BOSS FENDER PEDALS

FENDER BOSS PEDALS

These three beauties were the result of a collaboration between Boss and Fender, in 2007, with the former using COSM to model the sounds of the legendary units they imitate. Do they sound close to the originals? In short not really, but they do a nice job and are really cool collectibles now that they discontinued. Each unit has custom Fender plate and colours unique to the units they copy. I'm certainly not a COSM man, more of an analog nut in reality and a Fender fanboy too unashamedly, but the very uniqueness of a Fender branded Boss pedal is an eyebrow raiser, and now I own all three, which are becoming increasingly sought after and expensive. Luckily all three here cost me far less than the current market value. Jammy or what, but at the end of the day whether you like them or not or whether I'd use them that often or not you have to admit they do look rather beautiful indeed.

FBM-1 Fender '59 Bassman

The Boss Bassman 'amp in a box' certainly makes your amp bloom and it's got that creamy vintage tube whack, novel but very cool and quite collectable now. It also offers 'Bright' input as well as normal just like the Bassman amp. Ideal for retro Blues when combined with an analog delay. Again can it compare with the real deal? Obviously not but it's less back-breaking and ideal for getting the ballpark tone for live work.

FDR-1 Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Amp

The '65 Deluxe is a legend without question so does this COSM modelling unit come close? Again not really, and while this one is packed with features it can never replicate the real deal, it's only a pedal after all but it gives you a taste for sure. There's even vibrato in this which is a nice touch for that Sixties style.

FRV-1 '63 Reverb Fender 

This baby tackles the surf-rock favourites, tube spring reverb that is the sound of the Sixties in it's own right. While it's a three knob affair it's much easier to use than the other two units in the series. Just dial in the Dwell which drives the reverb and mix it to taste with the original signal, tweak the tone and your off. It is probably the pick of the bunch for its simplicity and sound which may be digital but it's still pretty magical in it's own binary way!    

IbanezMaxonIbanezMaxonIbanezMaxonIbanezMaxon
IbanezMaxonIbanezMaxonIbanezMaxonIbanezMaxon
IbanezMaxonIbanezMaxonIbanezMaxonIbanezMaxon

If you are fascinated with guitar pedals and collect them like me then it's inevitable that the Ibanez brand with come on the radar. The Japanese guitar maker Ibanez has it's name on the units manufactured by Maxon one of the first pedal manufacturers in that country in the Seventies. There has been many Ibanez shapes and sizes but here we have the

legendary '9 Series' from 1981. Maxon parted ways with Ibanez in 2002 and began aggressively marketing it's own superb analog units that are still made in Japan today while Ibanez are manufactured in China and Taiwan. When hunting old Ibanez down you may be better off hunting Maxon also as they are the real deal!   

CS9 STEREO CHORUS

With it's lilac good looks and bell-like clarity and perfect analog sway the CS9 is one of the best sounding chorus units I've ever heard. Plucked from eBay for the price of a meal for two in a middle of the road Indian restaurant this one is an outright keeper. Now you know where Boss got the colour for their DC-2 Dimension C! Note:- This is a Maxon made unit with an Ibanez badge!

FL9 STEREO FLANGER

This is an awesome Flanger. The sounds are beautiful, rich and warm, clear and detailed it's a surefire candidate for best ever Flanger. And with its expansive controls you can twiddle away for hours. Although it's not an easy unit to set up quickly, the more you mess around with it the more you'll get to know it. Another eBay grab at an

unbelievable low price!

TS9DX TURBO TUBE SCREAMER

The green machine just got meaner in 1998 with the addition of 3 extra modes as well as the standard TD9, those modes are +, Hot and Turbo and while it does not fizz and hiss with heavy metal distortion as you dial up, it adds bass and makes you amp sound like a big fat cranked Marshall stack! Classic in a classic!

SD9 SONIC DISTORTION

This 1983 unit was won on eBay for a pretty low price. Slime green and full of 80s metal bite! The 9 Series may have that dodgy switch but they are very cool pedals indeed and now it seems everybody wants them. Note:- Another Maxon made unit with an

Ibanez badge!

PT9 PHASER

A mild Phaser by any standard, but it never gets in the way and offers subtle effect, so if you're looking for a wild wobble or jet like sounds, you may pass this one by. Although the Maxon PT9 is identical to this unit, there is a silver Maxon PT-9 Pro from 1983 which is very rare indeed. Note:- This is a Maxon made unit with an Ibanez badge!

Maxon

The real deal 9 series!

OD-9 OVERDRIVE

Maxon came first and made pedals for Ibanez in the old days, mainly due to export issues. They look identical but are very different in many ways from circuit to sound. All through the 80s and 90s until 2002 when Maxon stopped supplying units to Ibanez, units were basically the same. The Ibanez version is called a Tube Screamer while the Maxon is a plain old Overdrive! The 'green machine' story is a long and complicated one and something I'd rather not get too involved in!  

AD9 PRO ANALOG DELAY

Analog delay is a wonderful thing and now it's more popular than ever. With its rich bucket brigade tone, dual modes and 450ms, the AD9 is a beautiful device that adds 'that sound' to your tone, from Rock N Roll slapback to long prog trails this unit will make

your guitar solos sound real and emotional.

SM-9 SUPER METAL

This is one of the ugliest pedals I have ever seen with it's over-crowded control panel. Then it's got that fantastic metallic blue paint work and superb sound. It's loaded with two JRC4558D op amps plus two MC1458P Texas Instruments op amps, so that's really two Tubescreamers cascaded together. Once throttled up it blasts out crunchy high gain aggressive goodness and amazingly cleans up when the gain is dialed back down to give you warm and slightly fuzzed out bluesy tones. An unsung classic if there was ever one and it seemed to turn my Fender 007
combo into a Mesa Boogie!

OD9 Pro + OVERDRIVE

In recent years Maxon have been flogging modded versions of their pedals, adding a Pro to the title and adding a toggle or two with a normal and a boost or whatever. The fact is this is an OD9 or a Tube Screamer, afterall Maxon developed the original, with bigger balls and a plus +! What's a plus? and further still, what's a Pro +? I don't know but it's a new way or tweeking and remarketing the 'Green Machine' over and over again. And don't you just love that!

THE SOUND OF THE MICRO CHIP

This post takes a look at Boss pedals that have DSP or COSM modelling in the circuit.

Some love them, some are dismissive. Anyhow, I'm not too fussed as I like the idea and the technology used to give you something different than all the cookie cutter drives out there.

DN-2 Dyna Drive

The Dyna Drive appeared in 2007 and offered a touch sensitivity to your playing, like a tube amp would, roll back the guitar volume and it cleans up, crank it and it screams. Using a DSP chip and dyna amp technology with good old overdrive for a very versatile unit. Now discontinued the DN-2 is a must have with it's metallic gold colour and simple

three knob configuration. 

BC-2 Combo Drive

Have a guess what this pedal claims to be? BC? British Combo? A Vox amp? You got it. Vox in a box! Yes it's designed to offer the sound of a British tube combo with the help of DSP. It's boxy and compressed when at low gain but crank it up and it's a growler that will blast the walls down. You can get The Beatles, Queen and Oasis all under one roof with this cool and novel unit. Originally produced in 2011 and now discontinued.

ML-2 Metal Core

Okay, firstly I have to admit this was an impulse buy back in 2011 as I was going through a chunk phase. Now looking back I feel rather silly but I'll still keep it in my collection. It's got monster gain and crushing sound. That's it really and apart from the MD-2 Mega Distortion it's one of the highest gain Boss units ever made! Produced from 2007 to present.