BOSS
| BOSS Corporation
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|---|---|
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| legal form | public company |
| founding | 1973 |
| Seat | Hamamatsu , Japan |
| Website | www.boss.info |
Boss is a brand name of Roland Corporation . The product range includes guitar effects pedals for electric guitars and basses , effects units, rhythm computers , audio recorders , tuners and other electronic devices for musicians.
At times, the Roland Corporation mainly brought out slimmed-down and cheaper versions of its high-end products under the Boss brand. Boss is now one of the world's leading brands for effects pedals and enjoys a good reputation with electric guitarists.
history
The first product under the brand name Boss was introduced in 1974. It was the B-100 "The Boss", a preamplifier for acoustic guitars. It was made by Beckmen Musical Instruments. The first standalone product was the CE-1 Chorus Pedal, a chorus ensemble. It was introduced in 1976 and was borrowed from the chorus unit of the Roland JC-120 amplifier.
Due to the success of this device (for example Andy Summers from The Police used it) it was decided to manufacture a number of other floor effect devices to create a whole range of products. This series contained the well-known overdrive pedal (OD-1), a phaser (PH-1) and the parametric equalizer (SP-1). In the following year the famous DS-1 Distortion, the Chorus (CE-2) and the Touch Wah (TW-1) were added. The series was completed over the next few years by the Flanger (BF-2), the Digital Delay (DD-2), the Turbo Distortion (DS-2), the Metal Zone (MT-2) and the Heavy Metal Distortion ( HM-2). Special effects devices for bass players are marked with a "B" at the end of the product name.
In 1988, Boss launched the first multi-effects device with all important effects in a single pedalboard-like housing (ME-5). In these devices is processed and developed by Roland COSM technology ( C omposite O bject S ound M odelling), with the effects, especially the reproduction of types of amplifiers can be realized digitally ( Modeling ).
While the early devices were built in Japan , production was later relocated to Taiwan to save costs. The familiar design was retained (with slight changes).
Many of the early Boss brand effects devices have become collectibles today. As the vintage sound is becoming more and more popular, this trend can be expected to continue. Meanwhile, some classic products are being reissued by the company itself, such as the set of PH-1, OD-1 and SP-1 for the 40th company anniversary or the special series “Waza-Craft”.
Effects devices
Multi-effects devices
Several multi-effects devices for guitar and bass are offered under the brand name Boss. They are supplied as a floorboard with corresponding foot switches. Some multi-effects devices are specially designed for practice; Guitar and bass as well as a microphone can be connected to them. All devices work with what is known as COSM technology, in which amp models and effects are digitally reproduced.
The guitar multi-effects GT-100, originally designed as a high-end device , provides, for example, 26 amplifier models with two channels, 22 distortion pedals and 35 effects. These can be put together as desired. 200 factory settings are permanently saved, another 200 own programs can be saved. The effects can be adjusted using eight controls and a display. The device has plenty of external connection options for effects, guitars and amplifiers. Eight foot switches and a rocker pedal enable the device to be operated by foot. In 2018, the successor was introduced with the GT-1000, which is the first device in its class to use a guitar multi-effects processor with 32-bit AD / DA, 32-bit floating point processing and 96 kHz sampling rate.
The ME-70 was designed as a mid-range model. It has six different amp models that can be directly influenced by a controller. The four switchable effects also have their own operating section and can be switched on and off using the foot switch. The ME 70 also has numerous connections; for example, you can connect additional foot switches with which you can switch entire effect banks. For beginners there is the ME-25 with fewer effects, but the same quality as the ME 70. Operation is also more difficult because of the reduced number of controls.
Stomp boxes
The floor effect devices offered under the name Boss are divided into two groups. The normal stomp boxes (as in the picture on the right) have a foot switch, but there are also twin stomp boxes with two foot switches and more setting options. The DS-1 distortion is one of the legendary effects of the simple stomp boxes. In the program since 1978, it has been and is still used by many well-known guitarists such as Steve Vai , Mike Stern , Kurt Cobain and Joe Satriani . Also one of the legendary pedals, but no longer available is the OD-1 Overdrive (pictured). It was used by Richie Sambora from Bon Jovi . The pedal was replaced by the SD-1 Super Overdrive, which is still available today and has many fans. The first WAZA Craft pedals to see the light of day in 2014 were the BD-2W WAZA Craft Custom Blues Driver, the SD-1W WAZA Craft Custom Super Overdrive and the DM-2W WAZA Craft Custom Delay Pedal.
