Boss BD-2 Blues Driver (Keeley Electronics Phat Mod)

Boss pedals have long been staples on many a pedalboard, and one that I always found to be a real stand-out is the BD-2 Blues Driver. A great stock pedal, the BD-2 gives of great drive tones, perfect for rock and roll, blues or pop, and can get your tube amp to that special distorted spot that every player digs. Today’s version features a special Phat Mod done by our friends over at Keeley Electronics, which will turn your ordinary BD-2 into a true powerhouse pedal.

There are a couple of things that happen with this outstanding pedal mod, all of which play a crucial part in its success. Some higher-quality parts are added to the inside, such as new film capacitors in the tone section, which give the BD-2 an overall smoother sound, not a fuzz-ish as the stock pedals tend to be. The bass response is also beefed up with the Phat Mod, and is selectable (on most modded pedals) via small toggle switch that gets added on during the modification process. This does tend to take away a little bit of the high end, but really fattens up the lows, and makes for a cleaner signal all around. Since there’s now a whole new level of output volume on tap as well, you can use it as a fantastic clean boost if needed, or to push a sweet tube amp into almost-breakup territory with ease.

If you can find one of these pedals, I’d suggest jumping on it, as I don’t believe Keeley is doing these mods anymore. Overall, the pedal sounds richer, fuller and cleaner than the stock version, with quieter amounts of noise as well, making for an excellent first or second drive pedal in your signal chain. These are getting harder and harder to find, but if you do come across one, I’m fairly certain you’re not going to be disappointed.