Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

I like the way my stock SD-1 sounded, no need for modification in my behalf, I easily get the sound I want from it.

level= 10 o'clock
tone = 1 o'clock
gain = 3-4 o'clock

out of the box it's very nice sounding already, i believe you do not need all the bunch of documents that goes along with it.

I am an overdrive fan- I had the DOD 250, Bad Monkey, TS5 tubescreamer, behringer OD pedal and so far I believe this is the topnotcher of all the OD pedals i've own. No wonder they labeled it "SUPER". Very bright sounding unlike the BadMonkey and TS5 which is dark. It's like seeing thru a very clear eyeglass, crisp sounding OD, and good volume boost. Almost natural sounding, not much coloration. The gain is very adequate enough to sound very gritty for the OD zone. I am not a distortion or metal user, this SUPER OVERDRIVE is definitely satisfiable for me

metal, haven't changed their patent over the decades, surely is reknowed to be that reliable

I would rate it 10 for the mediocore pedal- considering other boutique pedal is a different story though

Well, its a 3 knob pedal. Mine is modded to have an additional 3-way toggle switch.

1st: Germanium
2nd: Clean Boost
3rd: LED

Mine is also modded to have the mid-hump removed.

My setup are as follows; guitar ??? volume pedal ??? wah ??? comp ??? SD1- Line6 MM4 ??? Hughes & Kettner Triamp MK I. DD20 & RV5 is in the loop. This pedal rocks the house. I set it to volume full, gain min, tone min & set the toggle to clean boost. What can I say!!! The tone is just amazing. I would rather get another 1 if spoilt than to get a boutique overdrive pedal for $400-$500.

its built like a diamond. No worries evne without backup.

no comment.

I play anything from blues, rock, metal & it suits well.

I have had this pedal for 23 years and it's still the BEST sounding overdrive to my ears. I recently started using pedals again after a longtime plugging straight into my heads. A Peavey 5150 and a new EVH 5150III. I added the SD-1 pedal to my board so that I could use it for a boost instead of channel switching. MY GOD! this thing roars! and sounds amazing. Gives me an extra mid-range bite that was lacking without it. I set the tone control at 1pm, the level at 10 and the drive at zero.. It adds a really nice tone to the already great sounding amps.

Amazing! Nothing more to be said.

23 years and counting. No problems.

Never talked with them, never had to.

I would freak out if I lost this pedal and have to get another one. Not sure what the newer ones sound like.

It only have 3 knobs, level, tone and drive. An input and output jack and a 9v battery compartment and a power supply. It sure easy to get a great sound thru it and i dont even bother to use the manual cos this is very easy for me to tweak out of the box. So i never rely on it yet till now ( dont know about the future) The unit i owned is stock and made in taiwan.

Right now at home i'm using this with a solid state Marshall MG15DFX but live i am using it with any amp the organizer provide and it sure hell to tweak an unknown amp or the one that u never use to so i need something that i can bring anywhere i go. Basicly my setup is Ibanez RG350, Fender and Squier Stratocaster (all my guitar are stock right now) and a Peavey Wolfgang (on loan so i dont know if it is modified or not) to my effect chain to amp, in amp effect loop delay pedal (for live purpose only)

My effect chain start with a volume pedal>>>wah>>>Boss SD-1>>>Boss SD-1>>>eq>>>flanger>>>noise gate>>>eq>>>chorus>>>chorus and then to the amp (live or at home it the same setup except at home i use the delay before amp)

The first SD-1 was set as a boost (for lead )with level,tone and drive around 9 to 12 o'clock, the second SD-1 set for dirty crunch with the level on 9 to 3 o'clock, tone on 12 to 3 o'clock and drive around 12 to 3 o'clock. It sure noisy when i stop playing with either only one or both of them on together (of cos hahahaha) but the noise gate sure help with the noise. And the Marshall combo set on overdrive channel with the volume around 9 to 10 o'clock (sometimes higher when my parent not around :p), and the gain around 9 o'clock and the bass and treble around 3 o'clock and the mid full blast (i sure like tons of mid) and live it depends on what amp i using so it could be different sometimes (usually all the time hahaha), This allow me to achieve sort of Paul Gilbert type of sound and heavier sounding Yngwie Malmsteen but at the same time allow me to just use the amp as a slightly gritty overdriven for bluesy rhythm works and on just the booster for lead works and with the guitar volume and tone knob i can achieve a lot of color for my lead in this domain except scooped mid which i have the eq set to sort of smiley curve or "V" shape for that kind of rhythm. I also use it with clean channel on amp before it sure work too and nice for the situation before but i just prefer this way and it give me tons of color and especially gain to work with.

