f  x   -   dirt & grind

not shown: DS-2, FZ-2, OD-2, PW-2

• Boss SD-1 Super OverDRIVE pedals
  The Boss SD-1 was rated the second best overdrive pedal in 1992 by the staff of Guitar Player (the Tube Screamer came in first). My first-ever effects pedal was a Japanese-made SD-1 (with a JRC 4558DD chip), bought used on 1/18/95. This was the one pedal I used most often, to add extra crunch to an already distorted amp, and it didn't hurt that Denis D'Amour/Voïvod also swore by the SD-1 at the time.
      In 2002 I bought two new SD-1s and had them modified. My new favorite pedal is a SD-1 modified by Analog Man to TS-808 specs but keeping the Boss asymmetrical clipping (essentially, a SD-1 made with quality components, including a JRC 4558 chip). The other SD-1 was modded to original TS-808 specs by Frank at Powertech Australia (via an eBay auction), also with a JRC 4558 chip . After extensive side-by-side-by-side tests, the Analog Man pedal has become my favorite overdrive pedal; it sounds slightly better than my stock MIJ SD-1. Nothing against Frank/Powertech's work, though; I guess my ears just like the extra edge provided by the Boss-style clipping.
  Stock SD-1: SN illegible (XXXX90), made in Japan (black label).
  Analog Man SD-1/808-B ("FRAG"): SN OP76427, made in Taiwan.
  Powertech SD-1/808: SN OP87774, made in Taiwan.
  
  
  
• Super Distortion!
  Introduced in 1984, the DF-2 Super Distortion & Feedbacker pedal supposedly used the same treble-y/crunchy distortion circuit found in the venerable Boss DS-1, but with an odd feedback-at-any-volume effect on demand. After DiMarzio threatened to sue (they owned the name "Super Distortion" for a pickup), it was renamed "Super Feedbacker & Distortion" before being discontinued by 1995. Mine is a post-lawsuit model, bought used off of eBay. As used by Mark Mothersbaugh/Devo and personal faves Chris Savage & Andy Thompson/Buck Pets.
  SN 920961, made in Japan (black label).
  
  
• Boss DS-1 Distortion, Pro modded by Analog Man
  Although I tend to favor overdrive pedals used on top of distorted amps instead of distortion pedals with clean amps, and I already had a Boss DF-2 (same distortion circuit in the DS-1), I had thought about buying a DS-1 for a while. Instead of spending more $ for a very used MIJ model, I lucked out and found a 2003 DS-1 that had received Analog Man's "Pro" mod (at gbase.com), which employs a JRC 2007G chip. Ahh... classic Boss distortion!
  SN MR54908, made in Taiwan.
  
  
• Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion
  An eBay 'bargain' at $25, sometimes you get what you pay for: this pedal arrived looking like it had spent most of its life at the bottom of a swamp. I dunno what rust-free DS-2s are supposed to sound like (although one Kurt Cobain preferred the DS-2 live), but mine sounds not unlike the bottom of a swamp, with really nasty and thick distortion.
  SN 893792, made in Japan (silver label).
  
  
• Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz
  The FZ-2 packs a lot of features in a small package, with two modes of fuzz and a gain boost mode, plus two EQ controls. Fuzz 1 is supposedly based on the Univox SuperFuzz and is a more 'traditional' fuzz tone, while Fuzz 2 is a more metallic treble-y fuzz (and not unlike the fuzztone I can dial in on my MT-2). As cheerfully obnoxious as this pedal sounds with a guitar (just don't play anything other than power chords), it's even better with a bass: Fuzz 1 almost perfectly nails that Ampeg SVT-esque tone I've been seeking, and Fuzz 2 gives me that wonderfully crappy Jerry Only/early Misfits tone (e.g., "She," "Where Eagles Dare"). It sounds like there's some rolloff of the fundamental bass frequencies with this pedal (but then, so does the ubiquitous Ampeg SVT 8x10 cab), so I'm thinking about modifying it with a 'balance' pot (like the Boss ODB-3), to provide a dry/fuzz mix.
  SN AF31881, made in Taiwan.
  
  
• Boss FZ-3 Fuzz
  I've grown to really like the fuzzed-out guitar of bands like Mudhoney, and while they didn't use the Boss FZ-3, my allegiance to Boss pedals in general led me to seek out a used FZ-3. Although I haven't yet been able to dial in the perfect Superfuzz/Big Muff "Touch Me I'm Sick" sound (NEVER use alkaline batteries in this thing!), it's been fun trying. The FZ-3's circuit (the manual boasts that its circuit contains no ICs) was supposedly based on the original Dallas/Arbiter Fuzz Face, and with a carbon battery the FZ-3 indeed approaches the tone of Analog Man's Sun Face pedal (a current-production pedal equivalent to a vintage Fuzz Face, made with quality components). My initial FZ-3 jam session was powered by an alkaline battery, and through my bass amp or through a tube guitar amp, it almost sounds like I'm blowing the output transformer at higher Fuzz settings: anything more than a single note played at the same time sounds like it's being choked (but carbon batteries sound much more musical).
  No SN (not even an outline of the SN sticker), made in Taiwan.
  
