Half a century is a long time in rock ’n’ roll. Just as we’ve witnessed a thousand bands and genres blow up then burn out since 1973, scanning the archives reveals a long line of gear that launched to fanfare but left the faintest of thumbprints.
With no shortage of game-changing releases to its name –from the world’s first digital delay in the form of the DD-2 to the OD-1 pedal that single-handedly invented the overdrive concept –BOSS could have rested on past glories. But in 2023, as we find the Japanese company at the heart of the modern music scene, a position it has held for 50 years, it’s a glowing testament to a lifelong ethos of letting the players of each era become the musicians they want to be.
So, what is the secret to BOSS’s enduring status as the brand that built the world’s pedalboard? Perhaps it’s partly down to practical benefits. After all, one of the seismic shifts sparked by BOSS is that effects pedals no longer have the whiff of elitism, but are viewed as everyday tools for working musicians. BOSS pedals have become abyword for affordability, availability and unbeatable toughness: whoever you are, wherever you’re based, whatever your budget, you can pick one up from your local music shop and trust it to survive on the toughest gig circuit.