With just one SD-1 on a moderate overdrive to an amp clean channel, i can get sort of from SRV, Hendrix and sort of bluesy artists with higher drive i can go to up to AC/DC and Thin Lizzy sort of style and with my neck pickup on either guitar i can get a nice Santana and Eric Johnson sort of tone (with my RG volume roll down i can get EJ tone nice and with the Strat it surely noisy without the gate to achieve the fat sound of Santana). But i still prefer using the amp on slightly overdrive and get my clean sound by switching off both the SD-1 and roll down my volume or using the second eq after the gate for another treblish clean sound and just change my pickup option using the selector to get more color.

Before i own this pedal i have own the Boss MT-2 and i use two of them for different setting over amp clean channel and i like them and after that i want more clarity and more dynamic in my sound and influenced by Satriani and Vai i go for the DS-1 still i wasnt satisfied till i get this pedals. And i like them for they suit my style of playing.

I have try this pedals combo using Marshall JCM800, JCM900 and the DSL2000. The Peavey 6505 and 6505 Plus, Roland JC-120 combo and Hughes and Kettner (i dont remember the brand name sorry about that and some other amplifier i forgot the brand name and it sure get the sound i am going for.

Yes of cos i depend on it all the time for live performance and practise except at night where i need to practise silently i use a headphone with the Korg AX1500g :p thru a mixer or sort.

Right now i have priority for other things (i need another RG hahahaha) and i dont have the backup but it a product by Boss and i still have the pair of CH-1 that i bought when i started to play 7 years ago and they still work. But with care and better way of handling it they sure will last longer.

i have try their dealer in my country and they sucks big time, of course that mean they are not helpful with no idea about gear snobby businessman and salesman hahahahaha. I have no idea about the Roland or the Boss company cos i basicly get more infos and repairs if i need them (havent need to repair them yet hahahaha) from a friend of mine.

I sort of play as many style as possible becos i do some recording session work and live for some people in my country (with the Fender Strat and Peavey sometime the Ibanez RG, and used differents pedals combo for different need (wish i can afford to get a rack hahahaha), basicly with this setup and i can cover tons of style unless i need a phaser, pitch shifter and etc i just borrow from a good friends of mine (thanks dude, u guys are cool). But mostly for my band i do play in the range of hard rock to metal and sometimes some pop song (i am a big fan of van halen and mr big lately hahahaha). And have been playing for nearly 9 years right now start around 16 or 17 i thinks it is 17. Other pedals that i own now is the Boss BF-3,CH-1 (X2),DS-1 (X2), DD-3 (X2),DD-20 (need to get one more of this),FV-50H and FV-50L, GE-7 (X4 recently bought 2 more), NS-2 and also a VOX V848 Wah-wah. Before this i owned the MT-2 (X2), some Digitech distortion and modulation pedals, and Ibanez delays which i sold off cos i dont like em. And for just in case a quick setup i have the Korg AX1500g. For the price i pay i think t is really worth it and the only thing lacking i dont know it sure nice for me so i dont think it gonna suit everyone but it sure fit for my need.

I havent try the Tubescreamer yet but i intend to try them out soon if i have more cash hahahaha, but this pedals is cheaper and it have all the dynamics and clarity i need and it pick my picking well (becos i know there are more overdrive pedals that i need to try out but for the time being i like em a lot). With the eq pedal it sure help to give me the scooped mid heavy crunch sound like metallica and i am trying out to figure more eq setting with the latest acquisition of the GE-7 so maybe next time my effects chain could be volume>>>wah>>>eq>>>SD-1>>>eq(for mid scooped)>>>eq(for mid boost or other sort of things that i need)>>>flanger>>>noise gate>>>chorus(X2)>>>eq and i intend to try out other pedals too cos i might find out a new favourite pedals hahahaha and i just like to tweak my effects to achieve new fresh sound. Anyway i think it is much better to try out for yourself to get to know the sound that u can get. i'm a bit lucky cos some of friends have tons of pedals and racks but i make use of what i have.

Already been covered....

