Boss JB-2
Housed in a classic compact design, the BOSS JB-2 Angry Driver pairs the tones of the iconic BOSS BD-2 Blues Driver with JHS Pedals’ popular Angry Charlie. Working closely together, the two pedal innovators have developed an all-new combined circuit with refined sound and performance perfectly tuned for dual-mode drive operation.
The JB-2 Angry Driver features three dual-concentric knobs that provide independent drive, tone, and level control for each overdrive type. Via a six-position mode selector, you can use each overdrive independently, or combine them together in series and parallel configurations. With the ability to blend the Blues Driver’s famously expressive low-to-mid gain tones with the Angry Charlie’s aggressive rock voice in any combination, the JB-2 Angry Driver delivers unmatched range and versatility from a single overdrive pedal.
Partners in Tone
After discussing a number of ideas, BOSS and JHS Pedals ultimately felt that combining the Blues Driver and Angry Charlie would be the ideal match.
“When this plan came up, we used the ES-8 Effects switching system to try numerous combinations of our pedals with the JHS Angry Charlie,” Yoshi relates. “I thought a combination allowing each pedal to complement the other would be interesting to try. The sound of the Angry Charlie is exactly what BOSS didn’t have.”
“It stacks amazingly with the Blues Driver,” Josh adds. “What’s great about the Blues Driver is it covers low gain phenomenally, and it does boost really well, and that accents what the Angry Charlie is. The Angry Charlie is always angry, so the Blues Driver helps mellow it out and do different things.
“To experience working on a product with a company that has done this thing so well for so long has been really inspiring,” Josh continues. It’s just amazing to see such talented people that love what they do.” Josh is very pleased with the way the JB-2 turned out, saying, “I am 150-percent satisfied. I love it.”
“For several years, we have been continuing to take on new challenges with the keyword “Breakthrough,” Yoshi said. “I think it’s very refreshing and thought-provoking for our engineers to work with such an up-and-coming company and get inspired.”
A Diverse Range of Drive Sounds in a Compact Footprint
With its two drive types, dual-concentric knobs, and six modes, the BOSS JB-2 packs an enormous amount of overdrive range in a single-space pedal. The Blues Driver is the lower-gain side, carrying everything from boost to overdrive, and the Angry Charlie carries the medium-high overdrive all the way to distortion.
The six-position mode selector provides flexibility to use the overdrives in numerous creative ways, from individual operation to series stacking and even parallel operation. In series mode, one overdrive works as a booster for the other, while in parallel mode, the overdrive character expressively changes in response to picking nuance. A remote jack extends the pedal’s versatility even further with control from an external footswitch or pedal switcher.
“In this small format, you get this amazing switching system that is out of this world with series and parallel,” Josh relates. “You have six controls for two pedals, but the six controls in parallel become six controls for one new pedal, and that is very, very cool. So you have the Angry Charlie that people know, and the Blues Driver that people know. But when you put them together, the six controls all interact and there are hundreds of sounds. I think that’s a fantastic product.”