March 31, 2016

Roland and BOSS at Southwest Invasion

Jim Bybee [Roland US] Artists AIRA, Austin, BOSS effects, drums, EC-10, EL Cajon, Gingger Shankar, guitar, Jamie Kent, keyboards, MSTRKRFT, pedals, Piano, South by Southwest, Stompbox, SXSW, Talib Kweli, The Heirs, TR-808, TR-909, vocals

VIP Green Room and Jam Space at SXSW in Austin

SXSW-Marquee

Roland and BOSS had a fantastic time at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, where we partnered with Quantum Collective to host a VIP green room tent and jam space for performers during the 5th Annual Southwest Invasion live music event. Taking place over three days, the event featured performances by great artists like Talib Kweli, Gingger Shankar, Jamie Kent, Third Eye Blind, and many others. Before and after their sets, all the performers hung out at the private Roland/BOSS VIP lounge, talking about music and checking out our latest gear, including new BOSS effects, Roland AIRA instruments, and the ELCajon EC-10.

March 11, 2014

New BOSS GT-001 Guitar Effects Processor

Jim Bybee [Roland US] Product News Audio Interface, BOSS effects, COSM, guitar, multi-effects 29 Comments

Pro Tones in a Desktop Audio Interface

GT-001 Guitar Effects Processor

The new GT-001 Guitar Effects Processor puts the flagship tones of BOSS’ GT-100 Version 2.0 floor-based multi-effects inside a stylish, compact, and affordable USB audio interface for desktop or mobile DAW recording. In addition to guitar connectivity and world-class amps and effects, the GT-001 also includes an XLR mic input for capturing vocals and acoustic instruments. And with the free BOSS TONE STUDIO software (available at BOSS TONE CENTRAL), it’s simple to edit and organize your GT-001 patches right from your computer. More

January 23, 2014

New BOSS OD-1X Overdrive & DS-1X Distortion

Jim Bybee [Roland US] Product News BOSS effects, compact pedal, distortion, DS-1X, MDP, OD-1X, OverDrive, Stompbox 5 Comments

Advanced BOSS Technologies for Premium Performance

The BOSS OD-1X OverDrive and DS-1X Distortion

Taking the famous BOSS overdrive and distortion into an all-new era, the OD-1X and DS-1X deliver sound quality, dynamic response, and tonal clarity at a level that you won’t believe. Leveraging over 35 years of tone know-how, these special edition pedals feature advanced BOSS technology for performance that’s light years beyond the capabilities of any traditional analog design. More

October 1, 2013

Blues Guitar Effects Combo

Gary Lenaire [Roland US] Tips & Tricks BD-2, Blues Driver, BOSS effects, CE-5, Compression Sustainer, CS-3, DD-3, Digital Delay, Effects Pedals, Fender Reverb, FRV-1, guitar, TR-2, Tremolo 4 Comments

Subtle Effects for Blues Guitarists

Blues Guitar Effects Combo

Author: Roland UK Features Team

The BD-2 Blues Driver produces a bluesy vintage tube amp tone that blues players have adored since 1995, and it’s still one of the best-selling BOSS pedals today. The pedal’s tube-like response is due to the level of distortion being proportional to the picking strength. The CS-3 Compressor helps smooth out those blues licks while adding sustain, and the TR-2 Tremolo gives you the smooth pulsing heard on so many records, adding that extra dimension. The FRV-1 Reverb pedal was developed with Fender and using COSM technology, the BOSS engineers captured the beauty of the 1963 Fender 6G15 unit which was a favorite among blues players of the 60s and so an obvious choice for this rig. More

March 25, 2013

10 Original BOSS Stompbox Design Elements

Gary Lenaire [Roland US] Product News BOSS effects, guitar, Stompbox 3 Comments

What makes BOSS guitar stompboxes the world’s best-selling effects pedals?

When the original BOSS overdrive stompbox, the OD-1, was first released way back in 1977, it looked very different from any other stompbox of the day. Where others were simple squared-off aluminum boxes crudely screwed together, the OD-1 was a smooth cast-metal body. It had no little button to step on to turn it on or off like the others. Most of the OD-1’s surface was the stompbox for the switch. Instead of the commonly used simple click switch that always caused an audio line POP when pressed, the OD-1 had a silent electronic switch under the pedal that never made a sound. More

March 19, 2013

How To Chain Your Guitar Effects Pedals – Part 2

Gary Lenaire [Roland US] Tips & Tricks BOSS effects, effects, guitar, guitar effects, looper pedals, pedal effects, Stompbox, tuner pedals 8 Comments

Let’s Connect Our Pedals Together

As discussed in Part 1, the first rule in connecting guitar effects: there are no rules.
There are, however, some good ideas.

Plugging In
Using our basic guidelines, let’s connect our pedalboard together: More

March 6, 2013

How To Chain Your Guitar Effects Pedals – Part 1

Gary Lenaire [Roland US] Tips & Tricks BOSS effects, effects, guitar, guitar effects, looper pedals, pedal effects, Stompbox, tuner pedals 14 Comments

Rule Number 1 — There are No Rules

Free BOSS mobile phone wallpaper—choose from 10.

So you decided to play electric guitar. Once you get a guitar and an amp, the next step is to explore effects. Effects pedals can be separated into groups based on their functions. Understanding the different pedal groups is the key to getting the best sound when chaining them together. The largest pedal group is probably overdrives and distortions, and BOSS currently makes 16 different pedals in this category. More