Aramat Effects DS-1 Mod

Boss DS-1, three knobs, two plugs, one footswitch.
The "manual" was a handwritten note, that suggested turning the Level to around 11 o'clock. I thought it was pretty cool!

I mostly play it through my humbucker guitar (Schecter PT Custom) and always into my (one and only)) '72 Twin Reverb.
I agree with the guy who said it was difficult to get pinch harmonics out of. But maybe that will make me a better pinch harmonic player. Anyway, use a boost of some sort, and it gets better.
The mod definitely made the pedal better, the thing that stood out was the tone knob, which became much more useful. Tone knobs to me have always seemed silly in their uselessness, especially on a Fender Telecaster.
But I digress...
Very sweet sound, it rocks

It's not my wife or my banker, so I really don't have to "depend" on it.
But Boss pedals are supposed to be "tanks, indestructable" and something else about nuclear bombs and cockroaches.

It seems like I always end up in these deals, where circumstance intervenes, communication breaks down, and someone gets pissed off.
Like Jimmy Buffett said, "hell it could be my fault."
Anyway, I think for a week or two there, I was not Keith VanDerSchaegen's favorite person.
But I got what I paid for, and in a timely fashion, and he does excellent work, and besides the fact that he is prompt in his correspondence, that's all that matters.
(raise your hand if you wanted that sermon, lol)

I try to play anything that catches my ear. I've been playing left handed for three years or so now (before that I tried to play right handed, I consider that BC and it doesn't count)
This pedal has great tone, it will inspire you.
The tone knob is the thing here, people

Its 3 knobs, so easy to use

Im running through my fender strat usa, Ibanez S series, Ashdown peacemaker 60 amps, morley bad horsie wah, visual sound jekyll & Hyde, boss ds 1 aramat mod.

Arammat effect has done a very good job, i say that the best ds1 is the best distortion that i ever heard.. even if you turn the distortion level max, i still can get a good powerfull distortion sound.

if i use my ibanez, i can get the sound similar as steve vai, coz it has humbucker pickup,

this pedal has a good distortion sound for rhytm, but if you want to play a solo, just need to get a boost pedal or even boost with your overdrive pedal... sounds great

Its boss, i think i can depend on it, i dont think its easy to break.. i just got this pedal this morning, so i definitely going to put in my pedalboard..

keith is a friendly guy, he will reply your mail within 1 day.. RECOMMENDED A+++++

I play blues, rock and pop.. this pedal definitely gonna rock on the next comming gigs. I will definitely buy this pedal again if it were stolen or lost.. i wish that aramat need to mod with the volume booster on the pedal, i think thats a perfect idea...

3 knobs. Took me all of 30 seconds to find the sound I was looking for on this. I'd say yeah, it's pretty easy to use.

Setup: JS1000=>Volume pedal=>Marshall BB2=>Modded DS-1=>El-cheapo Mega GL30R amp

Never tried the stock DS1 nor any of the mods done by other people, so this review is based on my opinion of the Aramat modded DS1 in itself, not a comparison between other dist boxes or mods.

In a word, this is sweet. A nice, fat, thick, singing distortion. Lots of sustain (not weeks of it but plenty nevertheless), without sounding trebbly, shrill or thin, and very quiet both on and off. The sound just inspires new musical ideas. Since getting it, I've found it increasingly difficult to put my guitar down. During leads, its very responsive to the pick, and hence very expressive. For rythmn it's got a great fat crunch to it, and I get all this on the same setting, with tone at 11 0'clock and distortion at 3 o'clock.

One thing I do find, though, is that it's not that easy to get nice pinch harmonics out of it.

At this point, I wouldn't play without it.

It's a boss, I'm using it without a backup.

Emailed Keith with some enquiries, got a response in less than a day! That's better than most already!

Considering it costs less than a brand new stock MIT DS-1 over here in Australia, it's great value! A superb product with a reasonable price.

It got beautiful sounds coming out of my cheap amp, and it's gotten me to actually like practising on my own (something I used to get bored of real quick!).

9 out of 10. If I lost it, I'd probably try someone else's DS-1 mod just to compare, but I'm certain I wouldn't go wrong buying it again!

Pretty easy, three knobs, tone knob has a pretty usefull range, you have to turn it down with single coils, up with humbuckers. Distortion knob is usefull through the full range, even at 0 it has a nice light crunch

I believe this is a new mod from aramat, and he did an excellent job. An Incredible deal, WAY cheaper than AnalogMan or keeley, but I haven't tried theirs so I can't compare. It really retains the original DS-1 sound, just makes it better. Using Strat/SG through a Traynor YGM-3, or Traynor YBA-1 50 Watt head. Its more transparent, you can hear a lot of the guitars natural tone come through, especialy if you roll off the drive a bit. Adds a bit of bass, and gets rid of some harsh squealy highs common to the DS-1. Overall, it is much closer to a natural tube amp sound, very responsive/touch sensitive. Theres no midrange hump like a tube screamer, but its not an overly scooped mids sound either, it really is a very balanced frequency range. For what it is, it does what he said it does, so it gets a 10 in sound. A pedal is a pedal, if you want any better, buy the real thing.

Boss pedals are known for being well built. I had a look at the inside, and the mod is very clean, high quality parts used,no globs. It looks like an original mod as well, he doesen't change all the same parts as keeley or indyguitarist. I haven't had it long enough to talk too much about its reliability.

It was easy to buy from Aramat, excellent service. Keith answered all my questions, no problem. Shipped lightning fast to Canada, too (very unusual!) I've heard mixed reviews on here about shipping, but if you live in Canada and you order from the U.S., it doesen't matter what you buy, you run the risk of getting dinged by customs. They do RANDOM checks, it doesent matter what it says on the box. If you don't like it, purchase inside your country

overall, it does what it's supposed to do. Its a simulation of a heavily overdriven marshall type amp, I'm sure most people are familiar with the DS-1. This is a really good value however, its probably on the same level as most DS-1 mods twice the price