BOSSST-2 Power Stack Overdrive Pedal

Like most BOSS pedals, the ST-2 is durable, dependable and very user-friendly. It's very versatile; you can dial in everything from '80s JCM800 tones, mid '70s Plexi crunch and even bluesy overdrive with the sound knob. However, it can either sound amazing or cheap and terrible, as other posters have mentioned. You really have to adjust ALL of the knobs, as well as your guitar's volume knob according to your setup. The sound knob is like a gain level, but it also changes the tone slightly.For example. you can get Van Halen or Queen type tones with a Stratocaster by turning up the bass and turning the treble. You can get Zeppelin or AC/DC style crunch with humbuckers by turning the sound knob to 12 o'clock or lower, and cleaning up a bit with your guitar's volume. And then you need to experiment with the pedal at higher volumes, as you will probably require less gain on the stage.It really has a lot of fantastic uses, but right out of the box it'll probably sound like a noisy, useless mess. You need to take the time to adjust to your liking and it will be a very affordable way of turning your rig into the Marshall of your dreams. Of course, since it's an inexpensive pedal, to those obsessed with tone it will inevitably have a "pedal like" sound. But to me, it's close enough for less than $200.Lastly, I recommend that the buyer experiment with its placement in your chain. When I first got it, my rig had this unbearable noise even when the pedal was disengaged. Putting it in the front changed that completely. So overall, it's a lot of fun and use for the money but remember to fiddle with EVERYTHING (all the knobs, your guitar's volume and tone knobs, the pickup switches, the placement) for the sound you like.

Changed my whole tone! I use this on my Blackstar HT Club 50 half stack. Well worth buy and gives me the tones I have been searching for. From a smooth couch to heavy metal. Best distortion pedal I have ever owned.

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT: The ST-2 Power Stack is an organic overdrive-distortion pedal that emulates the tones of a cranked tube halfstack. Not quite a full-blown amp emulator (such as a Tech 21 Hot Rod Plexi), nor a simple dirt pedal (like a DS-1), the ST-2 is somewhere in-between, functioning more like tube screamer on steroids.CONTROLS: The controls are simple, and there aren't any totally unusable settings you can give this pedal since the Bass and Treble knobs are very "British EQ" in the sense that the dynamic range is more balanced. This yields a more musical sounding pedal in the end, so you'll have to tweak it in tandem with your amp's EQ to really get the best sound you can. When fully cranked, the Bass EQ adds some "thump" to your sound - very reminiscent of a closed back cabinet.GAIN: Crunch, Drive, and Ultra are the three gain stages, and each give the pedal a pronounced character difference. For all intents and purposes, Crunch = OD-1, Drive = DS-1, and Ultra = DS-2. So if you're looking for a catch-all Boss stompbox, this one might be your ticket. The gain overall sounds very musical.TONE: Crunch and Drive don't add much coloration to your tone, but the Ultra does. Some people have said it sounds like a partially cocked wah, and this is partially correct. The Ultra adds some scoop and a little wah color, but if you balance this with your amp's settings you'll be able to get a raunchy distortion sound.Personally, I bought this pedal because I was looking for a good preamp-esque stompbox to plug into my ADA GCS-3 cabinet simulator so I can run directly into my church's PA system. Not quite sure if this pedal is worth the $100+ new, which is why I took away a star. I was able to get mine used for a lot less, so if you're on the fence about the ST-2 and you're hesitating to buy it... I say go for it if you can find one at a good price, otherwise if you're looking for more of true amp-like pedal, check out the Behringer VT999 instead or the SansAmp ParaDriver DI.If you are playing with a Fender or other kind of clean amp, this pedal basically adds a Marshall channel to your amp - which might be beneficial if you've been going from tubescreamer to overdrive and back and forth and haven't quite found the right pedal that fits or gets you that Hendrix or British metal tone you've been looking for.

Excellent and just what I hoped for to dial in a massive palette of rock and roll tones. Run through an 80W Fender Acoustasonic amp, this puppy is capable of everything from Matchbox 20 to Black Sabbath. An excellent addition to the pedal collection and my de facto stopping point in the search for a good crunch box.

It’s more nasally than I expected, and not much way to remove it. Wish it had a mid eq control. It’s better than the Super Overdrive, but only barely. Kinda wishing I had gone for the Metalzone instead.

Had it one day then it completely stopped working! What a rip off!

Let me start off by saying. This pedal is VERY AMP DEPENDENT! If you have a low wattage soild state amp with no master volume this pedal will sound very mid heavy with thin bass. Really boxy. However if you have a good 100 watt solid state head going into a decent cab then this pedal is a beast! I run the Powerstack in a solid state Peavey XXL head (with a wgs loaded Aftershock 4x12 cab) and this pedal sounds amazing. Best overdrive/distortion I've ever heard. And believe me I've tried a lot of distortion pedals in my 25 years of playing. I know what I'm talking about! Turn the sound knob past noon twords the Ultra setting the tone reminds me of a cranked 5150. Roll it back and it goes into Marshall jcm territory... All the way down on crunch you get a nice juicy Plexi sound. Very convincing and versitle pedal. It also responds well to your pick attack. There is not much hiss or noise with my Duncan loaded Gibson sg. Pretty nice. This pedal pairs well a MXR M-109 6 band eq pedal. I like to have the mids on the eq pedal scooped a bit and boosted on the amp.