I think the way Timmons uses it with the guitar volume rolled back is a glorious sound, the bright saturation of the BD2 making for a much richer and sparklier clean than you'd otherwise get (kinda makes me think of the Hendrix tone where he'd leave the fuzz face on and roll the volume back). The Keeley mod lets a lot more low end through, which results in a fuller sound that is great for the above but perhaps a bit flubby at higher gain levels. I think the Wazacraft BD2 has a mode that sounds similar too.
The Keeley phat modded versions of this pedal bring it up to a whole new level. I love this pedal as a transparent cleanish boost in front of my hx stomp or my tube amp. It's great for gain stacking with other overdives such as a tubescreamer.
Best overdrive ever. Even stock is it does one of the best clean boosts, gritty medium gain drives, cleans up with the volume knob, stacks amazing, and at higher gain does this almost refined fuzz face ive never been able to replicate with any other pedal. Absolutely adore it
Totally - one of these beautiful little pedals from Boss that are under £100 and totally doing a thing! I might have to grab one to go alongside my OD3 just because...
Got a BD 2 in '95 when they first came out. It is the only pedal (out of many) that has been on every board I have made since then! Works equally well with my Strats, Tele, and ES 335 for transparent EQ boost. Gain setting between 9 o'clock and 2 o'clock, depending on situation. Also one of the best pedals for 'stacking' overdrives after it.
I actually love this pedal set a little bright, but with the gain low and volume high as a boost. Rolling back the volume on the guitar gets a nice sparkly clean tone. It does a thing. Good pedal.
The BD2 has been my main overdrive for years. I love using it in front of an EQD Hoof as a boost! Level around noon, drive around 2:00, and tone around 10:00. It makes the fuzz feel a little less stiff to my ears and a little more spitty. Probably my favorite lead tone for a Gilmour-ish sound!
I use the Keeley Phat Mod version and it's my favorite pedal. I'm not a huge pedal fan in general, but I use it to just add a little hair and pop. Love it.
I opted for the TC Electronics Cinders... at $50 used, it was a no brainer for this particular circuit. It's great! I like that sharp-ish overdrive sound that brings clarity to chords. I've, messed with the angry driver, the boss side was more appealing to my ears than the JHS side... what can I say, Boss is the boss.
I LOVE the BD-2. So so much. Favorite overdrive. Just so much nice crunch and presence and attack. I'm currently rocking a Mooer mini clone that has a Keeley-style fat mode to add some bass. Very low-noise and feels great.
I like the review. I like the blues driver. But I think the world is late to the party on this one. 20 years ago I played in a band and the the guitarist in band played a fender Tele through a fender twin reverb with a blues driver and that’s all he needed and he was considered one of the best players of his generation. 20yrs later look at what is trending again.all things come around again again
Oh maaan when that synth bass line comes in 👌🏼 great jam! Love Blues Drivers, they’ve a a nice transparent drive that’s obvs nice stacked but cranking it can take it into distortion/gain, I didn’t realise the gain pot worked the way you described, your vids are always an education, thank you! Hope you’re well
This is my most used pedal with the hx stomp. Runs directly into it as a clean boost: volume at about 3 o clock, tone at zero, gain at about 8 or 9 (very low). It boosts any amp model VERY well and gives me a great volume bump. I run the SD-1 into it for the mid boost on leads. Those pedals go together so well. An older, more experienced player friend of mine told me to always have a Bluesdriver and SD-1 in my possession. If I try a new drive pedal and it’s not better than those, don’t bother with it. That tone control being up with the gain can makes things wooly. I used to run it higher and it was creating a weird fuzz interference with vocalists I was playing with, particularly if I was using p90s. Started running it lower to all the way down and that issue disappeared.
I love my BD-2. I use the ODR-1 with it. It's like 2 different grits of sandpaper. The Nobels is like a 120 grit and the Blues Drive is a 100 grit. (Sometimes I replace the Nobels with a TS-808.) Am still experimenting but for a blues board, this has been a super fun combination.
@@johnnathancordy I use mine as an always on boost mostly. The line goes Tone bender, compressor, bd-2, klon, rat. Hx stomp xl. I alternate between a sss strat, a super strat with pals and an active 7 string all on the same rig and preset. the gain stages of the pedals I have perfectly set so this works with no tweaking at this point. It's pretty insane. I use the slo clean amp model on the hx stomp to get the results.
I've used more boost/drive/over drive/gain/etc pedals than I could list but ended up with the Bllues Driver with the Waza Craft mod. I have two on my board set to different drives and volumes. One is for a bit of dirt/body/crunch and the other is for fills/solos. It is a very smooth drive pedal.
