Boss OS 2 Overdrive/Distortion Pedal (Overdrive AND Distortion in ONE Pedal?)

Boss OS 2 Overdrive/Distortion Pedal (Overdrive AND Distortion in ONE Pedal?)
Surely not? Surely yes.
I've usually really liked Boss pedals, and this one was quite interesting, as it combines both overdrive and distortion. I have an SD-1 which I won't sell, because I really like it. I'd actually not heard too much about the OS-2 in advance. Did it sound any good? Watch the video to find out.

0:00 Intro
1:01 Features
1:47 What I'll be using to try it
2:18 My "clean" sound
2:37 My reference overdrive
2:59 Overdrive sounds
7:38 Going from overdrive to distortion
10:38 Conclusion
12:00 Outro jam

Check out the links below if you want to help the channel:

[bojackhorseman]

Ah, the OS-2 - I think a lot of people turn the 'color' knob full on one way or the other, and then complain that the overdrive isn't as good as their favourite overdrive, the distortion isn't as good as their favourite distortion, so therefore it's a worthless thing that doesn't do either of the two things it does particularly well...


...Those people are totally missing the point, because the combined blend of mid focused soft clipping overdrive and scooped, razor sharp distortion is actually a very effective combination that gives incredible definition and note separation in an otherwise quite heavily saturated guitar tone - and it's also the most practical and cost effective way to do this job, by far... and it does it well because it compromises on the individual overdrive and distortion sounds in order to make them compliment each other a lot better when they are mixed together. which is why the overdrive is VERY midrange focused, and the distortion is VERY scooped and buzzsaw-like...


Try running your favourite overdrive, and your favourite distortion, in parallel - go on. what's that? It's not easy to rig up? you need to buy some more gear in order to do it, the parallel splitter unit alone costs more than the OS-2?... Are you starting to see my point?

[lynyrddeville]

This is a very overlooked underappreciated pedal. I think Boss gets a totally raw deal most of the time. They only made perhaps the very best chorus ever.

[jaibruce]

It's a great pedal! It depends on how you dial/mix and listen. You can simulate any preamp sound; a versatile pedal capable to play any genre. I used and been using it for years! After all, the bottom line is your playing anyway.

[klauswhitedreamer]

... once again you confirmed me that we have the same tastes speaking of guitar pedals - as in case with the Strymon Sunset - yesterday I bought the OS-2, since last year I realized what a great pedal is - yes, the overdrive setting at 9 o'clock is the the greatest for a lot of cases, also for Yngwie ' s tone! ... Blessed be, my friend !

[JsnHgl]

Elmo you are awesome! Love the humor and the review. I'm searching for the perfect distortion pedal. I own the OS-2 and am not sure it is what I really need. The search continues.

[GFerreira]

Thank you for showing what this pedal can do in the right hands, great video!

[jaibruce]

This pedal is versatile depending on how you dial the knobs. It can emulate any distortion and overdrive pedals...or any amp types. The color knob is the key. You can make it sound like a booster, fuzz, crunch...and bluesy overdrive. Rectifier tone for metal?...yes! (w/ the color knob @ 3:00. The amp you use also matters with the overall sound. Great demo by the way. Thanks!

[TroyNaumu]

Boss is the Boss. Very rugged robust pedals built like a tank.

[flotenn]

I am a bit late, but I like to recommend you the Catalinbread Katzenkönig. It's similar to the OS-2 in combining two pedals, a Tonebender style Fuzz and a Rat style Distortion. Got me hooked, but I wil also try the OS-2 soon. I want to know if it can be a booster like the SD-1, too, your otherwise very profound demo unfortunately doesn't say much about this or I missed out on that.. Then I might put it on my board for more versatility. By now there is an OD-3, DS-1 and the aforementioned Katzenkönig that are putting more dirt to my AD30 dialed in at the edge of break up.

[jodysanders]

For an overdrive/ distortion pedal, this is a killer"stand alone" type of pedal. Yes, I know that there are better, but there are worse just the same. Good demo video. Great playing, , , lets you hear the high and low string tones.

[arznboy]

I have been using the OS-2 for some 18 years.

[Dan.Solo.Chicago]

While watching your videos you kept reminding of someone but I just could not figure out who. I got it now. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. Talk about an entertainer.

[mrscary]

LOL, I am listening to your videos on the same Yamaha Mini amp you have bro! I have that, the C, and the gigbag and will add the X soon as I love those little amps!

[gabrieloalgo]

New sub here. Gonna get this in a hand to hand trade. Sounds killer IMO. Greetings from Colombia!

[lomoholga]

OH MY GOD. A funny Finnish person! Going to go buy some lottery tickets now....

[erictoniaschwab]

I got this for a steal at $35. I really enjoy it with the blend knob around 11:00

[Jon_lust_]

Actually, even the Boss Metal zone sounds awesome, but requires to be send right into the fx loop of your amp. Check the Ola Englund review on it !

[johnnorth]

Can you have too much of a good thing ? As far as combined overdrive and distortion is concerned the answer is definitely yes. As far as Elmo is concerned definitely no ! More is more with Elmo :-) .

[OrkhanJulfa]

In this video I prefer Fender overdrive :)
And what about OS-2... full distortion mode is crap. Overdrive and mixed modes are good.

[metalchug]

I like your demo. U have very good lead tone using either yngwie or os2 as in this video.subcribe!