The first thing I noticed was the low noise floor. The original BD-2 has an attack that cuts through the mix, and the Waza version inherits that as well. The new BD-2W's highs aren't harsh at all, and unlike common overdrives that are thick in the mids, this pedal has full range and punch.

In the days before the BD-2, distortions had lots of gain but could quickly become muddy and inaudible in a band mix. Overdrives were great for solo boosts, but were lacking in front of a clean amp. Then came the original Blues Driver. It had enough gain but could still cut through, and was very amp-like on its own. That pedal wasn't a distortion or an overdrive—it was its own thing and was absolutely revolutionary.

With the BD-2W's Standard mode, if you lower the gain it's basically transparent and stays true to your natural guitar tone. It reacts very well to your volume knob, so turning it down gives you less distortion, but doesn't lose the highs. It's the perfect always-on pedal, and it sounds great with all the knobs at noon, then adjusted to your taste or guitar. I can totally see someone having one guitar, one pedal, and one amp to rock out with all night—the BD-2W would be the perfect pedal for that.

Custom mode has a little more gain and low mids, and I like this mode a bit more. The Blues Driver was never about aggressive distortion, but now with the Custom mode, it can easily cover anything even '70s hard rock. It's thick but still cuts through, and doesn't get muddy even when playing chords. Overall, it's just a really nice sound to rock out to.

BD-2 Blues Driver / 1995–Present

The iconic blue overdrive.

There's little introduction needed when it comes to the BD-2 Blues Driver, now a worldwide standard in overdrive. After the legendary OD-1, BOSS came out with numerous revolutionary overdrives and distortions including the SD-1, DS-1, and MT-2, and the BD-2 followed soon afterwards in 1995. Back then, unlike today, there weren't many overdrive variations, and most were just used to boost the natural amp tone. Then the BD-2 hit the scene and proved to be a real gamechanger.

The BD-2's internal circuit resembled that of an amplifier—and you could hear it in the tone—while the flexible and sensitive operation allowed players to control the gain with either the volume knob or their hands. The Gain knob was usable throughout its whole range; even high up, the BD-2 didn't lose definition and clarity, while setting it down low meant the pedal could still act as a booster. It was, quite simply, the most versatile overdrive on the market. And a quarter-century later, its classic status is assured.

I'm already familiar with the early SD-1. That original unit just has great harmonics that other overdrives don't have—I think it probably has to do with the odd-number diodes' asymmetrical clipping. The sustain has these wonderful harmonics that sound almost like feedback, and I can tell why that pedal was loved by so many. The Standard mode of the SD-1W also has the same pleasant harmonics in the background. This is unique to SD-1 pedal; it can't be heard on other overdrives.

When I heard the SD-1W, “op–amp” came to mind, and we all love that classic tone. It's surprising that BOSS could reproduce the circuit in discrete design—and because of that, it's got very little noise. Custom mode, on the other hand, is more punchy and has more gain, and it also bumps up the sweet spot frequencies that guitarists love. It's great.

The Custom mode sounds good with the gain down too, but there's so much more you can do with this than use it as a simple boost. Custom mode is so good that after you've been playing for a while, it starts overshadowing the Standard mode. Maybe a classic overdrive sounds a bit too vintage for the younger generation, but Custom mode really brings out the sweet spots and makes it sound more modern. Overdrives are all about the mids, the highs, and the harmonics, so it's the go-to pedal for guitar solos. Custom mode is just perfect for that approach.

SD-1 Super Overdrive / 1981–Present

A classic of Japanese engineering.

Originally released in 1981—just a year after the breakup of Led Zeppelin—it's amazing to think that the SD-1 has now been in production for almost four decades. Not only is the model's basic design still the same, but it's common to see the original SD-1 still in action on pedalboards today. Unlike most products of the era, which have become hopelessly obsolete and disappeared over the years, the SD-1 is living proof that this unit was a design classic from the start.

