Boss DS-1 Distortion

Easiest pedal to use i've seen.

To me it sounds good. Every thing on it has a good sound. The only thing better I think is the Creamy Dreamer, but thats about 3x more expensive.

It's a boss.

Everything on it is good. I've been playing for around 2 1/2 years. I've improve dramatically in the last six months. Play mostly acoustic lead, but I play lead electric guitar in two bands?(how weird is that) I have a little practice amp that I play on alot. I'm into Dave Matthews Band(their new cd rocks!),Tim Reynolds, Allman Bros., Dobbie Bros., Eagles, Waterdeep, and a local band in my city Retrospect. So I play alot of different styles.(anyways back to the pedal). The only thing I gave this a 9 is because the creamy dreamer is better.

It's only got the three knobs. Too easy to fool around with. So damn simply.

Great sound. Can be sharp - but if that's what you're after yippee! Make sure you are using it with a decent amp. My small Crate practice amp does not do the pedal justice.

I've kicked the shit out of it and haven't made a dent!!

N/A. 2nd hand purchase.

It's a classic. Everyone should play with this baby at least once in their musical lives.

Easy. Very easy. I loved this pedal but figured I'd make some money once I got my ZOOM 1010, so I sold it for a lousy $15.00; and the bastard still hasn't paid me for it!! He still owes me $2.00 for it.

Great sound, but it got feedback really easily and there was a lot of high and mid presence.

I gigged it and it was great!

Never needed to!!

I play NIRVANA, Aphasia and Metallica.

It's very very easy to use. It took me 2 seconds to find the right distortion. The tone knob is a great feature too. And because this pedal isn't a brainless metal zone your guitar's tone shines through, so you can hear notes and not just noise. You can get basically any distortion out of this pedal.

At the moment i'm using a Fender Strat USA-BOSS DS-1-Dunlop Wah-BOSS DD-3-Squire 15W, but that will change very soon. The distortion is very kind on my crappy s/c pickups, but does hum a bit. Once i get my ESP F-200 and Marshall 100W amp it probably won't make much noise at all. I can imitate just about anyone's sound. It works very very well with the wah and delay pedals, and doesn't affect the tone at all.

I've beaten the absolute crap out of this pedal and it just won't die. It's very hardy and very economical too. I've had it for 2 years and changed the battery once, and i play a couple of hours every day. I've never used a backup for it before, and never had to. One thing to remember is that you get a crispier sound when you're using an adaptor, and warmer more distorted sound with a battery. So if you're backing it up with an adaptor and the battery dies on you, it'll sound a bit different.

I've never had to deal with customer support czo there's never been anything wrong with it.

I play a lot of metal, and a bit of hard rock, and this pedal is fantastic for it. You get the right sound for any type of music with it. There's nothing i'd change with this pedal, it's great. If this was stolen, the first thing i'd do is get another one. I've played a lot of distortion pedals, like the Gibson Jackhammer and the Boss Metal Zone, and this one eats them alive. It lets you hear your guitar's tone running through it, unlike the metal zone.
If you're hesitating whether or not to buy one, don't think about it, just get it.

3-knobs, Dist. , level, and tone. Easy. Manual is ok, some decent demo settings.

Well, I bought this when I just had my Jackson PS-2, i was running my guitar, then the DS-1, then a Fender Princeton Chorus. What I found was that it sounded great, except for the fact that there was this extremely loud annoying hum when the pedal was on. Now i have a Schecter A7+ 7-string. Awesome guitar. My problem now was that i didn't have a distortion for the 7-string. I am currently running my guitar (either) into a Crybaby--Digitech RP200--Boss Accoustic Sim--
Boss DS-1--DOD Grunge--DOD EQ. I have a DOD ice box, but it sounds like shit, so i don't use it. The Digitech that i have had some good distortions on it, but none of them sounded good on the 7-string. The DS-1 was too wimpy and too noisy. But i just recently found out something of enormous importance. DON'T USE A DC power adapter with it, unless it is the Boss PSA power adapter for the pedal. Almost every other adapter will put that very annoyingly loud hum/hiss into your signal. It will also take some of the high gain out too making it sound way wimpier than the DS-1 really is. BOTTOM LINE: it's a good distortion for about any dist. sound you want. It can even do a metal sound when used with at least 1 eq pedal. 2 eq pedals can get a better metal sound out of it.

I've had this for like 3 yrs now, still fine.

i play my own stuff alot. cover bands: Spineshank, Korn, Silverchair, RATM, Skold, Mudvayne, so on... Really, this is an Awesome Dist! give it a chance with a battery. If you can, use a tube amp also. Another trick for something cool, if you have a tube amp, turn on your amps gain about half, then turn on the DS-1 set Dist. anywhere below half, and it'll pump ur amp's gain into overdrive. With the DS-1, i can get the Nirvana sound yeah, but i can get a decent Spineshank sound too. Korn sounds almost perfect. Mudvayne, not too sure if the dist sounds like em but sounds good to me.

only 3 controls

Sometimes, it doesn't have enought presence.
I think it must must be used with a tube amp like marshall or mesa to get more agressivity. The result depends a lot of what you use with it: it's not like Boss MT2 with sounds allways the same using a gibson or a fender.
You can get an interesting tone by supplying only 4 or 6V (more byte).

Nothing to say, it's Boss quality

never deal with them.

I play Hardcore/Brutalcore, I like sounds you can feel with your stomach (without too much basses).
You need to boost the presence of your amp to get bright sound. But it's a very versatile box for the price.

I have a Ibanez Ex and use the pedal after a Dano Flanger. It has no noticable noise on any setting I think the efect sounds good on any setting I use a Crappy RMS 400D amp but the Pedals make it sound good.
I got it with the intent to play nirvana and it sounds just like the real thing

I have had it 3 years hasent broke

never delt with them

Good for the price

Three knobs - easy

I HATE this distortion. It's just high end, crappy fuzz with no tone at all. There's no crunch, just flat ugly noise. I don't understand these folks who are giving this thing a 10. Nothing beats a great tube amp - but if you're going to go with a pedal, get the RAT. As for Satriani and Vai using this thing - nothing that I have EVER heard on their records sounds like this thing. There's know way they use this for real distortion - maybe just a chincy production effect.

Boss Pedals are always reliable

Never dealt with them

You won't break it - but who would care if you did? This is a just a really cheap distortion. Anyone who gives this pedal rave reviews is either using it as a stylistic effect in their music, or just inexperienced and really deceived as to what good distortion sounds like.

Keep the tone knob at the 10-11 o'clock position and you'll get nice tone.Anything past that and it goes into a screechy fuzz..yuck..This is a distortion pedal not a fuzz pedal for crying out loud. The distortion knob is great and sounds good when tweaked to my liking.
If you can't figure this out, you're an absolute moron and should go play the drums or something like all the other lamers...heh..

Has a very glassy distortion. I'm using it with a Fender '57 reissue strat and Epiphone les paul. It runs with a Boss DD-3,Ibanez TS-9 and Vox wah..The distortion sounds great for doing solos...It also adds nice sustain for the higher frequencies.Very nirvana-like sounds..really..

I opened the casing up to take a look inside. It's got a heavy duty thick metal casing. The cicuit board is tough and isnt likely to snap like the TS-9 circuit boards which are made by Maxon.
definitely can withstand a few world wars and still sound the way it does.

Never had to deal with em.

I play some alternative, rock..This is definitely not for blues players..I use my TS-9 for that.
I've heard the DS-2 Turbo and it actually has more punch to the distortion (ala Mark Tremonti from Creed).I kinda liked the DS-2 better and am gonna get it.

Pretty simple to get the sound you want. like most boss pedals, you dont need the manual, but it can reveal some helpful hints and give places for you to write down your favorite settings. The tow larger knobs are good cause you can use your toe to turn them while onstage to change your sound.

put it right after your wah or compressor. it can have mellow low-volume o.d. type sound to rough metallic stuff. Its a very versatile distortion and that is why i like it. It has been useful for me to experiment with what kind of distortion or o.d. i want so then i can go get that kind. it is a good pedal to begin with and many just keep it along because it is so versatile. sound quality is decent, but it is useful in many situations.

i dont think i need to comment on this part

obviously didnt have to deal with them

this distortion would be good for almost all types of music. its good to try to find a good sound for you with, and it works in most on stage situations. great pedal for your first years of gigging, until you find the perfect dist or o.d.

Hmmm three nobs-I am still wondering how to turn em.

sounds good on a moog.The jap version is better-Why?

I droped it off the space needle,a jock kicked it over a goal post,A punker threw it down a fight of stairs,I left it outside all year,I threw it under a tank,a fat chick sat on it,I left it in a radiation zone for a couple of months,I draged it behind my truck from seattle to vancover,I used it for a fishing weight,I put it in a plastic bag and lowered it 1004 feet under the pacific ocean,I put it in a trash compactor,I set it in a raging bon fire,Droped a RHODES PIANO ON IT!,my dog peed on it,I shot it with a b.b.gun,I choped it with an axe,and IT STILL WORKED!I SHIPED IT UPS AND THAT DID IT!! DOESNT WORK NOW!!!!!!

Well Im a customer,I stood on it and it held my weight so I guess its o.k.

good on analog synths

lets see....level, tone and distortion.....hmmm, where IS my manual.

Distortion plain and simple. Its a little hard with the tone past 1 o'clock though. I dig the pedal. its cheap and does the trick. (no pun intended for all you cheap trick fans) I own 2 actually. I use one as a fuzz and the other as, well, a distortion.

Boss rules plain simple. I use all boss pedals on my board w/o backups

if I were to lose this unit or my gear get stolen (heaven forbid) i'd definatly get another.

You step on it. If you can't figure it out, grow a brain.

When I bought this pedal I was a Nirvana-head in high school. The sound I was looking for was the distortion used on Nirvana's album Nevermind. I later found out that Kurt used something else, but this was close enough. I had at the time a Samick immitation strat, which I still have (still sounds cheap & awesome!). Today I play & record through my computer, and still use this pedal. It still serves its purpose, and it still rules all other distortions.

My pedal has been dropped down cement staircases, partially driven over by a 1978 Audi 5000, and launched all the way across a high school gymnasium only to be stopped by a cement wall. I've stood on this pedal many a Teen Spirit. It still sounds like it did when it was new. As long as I had a 10-pack of 9-volts, you bet I'd gig without a backup.

Oh yeah, it will support all of my weight. Plenty of customer support.

I play everything anymore. I've played for nearly six years now. I own the Samick mentioned above, a Fender Jag (1964 Vintage US, not import crap), a Fender Standard American, a Digitech RP-200 FX board, and a computer (my current amplifier). I will buy another DS-1 the day it ever gets lost or stolen. I love the sound, I hate the color (Orange? WTF was BOSS thinking?). My favorite feature is definitely the DIST knob, although the TONE knob is a close second. I compared it to Nirvana's distortion when I bought it. I thought this sounded close enough. I like it better, in fact. I wish it had room in it for a spare battery - that would be SOOO convenient.

Go BOSS. They aren't built to be used - they're built to be abused.

Very easy to use. I like the way the knobs are laid out. I have a TS-9 and I think this configuration, with the level on the bottom, is more intuitive.

I'm using this with an American standard strat, and a mexican strat with Fat 50's. Playing through a Peavey delta blues amp.
As far as noise goes, yeah, it's a little noisy, especially when you turn up the distortion. Not a problem though, unless you need to turn up the distortion all the way for some reason.
There are good sounds that come out of this, and bad sounds. It sounds bad with too much distortion, and moving the tone knob up past 1 o'clock results in a loss of bass and ear-piercing distortion. However, I have mine set with all the knobs at 12, and the result is a nice glassy distortion with what sounds like an even frequency response. This is exactly what I was looking for when I got this pedal, as I had two TS-9's, and I felt that they boosted my mids a little too much, and cut the bass. The DS-1 keeps the bass in tact, and what the BOSS site says about the sound, that "your playing characteristics come through" is definitely true. Overall, I'd describe the effect as a glassy distortion. It really does help cut through the mix at a gig.
The best example of the sound I acheived is like Chris Duarte's Cleopatra. I know he uses one of these, and if you listen to his stuff, you can hear what I'm talking about.
That being said, this effect is a one trick pony. There's nothing wrong with that, however, I'm happy that it does one thing and does it well. I use one TS-9 in conjuction with it to provide a full range of distortion effects, that cover blues to punk, classic and modern rock. I wouldn't recommend this for metal, though, as there is no mid-scoop that seems desireable for you metal guys.

I guess I'll be cute like everyone else and say "It's a BOSS, come on! Break, never! Hahaha, what a silly question."
Kidding aside, I've own many BOSS pedals over the years, and never had a problem with one of them.

Never had to deal with the company. Their web site is nice though. They have some good sound samples of their effects which may be useful.

I play blues and classic rock. I'm in a cover band, so I do some punk and modern rock too. This pedal helped me diversify my distortion tones, and replaced a reissue TS-9. I use this and the tubescreamer in series (giving me 4 possible combitions) into the clean channel of the Delta Blues amp.
I've been playing for 15 years. I own a number of BOSS pedals, all of which have been reliable, and have always done what they promised to do, even if that didn't fit my style. Used to own a Metal Zone, and that is THE pedal for metal, but not for me.
I think this pedal is an extremely good value, and I think people who have one and not liked it may have used it early on, because it's cheap, and therefore associate it with a cheap sound. I don't think it's cheap sounding at all. I would recommend trying it with a good guitar and tube amp before making a decision.
What do I love about this? The color. It's so...ugly. Can't miss it from a mile away.
I am able to compare this with the TS-9, which I like a lot. They're different beasts though. I am using this more as an overdrive pedal to drive the tube amp, and I think it works extremely well for that. It's not a "creamy" distortion, but that's what the TS-9 is good for.
Overall, I think this pedal is an incredible value, no question. Those not wanting to spend close to or over $100 for a good distortion or overdrive pedal should check this out. I don't know about the whole Japanese/Korean made thing that others talk about, but I'll wager that for an effect like this, there's not that much difference, and I have found things like that are mostly hype anyway.
The only thing I don't like about this pedal is the amount of noise at high distortion levels, but if you don't need a ton of distortion, it's not a problem.

