The JHS Blu Drive mod is a modded overdrive pedal: JHS Pedals' modified version of the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver. JHS fits the stock circuit with what the company calls "high quality component changes for smooth highs, solid bass response and the lowest noise possible", and adds a Fuzztain switch on top of the BD-2's usual controls. JHS describes the result as "very transparent and extremely amp-like in its response and character", and says it offers "the fullest range of tones out of any modded overdrive pedal we offer"1. It sits among JHS's other modified-pedal projects, such as the JHS DigiTech Bad Monkey Mod, and belongs to the wider family covered on Overdrive Pedals.
What it does
The Blu Drive keeps the BD-2's basic job, an overdrive that runs from light grit well into heavier territory, and reshapes it. JHS's component changes target three things a player hears directly: smoother top end, firmer low end, and less hiss and noise floor. The added Fuzztain switch is the mod's most visible change: JHS says "Our 'Fuzztain' switch gives you a compressed fuzz tone that is as unique as it is useful", effectively adding a second, fuzzier voice to the pedal alongside the standard overdrive1.
JHS is explicit about where the circuit does and does not come from. The Blu Drive is not a Tubescreamer-type pedal: "Unlike the Tubescreamer type pedals out there, the Blu Drive is very transparent and extremely amp-like in its response and character"1. For players weighing a mid-humped circuit against something flatter, that difference in voicing is the main fork in the road, and it is the same distinction covered in Boss SD-1 vs Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer.
JHS describes a wide working range for the modded pedal: "You will notice a huge range of gain that reaches from clean boost to all out fuzz with the headroom that you need."2 That spread, from near-clean boost through to full fuzz, is what the Fuzztain switch and the revoiced gain control are there to serve.
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Questions
What is the JHS Blu Drive mod?
It is JHS Pedals' modified take on the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver. JHS fits high quality component changes aimed at smooth highs, solid bass response and the lowest noise possible, and adds a Fuzztain switch that delivers a compressed fuzz tone. JHS describes the result as very transparent and extremely amp-like in its response and character, and says it has the fullest range of tones of any modded overdrive pedal the company offers.
How does the Blu Drive differ from a Tubescreamer-style overdrive?
JHS draws the distinction itself: unlike Tubescreamer-type pedals, the Blu Drive is described as very transparent and extremely amp-like in its response and character. Where Tubescreamer-style circuits are known for a mid-focused voice, the Blu Drive aims to keep the guitar's own character intact while covering a wide gain range.
Sources (2)
- BOSS BD-2 BLU DRIVE MOD, JHS Pedals
- Boss BD-2 Blues Driver (JHS Pedals Blu-Drive mod), Pedal of the Day (www.pedal-of-the-day.com), 2014-03-02
