I have a 2009 MIM Standard Strat and a Frontman 25R amp. With them I have a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver pedal and a Boss TU-3 tuner. Both are mounted in the Boss 3-slot pedal board/box. I am looking for a third pedal to fill in the empty slot. I want something that will sound different from, but complement the BD-2. I am not interested in chorus boxes, phasers, flangers, delay boxes, or other exotic pedals as I play mostly straight up blues and classic rock.

I have my choices narrowed down to the Boss FBM-1 Bassman pedal or the AC-3 Acoustic Simulator pedal. Which of the two would make the best mate with my current Blues driver, and why? Thanks.

Note: I tried to make this a poll but it would not work.

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Bill

Well, it's not on your list but given the players in your sig and the type of music you play, I'd suggest you'd find a use for a good ol' Wah, ....although it won't fit in the slot.


Cheers,

Snowy

G'day Bluesky636,

Mate I would recommend a Boss CS-3.

I think it would really compliment your BD2 by firstly bringing out the single coil spank from your pickups and further help with the voicing of clear notes from your Strats fretboard.

It also helps the BD-2 to give that clear crisp tone in your distortion/overdrive.

I would suggest you set up as follows from left to right looking at the pedal case,

BD2 / CS-3 / TU-3....

Try to borrow a CS-3 and try it out before you spend any cash.

Try that and let me know what you think...

Cheers

I wouldn't spend money on the CS-3. Better compressors can be had for less money. If you're bent on Boss pedals, I'd suggest a SD-1, the SuperOverdrive. It's gain structure is somewhat different from that of the Blues Driver, and I think it actually sounds better. Having an extra dirt box allows you more flexibility in tones: you can layer gain stages to create potent solo boosts and a "big" chorus sound.

If you play all blues,rather than spend more money on more pedals, I would save up for a better amp.A good tube amp with nothing more than your Blues Driver would give you some great sounds.Thing is,you want the guitar and amp to be the foundation of your sound,then build from there.Not the other way around.I would hate to see you buy a bunch of pedals and then later buy an amp,only to find the pedals dont really give you the sound you want.Get a descent tube amp and go from there.You cant really gig with the FM25 anyways.JMHO.

The SD-2 is a goody as well...it sits in my stomp box collection...

+1 on that Bud...that would be a better option to begin with really...

That's a good suggestion. Or, for the same reasons, I'd suggest the OD-2 overdrive pedal. To my ears that's the richest sounding one and gives a nice spread of options for straight ahead classic rock. A tidy compliment to a Blues Driver. Bigger sounds, without going as far as over the top scooped metal.

Also, I wouldn't be so set against a delay pedal. Partly it is handy for everything from Rockabilly slapback to Gilmourish Run Like Hell moments. But also, on around 300 ms and set to that "is it there or isn't it?" low level it just kinda adds a bit of space and shimmer to your sound without you're ears quite realising how.

All of that said, it would be a compressor for me, for those early Dire Straits clean bridge+middle sounds...

And just a thought: there are some other makers out there as well as Boss...

Cheers - C

+1 On the delay pedal.Its a must in my pedal board.Most of the time I use it to enhance my solos ,but it is a versatile pedal for sure.

Have you had a chance, Ceri, to muck about with any of the new Danelectro Cool Cats? They seem to be supplanting Boss as the principal manufacturer of quality stomboxes for reasonable prices. I wound up selling my OCD for four times what I paid for a Danelectro Cool Cat Drive: they sound almost identical; through a PA, they're all but indistinguishable. Boss seems to have become far more expensive over the past couple years, while these new Dano boxes have improved in quality while staying firmly planted at the most reasonable of price points.

Here is my board...still work in progress..

You want something to ring the tonal changes, although I sympathise with the Fender/Boss Bassman Pedal idea.

But actually I'd go for the other one in that range - the Boss FDR. It gives a more polished/prcoessed overdrive sound with the vibrato option as well (forget the reverb bit - it's not good). I see the pedal board posted above has one onboard too..

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

That doesnt look anything like my Deluxe reverb pedal.Mine is silver with 2 buttons attached to....um, never mind.

Hi Vulkan: I don't own any, but I have a friend who has no interest in worrying about brand names and has about three Dano pedals and to my ears they sound good. For the money, they sound amazingly good!

We should always approach this stuff with our ears, not our eyes (i.e. not looking at the name on the box).

After all, a drive pedal is not exactly super advanced technology - no reason it has to cost hundreds. Good grief, I think even I could manage this (click on the PDF instructions to see how simple it is):

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/250.html

Cheers - C

Thats a nice selection what do you use to power that thing?

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My Rig: Guitar into Pedals then into Amps and out into Speakers.