Pedalboard Archive

Roy BuchananPedalboard, 1985

Roy Buchanan's mid-1980s comeback added one pedal to his usually bare guitar-and-amp setup: a compact Boss DD-2 digital delay.

Board
Alligator comeback delay path
Context
"When a Guitar Plays the Blues" era
Board date
Evidence
Documented equipment · 2 cited sources
Order
Source-described
Scope
Core signal path
Routing
Serial path
Audited
Signal
1 unit · Guitar to amplifier

Alligator comeback delay path

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InputGuitar
BOSS DD-2 Digital Delay
OutputAmplifier

A source states the sequence

Inside the rig · 1 units

Pedal roles & evidence

How each unit fits Roy Buchanan's 1985 setup. Board-specific roles and the evidence behind each identification and position.

Cited sources

Source-described orderIdentity and position are evidenced separately. Reconstructed positions are not observed connections.

Delay & Echo

BOSS DD-2 Digital Delay

Front of amp

Role in this rig

Adds the tape-echo-like body and ambience Buchanan adopted for his mid-eighties return.

Identity
Documented
Position
Documented

Documented equipment · Documented order · Serial path

Vintage Guitar's oral history quotes Buchanan associate Dave Whitehill identifying the DD-2 and explaining that Buchanan used it to thicken the sound and recreate tape-echo effects during the period of When a Guitar Plays the Blues. BOSS's official history independently establishes the DD-2's 1983 introduction, four-control compact layout, clear-but-warm response and 800 ms range. No cable trace or control photograph fixes a fuller 1985 board, so this is limited to the documented one-pedal core path and does not project Buchanan's later or earlier equipment into it.

Cited sources

Methodology
  1. Vintage GuitarThe Life and Times of Roy Buchanan
  2. BOSSEchoes in Time: The History of BOSS Delay Pedals

Questions about Roy Buchanan's 1985 pedalboard

What pedals did Roy Buchanan use in 1985?
This dated entry lists one unit: BOSS DD-2 Digital Delay. This is the recorded inventory, not a claim that every connection or model identification is confirmed; see the evidence and routing notes.
What order were Roy Buchanan's pedals in?
A cited source states the order: Guitar → BOSS DD-2 Digital Delay → amplifier.
Is this Roy Buchanan's full guitar rig?
No. This dated entry covers one unit in the effects path, not every piece of gear Roy Buchanan owned or used. Floor pedals, rack units and routing devices are included only where recorded; omitted equipment and uncertain connections are explained in the notes. It is not a complete or current rig inventory.
When and where was this pedalboard used?
1985 Alligator comeback era. "When a Guitar Plays the Blues" era. This is the core signal path documented for that period, not a career-wide gear list.
How does the archive know what was on this pedalboard?
2 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including Vintage Guitar, BOSS. Among them an interview and an official listing. The units are recorded as documented equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-07-18.