I have a nice collection of boutique ODs as well as some "classics", but I've never had an SD-1 until recently. I picked this one up used just to add to my collection and it managed to beat out every other OD I have. I use it as a boost into the front of my Marshall (JCM 800 2204) to push it into high-gain Metal mode. For years I used a Tube Screamer and more recently a Maxon OD 9 (my favorite TS) but the "cheap" Boss SD-1 just did a better job pushing my Marshall. It's more open, sounds more aggressive and has a more even midrange response. It also seems to have more grit/gain than the TS pedals. I considered the available mods and while interesting, if it's not broken don't fix it. Since theses pedals are so affordable I might buy another one specifically for modding it. In the meantime I'm perfectly happy with my stock SD-1.

I play "Metal" (Iron Maiden, OLD Slayer, Morbid Angel) and this will definitely be my main "crunch" pedal from now on. It sounds like it was made to work with my Marshall. It feels very natural in the application that I'm using it for and it's a hard pedal to beat for the price, new or used.

Like any OD stomp box, it doesn't have a myriad of useable settings, but I can get my sound out of this one without having to twiddle around too much. I treat overdrive pedals as a necessary evil, so functionality is paramount.

This is a Japanese model from the early 80s, that may or may not have been modded at some point. I don't know how the newer Taiwanese SD-1s compare. However, I have directly compared it to the "legendary" OD-1 and I like this pedal a lot better. Punches through the mix just as well but holds onto a bit more bass (only a bit, mind). It's also smoother and less "jagged" sounding than the spikey OD-1. Very tube-like on recordings. Not a one-size-fits-all Overdrive (try the OD-3), but as a token mid-humped "TS-style" pedal, this is the best I've come across.

25 years old, works perfectly.

Can I just say how much sick I am of reading all these liars who say they would "hunt down" and eviscerate/beat-down/kill/sodomise the thief if the prized product being reviewed were stolen? If your thing is stolen, chances are the thief will get away free as the air you breathe with not a damn thing you can do about it. Such is life. In the highly unlikely event of being confronted with the thief, I'm sure 95% of you would plain chicken out of doing anything.
(The other 5% would maybe squeak some puny threats in a shrill, frightened, girly voice.)
Yadda-yadda, tough-guys.
Disclaimer: I'm not a gear-thief and I hate them as much as anyone.

Very easy to use, never opened the manual until I needed to check on the warranty status of the pedal (see below). Three knobs (Level, Tone, Drive). Pretty easy to dial in whatever sound you're after.

Ran my Epi Les Paul copy (with upgraded 496R and 500T pickups--would recommend this upgrade to everyone for a cheap alternative to a real Gibson), a Gibson Blueshawk, and one of the newer Electromatic Gretsch Pro Jets through my late 90s 100w Fender Twin. Used the SD-1 mainly for light overdrive and for a boost for solos/choruses on top of the amp's overdrive. Sounds somewhat similar to Tubescreamer type overdrive, won't blow the roof off the joint, but its not designed to do that. Good for hard rock, 70s/80s style rock 'n roll, early 60s stuff would sound good with this pedal... if you put it in front of a decent amp it'll sound good, I can't see it making a solid state amp scream, but I wouldn't expect it to. For 50 bucks this pedal is a great value, doesn't color your sound too much... basically I'd say it's a one of the best entry-level OD pedals on the market.

A couple weeks ago I would've gigged without a backup, but it unexpectedly died on me for no reason a week ago, so I'd have to think twice before using it in a live situation without a backup. I got almost 1 year out of this pedal before it stopped working... well it didn't totally stop working, the pedal works in bypass mode (as in, I can play clean through it, but the effect doesn't work). It's not an input/output jack issue, something's shorted out in the pedal--I get no sound out of it half the time, and the rest of the time it sounds like I'm playing through a pair of headphones when I step on the pedal.

Boss won't return my emails, and frankly I don't blame them, it is after all a 50 dollar product. I've grown tired of reading reviews that say "Hey, it's a Boss, what could go wrong?" This is the second Boss pedal that I've taken good care of that's simply died. The other was a DS-1 that sat on my pedal board just like the SD-1 did, with a clean power supply, in a dry environment... these things just don't live up to the hype. I didn't throw them down the stairs, or throw them out of a hotel window into the pool, or back my car over them, or any other ridiculous claim that I've read over the years. I've had 4 boss pedals and 2 have died, so I've got a 50% success rate. Boss pedals are cheap for the most part, so I wouldn't expect much more than I've gotten.

