Los Angeles, CA (September 8, 2017) -- Boss introduces the JB-2 Angry Driver, a new pedal co-developed with JHS Pedals to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Boss compact pedals. Housed in the classic Boss compact design, the JB-2 pairs the iconic Boss BD-2 Blues Driver with JHS Pedals’ popular Angry Charlie high-gain overdrive in a combined circuit enhanced for dual-mode operation. A six-way mode selector allows the player to choose between the two overdrive types or combine them in various series and parallel configurations. This enables the JB-2 to produce an enormous range of sounds, from subtle boost to ultra-high-gain distortion.
The idea to develop the JB-2 pedal was born of the friendship between Boss President Yoshihiro Ikegami and JHS Pedals founder Josh Scott, and their shared passion for innovative pedal design. The Blues Driver has long been a favorite pedal for Josh, and he credits it for leading him into designing his own pedals and starting his own company. “I got into pedals because, as a player, I used two Blues Drivers together for years and years,” Josh relates. “Huge thanks to Boss for that Blues Driver; that really sparked my curiosity and made me love pedals.”
Boss and JHS Pedals felt that the Angry Charlie would be an ideal match with the Blues Driver in a single pedal design. “It stacks amazingly with the Blues Driver,” says Josh, “that pedal obviously being the low-gain side and carrying everything from boost to overdrive, and the Angry Charlie carrying that medium-high overdrive all the way to distortion.” Josh is very pleased with the way the JB-2 turned out, saying, “I am 150-percent satisfied. I love it.”
The JB-2 is equipped with three dual-concentric knobs that provide independent drive, tone, and level control for each overdrive type. Via the mode selector, the player can configure the pedal for Boss or JHS operation, choose two different serial connections for stacking, or run the two overdrives in parallel. “In parallel, the six controls form one new pedal, and that is very, very cool,” says Josh. “When you put them together, they all interact, and there are hundreds of sounds.”
The JB-2 also includes a mode that allows the player to toggle between the two overdrive types with the built-in pedal switch. In addition, the pedal supports control of the various modes from an optional external footswitch.
Boss introduces the V-BDN VG-Strandberg guitar, a trailblazing new instrument that fuses the compelling designs of Swedish guitar maker Strandberg with the advanced V-Guitar technologies from Boss. The guitar is based on Strandberg’s popular Boden J Standard model and features onboard Boss tech that allows the user to choose from a large selection of guitar, synth, and bass sounds and access full-instrument down-tunings with the turn of a single knob.
Forward-thinking guitarists are always searching for ways to craft new sounds and develop fresh musical ideas and turn to innovators like Strandberg and Boss for cutting-edge tools that help them realize their individual artistic visions. The V-BDN gives these ambitious players an inspiring new voice with unlimited creative freedom, backed by the respected innovations of two of the most progressive companies in the musical instrument industry.
The V-BDN includes all the unique design elements that have made Strandberg guitars so appealing to modern players everywhere. The headless guitar is scientifically engineered for organic tone, ideal balance, and comfortable playability and features fanned frets, an ergonomic body, and the patented EndurNeck™ neck profile. Another standout aspect of the V-BDN is its custom hardware made from lightweight aircraft-grade aluminum, which provides highly effective transfer of string vibrations into the wood.
Boss’s leading-edge V-Guitar technologies are the perfect complement to Strandberg’s bold approach to instrument design. Via a multi-position mode selector, the V-BDN provides quick access to all types of modeled humbucking and single-coil guitar pickups, plus bass, electric sitar, and acoustic guitar tones. Five synth voices are available as well, including three variations of Roland’s classic GR-300 Guitar Synthesizer from the 1980s.
With a twist of the tuning knob on the V-BDN, users can go from standard tuning to five different down-tunings, all without adjusting the actual string tension. Tunings include semitone down, whole-step down, drop D, drop C#, and drop C.
Offered in a limited production run, the V-BDN is available in a transparent blue finish and comes with a padded instrument bag.
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