It was my return to using pedals for overdrive, but it’s original use was for backline. One day I tried it with my Mesa Nomad and liked it enough to send it to Robert. I sold it when I got my Zendrive. I wish I hadn’t.
OOH - I have a Nomad - maybe I'll give that a try. I reckon with the darker tones of the Nomad, that sizzle in the high end of the Blues Driver will be super useful?
@@johnnathancordy i only used the normal and the 2nd gain channel. I sold the Nomad 45 and got the Lonestar Classic. I mostly used it with “backline amps” Hot Rods and DeLuxe mostly. I got a pretty cool sound out of a brand new DeLuxe that was so stiff! The Keeley BD2 was a winner that weekend! It was pretty much always on with the LSC. Ive heard the Wazacraft BD2 has the basic Keeley mods.
I frickin love the BD-2. L6 needs it on the Helix platform!!!! Honestly one of my favorite tones is my boss Katana with the "bright twin" replacing the stock clean, the katana model of blues driver plus a bit of plate verb. Beautiful and glorious sound....even with a neck humbucker no mud!!!
I believe they only named the od3 in the yellow od series pedals instead of the blue blues driver because the blues driver was still selling really well and they didn't want to undercut it. Circuit wise it is based on the same concept of transistor networks rather than IC chips
Hey Tony - yeh right - so people that know about pedals online that I was reading seemed to suggest that there was a few interesting things about the Blues Driver that are a bit unusual - a simulated Fender tone stack between the two gain stages, and some other bits and pieces. The OD3 is a bit more traditional in theory? But yeh I can also see why you'd want to preserve the BD2 because that high end sizzly stuff and extra gain is totally awesome for some stuff?
@@johnnathancordy yeah the blues driver has a different way of amplifying the signal and getting gain than most pedals. There are no chips used just discreet components. This was first started on the turbo overdrive pedal and further refined in the blues driver. The OD3 carries on this approach. Obviously they all sound a bit different and have their own place but they have a similar circuit approach
I love the BD-2. I have an SG with mini hum buckers and I generally always have is on. I use an HX Stomp with the BS-2 in front. I have found that usually "less is more" with respect to the gain knob. I usually have the gain between 9 and noon with the tone at 9:00. The level knob is also useful for quick volume adjustments when switching between presets. Griff Hamlin also swears by the Blues Driver.
I’ve had a BD-2 since i started playing guitar for 20 years ago (fuck, it’s been 20 years already…). I haven’t used it in a good while, but picked it up again today. I don’t find it especially transparent or nice sounding as a base overdrive going into a clean amp - but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. The bass roll off and slight fizzyness can be a really good thing going into a hot tube amp. I tried it with my Les Paul and Tweed Deluxe (which can be a bit mushy sounding together). Using the BD-2 as a cleanish boost was great! It cleared up things a bit and gave more character. Almost like an improved and adjustable treble boost. I must say that the cleanup with the guitar volume wasn’t as good as I remembered with the gain up high. I think it excels as a slightly hairy clean boost pushing an already hot amp. My Analogman King of Tone and Xotic RC Booster SH are way more transparent, but the BD-2 will for sure come back in rotation in the studio and maybe on my board.
@@johnnathancordy I'm not Michael, but I also use it with my Stomp to lightly boost the amp. It gives it a more responsive and natural feel I find. Settings: volume 60%, tone 45%, gain 25-30%.
I usually have the volume boosted around 1 or 2 o’clock and the gain at around 9 or 10 o’clock. Stacking it with another drive into the Helix is great too.
A BD-2, BigMuff or RAT should be serously considered as a first pedal. They sound great and are about €100. Ibanez 850 (early BM clone) is also very nice to my ears 😊
Na, I thought he was a khunt for it tbh, especially considering the state of dumb rambo machete & zombie knife crime in the UK. Diiiiiiiiiiiiiii khed! 💁
Hi John, was wondering if you could do a video on some of the legacy effects in the Helix? Like either a comparison between legacy/new versions of the same pedal (such as the Boss CE-1 or Ibanez TS-808) or just some ones that are worth looking into. Cheers, love the vids!
of course both pedals sound excellent. but the fact is that there is a lot of good equipment and very little useless equipment. the deciding factor is taste, creativity in dealing with the gear. and not to forget the skills. some important parameters in the matter of sound.
Amen. It's amazing how lacking objectivity most comments seem to be. If a pedal isn't suitable to your particular needs or chosen setup, that doesn't mean it "sucks" Also, people don't seem to grasp how much recording engineers will have to alter their eq to make the sound work in a mix. That stuff is better done on the way into the amp, rather than trying to fix it in the mix.
