The overdrive side descends from the OD-1, one of the first BOSS compact pedals from 1977. Its asymmetrical clipping imitates the way a valve amp breaks up. The distortion side uses hard clipping for a sharper, heavier sound.

Turning Color from OD towards DS moves through mixes of both circuits. A little distortion adds definition to the overdrive. Some overdrive adds midrange weight to the distortion. Running both in parallel differs from stacking two pedals in series.

Drive covers subtle to aggressive gain, with Tone and Level after it. Bypass is buffered. The four knobs sit in one row above the full-width BOSS pedal switch.