November 3, 2016

New BOSS Katana Guitar Amps

Jim Bybee Product News Delay, distortion, eight-string, electric guitar, guitar, OverDrive, recording, seven-string, tube amp, Tube Logic, Waza Amp, Waza Craft

Stage-Ready Tones, Onboard Effects, Incredible Value

The BOSS Katana guitar amplifier lineup.

During “The Future. Redefined.” online music festival in September, BOSS introduced the all-new Katana guitar amp lineup. Based on technology developed for the flagship Waza amp head, the affordable Katana amps deliver a wide range of versatile tones with a rock edge. They also include support for 55 different BOSS effects, which can be easily customized from your computer using the free BOSS Tone Studio editor software. While they’ve only been out in the world for a short time at this point, a quick web search will show the overwhelmingly positive impressions of the Katana’s sound and price-to-performance ratio. Read on as we explore the entire lineup and give you the lowdown on these fantastic new amps.

June 20, 2016

BOSS Interview with Steve Vai

Jim Bybee Artists boss, brown sound, David Lee Roth, distortion, DS-1, Flexible, Frank Zappa, G3, guitar, OverDrive, Passion and Warfare, recording, S-770, SD-1, sde-3000, stack, Waza Amp

The Legendary Guitarist Talks About the Steve Vai Legacy Tone Capsule for the BOSS Waza Amp

While many music artists can be easily categorized, the musical vision of guitar legend Steve Vai remains unique and unclassifiable. He’s won two GRAMMY awards as a player and a third as a producer/engineer, and been nominated an additional nine times in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category. One of those nominations was for the classic album Passion and Warfare, which was originally released in the early ‘90s. Currently, Steve is preparing a special 25^th anniversary release of the album, followed soon after by a worldwide tour.

Steve is a longtime friend of Roland and BOSS, and he’s used products like the SDE-3000 Digital Delay, S-770 Digital Sampler, DS-1 Distortion, GR-series guitar synthesizers, and many others on stage or in the studio through the years. While developing the new Waza Amp, BOSS collaborated directly with the guitarist on the Steve Vai Legacy Tone Capsule, which gives players an easy and convenient way to load the Waza Amp with Steve’s legendary tone.

November 17, 2015

Big BOSS Giveaway 2015

Jim Bybee Contests autograph, Bring Me the Horizon, Delay, distortion, GUS G, John 5, OverDrive, Pierce the Veil, Steve Vai, Tone Perry, Vic Fuentes

Enter Now for a Chance to Win an Autographed Pedal and a Grand Prize of $1,000 in BOSS Gear!

Once again, it’s time for the annual Big BOSS Giveaway! Each week, one lucky winner will be drawn at random to receive a BOSS pedal autographed by a famous musical artist. But that’s not all—every submission received is also entered for a chance at the Grand Prize of $1000.00 in BOSS gear.

The entry period runs from November 16, 2015 through December 20, 2015. Follow BOSS U.S. on Twitter and visit the contest page at BossUS.com to enter for your chance to win.

July 27, 2015

Buy an OD-1X or DS-1X, Get Pedal Juice for Free

Jim Bybee Product News compact pedal, distortion, effect, guitar, MDP, mobile, OverDrive, pedal, pedalboard, power supply

Convenient Rechargeable Power Supply for Pedal Effects

The BOSS OD-1X Overdrive and DS-1X Distortion pedals are highly regarded by players everywhere for their incredibly natural sound, great response, and wide tonal range. Now, for a limited time, you can get even more when you add one of these impressive stomps to your arsenal. Until August 31, 2015, BOSS will send you a free Sanyo Pedal Juice with a qualifying purchase of an OD-1X or DS-1X. This cool rechargeable power supply runs your pedals for hours at a time, making it ideal for on-the-go performing and mobile pedalboard setups.

July 30, 2014

Pierce The Veil Announces World Tour

Ohvee Artists, Contests distortion, Effects Pedals, guitar, Pierce the Veil, Stompbox, Tony Perry 1 Comment

Win a DS-1X Distortion Signed by Tony Perry

Win a DS-1X Dostortion Signed by Pierce the Veil’s Tony Perry

There’s a lot to be excited about in watching the progression of Pierce The Veil’s ten-year ascendance into rock stardom. The band, Mike Fuentes, Vic Fuentes, Tony Perry, and Jaime Preciado, have been going at it since 2006 with the release of their first-studio album, A Flair for the Dramatic. Fast-forward to 2014, and the boys of Pierce The Veil are globetrotting veterans. This week, their latest world tour was announced with show dates in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Japan and others. They’ll be sharing the stage with Sleeping With Sirens, Beartooth and This Wild Life.