I've used BD-2 and OD-3 for quite a while with my HX Stomp until I realized I can really do well with just HX Stomp alone. The coolest setting with these pedals for me is having them in front of the Stomp like this: first goes OD-3 with the tone knob all the way up and into BD-2 with the tone knob all the way down. Gain at zero for both, level at 11 o'clock for OD-3 and at 1 o'clock for BD-2 - for me, this is a solid basis for crunch to lead spectrum of tones.
Well, I'm not quite there yet with Modelers. I played around recently with a Zoom G3 that seemed ok until it wasn't(probably a misplaced setting on the PA system it was XLR'd into). I quickly went back to my BOSS Katana MkII. A basically Clean Patch with the internal BD-2 for Boost + a little Reverb really gets me where I need to be.
To me, the Blues Driver sounds like an overdriven vintage amp. The OD-3 was spawned from the mating of the BD-2 and a Tube Screamer. I'm not a fan. I have only 3 pedals in my chain. First, the CS-1. Second, the BD-2, Three, a Behringer "analog" delay. The CS-1 is not passive, and does most of the trick shaping of the ol' sine wave or whatever it is - which it shapes subtly but indispensably while in the off position - before it enters the (insert your distortion pedal here) and finally passes through the Delay (which I've sadly not been able to duplicate with a sturdier pedal and the plastic parts are high-impact) on its merry way to the amp - which only need have an open Twin-esque clean channel for the swiss-army nature of the guitar to come through, because all the magic's in the pedals (set and forget, all) with a frankly astounding array of tonal selections available at the guitar (an LP with P/P pots on 3 of 4). In a fire, I'd grab the guitar and pedal case and head for the hills, and I would be out nothing I truly care about. Anywho, that's the extended version of, "The BD-2 is the most versatile pedal there is, ever was, and ever will be," in this old man's estimation.
I think this bd2 is was like a marshall in abox thing. 1st no fender amp sounds like that, ive been trying a lot of bassman amp and it different. 2nd The gain knob on the pedal is working like a gain knob in a marshall amp that has treble cut thingy the more gain the more bass u get.
Funny. My first guitar pedal was a Super AT-MOD if you don't count my EQ pedal. I'm waiting on a Blues Driver in the mail. It crazy because I don't even listen Andy..lol Just enjoyed his demos with Keeley. He's obviously a legendary player though.
The BD-2 WAZA is a good option, i really should put mine back into use, others have mentioned running it in front of the HX and i have not actually yet tried that… seems like a plan for the weekend to me.
I really only use mine as a clean boost for open mic acoustic nights! Ha. I always found it a bit ‘thin’ sounding and ‘spitty’. My main OD is a Fulltone GT500, so it’s apparently I prefer an OD with much more oomph. Curious to see what Keeley did to mod this pedal
Hi John ! If it's possible please make a video on Jhs The AT+ , Wampler Tumnus and maybe Wampler Belle. I would like to know your oppion on these devices. Thanks!
How are you finding the actual boss pedals into the helix, vs say the boss models of same in your GX100 ? Seems as much as interesting hybrid mix combining the GK and stomp as it would be the actual pedals. If you had to nip off for a week which would you bring with ? Few pedals or the dual modellers and have a go at stitching em together ?
I love the bd2. Had it keely modded. Even better. But not into the. All the way gain sizzle. Thing. You were doing at end. But you’re solo was opening was a 10
yes apart from the click bait bullshit the bd=2 is an awsome allrounder .This is by no means directed at you John what gets me is so many people base there opinion on a pedal of it alone compare it have one pedal vs another shootout crap no one ever seems to take into consideration the amp being used the guitar is a microphone of various types the pedal eq's/modulates the signal and the amp reflects this thus the bd-2 is good at doing this for a majority of these scenarios.I bought a Paul gilbert Mojo and thought it was absolute shit in a Orange 35 RT and a Blues Deluxe then i put it in a pro junior and man did it fly.I just wish that these so called opinionated experts would get off their high horse"s with overly long guitar look at me solo,s and do some ground work with different equipment or at least ackknowledge that their opinion is based on there set up.This is by no means directed at you It just so happens that I felt like commenting cheers
@@johnnathancordy perfect, you have a new customer. You should consider moving your presets to Patreon. If you update them regularly you should at least get paid regularly. I would easily pay $5/month for updated presets.
Well. Apparently, between the two gain stages of the Blues driver, there is a Fender blackface style tonestack.....Which might be something fairly unique to the Blues Driver? Which does give me the idea of trying something like that....
