Boss arguably invented the guitar effects pedal, and still has a reputation for quality and incredible reliability.
The DS-1W, for example, comes with a five-year warranty, though itll likely last for decades.
But back when the original DS-1 launched in 1978, the world looked very different.
Boss
In the 70s and 80s, pedals came in all shapes and sizes.
Pedals came with faders instead of knobs, and even had permanently-attached power cables.
Today, the pedal world has more or less standardized on the Boss format.
Boss
Many pedals can still be run on a 9V battery.
Some pedals are bigger and smaller, of course, but the overall layout is surprisingly similar.
“Boss are the progenitors of modern guitar pedals.
They were still respected, and nobody would ever get teased for having a Boss pedal on their pedalboard.
It’s just that there was a lot more choice, and some pretty wild FX.
In short, the competition was a lot more exciting.
To fight back, Boss pulled a typical Boss move.
It launched a range of made-in-Japan pedals, named Waza Craft.
And that’s about it.
Quality, simplicity, and no messing with an already proven formula.
The downside of Boss' amazing build-quality is that you don’t ever need to buy new.
Used pedals might look beaten all to hell, but they will still work fine.
But in the end, it’s the sound that matters.
And youll almost certainly know it, even if you don’t play guitar.
