Boss Corporation

Last updated
Boss Corporation
Company type Private
Industry Musical instruments
Founded13 March 1973;51 years ago (1973-03-13) [1]
Headquarters Hamamatsu, Japan [1]
Products Effects units
Parent Roland Corporation
Website Boss.info/

Boss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories. For many years Boss has manufactured a wide range of products related to effects processing for guitars, including "compact" and "twin" effects pedals, multi-effect pedals, electronic tuners and pedal boards. In more recent times, Boss expanded their product range by including digital studios, rhythm machines, [2] samplers [3] and other electronic music equipment. They also are now manufacturing solid-state amplifiers and speaker heads such as the Waza and the Katana. Both feature multi-effects units meant to emulate Boss' classic effects pedals.

Contents

History

The earliest Boss product was called B-100 The Boss, released in 1974. This came with a clip-on pre-amp and a pickup to amplify acoustic guitars. At this point the Boss company had not been formed and it was still a Beckmen Musical Instruments product (as seen on the B-100 box [4] ). The first proper Boss foot pedal effect, the CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, was released June 1976, which was a stand-alone unit of the chorus/vibrato circuit found in the Roland JC-120 amplifier. [5] It was a fairly large, AC-powered unit. Other foot pedals of that year are the GE-10 (a graphic equalizer), the BF-1 (a flanger unit) and the DB-5 (a distortion unit).

Boss's line of compact pedals began in 1977 with the release of six pedals, all of them discontinued: an overdrive pedal (OD-1), a phaser pedal (PH-1), a parametric equalizer called the Spectrum (SP-1), a 6-band graphic equalizer (GE-6), a compressor pedal (CS-1) and an automatic wah pedal (TW-1). The Boss DS-1 was released the next year, in 1978. Their first compact chorus pedal (CE-2) came in 1979, and their first flanger pedal (BF-2) in 1980. In 1983 Boss released the DD-2 Digital Delay, the first mass-produced digital delay in a compact pedal format. The Metal Zone (MT-2) was released in 1991. In 1992 Boss released nine new pedals, including the Turbo Distortion (DS-2). The Heavy Metal (HM-2) distortion pedal was an integral part of the guitar sound of many styles of heavy metal music ever since. [6] The pedals all share the same 'footprint', for compatibility with pedal boards.

Boss introduced COSM (Composite Object Sound Modeling), Roland's proprietary version of digital modeling technology, into their AC-3 Acoustic Simulator pedal in 2006. Boss has since released several pedals using COSM, including the FBM-1 '59 Fender Bassman pedal and FDR-1 '65 Fender Deluxe Reverb pedal, introduced at the Winter NAMM show in January 2007.

All Boss compact pedals use a "buffered bypass" type of silent foot switching utilizing Field Effect Transistors (FETs) to avoid clicks and pops. While not "true" bypass, the buffered bypass has the advantage of preventing signal loss due to long runs of cable, while keeping original guitar tone intact. [7]

Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia

BOSS effect pedals BossFX.JPG
BOSS effect pedals

Boss compact pedals were originally produced in Japan, until circa 1990 when production moved to Taiwan. Earlier units came with a metal screw securing the battery compartment; later models retained the metal screw, adding a plastic knob for tool-less battery removal. The labels on the bottom of the pedals come in several different colours including black, silver, green, pink and blue. Apart from this the basic external design has remained unchanged for almost half a century.

The DS-1 Distortion circuit design has changed significantly twice throughout its lifetime; the first time was around 1994 when the Toshiba TA7136AP op-amp was replaced with a Rohm BA728N. In 2000 the op-amp was again changed. This time it was replaced with the Mitsubishi M5223AL. The latest op-amp change occurred in 2007, when new DS-1 pedals began shipping with the NJM3404AL op-amp.

In 2014, Boss released the Japanese-made "Waza-Craft" line of premium pedals, built with higher-end components featuring reissues of highly sought after vintage Boss effects such as the DM-2W Analog Delay, CE-2W Analog Chorus and DC-2W Dimension C. "Waza" means "art" and "technique" in Japanese. [8]

In 2017 Boss released the 500 series pedals as their flagship design, complete with digital display and preset banks, similar to the design of Strymon pedals featuring presets, programmable algorithms and customizable midi options.

