Boss guitar equipment
When it comes to the world of effects pedals, there’s only one company that can be the “Boss”. Boss guitar equipment can be found on pedalboards and rigs from the beginner bedroom players to the most legendary recording artists. Back in 1978, they introduced their stompbox pedal form factor that has remained consistent throughout the years and cemented them as an industry leader ever since. If you want to make your guitar or bass sound even better, just add some Boss guitar equipment to your rig!
Boss guitar effects
Boss essentially started the guitar effects craze. And in 1978, they released what’s considered one of the most iconic effects pedals of all time: The Boss DS-1 distortion pedal. Control every aspect of your distortion to create the perfect tone for your playing style, anywhere from soft crunch to roaring overdrive. It’s a must-have for anyone who wants to rock!
Speaking of legendary effects pedals, it’d be impossible to talk about Boss effects without bringing up the BD-2 Blues Driver. The Blues Driver brings that warm, creamy distortion reminiscent of the vintage tube amps of the past. It’s perfect for, well… blues, but it also feels right at home with nearly any other type of crunchy tone.
Collecting dozens of effects pedals to fill your pedalboard can be fun, but it can also become tedious. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get a bunch of effects all rolled into one pedal? Well, Boss to the rescue!
The Boss ME-80 and GT-1000 are two of Boss’s incredible multi-effects pedals. With multiple stompable switches, onboard control knobs, and built-in expression pedals, you can easily mix and match various effects to create your perfect sound — all without multiple pedals, patch cables, or power supplies!
Boss amps
All those legendary Boss effects pedals need a great amp to bring their tones to life. And only an equally legendary Boss amplifier will do!
At the heart of Boss’s amp offerings is the beloved Katana series. Boss Katana amps utilize the latest in solid state and digital processing power to bring tons of tonal versatility and convenience to your practice or performance space. They’re preloaded with many of Boss’s iconic effects! There’s a wide variety of Katana amps available to suit nearly any musical need.
Need something a little more compact? The small-but-mighty Boss cube is easy to transport and completely battery powered for off-the-grid performances wherever inspiration might strike. And don’t think Boss left out the traveling bassist. There’s a Boss Cube Bass amp, too!
A solid-state amp with authentic tube tone? Yes please! The Boss Nextone uses Boss’s Tube Logic approach to bring all the tone and feel of a tube amp to an easy-to-use solid-state platform. With 80-watts of power, this amp will please even the pickiest tone afficionados.
Boss loopers
Who needs bandmates anyway? With a Boss looper, you can record yourself and play over your various layers to create entire multi-part passages by yourself! Boss loopers are so good that they’re not even called loop pedals; they’re Loop Stations!
Boss Loop Stations come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. From the single-pedal Boss RC-5 to the larger-than-life Boss RC-600 (and everything in between), there’s a Boss looper to fit any need.
Boss guitar recording equipment
Sometimes your playing is so good that you want it to live on forever. Boss understands, and that’s where their recording equipment comes in.
Make your tube amp sound its absolute best — even at any volume! The Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander is the ultimate live sound and recording tool for any guitar player. Feed cabs, mixers, recording devices, and headphones all at once to take your projects to the next level.
Clever feature: unlike many attenuators — which only allow you to crank your tube amp’s power section, and scale it down to lower volumes — the Waza can make your lower-powered tube amps louder and more powerful.
And what’s a recording without a great mix? The Boss Gigcaster series puts professional digital mixing capabilities into compact and portable design to fit any recording space. Eight or five channels, it’s easy to find a Gigcaster to fit your recording setup.
History of Boss guitar equipment
Guitar effects pedals weren’t a new invention in mid- ‘70s before Boss was founded. Many companies had tried their hand at changing guitar tone by running a signal through a little device — including Boss’s parent company, Roland. But things definitely changed when Boss came on the scene.
Boss’s first product was called the B-100, otherwise known as “The Boss.” Although it wasn’t technically a Boss product (since Boss hadn’t been officially formed yet), it still began Boss’s journey into the guitar effects space. The B-100 was an acoustic guitar preamp that clipped to the player’s belt allowing acoustic guitars to play through an amp.
While the B-100 was definitely super cool for its time (and still is), the product to really put Boss on the map was the 1978 release of the OD-1 overdrive pedal. Not only was it the first overdrive pedal to hit the market, but it was also the first pedal to feature Boss’s compact “stompable” design.
The OD-1 was released with five other pedals featuring Boss’s compact pedal design, including the PH-1 phaser, SP-1 parametric equalizer, GE-6 graphic EQ, CS-1 compressor, and TW-1 auto-wah. These compact stompboxes became instant hits with musicians everywhere for their small design and incredible sound.
Over the next 45+ years, Boss continued to release pedal after pedal, forever changing the way guitarists and bassists craft their tone. Today, there are over 100 different Boss effects pedals for players to choose from! It’s rare to find a pedalboard that doesn’t include at least one Boss pedal.
In addition to their amazing effects pedals, Boss also manufactures some of the most innovative amps, mixers, vocal processors, loopers, digital recorders, wireless systems, and guitar accessories you can find on the market today.
If you’re ready to take your playing to the next level (or even the one after that), Boss guitar equipment makes it easy to dial in your perfect tone.
