In more recent times, Boss expanded their product range by including digital studios, rhythm machines,[2] samplers[3] and other electronic music equipment.
The first proper Boss foot pedal effect, the CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, was released June 1976, which was a stand-alone unit of the chorus/vibrato circuit found in the Roland JC-120 amplifier.
All Boss compact pedals use a "buffered bypass" type of silent foot switching utilizing Field Effect Transistors (FETs) to avoid clicks and pops.
The DS-1 Distortion circuit design has changed significantly twice throughout its lifetime; the first time was around 1994 when the Toshiba TA7136AP op-amp was replaced with a Rohm BA728N.
In 2014, Boss released the Japanese-made "Waza-Craft" line of premium pedals, built with higher-end components featuring reissues of highly sought after vintage Boss effects such as the DM-2W Analog Delay, CE-2W Analog Chorus and DC-2W Dimension C. "Waza" means "art" and "technique" in Japanese.
In 1995, Boss released the BD-2, an overdrive pedal aimed at blues players who sought to add distortion while maintaining their amp's signal clarity and dynamics.
[11] Notable players who use the BD-2 include Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day.
[12] Andy Summers of The Police was a notable fan, using the pedal on songs like "Message in a Bottle" and "Don't Stand So Close To Me.
A subsequent drop in component costs allowed the pedal to be sold for a lower price in 1986 as the rebranded DD-3, which has gone through three distinct versions, with latest still in production.
Music Radar dubbed the DD-3 the "gold standard" in compact digital delays and fans include Radiohead, Blur, and The Cult.
[16] The MT-2 sported a complex design for a distortion pedal, with a dual-stage gain circuit, seven filters for both pre- and post-distortion, and a semi-parametric three-band EQ section.
The OD-1 was an immediate success, as the pedal afforded players more amp-like distortion at lower volume levels no matter what amp was being used.
Within a few years, however, the pedal's voicing was considered overly "sweet" as rock music became more aggressive and the fixed frequency limited its versatility.
[10] The asymmetrical clipping lent the pedal a more aggressive character compared to the rival Tube Screamer, and it became popular in the growing hard rock and heavy metal subgenres with guitarists frequently using it to boost already-overdriven amplifiers like the Marshall JCM800 into higher-gain sounds.
Notable fans include Jimmy Page, John Frusciante, Josh Homme, Jonny Greenwood, David Gilmour, Joe Satriani, Zakk Wylde, The Edge, and Prince.