In 2019, Boss discontinued the twin format 20 series pedals and replaced the line with the 200 series. [9]

As of 2019 around the launch of the DD3T and DD8 Digital Delays, Boss moved production from Taiwan to Malaysia. The Malaysian black label on the bottom looks similar to the modern era Taiwan label, verifying the new location of manufacturing.

Notable pedals

BD-2 Blues Driver

In 1995, Boss released the BD-2, an overdrive pedal aimed at blues players who sought to add distortion while maintaining their amp's signal clarity and dynamics. [10] At the time, blues was experiencing a resurgence thanks to Eric Clapton and Gary Moore. The pedal has a clear, punchy tone and features a flatter EQ-curve for a more amp-like tone than similar pedals, like the Ibanez Tube Screamer. [11]

Notable players who use the BD-2 include Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. [11]

CE-1 Chorus Ensemble

Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble Boss CE-1 (screenshot).png
Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble

Boss released its first pedal, the CE-1, in 1975 after the "chorus" effect proved popular among guitarists with its use in the JC-120 and JC-60 Jazz Chorus amplifiers, released by Boss's parent company Roland Corporation. [12] The pedal was housed in a large enclosure, typical for effects at the time, and featured two footswitches for on/off and to toggle between the unit's vibrato and chorus effects. The pedal worked in mono and stereo, and its "thick, spatial, and multidimensional" quality inspired numerous other companies to copy the pedal. [12] With the introduction of Boss's compact pedal format in 1977, the CE-1 was replaced by the CE-2 in 1979. [12]

Andy Summers of The Police was a notable fan, using the pedal on songs like "Message in a Bottle" and "Don't Stand So Close To Me." [12]

DD-3 Digital Delay

In the early '80s, Boss was able to fit the circuitry of its best-selling SDE-3000 digital rack delay into the form factor of its analog DM-2 delay, branded as the DD-2 digital delay. A subsequent drop in component costs allowed the pedal to be sold for a lower price in 1986 as the rebranded DD-3, which has gone through three distinct versions, with latest still in production. Music Radar dubbed the DD-3 the "gold standard" in compact digital delays and fans include Radiohead, Blur, and The Cult. [13]

DS-1 Distortion

Boss DS-1 Distortion Boss-DS-1.jpg
Boss DS-1 Distortion

Introduced in 1978, the DS-1 was Boss's first distortion pedal, and second pedal release overall, following the CE-1 Chorus Ensemble. [14] The DS-1 uses two hard-clipping diodes for an aggressive edge, similar to the ProCo Rat, released the same year. This type of circuit became known as "distortion," as opposed to the soft-clipping "overdrive" of Boss's later overdrive pedals. [14] The DS-1 uses a preamplifier instead of the conventional op-amp for a gritty, warm tone. When the original Toshiba TA7136AP preamp became scarce, the circuit was redesigned in 1994, introducing several "quirks"—lower volume levels, noise at higher gain levels, and a "waspy" edge due to higher frequencies not being filtered out. These issues led to the pedal being popular among modifiers. [14]

The DS-1 is Boss's bestselling pedal of all time. [15]

MT-2 Metal Zone

Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, one of the Boss most popular metal distortion pedal PedalMetalZone.jpg
Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, one of the Boss most popular metal distortion pedal

The Metal Zone was released in 1991, following the discontinuation of the earlier HM-2 Heavy Metal, which failed to sell well during its production run, but was popular among death metal players, since amplifiers of the time were not capable of the amount of distortion players wanted without being boosted with a pedal. With the MT-2, Boss sought to appeal to that market with an improved pedal as death metal's popularity surged. [16] The MT-2 sported a complex design for a distortion pedal, with a dual-stage gain circuit, seven filters for both pre- and post-distortion, and a semi-parametric three-band EQ section. The pedal's thick, saturated, tight tone [15] and the extreme sounds the pedal was able to produce thanks to its powerful EQ controls made the MT-2 divisive both upon its release and throughout its ongoing production. Guitar World characterized the general reaction to the pedal as "inspiring or confusing," [16] and the pedal is often lampooned on the internet as the worst distortion ever made. Many in the metal community embraced the sound, however, with Nathan Weaver of Wolves in the Throne Room favorably describing the MT-2 as a "fucked-up, corpse-grinding type sound." [16] Despite this, the pedal has found fans like Prince when used on lower gain settings or as a boost. [16]

