Boss Power Stack demo, by Pete Thorn

[petethorn]

Holy Crap!!! that was awesome all around. No doubt Pete, all of your demos are spot on and informative..

I have to admit to being a bit confused as to what this edal actually is though. At first, I was thinking OD, maybe distortion or even modelling but then I read the Boss overview and Im still confused..

From their site;

Authentic Amp Stack Sounds from a Stompbox
Features
From fat crunch to ultra high-gain distortion, the ST-2 Power Stack delivers famous BOSS distortion with a stunning amount of power that’s akin to coveted tube amps and professional amp stacks. The SOUND knob simultaneously blends gain amount and sound character, so you can quickly dial up anything from vintage crunch and punchy drive to full-assault distortion. To add further detail to your tone, simply tweak the onboard two-band EQ to taste. The ST-2 is one very unique distortion pedal, calling on BOSS’ years of amp modeling research to bring you real stack sounds in a compact stompbox.

Distortion Pedal? Modelling Pedal? Both? Analog? Digital? In the end, Im not sure if any of that matters but it would be nice to know..

I think it's sort of all that- a modeling OD/distortion pedal would be probably an accurate description. The Sound control is interesting- it adds gain- but the tone changes from vintage plexi-ish (warmer?) to more like an aggressive metal sort of gain as you increase it.

My favorite sound it does is the sound with the Les Paul (and the EVH) on the video- that's like, llevel on 6, bass on 5.5, treble on 6 and the sound knob on like, 3 ( 10 o'clock)... it is like nice warm fat tight aggressive plexi.

 

[petethorn]

Cool vid man, really nice job with the way you set it up, like how you broke it out into just the guitar and then guitar in a mix.

Gotta say as far as the pedal is concerned, lower gain settings were pretty impressive, I didn't think it kept its integrity during the really high gain stuff with the Modern and the Aldrich, all though in the mix the clip you did with the Wolfgang sounded solid.

For $99 what do you want right?

Cool stuff!

Dallas

Dallas, I would agree with this. Where I had the gain with the EVH was about the limit of where I'd personally want to push it. But it's a great sound set right there! With the Suhr Modern, I had it higher. If you watch the Marty Friedman power stack vid he is also using the gain set higher than everything I did in my vid, except for the Suhr Modern segment.

I think it'd be cool to use it like a "crunch" channel, in front of a clean amp then boost it with something middy for solos like a Koko boost (or maybe a TS-type pedal with level way up and gain almost off).

 

[RockStarNick]

Pete, with your crazy schedule, and varied gigs, are you always in search of the ultimate "stack in a box" for fly-gigs?

Would this pedal make it into the Pete Thorn "Oh Sh*t Kit - Emergency Gig Bag" for when the rented backline is a piece of poo?

 

[petethorn]

Pete, with your crazy schedule, and varied gigs, are you always in search of the ultimate "stack in a box" for fly-gigs?

Would this pedal make it into the Pete Thorn "Oh Sh*t Kit - Emergency Gig Bag" for when the rented backline is a piece of poo?

Yes! and Yes!

 

[redrol]

That pedal sounds freakin rightous. As far as what it is doing.. my guess is similar to my TC Electronic Booster/Line Driver. It sounds very very similar. Sounds like a treble boost with a small bass reduction and enhancement of even harmonics. I want one.. it sounds fantastic for the price.

 

[SFW]

Very cool video Pete!

 

[thiswaythatway]

Wow that sounds really amplike.

didn't you have the Suhr Riot before? I wonder how they would compare in front of clean set amplifier, either EL84 or 6L6 based.

Yes and i didn't like it. I used it on a Lonestar on the clean channel with not so great results. But i want to try one again on my stuff now.

 

[petethorn]

I love the Riot, great pedal too.

 

[EWSEthan]

Wow that sounds really amplike.

didn't you have the Suhr Riot before? I wonder how they would compare in front of clean set amplifier, either EL84 or 6L6 based.

Yes and i didn't like it. I used it on a Lonestar on the clean channel with not so great results. But i want to try one again on my stuff now.

I didnt like it either. I much prefer the Barber Dirty Bomb. I tried it in front of both my PT100 and Badger 18 and I thought it sounded thin and harsh compared to both the Digitech Hardwire and the Dirty Bomb.

 

[Buckeyedog]

Man, excellent demo for sure!!

 

[thiswaythatway]

Wow that sounds really amplike.

didn't you have the Suhr Riot before? I wonder how they would compare in front of clean set amplifier, either EL84 or 6L6 based.

Yes and i didn't like it. I used it on a Lonestar on the clean channel with not so great results. But i want to try one again on my stuff now.

I didnt like it either. I much prefer the Barber Dirty Bomb. I tried it in front of both my PT100 and Badger 18 and I thought it sounded thin and harsh compared to both the Digitech Hardwire and the Dirty Bomb.