Dilemma…I’m looking for a boost/overdrive to put infront of my hx stomp and evh lbx-s, but can’t choose between odr-1, ehx crayon, tumnus or od-3/bd-2. (Mostly with humbuckers)
All depends on what you want to do. If you're wanting to boost a high gain tone for hard rock you might want something different to if you're playing blues etc. The good thing about the boss pedals is that there cheap and they do a range of pedals that are suited to different tasks. The klon based drives like tumnus work really good as boosts for not colouring your sound too much as well. An OD3 might be too bassy for hard rock in which case an sd1 might be better, an sd1 might shave off too much bass for blues in which case blues driver... Etc etc
@@tonystartup3817 to be honest i want a bit of everything, that’s the problem. I have a pigtronix disnortion (great), a rowin dumbler (pretty good) and a rowin plexion (ok) … but am looking for something lower gain as an always on type pedal, both for a light bluesy boost on its own but also to stack with the other pedals. I play mostly hard/classic rock, through to VH (hence the evh lbx) but also want to cover blues.
@@paulburton5150 klons and their klones are good for that. You don't get much of a bass cut or mid hump so they don't colour your sound too much but just give you more with just subtle eq-ing to make the guitar stand out without the bass becoming boomy
@@matthewstearle7395 Your welcome. I got mine new from eBay, best price at the time recently. I pair it up with the Donner Verb Square and 🏆 put the reverb last. I had it the other way and it's wrong but a preference. I checked video on which one goes where. It's modulation pedal if you have one then delay and reverb pedal last. It layers the sound properly and best. Dave Tucson 🌵✌
I got one cus Kevin Parker. Check this out, I think this is tone knob all the way down, gain knob all the way up: ruclips.net/video/Eq4-9n14ytw/видео.html. I used it on everything before switching to the Dude cus you
This has been my tone since I was 15 years old, I now have two on my board set to different gain stages. It’s the sound of rock music!
I think the way Timmons uses it with the guitar volume rolled back is a glorious sound, the bright saturation of the BD2 making for a much richer and sparklier clean than you'd otherwise get (kinda makes me think of the Hendrix tone where he'd leave the fuzz face on and roll the volume back). The Keeley mod lets a lot more low end through, which results in a fuller sound that is great for the above but perhaps a bit flubby at higher gain levels. I think the Wazacraft BD2 has a mode that sounds similar too.
Wait. This isn't actually Nolly is it?
@@johnnathancordy It wouldn't surprise me if it was; Nolly is a huge AT fan.
@@johnnathancordy Yup. How's it going? I've watched a load of your videos today, great stuff
Thought this was the real Nolly: ruclips.net/user/Nollythegreatvideos
@@johnnathancordy *Keanu Reeves "whoa" meme has entered the chat
The Keeley phat modded versions of this pedal bring it up to a whole new level. I love this pedal as a transparent cleanish boost in front of my hx stomp or my tube amp. It's great for gain stacking with other overdives such as a tubescreamer.
Best overdrive ever. Even stock is it does one of the best clean boosts, gritty medium gain drives, cleans up with the volume knob, stacks amazing, and at higher gain does this almost refined fuzz face ive never been able to replicate with any other pedal. Absolutely adore it
Totally - one of these beautiful little pedals from Boss that are under £100 and totally doing a thing! I might have to grab one to go alongside my OD3 just because...
Ha ha. John 'Crocodile Dundee' Cordy...
"That's not a knife.....this, is a knife!"
Got a BD 2 in '95 when they first came out. It is the only pedal (out of many) that has been on every board I have made since then!
Works equally well with my Strats, Tele, and ES 335 for transparent EQ boost. Gain setting between 9 o'clock and 2 o'clock, depending on situation. Also one of the best pedals for 'stacking' overdrives after it.
I actually love this pedal set a little bright, but with the gain low and volume high as a boost. Rolling back the volume on the guitar gets a nice sparkly clean tone. It does a thing. Good pedal.
My Boss tone pot is @ 9 with a strat - I couldn't go much beyond that
SG + Blues Driver = Blues Rock Heaven
The BD2 has been my main overdrive for years. I love using it in front of an EQD Hoof as a boost! Level around noon, drive around 2:00, and tone around 10:00. It makes the fuzz feel a little less stiff to my ears and a little more spitty. Probably my favorite lead tone for a Gilmour-ish sound!
I use the Keeley Phat Mod version and it's my favorite pedal. I'm not a huge pedal fan in general, but I use it to just add a little hair and pop. Love it.
I opted for the TC Electronics Cinders... at $50 used, it was a no brainer for this particular circuit. It's great! I like that sharp-ish overdrive sound that brings clarity to chords. I've, messed with the angry driver, the boss side was more appealing to my ears than the JHS side... what can I say, Boss is the boss.
