TPS Vlog – Dan & Mick At Boss HQ In Japan

Published on Nov 20, 2018

This is a vlog about our recent trip to Hamamatsu, Japan, and the headquarters of effects giant, Boss (and Roland). We were the guests of Boss and Roland Europe, along with Rabea Massaad and Ola Englund.
During our trip we got to spend time with Yoshi Ikegami the company president, and also to meet key engineers and product leads in the jaw-dropping R&D centre. We took in the Japanese production line for Waza Craft Compact pedals and also the incredible Roland and Boss Museum. It was a fascinating insight into how this large corporation operates and organises itself around such sheer scale. It should be said that Boss does the main chunk of its manufacturing at its Chinese factory so this was really just a glimpse at the actual manufacturing side – maybe that’s for another day!
Dan and I were both surprised and humbled by the time given to us by Boss’s senior staff. As well as showing us new things (Nextone amps and the Waza Tube Amp Expander) we were both struck by their desire for genuine feedback and suggestions. On a personal note – Mick here – I’ve never experienced such a big corporation engaging in that kind of detailed and genuine dialogue. As we say, humbling and insightful.

We don’t actually talk about the Nextone amps that we're playing because they were super hush-hush at the time and we were sworn to secrecy! More of that coming soon on TPS.

Massive thank you to Matt and Jay from Roland UK, and of course to everyone at Boss Japan – Ken, you’re a legend! – for their incredible kindness and hospitality during our visit. It was way above and beyond: thank you.

Quick word on the audio. Sorry about the rumbling during the talking. I’ve tried to get rid of most of it, but it’s a Canon image stabilising lens doing its crunching through the on-camera shotgun mic. Note to self (Mick): never try and capture audio in camera. It NEVER works. For me anyway.
The guitars are better. Microphones and our little Zoom H6. Hooray.

In terms of the sounds themselves, it's a combination of Boss pedals and the amp's own drive. Not sure about Dan, but on my board the only OD I used was a BD-2W. Nice!

This video is a vlog - we’ll do more detailed product stuff back at Schwangri-La over coming weeks and months. Enjoy the episode…

Dan’s amp & pedals…

• Boss Nextone Artist
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• Boss JB-2 Angry Driver
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• Boss DS-1X Distortion
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• Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter
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• Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
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• Boss VE-500 Vocal Performer
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• Boss PS-6 Harmonist
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• Boss RV-6 Reverb
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Mick’s amp & pedals

• Boss Nextone Stage
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• Boss BD-2W Blues Driver
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• Boss DM-2W Delay
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• Boss CP-1X Compressor
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• Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter
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* Why do we have preferred retailer links? Find out here:


Guitars in this episode:
• Fender Japan Telecaster Custom (thanks Ken!)
• Fender American Standard Stratocaster
• Gibson Les Paul Custom

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