The Pick of The Pedals - Boss BD-2 Blues Driver

In this week's pick of the pedals I'm taking a look at the Boss BD-2! I do realise that the last three pick of the pedals pedals have been Boss pedals, however as I currently am living at university I do not have my normal pedalboard setup with me, I just have a slimmed down rig, which consists of a tuner, the Boss BD-2 and the Boss DD-20 Giga Delay (check out my review of it here).

The Boss Blues Driver is a very transparent, relatively low gain overdrive pedal. Finished in Boss' standard single pedal housing, the build quality is high and any amount of kicking and high milage don't damage this pedal but make it look nice and used. This pedal has three simple controls: level, tone and gain, and for as long as it's been on my pedalboard (which, by the way, is since I've had a pedalboard), it's been set and left in a position where it works great for me with all my guitars.

With all controls at 12 o'clock, this pedal gives you a slight volume boost along with a raw, crunchy rhythm tone, great for blues and rock. This pedal is great at pushing the preamp valves in your amplifier, and with the amp tone set to begin to break up when you dig in, this pedal can take your tone from clean to dirty whilst still retaining the character of your amp.

Pushing the pedal gain on a clean amp channel can give you searing blues/rock lead tones, and almost fuzz-like rhythm sounds. An area this pedal works really well in is pushing a driven sound, whether it is amp distortion or distortion from another pedal, you can dial in as much gain as you need to make it work for you.

With the gain just above zero, you can push the volume of the pedal and use it as a 'close-to-clean' boost - it still gives you the BD-2 flavour, which I really enjoy. With a clean channel, this will just give you a clean boost, maybe into slight crunch depending on the headroom of your amp and how harsh you're pushing the preamp valves, but over a crunch channel, this setting can push your amp into really nice overdrive, as you can hear in the video. This pedal also cleans up really nicely, with crystal clean guitar tones available by rolling off the guitar's volume.

The tone control on this pedal is very usable, with mellow, creamy tones available by rolling the tone off, and biting trebly tones for cutting through any kind of mix if you need to! In general, all the features of this pedal are very usable for any kind of guitarist. I use this pedal with a small amount of gain, set just before 9 o'clock, a volume boost at around 2 o'clock, and tone at 1 o'clock. These settings give me a slightly overdriven clean boost which stacks really well with my 2 other overdrive pedals for different lead tones, and pushes my amp crunch tone into amp lead tone.

I love this pedal, and this type of pedal in general, and much like most of the Boss single pedals, this is fairly cheap, coming in at just under £60 on Amazon. It is worth pointing out that Boss do now offer a 'boutique' version of this pedal called the Boss Wazacraft BD-2, which has got extra features as well as the original BD-2 circuitry, so anyone who has a bit more cash to splash might like that version, but for what I use it for, this pedal does the job! I would be very interested in doing a shoot out with other transparent overdrive pedals, perhaps like the EHX Soul Food and the J Rocket Archer.

Let me know what overdrive pedals you use in the comments below,  remember to follow me on social medias, and you can now subscribe to the blog to get notified when new posts come out!

Dragon's Heart Guitar Picks Spotlight!

Ever since I saw my first Dragon's Heart Pick I was intrigued by the original shape and the really nice, classy design, so when I received a package of them in the post I couldn't wait to try them out. I was given four different types of Dragon's Heart Pick to try, the original, Pure, Hardened and GT. All four of these picks are predominantly made of the same material, polyamide-imide, but with varying amounts of other materials in each of the picks, giving varied tone, feel and speed.

The first thing you'll notice about these picks is the shape. Each pick has three playing sides for different styles. In general, the pointed side is for lead playing, the rounded side for rhythm playing, and the in-between side for a bit of both. Starting with the in-between side, this part of the pick feels like the everyday tip - the tone isn't too bright or too dull, the pick skips quickly over the strings, and feels great. The pointed part has a more obvious attack to the sound and is generally louder, whilst the rounded side has a great natural compression, making strumming and rhythm work sound nice and even.