I LOVE the BD-2. So so much. Favorite overdrive. Just so much nice crunch and presence and attack.
I'm currently rocking a Mooer mini clone that has a Keeley-style fat mode to add some bass. Very low-noise and feels great.
What I love about this pedal is the scooped sound. I'm no fan of the mid emphasis of the TS or other similar pedals.
You're my favourite guitar channel John :)
I like the review. I like the blues driver. But I think the world is late to the party on this one. 20 years ago I played in a band and the the guitarist in band played a fender Tele through a fender twin reverb with a blues driver and that’s all he needed and he was considered one of the best players of his generation. 20yrs later look at what is trending again.all things come around again again
Oh maaan when that synth bass line comes in 👌🏼 great jam! Love Blues Drivers, they’ve a a nice transparent drive that’s obvs nice stacked but cranking it can take it into distortion/gain, I didn’t realise the gain pot worked the way you described, your vids are always an education, thank you!
Hope you’re well
It’s a great pedal and the keeley mode is even better
This is my most used pedal with the hx stomp. Runs directly into it as a clean boost: volume at about 3 o clock, tone at zero, gain at about 8 or 9 (very low). It boosts any amp model VERY well and gives me a great volume bump. I run the SD-1 into it for the mid boost on leads. Those pedals go together so well. An older, more experienced player friend of mine told me to always have a Bluesdriver and SD-1 in my possession. If I try a new drive pedal and it’s not better than those, don’t bother with it.
That tone control being up with the gain can makes things wooly. I used to run it higher and it was creating a weird fuzz interference with vocalists I was playing with, particularly if I was using p90s. Started running it lower to all the way down and that issue disappeared.
I love my BD-2. I use the ODR-1 with it. It's like 2 different grits of sandpaper. The Nobels is like a 120 grit and the Blues Drive is a 100 grit. (Sometimes I replace the Nobels with a TS-808.) Am still experimenting but for a blues board, this has been a super fun combination.
I do the same!
+1!
I can't imagine my board without this pedal.
It'd be less....Blue? How do you use yours Marc?
@@johnnathancordy I use mine as an always on boost mostly. The line goes Tone bender, compressor, bd-2, klon, rat. Hx stomp xl. I alternate between a sss strat, a super strat with pals and an active 7 string all on the same rig and preset. the gain stages of the pedals I have perfectly set so this works with no tweaking at this point. It's pretty insane. I use the slo clean amp model on the hx stomp to get the results.
@@JDMVman I never tweak mine either. The settings I use work with everything. It really is crazy.
LOL!!!! that knife
I've used more boost/drive/over drive/gain/etc pedals than I could list but ended up with the Bllues Driver with the Waza Craft mod. I have two on my board set to different drives and volumes. One is for a bit of dirt/body/crunch and the other is for fills/solos. It is a very smooth drive pedal.
It was my return to using pedals for overdrive, but it’s original use was for backline. One day I tried it with my Mesa Nomad and liked it enough to send it to Robert. I sold it when I got my Zendrive. I wish I hadn’t.
OOH - I have a Nomad - maybe I'll give that a try. I reckon with the darker tones of the Nomad, that sizzle in the high end of the Blues Driver will be super useful?
@@johnnathancordy i only used the normal and the 2nd gain channel. I sold the Nomad 45 and got the Lonestar Classic. I mostly used it with “backline amps” Hot Rods and DeLuxe mostly. I got a pretty cool sound out of a brand new DeLuxe that was so stiff! The Keeley BD2 was a winner that weekend! It was pretty much always on with the LSC. Ive heard the Wazacraft BD2 has the basic Keeley mods.
Sounds sweet as it is. More like a tone shaping tool than a boost
I frickin love the BD-2. L6 needs it on the Helix platform!!!! Honestly one of my favorite tones is my boss Katana with the "bright twin" replacing the stock clean, the katana model of blues driver plus a bit of plate verb. Beautiful and glorious sound....even with a neck humbucker no mud!!!
I got one because Ben McLeod of All Them Witches is playing one. Love it!!
Lol me too
I believe they only named the od3 in the yellow od series pedals instead of the blue blues driver because the blues driver was still selling really well and they didn't want to undercut it. Circuit wise it is based on the same concept of transistor networks rather than IC chips
Hey Tony - yeh right - so people that know about pedals online that I was reading seemed to suggest that there was a few interesting things about the Blues Driver that are a bit unusual - a simulated Fender tone stack between the two gain stages, and some other bits and pieces. The OD3 is a bit more traditional in theory?
