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Boss DS-1 Distortion
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Boss DS-1 Distortion
mooseherman mooseherman
Published on 04/14/09 at 20:42
This is a pretty bare bones distortion pedal, but don't let that fool you. Sometimes simple is the key. This is the best sounding distortion pedal I've ever played. I tend to prefer amp distortion straight from a Marshall or a Fender, but this might change my mind. I started using it in my band when my other guitarist let me start using his, and now I have my own that I love. There's a tone adjustor, and distortion adjustor, and a level knob. That's really all you need in one of these pedals. It can use the Boss adaptors, and it's easy to daisy chain it.

UTILIZATION

The setup is almost TOO simple. There's nothing confusing about it. Three knobs, that's it. Tone, Level, and Distortion. There's not much else to say about it. If you can't figure it out, you must not know how to plug it in.

SOUND QUALITY

The sound is better than almost any pedal I've played. Most distortion pedals really emphasize the high end, and while this pedal is capable of that, it sounds way more natural. It really rocks certain amp types, namely a Fender Deluxe, so it's perfect for that. It sounds particularly good with compression (in fact I wouldn't recommend buying it without a good delay... try Boss again, they make good ones.) I use my '67 Strat reissue with it and it sounds fantastic. I like to sound more like a classic rocker like Neil Young or Hendrix, and it does a decent job of recreating that sound. I wouldn't recommend it for metal or hardcore players because it doesn't have the roaring low end those styles tend to need, but it probably wouldn't sound too bad with the right gear for that music. It doesn't feed back too much, which is a problem with most bright-sounding single-coil pickup guitars. It can get pretty bright so make sure you don't crank the tone knob too much!

OVERALL OPINION

This is hands down the best distortion pedal I've played. I won't say it's the best out there, because I'm new to the world of pedal distortion, but there's really not much way you can go wrong if you are looking for a great way to rock out. Again, for soloing, it's great with compression so strongly consider buying a compressor or sustainer if you don't already have one. I don't really have any problems with it at all, and it definitely beats most other pedals I've tried. It's worth every penny, and I'd buy one again if I needed to.