All user reviews for the Boss DS-1 Distortion

Local music store for $42. I bought it because I needed a good distortion to play solos. Also, I bought it because it works great with my wah pedals and other effect pedals.

The distortion isn't too heavey or too trebly like most other distortion pedals. It is a really good musical distortion pedal. Even though there aren't too many nobs to get the setting you might want, the nobs it has are better than having a lot. Mainly, it sounds great. The way you know that the ds-1 is the best distortion pedal, is that all of the best guitarists use them, like Satriani and Vai.

I think it is an awesome distortion pedal,there isn't anything I don't like about it. This isn't a pedal for people who want a huge distortion, like the metal zone pedal, which is also an insane pedal.

Built a lot better than DOD or Ibanez pedals. It'll last forever, unless you throw it a huge building. Boss makes probably the best pedals, and the DS-1 is probably at the top of the list for the best distortion pedal.

If you aren't lookin for a heavey metal pedal, than buy the DS-1, it is the best and used by the best.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this pedal at Mars Music and I got it on sale for like $35.oo dollars.

What I like about this pedal the most is its great power it offers for just a $35 dollar pedal. It has alot of Distortion and great level and really good tone for its price i beleive. It also really sturdy and i should know my pedal has been through some pretty good abuse and it still rocks just great.I think it is an excellent begginers pedal and even for others as well.

Umm,, not too much i dislike about it i greatly recommend this pedal.

Very sturdy and can take the abuse it gives.

The Bottome line this is a really exellent pedal if your thinking about buying a distortion pedal for the first time. Great power awesome distortion and really good tone and level. In addition its very sturdy and can take abuse as well. I think its very much worth the price.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is the first stand alone stomp box style effect I have ever purcased. I have a Digitech rp50, but after reding heaps of reviews and seeing this pedal advertised I had to go out and try it. I went down to my local guitar shop and tryed it out. I loved it. I tryed lodes of other pedals whilst there but this but was by far my favourite. The pedal was about $180(australian) but I got a discount because it is the shop where i got lessons.

I love this units drive, tone and overall sound. When I use the pedal along with my digitech rp50 whilst using flange, chorus,wah etc I get some amazingly strange and brilliant sounds. It is a very versitile pedal that can give me any distorted sound I want from hendrix to Kurt Kobain, along with many other sounds. The gain can come as loud and really crunchy to soft and toney(?).It is small and compact and the orange colour makes it look hella cool.

I have no dislikes about this pedal exept that whenever I go into my room I have to pick up my guitar and jam with the pedal because it kicks so much ass.

The pedal is incredibly strong and well built, and looks great. Its made by boss so its not going to break any time soon. I havent had it for very long so it looks brand new, although it probly will in ten years.

I think this pedal is brilliant. I have no regrets about bying it. If I lost it i'd buy a new one. This pedal is great for sitting at home practicing or jamming with a band or on stage. Go try it out now- no buy it now.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

i bought tihs for $40 canadian in a panw shop.. the original dials had been replaced with crappy ones but who cares. i have been extremely surprised with the sound for the money. it sounds just like my friends $160 pedal!

-best sound ever
-variety of different sounds possible
-easy to use
-UNBREAKABLE!
-so pretty... orange makes me glow all over...
-makes such a great sound

-they dont fall from the sky.

amazing. throw it out a 3 story building and it will work fine. built like a tank, as all boss pedals are.

sweet miracles! buy it now!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

£39 Music Shop in London

As simple as it gets....3 knobs for Tone, Level and Drive. It takes some playing with the box to get a good sound out of it - it's very 80s and on the scratchy side. I have settled on running it with the level at about 3 o'clock, the drive at about 2, and the tone at about 10 - that way I get a nice fat sound, but eliminate some of the tinny, "boxy" sound. I'm primarily using it as a lead boost as it is an excellent pedal.


Personally, I think this pedal SHINES in front of a tube amp to push it a little harder for more sustain but I wouldn't use this pedal in front of anything that doesn't already have a distorted tone.

Well, it's a Boss, so it's never failed.