My band currently plays Replacements-esque rock 'n roll, mostly originals. Been playing about 10 years on and off depending on what's happening in the local music scene. If this pedal were lost or stolen I really wouldn't care at this point because it's not worth fixing. I'm trying to decide if I should buy three of these in hopes that one will last or if I should just bite the bullet and get a Maxon OD-9 or a Fulldrive OCD for the same amount of money. It was a good pedal while it lasted, but it really didn't last that long. 5 year warranties don't really matter if your local Boss dealer will charge you to open the pedal up and Boss won't talk to you.

A loud pup is a must - otherwise its easy as falling off a stage.

Jeff (12/17/2007) nailed it - the older the amp, the better.....
Bazza (12/24/2007) nailed it - not too good into a clean transistor amp.....
CrackMonkey (01/01/2008) has to be having way too much fun for his own good.....
mike (01/07/2008) mike does it a disservice.....
The box says Overdrive - NOT distorton, and the pedal needs a good level in to get the grit at all. That DOES mean that if you ease back on the volume control or lighten up your picking, the grit goes away - but THAT kind of control is very usable.
Contrary to my previous review (11/14/2007), after playing through it for a month I went and modded it. Took out the silicon 1/2-diodes and put in 4/6 germanium. Well, now it is so subtle you wouldn't believe it, chords still dirty up and the wrong notes produce some intermodulation, same as with the silicon set-up - you have to think about the notes and keep to "power" chords. But on lead/solo lines and single or paired note riffs, it is sweet as a honey covered rip-saw. So - there IS mileage in modding these babies.....

After the nuclear holocaust, there will be nothing left but BOSS pedals and politicians.....

Boss/Roland probably won't talk to me now I've been inside with a smouldering-iron.....

Blues - into a tube/valve amp it does it a treat. Its an overdrive pedal, NOT a distortion unit. If you are DI'ing or using solid-state, look elsewhere.
45 Years, a Fender Bassman and some string-driven things.
Stolen? hell, I'd get straight on to fleabay for another one.
I love the sound, I hate the colour, my favourite feature is the sound.
Compared it to loads, too many to mention, chose it because it sounded good and didn't need a mortgage.
Wish it had a built in drinks-chiller. Or maybe an Econoline van.
Yup - it helps make music, and doesn't get in the way.
Yes - I'd like to share the answers to all your strange questions with potential buyers of this unit.

Baisically this pedal is really just a boost that adds a little bit of dirt, the controls don't really very responsive and don't lend themselves to tweaking, so in terms of ease of use you may as well just turn the dials to 12 and leave them there.

Like i said it's a boost with a bit of dirt, as someone else has said prob works best infront of a tube amp thats already cranked up, as i don't have a tube amp i tend to play at lowish levels, so this pedal is next to useless for me so i got rid of it, as it seemed to give a flattish sound with no sparkle at low levels. I used it with a 100w solid state marshall, and even with a good les paul copy (i.e. not a epiphone!)found it hard to get a grinding overdrive, however the pedal sounded ok in a chain, as a stand alone pedal i REALLY diddnt like the sound plus there was no gain in the pedal, and as moneys tight i rate versatility quite highly, and this diddnt do much for me...so my personal rating is a muddy 7.

I don't own one no more.

nope.

I kinda felt it wasnt for me, just buy it if you want to tip a amp over the edge, remember it's NOT a distortion pedal in it's self... i was looking for a cleanish sound with a bit of dirt AND gain and sparkle, this wasnt it i'm afraid, if i decide that i REALLY need a cleanish overdriven sound with a bit of dirt then i'll try the digitech bad monkey as i like some of their other pedals and it seems like you can get a bit more gain from it if you want...

Three knobs, easy use

Sounds good to me, I'm using it as a boost for high to medium distortion. I found it best for what I'm using to turn the drive all the way off and the volume all the way up and putting the tone at 12 o clock. Then I use the distortion on my amp. Even with the gain all the way off it still adds a little grit on the clean channel which gets gritter with hard picking. So this pedal adds some "sag" with hard picking set up like this. I bought this pedal because thats what Jason Becker used. Sounds awesome for leads. You can have the gain on your amp at 5 and have insane sustain, great for clean neoclassical shred solo's. With your gain on your amp on 10 you can get some brutal deathmetal tones. If you get some feedback just turn some knobs down till it stops. This is the first overdrive pedal I've owned so I don't know how other pedals are. I'm using it with fender m-80 amps which are quite brutal by them selves. I'm giving it a 9 cause I'm sure there is something better out there. This pedals works good for me.

I don't see it breaking down. It's a boss.

This pedal actually inspires me but I would guess any new piece of quality equip would.