Boss DS-1 Distortion

Very simple to figure out. Tone, Distortion and Level knobs - they all do what they say. Easy to use, easy to find a variety of sounds.

I use this with a Roland Jazz Chorus Amp, which has the world's worst distortion onboard. The sound of the DS-1 is pretty boring, and although Boss claims great response to playing technique, eq, etc. there isn't much. At the same time, it does distort over a generous range. Best used in combination with some other effects.

Very well made.

N/A

It was cheap and it does the job. I use it happilly with all manner of other effects, and it always blends right in. The sound isn't exciting on its own, but for basic distortion it's very nice. Combined with a good overdrive, more meaningful sounds are possible.

There are three knobs- really easy to use. There is a manual if you're into looking at them.

This pedal has great sound. The tone knob gives a wonderful range as well as the distortion. This is THE pedal used on Nevermind- all except Lithium. I had no problem replicating the Nevermind sound, just took a minute or so of fiddeling. I use mine with a Crate GX-30M and it works really well. I have noticed a little noise from this puppy, but that could be from a crappy guitar (old harmony) or cables.

It's a Boss- you decide.

Never dealt with them- they probaly don't need customer support

I give this pedal a big two thumbs up. It's probably not the best there is(i.e. the DS-2) but I'm not complaining. It was bought to get the Nirvana Nevermind sound from their earlier years. If you can hook this puppy up with an EH Small Clone Chorus- you're hooked up. If this got stolen, I'd buy a DS-2 for something different, and then probably buy the DS-1 again- it's that good.

It can't be any easier than this! All you have are three knobs, Tone, Level and Dist. The level knob it really just a volume controll. It's so easy to use I got a good sound out of it within one minute of turning it on! Plus the instruction book gives you sample settings that are really great!

I'm using this pedal throught a Fender Champion 110 and a epiphone ES-300 strat. There's not a lot of noise when the pedal it on but there is a slight buzzing, althought I think that's coming from my set up because I've got cheap cables. If you turn this dist. up and the tone up you can get a good fuzz sound. If you turn the dist. and tone knobs down a little you can get a heavyer tube distortion sound. If you follow the instuction book's exaple setting for a crunch sound it also has a warm low distortion tube sond wich I love and by turning the tone knob in all directions you can change the sound from really warm to a almost tinny sound, Really cool!!! I give it a nine because there maybe other pedals out there with beter sound but for in this price range the sound is amazing. Beats the heck out of the DOD pedals I tried!

I would definetly use this thing at a gig without a backup. I've had this pedal since the fall and it still has the original roland battary either roland makes really good battarys or this pedal doesn't use up much juice. I've even left the plug in the imput jack which drains the battery but my little orange friend keeps on ticking. If I went on a gig tonight I wouldn't bother to change the battary in fact I don't think in even pays to buy the AC adapter because the battary last so long and you aren't resticted with the AC cord.

I've never had to deal with Boss/Roland but the give you an address to send it to in order to get it repaired and they have a WEB site and for AOL users you can go to KW: Roland for a lot of information.

I play music anywhere from alterntive to lite rock to folk/rock and this pedal is the perfect match, I can't tell you how much I love it. The price is so amazing, 40 bucks for a pedal with al of these features just blows me away. If you need a distorion pedal and you don't have a lot of money (like me) this is the perfect one!

3 knobs - level (controls volume), tone, and distortion step on the pedal pretty simple

I have tried this pedal with a variety of guitars and amps results are about the same with all, but it sounds best w/ humbuckers can get a variety of distortions from blues to heavy rock but it doesn't really do overdrive (check out the Boss SD-2 Dual Overdrive if you can afford it - a great sounding overdrive pedal) pedal is pretty noisy a good entry level distortion

"it's a Boss" but if you don't unplug it, it will go through batteries like crazy, so remember to unplug it or buy an AC adapter

never dealt with them

a decent distortion pedal, but there are many better ones out there (though it's great for playing "Wild Thing" - I wouldn't even think of using another pedal for that)

Straight ahead labeling of volume, tone and gain (or was it Distortion). Anyway, it's slightly more difficult to use than a MXR Distortion + because it has an extra knob.

I've had this thing since I was a junior in high school (79-80) and have continued to read reviews of the pedal over the years. I think it has been much maligned in print by "serious" guitar mags. It's sound quality is sorta buzzy in a classic fuzz sort of way. This does not mean it's undefined and can't handle chords. I've seen reviews saying it may be an okay blues pedal. This is true if you think the Yardbirds are a blues band. It does the latter-day Beck/Page era and early Hendrix stuff quite well. You can also get a decent Johnny Ramone out of it as well. Placing it in front of a Crybaby can get a fairly accurate Ron Asheton sound as well. It's not a "metal" distortion, but rather a well behaved fuzztone. It's great for anyone out there still playing hardcore.

When I eventually became a pro "alterna-rocker" I kept this pedal. I wound up playing gigs bigger than my amp could handle. I found I could get a good, useable and distinctive sound by using either a big amp clean, or directly plugging into the PA, and using the tone and distortion knobs as my only tone controls. The tone knob can generate a fairly wide variety of "colors" considering it's just a stompbox knob. It never broke, quit, or anything on me. I still have it, but don't play as loud and proud as I used to-thus I don't use it as regularly as I did. (In fact I get cooler results by stringing two lower output overdrives together-but that's another story).

Never had to call 'em.

I used it for this kinda garage punk stuff from @ '83 to '91without giving it much of a rest, and to this day it does everything I've always wanted in a fuzzbox. You can play '60's garage stuff w/ it and "punk rock" If you use it w/ a guitar with cheesier pickups (like a Mustang or something weaker) it gives up a slightly more retro/grunge sound (kinda like Mudhoney). With pickups w/ real prescence/output it can sound as contemporary as anything I've heard on the radio recently.

