Cool Pedal Combos and the Theory of Evolution

Since the electric guitar was invented, there has been a full-on Darwinian evolution of how to play the darn thing. This metamorphosis has been so drastic that if a spaceman just arrived on earth and didn’t know better, he would never guess Chuck Berry and Joe Satriani were playing the same instrument.

Tone has had a lot to do with that evolution because we players have always incorporated a smorgasbord of whatever technology that was available at the time into our rigs. There have been probably thousands of different pedals built over the years. Guitarists have taken knives to speaker cones, run amps at the wrong voltage, dipped pickups in surfboard wax, modified their poor Marshall heads beyond recognition, and, heck, Eddie Van Halen even used to have an actual WW2 bomb shell in his rig. Thank God it wasn’t hooked up.

At BOSS, we thought it might be cool to separate the last 50 years of guitar tone into eras. Then we could give you some tips on how to combine our world famous stompboxes to recreate some of the unique sounds associated with each period in time.

We came up with five eras. Each era has a pedal combination that uses BOSS Compact Pedals, and another combination that uses our newer, extra versatile Twin Pedals. For best results set your amp to a fairly clean sound and let the pedals will do the rest. Now step into our time tunnel …

’50s Twangy, Rock & Surf Era

Compact Combo
Grab a CS-3 Compression Sustainer, a TR-2 Tremolo, and an RV-5 Digital Reverb. For this Surfing Safari we’re going for a clean tone, and the CS-3 will perfectly round any peaks and valleys that happen when you play clean. Next we’ll add a touch of vintage style tremolo with the TR-2, and finally let your tone swim in the RV-5’s “Spring” reverb. Use single coil pickups if you got ‘em, and you may want to kill the lows on your amp.

Twin Pedal Combo
Select the BD-2 model on the OD-20. Dial in a bright tone with not much drive, which will simulate a tweed amp. Use the RV-5 for ambience and Spring reverb. Rockabilly your heart out by tapping into the DD-20’s 120 millisecond slapback. The Tape model will give you that vintage delay.

’60s Psychedelic Era

Compact Combo
Okay, it’s not exactly a “combo”, but why not tell you that a single PW-10 V-Wah can take you straight to the launch pad. Use the text written on the bottom of the V-Wah to turn on the “Muff Fuzz,” then turn the fuzz up with the Drive knob until you see mind-altering patterns (just kidding). Last, set the V-Wah to UNI-V and use the pedal to set the rotating rate however you desire. Actually, with the V-Wah, you could tweak that baby for any era, but that’s a whole other article.

Twin Pedal Combo
Plug your axe into the PW-10 V-Wah to enter into the psychedelic Hendrix/Trower world. Choose “Face” on the OD-20 to grab the tone Jimi would insist on. Crank up the Drive. Set the DD-20 to Standard with the Tone down to simulate room echo. Now, time warp back into your tie-dye shirt, burn some incense, and turn on the black light.

Good Ol’ Classic Rock

Compact Combo
Here we’ll use the DS-1 Distortion, the GE-7 Equalizer, and the DD-6 Digital Delay. With the DS-1 we’ll dial in a warm distortion like those overdriven amps of the ’70s. But let’s go a step further and boost a bit of the mids with the EQ. Last, let’s set the DD-6 for that kinda Joe Walsh style room slap. And feel free to tweak that EQ for other ’70s tones; you’ll find you can get a lot of different classic sounds with these pedals.

Twin Pedal Combo
Set the OD-20 to model a British-type stack by choosing Stack. Follow it with the CE-20, modeling the classic CE-1. Exit the CE-20 in stereo into the DD-20. Use Modulate mode to simulate an old tape echo with an uneven motor. Run stereo output into two amps. Now you’re ready to jam some classic rock.

’80s Virtuoso Lead

Compact Combo
Plug into a MT-2 Metal Zone, a DD-6 Digital Delay, and a CE-5 Chorus Ensemble. The MT-2 is the most versatile Distortion pedal out there, so easily dial in a sizzling, shred-solo distortion sound such as the one above. Then add a bit of motion and presence with the subtle Chorus of the CE-5, and fill in any empty spaces with a long, slow delay on the DD-6.

Twin Pedal Combo
Dial up the OD-20 to Lead. Use the Gain to add massive sustain, then continue into the CE-20 for a rich chorus effect. Be modest on the effect level. Exit stereo into the DD-20 for the analog-modeled delay. Use a 500 millisecond setting for those soaring and blistering leads. Let your virtuosity shine through using this lethal BOSS pedal combination.

’90s Metal, the Dark Cyde

Compact Combo
Here we’ll use the MD-2 Mega Distortion, the GE-7 Graphic Equalizer, the BF-3 Flanger, and the DD-3 Digital delay. Set your MD-2 for the maximum beef that it does so well. For the next pedal in line, the GE-7, scoop the mids by drawing a happy face. Now let’s go for a cool effect. Set the BF-3 to Momentary, so when you want a “whirlpool of death” swirl, step on it. When you want it off, just lift your foot. Finally add a little delay for fullness with the DD-3.

Twin Pedal Combo
No mercy: Set the OD-20 to model the BOSS MT-2. Be sure to use lots of Bottom and plenty of heavy Octave. Use EQ-20’s 10-band graphic EQ to tighten up the low end and scoop the mids a bit. Next, plug into the CE-20 and set to Dimension D for a slight pitch modulation and a bit of motion. Exit stereo into the DD-20, set to Dual for a quick slapback in true stereo. Back off the level of delay to blend with your direct signal. Feel the force, and join the Dark Cyde.