  
• Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal
  The antecedent of the Boss Metal Zone pedal, the HM-2 was supposedly intended to capture the tone of 1980s hair metal, and indeed its tone reeks of Marshall JCM 800 saturation and drive (all the while looking like a Halloween prop). It features two eq knobs, LO (boosts or cuts at 100 Hz) and HI (boosts or cuts at 1 kHz). I knew a guy in Memphis who used a HM-2 or a HM-3 to distort his cheap plywood bass/Acoustic SS amp rig with great sounding results (his band played hardcore/punk), and I've gotten a great bass sound as well. With the LO knob at about 3 o'clock and the other knobs at around noon, shades of Ampeg SVT-saturated tone abound, albeit without the great tube compression. Perhaps the biggest limitation of the HM-2 is that the distortion knob doesn't seem to do much except near each end of its range of motion.
  SN 362800, made in Japan (black label).
  
  
• Boss OD-2 TURBO OverDrive
  Designed as the successor to the venerable OD-1, albeit made with discrete components (instead of ICs), the OD-2 contains two different gain circuits (selected by the Turbo On/Off knob). I don't have a OD-1 for comparison, but relative to my Analog Man-modified SD-1, it sounds pretty close with Turbo off, and the gain is noticeably louder with Turbo on. In addition, the OD-2's tone knob seems to have more usuable range than a stock MIJ SD-1. I like it!
  SN 700700, made in Japan (black label).
  
  
• Boss MT-2 Metal Zone
  Bought used in '96, this pedal has served me mostly as a backup (used once live thru a borrowed Fender Twin Reverb). I've gotten an evil fuzztone out of it, and it's also handy just in case I want to sound like Dave Mustaine. More recently I let a friend borrow it to dirty up his Martin acoustic's sound. I'll eventually send it to Analog Man for modding (better EQ).
  SN DE14842, made in Taiwan.
  
  
• Boss MZ-2 Digital Metallizer
  The Digital Metallizer is a great-sounding (analog) distortion pedal with added digital delay or digital chorus modes, to help your guitar sound double- or triple-tracked (think Randy Rhoads or Dimebag Darrell, although they doubled/tripled their solos the hard way). Supposedly also used by David Gilmour, the MZ-2 eats batteries fairly quickly.
  SN BB49233, made in Japan (blue label).
  
  
• Boss PW-2 Power Driver
  THe PW-2's manual claims it produces "a new type of distortion ideal for powerful and wild chord playing," and includes "hysteric grange" and "wild rhythm" settings. That's as maybe, but Boss certainly succeded in creating a pedal with decidedly un-clean, severely clipped distortion (although other Boss literature claims the PW-2 is an overdrive pedal). Relative to the venerable DS-1, this PW-2 has a much more meaty and gristle-y sound, with more bass and less high-end. (I'm not positive, but I could have sworn I read somewhere that the PW-2's circuit was loosely based on a Big Muff, and indeed the PW-2 comes off as more of a fuzz pedal.) The PW-2 was one of two Boss pedals with stupid DOD-esque control names (Muscle and Fat for midrange and bass eq, respectively; the other was the XT-2). But whereas the XT-2 was in production for 21 months, the PW-2 fared even worse, and was only manufactured for 9 months before being discontinued, which is somewhat of a shame. This pedal isn't for everyone, but it's not that bad either (perhaps its generic name and the hokey control names confused people).
  SN AJ44352, made in Taiwan.
  
  
• Boss SD-2 DUAL OverDrive
  Bought used off eBay in '02 for even more overdriven excess. Neither mode sounds quite as good as my MIJ or Analog Man modded SD-1s, but it helps complete the Boss overdrive family of pedals....
  SN CH41549, made in Taiwan.
  
  
• Boss XT-2 Xtortion
  I first became intrigued in this pedal based on its reviews in Harmony-Central: the reviews all seemed really good or really bad, which told me it had a distinct rather than generic-sounding timbre. According to the first line of the XT-2's manual, "this pedal has been designed to deliver a really futuristic metallic distortion." Cheesy description aside, you can approximate a Boss DS-1 with the XT-2, but its real value is in producing a more edgy distortion that might seem at home in a Helmet, NIN, or Ministry-esque setting. The XT-2's strength is in its EQ controls, labeled Contour (cuts highs or boosts lows/highs) and Punch (midrange), and I'm happy with this pedal so far.
  SN AJ58832, made in Taiwan.