Before BOSS Was BOSS
In this article, we're going to finally find the last missing piece in the BOSS Pedals story: what was BOSS before it was BOSS? How did 1970s BOSS evolve into 2020s BOSS, the BOSS that we know? In order to get to the bottom of this mystery, I interviewed my good friend Yoshi Ikegami, CEO of BOSS pedals.
It’s going to be a wild ride, so hang on to your hats.
YOSHI
I'm Yoshi Ikegami from BOSS. I joined Roland [in] 1978, so [I’ve spent] 40 years working. But Josh is asking me very much old stuff, so I investigated the information and I brought some old [pedals]. You know, right now, no one knows about the old production company. So anyway, I've tried [to explain it].
JOSH
To start off, everyone knows BOSS as the compact pedal that changed everything. So what I want to talk about today is the mystery of how we got to the compact pedal. So, as a collector, a huge BOSS fan, and kind of a pedal nerd, I know way too much useless information about pedals. I can't figure out how we got to the compact from [prototypes] like this or these Roland units. Specifically, Roland Pedals. Do you have any stories about why Roland decided to get into guitar pedals?
YOSHI
Yeah, originally Roland started to make a rhythm machine. That [was in the] old days in Japan, [there was] a band boom, so everybody played electric guitar. Then, before Roland, Ikutaro Kakehashi established Ace Tone. Ace Tone provided [gear for] the guitar player, so maybe it's not special for them to make an effect [pedal], because, you know, in Japan we don't have any direct [production]. Every unit is coming from [the] United States or [the] UK. So they tried to make [the] same stuff. It's natural.
JOSH
Yeah. Just a natural progression. So mid-to-late [seventies], you see a lot of fuzz boxes. You see some companies like DOD or MXR come onto the scene, but all of these Roland products are incredibly different. The circuits are wild. They're creative. The AF-100 BeeBa was the first Roland pedal.
YOSHI
Yes.
JOSH
What year [was it released]?
YOSHI
In 1972.
JOSH
Really?
YOSHI
[The] next year, ’72 or ’73. I don't know how many we produce[d], but you know at that time the name BeeBa was kind of strange, right?
JOSH
Yeah. What does that mean?
YOSHI
[It] came from the sound: BEE-BA.
JOSH
It's very useful, but it's also strange. You have this fuzz with a treble booster/tone selector. It makes more sense to me now, being an earlier seventies [release], because I think fuzz was still a primary thing. This guy: the AG-5 Funny Cat. I love that name. Yeah. The thing about these that I really love, you know, [is that] I use pedals names and sometimes they're funny or they have an image to them. BOSS is, you know, DS-1, DS-2, et cetera, and it says Distortion, versus these [pedals that] have funny names. It's a part of Roland and BOSS you don't really [see], you know, BeeBaa or Funny Cat.
YOSHI
At that time [we saw] the famous Crybaby Wah, so everybody says, “Use the funny name.” So for that, [we did].
JOSH
Let's talk about these wah pedals, so we'll talk about the A series again...Anything about these in particular that [you want to share]?
YOSHI
Maybe? I have no idea about this stuff.
JOSH
That’s great. No, that's okay. It's probably safe to assume that these were [released in] the Funny Cat era. They're just a fuzz wah. I love that...It makes me feel better because I don't know my own pedals from 10 years ago. So, this was almost 50 years ago. I enjoy that you don't know. And that's okay because that's why this is so mysterious. If I can sit with the president of BOSS and there's questions there, that's pretty cool.
So I have a Roland AP-5 Phase Five, and this may be the best phaser I've ever played, because it has the sensitivity setting. You pick through it, and the harder you pick the phase, [it responds]. It's a touch control. Anything [you want to share] about this?
YOSHI
Yeah, we [built] this from 1975 to 1978. Only three years.
JOSH
Wow. That's not long at all. So until ’78. Did it exist with the compact for a little bit?
YOSHI
(affirmative) Mmm hmm.
JOSH
Roland still made pedals while BOSS had compacts, [so] there was crossover...Were these sold at the same time?
YOSHI
Yes. It’d be from ’77 to ’80.