With a founding design that built on BOSS's own trailblazing OD-1, the SD-1 aimed to replicate the tube amp drive sound with an asymmetrical clipping circuit, while adding an active tone knob to control the amount of high-end bite. Uniquely, while most distortion circuits of the time were based on fuzz, the SD-1 had high pick sensitivity and a frequency range tuned specially for the electric guitar. Not only was it used as a standalone overdrive, but guitarists in aggressive genres like hard rock and metal relied on the SD-1 to boost their already distorted amps.

First off, I'm stunned by how much this pedal keeps the dry signal intact. No volume drop either…bit of a boost even. Plus, the Custom mode can take you up to 800 ms—wow. I thought 600 ms would be the max for an analog delay, but I guess Waza Craft is a different story.

The first thing I try out on an analog delay is oscillation. There are some delays that require a few knobs to be turned for oscillation, but that’s no problem here—the DM-2W does it with just the Intensity knob. I fell in love with the oscillation on this pedal. I'm buying one later, just for that feature alone.

The delay tone gets warmer as they repeat, and sounds great. For most people, that's the prime reason to get an analog delay in the first place. I have a few analog delays myself, but some can sound really fake, even with the modulation turned off. The DM-2W, on the other hand, sounds so authentic, so this is a no-brainer.

Trying out the 800 ms on Custom mode, I'm surprised that it's such a long delay. I never really use delay that long myself, but if you're going for that effect, it's very useful to have this option. When I play slide to go for that Pink Floyd-esque noise guitar, I can't use digital delay because the repeats start to get in the way. An analog delay would be perfect in that situation. Also, this unit is noise-free—now that's not very common for an analog delay. Hats off to the Waza engineers.

DM-2 Delay / 1981–84

Lush, musical, and analog.

Released in 1981, the DM-2 was the first delay pedal in the BOSS compact series. Its analog circuit predates our digital delays and works quite differently. While digital delays use digital memory for the repeats, analog units use BBD (bucket brigade) chips. When a signal passes through the BBD chips, it causes degradation to the tone, which results in the iconic round and warm tone of analog delay repeats. On the opposite end of the spectrum of digital delays, it shares similar characteristics with a tape echo at just a fraction of the size. No wonder the era's musicians took the DM-2 to their hearts and pedalboards.

The original DM-2 had further benefits for musicians, too. BBD chips were usually unstable in low-voltage conditions, so most units of the time required multiple batteries or AC adaptors for operation. Compare that to a DM-2, which worked perfectly with just one 9-volt battery—another win for the BOSS brand. Even after the release of BOSS's DD-2 Digital Delay, the DM-2 remained in production until it was finally replaced by the DM-3 update in 1984. But classic pedals never truly die, and even today, the original DM-2 is still loved by many for its lush and musical tone.

When it comes to chorus, the sound that I usually hear in my head is the JC-120's onboard effect or the CE-1. I actually own a CE-2W myself, not only for the chorus but for the CE-1 Vibrato mode as well. Unlike a Uni-Vibe, which dramatically changes the pitch, this one is more subtle and beautiful-sounding. I really like using the Vibrato mode on clean.

I often use my CE-2W pedal when recording. The idea for the arpeggio part on one of my songs, “Yuki-onna”, from the 2016 album Ghost Stories: Death and Eroticism, came to me when I bought this pedal. You can really tell a good pedal when songs are born from playing it. Most of the time it's the other way around—you try to match a pedal to the song. The CE-2W definitely inspired me write that song.

When I want a chorus effect, I like the Standard mode (CE-2 mode), as it sounds very natural. The CE-1 Chorus mode is a bit more lush and rich, while the CE-2 is more subtle and organic. If you don't want that typical chorus tone, I recommend using the Standard mode, with Depth up but Rate slow to give more space to your tone. We demoed this pedal through my amp's send / return, but the Standard mode will probably sound awesome going into the input and giving a bit of a wobble to your overdrive tone, too.

I also noticed how this effect, in both modes, really cuts through. When I play with the band, it almost seems like the effected tone is slightly louder than the dry tone, probably because it's got good definition. Great sound. I usually only use one amp, but if you use two, you can go for that wide special-sounding chorus like the JC-120.

CE-2 Chorus / 1979–82

Cutting highs and thick mids.