I'm going to try one of those Dirty Bombs. Although have you guys seen that Emma pedal. So far that thing sounds like THE pedal for metal.

Sorry for the hijack.

 

[Dallas Marlow]

Cool vid man, really nice job with the way you set it up, like how you broke it out into just the guitar and then guitar in a mix.

Gotta say as far as the pedal is concerned, lower gain settings were pretty impressive, I didn't think it kept its integrity during the really high gain stuff with the Modern and the Aldrich, all though in the mix the clip you did with the Wolfgang sounded solid.

For $99 what do you want right?

Cool stuff!

Dallas

Dallas, I would agree with this. Where I had the gain with the EVH was about the limit of where I'd personally want to push it. But it's a great sound set right there! With the Suhr Modern, I had it higher. If you watch the Marty Friedman power stack vid he is also using the gain set higher than everything I did in my vid, except for the Suhr Modern segment.

I think it'd be cool to use it like a "crunch" channel, in front of a clean amp then boost it with something middy for solos like a Koko boost (or maybe a TS-type pedal with level way up and gain almost off).

It does have a great out of the box sound for that kind of stuff, the thing that impressed me is that it created that layered tone. I imagine the more harmonically rich the clean channel of the amp is the better this thing is going to sound too.

Rigs and tones are getting smaller and smaller man!

 

[gibson08]

Another great video Pete!! Pedal sounded great, did sound very amplike bet that sounds pretty good with a boost in front, I will have to look into that one. thanks for posting that.

 

[just42dave]

good job pete..

 

[tonmazz]

Great review, thanks. Been looking for something more than just an OD to put in front of a stock 2204..

 

[yngzaklynch]

Pete that sounded really good! I liked the first tune and would love to see more vids of your EVH Wolfgang. I gotta try this pedal infront of my Marshall Vintage Modern.

 

[droptrd]

Wow that sounds really amplike.

didn't you have the Suhr Riot before? I wonder how they would compare in front of clean set amplifier, either EL84 or 6L6 based.

Yes and i didn't like it. I used it on a Lonestar on the clean channel with not so great results. But i want to try one again on my stuff now.

I didnt like it either. I much prefer the Barber Dirty Bomb. I tried it in front of both my PT100 and Badger 18 and I thought it sounded thin and harsh compared to both the Digitech Hardwire and the Dirty Bomb.

I'm going to try one of those Dirty Bombs. Although have you guys seen that Emma pedal. So far that thing sounds like THE pedal for metal.

Sorry for the hijack.

Saw that clip too. The emma stuff has always been apealing to me.

CHeck out this Dirty Bomb. CHeap.
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT

Also sorry for the hijack

 

[petethorn]

Pete that sounded really good! I liked the first tune and would love to see more vids of your EVH Wolfgang. I gotta try this pedal infront of my Marshall Vintage Modern.

Hiya, here's a link to a demo vid I did for Strymon's El Capistan, I play the EVH through the Marsha in the middle segment. Love that guitar:

 

[Gainzilla]

Holy Crap!!! that was awesome all around. No doubt Pete, all of your demos are spot on and informative..

I have to admit to being a bit confused as to what this edal actually is though. At first, I was thinking OD, maybe distortion or even modelling but then I read the Boss overview and Im still confused..

From their site;

Authentic Amp Stack Sounds from a Stompbox
Features
From fat crunch to ultra high-gain distortion, the ST-2 Power Stack delivers famous BOSS distortion with a stunning amount of power that’s akin to coveted tube amps and professional amp stacks. The SOUND knob simultaneously blends gain amount and sound character, so you can quickly dial up anything from vintage crunch and punchy drive to full-assault distortion. To add further detail to your tone, simply tweak the onboard two-band EQ to taste. The ST-2 is one very unique distortion pedal, calling on BOSS’ years of amp modeling research to bring you real stack sounds in a compact stompbox.

Distortion Pedal? Modelling Pedal? Both? Analog? Digital? In the end, Im not sure if any of that matters but it would be nice to know..

I think it's sort of all that- a modeling OD/distortion pedal would be probably an accurate description. The Sound control is interesting- it adds gain- but the tone changes from vintage plexi-ish (warmer?) to more like an aggressive metal sort of gain as you increase it.

My favorite sound it does is the sound with the Les Paul (and the EVH) on the video- that's like, llevel on 6, bass on 5.5, treble on 6 and the sound knob on like, 3 ( 10 o'clock)... it is like nice warm fat tight aggressive plexi.

Cool Pete, Thanks for that. So lets say that you dig the lower gain plexi settings and you wanted to add a bit more edge/gain for solos etc. would you be out of line hitting it with an OD?

Kage

 

[petethorn]

that's a great way to use it, I'd suggest a Suhr Koko Boost for solos, that pedal is addictive