Three knobs. Easy as pie. (Mmmmm, pie.)

If there is such a thing as refined distortion, you can't get it hear.
Get a Rat

So very solid. Insure it, place it on the railroad tracks closest to
your house, file a claim. If claim is paid, buy a RAT>

How many distortions and overdrives does Boss make, for chrisakes?
How many of them just don,t sound as good as a RAT?

Better than quite a few distortions out there, but (here it comes) it
is not a Rat.

Very easy to use. It has 3 knobs, a tone, level, and distortion knob. I tend to like the dist/fuzz/od pedals with only 3 knobs, much easier to get a good sound out of. The manual is useless since it is a no brainer, i tend to put my tone a lil bit before halfway, depending on the volume, i decrease in tone as i increase in volume. And distortion up all the way or 3/4 or 1/2 depending on what sound i want.

This pedal is basically for punk, garage, grunge, etc. Though i barely play that stuff i wanted a pedal that could get me that kind of distortion since i like the Sex Pistols so i am going to rate this pedal on how good it is for punk not exactly how much i like it.

First of all, i plugged it into my cali strat Yuck! Then i plugged it into my american strat and mexican strat and it sounded how punk guitar should sound. I got my Sex Pistols tone in seconds. Overall sound i give it an 8 cuz i only find it good for punk (sex pistols, ramones) and some classic brit rock (kinks, stones) and some hard rock in the 80's (acdc). So i will average the 8 that i think it is and the 10 i think it does for punk sounds it provides but since i dont play much punk stuff i have to avg the 8 and 10 to get.....

Ive had many boss's and they have never given me trouble

Never dealt with boss but if you shit is good enough so you never have to deal with them i give a 10

Well i traded my metal zone for this cuz i hated the metal zone that much, i didnt care about the price difference and im happy it does what its supposed to do and if i lost it, id spend a mere $50 and get another one cuz its the best punk pedal out there. Though my favorite pedal is the ehx big muff pi, try that out, i use it for everything but punk (which i could but the ds1 does punk and lil bit better). The big muff is heavy soft and creamy fuzzy distortion.

Theres only 3 knobs. But if u r a half retard,....read the manual.

I have a Schecter C-1+ w/ Dimarzio pickups: PAF Pro(neck) and SuperDistortion(bridge). And a YamahaRGX1220s with EMG81 in bridge.
This pedal was used by the likes of SRV, Kurt Cobain, Steve Vai,.etc,.. And i cant figure out why. If u are looking for a weak distortion with alot of unclear noise to go with your fender, Then get this. But if u have humbuckers and are looking for a great heavy tone that screams with harmonics and is as smoothe as butter. FORGET IT!!!

Its a boss,...they're built tough as nails.

Dont know. No one could have helped convince me to use this piece of shit once i got a good tube amp and good guitars.

I play alot of shit,...including; led zep,ozzy,guns n' roses,STP,Alice in Chains, godsmack, old metallica, creed,..etc,..
Mostly originals now. This pedal is for strats or other single coils. NOT FOR HUMBUCKERS. I've tried every possible way to use this thing and it always sounds weak, noisy, unclear, no harmonic responce, It makes my full sounding guitars sound like piece of shit squires. I hate this thing.

Super easy!! If you can't operate this little box then you... well im just speechless.

The quality is good. The distortion is good for not heavy fast metal, but better for mellow, punk, or grunge type music. But it depends on your amp too, though. I think it's awesome!!

The reliablity is great. I once dropped it off of an apartment two stories up and it played just as well. It's extremely reliable, but then again, aren't all BOSS pedals??

i never had a problem

It's awesome... it's highly recommended by me!! If you want to hear it in action <a href="http://www.geocities.com/Roxtar420">then click here,</a> or goto http://www.geocities.com/Roxtar420. But definitely buy it if you need a good dependable distortion pedal!

Easy as hell to use. Tone, drive, and volume? What more do you want?

I miss the lil' bastard. Sold it for $20 when I was getting a Fender Strat or something. I regret it, good for the price. Tone was a little useless, to a point, could have had better EQing, but overall it sounded good. I think I'll buy another one someday.

Very reliable. It's a Boss. You could beat three people to death with this thing, wipe off the blood and it would sound like it did the first time you played it.

Never dealt with Boss, or Roland.

I play all different styles. This is better for rock, and the like. For real [metal like] distortion, I'll use my amp, but for mild to high distortion, use this. Now excuse me while I kick my own ass for sellling it.

So simple, only a child could do it...3 knobs, Gain, Level, and Tone.
It gets a 9 because I have big fingers, and the Level is hard to reach.

Was using this as a test pedal for wiring pickups, and recently started using it for practice.
Pretty quiet, you get a little sibilant hum, but that just sweetens the antcipation. Kind of like a huge tube amp on standby. It sounds great! Can't belive I never used it before.

Built like a tank, but the jacks on the side have a way of backing out, and no matter if it is plugged in or not, the battery drains real fast. I tested this with my Danelectro BLT left on overnight and the Boss off and unplugged. Both batteries were fresh out of the pack, and in the morning, showed the same amount of juice. IE: next to none. I would gig with it, but it would be a hassle to pull the battery out at break. Haven't found a noiseless adapter yet...

Got this free, so I dunno...

I play punk, like Social D and this pedal works better than any I've heard at replicating that Mike Ness sound, probably cause he uses one, too. It really warms up solid-state stuff like my Crate I got rid of. I am expecting a mid-sixties Harmony 120-watt amp in a few weeks, we'll see how it does thru that. I play a '64 Silvertone hollowbody with Ibanez humbuckers, and this pedal responds well to the guitar. My rig goes: guitar>boss>blt>amp. The Boss stands up real well in the loop, and never gets too squealy or muddy. If it were stolen, I'd prolly get a Dano Black Coffee, and then with the cash I save by not buying a new DS-1, I'd buy two of them from a pawn shop for backups. Never had or heard of Boss pedals crapping out, so overall, I gives it an 8.

It is quite easy to use, sometimes it is annoying trying to get the perfect distorted sound cause of the three knobs, but overall, it is very easy to use!

i've got this kind of know one knows the company guitar and i play at school in a big hall, and it's quite good, even though my guitar os kindo of crappy, it makes the best distorted sound in the whole world!

i depend on it alot and it has been kind to me for not stuffing up, i would buy an adaptor in case the original battery runs out (cause the battery that comes with the pedal (some stores give you the battery and some stores don't)has a short life, but you can change it to a new battery and save the money on the adapter

as i was saying, the pedal has been really reliable and i have never rang up the company or try to get it fixed

It is really good, the best distortion i've ever seen, people should get it the orange paintjob looks sick too so it's vey cool, my friend bought another pedal (i think it was hyper metal) and it sounded kind of the same as this and it was more expensive than the DS-1 so i recommend it!

It Is somewhat complicated due to it's three knobs and rudley flamboyant orange paintjob. It seems to take hours to tweak to get the pefect sound, but it still rocks!

I use a plethora of Custom-Shop Squires and Custom shop Epiphone's. I use a combo of Dumble OD 120 & Vintage Line 6 Rectifier JCM Bassmans. This thing has the best distortion in the whole world. It sounds like a wall of Metallica-Inspired Full-Stacks. I also Use this with (6) Eventide harmonizers from the mid 60's (vintage Tone!)
All I can say Is this pedal Was the best 392 Pounds I have ever spent in downtown london.

Yes It is very reliable, except when it does not work. But I can Jangle It's Gangles, and the wanker works quick-as-a-wink Gov'na.

They are great. I ran out of Batteries, so I called them, and they sent over a Call-Girl and she twisted me johnny and It was great

I play in a Rap/Classical Band, and If it was stolen I would hire a P.I. To look for it.

3 knobs, not that hard to figure out.

The DS-1 comes 2nd or 3rd in my chain of effects. I play through a Fender Mustang and a Fender practice amp. the pedal is fairly noisy, but that is okay for me, since I like a little feedback/hum here and there. The sound quality is okay. I think the DS-1 is overrated. The distortion is great for Nirvana, but its not very versatile. It sounds more like overdrive than distortion. If you turn the level up too much, it becomes really noisy. I can't really get a great distortion out of it, since I have to keep the level down. I use a Boss CS-2 after if, so that smoothes it out a bit, but not too much. It does however sound great with a chorus pedal, especially an EHX Small Clone. Sounds crappy using a Wah. Overall sound it just a 6, okay i'll be nice and give it a 7. If all you want is Nirvana sound. But if you want a great distortion with a lot of variety, go for a ProCo Rat.

It's a Boss! I own 3 Boss pedals currently, and none of them have ever crapped out on me, even the older Japanese ones. BOSS = TANK

Never had to deal with Roland/Boss.

I have been playing for 6 year, and this pedal is okay for just messing around in the garage. It is not my main distortion though. If it were stolen, I'd probably go out and get a DS-2 off eBay since they go for dirt-cheap. It's simple to use and built tough, but the sound is just okay. It's too noisy for me. Compared to a Rat, the Rat blows this sucker away. The DS-1 is too overrated, mainly since Kurt Cobain used one. You can recreate his sound with no problem, but who wants to sound like Kurt ALL the time. Overall I give the DS-1 a 7, since it only gives a mediocre distortion.

It is easy as hell to get a good distortion out of it. the presets in the manual give you some examples but I use the classic rock setting anyway. The manual rocks to say the least.
if you can't figure out how to use this, I suggest you get your head out of your ass.

My setup now is thru a peavey bandit 112 with an extra peavy cabinet (2 x 12) a BC rich warlock with black widow headstock and the ds-1. I have had a DOD tec4 which was shit and I sold months after buying and then got a death metal DOD fx86 pedal :( DOD sux!! I sold both of those, and reverted to my amp distortion for gigging. amp distortion wasnt good nuff, so I decided to get a new pedal. I wanted a cheap, durable, good sounding pedal and thats just what I got. It's hard to get a good low end out of it at low volumes, but crank it up and you don't lose a bit of sustain. best pedal ive ever heard. you can't go wrong here

hell yes this thing is built like a tank!! My backup is amp distortion so...i really dont have the option of NOT having a backup, but say i did have the option i would definately trust it to the point where i wouldnt bring a backup

its boss pedal!! their customer support employees must have the most boing jobs in the world...just sitting there..waiting for one of their indestructible pedals to break...

I play all sorts of music. Nirvana, Tool, smashing pumpkins, foo fighters,ramones the cars and others. I have been playing for 5 years now and its the best pedal ive ever seen in my life! IF YOU DONT OWN BUY IT!!!! NOW!!! It kicks all DOD petals to hell

the only thing is if you play really heavy shit, you should look at a mt-2 metal zone, this is just a good punk/alternative and hard rock pedal

There are three knobs on this baby. Level,Distortion and tone. I like the cosmetics of the DS1 - it has the old style 'radio' knobs from the original DS1 and apart from the thumbsrew changing from metal to plastic the DS1 has remained unchanged down the years. It is a simple process getting used to the pedals controls and how they react to one another. The manual gives you loads of settings eg 'Punk,Fusion and American Metal etc...so you can find a sound that suits your style really quickly. My unit is one from a couple of years ago not a seventies original but I'm told that the sound is pretty close.
Overall this is an easy thing to use - with manual or without.

The sound quality is good. Very good. To me atleast. I'm not alone either - Joe Satriani,Steve Vai,Kurt Cobain,SRV and loads more swore by/swear by the DS1 live and in the studio. I use a Telecaster or Tanglewood resonator through a big list of effects. If you want some cool pictures go to http://nadzb.tripod.com/thepedallair/.
The settings I use most is level just past 1oclock to drive my amp,Distortion on about 2 or 3 and tone on 2 or 3 too. This gives a nice rounded off and smooth tone - not metal or bluesy but nice for me without sounding cliched. On the other hand if you want metal or bluesy you'll find it in here somewhere.
The pedal can be a little noisy too - especially with the treble and distortion cranked. I don't use the DS1 for lo-fi fuzz, It can do it but I prefer my BigMuff. Sometimes though if I want o put an idea on tape and the DS1 is near by I'll use it. It has that flexibility needed in a good distortion pedal.
On the whole the DS1 interacts with other effects well and I have no problems incorporating it into my setup. It reacts well with picking dynamics and pickup selection and is infinitely useable in many styles of guitar,or if you like,keyboard music.

Well its a BOSS..so its a ten.

I dunno fred....

I like the DS1. Its a good reliable thing to have. If you have a wife you may get what I'm about to say. Other girls/pedals may attract you with there reckless abandon and excting,on the edge personality but at the end of the day we all know that these girls/pedals can never be trusted for too long before something goes wrong. The DS1 on the other hand is in it for the long haul. It'll always be there when you need it and you can rely on it. She may not be on the edge or whatever but when all those dodgy pedals have gone and left you and moved on to pastures new, the DS1 will be there. Do you get me...? Thought not - Bollocks to it - go buy one and see what I'm rambling on about!

3 knobs...play with it....there are actually only two knobs - distortion and tone, so it is even easier. Not as easy as a Dimension C, but all the BOSS 3 knob pedals work similar.

