Opinions on Boss Blues Driver pedal...

Spicy Lauren

... would be appreciated. Good or bad.

Thanks,

Lauren

Johnny Storm

Its OK. It's quite "mild", it basically does the same thing as the gain knob on your amp. So if you're playing through a clean amp you can switch on a hi-gain sound by standing on this pedal. If you already have the gain up on your amp then this pedal will make it a bit more gainey. It also has a level knob so you can use it to boost your level.

EDIT: is it good or bad? Well, I don't use mine very much, put it that way. It might be handier for playing live

Spicy Lauren

Thanks Johnny Boy

Anyone else?

Voodu Child

Its ok, its not an 'industry standard' in the same way as some other boss pedals are..(DD-6, SD-1 etc). Are you looking for recommendations of other pedals, or just an opinion on the boss before you buy it?

Ancient1

You might also want to try out a Marshall BluesBreaker II, they're within the same price range anyways.
I got one recently and I think it's excellent - huge in scope, very responsive and beefier than the Blues Driver. It's not necessarily better than the Blues Driver but it has so much more oomph.

Spicy Lauren

voodoo_child wrote:

Are you looking for recommendations of other pedals, or just an opinion on the boss before you buy it?

Dont really know much about pedals TBH...
Went to gig last week and the guitarist was using that pedal on some songs and I thought it sounded great...

Want some kind of overdrive pedal...

Maccattack

well if you liked what you heard what more do you need to know?

Voodu Child

Spicy Lauren wrote:

Dont really know much about pedals TBH...
Went to gig last week and the guitarist was using that pedal on some songs and I thought it sounded great...

Want some kind of overdrive pedal...

The boss isnt too bad. Its also very cheap, esp second hand.

Also consider:
Ibanez tubescreamer (of some kind, theres a good few different ones)
Marshall guv'nor (very adjustable tone-wise)
DOD YMJ (a tiny bit flimsy inside, but cheap, and sounds v good)

I cant really think of any more 'cheapish' ones. Because theyre often used to drive very good valve amps, they can get quite expensive (mxr, maxon, keeley etc.) but those three, and the boss, are grand, you cant go too far wrong.

Id say, just buy the boss if youre not sure what you want.

HusseinSarhan

I'd get a Barber Direct Drive or Barber LTD depending on how much gain you wanted. They'd work out around 100 euro new, less second hand. So maybe just a little more than the Blues Driver. Check out Steelbender.com for a full review on it. The Blues Driver is good though, just not like the Barber.

jcoote

get a tubescreamer if your goining for this style of OD simply cannot be beaten imo

Ravelleman

jcoote wrote:

get a tubescreamer if your goining for this style of OD simply cannot be beaten imo

Except by boutique tubescreamer clones . I like the MI Audio Blue Pro.

Sofaspud

Got to http://www.bossus.com/ and click interactive/virtual distortion grid.

Gives sound samples of a lot of Boss pedals, including the blues driver.

LundiMardi

Spicy Lauren wrote:

Dont really know much about pedals TBH...
Went to gig last week and the guitarist was using that pedal on some songs and I thought it sounded great...

Want some kind of overdrive pedal...

Did you notice what amp the guitarist was using? Cos it was probably that which sounded great.

If you want to sound great, buy the amp that sounds great, pedals just add different variations of great to an already great amp:). If you have a **** amp, the pedals may improve the tone slightly, but overall, it's still a **** amp(compared to a great amp).

They're grrreat!!!

Eoin Madsen

Yeah... what he just said. Talking about pedals without at least talking about amps is really a fruitless exercise. The same pedal can be unrecognisably different through another amplifier. The type of guitar, and whether your pickups are single coil or humbucking will also make a big difference, as will passive vs active guitar electronics.

Borrow one, and try it in your rig. Or bring your rig into a guitar shop.

fish-head

I've got one, I'm gonna replace it as soon as I get some money. It's alright for what it is, but it's not really my style.

Spicy Lauren

LundiMardi wrote:

If you want to sound great, buy the amp that sounds great, pedals just add different variations of great to an already great amp:). If you have a **** amp, the pedals may improve the tone slightly, but overall, it's still a **** amp(compared to a great amp).

Yep there's no worries about that, I've got a great amp and a great guitar

Anyway thanks for the advice, lads. Went in to Musician Inc at the weekend and tried Blues Driver with my guitar and same amp (I was lucky enough they had one in stock ready just for me!)
Blues driver's great. I'm getting one second-hand!!

Much love

Lauren