Roland has faithfully recreated a score of Boss pedals for the modern DAW age with the Boss Effects Plugin.
Freshly added to the Roland Cloud, the subscription-only collection of virtual instruments brings Boss’s colorful range of effects pedals to modern music productions. It makes for a brand-new chapter for the brand's pedals, which have collectively sold 19 million units since their initial launch in 1977.
The first wave of release includes emulations of eight pedals: the OD-1 OverDrive, PH-1 Phaser, SP-1 Spectrum, SG-1 Slow Gear, CS-1 Compression Sustainer, TW-1 T Wah, SD-1 Super OverDrive, and DS-1 Distortion.
Boss says the library of effects will expand over time.
“Each delivers the genuine sound and response of the pedal it’s based on, faithfully recreated by the same company that developed the original designs,” Boss says. The pedal’s simplistic interfaces and looks have also been copied across.
Extended features give players autonomy over input and output controls for dialing in levels and tempo sync for time-based effects. Note, though, that only one pedal can be loaded at a time in each instance of the plug-in. This means pedals can’t be paired without duplicating the plug-in in a DAW to build a virtual Boss pedalboard.
Boss has certainly chosen an interesting lineup to launch with. We hope future releases will include favorites like the CH-1 Super Chorus, used by the likes of Joe Satriani, Zakk Wylde and Jerry Cantrell, and the ever-popular Boss DD-7 Digital Delay, which Steve Vai told Guitar Player is a pedal he can't live without.
For now, Boss made a smart move by including pedals that offer effects outside the traditional realms of overdrives, delays and reverbs. For example, the SP-1 boosts signal frequency bands to help instruments pop in a mix, while the SG-1 reshape a note's attack for more violin-like swells.
New users can take advantage of a generous 30-day free trial of Roland Cloud, which includes access to its full suite of sound design tools. Elsewhere in the Roland Cloud, there’s a plugin version of the JC-120 Jazz Chorus amplifier, RE-201 Space Echo tape delay, and its one-stop Zenology synthesizer.
As more and more firms look to digitize their offerings for the plug-in age, it might seem a little surprising that it’s taken Boss this long to muscle in on the action, but it's something that will likely excite many players.
By comparison, Satriani’s Eddie Van Halen-inspired 3rd Power Dragon amp was turned into a plug-in during its creation, while the amp itself was used onstage with Sammy Hagar’s Best of All Worlds band. Meanwhile, Two Notes is looking to rival key players like Neural DSP and STL Tone Hub with its Genome suite of amp sims and virtual stompboxes.
Roland Cloud subscriptions start at $29.99 per year, with the Ultimate package, which includes every piece of software, rising to $199 per year — billed as $2.99 and $19.99 per month respectively.
Head to Roland Cloud for more information.
