Right while we are on the subject of fx pedals

[lesblues]

I have noticed, for the first time, ( my ear for the guitar must be getting better) that my Boss Blues Driver Sucks (keep it clean HJ) Tone.

I would like to know: why and more importantly what can I do to prevent it from happening? Apart that is from selling the pedal to some other unsuspecting guitarist.

In reality I did know that this could be a problem with pedals, I just hadn't noticed it before. My Verbzilla doesn't seem to do it??

Once again any hints/tips would be most welcome.

[469roadking]

Well, there's a can of worms in those questions brother. The difference could be that the Verbzilla has hardwired bypass circuitry or a good buffer (line6 website doesn't really say). A hardwired bypass routs your signal around the pedals circuitry when the pedal is turned off so that the pedal is just a cable extender when bypassed. A non-true bypass pedal when turned off still runs your signal through all its circuitry and thereby colors your signal. The Boss pedal is neither true bypass nor does it have a great buffer.
That said, I use 4 Boss pedals and one Ibanez on my board plus a volume pedal with a 250k ohm pot which is as good as throwing a wet blanket around your amp's speaker. In fact, of the 12 pedals on my board only 5 are true bypass.
In my opinion using all true bypass pedals is a mistake. If you have 20' of cable from the guitar to the first pedal and 12' of cable in your pedalboard and 20' of cable from your last pedal to you amp (approx. my cable setup) , then with your pedals turned off you have 52' of cable. That in and of itself with suck alot of tone.
IMO you definitely need a good buffer in the chain to alter the impedance and restore tone and fidelity to you signal. I use a Xotic EP Booster after all the tuner, compressor, ODs and modulation pedals and directly before the volume pedal. That way it makes the change in the right place, doesn't color my ODs or drive the modulation in any way. Plus the EP is just one of those magic pedals that makes everything sound cooler. Cleans are more vibrant and "vibey". Overdriven tones are more natural and just plain cool. What it adds to my tone makes up I guess for whatever signal loss I'm experiencing.
Bottom line is that some pedals suck tone more than others. Wah pedals and fuzz pedals are notorious for that. The BD2 in and of itself is not a bad pedal at all. It's basically an 808 circuit (tube screamer) which is the circuit all ODs are judged by. The one SRV himself made famous. There are a number of mods from a number of companies like Monte Allums, Keeley, Analogman, ect. that could help the situation. If you decide to sell it, you might try the Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive. It's the same circuit as the BD2 except it has a clean switch that allows you to mix in as much or as little of your amps clean sound as you want and it is true bypass as well. I really like mine. I wouldn't worry too much about feeling you've taken advantage of an unsuspecting guitarist in selling it. It is what it is. As long as it's not defective then you've done nothing wrong. Pedal heads usually have a plan for tone suck anyway.

[lesblues]

Brilliant reply RK, thanks. I often wondered what advantage a boost might offer apart from boosting the signal, per se. You have of course just "boosted" my GAS. Lady Ann will not be pleased.

[469roadking]

My apologies to Lady Ann. ;D Just remember it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Keep in mind all boosters are not created equal. The EP's coolness is two fold. First it was designed after the preamp circuit of the old Echoplex units so it sounds great. Second the buffer is awesome.

Good luck in your quest for a booster or OD perfection. Let me know if I can help you spend any more of your money.

[pwfirst]

Well old RK has me beat for knowledge on effect pedals. Back in the day we had re-verb and tremolo in the amp and a Fuzz box for distortion. Now I use a line 6 Pod X 3 live. This thing is very versatile but has a big learning curve. The low end line 6 stuff is just ok but this Pod X 3 is excellent. When I play live I just plug into to main board. My problem with guitar amps is they can only be heard right in front of them. Their wonderful tones are lost on both sides.

[lesblues]

Ah Phil I was wondering where you had got to.

[pwfirst]

My office is starting electronic medical records in 2 weeks, so I have been busy getting ready and at home I am remodeling a bathroom, getting my pool open, had to put a new liner in it , Yearly physical exams, recording some religious songs. I may need to slow down some time.
Played the new Tele in church twice now. Starting to love it.