I had this pedal...traded it away, and just recently got it back. See, the problem is that most people do not know how to use this pedal correctly. yes, It will work in between the guitar and a clean amp, but to unlock the secret, you have to run the distortion pedal into a distorted amp. Lessen the gain on both the amp and the box...blend them and you will get an awesome tone!!

BOSS

Never dealt. Never needed to.

Know how to use it -- its ok to rely on for distortion but it is definately a booster. Cheap.

This is fairly simple to use, although it can be very difficult to adjust the level to an acceptable volume if you frequently change the tone or distortion settings. It's not too tough to dial up whatever settings you want other than that, there are only two knobs to control sound.

I'm using a Yamaha Pacifica through a Danelectro Cool Cat chorus, into the DS-1, then into my Marshall 1x12 combo 30W amp. There is a bit of noise, but I'm hesitant to blame much of this on the pedal because my pickups are very cheap (I'm looking to replace them soon). The sound of this pedal is pretty gutsy, but I have had a lot of trouble getting it to give me a nice bassy sound - I use my amp's overdrive channel if I want that much depth. I am also a little irritated that this pedal tends to distort a little bit too much at its lowest setting. I have tried to get a tone like Jimi Hendrix, and it does a mediocre job at providing this. When used with my chorus pedal, I can fairly well produce the sound for lead work or most chords, but this pedal even at its lowest distortion tends to make horrible sounds with the slightest dissonance. I may be going about the approach to his sound all wrong, but I am fairly certain I am not. For anyone wanting the Hendrix sound, I recommend an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi. Apparently that is what Jimi Hendrix used on many occasions.

This thing is like a rock, and it gets very good battery life. Without an AC adapter though, I would be hesitant to use this in the field without at least another battery for emergencies. When this thing gets to about 30% juice remaining, it begins to sound like crap.

I've never dealt with Boss, but I don't like their website very much.

This pedal is pretty nice for playing with a moderate amount of distortion, but for really light or heavy stuff there are better options if you've got a setup like mine. Perhaps with an overdrive pedal, compressor, or EQ it could deliver a little better on the heavy side, but it's still too touchy for light stuff. For the money, this is a good pedal (it does heavy stuff better than the Big Muff Pi), but if you're not trying for a generic moderate distortion then there are better pedals out there. Keep in mind that you may get different results based on your setup, however.

This pedal has three knobs: tone, level and distortion.

The sound quality of this unit for the price is amazing. I play an Ibanez RG770 into a Morley Bad Horsie Wah=> DS-1=> Mesa Boogie Mark III Simulclass with a TC Electronic G-Force in the effects loop. The tone I get on this setup is what I have been looking for. The amp's master volume does have to be on 3 or higher to get this good tone. When the volume of this amp is below three this pedal sounds a little weak but I still like it better than the Boogie's lead channel. I have played this pedal through a Groove Tube Soul-O 75 and a Carr Slant V6 and it sounded like crap through both even though the Carr's clean channel is the best out there. I still can't nail the Steve Vai sound, I think he uses the older Japanese verion. I thought about getting the Japanese version but I am satisfied with this Taiwanese one. I set the tone on 9 o'clock, the level at 11 o'clock, and the distortion at 3 or 4 o'clock. This is a really smooth distortion sound. I have owned both the Budda Phatman and Zenman and this pedal sounds a lot better to me. They say their pedals are transparent, I agree that they sound good in good amps and crappy in crappy amps, but I can't hardly tell the difference when I switch pickups. With this cheap DS-1 I can tell a big difference and this pedal sounds incredible when I roll back the volume on my guitar and use single coils. To get the best sound out of this pedal use the pedal settings I use and use your guitars volume knob to get lighter distortion sounds. Make sure you have a roll-off capacitor on your volume pot or your sound will muddy up when you back of your guitars volume.

This is the first Boss pedal I have owned but I here the last forever.

Here is where my biggest complaint is. When you puchase the pedal it says on the box, on the pedal, in the manual, and on the Roland website to use boss 9V psa series adaptors. Musician's Friend's and AMS's websites say to use aca series adaptors. Also when you call Roland product support they tell you to use aca series adaptors. Which is correct? I haven't the slightest clue. I did purchase the ACA-120G adaptor and tried the PSA-120T adaptor that I already had. The ACA-120G, which provides 9.0 unregulated volts, caused a noticeable hum. The PSA-120T, which provides 9.6 volts regulated, didn't cause a hum. I am sticking with the PSA-120T even though it provides 9.6V instead of 9V(PSA-120) because a lot of Boss pedals can use the PSA-120 or PSA-120T. I think the ACA-120G, which is made in Japan, is for the older Japanese made DS-1, the PSA sereies are made in Taiwan. I give Boss/Roland a 7 because they were really friendly even though they gave me the wrong information.

Overall this pedal is great. Just make sure to use the psa series adaptors unless you like a noisy hum. I haved played country, rock, pop, and heavy metal all in the same set list at a gig before and this pedal would work for all except heavy metal even though I wouldn't mind using it for some Ozzy tunes though. If it were stolen I would get another one. To me this pedal is better than the expensive Budda pedals and I have never been thrilled with DOD pedals except the Milkbox.

3 knobs. Easy.

??The best thing you can get for the money. Sweet and crunchy at minimum.
Sweet and saturated at maximum. I use two set up in this way. Satriani
and Vai use it and now I know why. Even when
your amp is totally distorted the DS-1 will add sustain and harmonics
instead of puking out the sound as too much distortion in front of a
distorted amp will usually do. Very special in that regard.

Boss is boss

??????

the best in a pinch the one to have if you only have one
full sweet tone the pedal has very little mids however so
if you like mid boosts it won't do that

ONLY THREE KNOBS. MANUAL SHOWS YOU SOME DIFFERENT STYLES

I HAVE A JACKSON DINKY WHICH IS GREAT FOR METAL AND VERY CHEAP.
SOMETIMES TOO NOISY

LASTS FOREVER.

NEVER HAD A PROBLEM

good for grunge, punk, and some types of metal

This is a basic 3 dial distortion box. Gain, Tone and Level. If you can't figure that out, then nothing is going to be easy to use.

I use a Fender Mexico Strat through a Crybaby Wah, the DS-1, and now a Jeckyl and Hyde overdrive. This all feeds into a Fender Deluxe 112 + and more recently a Marshal MG50RCD. I am amazed by the difference between the two amps. When used on the Fender, it goes from moderate overdrive to crunch, but with the Marshall, it goes from crunch to a sound somewhere in between a DOD grunge and a DOD death metal. The pedal is somewhat noisy, but that is to be expected for distortion. My only complaint is that the high gain settings sound transparent. Stil great

It's a Boss which means two things
1) It is indestructable
2) buy the AC adapter because it sounds like crap when the batteries go low

Never dealt with them. Doubt I will have to

I've been playing for about 7 years now. I play just about everything, but mostly blues and heavy rock. Of all the plain old distortions out there (not overdrives or metal pedals) this is as good as it gets until you get up into the all tube boxes. It kicks the crap out of it's competitors (DOD supradistortion, Ibanez DT-7, and other similar models). I can't really compare it to my Jeckyl and Hyde because one half is a tubescreamer and the other is more like a metal pedal. I can't see what more the turbo version of this one has to offer. At least not for my type of music. My only regret is that it doesn't have as much bass boost as I would have liked.

Very easy to get a good sound out of it, use the presets given in the booklet and tweek them the way you like it. Just dont turn the tone past halfway.

SO easy to get a good sound. I play metal (metallica) and punk type stuff and theres just the right amount of distorion. Ive been playing for 4 years and have a shitty amp and this thing is all i need to sound good. Would of gave it a ten but when you turn the tone past half way it sound like ass.

Of course you can depend on it. ITs a freggin tank.

Dunno. Probably good.

I play anything from metal to punk. Don let any of the people below tell you this thing doesn't have enough distortion. I get the perfect tone outta this. I have a ESP LTD H-300 EMG-HZ stock pickups (there great) and that does throught my dunlop 535Q Wah + DS-1 Distortion + Boss 7 band EQ + Danelectro Reverb(its weird but its got some good sound to it) into my POS Fender Deluxe 112 Plus (Dont EVER buy one the speaker cant even handle the volume passed 1 1/2 and it has shitty distortion. I have a Sovtek mig-100h im just waiting for the cab i bought. Then ill be set up. you will not be disappointed by this pedal at all.

It's a freaking pedal for christ sake. Three knobs, level, tone distortion. Level changes the output level, tone sweeps from bassy to trebly, and distortion chanes how distorted it is.

Playing my US Floyd Rose Classic Strat through a DS-1, then NS-2, then DD-2, into a fender yale reverb. This pedal is quite noisy (hence the noise gate) using my PAF PRO bridge. The sound is very shreddy, it makes excellent steve vai, joe satriani type distorted leads (they use it so it should), it also makes some jazzy/classical al di meola type leads very well. This pedal sounds better with humbuckers, single coils sound flat and dead and unless you use other effects I wouldn't reccomend it for single coils. It is only a lead pedal, it is basically useless for playing chords except in a few joe satriani songs, but for classic rock, or basically anything with lyrics, forget it.

It's a freaking boss. The Batteries last FOREVER, just remember to unplug it, I played it regularily for weeks on the same batterie and was always greeted with a bright red light on top. I now power it using the ns-2 chain and it works great.

Never dealt wit hthem

I play shred and jazz and basically anything complicated, and this pedal does GREAT, but beware of noise, might be a good idea to get a noise gate.

It really only has 3 knobs...

I'm using a Fender Roc Pro 1000 4x12 and I have to tweak my amp settings just to get something other than a high end screaming sound outta that box with both my telecaster and my sg. But with the tweaking I could get a good metal/rock sound.

I've dropped it plenty of times and it's made to be stepped on.

Never had a heart to heart with Boss

I play just basicly rock and blues and I used to play metal. This pedal can really put out a high end screech, so I guess it's ideal for you low end users. Just be aware that when i say high ended, I mean it's HIGH ENDED... Like has very little bass and too much treble.

Easy 2 use. TONE, VOLUME & DISTORTION controls, a foot switch and IN 'N OUT jacks. Standard features for fuzz box controls.

I did not get a box or manual at the yardsale.

This review is for 2 DS-1's. My first one was made in Korea (I think) and my current one was made in Japan. So, my review will be differentiated by place of manufacture.

I use 3 Strats, Squier ProTone (SSS), American standard (SSS) Mexican Standard w/ B-G-R Lace Sensors, Danelctro DC59 (SS) Ibanez Artstar AS80 (HH). My amps are Fenders; Deluxe Reverb (tube), Pro Jr. (tube), Vibro Champ (tube) & M80 combo (solid state).

The Korean unit was noisy with a lot of hiss. The tone was lifeless and without character. It had a lot of gain but that was it's only good point. I can list NO SETTINGS that sounded good on this one.

The Japanese unit is the one to get. With TONE at 9 o'clock, volume at 11 o'clock and the distortion on max, it has great classic rock distortion and you can get sounds like Steve Vai. Mr. Vai uses one of these. You can tell Vai's is a Japanese unit because the black lettering is a little thicker. You will only find these on the used market. If you see one GET IT!! It has a good singing tone and works very good for rockin' slide guitar solo's.

My rating is for the Japanese unit.

When I got it, the control potentiometers were loose and one knob was broken. The case had dings, the paint was chipped. The volume potentiometer was scratchy and would not take a cleaning. It had to be replaced.

In the 2 years I've used it live, it has never failed. I use it with a seperate, regulated, 9 volt power supply. It is rarely used on the internal battery.

I've never contacted Boss. I fix & build my own gear so, I fixed this one myself. (A bad volume pot.)

I got this used at a yard sale with 5 patch cords, a chord book and a metronome for $5. Talk about a once in a lifetime find!

I play Contemporary Christian Music in a church worship team. (Classic rock, jazz, country, funk, folk, gospel, R & B, blues, dance, slide.) I have been playing guitar 36 years & I teach music.

My setup is; me -> GUITAR -> TS5 -> DS-1 -> Ibanez Chorus -> Boss TU12 tuner -> Rolls Volume pedal -> amp -> speaker -> mic -> PA system -> audience ^ heaven.

If it were stolen, I'd forgive the thief. Then, I'd hunt down an identical, JAPANES MANUFACTURED replacement.

Use Energizer alkaline batteries with all pedals. Duracells DON'T LAST as long. Also, Duracells are the only battery that has ever DESTROYED one of my effects. The darn thing leaked acid on a circuit board of my old MXR Phase 90. R.I.P.

The Japanese DS-1 is a valuable link in my tone chain. With a Tube Screamer in front of it, and both pedals on, the tone is *HEAVENLY* on said strats using the front PU only.

The Japanese unit obviously uses different components than the Korean unit. This must be the secret to the significant tone difference between the two. The Japanese unit is the winner, here.

Very easy to use- only three knobs. The manual is pretty good- only takes about 5 minutes to read.

If you are after the classic distorted 909 kick, the DS-1 along with some EQing and compression is what you're hearing. It also works well for processing synths through- for some reason it really shines with analogs through it vs. digital. That's not to say you can run digital synths, but it does do nicer things to analogs ;)

In the more extreme settings it does produce some hiss/noise so you'll want to gate it.

If you want to hear some samples go to:


http://www.mp3.com/SpiderSounds


There you'll find several 909 effected bass drum samples and a couple effected synths samples.

Take care of it and the two of you will be happy for a very long time. Well build.

A good effect to have in your collection. Very handy and used all the time. Adds an added depth to synths and drums. They are pretty cheap new or used, are easy to use so you really can't go wrong. Recommended.

I use this pedal as a booster...full volume, no distortion, no tone...kick ass.

Pretty easy to get a good sound out of it because all you have to do is turn the knobs, 3 knobs (Tone, Volume, Distortion), cool orange case.