The Metal Zone has sold over a million units, making it the company's best-selling pedal behind only the DS-1. [15] In 2021, Boss released a grey-on-black variant, the MT-2-3A, celebrating the pedal's 30 years in production. [15]

OD-1 OverDrive

Boss OD-1 OverDrive BOSS OD-1 Overdrive.jpg
Boss OD-1 OverDrive

With the 1977 release of the OD-1 OverDrive, Boss coined the term "overdrive," a reference to the pedal's asymmetrical-clipping, tube-like distortion [10] in comparison to the brash sound of "fuzz" pedals available. [17] The OD-1's layout was simple—with only "Level" and "OverDrive" controls. The OD-1 was an immediate success, as the pedal afforded players more amp-like distortion at lower volume levels no matter what amp was being used. Within a few years, however, the pedal's voicing was considered overly "sweet" as rock music became more aggressive and the fixed frequency limited its versatility. With the surging popularity of the OD-1-influenced Ibanez Tube Screamer and its addition of a tone control, Boss began including a "Tone" knob on its pedals with the 1981 SD-1 and the OD-1 was discontinued in 1985. [17]

Boss continued the OverDrive line with the four-knob OD-2 Turbo OverDrive, produced from 1985 to 1995, and subsequently the three-knob OD-3, which is still in production. [10]

SD-1 Super OverDrive

The Super OverDrive was released in 1981 as Boss's second overdrive pedal, adding a tone control to the earlier OD-1 design, while continuing to replicate the sound of tube amp-style overdrive [15] via an asymmetrical clipping circuit and an inherent midrange-focus, but with less bass roll-off. [10] The asymmetrical clipping lent the pedal a more aggressive character compared to the rival Tube Screamer, and it became popular in the growing hard rock and heavy metal subgenres with guitarists frequently using it to boost already-overdriven amplifiers like the Marshall JCM800 into higher-gain sounds. [17]

The SD-1 has long been popular as an affordable pedal for new players, [15] as well as professionals. Notable fans include Jimmy Page, John Frusciante, Josh Homme, Jonny Greenwood, David Gilmour, Joe Satriani, Zakk Wylde, The Edge, and Prince. [18]

In 2021, Boss released a 40th anniversary edition of the pedal, [15] with the original circuit having remained unchanged since its introduction. Guitar dubbed the pedal one of only a handful to ever achieve "truly iconic status." [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects unit</span> Electronic device that alters audio

An effects unit, effects processor, or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vox (company)</span> Musical equipment manufacturer

Vox is a British musical equipment manufacturer founded in 1957 by Thomas Walter Jennings in Dartford, Kent, England. The company is most famous for making the Vox AC30 guitar amplifier, used by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, Queen, Dire Straits, U2, and Radiohead; the Vox Continental electric organ, the Vox wah-wah pedal used by Jimi Hendrix, and a series of innovative electric guitars and bass guitars. Since 1992, Vox has been owned by the Japanese electronics firm Korg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instrument amplifier</span> Amplifier with loudspeaker for use with musical instruments

An instrument amplifier is an electronic amplifier that converts the often barely audible or purely electronic signal of a musical instrument into a larger electronic signal to feed to a loudspeaker. An instrument amplifier is used with musical instruments such as an electric guitar, an electric bass, electric organ, electric piano, synthesizers and drum machine to convert the signal from the pickup or other sound source into an electronic signal that has enough power, produced by a power amplifier, to drive one or more loudspeaker that can be heard by the performers and audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guitar amplifier</span> Electronic amplifier for musical instruments