But yeh I can also see why you'd want to preserve the BD2 because that high end sizzly stuff and extra gain is totally awesome for some stuff?
@@johnnathancordy yeah the blues driver has a different way of amplifying the signal and getting gain than most pedals. There are no chips used just discreet components. This was first started on the turbo overdrive pedal and further refined in the blues driver. The OD3 carries on this approach. Obviously they all sound a bit different and have their own place but they have a similar circuit approach
The knife size to box size is similar to R Kelly’s ratio
you mean...it's a golden ratio?
@@johnnathancordy yeyeye
I love the BD-2. I have an SG with mini hum buckers and I generally always have is on. I use an HX Stomp with the BS-2 in front. I have found that usually "less is more" with respect to the gain knob. I usually have the gain between 9 and noon with the tone at 9:00. The level knob is also useful for quick volume adjustments when switching between presets. Griff Hamlin also swears by the Blues Driver.
Extra points for the machete like knife, gives extra tonez 🔪
I’ve had a BD-2 since i started playing guitar for 20 years ago (fuck, it’s been 20 years already…). I haven’t used it in a good while, but picked it up again today.
I don’t find it especially transparent or nice sounding as a base overdrive going into a clean amp - but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. The bass roll off and slight fizzyness can be a really good thing going into a hot tube amp. I tried it with my Les Paul and Tweed Deluxe (which can be a bit mushy sounding together). Using the BD-2 as a cleanish boost was great! It cleared up things a bit and gave more character. Almost like an improved and adjustable treble boost.
I must say that the cleanup with the guitar volume wasn’t as good as I remembered with the gain up high. I think it excels as a slightly hairy clean boost pushing an already hot amp. My Analogman King of Tone and Xotic RC Booster SH are way more transparent, but the BD-2 will for sure come back in rotation in the studio and maybe on my board.
Amazing player!
I use the Blues Driver with my Helix. It’s amazing.
Awesome Michael - suggested settings?
@@johnnathancordy I'm not Michael, but I also use it with my Stomp to lightly boost the amp. It gives it a more responsive and natural feel I find. Settings: volume 60%, tone 45%, gain 25-30%.
You'll always be Michael to me, Kevin.
Yeh nice - these lower gain settings are really pretty with the Blues Driver
I usually have the volume boosted around 1 or 2 o’clock and the gain at around 9 or 10 o’clock. Stacking it with another drive into the Helix is great too.
A BD-2, BigMuff or RAT should be serously considered as a first pedal. They sound great and are about €100. Ibanez 850 (early BM clone) is also very nice to my ears 😊
The Boss Blues Driver is great for Jazz fusion stuff as well. I have both on my pedalboard.
am i the only one who’s gonna mention how he used a big ass knife to cut open the box?
Na, I thought he was a khunt for it tbh, especially considering the state of dumb rambo machete & zombie knife crime in the UK. Diiiiiiiiiiiiiii khed! 💁
Oh, and new subscriber. What the hell. Cheers from SE Asia.
Hi John, was wondering if you could do a video on some of the legacy effects in the Helix? Like either a comparison between legacy/new versions of the same pedal (such as the Boss CE-1 or Ibanez TS-808) or just some ones that are worth looking into. Cheers, love the vids!
of course both pedals sound excellent. but the fact is that there is a lot of good equipment and very little useless equipment. the deciding factor is taste, creativity in dealing with the gear. and not to forget the skills. some important parameters in the matter of sound.
Amen. It's amazing how lacking objectivity most comments seem to be.
If a pedal isn't suitable to your particular needs or chosen setup, that doesn't mean it "sucks"
Also, people don't seem to grasp how much recording engineers will have to alter their eq to make the sound work in a mix. That stuff is better done on the way into the amp, rather than trying to fix it in the mix.
I really liked that tone.
Just ordered the Waza version. Can’t wait to try it out.
OOh - let me know how you like it?
I've used BD-2 and OD-3 for quite a while with my HX Stomp until I realized I can really do well with just HX Stomp alone.
The coolest setting with these pedals for me is having them in front of the Stomp like this: first goes OD-3 with the tone knob all the way up and into BD-2 with the tone knob all the way down. Gain at zero for both, level at 11 o'clock for OD-3 and at 1 o'clock for BD-2 - for me, this is a solid basis for crunch to lead spectrum of tones.
Well, I'm not quite there yet with Modelers. I played around recently with a Zoom G3 that seemed ok until it wasn't(probably a misplaced setting on the PA system it was XLR'd into). I quickly went back to my BOSS Katana MkII. A basically Clean Patch with the internal BD-2 for Boost + a little Reverb really gets me where I need to be.