I use this pedal with a Fender Standard Strocaster into a Marshall Valvestate VS256R as a booster pedal. What this means is I am trying to further overdrive the preamp stage of my amp to get a thicker, heavier, richer, more saturated distortion. My usual setting for this is full volume (5 o'clock), a little bit of distortion (7 to 9 o'clock), and tone really anywhere. You really need to spend a while tweaking it for this task, but once you do, it kicks a major ass. I repeat...spend about 5 minutes tweaking and playing to get a good sound for you or a song or artist, and this thing is killer. The one thing that I absolutly hate about this pedal in this role is how it adds feedback and killer background noise. This noise part sucks. It is damn noisy as a booster pedal. I will soon get a noise reduces to help. You have to have strong contol of your guitar and turn it off immediatly after using to quickly supress the noise. Boss should add a built in noise reduces, but that could seriously fuck everything up in the control department.

It survived a fucking trip through the U.S. Postal Service.

Never dealt.

I play heavy metal mainly, my favorite group is the Deftones, followed by Pantera. I try not to copy them; instead, I aim to create my own sound. This is why I use this pedal as a booster/line driver/overdrive/distortion pedal role.

although it has 3 knobs its not all that easy to get a great sound out of this pedel. i suggest reading the instuction book before setting it.. it has draw out presets that work well.

i use an ibanez rg 550 and i run the ds-1 in my fender bassman with a 2 12inch speaker cab. this thing has kind of a gritty tone. thats why i suggest using the presets. it isnt very noisy and im wondering why some of the other reviews say this thing feedbacks when i cant get one ill sound out of it. the tone reminds me of a marshall stack. this pedel can be used for so many things. *extra tone for leads* *to push tube amp distortion* *fuzz* amung as others. the reason this pedel gets so much crap is that metal heads buy it thinking its going to sound like Korn. but THIS IS A ROCK PEDEL. it can be used for metal but i suggest you have some talent before you try using this thing. if you want Nirvana tone and a basic classic rock sounding pedel then this is a good choice. Boss makes nice stuff, other brand distortions are pretty crappy and the good ones are by companies that not everyone knows about.

yeah, this thing never dies. Boss makes great stuff.

i have dealt with Roland/Boss and they take what they do very seriously. ive never had to repair a pedel and if i did itd be because i took it apart and messed with it.

i love this pedel because its so damn basic. it sounds great and its not over blown. this pedel is for the old school player or the emo kid that likes weezer or something like that.

the one i have now is the 2nd one i bought because i sold the 1st one i had because i didnt need it, so yes i would buy it again because its timeless and sounds great.

i would compare this pedel to a marshall jmc 900 tone. i owned a marshall at the time i bought my 1st ds-1 and they matched well.

the only thing i hate is that you really have to know what youre doing to get the right sound out of this thing.

i use it when i wanna get away from my big fancy stuff and over blown amps and just get back to the basics. i feel it does help me make music. it has timeless tone and although ive never recorded with it, im sure it would sound perfect!

these things sometimes go dirt cheap. they are the best distortion for its price range. do you think Boss's main distortion would sound bad? they have been making this thing forever with one upgrade. the ds-2 with a 2nd setting for more gain. i want to get that pedel aswell!!!

It has three knobs, a tone, level, and dist. If you can't figure it out go back to pre-school.

I have an ibanez GSA 60, and a Les Paul special 2. Peavey bandit (100watts) a zoom 505, HM-2, and a CE-5. This pedal is bullshit! If you want to hear what it sounds like, shove a 15 inch dildo up your cats arse and listen to it squeal. It's the most nosiest, most disgusting sound i've heard in my life. This sound almost turned me off distortions all together. Get a metal zone or heavy metal. Anythings better than this. You can't get a smooth sound, and the tone is fucked. Someone said the guitarist from the red hot chilli peppers uses one. He's a smack head so that explains that. I still only have mine just as something to laugh at. It's almost as big joke as ibanez adding a handle into some of there guitars. This pedal is a disgrace to BOSS.

I wouldn't depend on it at all. If you rocked up to a gig with this, i'd be there to throw bottles at you.

It's a BOSS, so it's built like a brick. Strong as. It would probably benefit everyone if it broke, though.

One word : FUCKED. If it were stolen, i'd probably thank the thief that took it. If you buy one of these after you've read this, you must be dumber than a dog with cerebral palsy. I play early metal, such as Metallica and Slayer, as well as modern punk, such as Lagwagon, NOFX, and Blink 182. Get a metal zone. It's completely versatile.

3 knobs-level, tone, distortion. So i give it a ten cuz im not an idiot

this p.o.s. was worse than my MXR (which i hate) my o.d. on my old stone practice amp sounds better than this sh*t box, i hate it. the distortion is as weak as it comes. my hook up is fender strat>ds-1>mt2>jh1 wah wah>fender rocpro.

if u r looking for a weak dist. then get this, but unfortunatley i wasnt.

i traded it in the same day for a Fab tone

does not take alot of knowledge to use. There's a tone, level and distorion knobs. Took like 10 mins to learn and find a good sound. The manuel that comes with it has a few nice settings to get started.

My setup is a peavey raptor => a dunlop crybaby=> dod icebox chorus => boss ds1 distortion => peavey rage amp. Its pretty noisey but the other pedals help bring the hum down. it's first distortion pedal i'm happy with it. i paid 30 dollars for it and it pleases me. i know the lead guitarist for the red hot chili peppers uses one. i highly suggest it for anyone looking for a cheap pedal with good sound.its good for nice crunch and power chords. it doesn't let the guitar ring to well but its still quality.

this thing is a tank. its made of nice metal and will last. i've never giged with it but i would bring a backup just in case something happens. this little pedal will last

never delt with them but they have a nice web site.

This pedal is quality and great for alternative and some classic rock. i wouldn't buy a new one just because i would want to see whatelse is out there. i highly suggest it to someone just getting started or people who want a cheap trick.

This is a Really easy pedal to use. The distortion switch shouldnt be turned all the way up unless you want it to totally drain your chord, (exept power chords).

The Sound is good for what you get. please listen to me i was one of those people who wanted that creed, limp bizkit sound. It will not give you that full creed sound. (thats due to the the mesa boogie triple rectifier). but it will give you some blink sounds. just dont get to overzealous. alittle goes along way with this. i give it a five becasue if you want the creed pod sound get the boss metal zone.

Will not break. at all. Remember to unplug both input and output connection or it will use up the battery.it may give a crackling once and awhile but not to get worried about.

never did. i bet its good

If you are new into guitar and think youw ill get that creed sound or limp bizkit sound like i did you will not but it is much better than using the amp distortion. overall it will get the certain job done right

Great, three knobs, no mess. No stiff movements, easy to find that sweet spot.

Cant say enough!! Gorgeous tone, and an incredible range of distortion. My friend uses a pedal board and he's still jealous of my little DS-1. I shoped around for two years before I bought my first distortion pedal, and this is the only one that kept on calling me back. I play it with an Ibanez Gax-70, and combined with the two powersound pickups I'm in tonal heaven! The one flaw I noticed was it lacked with single-coil pickups. I usually play it through my little Carlo Robelli 10 watt amp and it sounds incredible.

Wouldnt use anything else. Plus, I have yet to change a battery in about five months. Thats sick!

? Nuff said

Works incredible for punk, grunge and even metal! Totally matches the Nirvana sound I seek so well!

three nobs......think about it. not too hard to get an ok sound out of.

sounds pretty good, nothing really to write homee about. it's more like a good friend rather than the be-all-end-all distortion. yes, there are some things that this pedal absolutly sucks for, like metal and country. but it is good for some lighter grunge and some good alternative or punk sounds. oh, and to that "godmachine" down below, go to
www.guitarnuts.com/amps/myths.html
and learn the truths about amps.

overall, this is not a bad pedal. but one thing is, im using it with a loot of DOD effects in the chain, and it doesn't really stand out like everyone said it is. "get this pedal, it is WAY better than all your other effects." they said, but really it isn't. so, don't expect it to instantly make your chain the holy grail, like some people think that boss' do. they won't really be what everyone hypes them up to be. this was my first experience with boss pedals, and i have to say it was a little bit of a dissappointment, but it wasn't a bad experience, it was rather good, but just not what everyone said they were. overall, given its pros and its cons, it wasn't a bad pedal.

well, im not giving a ten here for a few reasons. 1) people complain about DOD's footswitch being plastic. well, guess what, Boss footswitches are also plastic. just open up that part where you put the battery in and look at that cheap plastic switch. 2) I HAVE seen broken boss's before. that's right, they aren't indestructable.

well, this is a good match for alternative, punk, and grunge. it also can get some good blues sounds.

Its pretty easy to squeeze good sounds out of this little box. All it takes is a good wrist and a good ear. The manual is a typical BOSS manual. It gives a few good settings and thats about it.

My setup is in this order: Yamaha Pacifica 120 - crybaby535 - BD2 Blues Driver - DS1 Distortion - GE7 EQ - CE5 Chorus Ensemble - BOSS ME-30 - Fender Deluxe 90. I've read many of the reviews on this pedal and I am in awe at how many of you guys can't seem to get a good setting on this thing. All of you who are having trouble with it just take this little piece of advice...DON'T TURN THE TONE KNOB UP PAST 12 O'CLOCK. Thats it. I can get a decent distortion out of this box using any setting as long as the tone isn't up too high. This pedal isn't for all you metal heads out there. It is a very generic distortion. If you own an EQ then this is a very good and cheap pedal to buy that will compliment your EQ well. But this pedal stand alone quite well. This is in no way the best distortion pedal on the market(not even close), but its cheap and can give you good sounds if you're not dumb enough to set the tone wrong. The only real problem I have with the pedal is the volume. It seems to suck the volume out of my signal. Even by setting the volume all the way up it just isn't as loud when activated. It is a simple enough problem to overcome...just have to turn the volume on all my pedals down and turn the amp volume up.

I can depend on it, but if something happens to it during a show I can relay on my Blues Driver(awesome pedal)

I've never dealt with them

This is a good pedal. Don't take my word for it, actually go to the store and take a look. I think you may be able to find a better stand alone pedal, but you'll pay much more. If you have an EQ then this is a good buy because the sounds are endless.

Standard drill, 3 knobs; volume, tone and level. I think, however, that the sweep of the tone knob seems to do more than just your standard bass vs treble mix... but who knows. Easy to work with, turn level and distortion all the way up and adjust tone to taste.

You know, I don't know WHY I put off buying this damned pedal for so long. I have been through so many distortion processors it isn't funny, and what did I finally land on as my final decision? The first one that came to mind to begin with! *laugh* I kept thinking I could find something better, bla bla bla... and it all ended up comming back to this. Don't make the same mistake, try this one first! The distortion plays like butter, which struck my attention. The sound leaps off the frets like it never has for me before. In past experiences it has seemed the distortion was somewhat forced, such is not the case with this pedal. Excellent sound quallity. By the way, to all the crackheads who compare this pedal to the Metal Zone; STOP! The MZ is an entirely diffrent type of distortion from this pedal. If you want a crisp, responsive distortion tone with just the right ammount of punch, the DS-1 is the way to go.

My only gripe at all with this pedal is the fact that it kind of flops when used with a single coil pickup. It was obviously designed purely with high-output humbuckers in mind. This, however, is not a problem for me because if I'm using distortion it's 99% of the time through the bridge humbucker.

BUT... that all metal casing comes at a price... Boss (and DOD) pedals are pretty much mini AM receivers... so make sure you click the pedal off during song breaks or you'll treat the audience to some gospel AM radio.

Don't be fooled by all metal casings, that doesn't mean this or any pedal is indestructable. Yanno the switch? The little switch UNDER the big metal switch? It's still plastic, jocko, so don't use your pedals for mexican hat dancing.

As long as you don't beat them like redheaded step-children, most any pedal will go the distance for you.

Boss... kind of... arrogant, isn't it? They do make nice stuff tho.

I'm not going to recound EVERY distortion effect I've gone through, but I will say a word on the other BOSS pedal I owned, a HM-2 Heavy Metal. This pedal is essentially the same as the famed Metal Zone, but with diffrent EQ. The MH-2 utterly flopped for me, the distortion sound was far too grainy, and seemed to actively syphon the nuances from my playing, all in all a very bland experience. The DS-1, on the other hand, proved to be exactly the oposite, rather than stripping away your playing quirks,it enhances them giving your sound a much smoother feel. All said, Mr. Steve Vai uses this pedal on his live rack. Now you may say, "but I don't want to sound like Steve Vai" ... well, don't worry, you probably never will *laugh*. But my point is, he's a seasoned vet,and VERY picky about his equipment and since I don't recall ever seeing him plug BOSS pedals, I would assume he uses it purely by choice. Nuff said.

I love it . It gives you a real nasty sound. You even get fuzz tone out of it. If you play blues, rock, and jazz, it's the one for you.
The manual shows you all the good settings for different sounds.

I'm using a Fender Stratocaster, and a Classic 30 all tube combo. Its got a level control on it so it will only be noisey when you want it to be.

I can depend on it. I would use on a gig if I didn't have a backup.

I have never had to repair it.

I play rock and blues. I have been playing for 8 years. I compared it to the Danelectro Daddy-O. I like them both equaly.

Very easy to use. Three knobs; Tone, Level and Distortion. This pedal's simplicity is misleading. Each of the controls are fairly sensitive to each other resulting in a hell of a chase for that sweet spot. Its there though. It just keeps moving on you with every tweak of a knob.

