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Boss SD-2 1st Impressions, Pics and Soundclips

warwick.hoy

warwick.hoy

Aug 20, 2006
6,879
227
Spokane, WA.
Disclosures
Beta Tester: Source Audio.
#1
Looked around and didn't see too many threads on this particular pedal. I'm sure some here on TB have had one pass through their hands in the past. I figured it was high time a mini review was done as well as get some soundclips posted. Perhaps said soundclips can find their way onto the Wiki database.

bosssd-2onmytime.jpg


I've had this pedal for about two weeks and one full volume rehearsal. I picked it up off of CL for pretty cheap. It took the place of a Digitech Tonedriver.

In comparing it with the Digitech Tonedrive I was using; it is way more "authoritative". The SD-2's overdrive sits in the midrange and seems really "barky". It cuts through the mix really well. I can't detect any intolerable low end loss at rehearsal volume.

Both channels are loud and the "lead" channel is a bit more aggressive than the "crunch" channel. Almost fuzz sounding.

There are concentric pots for the two channels; Level, Tone(low to high) and Drive and a rotary switch that switches between Crunch, Lead and Both which switches between the two, but doesn't disengage the effect. There is a remote input that you can use the Boss FS-5L to switch between the two channels and disengage the effect (the left most setting on the rotary switch).

The LED switches between Green and Red to let you know at a glance which channel is engaged. Green = Crunch. Red = Lead.

This is a Taiwanese made pedal and appears to only have been produced between 1993 and 1998

Soundclips: Recorded with a 98 Warwick Thumb BO-5. On-board eq set at the center detents ("flat"?). Pickup blend centered. Direct through soundcard. Boss LMB-3 for "compression".

Lead:

SD-2Lead.jpg


http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7258968

Crunch:

SD-2Crunch.jpg


http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7258983

Levels were set to keep the volume roughly even between the two channels otherwise everything is wide open.

Aside from the two channels; there is nothing glaringly unique about this pedal. I'm guessing that it may be similar in sound to the Boss OD-3 or other Boss distortion/overdrive units although I've never really A/B the SD-2 to any other Boss unit. For the price I got it for I'm very satisfied with this unit. I like it. If it got lost/someone stole it, I'd probably replace it with a boutique fuzz pedal :D.

Questions/Comments/Clip Requests are welcome.
 
#7
BrentSimons said:
I would like to hear some clips with the gain set lower. Love the warwicks.
B
Click to expand...

Give me about 2 hours, I'm in the midst of a hockey game.

stflbn said:
Personally I've never had a pedal that sounded it's best with everything cranked. Somewhere in between is almost always where the magic happens.
Click to expand...

Will definitely noodle more with the settings

stflbn said:
I thought your tone before you kicked in the pedal was pretty decent though.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Willem said:
On a local forum this pedal has a loyal following due to some mods by a guy on that forum. I going to buy one too!
Click to expand...

If you can get any info from your local guy I'd be very interested in modding this pedal.
 
#10
#11
This is what the guy on the other forum said:

Lead is a kind of tube screamer with some bells and wisthles; there's clipping at 2 places: first to ground (hard clipping) with LED's, then soft clipping with 3 silicium diodes (asym)

Crunch is also some kind of tubescreamer variant with a high pass filter at the beginning.


MODS
Mod A; more clarity;
Replace C34 / C13 / C9 / C18 / C43 and C22 with it's better quality replacements

Mod B; tubescreamer:

- Remove C36, C46, C47 and R49; replace this with an 1 uF NP cap (the start of C36 and the end of C46 are so close you can fit in a cap quite easily)
- Replace D4 with a silicon diode
- Replace D6 + D7 with one 1N400X diode
- Replace C28 with a 220 nF cap
- Replace R37 with a 4.7k resistor and run one end to Vref (which is on one side of R51; close. You can use the leftover traces of D6 / D7 to overcome the small distance without short circuiting
- Replace C12 with a 1 uF NP cap

PLAY!!

For guitar I would recommend the change of C28 to 100 nF


He has told that he modded the lead channel, by removing the first gainstage... but he didn't post specifics on how and what.



If I understood correctly, MOD B only applies to crunch mode and turns it into a bassdrive.
 
#13
Willem said:
This is what the guy on the other forum said:

Lead is a kind of tube screamer with some bells and wisthles; there's clipping at 2 places: first to ground (hard clipping) with LED's, then soft clipping with 3 silicium diodes (asym)

Crunch is also some kind of tubescreamer variant with a high pass filter at the beginning.


MODS
Mod A; more clarity;
Replace C34 / C13 / C9 / C18 / C43 and C22 with it's better quality replacements

Mod B; tubescreamer:

- Remove C36, C46, C47 and R49; replace this with an 1 uF NP cap (the start of C36 and the end of C46 are so close you can fit in a cap quite easily)
- Replace D4 with a silicon diode
- Replace D6 + D7 with one 1N400X diode
- Replace C28 with a 220 nF cap
- Replace R37 with a 4.7k resistor and run one end to Vref (which is on one side of R51; close. You can use the leftover traces of D6 / D7 to overcome the small distance without short circuiting
- Replace C12 with a 1 uF NP cap

PLAY!!

For guitar I would recommend the change of C28 to 100 nF


He has told that he modded the lead channel, by removing the first gainstage... but he didn't post specifics on how and what.



If I understood correctly, MOD B only applies to crunch mode and turns it into a bassdrive.
Click to expand...

this mod popped up on the Boss Area forum that I've signed up to. Crazy to see some cross forum action going on. If I had some soldering skills I'd do this myself, but I'm currently looking for someone to preform it for me. I'd try to get keeley to do it if it weren't for the fire.
 
#14
RCCollins said:
The SD-1 is the "original" tubescreamer circuit - is this one based on the same scheme?
Click to expand...

A post from the Boss Area forum

Hi warwick.hoy

The circuits for the SD-1 and the SD-2 are different.

Are you interested in the schematics?
You could check them yourself.
Most are available on the web.

We have a Schematics LINKS topic, in "Mods & Technical Issues"
---

The Tubescreamer, has a "Symmetrical Clipping" circuit,
& the SD-1 is "Asymmetrical".

A lot/most OD Overdrives circuits are similar, but have differing tonal centers, or mid boost points.
Making it easy, to mod one type to another, up to a point.

Is it important to you, that the SD-1 is like Tubesreamer, or visa versa?
Or it s it just a technical "needed to know" point?


Regards Dr. Bob
Click to expand...
 
#15
warwick.hoy said:
this mod popped up on the Boss Area forum that I've signed up to. Crazy to see some cross forum action going on. If I had some soldering skills I'd do this myself, but I'm currently looking for someone to preform it for me. I'd try to get keeley to do it if it weren't for the fire.
Click to expand...

He said he had already posted that info on another forum (hence it being in English, I got it from a Dutch forum), maybe it's the same guy.
 
#16
I use mainly the crunch channel, the drive at 2 o'clock, I use a Lado Super Falcon bass, it has a Varitone on it, I set it on a position I like, and in conjonction with the pedal it gives a very smooth overdriven sound that doesn't loose the bass frequencies neither too much definition. Doesn't sound harsh, like in those sound clips. I was looking for a sound like that through many pedals for years, and never liked the blend option on them, which was a lot of the times, the only way to keep the lows sounding good. But, it did not sound that good with my Rickenbacker or other basses, the Varitone made all the difference, so maybe an equalizer or turning the tone control would work on other basses.
 

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