Boss DS-1 Bass Distortion
Pretty
soon after I started modifying the DS-1 for guitarists, I was made aware that
the modified pedals worked great for bass players too. Also, at about the
same time, I started feeling that maybe I gave the guitar version a tad too
much bass. There were times when I felt that it could use a slight trim in
the low end. So I decided to keep the older version of the mod for bass players,
and change the guitar version slightly. To tell the two apart, the bass pedals
now sport their own LED colour - after all, bass players are just as vain
as guitarists... ![]()
Bass players who have pedals modified prior to december 2004 don't have to change anything - their pedals are the same as the "new" Bass Distortion mods.
The modification
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Naturally,
I start out by installing a big superbright LED - only this time it
is white, instead of yellow. -
Some of the earlier DS-1's (produced prior to 1997) are designed to be powered from a 12vDC adapter - if the pedal is one of those I modify the adapter input to accept a regular 9vDC input. If you want to keep the adapter circuit as is, just let me know and I'll leave it alone.
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The clipping circuit is modified to produce a more solid rock'n'roll tone, with less distortion fizzle. The pedal will lose some gain/distortion saturation, but in return it gains a lot of output volume potential.
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I also modify the tone of the clipping circuit, to round off the treble end of the actual distortion. These changes makes the pedal sound more natural when the distortion knob is set to minimum, making it a great clean booster. At low gain, the pedal adds some "hair", but not that much extra distortion.
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Finally, the whole pedal gets a once-over - I strenghten solder joints that are poorly made at the factory, and tighten nuts and bolts that can otherwise come loose and cause trouble.
Price:
Prices do not include shipping
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