A guitar amplifier is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which are typically housed in a wooden cabinet. A guitar amplifier may be a standalone wood or metal cabinet that contains only the power amplifier circuits, requiring the use of a separate speaker cabinet–or it may be a combo amplifier, which contains both the amplifier and one or more speakers in a wooden cabinet. There is a wide range of sizes and power ratings for guitar amplifiers, from small, lightweight practice amplifiers with a single 6-inch speaker and a 10-watt amp to heavy combo amps with four 10-inch or four 12-inch speakers and a 100-watt amplifier, which are loud enough to use in a nightclub or bar performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scholz Research & Development, Inc.</span> Music technology company

Scholz Research & Development, Inc. was the name of the company founded by musician and engineer Tom Scholz to design and manufacture music technology products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electro-Harmonix</span> Guitar pedals company

Electro-Harmonix is a New York City-based company that makes electronic audio processors and sells rebranded vacuum tubes. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. It is best known for a series of guitar effects pedals introduced in the 1970s and 1990s. EHX also made a line of guitars in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boss DS-1</span> Guitar effect pedal

The Boss DS-1 is a distortion pedal for guitar, manufactured by the Roland Corporation under the brand name Boss since 1978. The first distortion effects unit made by Boss, it has become a classic effect, used by many notable guitar players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibanez Tube Screamer</span> Guitar overdrive pedal

The Ibanez Tube Screamer is a guitar overdrive pedal, made by Ibanez. The pedal has a characteristic mid-boosted tone popular with blues, rock and metal players. The Tube Screamer has been used by many guitarists to create their signature sound, and is one of the most successful, widely copied, and custom-modified ("modded") overdrive pedals in the history of the electric guitar.

DOD Electronics, or simply DOD, also known as their brand name DigiTech, is an American manufacturing company that makes guitar effects pedals, as well as active crossover gear. DOD is owned by Cortek, the parent company of Cort Guitars. Their DigiTech Whammy pedal has been called "one of the most significant innovations in pedal tech".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Gibson (musician)</span> American musician

Brian Gibson is an American musician, artist, and video game designer based in Providence, Rhode Island. Gibson is best known as the bassist for the band Lightning Bolt. In the summer of 2015 he co-founded the game development company Drool. At Drool, he created the art and music for the video game Thumper and co-designed the game alongside Marc Flury. Thumper was released with critical acclaim in October 2016. He was previously a lead artist working at video game company Harmonix since 2001, but quit in the summer of 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass amplifier</span> Electronic amplifier for musical instruments

A bass amplifier is a musical instrument electronic device that uses electrical power to make lower-pitched instruments such as the bass guitar or double bass loud enough to be heard by the performers and audience. Bass amps typically consist of a preamplifier, tone controls, a power amplifier and one or more loudspeakers ("drivers") in a cabinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MXR</span> Music effects company

MXR is a New York–based manufacturer of effects pedals from Rochester. The company was co-founded in 1972 by Keith Barr and Terry Sherwood and incorporated as MXR Innovations, Inc. in 1974. The MXR trademark is now owned by Jim Dunlop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Distortion (music)</span> Type of electronic audio manipulation

Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distortion is most commonly used with the electric guitar, but may also be used with other electric instruments such as electric bass, electric piano, synthesizer and Hammond organ. Guitarists playing electric blues originally obtained an overdriven sound by turning up their vacuum tube-powered guitar amplifiers to high volumes, which caused the signal to distort. While overdriven tube amps are still used to obtain overdrive, especially in genres like blues and rockabilly, a number of other ways to produce distortion have been developed since the 1960s, such as distortion effect pedals. The growling tone of a distorted electric guitar is a key part of many genres, including blues and many rock music genres, notably hard rock, punk rock, hardcore punk, acid rock, grunge and heavy metal music, while the use of distorted bass has been essential in a genre of hip hop music and alternative hip hop known as "SoundCloud rap".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass effects</span>

Bass effects are electronic effects units that are designed for use with an electric bass and a bass amplifier, or for an upright bass and a bass amp or PA system. Bass effects are commonly available in stompbox-style pedals, which are metal or plastic boxes with a foot-operated pedal switch or button which turns the effect on and off. Most pedals also have knobs to control the tone, volume and effect level. Some bass effects are available in 19" rackmount units, which can be mounted in a road case. As well, some bass amplifiers have built-in effects, such as compression, overdrive or chorus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackstar Amplification</span> UK-based manufacturer of guitar amplification and effects pedals

Blackstar Amplification is a British company that produces and manufacturers guitar amplifiers and effects units. The company was founded by a group of ex-Marshall employees, most notably Bruce Keir, who became technical Director at Blackstar, and former Chief Design Engineer at Marshall, Ian Robinson. In 2009 the company began operations in the United States. The majority of the research and development for Blackstar is carried out in the UK. Blackstar is endorsed by major artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Neal Schon, Opeth, and Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi. Blackstar has been consistently ranked amongst the best amplification brands by leading guitarists. Bruce Keir died in September 2021 at the age of 60.

