To get just an average tolerable sound out of this pedal is like trying to solve an aerobics cube blindfolded. It's as if I'm in a toxic relationship with a beautiful person who keeps hissing at me no matter what I do. Every button I push to fix the problem just adds to another one. Like it's mad at me for no reason. And after a session of fighting with this thing and trying to play it out, I have that throbbing ache right between the eyes. Housed in the classic BOSS compact design, the JB-2 Angry Driver pairs the tones of the iconic BOSS BD-2 Blues Driver with JHS Pedals' popular Angry Charlie. Working closely together, the two pedal innovators have developed an all-new combined circuit with refined sound and performance perfectly tuned for dual-mode drive operation.

I'm running my pedalboard straight into a powerstage 700. All other tone pedals sound as they should and behave well despite the odd setup. All of which are less money and more simple in design. I have already set my sights on acquiring a Mega Distortion, Metal Core and Waza Craft Metal Zone, and would also quite like to snap up a Digital Metalizer and Xtortion at some stage if I ever find suitable candidates. Bringing together these two fantastic pedals, the JB-2 Angry Driver is possibly the most versatile overdrive pedal that Boss have ever produced. Boasting a powerful 3-band EQ section, this pedal is also very versatile, letting you adapt it easily for dark or bright-sounding amplifiers. With a wide range of gain on tap, the Angry Charlie can go from Hendrix-esque crunch to searing metal tones.In 2017, JHS collaborated with legendary pedal company BOSS to produce a joint-designed pedal. Named the Angry Driver, this pedal combined core elements from the Angry Charlie and Boss’ Blues Driver. Modded Pedals After discussing a number of ideas, BOSS and JHS Pedals ultimately felt that combining the Blues Driver and Angry Charlie would be the ideal match. So that you can seamlessly integrate the JB-2 Angry with your rig and style of playing, it comes with six different modes for you to choose from: AC adaptor (sold separately) Current Draw 55 mA Expected battery life under continuous use Alkaline: Approx. 7 hours

Three dual-concentric knobs provide independent drive, tone, and level control for each overdrive type BOSS pedals are no doubt one of the most well-known guitar pedal companies out there, their legacy needs no introduction, their lineage of instantly recognisable pedals, sounds and familiar consistent quality have made them one of the go to choices for all levels of Guitarist. Its no doubt that BOSS has influenced many other budding pedal companies over the years in their choices of effects and approach to design. One particular person they influenced was a dude by the name Josh Scott, Josh of course is the brain power behind the awesome pedal brand JHS pedals. He has been making some fantastic pedals for many years now which are incredibly popular with many professional players. Josh has a YouTube channel in which he talks about the history of pedals, brings in pedals from different brands and talks about their influence on Guitar Players and his own pedals as well. One video he has done on his YouTube channel is about how much of a ‘Fanboy’ of BOSS pedals he is. So to see that JHS has had a chance to hook up with Guitar Pedal Giant JHS is truly heart-warming and of course well deserved. With this mode, you can turn the JB-2 on or off with the standard pedal, engaging the BD-2 circuitry while adding a remote switch allows you to switch between the Angry Charlie and Blues Driver circuits. This mode runs the Blues Driver into the Angry Charlie circuit with the standard footswitch turning the unit on and off while adding a remote switch allows you to select between SERIES MODE and AC Mode.Yoshi and Josh regularly visit with each other at the yearly NAMM shows, and they had discussed the idea of a collaboration a number of times. With BOSS celebrating the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the compact pedal design throughout 2017, Yoshi felt the time was right to develop a new pedal together. “In the 40 years of BOSS compact pedal history, this is a first,” Yoshi said. “I think it's a wonderful thing that two companies have collaborated based on a great mutual respect for each other.”

When this mode is selected, the unit is always on with the standard foot switch allowing you to choose between the Blues Driver and Angry Charlie circuits while the use of a remote switch allowing you to turn the pedal on and off. input or battery powered, delivering high quality sound along with legendary Boss build quality – the JB-2 gives you everything that people love about Boss pedals with a great new flavour created through a great collaboration between Boss and JHS Pedals. Marking the first time that Boss has ever worked with another pedal developer, the Angry Driver JB-2 sees a unique collaboration between Boss and JHS Pedals. So that’s all well and good, what about the sounds? So, the Blues Drive mode is of course modelled exactly on the classic BOSS Blues Drive. It’s a nice crunchy drive with a lot of upper mid range bite, traditionally it wasn’t very gainy, however over the years players have modified them for more gain. The Angry Driver version of the Blues drive is a little bit more like the tweaked version, leaving us with lots of room to play around. Andy Timmons has been said to use the Blues Driver for a broken up clean sound, which it does fantastically of course, he can also use it to push other pedals like a Tubescreamer would be used. In advance of the arrival of the OD-200 I thought it would be good to do an overview of Boss’s own various Drive and Distortion pedals. In my recent ’Yellow Means OverDrive’ feature I covered off all of those particular Boss pedals, so this article is at the other end of the scale of gain - the High Gain and Metal Distortions. I will then follow up with a 3rd article covering those drives and distortions that sit between these and the 9 OverDrive pedals covered already.Gaining notoriety on the popular YouTube channel ‘That Pedal Show’, the potent sound of the Angry Charlie caught the attention of even the biggest names in the business. JHS/BOSS Angry Driver I would think that as a group of pedals, Boss’s Metal Distortion Pedals are some of the best-known anywhere - in particular the Heavy Metal, Metal Core and Metal Zone variants - but there are a few more you should be aware of too: The impressive new Boss/JHS JB-2 Angry Driver overdrive and distortion pedal is a celebration of several things simultaneously: It heralds Boss’ 40-year anniversary in the compact pedal business, the friendship between Boss president Yoshi Ikegami and JHS founder Josh Scott, and the success of the Boss Blues Driver and JHS Angry Charlie in their respective niches. The collaborative effort between the Japanese and American companies effectively combines the Blues Driver overdrive and Angry Charlie distortion in a single pedal that’s ridiculously versatile for its size and capable of many cool variations of the two original circuits.