A Full Amp Rig in a Stompbox
You've probably been in that situation — fly date, ampless stage, cramped rehearsal room — where hauling your full rig just isn't happening. The Boss IR-2 is designed exactly for that scenario. It's an amp simulator and IR cabinet loader built into the same compact footprint as a standard Boss stompbox, giving you a complete guitar or bass signal path you can plug straight into a PA, audio interface, or mixer.
What makes it genuinely useful rather than a compromise is the combination of serious DSP horsepower and dead-simple controls. You're not navigating menus or staring at a screen — you spin a knob to pick an amp type, dial in your EQ and gain, and you're playing. That approachability is a real feature, not just a talking point.
Whether you're a working guitarist who needs consistent tone night to night, someone building a silent practice setup, or a player who records direct and wants amp-plus-cabinet sounds without micing a speaker, the IR-2 covers a lot of ground without asking much of you in return.
11 Amp Models, Celestion-Curated Cabinet IRs
The IR-2 comes loaded with 11 amp types spanning clean through extreme high-gain. Confirmed models include emulations of the Fender Twin Reverb, 1959 Fender Bassman, Vox AC30, Marshall 1959 Super Lead, Soldano SLO-100, and Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, alongside several Boss original amp voices including a high-gain Brown type derived from the Katana series.
Each amp type is paired with a curated Celestion Digital cabinet IR — specific pairings include cabinets loaded with speakers like the Celestion Blue, Vintage 30, G12M Creamback, and G12M-Heritage, among others. The amp and cabinet sections can also be used independently, so you can run just the cab IR with another amp-in-a-box pedal, or just the amp sim into a real cab with the IR section bypassed.
If you have your own IR library, you can load third-party cabinet IRs via USB-C and the dedicated IR Loader app (Windows/macOS). The pedal supports mono IR files up to 500ms at 44.1, 48, or 96kHz sample rates.
Processing Quality and Controls
Under the hood, the IR-2 runs 32-bit floating-point processing at a 96kHz sampling rate — specs confirmed by Boss and consistent across all approved retailer listings. The AD conversion uses Boss and Roland's Adaptive Focus method for improved signal-to-noise performance.
On top of the pedal, a rotary Type knob selects your amp model. Three dual-concentric knobs give you independent access to six parameters: Gain, Level, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Ambience. The Ambience knob adds room, hall, or plate-style space to your tone, and the ambience type can be configured via a startup routine. Controls are intentionally minimal — there's no display, no scrolling, no menu diving.
The IR-2 uses buffered bypass, confirmed in the official owner's manual specifications.
Connectivity and Practical Features
For a pedal this size, the I/O is genuinely comprehensive. You get a mono instrument input, stereo outputs (A/Mono + B), an FX loop with a TRS return jack that supports stereo effects, a headphone jack for silent practice, a CH SEL jack for external footswitch connection, and a USB-C port for recording and IR loading.
The built-in footswitch toggles between two amp/cabinet channel setups (red and green channels), each storing its own knob settings. A press-and-hold activates bypass. If you connect an external footswitch to the CH SEL jack, the onboard switch switches to bypass-only duty. This makes two-channel live switching genuinely practical without adding bulk to your board.
Power options are 9V battery (alkaline 6LR61/6LF22) or a standard Boss PSA series AC adapter. Boss notes that using a power supply is recommended due to the digital circuitry's current draw of 160mA. The USB-C port also functions as an audio interface for direct recording to a Mac, PC, or compatible mobile device.
Product Features:
- Amp Simulation: 11 amp types including Fender Twin, Fender Bassman, Vox AC30, Marshall 1959 Super Lead, Soldano SLO-100, Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, and multiple Boss original voices
- Cabinet IRs: Each amp paired with a Celestion Digital IR; amp and cab sections can be used independently
- IR Loader: Load third-party cabinet IRs via USB-C and the dedicated IR Loader app (Windows/macOS)
- Processing: 32-bit floating-point DSP at 96kHz sampling rate; Adaptive Focus AD/DA conversion
- Controls: Type (rotary), Gain, Level, Bass, Middle, Treble, Ambience — plus configurable ambience type (Room/Hall/Plate)
- Bypass: Buffered bypass; footswitch toggles two channels or activates bypass via press-and-hold
- Effects Loop: Built-in FX loop with TRS return supporting stereo effects
- Connectivity: Mono input, stereo outputs, FX send/return, headphone out, CH SEL jack, USB-C
- USB-C: Functions as audio interface for direct DAW recording and audio playback
- Power: 9V alkaline battery or Boss PSA series AC adapter (160mA draw)
Brand: Boss
Model: IR-2 Amp & Cabinet
SKU: IR-2
Condition: New
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