Rewind to 1976, and the concept of BOSS's first-ever pedal, the CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, was to extract the chorus effect from the classic and still-popular Roland JC-120 amp and offer it to players in a pedal format. Out of the blocks, the CE-1 caught on among keyboard players before gaining popularity with guitarists too. But three years passed before we welcomed the long-awaited CE-2 Chorus, BOSS's first chorus pedal to appear in the compact pedal line.

While the basics stayed true to the CE-1, the CE-2’s input stage was tuned specially for the electric guitar, and noise was greatly reduced. Plus, by making the I/O mono, BOSS was able to cut the size to less than a third of the original—and the frenzied reaction from guitarists ensured the CE-2 was a worldwide hit for the brand. Downsizing the circuit caused minor changes in the tone, such as sharper highs and thicker mids, which both became characteristics of the CE-2 that players still love to this day. At the time, the CE-1 and CE-2 were sold simultaneously, which underlined the fact that each unit had its own distinct tonal character and dedicated fan base.

The three-mode selector switch is a really intriguing feature of this pedal. The Latch mode is unique because it passes the BBD chip even when off, so it gives you a very slight wobble when connected. It's cool that they decided to keep this feature. It's really up to the player which mode suits them best, but I like the Bypass mode, which doesn't pass the BBD chip when off.

In this mode, the signal passes the BBD chip only when it's turned on, so the change is more apparent. I like it that way, to actually hear it dramatically change the vibe. But if you want to subtly sneak it in, you may want to use the Latch mode. The Unlatch mode only turns on when you have your foot pressed on the pedal, and this setting might be cool if you get used to it, a great effect for exploring and digging out unique tones. This is also a mode that's constantly going through the BBD chip, but I can't hear it at all in this mode. Either way, this pedal will never be always on, so you could just choose the mode depending on the song.

Vibrato is a very simple effect and you can use it subtly on Standard mode, but the key parameter on the VB-2W is definitely the Rise Time knob. On faster settings, it will sound like a Uni-Vibe and really change your pitch. If you like hard vibrato, this is it. It's even more dramatic on the Custom mode. If you use it on Unlatch mode, you can make unique sounds like ghosts or UFOs in classic sci-fi movies. Very unique and really fun to play around with!

VB-2 Vibrato / 1982–86

The pedal so good, they tried to ban it.

When the VB-2 was released in 1982, the original concept was to give musicians the standalone effect of the CE-1's Vibrato mode. But when guitarists tried the VB-2, they found the effect was so natural, it didn't sound like a pedal. In fact, by selecting the mode where the vibrato gradually increases, it was almost impossible to tell the effect apart from vibrato created by hand. As such, “May Be Banned in Some Cases” was the tag line used in Japan when the VB-2 first hit the shelves—a nod to the fact that this pedal successfully recreated a professional musician's hand vibrato, hinting that it might make guitarists lazy and not practice their vibrato.

With its all-analog circuit, the VB-2 was an unusual prospect back in 1982. But that didn't stop it becoming an overnight sensation, loved by guitarists all over the world. Even so, the production lasted just four years, making these units one of the rarest and most coveted of collector's items.

The TU-3W lets you choose true bypass or buffer. The buffer doesn't change your sound at all, but rather takes a blanket off your tone. It does accentuate the highs a bit, but in a good way. Ordinarily, if you connect more than three true bypass pedals, it'll start to degrade your tone. Think about it, having all those switches and jacks in-between—of course it's going to take off your highs little by little. That's where the TU-3W's buffer comes in. It's designed to have a few true bypass pedals after it. Having a buffered pedal at the start of your pedal chain helps keep your tone natural and neutral throughout your signal path. The TU-3W is a great choice for that role, if you use a lot of pedals.

I also like how the note name is displayed in blue, and when it's in tune the LED turns green—it's a little touch that just adds a bit of fun and excitement to tuning. With the red LEDs that are common on most tuners, it's sometimes hard to see under red light, but the High Brightness mode solves that problem. It also lets you see the LEDs, even in strong sunlight or under a spotlight.

