Boss JB-2 Angry Driver

The Boss JB-2 Angry Driver is a dual-circuit drive pedal that puts the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver and the JHS Angry Charlie in one Boss compact enclosure, with both circuits working at full functionality as if they were two separate pedals¹²³. It came out of a collaboration between Boss and JHS Pedals, and it was the first collaborative pedal Boss had ever released². A six-position mode switch lets you run either circuit on its own, stack them in series in either order, or blend them in parallel⁴.

The two sides cover different ground. Delicious Audio describes the Blues Driver as the lower-gain side, carrying everything from boost to overdrive, with the Angry Charlie carrying the medium-high overdrive to distortion². Guitar World's reviewer Paul Riario heard the low-to-mid grind, full bass response and top-end sheen of the Blues Driver on one side, and a huge midrange bump with tube-like touch sensitivity in the Angry Charlie's medium-gain drive on the other⁵.

A Blues Driver and an Angry Charlie in one pedal

The JB-2 pairs the tones of the BD-2 Blues Driver, a pedal MusicRadar calls world-renowned for recreating warm valve amp tones, with JHS Pedals' Angry Charlie distortion⁶². Rather than simply dropping two boards in one box, the two companies developed what Delicious Audio describes as an all-new combined circuit with refined sound and performance, tuned for dual-mode drive operation².

The pedal is housed in the classic Boss compact design², but Guitar World's review notes one immediately striking difference: red control knobs not found on any other Boss pedal⁵. Premier Guitar's review adds that it is manufactured in Japan by Boss, but also stamped with the JHS Pedals logo⁴.

The controls: stacked knobs and a six-position mode selector

Four stacked controls do the work of six. Three dual-concentric knobs give independent drive, tone and level settings for each circuit: the tops of the knobs govern the JHS Angry Charlie, while the bottom halves control the Boss Blues Driver section⁵. Gearnews described the design as letting you access either circuit from only four control knobs, labeled Level, Tone, Drive and Mode⁹.

The mode selector is where the JB-2 earns its keep. Premier Guitar describes it as activating the JHS Angry Charlie, the Boss Blues Driver, a toggle mode, two series modes (JHS into Boss or Boss into JHS), and a parallel mode⁴. In the series modes, Guitar World's reviewer found molten distortion and fully cranked lead tones⁵. On That Pedal Show, Mick and Daniel described the JHS-into-Boss option as being, in a sense, like a two-sided overdrive¹⁰.

In parallel mode, the six controls form one new pedal. Josh Scott of JHS told Guitar World at launch: "In parallel, the six controls form one new pedal, and that is very, very cool... When you put them together, they all interact"³. That Pedal Show explains how it works: the signal goes in, gets split, gets processed by each side individually, then is joined again at the end¹⁰. MusicRadar likens the result to running two amps simultaneously⁶. Josh Scott also notes a practical trick: the treble tone control can brighten the whole pedal in parallel mode⁷.

Power and connections

The JB-2 powers from a 9-volt battery or a 9V adapter⁵. The battery sits inside the pedal, accessed by a thumb wheel that opens the large stompswitch, and the external power connects through a standard center-negative jack at the front of the unit⁴.

Alongside the 1/4-inch input and output jacks there is a remote 1/4-inch input jack for an optional footswitch, which Guitar World describes as letting you select between the two overdrives or turn them on and off individually⁵. That Pedal Show identifies it as accepting a latching on/off switch for mode control¹⁰. In JHS's demo, Josh Scott shows the red remote footswitch engaging the Blues Driver circuit while the distortion stays on⁷. Delicious Audio also notes the remote jack works with a pedal switcher, and that the pedal's switching system was developed using the Boss ES-8²¹¹.

History: the first Boss collaboration

The JB-2 was born of the friendship between Boss President Yoshihiro Ikegami and JHS Pedals founder Josh Scott³. Announced in September 2017, it was presented as part of the celebrations tied to Boss's Compact Series 40th anniversary²⁹. At the time of the announcement, Gearnews reported there was no official release date or price yet⁹; the pedal shipped in the fall of 2017².

It was a first for Boss. Delicious Audio called it somewhat historic, noting Boss had never before released a collaborative pedal². JHS's own history article says it did extremely well when released in 2017 and still sells today¹¹, and Josh Scott confirmed in a 2022 demo that it was still selling about five years on⁷. The second production unit ever was released at a House of Vans 40-year celebration in London, signed by Yoshi and Josh Scott, and Josh also owns prototype TP012, the 12th prototype and the only Boss prototype he has⁷.

What reviewers said

Reviews were positive. MusicRadar's Phil Barker found impressive touch sensitivity and low noise levels, and called the retro-silver-finished pedal "a great all-rounder for just about any kind of gain seeker"¹. Premier Guitar's review listed no cons at all⁴. Josh Scott told Guitar World at launch: "I am 150-percent satisfied. I love it."³

Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson counts the JB-2 among the versions of the BD-2 circuit, alongside the standard BD-2 and the BD-2W Waza Craft edition¹²¹³, and in a later piece named it, with those two, as very close to his still favorite overdrive overall¹³. He has also written that parallel mode is how he most enjoys using his own JB-2¹⁴.

In JHS's 2022 demo video, Josh Scott walks through the modes, including the Angry Charlie into Blues Driver series sound, which he finds spongy, like a cranked burning 80s or early 90s tube head such as a Soldano or a Marshall, and the parallel setting he calls his favorite tone from the JB-2⁷.

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That Pedal Show's 2017 video review covers the same ground from a player's angle, with Mick and Daniel running through the six modes, the remote switch input and the parallel signal path¹⁰.

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Videos

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Questions