Hey Everyone! I am FINALLY back to a regular video shoot schedule, and this video was one that I have wanted to do for a while. I have had a number of folks request that I make a 3 minute country guitar picking demo with a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver – presumably because of the popularity of the pedal. Growing up in the early 00’s, this pedal was always a popular choice for folks as an all-around overdrive. Along with the TS-9, this pedal might have been the most popular that I can recall.

That said, it is worth pointing out that almost any overdrive can work for country picking if you keep in mind that (typically) less is more. I like using overdrive as a way to quickly modify my signal’s EQ and to add just a bit of hair. This is exactly my approach when it comes to the BD-2. You will notice that the first example on the low gain setting is teetering on the edge of breakup, and when I get my aggressive with the picking, you hear the pedal’s gain a bit more. That is how I would suggest using the BD-2 for country picking, but I have to admit… I had fun doing the moderate gain clip too! Haha.

For those who are questioning why the high gain setting might have been more difficult to hear, I wanted to try and demonstrate the use case for high gain in a “country” mix. Alt country musicians often add a layer of dirty guitars underneath or as a compliment to an acoustic guitar track. The acoustic track tends to be the focus and the gainy guitar just adds a bit of texture to the track.

This video was not sponsored by any company or individual. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

For anyone interested, you can reach me via my contact page on my website: https://www.codyjungmusic.com/