Japanese pedal manufacturer Boss is and has been one of the biggest names in effects pedal history. The stalwart brand first started releasing compact guitar effects pedals in 1977, with the unveiling of six brand-new pedals across a variety of effect types—an overdrive, phaser, 6-band graphic EQ, parametric EQ, compressor, and automatic wah.
Over the next few years, Boss would release a compact chorus pedal, the first mass-produced compact digital delay pedal, and a variety of flavorful distortions including the Heavy Metal HM-2, which helped and continues to help define and shape the sound of a lot of heavier rock and metal music.
Though most of these pedals are now discontinued, they represent the true first-wave of what is today an immensely rich and diverse effects pedal market. Players still covet them, and luckily, many vintage specimens can still be found right here on Reverb. Below, we've laid out some of he brightest highlights from Boss's vintage effect catalogue.
Back in 2014, Boss introduced a new line of pedals called the Waza Craft series with the release of the Blues Driver BD-2w, Super Overdrive SD-1w, and Delay DM-2w—all expertly engineered reincarnations of the beloved vintage originals.
In the years since, Boss has significantly grown the Waza Craft series to include a wider variety of effects types. Players can now pick up a reimagined version of the DC-2w Dimension C, as well as new additions like the MT-2w Metal Zone, VB-2w Vibrato, and even the TU-2w tuning pedal.
Boss in the 1980s wasn't only designing effects in the compact stompbox format, however. Though perhaps a case of the right idea at the wrong time, Boss introduced the Micro Rack Series—what would ultimately be 12 total effects boxes in the rack format.
Made in Japan, these 12-bit effects units were still compact enough to make up a convenient live setup or for rounding out a desktop recording rig, while offering a few more features and capabilities than their more compact counterparts. In addition to others, the series featured the RCE-10 Chorus, RRV-10 Reverb, and RPS-10 pitch-shifter.