I play a Strat Plus, MIM Telecaster with Seymour Duncan pick-ups, and a The Paul II by Gibson through a "Evil Twin" by Fender. Effects chain; Boss Compressor/sutainer--Boss Ds-1 Distortion--Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer--Alesis Nan0verb. The DS-1 is fairly quiet at all but the most loudest settings. It seems to be able to cover most of my heavier distortion needs beyond the tube screamer. What I find stange about this pedal though is that it will sound great on one setting and sound terrible on another. (I'm not forgeting amp settings, but this is a review on the pedal) There is middle ground between the two, but this area seems to change from time to time. I love this pedal one day and hate it the next. So strange. I'm no Eric Johnson, but different kinds of batteries really seem to make a difference in this pedal. I find I like the copper tops the best. I also play it after the tube screamer at times. I probably would not even use the thing if it did'nt have such a good sound when you find it.

I have had this pedal for a long time now and nothing has ever gone wrong with it physicaly. I would not use it with-out a back-up. But not for fear of it not working.

I have never dealt with Boss.(Or is it Roland?)

I been playing in a rock band for 24 years. We try to cover most of everything from some R&B, jazz, rock, heavy rock, to some metal. I have a bunch of other pedals that I change my signal chain with from time to time. Coupla different amps. One of my favorites is a little 1963 "Skylark" amp made by Gibson. Four and a half watts and cod-sack for days. If this pedal was lost or stolen I'd be upset but part of me would be tickled that whoever had it would be going through the same pains I did. Or maybe not. All of this review is subjective, and someone else might find it to be the wholy grail of distortion. Naw, I doubt it.

3 knobs -- "it must be difficult" = nonsense. tone level and distortion, what else to add to a pedal. The Manual Isnt really Necessary but has some settings.

I have a Kurt Cobain Japanese Strat and an Encore Mustang Copy Through the ds-1 = electro harmonix small clone chorus And a Marshall vs100r
The ds-1 Is BRILLIANT for Nirvana.Afterall Kurt Did use one!

I would DEFINATELY use this without backup in agig. It is really dependable. In my opinion BOSS=RELIABILITY

brilliant

EEEEEEEEE ZZZZZZZ!Three Knobs

I did not consider this pedal originally because it was priced a whole lot less than the TS-9 re-issue. This pedal is truly one of the BEST BUYS you will ever find. I sold my TS-9 after I heard this pedal and fooled around with it for a while. This pedal will sound like a TS9 tube screamer, plus it will go beyond a tubescreamer for more radical Fuzz or distortion. The pedal is very quiet it dose not pull the signal down. I am using this with my other effects in this order 1. Boss TU-2 tuner, 2. Morley Steve Vai Bad Hoarsie Wah, 3. Boss DS-1 Distortion, 4. DOD FX-96 Analog Delay Echo, 5. Boss OC-2 Octave 6. Boss CE-2 Chorus, 7. Rocktron Austin Gold Overdrive for Boost. I really like this pedal compared to the TS-9 tube screamer, because it is more versatile.

It's a Boss

Rockabilly/Country, 60's & 70's Classic Rock. I play a Dearmond X155 with Bigsby and American Standard Tele.

3 knobs, very easy to use. The volume knob is in a different spot than most Boss distortion/overdrive pedals. Instead of making the larger knob on the left the volume, they switch that with the tone know, so the volume know is the smaller knob in the middle.

I use it with a CH-1 super chorus pedal and a Crybaby wah. I hook it up to my Fender Princeton 112+, and have that hooked up to a small Crate 15 watt amp, which really brings out the bottom end of the DS-1. I can almost perfectly reproduce Clapton's sweet and sharp overdrive heard on his 24 Nights album with this setup. I leave the drive knob at about 12:00, and the tone about 11:00. Volume is at 12:00 also.

Never had any problems with it or had it break up. It seems to suck the shit out of a 9-V battery, though.

Never dealt with Boss.

This pedal is so flexible. You can use it for soft warm jazz, chord work, blues, rock, punk, metal, whatever. This pedal can dial it all in. The best distortion pedal I've ever bought.

3 knobs - nothing more to be said

It depends on what you want it to do. First : take care with the TONE knob - nobody needs that much high/treble frequencies. As a starting point, take Joe Satrianis settings : Tone - 9 o'clock / Dist - almost full / Level - 12 o'clock. One thing is very imortant : turn your amp all the way up - that way, the pedal can really rock. Single-coil neck pick-up, volume of the guitar backed up a bit and you get the perfect Lukather Blues sound ("Never walk alone") . On the bridge Humbucker - dead on classic Rock Distortion that isn't matched by any other pedal, but - it must be played moud, otherwise you get lost on stage because the sound tends to get buried by the other instruments. Very fine sound. I never understood why VAI, SATRIANI or TIMMONS used this cheap pedal, now I know why. It gives th best sound for your money. Every guitarist should have one as a backup.

The jack's at the side tend to loosen up from time to tie, otherwise as solid as rock.

?

Wow!

This is a very easy pedal to use and it is very basic(I don't mean it's that boring...)but it's very common if your creative like I am(no disrespect to any one out there)you can make it worth it. To get a good sound you can play it at a not so high tone switch(that little flickering switch on your guitar) use the switch anywhere in between half way or all the way down. The manual has some pretty cool settings the the thing is be creative. SO QUIT YO BITCHIN AND JUST DO IT

My setup is an acoustic guitar with a pick up on it(totally seperate)a Peavey Patrlot Electric Guitar, and a Ibanez guitar, my amp is a crate it is a GX15R what ever the fuck that is with a built in over drive. of course every distortion pedal is noisy if your volume is to high(duh...I stupid)if you want some kind of feed back you can turn on your O.D. switch and have the settings to hard rock or fuzz or if you turn the tone switch all the way up and the Dist all the way up on your pedal. It has a cool sound especially if you mess with it how do you think that guitar player such as my self start off. If your wondering of the effects in some stlyes or songs it is not preferable, if there is some sort of Guitar center etc... try it out dont take my word for it just try it everone has a different opinion. I do some crazy shit with my Acoustic guitar using or not using pedals like Nirvana in there unplugged concert but crazier.(well not that much)!

Yes you can, unless if you have a Metal Zone which I beleave it has a dist knob all ready built in, but if you use the DS-1 pedal it'll pick up the sound and sustain your sound or control your sound if you wish(same shit!)yes I would use it in a gig, I use the Metal Zone pedal, the Wah-Wah pedal of course those two are borrowed and the DS-1 pedal which is mine

Ha...ha..ha.. that some funny $#!*

My stlye of music is any where from Police to Nirvana any type of music, I'm more like the chilli peppers that just jams in any type of music except country, some of my friends say I have a nirvana hand (I love nirvana so dont trip) but I just jam I don't what people say that is the best way to come with music instead of sitting and writting songs. I've been playing for 3 or 4 years now yes I would buy it again if it were to get stolen or lost. what I love about it is that the type of music I play fits in perfectly. The thing I sometimes hate is that I need a harder distortion and this wont give it to me but I can improvise. My favorite feature is the tone maybe not so sure. I recommened for nivana guitar players sice some are always wondering what pedals were used.

It is easy to use, but three nobies does limit your ability to tweek.

I play a Fender tube amp and your amp will always have the better tone. I use this for a hard core boost. It is great for bringing out false harmonics, and giveing a nasty overtone through an amp distortion. I have noticed that if I plug my amp into a noisy outlet the pedal produces more noise in the amp, but I don't think that is thier falt.

I have always used this peddal. It is built like a rock, and the jacks are solid. The switches are clean and sure, and never seem to slip.

I hope i never need to find out.

I play punk and hardcore, I like to use it as a boost over my amp distortion. It is great for turning the amp distortion into a nasty fuzz with all the false harmonics you would ever need. If you want something light it's not for you.

This is probably the simplest pedal I have ever played in my entire life. I figured it out within 5 min. while i was still in the store! Its got three dials:Tone, Level (volume), and Distortion. But, just in case you ate paint chips as a kid, it comes with very informative manual. I liked the examples for different types of music but they aren't really necessary.

This distortion is like the exact kind of distortion sound I've been looking for for a while now. The tone of the distortion is really rich and creamy. BuT! for people like me who sometimes like a thin, sharp, cutting tone, just turn the tone dial. Its great. I play a lot of punk and grunge like blink 182 and nirvana. This pedal gives me a great sound. The only reason i gave it a 9 and not a 10 is, because it can sometimes be little noisy but not by too much.

This is a very sturdy pedal. Will last a lifetime. Basically, BOSS=Reliability

n/a

Great Pedal. It sounds so much better than those other cheesy distortions. You know, the MetalZones, Grunge Distortion...etc. I always thought those sounded weak. They do compared to this one. This is great value. i would definitely gig without a backup on this one. This is a great buy.

It is really easy to use and find a sound for you. I think the manual had a good selection of settings as well.

My setup is Squier Standard Strat by Fender -> DS-1 -> Fender Hot Rod DeVille 412. It is too noisy for "guitar at the amp" feedback, but away from the amp, its not too bad. On my amp, it creates a very warm distortion, which I love. In terms of contrast from clean to distortion, this is the pedal to hit. I researched and played several others, and this puts out great sound.

Very strong body. I hear Boss pedals last forever. It is easy to clean and maintain.

Never have....

I play alternative, rock, power-pop, etc... This is a perfect match for the songs I write. I have been playing guitar for 6 years now, and I have had other distortion pedals, like the DOD Supra Distortion. This pedal blows it away. So get one...

This is really easy to use, 3 knobs Tone, Distortion and Level, I figured it out in about 5-10 minutes. You have to be really stupid to not know how to use it. The Manual doesn't do much, it has sample settings but I made my own setting.

I am useing a Washburn Dime 333 and a Rocktron Rampage R120. It sounds really good through this setup. It will sound even better when I replace the pickups on my Dime to some DiMarzio or Duncans. It is not really noisy, I have gotten used to it. It sound like Black Sabbath on the Paranoid album. That is what I was going for with this pedal.

I seems pretty dependable. I haven't gigged with it yet. I'm sure it will do fine when I do gig with it.

Never dealt with them.

I play Metal like Metallica and Pantera which this is not good for, but I also play old school metal like Black Sabbath and AC/DC which this is good for. I have only been playing a year, I have a Crybaby Wah and a DOD which I am going to replace with a Metal Zone VERY soon. I would definatly buy this again. For only $40 is it awesome.

3 Knobs, tone, distortion, and the volume (level) -- the volume knob is a bitch though. Stomp it on, stomp it off.

First off, i've been playing 8 years. And I know distortion effects. I'm using a Carvin Bolt with a Dimarzio Super D in the bridge, and stock in mid and neck, running through a Colvin 100watt amp. (Very clean)

The effect is weak, very weak on any setting. This is NOT good for anything but poppy crap. This can NOT play Punk Rock/Metal/Hardcore, if you're looking for that look at a Boss MT-2 or DOD FX69.

Powerchords sound weak, palm muting just sucks on this thing. Nice ska sound though.

I hate it, this pedal is highly overrated. You can save $20 and get a Rogue DST-5 which sounds identical.

It's a Boss! I'm joking. I've seen them break, and broke one myself. People bitch about DOD's plastic switch, I've never broke a DOD and have only seen one broke. DOD's also seem sturdier. BOSS' are just sheet metal. DOD's are nice and thick.

yeah right, funny joke

Highly Overrated. I was forced to basically buy one. "It's better than you're DOD Grunge". This damn thing can't hold anything to my Grunge. The Grunge gives real distortion. This BOSS Gives a cheap ass distortion.

If you want distortion, get a metal zone (MT-2) or DOD Grunge (FX69).

If you want a pansy wannabe distortion that sucks, get this.

I like it for ska though... that's why it gets a 2.

THIS PEDAL IS HIGHLY OVERRATED.

THIS PEDAL IS HIGHLY OVERRATED.

THIS PEDAL IS HIGHLY OVERRATED.

THIS PEDAL IS HIGHLY OVERRATED.

that was my public service announcement.

2 knobs....nuff said...u'd have to b really supid not to know how to use this thing

THIS IS TO NOTE!!! i use this pedal on my bass since the store didn't have my ordered bass pedal in, i crank the tone and distortion to the max and have the level at like 9 or 10 o'clock. i have the tone on my p-bass special cranked and the have one volume all hte way down and the other one cranked, if i have the j-bass pickup cranked i get alot of noise when not playing, and if i have the spilt coil pickup cranked and the j pickup down i get no noise at all, but a deeper distortion. on my Kustom kba-20 amp i have all the EQ knobs set at 0 and the master volume almsot cranked, and i get great distortion. i can also get AWESOME fuzz, not bad fuzz, but awesome fuzz. it can get a bit muddy on the lower strings, but i mean come on, its a guitar pedal but i use it for bass, but its purdy damn good for a bass.im with a Kustom KBA-20, i know i know, its a small amp but it works. i have a Squier P-bass Special, and a DS-1 for now, but soon to have a ODB-3.

B~~~~~~~~~~~\
O~~~~~~~~~~~~\
S~~~~~~~~~~~~/ RELIABILITY!!!
s~~~~~~~~~~~/

i ordered a odb-3 pedal, and it still hsan't come in almost a month since they said it would b in, but besides that, their kewl.. :o)

i play, punk, rock, and alternative. thats pretty much all i play but icna play more. i've been playing since christmas 1999. if it were stolen i would definatly buy it, even though i didn't, but i use it for bass. but since it's for guitar, i'd buy the ODB-3 instead. i love the sound, i can get nice clean distortion, and awesome fuzz. the colour s great too.i don't liek how the knobs are set up, with 2 big knobs and 1 small one, becasue the level knob (the small one) is kind of hard to reach for easily. i compared it to the odb-3, and think the odb-3 is better becasue it has a 2 band EQ and a blend knob which is great. i wish it had 3 small knobs in a row in stead of what it has now, but even though now it still kicks ass. it makes whati was born to play.... MUSIC!!! and it sure hell doesn't get in the way. i think if your a guitar or bass player that u SHOULD buy this pedal because it kicks ALOT of ass!!

