Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

3 pots. Set the level to match/boost your amp, set the level of distortion and set the tonality to complement your rig via a midrange boost.

EASY.

I bought this to replace a Digitech Bad Monkey. I liked the bad monkey pedal however for me it doesn't have quite enough gain. I never felt that any of the sounds bar 'everything at noon' sounded that good anyway. I use the SD-1 through a Fender silverface Pro Reverb w. master volume with either a strat or PRS custom 22 - therefore the pedal is my main source of overdrive.
It sounds good! Quite a coarse overdriven sound. Max the gain and it borders into distortion. You and I both know there are much better, classier overdrive pedals out there but for the price this is good. At high volumes you don't loose impact or disappear into the mix, which was a problem with the bad monkey.

**** off.

A simplistic, good sounding, ballsy overdrive with Boss reliability at an excellent price. This is exactly what I was looking for. I love Boss pedals for their sound, reliability and looks. However, everyone knows overdrive/distortion is not Boss's forte. All I can say is go and try one, see what what you think. I think its good and it will be staying on my pedalboard until I find something better.

Very straightforward, this pedal has an almost Zen-like simplicity. Volume, Tom and Gain aren't much to write about but on a crowded dimly lit stage it's great to know at a glance what this little yellow box is doing.

This is where it gets a bit user-variable. I'm using this pedal on a board with a Gibson Explorer and Fender Strat on one side and an AC30 set just below breakup on the other.

The SD-1 is based on a tubescreamer type circuit - if you want it to be a standalone distortion it'll do "rough round the edges" and because it distorts asymetrically - clipping one side of the waveform more than the other - it gets a bit more raspy in the top end whereas the tubescreamer tends to be smoother. There's quite a hefty bass cut/ mid-boost, and people often complain about that but that's the whole point of this pedal - it sounds best when it's boosting something else that's already distorting, and in that situation the bass cut makes it tight, and the mid boost makes it cut.

When I gig my pedals are set and forget, and the SD-1 is set with the volume on full, tone at 12:30, and distortion completely off. Because I use it mainly to boost my amp into its own distortion or tighten up my big muff for a solo boost, I don't need the SD-1 to add any more distortion than I'm already getting.

I'd have to knock some marks off for the distortion "bleed through". Even with the pedal turned off, some of the distorted tone comes through with the clean sound. It's very quiet but it's there.

Yeah, it's solid as anything and I gig without a backup all the time. That said I've got other boost/distortion pedals so if something did go awry i could get through.

I've not dealt with Boss, never had a need to.

I play rock ranging from crunchy, through to classic distorted tones and fuzzy lead playing. The SD-1 on its own probably wouldn't be thick/ distorted enough for the range of tones I use, but it's a great overdrive boost for other pedals and amps.

I've been playing for about 8 years now, at the moment my most oft used rig is Explorer (with alnico II pickups) and AC30 turned up loud but cleanish, with various pedals depending on the song.

If this pedal was stolen I'd buy another right away. It's not smooth, thick or massively heavy, but that's not what it's for.

It's easy as can be, just plug it in and see if you like it. I did.

I'm playing on a Yamaki Les Paul (1975) standard with the original elements through a Roland Bolt 60 and a Mesa Boogie .50 Caliber. It is stock a good pedal, but not just my sound. It cuts the bass a lot (just as the TS does), but has sort of a mid-boost when you dial the tone knob >12h. It also sounded like my amp had a blanked on it. So I've found a data sheet on the web about the pedal, now knowing what cap and resistor are responsable for the sound.

So I've modded and changed until I liked it. I had a more bassy sound and I've pulled the blanked off. I even installed a switch for more and less bass.

Rating:

Stock: 8
Custom Modded: 10

It's a Boss. Even after modding it I'm sure it'll last forever.

Never dealt with them, and after modding it, I'm pretty sure I never will.

It's a good and cheap pedal. You'll have to be a real solder noob to not be modding this pedal, as all the info is on the internet. You can mod it to your very own specs.

I'm the only one in the world with a SD-1 sounding like this! :D

I got this as an early christmass present 3 years ago (2006). I didn't know what oeverdrive meant since I was kind of still new to guitar, so I thought it was going to be like a MT-2 (which I USED to love back then). I was a little disapointed back then because I was more into metal. But then within the past year or so I started getting more into Bon Jovi, and that got me into BB King and Hendrix and so on. So I started to appreciated clean and overdrive sounds a lot more than just hi-gain (which I still love). I started using this pedal a lot, and I mean A LOT. Let's get to the basics now. The level control of course controls the level. The tone controls the treble, more tone = more treble. Drive is self-explained. Pretty much exactly like a Tube Screamer

WIth Level at 10, tone at around 3, then drive at 8 or 9 you get a very nasty sounding overdrive, I used to run 2 SD-1's, and one of them has this setting, but I only use one now. If you have level at 10, tone at 3, then drive at 0 or 1, you get an amazing booster. I only use one now, and it's for boosting, but I still have not found another overdrive pedal quite as good as this one (except a Klon of course)

I was looking at this pedal and there was a whole bunch of chips that I'm not sure how got there, since I bought it new. But. it doesn't change the sound, it will last forever.