This pedal does everything I need it to. It makes a 1 or 2 channel amp way more versatile. It gives me some really great lead sounds. I use it all the time, and even though I've tried very few other distortions, I can't picture myself replacing it with anything else.


This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

£30 from my local guitar shop, a bargain. To be honest the only reason i Bought this was that i was looking for a less subtle pedal than my Ibanez TS-9 and I couldnt afford the Digitech MetalMaster

Like I said it is far more rugged and aggressive than the TS-9, the only thing i really use it for is as a gain boost for live solo's. Basically I use the TS-9 for the rest of the song and then when it gets to the solo I kick in the Boss to get the dirty roaring sound that I want, it does this perfectly.

I only use this thing for solos, for me its just far to harsh for rhythm parts or even standard riffs or lead lines throughout songs. It just doesnt have the same tonal quality and warmness of the TS-9

Its a brick, you could jump on this all night then throw it out a 2nd floor window halfway through your set, go out and get it and it would still be in perfect working condition, this thing could beat me in a fight.

Brilliant value for money, if you need a really hard rock soloing sound you'll get it here, easy to use, but if you want subtelty to your distortion i advise you to look elsewhere. If you're a blues player don't even look at this, just buy the Ibanez TS-9, it may be more expensive but it is the best distortion unit on the market.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

A few months ago, I was playing with my Zoom 505 II en I was wondering how crappy this distortion was.
Well, I bought this second hand Boss Dist for 25 € and it sounds great.

I like the warm and fat distortion sound of this pedal. It's great to turn the dist-control wide open and play some rock songs.
The sound of it is very variable, comparing to the used pickups, amp, guitar, other effects, ...

... (no dislikes)

The quality of this pedal is superiour. Great quality components in a solid metal box. When you're playing a gig you can jump on it, it won't die. Only your audience will die of the fat solid rock sound you get.

Only one thing to say about this pedal : It's the best, most warm, fattest, thickest, most solid, most variable distortion pedal you can get.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I got this unit as a present from a family member two years ago, I believe she paid around 50 bucks for it.

This is the best pound for pound, cent for cent distortion pedal ever made in the history of pedals. The tone is great and distortion goes from as little as you could possibly want to as crazy as you could possibly want.

Theres only one thing that has bothered me about this pedal for the past 2 years and that is if you turn the tone up to loud it gets overly twangy.

Basically Undamagable, could probly survive being run over.

Get this pedal.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I aquired the unit through a band mate. The price paid is unknown, but it currently retails for approximately $135-139 (AUSD).

It has the solid (some might say indestructible) construction typical of Boss compact effects pedals, which I certainly appreciate, and the circuit board is seperate from the battery compartment and sealed from same with a rubber grommet. This prevents damage to the circuit when changing the battery. Controls include volume (akin to a line level control) distortion and tone. It has a reasonably smooth sound with good sustain, but it is easily discernable as a transistor type distortion. It's not terribly versatile unit but it does a handful of sounds quite well.

I dislike a few things about the DS-1. After about 9 o'clock on the tone knob, the tone becomes unpleasantly nasally with all of my setups. It's quite limited in the tones it can produce, but as I said, it will please you with the ones it can if your into Nirvana, etc. It's lower gain settings can get quite bluesy. It doesn't have allot of gain, and at full gain it develops an unpleasant sort of 'gonk' to the midrange that sounds like clipping. it sounds best at low to mid gain settings to my ear.

Excellent, from an engineering point of view, the unit is both practical to use and maintain (with regards to changing batteries) and solid as a rock. I have never had a problem with a Boss compact pedal and do not expect to in future.

It's a competent pedal with excellent and solid construction with very gig-worthy battery access and sealing, and as an aside it's very light on batteries. However, it doesn't have enough gain for some tastes. A kind of gravelly distortion.. has a bit of mongrel in it. Try it.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I just got this thing today from a place called ronny's music for about $50.00, When i got home i hooked it up. I could put the guitar down. If you like playin songs that are already famous, this pedal makes the riffs sound like those in the actual song. It's great for just makin up stuff too. It even works on bass guitars too. It rawks.

EVERYTHING

NOTHING

It's pretty well put together by looks. and i stomped on it pretty hard when i was playin so i think the quality's pretty good.