Selection of some pedals of the Compact series: Distortion : SD-1, OD-3, OS-2 and DN-3 (overdrive), DS-1, DS-2, MD-2, AD-2 (distortion), ML- 2, MT-2 (Metal), FZ-5 (Fuzz), FB-2 (Booster), BL-2, FBM-1 (Fender Bassman), FDR-1 (Fender Deluxe Reverb), BC-2 (British Combo ), ST-2 (Marshall Stack) (amp simulation). Modulation: TR-2 (tremolo), CH-1, CE-5 ( chorus ), PH-3 ( phaser ), BF-3 ( flanger ), AW-3 (auto wah), delay and reverb: DD-7, DD-3, TE-2 (Digital Delay), RV-6 (Digital Reverb), FRV-1 (Fender 63 Reverb) (Hall), others: PS-6 (Pich Shifter), OC-3 (Octaver), CS -3 (Compressor), AC-3 (Acustic Simulator), GE-1 ( Equalizer ), MO-2 (Overtone Simulator), RC-3 (Looper), NS-2 (Noise Suppressor), TU-3 ( Tuner ) , LS-2 (Line Selector), Bass Effects: LMB-3 Bass Enhancer / Limiter, ODB-3 (Bass Overdrive), GEB-7 (Bass Equalizer), CEB-3 (Bass Chorus) and SYB-5 (Bass -Synthesizer).
Selection of some pedals of the Twin series: DD-20 (Digital Delay), RE-20 (Analog Delay), RC-30 (Looper), RT-20 (Leslie), SL-20 (Slicer), under the Roland brand at Same construction: GR-D (Multi Distortion), V-Gutar Space (guitar synthesizer).
Effects for acoustic guitars
Boss also uses the modeling technology for effects for acoustic guitars. So you have two multi-effects for acoustic guitars in the program, with which sounds otherwise unusual for acoustic guitars can be achieved. The simple device AD-3, for example, provides an equalizer, chorus and reverb, while the higher-quality AD-8 also models different guitar types, strings and sizes.
Accessories for guitars
Boss offers a whole range of different tuners for many different uses. The range extends from simple tuners for guitar to complex devices for all applications. There are also pedal cases for stompboxes and metronomes. There is also a whole range of loops available, from very simple looper to fully programmable multiple loopers. You can also use a whole range of foot switches and buttons as well as foot pedal pedals that can be connected to the effect devices.
Effects for singing
Multi-effects for singers are also represented on the market under the name BOSS. This so-called vocalist comes in different forms. The most popular form here is also a floor effect, which can be operated using two foot switches and is designed in the same shape as the twin pedals for guitar effects.
Drum machine
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If Roland sold its famous analog drum computers under its own name, the cheaper Boss DR-55 Dr. Rhythm, which became very popular. For a while, all Roland drum computers were sold under the Boss brand. Usually several types are available at the same time: A simpler device such as the DR-3, which is more intended for practice and has many different rhythms ready for it; and one for the professional sector, for example the DR-880, which can also be used to create more sophisticated drum and percussion tracks.
Multitracker
If you want to create demos of your songs yourself, BOSS offers various multi-track recorders with which you can create your music production. The two very simple devices Micro BR and BR-80 offer four or eight tracks and some post-processing options. They are more suitable for holding onto ideas. The devices BR-800, BR-1200CD and BR-1600CD with 8, 12 and 16 tracks are suitable for more demanding demos.
Individual evidence
- ↑ BossArea: The Boss B-100 Preamplifier ( Memento from January 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ BOSS GT-1000 GUITAR EFFECTS PROCESSOR NOW AVAILABLE press release of April 24, 2018
- ↑ BOSS INTRODUCES WAZA CRAFT COMPACT PEDALS. Press release from July 15, 2014
Web links
- German website
- International website
- Hansi Tietgen: Boss - Effects for guitars and basses, manufacturer profile. In: Bonedo. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .