BD-2 Blues Driver

[just strum]

Personally, I'm gonna save up for a Kelley modded BD-2. I like the stock version too much to mess with mine, and I'd really like one of each.

What's the cost for one of those?

Do you know what version BD-2 you have?

 

[R.B. Huckleberry]

What's the cost for one of those?

Do you know what version BD-2 you have?

Keeley modded BD-2 is $150.

I don't know what version I have (I'm assuming you are talking about spec revisions...?). I bought mine from Guitar Center in 2006(?...don't remember the year). It is 100% stock from Taiwan.

 

[just strum]

Keeley modded BD-2 is $150.

I don't know what version I have (I'm assuming you are talking about spec revisions...?). I bought mine from Guitar Center in 2006(?...don't remember the year). It is 100% stock from Taiwan.

I think the stock units are up to ver 4. They are suppose to have improved with each rev. I would assume it's sort of like the Epi Valve Jr where they incorporated some sort of mods to make them sound better.

I think for my purpose, the stock should do the trick. From what I've been able to gather, the Keeley mod improves high gain setting more than anything else and high gain isn't what I am interested in.

 

[R.B. Huckleberry]

Ah! Apparently I purchased my Blues Driver on 2-19-2007. I posted this on another forum on 2-20-2007:

"I finally got around to picking up a Blues Driver of my own yesterday. I have the week off, and the kids have stretches of time where they wanna do their own thing, so I needed a new toy (LOL!).
My brief experiences of the past hold true: it's got more gain than a TubeScreamer or Super OverDrive, but less than a DS-1 Distortion. Really holds the middle ground between the two types.

No lack of low end in this Boss pedal it seems, though the higher frequencies have a "fuzz" around them. Almost a "sharpness" with a "rough edge" around it. Like a rusty scapel, if you can get a sonic impression from that image. I don't mind it personally: my idea of "distortion" has this characteristic, and in the BD-2 I'm having no trouble dialing it down under the "annoying" threshold.

There's a "looseness" to the grit this pedal has that sounds very organic & natural to me. A little amp being pushed into overdrive generally displays the same "I'm gonna blow up" quality. Just like the old blues-rock records in my stepdad's collection. No super-smooth overdrive sounds here, but you get a relatively smooth OD by turning the Tone knob more to the left.

Please note: the majority of my testing has been done with an American Series Telecaster and a G&L ASAT (as well as my stock, un-modded DRRI), so some of the "sharp" sound may be exacerbated by the bright character of these instruments. A brief noodling with my chambered, mahogany bodied Hamer yielded darker tones with a bite to them.
The touch sensitivity of the BD-2 is staggering. Dig in, it distorts more. Hold back, and you can get a very slight edge of breakup tone...all without adjusting the controls on the pedal, or the knobs on your guitar. I've encountered many pedals...some very "highend"...with this feature, but the BD-2 is extremely sensitive to pick attack. So much so, that I went "Zuh?" immediately.

All in all, a great pedal stock. I dunno if I would get anything I'd be looking for by having it modded."

 

[t_ross33]

I have a Behringer Blues OD pedal that is supposed to be the reverse engineered model of the Blues Driver. I like it alot, tho I'm playing with MFX more than pedals these days.

I agree it's better for mild OD, I go to a DS-2 Turbo Distortion for the higher gain stuff.