Well three knobs, if that is hard for you, i'm surprised you even learned how to buy this thing!
but if you can, it is a breeze.

Well, it seems to be the plauge, but my xp 100 whammy wah doesn't sound that great with the ds-1(they never do, do they?), and i'm going through a great little amp a peavy audition 110 with an ibanez rx 240. But the quality is very nice, I am a pretty big fan of fuzz, and this was the perfect pedal for me, considering that the price didn't kill my wallet, and it is boss quality, so i am quite happy with that. it sounds killer with humbuckers, but single coils, ehhhh..... there is no noise unless you go through a crap cord, but sometimes if you are after a less fuzzy noise, this is not the type of distortion pedal you want.(od ir ts-9 might be the ticket)

Well, lemme say this, if BB king landed on this sucker, it would not be damaged one bit.
i recommend buying an ac adaptor, using batteries can be a pain in the ass.
and perhaps we will never see a 1 for reliability for a boss pedal.

never, must be a pretty nice job.

Well since i am into Rage against the machine and deftones, and this is a great pedal for those bands. especially since one of the guys below me said that is resembles the rage song "know your enemy" and it does. This may not be the pedal for heavier stuff, i might want to get a mt-2 for that, but this is great for light distortion abilities. i also own a zoom 2020, xp 100 whammy wah, and this is great complement pedal, especially since my amp's distortion was kinda... ehhh.... and this really brings out the lively-ness of it.
if it were destroyed (BB's revenge?) it would buy it again. stolen? i would hunt the a-hole down and retrieve it, either that or just simply buy it again.
to sum it up, if you want a nice light distortion with light fuzz abilities, and versatility to boot, this is your pedal, if you want more heavier stuff, try a mt-2, but other than it is a grand pedal.(makes a great first!)
(send me patches if you have any!)

Three knobs: Gain, Level, & Tone. It can't get much simpler.

This pedal is remarkably versatile considering how simple it is. Turn the gain way down and the level up and it makes a decent low gain, boost although it can't really do the TS-9 OD thing since even with the gain down it's still fuzzy. Turn the gain all the way up and it's pretty much a typical fuzz pedal. I would not call this pedal 'tube-like' tone but it's pretty musical and very interactive with the type of amp you use. I've run it into my SF deluxe reverb, into a cheap SS amp, and into a SF champ. It sounds like dookie through the SS amp but the it works well with the Fenders. It doesn't give you a really monstrous distortion (you want big try the Metal Zone), but it's pretty cool IMO.

Boss pedals are built pretty damn tough. The only problem I've ever had is that the LED stopped working in my CE-2. Otherwise no probelms.

Never tried them, though I imagine they're decent...

This pedal isn't the best distortion out there but it's probably one of the best for the $$. I've had the Metal Zone and while it's pretty cool it wasn't for me. The DS-1 fits my style better and gives me an edgier sound when I want it. It's pretty buzzy but in a musical way, unlike a lot of other cheap distortion pedals. I think this would be an idea pedal for someone who's on a budget as well.

Easy to Dial sound in, just like tuning in an old Big Muff. However, it does get a little muffled on the bass side. It gives you extreme high treble side. The one I bought is a first year 1979 model, and its light does not stay on.

I use a JCM-800 Marshall 50w Combo, with a Gibson SG. It gives me a Fuzz sound that is pure, but again I have the 1979 version. I think this older version was made to sound just like a Big Muff of the time, which it does. It has that Nirvana Fuzz everyone talks about, but I don't know if Kurt Cobain used the old version.

It is a Boss unit, which means it is indestructable. I have yet to have a boss unit fail.

Boss is still in bussiness, however I havent needed their support. Their web site is very accesible

My favorite unit is the Big Muff, but if your looking for a close substitute, this older DS-1 will do in a pinch

Couldn't be any easier to use. 3 knobs (Tone, Level , Distortion)
Just gotta play around with the knobs to get the sound you wish.

I'm using this stomp box with a crate GXT212 combo amp and a Ibanez rg450 guitar. On the treble pickup, it can get noisey at high volumes, however on the bass pickup this noise is eliminated. Also i should tell you it takes a chunk away from your clean tone if you run it direct from the guitar to the amp. It sounded like shit through my fx loop though when i tried it.
You can get loads of tones of this pedal, it's very versitile. I can get anything from a bluesy type sound to a metalish sound.
With the distortion knob cranked up and the tone in the middle, I can get a tone similiar to Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine. Listen to Know Your Enemy's Chorus and thats what i'm talking about

I'd depend on it and use it in a gig. It doesn't drain batteries fast also.
The thing is a tank anyways. It will probably outlive me without any problems

Never had any problems

Other than the noise or the diminished tone in the clean channel. This pedal is excellent for all types of players out there.

Simply fiddle with it for five seconds and your ready to grind.

I prefer this pedal because of its RAW grungy tone. I use this with a Les Paul Special and an SG Standard going to a Peavey Classic 20 and its very meaty. I can also get a great fuzz sound out of this by putting the gain full, tone at 2 o'clock and using the neck pickup with the highs rolled off. IMHO, this little box can give you that "in your face" sound. Just listen to the good ol' Nirvana stuff and you'll get what I mean.

By the way its built, it will probably last forever. Keep it up Boss!

I love this pedal a lot. So if you dig a raw, fuzzy, dirty and grungy tone, save your amp distortion for the blues and give this box a spin.