JOSH
This pedal is really strange and really awesome: the Roland AP-7 Jet Phaser...Sometimes people say that flange is like a jet, like the movement. Well, this is like a distortion...I remember I plugged it in for the first time and was like, “What is happening? This is a distortion phaser. This is really cool.” So what year is this?
YOSHI
That is from ’75 to ’78.
JOSH
How well did these sell? Do you know at all?
YOSHI
I have no idea.
JOSH
Yeah. ’Cause you were just starting [out]...So here is a really cool visual example that a lot of people haven't noticed. You have the Roland Phase Two [inaudible], then later you have the BOSS 1 series. Pretty [much], it's the same enclosure. Different labeling. How did this happen? How did we end up with a Roland pedal, same enclosure, and then suddenly we call it BOSS?
YOSHI
[In the] very beginning, we don't have [the] BOSS brand or Roland brand, but in the US we have a sales company. They are selling some acoustic guitar pickups and preamps, because we [do not] have enough product, you know? So they started selling [the same] kind of stuff on the same sales channel. Then they started to use the BOSS name on an acoustic preamp...We decided to use the BOSS name as a brand and also [as a] company.
JOSH
Yeah. So this transition from Roland Pedals to BOSS Pedals was creating a new company to make products, to fill the catalog, and do new things.
YOSHI
So, that's kind of double branding, having [a] different image. Also, you know, sometimes sales channels and also contract work for the Roland brand and the BOSS brand [were] a little bit dif
JOSH
What was the first 1 series pedal released?
YOSHI
Maybe [the] first one was S-1, in 1973, Sustainer. Okay. This is the first number one. We didn't have any idea about the number. So first one was F-100, then S-1, next 85. So I think we didn't have any rules about the number[s].
JOSH
Yeah. When I think of BOSS, it's very one, two, three. Yeah. So at this point, BOSS was not as organized.
YOSHI
Yeah. BF-1 is 1977. So from [the] BF-1, maybe, we keep using [the number] one, like the DM-1.
JOSH
So, the first BOSS pedal was the distortion-free compressor. I like that pedal because it says something really big about pedals at the time. It says on the box: “distortion-free sustainer.” Everyone had only seen sustain on a Big Muff knob, and you guys created a true clean sustain. That's a big deal. When was the compact format first thought of? We've all seen these pedals a million times. I'm an American guitar player. I know this is as normal as it gets. It's like a Fender Stratocaster, but it's hard to imagine it not existing.
YOSHI
[In the] very beginning, [the] new US effects [were] using [a] kind of box, [like] a switch for the light on the wall, right? Using that [design] has a purpose, but that's not cute, right? So probably, our people said, we should have something [with a] special shape.
JOSH
I've said this before: in a lot of ways [the BOSS compact] is absolutely the perfect guitar pedal. How does it feel to still be using this format that's 40 plus years old? And it is still perfect. It was perfectly designed that long ago.
YOSHI
Some years ago, a lot of guys [were] asking me, “Why don't you make [a] mini pedal?” My answer was, “Why [do] we need to make [a] different shape? We have this legendary, historical, great design, so I don't want to change [it]”...You know, you have a lot of stuff, but we don't have everything. We started to purchase all the stuff from the market maybe ten years ago or something. We didn't think-- Also we are creating a lot of stuff, always thinking about the future, future, future. We didn't care about, you know, throwback [gear].
JOSH
No, it's amazing. I love that you guys have been continually innovating, pushing the guitar industry, pushing guitar effects up to this day. And I love that you don't know a few of these things. I think it's cool. I like that. There's some mystery in it.
YOSHI
Yeah. And also, you know, everybody asks me, “What is your best product?” Always [the] newest one is my favorite.
JOSH
Right, right. I've heard you say that for years
YOSHI
We’re trying to make [the] best one, so the newest one is [the] best.
Josh here again. It was an absolute pleasure to shoot the breeze with Yoshi Ikegami. If you’re reading this, there’s a 100% chance you have a BOSS pedal on your board, so do me a favor and play it today. Show it a little extra affection and attention. Throw up a post on Instagram if that’s how you roll. Trust me, BOSS has earned it.