BOSS still lives by its famous motto – ‘We desig n the future’ – but don’t overlook the milestones that led the Japanese firm to the cutting edge of the modern music scene
Any show, any stage, any pedalboard, any backline –for more than half a century, BOSS has been the constant strand of DNA in a music scene endlessly shedding its skin. Of course, it is the visionary Japanese company’s nature to look to the future, to the products still to be invented, the technologies as yet untapped and the generations of musicians waiting to make their mark. But as outgoing president Yoshihiro Ikegami reminds us, it is only by reflecting on the road already travelled that this stillquesting company can forge ahead.
“Our 50-year history is a testament to our commitment to quality and innovation,” says Ikegami of a journey whose headline statistics include 18 million total units sold and the release of 140 compact pedal models, not to mention the status of the world’s second-biggest amp builder since launching the Katana in 2016. “It’s a legacy we’re incredibly proud of. While we strive for breakthroughs, we must also cherish our history. Our history is the foundation upon which we build our future. It’s crucial to balance innovation with the wisdom and experience that 50 years have provided us.”
Rewind to the 1960s and the guitar effects scene was the Wild West. If you knew which doors to knock on, and were famous enough to jump the waiting list, then maverick-genius artisans like Roger Mayer could be commissioned to build a one-off pedal in their London workshops. But there was no coherent effects sector, no industry standard, no single manufacturer giving players what they needed to lead the charge for the gathering rock ’n’ roll revolution.
In the States, an exasperated Gibson had discontinued its own fuzzbox, while in Japan, Roland had dipped a toe into the effects market with early units like the AG-5 Funny Cat and AF-100 BeeBaa, but found they were an acquired taste (with the company’s founder and chairman Ikutaro Kakehashi memorably explaining that it was “like trying to persuade a person who has never eaten octopus to try a slice”).
The arrival of BOSS in 1973 changed everything. In those first years, the newcomer existed hand-in-glove with parent company Roland –itself only founded by Kakehashi a year earlier, as the successor to Ace Tone – even to the point of sharing engineers. But while BOSS would rapidly become its own entity, the two firms’ early tag-team creativity would prove key to BOSS’s se
