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"Boss Guitar Pedals: Are These Guitar Foot Pedals Worth It?"

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Are Boss guitar pedals really worth buying? I say they are. They last forever, have good sounds, and are road worthy.

Guitar foot pedals

Guitar foot pedals come in all shapes, sizes, and prices. Some like to buy their pedals separately, others get every sound effect all in one place with a digital guitar processor (a big pedal board with a bunch of buttons on it).

It's easy to over do it with pedals. You don't want to cover up the natural sound of your fingers on the guitar with too many sound effects. But figuring out what you like is key, so let's read on...

Boss guitar pedals

In addition to being tough, Boss guitar pedals are simple and easy to use. No manuals needed here! Just stick a battery in and rock on.

Boss offers a diversity of sounds with their pedals. You can get everything from common effects, such as digital delay, to weird stuff like flangers and octave pedals.

Boss seems to think you should use only Boss pedals and nothing else. Of course they do, it's their company. Right now I use about five different Boss guitar pedals to achieve my unique guitar tone, along with other effects, my wah-wah being one.

What I like about Boss pedals is that you can get four or five pedals that you like, wire them up, and use various pedal combinations to make unique sounds.

For example, combining a chorus pedal with a digital delay makes for a perfect tone for playing guitar solos. You can even layer distortions for heavy riffs, or use one distortion as a boost over another.

...just make sure you use a 1 Spot, or your fun will be over when your batteries run down.

Boss pedals come at a fair price too. You won't have to pay TOO much for a good guitar pedal that will last you forever.

Boss distortion pedal

One of the most common Boss distortion pedals is the Boss DS-1. Some love it, others hate it. It just depends on what kind of gear you are into. I use a DS-1 live, so I like them. It's a great live pedal. It gives you a good, raw, not-too-dirty tone, great for solos and riffs alike.

The Metal Zone is only good if you play nothing but really heavy, single string riffs. Anything more and nobody will be able to tell what you are playing. It gets way too muddy. This pedal is OK for solos, but not my favorite.

Boss digital delay

I can't play a solo without kicking on my delay. Some call it cheating, I call it awesome.

The Boss DD-6 is great, but they don't make it anymore. It was replaced with the more advanced DD-7. They are similar.

So should I try Boss guitar effects pedal?

Sure. Why not? You're only going to learn what you like by trying it. If you don't like it, you can always sell it, give it to a friend, or defenestrate it (which probably won't even damage it ;)

Boss pedals have always worked for me live. I wouldn't use them in the studio on a general basis, but live they are perfect. Touring clubs is a dirty job, taking a toll on your pedals and amps. These tough pedals seem to handle the grime superbly.

Boss effects are cost-effective. You don't have to pay tons to get cool effects that are worthy of the stage upon which you perform.

Plus, they come in all sorts of cool colors!

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