The Original Dragon's Heart pick is made of polyamide-imide like all of these picks, but with a 12% graphite content. This makes playing fast, alternate picking runs a dream - graphite has a very low coefficient of friction, reducing the amount of force required to play each string, which means as well as speedy licks being easy to play, strummed rhythm parts don't have any scratchy, annoying sounds, and this effect can be further enhanced by using the rounded tip. On their website, it states that this pick last for over 1000 hours of playing time before the edges become too worn to play with, and whilst I haven't tested each of these picks for 1000 hours each, I don't doubt it - this material is tough!

Next up is the Pure Dragon's Heart Pick. This pick doesn't have any added materials to the product, and exhibits the unaltered tonal qualities of the primary material in all these picks. The attack of this pick is notably softer, but other than that, it is tonally very similar to the original. These picks are very easy to hold, with a material which is naturally very grippy and engravings on both sides, and whilst they may be a bit thicker than some are used to (2.5mm), I've found that thicker picks are easier to hold onto. Because of this, I'd say this pick would be great for someone who doesn't know where to start in their search for their perfect plectrum, or a beginner - either way, this pick is tonally balanced and easy to hold.

The Hardened Dragon's Pick has a 30% glass fibre content along with the same polyamide-imide material in the others, which extends the life of this pick to 1500 hours of playing time. As well as increasing the durability, the addition of the glass fibre has increased the brightness of this pick, something I really enjoy as it gives me more tonal variation by playing dynamically. The attack of this pick is also a lot more audible, although not too much as to become an annoyance, but this works really well for lead parts, and paired with the increased brightness, this allows you to really push your guitar amp in the same way as an overdrive pedal might do, which is great, I think this pick might be my favourite of the lot!

Finally is the Dragon's Heart GT. This pick is 30% carbon fibre, which makes the product play very fast, but still maintains the same grippy surface. Compared to the Hardened pick, this has a warmer tone, and the attack is less obvious, but you can still really push the input of your amp with this pick.

Overall, these picks have a really cool, innovative design which isn't by any means gimmicky but work great to give a varied feel and sound. In general, I'd say these picks are for rock/metal guitarists, because of the pure unaltered speed you can play at with limited resistance, however the three tip choices make these picks great for varying dynamics, so I could see these working really well for the blues too. The quality of the build of these picks is great too, and coming in at just under $9, they're well worth checking out!

Do you use Dragon's Heart guitar picks? Which model do you prefer? Let me know in the comments. Remember to follow me on social medias to see when a new blog post is up, and share with all your guitarist friends - it's greatly appreciated!

My Signature V-Pick!

Exciting news! As some of you may have seen on social media, I recently received my custom V-Picks plectrums. After trying out a selection of V-Picks for the Spotlight Review a few weeks ago, I got in contact with Vinni to let him know which products I really liked. I decided to go for a pick which was a combination of the V-Pick 'Red Rocker' and 'Pachelli'. The face of the pick is the size of the Red Rocker, a more standard shape and size of plectrum. Like the Pachelli, my pick has a 4mm gauge, with really smooth bevels, meaning the point of the pick is really accurate and smooth.

As you can see from the picture, the pick is a really nice, deep red colour, which makes my signature really stand out well. Both the V-Picks logo and my signature are engraved into the pick, increasing the grip, and looking epic. As regular readers will know, I do favour a pick with a larger gauge, so I find this pick really comfortable to use, and it works well for all the types of music I regularly play.

The tone of this pick really reflects the dynamics in your playing. Playing lightly gives a really pleasant warm tone, but with enough brightness to cut through the mix really well. Playing rhythm parts with this pick has a great natural compression, not too overpowering but giving an even tone. Playing fast, articulated lead parts is a dream with this pick - the bevels are so smooth they greatly reduce the amount of friction between the pick and the string, meaning alternate picking is easy, without any scratchy sounds. When you really dig in and play hard, the tone responds very well, with more high frequencies on tap, plus pinch harmonics are really easy to play.

One thing I really had to consider when thinking about what I wanted my custom pick to be like was the type of music I'd use it for. I decided that, being the size and shape of a regular pick, but the thicker gauge and with those awesome, smooth bevels, it would work well for most of the parts I play. I love a bright tone, which paired with my number one electric guitar at the moment (Gretsch Pro Jet - check out what other guitars I use) sounds great. Actually, it sounds a lot better than I could have imagined, and looks really nice.