It's really a legendary pedal and the Waza Craft is even better imo. Great in front of a clean or dirty amp.
All knobs at noon sounds very good here 🎸
I love this pedal.
How do you use it Sean?
too busy enjoying your playing to notice the pedal... Which is as it should be. Interested in hearing the new WAZA version
To me, the Blues Driver sounds like an overdriven vintage amp. The OD-3 was spawned from the mating of the BD-2 and a Tube Screamer. I'm not a fan. I have only 3 pedals in my chain. First, the CS-1. Second, the BD-2, Three, a Behringer "analog" delay. The CS-1 is not passive, and does most of the trick shaping of the ol' sine wave or whatever it is - which it shapes subtly but indispensably while in the off position - before it enters the (insert your distortion pedal here) and finally passes through the Delay (which I've sadly not been able to duplicate with a sturdier pedal and the plastic parts are high-impact) on its merry way to the amp - which only need have an open Twin-esque clean channel for the swiss-army nature of the guitar to come through, because all the magic's in the pedals (set and forget, all) with a frankly astounding array of tonal selections available at the guitar (an LP with P/P pots on 3 of 4). In a fire, I'd grab the guitar and pedal case and head for the hills, and I would be out nothing I truly care about. Anywho, that's the extended version of, "The BD-2 is the most versatile pedal there is, ever was, and ever will be," in this old man's estimation.
I think this bd2 is was like a marshall in abox thing. 1st no fender amp sounds like that, ive been trying a lot of bassman amp and it different. 2nd The gain knob on the pedal is working like a gain knob in a marshall amp that has treble cut thingy the more gain the more bass u get.
Funny. My first guitar pedal was a Super AT-MOD if you don't count my EQ pedal. I'm waiting on a Blues Driver in the mail. It crazy because I don't even listen Andy..lol Just enjoyed his demos with Keeley. He's obviously a legendary player though.
The BD-2 WAZA is a good option, i really should put mine back into use, others have mentioned running it in front of the HX and i have not actually yet tried that… seems like a plan for the weekend to me.
Dig your style...play on!
Love my blues driver
You read my mind. I’ve found the demo which justifies the bd-2
John mayer used a blues driver alot at one point as well
I wonder how the blues-driver compares to its digital models within e.g. the boss GT-1 or Nux MG-30
I really only use mine as a clean boost for open mic acoustic nights! Ha. I always found it a bit ‘thin’ sounding and ‘spitty’. My main OD is a Fulltone GT500, so it’s apparently I prefer an OD with much more oomph. Curious to see what Keeley did to mod this pedal
Hi John ! If it's possible please make a video on Jhs The AT+ , Wampler Tumnus and maybe Wampler Belle. I would like to know your oppion on these devices. Thanks!
Set it as a low gain boost and run it into a Nobles for creamy sustain. I havn found a better combo for humbuckers and Filtertrons.
Screamin blues is a great variant
How are you finding the actual boss pedals into the helix, vs say the boss models of same in your GX100 ? Seems as much as interesting hybrid mix combining the GK and stomp as it would be the actual pedals. If you had to nip off for a week which would you bring with ? Few pedals or the dual modellers and have a go at stitching em together ?
I love the bd2. Had it keely modded. Even better. But not into the. All the way gain sizzle. Thing. You were doing at end. But you’re solo was opening was a 10
Curious on how different this and the wazza craft are.
Not very different, Waza has more bottom end but that's it
john what drive effect looks like the blues driver in the pod go?
yes apart from the click bait bullshit the bd=2 is an awsome allrounder .This is by no means directed at you John what gets me is so many people base there opinion on a pedal of it alone compare it have one pedal vs another shootout crap no one ever seems to take into consideration the amp being used the guitar is a microphone of various types the pedal eq's/modulates the signal and the amp reflects this thus the bd-2 is good at doing this for a majority of these scenarios.I bought a Paul gilbert Mojo and thought it was absolute shit in a Orange 35 RT and a Blues Deluxe then i put it in a pro junior and man did it fly.I just wish that these so called opinionated experts would get off their high horse"s with overly long guitar look at me solo,s and do some ground work with different equipment or at least ackknowledge that their opinion is based on there set up.This is by no means directed at you It just so happens that I felt like commenting cheers
One last thing. Let me know when you're gonna shave with that blade. I want to get that on film.
I use the Blues Driver to introduce more top end and boost the amp
I've always looked at the BD-2 as a tone enhancer, I need to try the Waza Craft version and see what offers over the BD-2
I have the Waza version..idk…doesn’t seem to add much..your probably just as well off with the standard BD..save a few bucks.