BJFE Guitar Effects is a company which manufactures effects pedals for use with instruments such as an electric guitar. These pedals are commonly used by guitarists to modify the sound of their guitar before it reaches the amp. The company is located in Sweden, and was founded in 2000 by Björn Juhl. "BJFE" stands for Björn Juhl Förstärkarelektronik. Pedal types include distortion, overdrive, "vibe" (vibrato), compression, and equalization (EQ). Due to the limited production and handbuilt nature, these pedals are considered "boutique" guitar effects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuzz bass</span> Electric bass guitar tone modification

Fuzz bass is a style of playing the electric bass or modifying its signal that produces a buzzy, distorted, overdriven sound, as the name implies. Overdriving a bass signal significantly changes the timbre, adds higher overtones (harmonics), increases the sustain, and, if the gain is turned up high enough, creates a "breaking up" sound characterized by a growling, buzzy tone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boss HM-2</span> Distortion pedal

The Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal is a distortion pedal manufactured by Boss from October 1983 until October 1991. Designed to emulate a Marshall stack, it became associated with Swedish death metal and gained a cult following in the heavy metal scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boss MT-2</span> Distortion effects pedal

The Boss MT-2 Metal Zone is a distortion pedal released by Boss in 1991. Designed for the death metal genre, the Metal Zone is characterized by its thick, tight tone and expanded EQ controls. The extreme sounds the pedal is capable of producing made it successful yet divisive upon its release. The MT-2 has sold over a million units, more than any Boss pedal except the DS-1, and has been in continuous production since its debut.

References

  1. 1 2 "国内グループ会社 :: 企業情報・採用 :: ローランド". Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2007-07-29. (Japanese page)
  2. ↑ "Boss DR202". Sound On Sound. December 1998. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "Boss Dr Sample SP202". Sound On Sound. January 1998. Archived from the original on 15 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". www.bossarea.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ "Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble « BossArea 2.0". www.bossarea.com. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Boss HM-2 : more than a Myth, the story of the Swedish Sound - Guitariste-Metal" (in French). 2016-03-16. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  7. ↑ http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/bypass/bypass.htm GEOFEX-Ins and Outs of Effect Bypassing
  8. ↑ "BOSS Introduces Premium Waza Craft Pedals". Sweetwater Sound. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "BOSS 200 Series Pedals". Roland. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Brakes, Rod. "Boss analog overdrives: what you need to know about the iconic drive pedals". guitarworld.com. Guitar World. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  11. 1 2 Robertson, Daryl. "Ibanez Tube Screamer vs Boss Blues Driver: which is better?". guitarworld.com. Guitar World. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Hunter, Dave. "Classic Gear: Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble". guitarplayer.com. Guitar Player. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "The FX files: Boss DD-3". musicradar.com. Music Radar. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 Lynham, Alex. "Boss DS-1W Waza Craft Distortion Review". guitarplayer.com. Guitar Player. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Laing, Rob. "Boss announces anniversary versions of the SD-1 Super Overdrive and MT-2 Metal Zone pedals". musicradar.com. Music Radar. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Horsely, Jonathon. "How the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone conquered the world and inspired a new generation of metal guitar players". guitarworld.com. Guitar World. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 Colic, Jamie. "Gear Icons: Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive". mixdownmag.com. Mixdown Magazine. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  18. 1 2 Watts, Michael. ""I could have done 90 per cent of my career with an SD-1": why the BOSS overdrive has been the pro guitarist's secret ingredient for 40 years". guitar.com. Guitar Magazine. Retrieved 31 July 2023.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.