And let's not forget about the switch, and how it perfectly mutes your sound when engaged. If you use mechanical switches and you have your sound cranked, sound leaking is a common problem, but with the TU-3W's electrical switch, it's a perfect mute. Drop tuning is easy on this pedal as well. With Ningen Isu, I drop-tune one-and-a-half steps so the low E string becomes a C#, but I can never remember that. With the TU-3W, I can just follow the pedal. It goes down six half-steps, so even with seven-string guitars and modern lower tunings, this pedal will handle it all.

TU-3 Chromatic Tuner / 2009–Present

The silent partner for every stage.

Following on the heels of the TU-2 in 2009, the TU-3 updated its predecessor's LED brightness, accuracy, and sensitivity, while also succeeding in lowering the current draw. Plus, there was an invaluable feature for live musicians: by holding down both the Stream and Cent buttons for two seconds, players could put the unit into High Brightness mode, which helped them see the display even under bright stage lights and midday sunlight on outdoor stages.

But the TU-3 goes beyond these fundamental features. Another major selling point is that this pedal is extremely noise-resistant. Professional guitar techs are well-aware that the multitude of LEDs in operation with most ordinary tuners can cause noise to leak into the circuit. By eliminating this issue, the TU-3 has earned its reputation as a mainstay on the pedalboards of touring pros everywhere.

The TU-3 is also designed with superb accuracy and speed in mind, for quick tuning during a live performance. Great attention to small details, persistent commitment to user-friendliness, and let's not forget cost-performance—the TU-3 represents what BOSS design and craftsmanship is all about.

I own an MT-2 myself, and sometimes use it for recording. I build pedals myself too, and I've cloned a Metal Zone, so I know how hard it is to make this tone come to life—and I can also tell which parts were tweaked for the MT-2W. It has a very distinctive character. The distortion is also unique and gives you that “if you wanna play metal, this is how you should sound” tone. Plus, it's got active EQ that allows intense tone-shaping, and there's EQ in the preamp stage as well. Most typical circuits use condensers in the amp section to bring up certain frequencies—but not in the preamp section like the MT-2. I can understand why so many companies started copying the MT-2's EQ style after it came out; it really was that groundbreaking.

This new model's got very little noise. Maybe that's the biggest difference between the two. Since this is a pedal for high gain, it's great that the noise is gone. I love how the picking harmonics bloom when the gain is turned up high. There's definitely a sound that only aggressive pedals have, and it's in here for sure. It's been a while since I last played an MT-2, but the Waza update really takes it to a higher level. It's a great match with the JC-120. Not many distortion pedals with the gain turned down low sound good on an ultra-clean amp like this. But the MT-2W does it in style—wow.

I especially fell in love with the Custom mode. From the moment I started playing it, I could tell it's a great sound, and the EQ is more effective in this mode too. There's never a moment where I'm asking myself, “How should I tweak this unit?” and scratching my head. It's very straightforward. The MT-2 always used to be about chugging metal riffs on the lower strings, but this Custom mode really opens new doors to other genres. Not to joke about the name, but the Metal Zone being able to play other genres—I think that's just great. I never thought the Metal Zone could handle cleaner tones, but rolling back on the volume knob gives you light breakup. It feels like there are two completely different pedals and circuits in this one box.

The key to tweaking this pedal is obviously utilizing the parametric EQ, by choosing and boosting or cutting the mid frequency. By cutting the mids, you can scoop out your tone, or when you boost it just a little bit, you can soften up your tone. Of course, too much boost can turn out muddy. The boost/cut gives you ±15 dB, so even a small tweak can have a great effect. When using the Standard mode, I like keeping the knob around 11 o'clock and slightly cutting the mids.

With Custom mode too, I really like the mids of this pedal, so I didn't cut much. The mids on the Custom mode are quite different from Standard, so you may want to start out by finding a sweet spot on the Mid Freq dial. I also like to boost a certain frequency so the pedal sounds like a half-cocked wah.

MT-2 Metal Zone / 1991–Present

The dark king that changed it all.

