Monte Allums H20 Boss Blues Drive BD-2 mod

[traynor_garnet]

Wow! I just recieved a Monte Allums modded Boss Blues Driver. I always liked the BD-2 but found it a bit "splatty" for lack of a better word.

The H20 mod is pretty amazing. The pedal REALLY responds to your picking dynamics, that splatty sound of the stock pedal is gone, and the tone knob is much more useful. I am running this off the insert jack on my Barber Barb EQ pedal and when playing softly on the strings I cannot tell when the pedal is on or off!

If you like the BD-2 but want something a bit better, seriously check this thing out. For low volume , light to medium dirt, it's so far the best thing I have tried.

TG

[allthumbs56]

I was never a big fan of the BD-2 but I went through a "modding phase" where I did the Allums mods on the BD-2, SD-1, OD-3, and a TS-9.

In all cases, except the OD-3, I really liked the mods.

[iaresee]

Had a H20 modded BD-2 last year. I regret selling it (and a Catalinbread SCOD). Stacked BD-2 -> SCOD was a great combination. And the BD-2 alone did a nice glassy, low gain overdrive. Voxish.

[erikm5150]

i've been using the H20 BD-2 for over a year now.
really great for that semi-clean Hendrix type sound.
it really is an amazing mod!

did you get the "plus" mod where the op amp is changed to an OPA2134?

[traynor_garnet]

i've been using the H20 BD-2 for over a year now.
really great for that semi-clean Hendrix type sound.
it really is an amazing mod!

did you get the "plus" mod where the op amp is changed to an OPA2134?

I'm not sure if it is the "plus" mod or not. I bought the pedal used and premodded. It has amazing clarity and touch response. Light strumming sounds exactly like my amp (but as mentioned, I am running it from the insert of my BarbEQ so I can restore the low end and dial it in to be very neutral).

The pedal sounds freakin amazing through my 6V6 Traynor Bassmate. I find it odd that I haven't read "that much" about this pedal/mod, although I see I am obviously not alone in singing its praises.

TG

[Teleplucker]

I was never a big fan of the BD-2 but I went through a "modding phase" where I did the Allums mods on the BD-2, SD-1, OD-3, and a TS-9.

In all cases, except the OD-3, I really liked the mods.

I did the same on all, but the TS (but, didn't buy the kits). Well worth the effort.

And, I agree on the OD-3, stock is actually better. I put a friend's Allums modded one back to stock after a/b'ing them.

[Kapo_Polenton]

So would it be worth modding my BD-2? As it is, i have the exact same complaints as the first poster. I'd love it to give a nice full clean boost as I find that my BB preamp compresses too much. I did like the semi clean samples from his site though.. clean boosting my plexi with a tad of grit would be nice now that i have a JB in the bridge for more power. Soo far nothing is beating my Bad Monkey clean boost but it does lose a tad of fatness.

[iaresee]

I think it's a worth while mod. I had a stock BD-2 and a H20 BD-2 last year. Stock was nice, H20 was superb.

[Kapo_Polenton]

looking at the catalinbread stuff, I like that silver kiss mark II. Sounds pretty good..but def looking forward to modding my blues driver when the parts get here.

[Stratin2traynor]

Just did my own homebrew mod of a ds-1 last night. There are a lot of resources out there with suggested mods, especially for a ds-1. I think one of the websites was erikscorner.com or something like that. Anyways, I did the basic Keeley mod with left over parts I had from another project. The pedal sounds great as it is. I haven't decided if I'm going to do the Ultra/SEM yet.

My point being, a person can go online and get directions for all types of mods and you don't even have to do the complete mod. Having said that, I've done the Monte Allums mods and they are a relatively cheap and easy way to mod your pedals.

[iaresee]

looking at the catalinbread stuff, I like that silver kiss mark II. Sounds pretty good..but def looking forward to modding my blues driver when the parts get here.

I got the MkI in December and it's a pretty sweet pedal. Very versatile. It's quite treble-heavy. I'm using it for a low gain, Stones type dirty sound and it's working great.