I love this pedal. My favorite pedal in the world. People hate me for saying this, but I like this better than tube screamers. This pedal will not let you down. Anything from a clean booster, to sweet, smooth, creamy overdrive, this pedal can do it.

easy as any overdrive pedal...stick it into your amp input and crank to taste.

with a clean amp it sounds a bit dull with the tone down and a bit harsh with it up imo depending where the level and drive are set.sounds ok with a bit of crunch on the amp but only ok.
i think it lacks the mid detail and bite of a decent tube screamer (808 , 9).it dosnt sound awful just a bit uninteresting and generic.the eq curve is much flatter than a TS which some will love but i love the mid hump on the TS so im a bit biased!!!
.however it sounds very similar to a ts10.
These are cheap though so any beginner can get an ok od pedal for a third the price of a TS.

BOSS

ok sound,cheap price...if you have the cash get a ts808,ts9 or something similar.

It's a typical 3 knob distortion.

Unlike almost all the other Boss distortion pedals, setting the tone knob toward the treble side doesn't make it sound terrible. It's got more distortion than a Tube Screamer and less than a Rat, and its tone control is different from both. It rolls off more treble than a Tube Screamer can, but it can't get as dark and bassy as a Rat. It emphasizes the midrange. For comparison, a Tube Screamer emphasizes treble and a Rat emphasizes low midrange and bass.

It has enough gain to get a boost at lower distortion settings. It doesn't really clean up in a usable way if you pick lighter or turn down your guitar's volume. Good luck finding a $40 distortion that does that, though.

I just got this one. I've never had a problem with any other Boss pedal, you just have to make sure you're holding the pedal slightly closed when you put the screw back in after changing the battery. That helps keep the screw from eating away the rubber gasket around the hole.

I've had Boss pedals for a while but never had to deal with them.

It's not just a lower-gain DS1. It doesn't sound like a Tube Screamer even though the difference in the circuits is small. It's worth checking out -- not in the rack that as every pedal Boss makes. Try it out with gear similar to what you'll be using it with.

It's not true bypass. Then again, most players don't need true bypass. Don't just buy things that say true bypass on them because someone told you it's better.

I play black and doom metal, as well as experimental, indie and space rock. This pedal can get just enough distortion for black metal if you have high gain guitar pickups (Super Distortions in my case), and has exactly the right EQ for it. It won't do 1970s Tony Iommi, but if you set it to less distortion and bassier tone, with the output all the way up you can push a JCM800 into some very nasty territory. The extra midrange helps cut through a mix, and I imagine it would work well if you have to compete with an idiot drummer who won't lay off the cymbals.

3 buttons: level, tone, drive.. simple as hell

I'm using a squire tele with fender noiseless pickups and a epiphone les paul with gibson 496R and 500T pickups through a vox pathfinder
sounds great.. it adds some notable distortion for the les paul but that just makes you use both the guitars if you dont bother to change the controls :)

you could use a boss after a hurricane so thats one thing edge's "music rising" program doesn't have to pay for hah

never dealt with boss

sounds good.. looks decent hah.. I've been playing for 2 years and play mostly heavy rock, classic rock and blues (rock) so its great for me..

my first overdrive pedal of some that I tried.. got this in exchange of an older boss flanger that had pile of dust covering it so I just got this and said **** you to the overdrive in my multieffect..

though I would not replace if lost or stolen but get a tubescreamer or somthing more fancy.. but for the money its great!

easy as. Its a slut of a pedal.

I USE it with a tube. Dont think its essential to make a good sound. it can be noisy maxed out but who would use it like that? then u go bak to clean and no1 can hear anything. using it with a roland bolt 60 and a ts-808 in front of it. Sounds great. MIJ of course Taiwan haha Taiwan is crap.

Yep Boss nuff said

Its not a distortion its an overdrive. Not a fuzz. Deffinately an early 80's hard rock sounding pedal. It might work for metal if you used another pedal like distortion after it mite give you more bite but not alone.

3 knobs. Very easy!!!

I'm using it without a tube amp, and it still sounds GREAT!!!!

Totally SOLID!!!

Had no trouble

AWESOME AWESOME PEDAL!!!!!!!!!!!!

very cut and dry

I play strats, teles, and an epi lp custom through a blues deluxe, and this pedal gives me the warm overdrive that my amp gives(but without making my ears bleed). My style would be 60's/70's rock, perfect for slight dirty clean tones. Tone nob can get pretty bright so I keep it dialed back. This did not suck off my clean tube tone

It's a boss- never had an issue with any of my boss pedals

Love this pedal, does what I needed it to do(rock out in my basement and piss off my kids