Boss JB2 Angry Driver – A NEW DRIVE PEDAL WITH MASSIVE TONAL RANGE IS BUILT BY BOSS AND JHS PEDALS JOINING FORCES

BOSS and JHS Pedals have teamed up in a landmark creative partnership between the two leaders in the compact pedal industry to commemorate the 40th anniversary of BOSS compact pedals. The JB-2 Angry Driver combines the sounds of the legendary BOSS BD-2 Blues Driver with JHS Pedals’ renowned Angry Charlie, and is housed in the classic BOSS compact design. The two pedal innovators collaborated to build an entirely new integrated circuit with superbly tuned sound and performance for dual-mode drive operation.

Three dual-concentric knobs allow for separate drive, tone, and level adjustment for each overdrive type on the JB2 Angry Driver. You may use each overdrive individually or in series and parallel configurations via a six-position mode selector. The JB-2 Angry Driver offers unsurpassed range and versatility from a single overdrive pedal, combining the Blues Driver’s famously expressive low-to-mid gain tones with the Angry Charlie’s powerful rock voice in any combination.

For the 40th anniversary of BOSS Compact Pedals, two industry leaders have come together

BOSS President Yoshi Ikegami and JHS Pedals creator Josh Scott got together over their mutual interest in innovative pedal design, resulting in the idea for the JB-2 pedal. “I got into pedals because I used two Blues Drivers together for years and years, which led me to designing my own pedals and founding my own business,” Josh explains. One of them finally broke one day. I pulled it apart and saw that it was just a simple soldering job. JHS pedals arose from repairing that pedal, which piqued my interest and took up all of my time.

Yoshi and Josh have been conversing about a collaboration for a long time at the annual NAMM shows, where they both attend separately. Yoshi felt it was time to create a new pedal in 2017, when BOSS was celebrating the 40th anniversary of the compact pedal concept. He said, “I believe this is a first for BOSS and for Yoshi. We’ve worked together based on mutual respect for each other throughout the 40 years of our history.”

Josh continues, “We’re really looking forward to working with BOSS on the JB-2, one of our icons. I’ve said for years and years that BOSS pedals are my favorite.” It’s a real honor for JHS to be able to jump into the BOSS story for the past 40 years, and it goes far beyond anything I would have ever imagined.

In a small footprint, it offers a wide variety of drive sounds

The JB-2 includes an enormous amount of overdrive range in a single-space pedal, thanks to its two drive types, dual-concentric knobs, and six modes. The Blues Driver, which includes everything from boost to distortion, and the Angry Charlie, which includes everything from moderate to high overdrive.

From individual operation to series stacking and even parallel operation, the six-position mode selector gives you flexibility to use the overdrives in a variety of creative ways. In series mode, one overdrive serves as a auxiliary for the other, while in parallel mode, it expressively reacts to picking nuances by working as a Booster. With control from an external footswitch or pedal switcher, a remote jack extends the pedal’s versatility even further.

Josh continues, “You have six controls for two pedals in this tiny format, but the six controls in series become six controls for one new pedal, and that is absolutely amazing. So there’s the Angry Charlie, and then there’s the Blues Driver, which people are familiar with. However, the six controls all interact when you put them all together, resulting in hundreds of sounds. That seems to be a really good product,” she says.

Partners in Tone

BOSS and JHS Pedals finally decided that combining the Blues Driver and Angry Charlie would be the best fit after debating a variety of options.

Y Yoshi recalls, “We employed the ES-8 Effects switching system to test a variety of setups with our pedals with the JHS Angry Charlie when this idea arose. I thought a setup allowing each pedal to compliment the other would be intriguing.” BOSS lacks the sound of Angry Charlie.

Josh continues, “What’s great about the Blues Driver is it covers low gain phenomenally and boosts really well, which emphasizes what the Angry Charlie does. It stacks wonderfully with the Blues Driver.” The Blues Driver helps calm the Furious Charlie down and allows it to perform various activities because it is always furious.

“Working on a product with a company that has done something so well for so long was really inspiring,” Josh explains. Josh is ecstatic with the finished JB-2, exclaiming, “I am 150 percent satisfied. It’s just incredible to watch such brilliant persons that enjoy what they do.” “For many years, we’ve been facing fresh challenges with the phrase ‘Breakthrough,’ and I believe working with such an up-and-coming firm is very invigorating and thought-provoking for our engineers.”

Features The JB-2 Angry Driver

Reviews for the Boss JB-2 JHS Angry Driver Overdrive

Richard O.

If you’re looking for a casual pedal to noodle around on at home, this is definitely the one. If you’re trying to play gigs with this, try something else. This is a simple pedal for the hobbyist.

Wyatt M.

After watching That Pedal Show’s episode on parallel drives, I decided to give it a try. It is extremely versatile when a distant switch is added, but simple to operate. For me, using the Angry Charlie to create a rhythm tone and the Blues Driver in conjunction for leads works really well. With tons of saturation, the AC side offers a terrific hot-rodded Marshall sound. I already have a Charlie Brown, and the Angry Driver doesn’t really need the three-band EQ of the Angry Charlie (I have a Charlie Brown).

Vyvyan W.

Being used individually, my Angry Charlie and Blues Driver pedals are better. This one is less distinct than the individual pedals. It was initially intended as part of a deal for an A Marshall JCM 1960 cab, but it never quite bonded with it.

Brent P.

Specs Boss JB-2 JHS Angry Driver

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