Like the 1st guy said, BUY IT!!!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Bought it at Parramatta Music for 'bout $140 Australian dollars, or 50 US dollars for you Yankees. The voices from my Amp,- a Squier 15 watter with a crappy distortion told me to buy it.

the controls are easy to use being Tone, Level and Distortion. The distortion can go from whisper quiet to screaming loud and still keep your style of playing. it's tone and level knobs made it versatile and you have a ton of different sounds in one box.

the only downfall was the knobs being too close together, causing my chubby bar-chord loving fingers to get stuck. sometimes.

its heaps rugged and can take a beating. it's orange and looks SWEET. it runs on a 9V battery or AC adaptor.

i recommend this pedal to anyone who plays any type of rock except metal. the distortion is great but not high-gain enough for metal.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Bought from: Guitar Center in Texas
Why: I had no distortion pedal
Paid: about $30 or so

This is a great effect! I love how versital it is. It is, in my opinion, the epitomy of what a distortion effect should be: small (easy to pack in gig bag), versital, and cheap enough for the average Joe to afford. This is not just a great first distortion, it could be your last, too. This pedal is used by such big names a Steve Vai. Another great feature is the battery life. I've had it for about a year and I've only had to charge the (included) 9 volt battery once. So you can pack it and play for hours and not worry about running out mid-gig!

I have found absolutly nothing wrong with this pedal. If you are the type of person who needs a disgusting amount of distortion (perhaps to hide the fact that you can't play good?) you might need something alittle more drastic, but even when I'm playing heavy drop D stuff like Pantera, this little workhorse keeps up just fine.

This little pedal is the most solid piece of musical equipment I've ever come across! It has the longest warrenty availible on a guitar pedal (5 years), so that tells you BOSS's confidance in their pedals. All single effects by BOSS are strong enough to survive a nuclear blast (should that become an issue...)

Bottom line: if you don't have a distortion pedal, definatly give this a try. Head down to your local music store and try it out. I would highly recomend this pedal to a friend (I recomend Danelectro to my enemies!)

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this pedal used for about 60$. it was in very good shape but i still think i could of gotten a better bargain if i was better in haggling.

It's a nice, sturdy well built Boss quality unit. I really like the distortion. Kind of crunchy overdrive , not too tough. I have an Ibanez RG270 and the DS-1 serves it well.
If you like your distortion not too heavey but still rough then this is a great choice.
It reminds me of the faboulous guitar style of Jeff Beck.

I would be more pleased with a fatter, warmer bluesy sound but that just means i should of gotten the boss blues driver instead of this one.
Still, this is a very good pedal.

Boss construction. Need i say more?
well constructed, can handle abuse (trust me). The previous owner had the pedal for three years, preforming and home use and when i got it , it was in great shape.

Great sounding distortion. worth every penny.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This unit was acquired through a friend who bought it at a local music store, Guitar Center, here in the midwest. The list price was $97.50 but the Christmas sale price is $39.99.

The distortion effect sounds like an overdriven tube amp (think vintage Marshall) but with total control over the amount of distortion & sustain plus the tone control circuitry helps to find the perfect balance between high & low tones.

The only thing we didn't like was the original list price of $97.50 but since it is on sale for the Holiday Season at $39.99, you can't beat the bang for the buck.

The rugged, road worthy construction can take a beating on the road & keep on working perfectly. Typical (but excellent) BOSS pedal- it's tough!

Works well with the BOSS pedal board case along with other effects manufactured by BOSS or other comparable effects companies. If you're looking for the elusive crunch tone- BUY THIS PEDAL!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

One day I was in my bedroom playing my guitar and having a great time. Then I noticed something that completely shocked me: My amp came with the crappiest distortion ever!!! After crying for a few hours, I decided that something needed to be done. I went down to Mars Music and bought myself a BOSS DS-1 distortion pedal for about $40 (money well spent).

This distortion pedal provides the cleanest and tonest (is that even a word?) distortion ever (even on the worst of amps). I tried every distortion pedal there and needless to say the BOSS pedal had the nicest sound. It also was one of the cheapest in price(compared to the $60 - $150 ones. There are many different tones you can make with it and it comes in a pretty orange color that makes you tingle of joy every itme you look at it.

