Modified Boss DS-1 Distortion

Standard

This pedal is a true classic! It has been around ever since 1978, and as such it is the oldest of the Boss compact pedals still in production. Personally, though, I've never really liked it that much - I've always felt that it layered itself too much on top of the tone, rather than blend in and gel with the amp's own sound. I prefer dirt pedals that sound more like the amp just shifted up a gear... Admittedly, this is a personal preference, and a subjective one at that. But in any case, I wanted my DS-1 to enhance the amp's sound, rather than completely transform it. So I went to work...

The modification

Naturally, I start out by installing a big superbright yellow LED. It wouldn't be a StinkFoot pedal if it didn't have one...

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.
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.
I also modify the clipping circuit to round off the treble end of the actual distortion. These changes makes the pedal sound completely natural when the distortion knob is set to minimum, making it a great clean booster.
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.

...and the end result?

I usually say that most modified pedals will sound pretty close to the stock pedal, only better. The base argument is that if you don't like the stock pedal at all, you will probably not like the modified pedal either. But... the modified DS-1 seems to be an exception... As stock, it had a rather messy, top-endy and sharp distortion. After the modifications, it's much more like a Plexi Marshall, with good midrange punch (no TS-9 mid hump, though) and a tone that doesn't get lost in the mix. The modified pedal will do anything from a softer overdrive, thru lead boost to proper rock'n'roll crunch. Also, right before the "Dist" knob is turned fully up, the pedal crosses slightly into fuzz territory. To me, the most interesting area on the gain control is between 9 and 1 o'clock - that's where the pedal gels the most with the amp's own sound.

Oh, and treat the volume knob carefully - the modified pedal can be very loud! I'm not joking - the first time I tried the modified pedal, it nearly scared the life out of both me and the Fender Bassman I was playing through...

Price:

300 SEK / 27 EUR

Prices do not include shipping