The MT-2 Metal Zone was released in 1991, a few years after the HM-2 Heavy Metal. Along with the HM-3 Hyper Metal, this high-gain threesome was dubbed the “BOSS Metal Trio” in Japan (or the “Metal Big Four” if you included the MZ-2 Digital Metalizer), and the MT-2 set itself apart from the rest with its unique tone. While current drives lean on being natural, organic, and subtle, the MT-2 aggressively sculpts the tone to an unmistakable headbanging metal flavor. Upon release, guitarists loved the extreme sound which inspired them to create new sounds and even new genres.

The MT-2's popularity pushed sales higher and higher, and it currently ranks #2 in the whole BOSS compact pedal lineup, right after the DS-1. Many pedal brands chased the MT-2 trend, causing the whole distortion pedal scene to shapeshift. But even after the releases of the ML-2 Metal Core and ST-2 Power Stack, the MT-2's iconic status as the rowdy revolutionary that changed it all shows no sign of slipping.

It's my first time trying out this pedal, but I was really blown away by the controls being just buttons. I hear the original DC-2 had mechanical switches but these are now electrical—that alone shows this is a great update. At first, I thought having buttons alone would make this pedal a one-trick pony. But at the same time, I do agree that knobs are sometimes difficult to manage. When you know the exact tone you want, knobs are helpful, but if you don't, having numerous knobs with infinite possibilities can lead to an endless search. So I think having just these four buttons and less options is actually really helpful, because it means you can't go wrong.

The DC-2W felt to me like a chorus at first, but I would not be able to recreate this tone with a chorus. This is a really interesting pedal. The circuit uses BBD (bucket brigade) just like a chorus, but I hear the DC-2 has a different circuit design. Choosing “1” on the Mode Selector gives you a sound like a light chorus. But as the number increases, the effect not only feels bigger in width, but longer in time as well.

If I were to describe a chorus like the CE-2W as a natural seasoning, then the Dimension is more like an artificial flavoring that no-one would notice is artificial, if that makes sense! For people who don't like that everyday chorus effect, and aren't too fond of a phaser either, the Dimension would be your ticket. It's got space and depth without being synthetic. It's very subtle too, so it would probably sound better on clean than distorted tones. Also, if you use stereo output it enhances the spaciousness even more.

The SDD-320 mode reproduces the rack effect of the same name. It's got more highs than the Standard mode, and sounds thicker. Being the studio rack effect that it was, all the settings sound full and complete, and I like this mode more. I think this would sound great on vocals and drums as well. I use stompboxes for things like that, and it sounds awesome sometimes. Using analog effects in home recordings can thicken up your sound too. There isn't a setting on here that doesn't sound good, so applications are endless.

And I love the fact that you can push two buttons at the same time. So there are four single-button sound types, plus six types with two buttons pressed, plus the Standard and SDD-320 mode—so that's 20 sounds to choose from. Each one has different depths, time, space...maybe it's not as simple as it seems. I guess you can end up chasing your tone down a rabbit hole with this pedal too, but in a good way!

My preference is button “3” or “4” for the single-button, or for double-button settings, I would choose my tone on “1” or “2” and add from there. The tone thickens up that way. While the double-button tones are thicker, the single-button tones are more subtle and that's a good thing in many cases. This pedal is not the one-trick pony I thought it would be at all—it's very fun to play with.

DC-2 Dimension C / 1985–89

The legendary “thick modulation without the chorus wobble.”

When you first encounter the DC-2 Dimension C, the model name and unique four-button configuration don't give much away—it's hard to guess what kind of effect this pedal will actually create. In operation, there are similarities to a chorus, but that's not the full picture. The DC-2 might thicken up and add width to your tone, but it doesn't “wobble” like chorus. Likewise, while internally it features a BBD chip—just like a chorus—the circuit is completely original, hence the unique effect.

The DC-2 is a compact version of the Roland SDD-320 Dimension D rack effect, which was popular in the studios at the time for recording and mixes. You'll note the similarity in the spatial effect and the four-button layout clearly inherited from the original unit—although the DC-2 didn't have the “secret” feature of the original SDD-320, where pressing two buttons at the same time achieved a mixed effect. The DC-2 was released in the later months of 1985 and was in production until 1989. In 1988, its digital successor, the DC-3 Digital Dimension (later re-named the Digital Space-D), was released, and the Dimension era continued until 1993.