If you can't figure out how to use this pedel, you might as well quit playing and apply to be a fry cook at Denny's. Mine didn't come w/a manual, but who needs one, just look at the picture at the top of the page. I hate effects, but since I own a Bassman, I need a pedel for crunch. Too much bass in the sound? Turn one of the knobs. Wait, too thin now? Turn it back a bit, fine tune it with the other knob. Thats as difficult as it gets.

Rocks. I play a bunch of different kinds of punk, thrashy garage, pop punk, old school harDCore, noise. It works great for all those styles. I also play AC/DC and Ronnie James Dio songs with my friends at parties. It works well with that too, but if I was playing lead, I'd probably use something with it like an eq or maybe even a Metal Zone, but the odd lead breaks I play in my punk groups stand out enough. When I used to play out of a solid state 2x12, I thought that it could use more bass reponse, but playing it through the bassman into a 2x15 ended that problem. Great sounding with both my solid and hollowbodies.

It built like a black box on an airplane. One show this fat (+400lp)dude came up to "sing" with me. The rotund, jolly man was jumping out of control, he landed on it twice. The first time he landed on it, he turned the pedel off, the second time he knocked it back on.

Never needed any. If you're going to crap up your sound with lots of pedels, BOSS is probably the way too go.

I like it, I might replace it if it got stolen. I also like the Danelectro Daddy-O's, I think they are similar. One good thing about this pedel that I think sucks with most pedels is that you can make a battery last forever in this thing. I've had it the same battery in it for months.

Very simple! Three knobs.

This was my very first distortion pedal, and for the 45.00 dollars I paid for it nothing could match it. It is kinda of noisy with a single coil guitar but one with humbuckers makes a bit of diffrence. I have used three diffrent amps with this pedal. The first one was a little 15 watter Fender frontman and nothing much is going to make this amp sound good. To small. The second one is a Marshall MG series 30 watter and the sound was not bad. The third was a Marshall 100 watt valvestate which has a tube preamp and a great tone in my opinion. The pedal sounded best with the 100 watt because more of the tone could come out through the wattage. Now there is someone a couple of reviews down calling himself the "godmachine" and in my opinion this guy or girl is an idiot. He talks like every musician has 10 grand and can afford all this vintage stuff. He bought his DS-1 back in 79'. HEY GODMACHINE MAYBE EVERYBODY DOESN'T HAVE THIS KINDA OF JACK TO GO OUT AND BUY ALL THESE PRS, AND LES PAULS AND 30 YEAR OLD MARSHALL AMPS. BY THE WAY IF YOU DON'T KNOW METALLICA USES MESA BOOGIES NOT CARVIN AMPS. So back to the point(something godmachine didn't know how to stay on) the ds-1 is a good distortion pedal. Great for a Jimi Hendrix kinda of fuzz.

Very durable.

Never dealt with them.

Over all if you cannot afford all this high dollar stuff the DS-1 just might be right for you. NUFF SAID!

Tone......Level........Distortion.......Duh!

Although you have only two knobs that affect the sound, tweaking and experimenting will have you getting some fine sounds.
At high gain it squeals through crap guitar (what pedal doesn't).
And on small 15watter amps it sounds thin and fuzzy.
TIP: Don't use your clean channel. Use the dist. channel and cut the gain back to 1 - 1.5 (maybe 2) so you have a slightly dirty clean sound, then stomp away, bing the quality up to 9.
I'd use this for experimental tone, soughta like samlpling, turn the tone all the way up and it gets cool sounds.

Not a plastic casing to be seen for miles

We are talking BOSS here.
Input jacks come loose on ocassions (after 2 years actually) and knobs fall off from time to time but no deal.

If the products top notch, why would you?

It's a peadl i'll keep forever, now it's primarily my distortion, but when i get a Mesa Dual Rectifier i'll use the channel in the head then use my DS-1 as a crazy tone effect. Heck i migh even buy another. I used to play punk (NOFX etc) and it's top for that shit, now I play phat stuff (Deftones etc.) and it's still holding out.

FOR THE MONEY IT SOUNDS GREAT. I BOUGHT MINE NEW IN 1979. I PLAY LES PAULS THROUGH EARLY 70S MARSHALLS WITH 4-12 CABINETS. NO YOU CAN NOT USE THIS PEDAL FOR THAT. GET A MARSHALL GOVENOR PEDAL OF HAVE A GAIN STAGE ADDED TO YOUR HEAD. NO YOU CANNOT USE IT FOR RECORDING. WHAT YOU CAN USE IT FOR IS LOW VOLUME PRACTICING. YOU CANNOT BUY A GREAT SOUND FOR UNDER 100 DOLLARS. WANT TO SOUND LIKE METALLICA? BUY AN OLD CARVIN 100 WATT STACK. THE DS-1 CAN BE MADE TO SOUND A WHOLE LOT BETTER BY PUTTING A BOSS GE-7 EQ BEHIND IT. SOLID STATE AMPS SOUND HORRIBLE! PERIOD! DID YOU KNOW YOUR GUITAR IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIANT TO YOUR SOUND? IT'S THE WOOD MAN! PICK UPS ARE SECOND! AMPS ARE THIRD! AND OF COURSE YOUR ABILITY TO PLAY COMES BEFORE ALL OF THESE. TONE IS AN ADDICTION THAT WILL COST YOU THOUSANDS IF YOU DON'T GET SMART REAL QUICK. THAT PEAVEY OR YAMAHA GUITAR WILL NEVER SOUND GOOD. A GOOD SOUNDING GUITAR IS EXPENSIVE! PERIOD! ACCEPT THIS AND SAVE MONEY. FORK OUT THE GRAND OR MORE FOR THE LES PAUL OR STRAT OR PRS AND GET IT OVER WITH! GET THAT GUITAR SET UP BY A PRO! NOW BY A GREAT OLD AMP! FORK OUT THE GRAND OR SO AND GET THAT 70'S MARSHALL HALFSTACK OR FENDER BASSMAN OR SUPRO OR VOX AND GET IT OVER WITH. YOU'LL NEVER HEAR GOD WITH A BOOGIE OR ROLAND OR PEAVEY OR ANY OTHER PIECE OF GUITAR CENTER PIECE! PERIOD! ONLY TOTALLY CUSTOM AMPS CAN MATCH THESE OLD ONES AND THEY COST TWO TO THREE GRAND! THIS IS THE WAY IT IS. ACCEPT THIS IAND SPARE YOURSELF NEEDLESS AGGRIVATION! I KNOW. I LEARNED THE HARD WAY! MUSICIANS IN MAGAZINES ALWAYS LIE ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT THEY USE. VAN HALENS AMPS WERE MODIFIED! A 1970S 50 WATT MARSHALL WITH A MILD OVERDRIVE PEDAL OR NO PEDAL AND AN ADDITIONAL GAIN STAGE ADDED WILL CATAPOLT INTO TONE HEAVEN. AN OLD FENDER CHAMP WITH A GOOD SPEAKER CRANKED TO TEN WILL FILL YOUR LIVING ROOM WITH THE MOST AMAZING TONES. YOU WILL THROW YOUR PEAVEYS AND OTHER GUITAR CENTER TYPE AMPS OUT THE WINDOW! YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT SMILING SALESMAN WAS ABLE TO KEEP A STRAIGHT FACE WHEN YOU SOLD YOU THAT GARBAGE.YES, THEY STILL MAKE GOOD GUITARS AND AMPS TODAY BUT THESE PIECES COST 2000 DOLLARS A PIECE AND UPWARDS. THATS THE WAY IT IS. PERIOD. DON'T BE MISLEAD. SEE FOR YOURSELF AND COMPARE. I KNOW. I'VE BEEN ADDICTED TO TONE AND BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE ULTIMATE FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS. YOU KNOW WHY MARSHALL HAVEN'T GONE UP IN PRICE IN TWENTY YEARS? BECAUSE THEY HAVE SLOWLY GOTTEN WORSE AND WORSE OVER THE YEARS. AN OLD MARSHALL HEAD IS WORTH MORE THAN THE NEW ONES AND ITS BECAUSE OF TONE! TONE THAT COMES FROM QUALITY. i'VE DEALT WITH ALL THE AMP GODS AROUND HERE FOR THE LAST TWENTY YEARS AND THEY ALL SAY AND HAVE PROVEN THE SAME THINGS. NOW YOU KNOW. ACCEPT THIS AND SPARE YOURSELF FROM THE HORRIBLE FATE OF TRYING TO FIND THAT "SOUND" USING CHEAP WOOD GUITARS AND MASS PRODUCED AMPS. ALL THE PEDALS IN THE WORLD WILL NOT SAVE YOU!!!!

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

Very easy to use. Only 3 knobs, tone, level, and distortion.

I'm using a Fender Standard Series Fat Strat through a Laney 50 watt Pro Tube Lead amp and a Marshall JCM 900 2x12 cab. This is the best distortion stomp box I've come across. You have to back off on the tone knob or it gets a little too high-endy for my taste. I set the tone at about 9:00 and the distortion all the way up. It gives a very good hard rock crunch without too much string noise or mud. If you're into Pantera or the like, then this is not for you. It won't give you enough distortion. I'm playing Zeppelin, Kiss, AC/DC, G 'n R, etc. and this pedal gives me the perfect sound for it. Pinch harmonics really seem to stand out on it too. It's not all that versatile, so I hesitate to give it a "10". Although you can get a passable blues overdrive tone if you set the distortion at 12:00 and switch to the neck pickup.

It's a Boss, of course you can depend on it! They're built like a tank. It's never failed me yet. I like the footswitch compared to the cheesy plastic DOD ones. It seems pretty rugged.

Never had to deal with Boss. None of their pedals has ever failed me.

Overall, this is a great pedal for classic/hard rock. If you're into anything else, you might want to look elsewhere. Great tone and reliability for a very modest price. You can't beat it. I would buy another one tomorrow if it were ever lost/stolen.

This distortion is VERY user friendly. It has 3 knobs (tone, level, and distortion) THe level knob is basically a volume switch. Just set it so there is no difference in volume between having the distortion on or off. Keep the distortion knob rather high and adjust the tone to your taste. You'll get the hang of it the second you see it!

Well. I play an Ibanez SDGR390 bass and I love it. It isn't noisy at all and it sounds good for any kind of rock music. I suggest that you use a pick though. Unless you put the distortion knob at max, you won't get much distortion if you pluck the strings softly.

Why the hell do they ask this for Boss pedals?

Never needed it, probably never will.

It's a great pedal for all kinds of rock, especially punk. You will NEVER find a better distortion for punk rock. It's straight forward and simple, but has a nice tone to it. What's bset, you can find it for as low as $40 new. If it was stolen, because of the great price, I'd definately buy it again. IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT, BUY IT NOW!!!

Just turn the knobs till you find a good setting. Its pretty easy to get a good sound.

I have this set up like this Ibanez RG-170--->Crybaby Wah --->DS-1 Distortion----> Boss BF-2 Flanger ----> Ibnaez Tone Blaster amp. It sounds pretty good on my amp, but my bro has a Fender Champion 110 and it sound so much better on his amp.

Had it for 3 weeks so far and no problems. It seems like it could take some punishment. I haven't giged with it yet.

I play mostly Metallica, Alice In Chains and Lit song. This gives pretty good distortion for thoes types. If you really want to get a heavy metal sound, this pedal probably isn't for you. This pedal is definently a benefit to my playing.

It has 3 knobs, Tone, Level, and Distortion. The tone knob lets you have a wide variety of tones in just a small space, which is good if you like variety. The downside to this is that the slightest adjustment alters your sound.

I've been running this through a string of solid-state POS amps,and a nice Fender Fat Strat w/stock pickups, but lately I bought a Crate Vintage 50 head(Running it through these amazing 70's sansui speakers from Japan), and it sounds truly amazing. Crank the tone a bit past 12o'clock and dist. around 12-3 for a no-wave punk sound, or dial the dist. all the way back for a good mellow blues. This is incredibly versatile for the money.

The first day I bought it, I dropped it in a parking lot and it rolled about 10 feet...no problems there. I usually stomp the shi* out of this, and it still functions perfectly.

I haven't dealt with Boss/Roland, but from what I hear they are dependable.

I play a good mix of punk, grunge, light acoustic, etc., and this pedal is great for my needs. It can be harsh, warm, mellow, etc very easily. If it were stolen, I'd definitely replace it with another DS-1...it's a fantastic pedal for the price. I will look into a Big Muff, just for that classic distortion, but thats just to enhance my sound. It really aids in my playing. If you're looking for a cheap, reliable distortion pedal, this is it.

very easy to use. very easy to get a perfect sound out of it

i use a Dunlop Wah and an Ash body fender strat.
I always have the distortion near full, because i play metallica and that sort of stuff. The effects are always pure and crisp, and very economical. I haven't changed the batteries in 12 months.
I use a 75 watt Mesa Boogie amp, and it all sounds great. much better than the amp distortion, and easier to switch to clean

it's very reliable. never a problem. i would definately use it on a gig without a backup. i have done it many times before, and it never failed me.

i've never had to deal with the company, because i've never had a problem with it

i play heavy rock, so the pedal is the best assett of my setup apart from the amp and the guitar. it sounds crystal clear whether i'm playing a solo or a rhythm bit. i've been playing for 3 years, and it's the best distortion pedal i've ever played. if i lost it i'd buy the same one definately.
it is a lot better performancewise than the wah. the wah doesn't have as much impact as the distortion. that's what makes it so good, the impact it has. the only bad thing about it is the distance the knobs are from each other. they are far too close for quick changing.

very easy to use - only a volume control, tone control, and distortion control

the only problem is that there since there are so few controls, you can't edit the sound as well as the metal zone (which is a very similar pedal)

It sounds great - just like the Metal Zone but with a MUCH CLEANER SOUND (the Metal Zone is too dirty).