I hate the way it makes my guitar sound so perfect and clean.

It has a very convinient size and feels nice when you press it with your shoe. It is easy to operate (with only three knobs to turn) and has a very strong look and feel.

Go buy it. (duh)

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

a beautiful orange box

UTILIZATION

straightforward, typical for a disto

SOUND QUALITY

1. generates an incredible breath to limit the noise stress: unusable for my config
2. a constant: the tone knob is impossible after half of the race (ultra shrill)
3. the distortion is sharp and responsive to the game can achieve high levels of saturation and the pedal is really made for it (even by setting the gain to a minimum, it does not reaches the quality of an overdrive)
4. pedal "eats" the bass seriously, for me completely rédibitoire
(Not to mention the mediums that are almost absent)

OVERALL OPINION

I wanted to taste the legend but I'm quickly back down in my little cloud
I think the Chinese specification leaves little expoir ultimately even if users of the amended by keeley (ultra-seeing eye) told me that they were not convinced so far
Briefly, I had to play with 5 or 6 times to bring myself to sell it
in sum, no interest
in the same brand, I recommend the BD-2 blues driver that is classified under the overdrive / distortion that sends severely without the problems mentioned above (although the lack of bass ...)
of course, I recommend investing in one economize for Fulltone OCD for example ... it's just day and night (or otherwise!)

This is a distortion pedals.
Three rglage: Volume, tone, gain
Food in 9v
If we know we are not dpays Boss

UTILIZATION

Three knob turned so super easy argler. and I think manual is dispensable

SOUND QUALITY

I was looking for a draw sheet for pedals that is punk rock, APRS have to try a bunch, I stayed on the pedals.
For mtal or blues is not worth it, but for punk rock or even a blink of sum41 it does carrment

OVERALL OPINION

I try and have lots of pedals like mtal-muff, a ML2, OS2, a fabtone ... I sold them all except the DS1.
Since I bought a Blackstar DistX is not the same budget, but I keep my ds1

The Boss DS-1 is probably one of the most popular distortion pedals on the market and is a very basic pedal with very few bells and whistles. It has a simple layout of controls. A Tone knob that adjusts the EQ settings of the guitar, a Distortion knob that adjusts the amount of gain or saturation of the distortion, and a Level knob that adjusts the overall volume of the pedal. A single input jack, an output jack, and the option of running off a 9 volt power supply or a battery source rounds out the features of this pedal.

UTILIZATION

This pedal is easy to hook up with any amplifier, just put it in front of your amp's signal chain and you are off to the races. It is possible to get a slight breakup overdrive type of distortion out of the pedal and all the way up to a standard rock and roll type distortion. This is not intended to be a warm overdrive or a metal pedal, but more of a middle of the road type distortion pedal. A warrenty and manual are included with the pedal when purchased, but honestly neither are needed. The pedal works like any other dirt pedal and is built like a brick. Boss is known for making very reliable pedals and this one is no exception.

SOUND QUALITY

This is where the pedal is lacking. There are a few good tones to be had out of this pedal, but mostly the pedal sounds generic and stale. It lacks depth and texture of more expensive pedals and while it's meant to be a middle of the road type distortion, it rides the fence too much and does nothing exceptionally well. The light overdrive sounds are grainy and thin, and the saturated sounds are sterile and fizzy. The pedal does a decent basic distortion sound with the Gain set around 2 oclock, the Tone rolled back a little less than noon, and the volume to taste, but it is nothing inspiring. The pedal is also useful as a solo boost with the gain lowered and the volume increased to push the front end of a tube amp, although there are better pedals out there for this job in the same price range with better EQ options.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall this is a good pedal for a beginner to intermediate player with a single channel amp that needs some distortion sounds, but the experienced player with a taste for tone will probably be better served going in another direction. Boss tried to make a jack of all trades pedal and came out with a pedal that does neither low or high gain well. This pedal is useful in one or two aspects (basic generic distortion or as a tube amp boost), but is mostly just too bland for most applications. I believe the price bracket is why Boss has sold so many of these, and these days there are just better options (Digitech Bad Monkey or Blues Driver, Danelectro Cool Cat Series to name a few) Some people send these off to pedal modders to be tweaked, but I would just count my losses on the "orange brick" and go for a nicer pedal all together, or open the pedal up and try to do some of these mods myself for the learning experience using a platform that is inexpensive. Though Boss is a great company with reliable products, there are just better sounding pedals out there than the Boss DS-1.