Designing your own custom gear, whatever it is, is always going to be a challenge (albeit a very fun one), as most of the time I think us guitarists don't know exactly what we want before we try it. I have greatly enjoyed the process of designing my own plectrum, and have found it rewarding both in receiving a product which I have designed and works great for what I do, but also I have become more aware about the types of products I like using, and the benefits of each one.

Obviously, being my own signature pick, I'm going to be biased about it, however I do genuinely think that this product is great. Much like the rest of the V-Picks, the build quality is great - each model is handmade to a crazily high standard, and Vinni at V-Picks is really easy to talk to, and a great guy (if you haven't yet, check out the story behind V-Picks). At the moment, my signature pick isn't a production model, however I'm sure if you contact V-Picks they will sort you out, and you never know, maybe one day they will be!

Thanks again to V-Picks for their extreme generosity on helping me design my first signature plectrum, and for making awesome products!

The Pick of the Pedals - Boss DD20 Giga Delay

Being of the generation of guitarists who enjoy having a massive pedalboard with bright and interesting lights to look at whilst performing, I enjoy the Boss Giga Delay a lot. This twin pedal Boss delay has 5 presets, up to 23 seconds of delay time, and 11 different delay presets, and works great!

Delay is a massive part of my guitar tone. I tend to have a short, slap-back style delay on all the time when playing, rather than reverb, as I find it less mushy. This is my first saved preset, a short, slap-back delay with modulation on the repeats. This sound works really well for lush, clean chordal parts, and paired with a longer analogue delay, adds a really cool texture to volume swells.

Preset number two is a dotted 8th note analogue delay. The Boss analogue delay is really clean, with a natural sounding filter roll-off as the repeats die away. This sound works really well behind percussive rhythm playing, adding texture and depth to the tone but without complicating the percussive nature of the part. I would also use this sound behind a distorted solo

Third is another dotted 8th delay, this time with the 'Standard' digital delay sound, a more prominent feedback and more effect level. The repeats on this sound are crisp and clear, and sounds great for that typical 'Edge' delay parts. This preset is by no means subtle, but it does the job excellently for that kind of tone.

The last of the saved presets I have is a subtle, crotchet beat tape delay. I use this sound for any type of solo part that doesn't require a more obvious delay sound. The tape sound on the giga delay is somewhere in between the digital and analogue delays, and sounds great. This is the sound I mostly use for recording, altering the delay time and repeats as necessary.

Editing presets on the giga delay is really easy. Ensuring you are on the preset you wish to save, you set the controls as required, then double press the 'Write' button. If you wish to change the sound, you simply have to move the rotary control of the setting you wish to change, then save again - it couldn't be simpler!

The final space for presets in the giga delay is the 'manual' setting. This section plays exactly what is currently on the settings of the pedal. I use this on the 'Warp' setting. This lets you sustain the played notes for as long as you hold onto the pedal bypass switch. If you're not sustaining the note, the delay is the standard digital delay. I have this set to a long delay with a high effects level. I use this, paired with the sustain switch and my volume pedal, for warm, pad-like sounds.

In general, I find the giga delay really easy to use, with great delay tones and customisation options. The display is very clear on stage, and the presets are easy to navigate through. Overall, this is a great delay pedal which sells for a great deal less than other pedals with similar features.

Wegenpicks Handmade Picks Spotlight!

I recently got sent a selection of Wegenpicks handmade plectrums, picks which are designed for acoustic guitar. These are the first picks I've been sent which are specifically for acoustic, so I was really looking forward to trying them. These picks all look really classy, finished in either black and white, with a really nice grip on them. The grip isn't sticky or gimmicky, but has ergonomically placed lines on the middle of the pick on the front and back at different angles. Because of the positioning of these lines, this means left handed guitarists will have to get left handed specific picks, but that's easy enough on their website.

The first pick I tried was the 2.5mm GP 250. The shape of this pick is like many regular picks, and with the grip design it feels great in your hand. This pick is pleasantly bright, with a really nice warmth which isn't too overpowering. Dynamic variation is really easy with this pick, with really nice quiet tones and aggressive lead tones available.