The only problem is that harmonics could be better (even though they are better than the harmonics for most distortion pedals).

If you want good harmonics AND a clean sound this is the perfect pedal for you.

All BOSS pedals are extremely reliable.

I've never dealt with BOSS.

I play all types of music.

I also own a Danelectro DE-1 Cool DanEcho, a Morley ProSeries II Wah/Volume and a BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone.

The only problem is that the harmonics could be better. The Metal Zone is very similar to the DS-1. It has better harmonics but is much muddier. If you're looking for a death metal or grunge sound, you should get the Metal Zone instead.

The knobs are a pain in the ass to turn since they are too close together!

Well, I kinda felt embarassed that I bought it. It sounds like the pedal never hit puberty. I'm serious, this is a weak pedal. It sounds fine for rock, but not much else. I personally like the Boss MT-2, since I can dial in tons of different musical tones and distortions, yes even the sound of the DS-1.

Oh definately made out of old tank parts. Will withstand acid rain from nuclear holocaust.

no need, returned it.

Its fine if you are a pop/rock person. Not much use other use for it. It's not bad pricewise though!

Well, seeing as how this is the only pedal i own, i don't really have anything to compare it too... but, it has been easy to use... actually it's fun to experiment with... just play around til you get the sound you want

I have a strat that's not a strat, but is... actually i have no idea what it is... it's a strat neck, but the body has two single coils, then a humbucker, and two knobs, but instead of the 5 way swtich, it has three individual switches that turn the pickups on and off... also, the plug jack is on the side of the body, not the front face... fucked up guitar!!! i got $250 used, needs some fret work, but it's got GREAT action... i use a fender blues deville 410 that just kicks ass, it's pretty old but still in good condition, it just gives it character....

anyhoo, back to the pedal... i usually just have my amp on the drive channel, with a bit of drive. i switch between clean and overdrive by the pickups on the guitar.... then, when i want to go crazy, i stomp down on good ol' DS-1... It sounds great when i use the drive channel with it... i usually have the distortion all the way down, tone a bit backed off of center, and the level way up... it gives it a great crunch... (see Pearl jam's "Smile" off No code)... mmmmm tasty grunge.... People have said that it's too nasally or doesn't have balls... you just gotta turn the tone down and punch up the lows on your amp's EQ, of course if you crank this thing up, it's going to be total trebley fizz, but turn the tone down and you can get some great HEAVY OD... plus, if you go crazy and turn the tone WAY down, you can do your best Slash (see "Estranged" off "Use your illusion II")... just need a top hat and a cig...

i haven't got any noise out of it... it's really clean sounding... it was butt-ass cheap too, so can't complain

Once i hid inside this thing while my house was reapeatedly fire-bombed... not a scratch!

kidding of course... it's as solid as it comes... one huge chunk o metal...

Once this guy from boss called me just to see if everything was alright... he wanted to know how my family was doing, how school was going, etc... real nice guy... then he boned my girlfriend!!! fucker!!!

again kidding... haven't called 'em... but now i might, just to see how they are.....

I'm a beginner in the effects world, but i tried out a bunch o' pedals before buying... Plus, this thing was as cheap as a French whore (or so i've been told), so that sealed the deal... again, use it on your TUBE amp's drive channel, and it'll crunch more than that Nestle's Crunch commercial with Chuck Coleman from the Wonder Years in it... plus... orange is sexy.....

It's simple enough to use, but it may take some patience to find a sound you like. Especially in combo with other effects and amp settings.

Playing an American Standard Stratocaster thru my little Fender 25W practice amp. I did not find the pedal noisy at all, but using this for subtle distortion is pretty unrewarding. It has a somewhat flat and toneless quality on most settings. I think it is a serviceable effect for a little home cooking, maybe a little on dimensional. But for it's price and intended purpose, it is a decent value.

Simple and rugged little pedal.

I play classic rock and a little blues. I would probably have been better off with an overdrive effect with more subtlety and less harsh distortion. It's useful in combination with other effects that I use, like the DOD chorus and fuzz pedals. It's a lot better than the DOD Supra Distortion [FX-55c].

Using this pedal is a no brainer. Just keep in mind that turning the tone control clockwise actually cuts bass while increasing treble and you'll be good to go.

My main axe is a stock Les Paul Classic. My amp is a '65 Bandmaster. I use a variety of distortion and overdrive pedals including a Way Huge Green Rhino, and Voodoo Labs Overdrive, Bosstone and Proctavia. Each has a special something that makes them a permanent part of my lineup. I acquired each of these pedals with the intent to rid my pedalboard of the DS-1 forever. Let me backtrack a bit by saying that I had purchased the DS-1 hoping to obtain a bit of mildly overdriven boost. This proved to be impossible since it produces a rather unpleasant, intermittantly crackly (i.e. NOT smooth) tone even at the lowest gain setting. Using higher gain settings smoothed out the tone a bit but added an annoying buzziness that caused solos to get buried in our "wall of sound" stage mix (our keyboard player is totally out of control). Based on the use another reviewers suggested settings however, the DS-1 has found it's was back into the lineup. The settings are as follows: tone fully counterclockwise, level at max, distortion to taste (for me, about 2 o'clock). This setting gives me a nice fat lead tone without a hint of buzziness. Can get a bit heavy for chord work (which is sometimes actually pretty cool). Like most guitar players, I'm always searching for a better sound and enjoy squeezing every last drop from my gear. On one particularly boring evening at home I opened up my DS-1 to trace out a schematic drawing. On a whim, I decided to replace one of the silicon clipping diodes with a germanium diode. When I plugged in my LP and let it rip, I was pleasantly surprised by the sweetness and beautiful, controllable feedback I could obtain. This mod also gave the DS-1 a slightly more spongy (tubey) feel. All I can say is that I'm leaving the mod in place! (For you curious circuit hackers, replacing either one of the silicon diodes D4 or D5 with a germanium type on your Taiwanese DS-1 circuit board should do the trick.)
Another motivation for kicking the DS-1 out of my effect chain originally was that it was my only effect that was not true-bypass. I've since decided that I actually like my sound BETTER with the DS-1 in the chain. The DS-1 seems to add a hint of warmth without losing high end when bypassed. An added bonus is that I no longer get the annoying click when engaging my wah with all other effects bypassed. The DS-1 seems to prevent this from happening, possibly due to the buffer circuitry that everyone seems to dread so much these days.

Hasn't failed at all in three years of regular use. I feel pretty safe without a backup.

No clue.

My modded DS-1 is now a permanent part of my sound. I've been playing for about 25 years and would definately replace it if lost or stolen. (Of course, I would immediately perform the required surgury on it.) Works great for styles ranging from heavy blues to classic rock. Great for legato soloing with a compressor in front of it. I can't believe I'm saying this but this (modded) DS-1 is now my favorite distortion pedal. Go figure.

Pretty simple, step on it and turn the "dist" up all the way and adjust the tone to taste.

Very good. I play a '73 Fender strat or Gibson/Epiphone Les Paul Standard through a Cry-Baby>Boss DS-1>Boss Super Chorus>DOD Delay>Lab Series map. Over the past 17 years I've had distortion boxes by Ross, DOD, MXR and everybody else. I wish I would have bought one of these earlier.

I treat my guitars good and my pedals like shit and this one puts up with it. I don't see any more need for a backup than usual.(I've always had a backup guitar and/or rig onstage).

N/A

I play Zeppelin, Hendrix, Van Halen. The DS-1 is perfect.

pretty easy to use, only three knobs(tone, level, distortion). the manual had some sugested settings witch helped just to get to know the pedal at first.

sounds very good. my setup goes as follows(guitar to amp): Peavy raptor plus, ds-1, crate gx-15r. can get a wide variety of sounds. warm soft overdrive to thick crunchy hard rock to buzzing fuzz(more or less). one problem is that it does not get very heavy distortion. not such a great pedal for metal but fantastic for anything else. can get good sounds for grunge and punk. i can usually get a somewhat passable nine inch nails or stabbing westward sound with it.

metal cassing. seems like it could hold up to quite a bit of abuse if accidents were to happen

never delt with them.

this is a great pedal. i had a dod grunge pedal that belonged to my friend that he redilly let me borrow(i soon found out why). it was a one sound metal pedal(despite its name). i try to play industrial with no other effects(as of yet, gt-3?). this pedal suits my style very well though. it can produce allmost any type of distortion i can think of. i would definatly get another one if i were to lose it. plus for the cost there is really nothing else better. but once again if you are interested in a heavy metal petal u had better stay away from this one. you will be dissapointed.

Easy to understand and use. Three knobs Tone, Dist, and Level. Not hard to figure out

I love the sound quality I great. And I love the distorion it puts out. Great for grunge music. I use a Jag-Stang -> DS-1 -> a Peavey Bandit. Next I need a new amp. Maybe a Mesa Boogie.

Yes very dependable pedal. I don't think you would ever need a backup, unless someone in the crowd stole it

I have never had any problems with it

It is a all around awsome pedal. Before it I had a DOD Grunge, Ibanez Slam Punk and a Boss Hm-1. After I got the DS-1 and heard how it sounded I sold all my other dist pedals.

it's THREE NOBS AND A STOMP SWITCH!!!! my 4 week old nephew could operate it and get a good sound outta it.

This not a bad distortion pedal. i am using it through this setup: an epiphone strat knock-off with an explorer type neck --> Boss DS-1 -->Morley Wah --> DOD Ice Box Stereo Chorus --> Fender Frontman and a Yamaha thirty 112. it sounds great at that setup. not to harsh of a destortion, mainly for alternative , punk, rock, and blues. turn the tone nob up for more of a screeching distortion and anything down past 9:00 and lower is more of a muddy bluesy sound.

(ok everyone together now): "IT'S A BOSS."

n/a never dealtwith them

a great pedal especially for it's price. Sounds great for almost anything but metal. if lost/stolen i would buy another (it's only 40 bucks [unlike the Metal Zone])

It's Easy and simple

OK. This is a great pedal for playing chainsaw music, but it lacks bass. If you turn the tone down to low it sounds crappy. But overall it's a pretty good distortion pedal

It's made out of steel. It probably woudn't die in a gig.

I play stuff that sounds like the Deftones and Korn. Even though this pedal lacks the bass. It adds kinda of a grungy dirty sound. So you can create your own sound. It enables you to have lots of harmonics.

theres only 3 knobs, very simple for even a beginner. all knobs have a purpose on this pedal. the manual tells everything you need to know about it. it even shows some good knob positions for different effects.

i use this pedal as a digitech whammy pedal preamp, and you can get some great feedback with it, even without having the whammy. the peavey amp i have lets everything out, so its great. i find the feedback okay considering the noise you get by accidentally strumming the strings. great for nirvana and nine inch nails stuff. its perfect for playing live. just figure out the settings youre gonna use for the song..

this pedal is the most reliable i have.. and its made of metal! if i had too, id buy annother one because of its reliablility, not neccesarily the sound (which is pretty darn good).

never dealt with the boss customer support, but im positive they'd tell you what you need to know.

overall, this is pretty good for classic rock and basic rock and roll, like nirvana. if you wanted to get some harder stuff like nine inch nails, turn up the distortion knob all the way, and its great. i compared this with a electro-harmonix big muff, and it just does a better job when it comes to sound. like i said before, if it were stolen or something, id just get a new one. in one word, AWWWWESOME! go get it, its at a great price (40 bucks) almost anywhere. perfect for an average musician. gotta keep in mind that weird feedback though, its good for a crazy numb-sound though. you can get that sound by turning the tone and distortion up.

The Tone, Dist, and Level are pretty easy and self-explanitory. Not too hard to figure out at all!

My set up is Ibanez RG220BGN---> TU-2---> Original Crybaby Wah ---> DS-1. In my opinion, I hate this pedal. It gives me way too much treble sound...its like glass shattering...and when you put the tone to the slighest bass, all the treble is sucked from your tone! Im looking for a more roaring sound...like old school metallica and like the sound blink 182 gets on dude ranch...its phat tone like that, not high glass like the DS-1 delivers, even w/ my humbuckers!

You could store you jewelry and important documents in this pedal..it acts like a friggin bomb shelter!! only the paint comes off...but it looks phat...like you're a pro or something :) Its gig worthy...it wont break unless you like throw it into a black hole or something.

ive never dealt with them...

if you like treble...give this a go. i dont like it much, but thats just me. ciao

It only has 3 knobs!

Great sound! I play mostly Nirvana stuff, and I can't get the sound right...yet.

Strong built! I thought it was made of plastic from the picture in the catolog that I got it from, but it's built very strong!

No problems.

Exactly what I was looking for in a distortion box. Good buy!

Three knobs is the most complicated thing on the market.

NOT NOISY! Ihave the shittiest setup in the world, and I CAN get a great Metallica sound. I use single coils, but the middle is reverse wwound, so i can cancel out the noise. You just have to toy around with the tone control to get a good metal sound.

Its a tank. Boss's are INDESTRUCTABLE.

Like I said, It' s a BOSS, so I have never had to deal with them.

I f it were stolen, I would defenintly buy another. I was lucky, though, because they put the wrong price on it, so I got it for 60 instead of 100.

Its really easy, I find it no trouble at all, its the first one I have, so it seems perfect for me...

Sounds auwsome to me, ALOT better then the distortion on my amp that I already got, so yeah, I love it!

No trouble here, I don't think anyway...