CONTEST: Win a BOSS DS-1X Distortion Signed by Tony Perry

Ends July 31, 2014 More

July 15, 2014

New BOSS Waza Craft Pedals: BD-2W, SD-1W, and DM-2W

Jim Bybee Product News analog, boss, custom, Delay, distortion, guitar, OverDrive, Stompbox, Waza Craft 1 Comment

Special Edition Stomps with Customized Sound

It’s time to clear some space on your pedalboard—the new BOSS Waza Craft pedals have just been announced! Featuring refined circuit designs and all-analog components, the Waza Craft line provides guitarists the ultimate BOSS tone experience. The debut of this special edition series includes the BD-2W Blues Driver, SD-1W Super Overdrive, and DM-2W Delay. All three pedals deliver the famous sound signatures of the past and present BOSS pedals they’re based on, plus switchable modes for customized tones sought after by serious players. More

May 7, 2014

Video: MDP for the Modern Guitarist

Ohvee Artists, Tips & Tricks Adaptive Distortion, boss, DA-2, distortion, DS-1X, guitar, MO-2, Multi Overtone, OD-1X, OverDrive, Pete Thorn, Stompbox, TE-2, Tera Echo 1 Comment

Pete Thorn’s Demo of the OD-1X OverDrive & DS-1X Distortion Effects Pedals

BOSS OD-1X OverDrive and DS-1X Distortion

Guitar nerd Pete Thorn, delivers a detailed demo of the BOSS OD-1X Overdrive and DS-1X Distortion effects pedals. He gives a play-by-play explanation of the pedals with low-gain, single-coil sounds, high-gain sounds and humbucker. He also demonstrates how the technology in these pedals responds to his playing and what it means to the modern guitarist. More

January 23, 2014

New BOSS OD-1X Overdrive & DS-1X Distortion

Jim Bybee Product News BOSS effects, compact pedal, distortion, DS-1X, guitar, MDP, OD-1X, OverDrive, Stompbox 5 Comments

Advanced BOSS Technologies for Premium Performance

The BOSS OD-1X Overdrive and DS-1X Distortion

Taking the famous BOSS overdrive and distortion into an all-new era, the OD-1X and DS-1X deliver sound quality, dynamic response, and tonal clarity at a level that you won’t believe. Leveraging over 35 years of tone know-how, these special edition pedals feature advanced BOSS technology for performance that’s light years beyond the capabilities of any traditional analog design. More

April 25, 2013

BOSS Your Tone: Overdrive and Distortion

Gary Lenaire Tips & Tricks boss, distortion, Effects Pedals, guitar, OverDrive, Stompbox 11 Comments

Overdrive and Distortion: What’s the Difference?

What’s the difference between overdrive and distortion? Learn the difference and how to get great tone with either stompbox.

Get Great Tone With OverDrive and Distortion

As guitar players, what are we all after? What do we struggle to describe, work to attain, but always know when we hear it? And what is all that gear out there for? The answer to all three of these questions is the same: great tone. With so much equipment available today to help in creating tone, how do we go about making it do what we want? Let’s take a look at some simple and effective ways to get killer tone with overdrive and distortion. More

April 15, 2013

Get Great Tone With BOSS Distortion

Gary Lenaire Tips & Tricks boss, distortion, Effects Pedals, guitar, Stompbox 5 Comments

BOSS Distortion – The Orange Ones

BOSS Distortion

A distortion pedal usually goes beyond the amount of gain and harmonic crunching typical of an overdrive. They tend to get more distorted, are usually (but not always) louder than typical overdrives, and often have multiple gain stages for abnormal amounts of sustain. The BOSS MT-2, probably the best selling distortion pedal ever, is a good example of a distortion pedal with those features. Since distortion pedals tend to be louder and have more inherent distortion than overdrives, it is a little trickier to use them in conjunction with the amp’s own distortion sound. It might be what you want, especially if you’re after a nu-metal, super heavy, or very grungy sound. If you use your pedal this way, you are distorting distortion. This can get pretty ugly, but sometimes it’s just the thing. Set your pedal similarly to using an overdrive to use it this way: For example, set the BOSS DS-1 level up, the distortion somewhat down, and the tone for neutral.

What’s the difference between Overdrive and Distortion? Find out! More