The Boss DS-1 the most versatile distortion pedal I've ever used, on-stage or in the studio. I have had several interactions with it over the past 10-20 years.

UTILIZATION

When used with an amp's clean channel, it has the most useful range of gain of any pedal I've ever used... from tasty subtle crunch, to sweet singing gain. With the 'Dist' control on max, and the 'Tone' at 9 o'clock, I can only describe the sound as a candy-sweet tone that's not over-saturated. For my tastes, it's a great tone for rhythm or leads.

SOUND QUALITY

When used in front of an amp's dirty channel, I use it mainly as a subtle gain boost. With all controls set below 12 o'clock, it compresses the signal just a bit, and adds a nice touch of sustain for solos. The current draw of this particular pedal is very nominal so no worries if you are using battery it would last quite long. As far as durability is concerned believe me I have no words to describe it as it never caused me any trouble for the last two decades.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall, I've used the cheapest and the most expensive distortion pedals/pre-amps over the years (tube and solid state), and this one has remained my go-to for a long time. In my opinion, it's very versatile, and works best in front of an awesome tube amp. I've never tried to achieve the modern metal sound with this pedal, so I can't comment on whether or not it's useful in that application. However, if you're looking for a way to expand your amp's tonal range, give this pedal a serious look. Because of it’s low price, the DS-1 is the ideal distortion pedal to use for experimentation in do it yourself modifications (DYI). There are plenty of DS-1 DYI circuits readily available on the net and, even if you totally screw it up, you’re only out $40!

Analog distortion pedals with three knobs of rglages: Tone, Level, Distortion.
Pedals used by Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, ...

UTILIZATION

Trs easy to use, there is a very easy SON, a joy, the day o I j'tais party testing and a compression pedals (see anything then. ) and I glimpse the pedals, and immediately the grain carrying forward for me fantastic.

SOUND QUALITY

CASC was a wide range of distos trs, but be careful not to push the knob of the Ring del noon as it becomes trs port on the treble. The grain of the pedals is magical, too good, this file chills. CASC was a fat distortion or fuzz type when the knobs are back and your amp is left with a powerful and affirm.
The pedals are not quite suited for neo-metal (eg Korn ...) unless we make rglages subtle but it is not his creed.

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for a year and I do spend more, it is really gniale, ACCS was up with the nuances of pedals, unlike some of distortion pedals that tend Hide the game, and indeed that the entire panel dlivre you sound. Report quality unbeatable price, hard to find in OCCAZ because it is too good. I do not regret my choice is the distortion pedals for you.

Distortion effects trs Varis (like nirvana, metallica, ...)

UTILIZATION

One branch is lighted, and go! not easy
The DS-1 comes with a panel of eight configurations (hard rock, punk, fusion, ...) but if was not for you yet, you can easily reach the sound dsirbr /> The manual in English I was not used, it's so simple ...

SOUND QUALITY

Trsralistes effects.
I utiliseavec tlcaster a Fender Custom 72 'and I'm really not
I found myself quite grasping the disto: Tone: max
Disto-max
-Level: 1 / 4
Too bad we can not push a little on the overdrive.

OVERALL OPINION

This is my Premire pedals and I'm really not!

Boss in a classic

UTILIZATION

Very simple 3 knob and a button

SOUND QUALITY

I put one and I c is the gentiles as the most corrupt and most ignoble obtained with a pedal.
it sounds rotten transistor I possess 6 years and I keep it just to have friends to discover what it's like an anti his music.
for me after hundreds of test the shred master is still the supreme single pedal just light years from ds1

OVERALL OPINION

I bought the lot with a pedal and not try.
I understand why the guys wanted to get rid without