Next up is the 3.5mm Gypsy Jazz pick. Whilst these picks are fairly thick, the indentation where the grip is makes it not feel too overbearing. The extra width of this pick gives increased loudness as well as a great warmth, but the area this pick really sings in is it's brightness. This pick sounds great for open chord strumming, as it has a really nice mid scoop.

I also was sent 2 picks which are both Twins - one is 2.5mm and black, and the other is 3.5mm and white. Both are smaller than 'usual' sized picks, more appropriate for lead use, and play really nicely.  In my opinion the 2.5mm works better for solo parts, as the tone is a bit brighter and cuts through better, but for a warm, emotive solo the 3.5mm works really well.

Next is the Trimus 350 pick. This is a triangular pick, 3.5mm wide, and great for lead playing. The bevels on this pick are really nice and rounded, skipping over the strings with ease. Like the other Wegenpicks, the tone of this pick is great - a really nice balance of warmth and brightness which sounds great. I'd definitely recommend trying out this pick!

Finally is the Fatone. This 5mm pick is slightly larger than the Twin picks, and certainly is fat! This pick is really warm, great for open chord picking, slow lead licks, and despite the big gauge, this pick really does glide over the strings. More treble frequencies are on tap if you dig in, giving this pick a really blues-style feel. If you like a really large gauge, give these a go.

It is worth saying, all Wegenpicks are made to order, and you can order custom picks direct from Michel Wegen by emailing him with your specifications. For the first load of picks I've tried which are designed specifically for acoustic guitar, I have been really impressed. Whilst I enjoy the larger gauge picks for electric, I was struggling to find some which worked on acoustic, and I think I've found the solution. If you play acoustic and want to try something cool and unique, definitely check these out!

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Purus Handmade Picks Spotlight!

The other day I was sent a selection of 4 handmade, wooden plectrums from the lovely people at Purus. These are the first wooden picks I've ever used, so have spent the last week trying them out in a variety of different settings, getting used to them and enjoying playing with them! I want to start by saying these picks are excellently made, each one handcrafted to a really high standard, and finished really well. Being wood, the grip is naturally really comfortable, even with sweaty on-stage hands or freezing cold recording studio hands.

The first pick I tried out is the Bocote wood, Tip 1-M pick. This pick is the largest of the bunch in that it's the size and shape of a 'regular' pick. This pick is very comfortable to play, and is tonally very warm, with a nice crisp attack. As I've come to find with these wooden picks, they wear fairly quickly. In the week which I've been using them, each has got a bit of wear in the tip - not as much so that you'd notice when playing, but just to look at. This pick is really pretty to look at, with the natural wood stripe going vertically through the pick, and due to the very nature of the wood, each one will be unique. This pick is great for strumming and picking out open chords.

Next up is the Ebony Tip 1-S. This pick has an amazing warmth to it, due to the tonewood used, and sounds beautiful with a clean setting on the amp and a neck humbucker pickup playing simple chordal riffs. The shape of this pick means that lead parts are easier than on the 1-M pick, and the tone of this pick really inspired me to play some creamy blues licks laden with vibrato - it's really a beautiful pick in it's natural black finish, and sounds great.

Thirdly is the Cocobolo Tip 3. The shape of this pick is reminiscent of the Jazz 3 XL, and feels very comfortable to play with. The wood used in this pick has more of an open grain, and I think this explains why this pick has worn away a bit more than the others. The tone is this pick is rich and well balanced, and of all the shapes I think I like this one best.

Finally is the Snakewood Tip 2, my favourite pick of the bunch. This pick is slightly stubbier than the tip 3, and has a really nice, smooth finish. This pick exhibits tonal qualities which I find really appealing - a really nice, controlled high end with a similar warmth to the other three picks. I think what I like most about this pick is the feeling of density it has - snakewood is naturally very dense, and it feels like it will last the best out of all the picks. Having worn out the least, I think that's probably correct.


I've been really impressed with Purus picks - their products are of a very high standard, and feel and sound great. They have a great website, which you should check out, and let me know what you think of them!

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