clean amp

Sd 1 if you want a boost for a dirty amp.

xSkarloey

@Dave_Mc I'll have to look out for that. 

I had my SD-1 into a SB the other day when I was tinkering about setting up a recording sound. It seemed pretty good to me. 

Obviously though it wasn't at performance or gig volume. 

DesVegas

I have a J.S. P-19 clone going into a df-2 and it makes the best spluttery fuzz tone I've ever heard. Loves it i do

ICBM

Dave_Mc said:

does the bd2 suffer from the stacking problem of the screamin blues? from what i remember when i tried it, the screamin blues didn't really like to be second in a stack... didn't really react the way you'd expect and hope.

The SD-1 into the BD-2 sounded ok to me. I didn't try it with any other pedals. I didn't really like the BD-2 that much, to be honest... I prefer the DS-1

thermionic

I sold my BD-2 because I thought its character (scooped, Fender-style) didn't work well with the natural mid-range overdrive of my amp (Vox AC15). It always sounded like the character of the pedal was imposed on the natural sound of the amp. My old OD-1 fits in much better, I think I need to try a newer OD-3 at some point.

I've read a bit recently about how the Tube Screamer works so well with Fender amps is because it gives the scooped Fender amp sound a much-needed mid-boost. The converse is why I thought the BD-2 would work well with a Vox, but it didn't sound like that to me.

jonnyburgo

I found my old BD-2 to sound exactly the same as the drive channel on my peavey classic 30, so much so that I got rid. would like another now though.

stratman3142

My first overdrive pedal was an OD1 and I wish I could find it. I would switch in a Boss GE7 in front of it to give more mid boost and a Boss CS1 or CS2 compressor to give more sustain for legato. I replaced my OD1 with an SD1. I didn't bond with the SD1 and went back to an OD1. But that was eons ago.

I have a fairly old, but still in production, Boss OS2 which is an often overlooked gem. It has a sweet spot when the colour knob is firmly planted at the OD end of the scale and the tone and drive at about 11 o'clock.

I like to have at least two types of drive in my pedal board. Firstly a fairly transparent open sounding Tube screamer type pedal to cover the crunch to blues/rock sound through use of the guitar volume pot. And a second pedal with a more compressed processed sound, more firmly planted in rock, that facilitates legato. The OS2 was my 2nd pedal that picked up where my Tube screamer (Maxon OD9) left off. The Boss OS2 works well for a focused tight sounding rock rhythm and lead, and also legato especially when preceded by a compressor.

It's a moot point about when overdrive transitions to distortion. I'd judge the OS2, set as I described, to be a high'ish gain mid focused compressed overdrive, as opposed to distortion.

I'm always experimenting with drive and distortion pedals. I have a Fulltone OCD which sounds great (in fact better) in isolation but is more mid scooped and, in a full band when the bottom end is masked by other instruments, it sounds thin compared to my OS2 which occupies a good tight mid frequency slot in the overall sound. Also, I find the OCD isn't compressed enough for smooth legato. Maybe the OCD would work better in a small one guitar, bass and drums set up.

I also have a Maxon SD9 (I got this based on what Scott Henderson said about it), but again the OS 2 is closer to my needs in the bands I play in. At the other end of the spectrum, the SD9 is an outstanding glassy crunch pedal at very low gain settings. This would be my third drive but there's no room for it on my board.

Just recently an Angry Charlie (AC) has bounced my Boss OS2 off my board, but I judge the AC to be more in the rich distortion area. Unfortunately I don't have room on be board for both the AC and the OS2.

There's a lot I like about the OS2, so I'll never sell it. It's a ‘good in the mix pedal’, as opposed to a ‘good in isolation pedal’. Some might mistakenly dismiss it based on the latter. I still take it to gigs as backup because I know it's the one pedal that could approximate all I need.

Joe Walsh used a Boss OS2. I think his pedal board was largely based on Boss pedals.

Pete

ThePrettyDamned

You owe it to yourself to try the adaptive distortion. It's one of the underrated boss boxes - does transparent clean (literally can't tell if the pedal is on or not, no idea what the point is in that!) through to dynamic overdrive to lead tones (80s hair rock gain).

The sd-2 is awesome.

I like the od1x,sd-1 and od-3 loads too.

But my personal favourite is the df-2. It's best set as an overdrive than a distortion though. And it's best with lower output pickups than beasty ones. But set as an overdrive, it really sounds and feels like a driven amp, even at lower volume.

Dave_Mc

Skarloey said:

@Dave_Mc I'll have to look out for that. 

I had my SD-1 into a SB the other day when I was tinkering about setting up a recording sound. It seemed pretty good to me. 

Obviously though it wasn't at performance or gig volume. 

Trying to remember what I had into it when i tried it... I suspect a bad monkey. So maybe it's ok with the SD1? I didn't have them at high volumes either (and I had both set up as boosts).

ICBM said:

Dave_Mc said:

does the bd2 suffer from the stacking problem of the screamin blues? from what i remember when i tried it, the screamin blues didn't really like to be second in a stack... didn't really react the way you'd expect and hope.

The SD-1 into the BD-2 sounded ok to me. I didn't try it with any other pedals. I didn't really like the BD-2 that much, to be honest... I prefer the DS-1

Yeah now I think of it I don't think I tried the SD1 into it so maybe that combo is ok. I actually really liked the screamin' blues as a less middy boost apart from that stacking problem. I'd probably still take a timmy over it but it's awfully close, and the SB is an awful lot cheaper.

xSkarloey

I've found for my needs that another trick up the SD1's sleeve is that if it's on but with almost no gain, it adds a tad of grit and compression, which is great for essentially clean tones with a touch of bite. Great with a tele.