Boss VB-2

The Boss VB-2 is an analog vibrato pedal made by Boss between 1982 and 1986¹. It is built around a 1024-stage BBD (bucket brigade device), the analog delay-line chip family that also powered the chorus and delay pedals of the era, and it uses that chip to bend pitch rather than mix a delayed copy against the dry signal². Boss describes the result as an underground classic that produces "warm, characterful tones with mild pitch fluctuations"³.

Though it was quietly discontinued after just four years, the VB-2 has since become one of the most collectible Boss pedals, and it inspired a modern Waza Craft equivalent, the VB-2W Vibrato¹.

What it does: BBD pitch vibrato

A chorus pedal mixes a short, modulated delay with the dry signal. A vibrato like the VB-2 modulates the pitch of the whole signal instead, with no dry blend, so the note itself wobbles. The VB-2 gets this from a 1024-stage BBD, a chip that passes the signal along a line of capacitors one step at a time; varying the clock rate that moves the signal through those steps varies the pitch².

Writing on Boss's own article pages, Rod Brakes says the pedal "presented gorgeous pitch modulation" from that circuit². Premier Guitar's reviewer called the VB-2 "a striking and original sounding pitch wobbler that may not have successfully emulated a Leslie or unseated the ubiquitous" chorus, but one revered for deep, thick, and idiosyncratic pitch modulation⁶. In a shorter Premier Guitar piece on the TC Electronic Tailspin, the reviewer pointed to "the quivering undersea tones favored by Boss VB-2 fans" as the sound players chase in modern vibrato pedals⁷.

The controls: Rate, Depth, Rise Time and Mode

The VB-2's control set is what sets it apart from most vibrato pedals. Rate and Depth do the usual work, but Rise Time and the Mode switch give the pedal a dynamic, almost footswitch-as-expression character²⁸⁹.

Boss highlights the Rise Time function as "dynamic control of the modulation onset"⁸. As Rod Brakes explains on the Boss article page, "The Rise Time control allows players to adjust how quickly the effect reaches full depth, lending the sound a natural, expressive" swell rather than an instant on/off jump². Set fast, the vibrato snaps in; set slow, it fades up as if a hand were turning the Depth knob.

Guitarcloud lists a suggested starting point for the four controls: Rate at 1:00, Depth at 11:00, and Mode set to Latch¹⁰.

What is Unlatch mode

Beyond standard toggle operation for the pedal switch, the VB-2 has a special Unlatch mode that "adds the effect only when holding the switch"⁸. In Unlatch, the vibrato is off until you press and hold the footswitch, then stops when you lift your foot. Combined with Rise Time, this lets a player swell the vibrato in for a phrase or a single note and have it recede on release, which is a large part of why the pedal is described as expressive and ahead of its time²⁸.

Who uses it: Prince's vibrato

The VB-2's best-known user is Prince. According to Guitarcloud, it replaced the Boss CE-2 Chorus on Prince's pedalboard in the Purple Rain era, and one of Prince's VB-2s is currently on display at Paisley Park¹⁰. Guitarcloud also notes the VB-2 can be heard on the Linn LM-1 drum machine parts of "Forever In My Live", an unusual use of a guitar pedal on a keyboard, and lists the pedal as associated with nearly every Prince era from Purple Rain through Welcome 2 America and Art Official Age & Plectrumelectrum¹⁰.

Why the VB-2 is so expensive

The price of an original VB-2 comes down to supply. Boss made it for only about four years, 1982 to 1986, before quietly discontinuing it¹. As JHS Pedals puts it, "The original units are very expensive because they didn't make them for long"¹¹.

• Coda Effects calls the VB-2 one of the rarest Boss pedals, alongside the Boss Slow Gear SG-1, and put its worth at around 500 dollars in 2018⁴.
• On the JHS Pedals blind test video in 2022, Josh Scott said a VB-2 "lands around 600ish dollars if you have the box"¹².
• Delicious Audio calls it one of the most valuable Boss effects in the vintage market⁵.

The VB-2 today: Waza Craft and alternatives

The VB-2 inspired a Waza Craft equivalent, the VB-2W Vibrato³¹. JHS Pedals notes the Waza Craft version "is fantastic and actually has an extra mode" beyond the original's¹¹. The VB-2W is covered by the BOSS five-year warranty⁵¹³.

On an episode of Can You Hear It?, Lee Kiernan correctly identified the Boss VB-2 as the more expensive pedal in a blind listening test¹².

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