Are your helix presets still available for purchase and being updated? Thanks!
They are!
By far the best value for money purchase in the Helix world. Maybe even the entire world. Get them bought!
@@johnnathancordy perfect, you have a new customer. You should consider moving your presets to Patreon. If you update them regularly you should at least get paid regularly. I would easily pay $5/month for updated presets.
BD2 just sounds sweeter than the OD3
I bought a Halo and a JHS @ after that Sweetwater vid! Hahaha!
Yeh - I'm considering whether or not to grab a Halo at least to see what it's like - yes or no?
@@johnnathancordy the texture and ease of control is beautiful on the Halo!
Interesting. Can you not get a similar effect on the HX Stomp?
Well. Apparently, between the two gain stages of the Blues driver, there is a Fender blackface style tonestack.....Which might be something fairly unique to the Blues Driver? Which does give me the idea of trying something like that....
Does Andy use his Keeley modded BD on the PHAT mode? or stock / flat mode?
In an interview he said, that he uses it on the stock mode
Cool Sounds but where is it plugged in? In a real Amp or HX Stomp?
Into my usual rig! HX Stomp
@@johnnathancordy ah cool, thank you. I think it's your AT HX Stomp Sound.
Dilemma…I’m looking for a boost/overdrive to put infront of my hx stomp and evh lbx-s, but can’t choose between odr-1, ehx crayon, tumnus or od-3/bd-2. (Mostly with humbuckers)
Well. The BD2 might be a good bet for humbuckers - if it works for Andy?
All depends on what you want to do. If you're wanting to boost a high gain tone for hard rock you might want something different to if you're playing blues etc. The good thing about the boss pedals is that there cheap and they do a range of pedals that are suited to different tasks. The klon based drives like tumnus work really good as boosts for not colouring your sound too much as well. An OD3 might be too bassy for hard rock in which case an sd1 might be better, an sd1 might shave off too much bass for blues in which case blues driver... Etc etc
@@tonystartup3817 to be honest i want a bit of everything, that’s the problem. I have a pigtronix disnortion (great), a rowin dumbler (pretty good) and a rowin plexion (ok) … but am looking for something lower gain as an always on type pedal, both for a light bluesy boost on its own but also to stack with the other pedals. I play mostly hard/classic rock, through to VH (hence the evh lbx) but also want to cover blues.
@@paulburton5150 klons and their klones are good for that. You don't get much of a bass cut or mid hump so they don't colour your sound too much but just give you more with just subtle eq-ing to make the guitar stand out without the bass becoming boomy
"I've never had one of these in my rig..."
Sure, why would anyone have a machete in his rig?! 😂
Rambo wants his knife back!
Owane vibes
That machete needs some rust 😂
What delay pedal would you recommend?
What's your budget? I recommend the Donner Echo Square. About $50. Friggin awesome. 7 dif delays and excellent sound quality. Best is Boss but 3 Xs 💸
@@davidkastin4240 thank you so much its just what I am looking,will get one,appreciate it
@@davidkastin4240 thanks so much,I will get one,appreciate it
@@matthewstearle7395 Your welcome. I got mine new from eBay, best price at the time recently. I pair it up with the Donner Verb Square and 🏆 put the reverb last. I had it the other way and it's wrong but a preference. I checked video on which one goes where. It's modulation pedal if you have one then delay and reverb pedal last. It layers the sound properly and best. Dave Tucson 🌵✌
@@davidkastin4240 thanks so much for that information David I appreciate it
Is it plugged into the HXStomp? And what sound?
anybody?
I got one cus Kevin Parker. Check this out, I think this is tone knob all the way down, gain knob all the way up: ruclips.net/video/Eq4-9n14ytw/видео.html. I used it on everything before switching to the Dude cus you
Can anyone recommend a Blues Driver style pedal/clone, available in a mini pedal format?
Mooer blues mood
Yeh isn't the Blues Crab a blues driver clone?
Any shitty behrenger or danelectro pedal will do
@@johnnathancordy I think the blues crab is a blues breaker clone. The blues mood is a clone of the keeley modded BD2 with the fat switch
It sounds pretty close to timmy
To my ears, Timmy MXR is a lot more smooth. But I like to run my BD2W into the Timmy for a killer lead boost. keep the gain real low on the BD.
Click Bait title aside…. The BS-2 is a phenomenal pedal.
This should be called 70s fuzz pedal
Who the Hell is Andy Timmons?
I will say thoe Click baiting just pisses people off
John the best way to use this pedal is into a Twin in drop D standard ala watch?v=tU-Pfuxzwr8 or watch?v=OmcG_u5cr58