They were great! REALLY helpful!! Thanx ALOT!!
(I needed to call them cuz I didn't know how to use it)

I love it, I has it all cranked up for heavy metal, its WICKIT for Metallica! Man! I LOVE IT!!

Tone,Dist and level?? how hard can it be??

This pedal Rocks!! I am in a band and i have used for a few gigs and it rox! its not very good for heavy metal though unless u chug it!! I can get alot of soundz out of it like Blink 182, Led Zeppelin, And tons more!! Its not that noisy either unless its all the way up and ur amp is all the way up!!

Its a BOSS and its metal!! its a tank!!

never delt with em because it hasn't broke or nething!!

This Pedal is really great for all around playing!!

1 good thing about Boss pedals is the switch: that flap thing means it's impossible to miss the pedal, no matter how wasted you might be or what footwear you are wearing. Other manufacturers should copy that flap!

The actual dials are fairly straightforward, tho I found the tone one useless in any other position other than 12 oclock.

This was the first distortion pedal I bought. I used it for about a year or so (and in fact I still use it as a freaky preamp for my Arbiter Fuzzface). I was happy with it for a long time, but I slowly got bored of it's sound - I found myself playing more and more clean stuff coz I was sick of this pedal!

This pedal seems to have lots of gain and makes a quite intense distorted sound. However, it is very trebly. If you try & turn the tone down it just gets weak sounding & if you turn it up it obviously gets more trebly. Its kind of a flat sound as well, lacking texture.

It's good for harmonics, but doesn't produce much in the way of useable feedback (some people might think that is a good thing).

I spose it's an OK sound, I just got very bored of it. I was able to get a very similar sound using a cheap Squier Champ 15w amp & turning both gains up, which does not reflect well on this pedal!

I once took the back off this pedal & accidentally replaced it the wrong way round. This screwed up the grounding & I blew several power supplies before I discovered my error! Once I put the back on right it started working again with no problems at all, so that is good!

If purchased used, this probably makes a good first distortion pedal. However, I would never buy a new Boss distortion. In a guitar shop the other day I saw a new ProCo RAT pedal on sale for a similar price to a new Boss DS2! This scares me - not so long ago I might have bought the Boss rather than the RAT just cos it looks cooler. My main purpose in submitting this review is to inform any of you that might need informing: A RAT is a better thing than a DS2!

Very easy. 3 knobs (tone, level, drive). The level control is a bit tricky though.

Great sound. Perfect for blues to hard rock. Perfect for Zeppelin or any other hard rockers from the 70's and early 80's. Infact, Jimmy Page is currently using a DS-1. Also gets a good flowing Eric Johnson sound. Great for melodic solos and crunchy riffs. I think that because it's an analog unit instead of digital like other Boss units, it gets a more classic sound.

It's a Boss. How more reliable can you get?

Don't know?

Perhaps the best distortion pedal out there. It has the more variety than a Fuzz Face, MXR Distortion+, or a Big Muff. The Boss Distortion is very cheap as well so the common musician can afford it. Superb quality at an extremely low price.

um yeah 3 knobs.is that supposed to be hard or something?

This pedal is damn good for its purpose.It gets a great Nirvana grunge sound.I also got some good Tool tones out of it.For a good distortion i highly recommend this pedal.I got good Tool sounds by using this setting:Tone-12 o'clock,Level-3 o'clock,Dist-between 3 and 4 o'clock.If your looking for metal then get a MT2. But if you want a good regular distortion then this is definately it.

Come on its a boss!

This is a great pedal and is very versatile for just a regular distortion pedal.If it ever broke i'd by another one.

There's only a few knobs so very easy to get the sound you want quickly.

I use a Gibson Les Paul Custom with a Fender pro Reverb.
I'd been happy using a Korg Multi Effects unit before someone recommended the DS-1 and I tried it out. I had to buy it!
I play mainly Manic Street Preachers and Radiohead. I can get some really good sounds for this style with the DS-1.

It's bloody strong.....I can't imagine how this thing could be broken.

Never had to use them yet.

It's really good for light rock music as I've already mentioned and there's a good range of sounds.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Easy..very easy. No problem at all..just that it's a bit hard to guess where to put the level..

Great!! For anything except metal.
For metal,use MT-2 (NOT HM-3..).
Anyways,most guitarists have this thing,and it sounds great on bass too!!
I always have it with me..it's perfect for grunge and nirvana.Also good to use as an overdrive box..if u dont have a realy overdrive. Really a great stompbox with good feedback,good sustain and it's heavy enough for me.
Dont say it sucks,coz you're stupid if u boy it without testing first...second you dont buy it to play metallica with it...so if u hate it,dont let me know. If it's not heavy enough,buy a new guitar.

Hmm...yes. Uses almost no batttery at all.

Never need to

Great

3 knobs, super easy to dial in a good tone.

Not quite thick enough a sound, but it sounds great.

This thing is indestructable.

Getting this thing to do its thing is no problem. Very simple to use. Battery compartment is under the footswitch. Manual is simple as it should be. Doesn't really give you any information you didn't know before..

I used this pedal with AS Fender strat with both a solid state and a fender Twin amp. I didn't really like the type of distortion it made. It was two thin sounding to me. Sort of like a buzzsaw type thing going on. Not too noisy, but just - annoying. I wanted a more of a ballsy type distortion but still allowing the articulation of the individual notes and chords to come thru, but no go with this baby. Its ok if you want a dirty sound with no definition, but otherwise, tonality wise at least with single coil pickups, this things kinda, well, sucked... therefore I got rid of it. I give it a 3 because I think somebody with a different setup might get a better sound out of it, but I don't think it would be that much better.

Its seems very reliable, typical Boss casing. Made to last thru the next ice age.

never used it, so no comment.

I like to play all types of rock and roll, old and new. This thing just isn't the best thing out there. To me, its just too sterile sounding. Too much high end, and when you adjust it out with the tone control, it just muddies everything up. I wouldn't recommend this pedal.

The ds-1, like the rest of bosses, are easy to use, just spinn the knobs and youl see: tone controls frequency, up cuts the lows, down cuts the highs, distortion does, well think about it...
and level is the volume
.

My setups like this: Mexie Strat>>>ds-1>>>soon to be BF-2>>>peavey Auditon 110. Mostly, the sound is good... you can get what you want pretty quick. The only complaint i have is that you cant get a reall bassy, chugga-chugga sound from it. (maybe a 'bucker would help)

Boss=rock. what else can I say? you could probably wire a couple of pounds of C-4 to it and it might scratch the paint...

Never had to deal with em...

I play rock, alt., blues, everything..
I'ts a good beginner pedal; if i lost it, id probably not get another.

Three knobs, very easy to use and dial in a good distortion. Manual offers a few settings for different styles.

I'm using this with a few different guitars, running through other BOSS efects into a Marshall VS100r. There are a good range of distortions in this box. It does produced a noticible buzzing sound when the strings aren't being held. I primarily use this box to get more than an overdrive distortion, but less than a heavy distortion. Works fine for me.

It's a BOSS!

Haven't had any problems

I play mostly rock music of all kinds (from heavy to pop). The DS-1 fits in perfectly where I need a fair amount of distortion, but nothing over the top. If it were stolen, I'd definetly get it again. The only thing I dislike is the buzzing (maybe it's just cuz I'm not running it through grounded outlets, but my metal zone doesn't buzz, i dunno!), but it's not enough buzz to turn me off from the box.

Self exclamatory. Three knobs. The manual really doesn't help much. Just plug it in and muck with it untill you find what you like.

I actually use this thing on bass. I use a Yamaha RBX260 and a 1982 Peavey Fury (both precision). I run them through an Ibanez BP5 compression and a Rogue (P.O.S) volume pedal. I run this all through a Crate BX100 amp. Oh yeah, I play with a pick too most of the time. I've used it on bass and guitar and the only thing I can tell you is that if there's a problem with the pedal's sound, it's probably your EQ on your amp that's making it sound bad. This pedal, at first sounds really crappy on a bass. You have to really sit down and work with it but you will eventually get it sounding pretty good. The settings I use now make it sound more like a fuzz pedal than anything else. I suggest boosting the lows and cutting the highs a little if you want a fuller sound. The pedal produces almost no noise. Its perfect for bands that play rock or alternative that are on a budget.

Its a boss. If it can survive for two years with me without a dint or chipped pait, its gotta be good.

Never had to deal with them and probably never will.

I've been playing for about two years now and boy have I come a long way. I used to be really into nirvana and so was our band. Since then we've kind mellowed out. Radiohead and REM are now my primary influences so I really don't use it that often. Don't get me wrong; it?s a great pedal. But I'm finding that as a bass player, I use it less and less. It's a great economic pedal. Almost any guitar player should get one of these. Bass players are a different story. The real reason I got this pedal was because our guitar player had one. I really needed a type of extension. If I bought a pedal, I could have a whole lot more room to move when we play live. Every time I used it, it sounded better and better. If you use this thing on bass, DON'T TOUCH THE TONE KNOB. If you turn up the tone it'll make your bass sound really thin. If it were stolen, I would probably realize how valuable it is to my "arsenal" and go out and buy another. It's a really versatile pedal and I recommend it to any bass player that has to cover a lot of musical ground and styles.

uh, gee, 3 knobs, how do I use this???

I use a Jackson Dinky style with two humfuckers, through an MT-2 Metal Zone, through a BF-2 Flanger, through a CryBaby, (and soon, in about two days) through an XP-300 Space station, to a Fender 65 watt. This pedal is moderately useful for the stuff I play (neometal, heavy metal, alternative) cuz you can't really get a really dirty sound out of it. I hardly ever use this pedal as my sole distortion, unless Im playing thick blues stuff, and it sounds really great when I turn on both the mt-2 and the ds-1, with hours of sustain and ***NO NOISE***. I don't know why it doesn't make any noise, but I love turning them both on. so, overall, it has great sounding mild distortion that is very usefull for distortion boosts. not versatile enough for a 10, though.

I got this used, and the guy that sold it to me has had it for like 10 years, and it sounds better than some of the newer ones that I tried!!!. Oh yeah, this thing will let you play for like 50 years without having to change the battery once (ok, maybe dog years tymes 20, but it'll not waste your batteries like a flanger or delay). It's so solid (plus mine has a thick layer of stickers covering it for extra protection), you could chuck it at a brick wall with one of those basebal pitching machines and it wouldn't get a scratch.

Never dealt with BOSS, never will, unless I call them to komplement them on the great quality of their pedals, but their sites are great, with kewl settings and info, so this gets a 10 also.

This pedal is a must for every guitarist that has an extra cord. It's cheap, great, realiable, ***NoT NOiSeY***, and overall solidly made. The only downside to it, though, is that you can't really get heavy distortion out of it, but what the hell? 40 bucks??

Well, this is a basic distortion unit with only three knobs, tone, level and distortion. Do you want more? For what? If you have a distortion pedal with a lot of knobs, you can see you always use the same setup! Maybe only the level and distortion knobs are the only useables here.

At this point, you can't make comparisons like: "My Metal Zone kills this thing" or "it sound too weak for metal, this sucks". You must consider this pedal is one of the first distortion pedals of the 80's, and this is a standard sound.

The best setup is: tone between 9 and 10 o'clock. Distortion and level can be adjusted to the desired level. I can get a close Santana sound by placing the distortion and level at 12 o'clock and tone at 9 o'clock, and a "in your face" hard rock rhythm tone by placing the distortion at max and the level at 10 o'clock. But you'll never catch a trash-metal sound with this effect. But very good for hard-rock and grunge sounds.

Strong, very strong.

Never broken. Only the battery clip (a common failure).

I bought this unit used, the serial number is near 26000, must be mid 80's, and the knobs don't make any noise when turned! Amazing.

I play Santana, Deep Purple and some Neo-classic style, and this unit is correct for me. I use it with my American Standard Stratocaster and Dimarzio YJM pickups thru a Starfield VT-50 Amp.

Peice of piss.

Dearmond m-75 cry baby wah boss metal zone korg ax 100g carlsbro 150w special edition

Super, but keep a spare battery handy

nope

I play all sorts of music. This pedal has been used by people from Vai to cobain it is the best sounding distorsion pedal for rock and blues availaible. Some peole above say it is weak but it is beacuse of there shitty set up. Ican get all the distorsion I need and more out of this wee bugger.

its easy to use but it took me a while to figure out a good sound with my single coils

I use a 50s strat into many effects to a 15 watt amp. I was looking for an overdrive type tone (think Blind Melon!). My big Muff is awesome for heavy fuzzed out stuff, but for a overdrive type sound, it falls short in my opinion. I had a humbucking guitar that sounded awesome with the DS-1 with the distortion all the way to the right and tone at 9 o'clock. But when I got my all single coil guitar I just couldn't find a good use for it, especially cause my big muff is so good sounding for heavy stuff. So I tweeked and tweeked and finally found a kewl setting for single coil guitars. the setting is tone 9 o'clock, volume whatever you want, and the distortion 3 o'clock. it sounds very nice for blind type grooves.

if you use it with single coils like i do, its a great tool to have.

Its a standard distortion. 3 knobs, tone, level, and distortion. Not too difficult to operate.

It sounds pretty good. I can play alot of grunge with it like nirvana and stuff. I used it on a squire strat with a little dean markley amp. It can sound its best when its set on the higher tone and the distortion cranked all the way up. It started to lose some of its "bite" after 6 years but it was good up 'till then.

You can depend on it pretty well.

never dealed. Got it from my brother.

I play metal and grunge so it works well with the grunge tone. Ive been playing for 5 years and i recently sold it for a new rocktek metal worker pedal. I made a bad mistake of selling it. The rocktek doesnt give that higher screaching tone like the boss does. If it were stolen, well I would get pissed off.