Amped Bitesize Review: Boss DA-2 Adaptive Distortion (Video)

Amped Bitesize Review: Boss DA-2 Adaptive Distortion

Compromise is the key to a good relationship, and a good pedal 16-Mar-13

MP4

6:26 mins

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We are reviewing a Boss pedal every day for a month in March, and today, on day 16, it's the turn of the Boss DA-2 Adaptive Distortion, a pedal which adapts to what you are playing and uses your input signal to tell the DSP what to do.

We're looking at 30 pedals this month, and then on the final day of March, we'll be doing a round up of our favourites. The idea being that you can quickly watch our bitesize reviews and make a quick decision on whether you like what you hear for each of Boss' compact pedals.

If compromise is the key to a good relationship, then the DA-2 also proves it's the key to a good pedal. The DA-2 Adaptive Distortion reacts to how you play, and then applies an ever changing set of parameters depending on your input signal. In short, it adapts to your playing style, and the way you are playing to deliver a distortion sound that is constantly working to give you what you are looking for.

Rich's verdict - "What a novel concept, it applies the sensibility of re-amping and studio production to a pedal, which has a set of EQ, distortion and compression parameters, which are constantly in flux. If you're playing a heavy metal rhythm part, then it will boost your low and high frequencies and cut out some of your mids. If you are playing a solo, it starts to boost the mids. If you struggle with the amount of feedback which distortion pedals can produce sometimes, then you should check this pedal out.

"It's a very clean pedal, not in the sense of distortion (it's heavy in that sense), but in that you don't get all the feedback and nasty frequencies which can sometimes be produced by high gain distortion. I was using a Les Paul with P90s, which are noisy pickups, and I still couldn't get it to sound harsh. I'm really impressed by this pedal, the distortion tone is very useable throughout the gain spectrum, the EQ is useful for shaping your tone (boosting the highs can give you a really cool Jimmy Page style sound), and it doesn't really need any other controls, because it does it all for you... because you're lazy and you know it!"

RRP - £119

More info - Boss DA-2 Adaptive Distortion Info Page

Amped Bitesize Review: Boss DA-2 Adaptive Distortion

Compromise is the key to a good relationship, and a good pedal 16-Mar-13

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