Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

Yeah, when I first got it out of the box it took me half an hour to find the exact tone and drive combination I wanted. But its very easy to use.

I am using a Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop, and a Peavy Blazer amp. I bought it cos I wanted a vintage, smooth classic overdrive, which goes perfectly with my current setup. Bearing in mind, heavy metal guitarists will not like this pedal. There is not enough fuzz or width in the sound, but dont get me wrong, when u wack the level and the drive knobs right up, it provides enough kick to satisfy my hunger for a smooth overdriven vintage sound. I am not a rock guitarist myself, I am more alternative/indi, this is not a pedal I would recommmend for rythmn guitarists, its a pedal for guitarists with influences like me who want to produce a classic overdriven sound, with a twist...

Its a boss

No Problems.

Good match for Radiohead/verve guitarists who are not indie, but alternative with there own vintage style. Mentioned everything else in sound section... Added to wah and delay it is the perfect overdrive pedal, whereas distortion is too much to handle.

real easy to use

sounds best when added to an already overdriven amp. by itself,it's kinda thin & tinny. but it thickens up when i use it while on the distortion channel of my amp (carvin solid state 2x12) i have an ibanez tube screamer & i think the ts had a slightly less compressed sound. like it "breathed a little more. very close tho

boss pedals rarely break. never had a problem with mine

good "boost" pedal. like the other reviews say...its an overdrive not a distortion. if you can get a decent distortion sound out of your amp, this pedal will make it even better

Very easy to use. You do not need a manual.

I use a strat into this then into a fender Blues Junior amp. This pedal is an OVERDRIVE Pedal!!!! Not A DISTORTION BOX!!!! It is used to boost the sound you get from your amp. PERIOD. And it does a great job at it. Yes it's noisy, It produces Gain, which makes noise!!DUHH.
Nobody in the world can get the sound of their favorite artist. It's impossible since tone comes from your hands not your equipment.

Yes, Most musicians can't afford a backup let alone the shit they already have.

I play guitar and this pedal works for me cause I use it for what it was meant to be used for.

Really easy to use - and a good variety of sounds can be dialed in. I found a lot of sample settings in these reviews, which was helpful.

I run a Fender stratocaster -> DOD Milkbox Comp. -> BOSS SD-1 and its noisy. Really noisy. I have to turn my amp volume and eq all the way down to get it workable, but it still sounds good. I'm planning on getting a noise gate to offset this, but I really like the sounds I get from this setup regardless of the noise issue. I'm not trying to emulate anyone in particular, just myself.

Looks tough to me, no backup.

Never tried, probably never will. It was pretty cheap anyway, so I'd just get another if it broke down.

This is a great sounding TS-9 substitute for the guitarist on a budget, like me. Despite this 'wanna be a TS-9' reputation, the SD-1 is actually a really nice pedal on its own. Good smooth overdrive, an incredible value, and a nice array of sounds at its disposal - get it.

Extremely simple, 3 basic knobs and a small thing you step on, doesn't have alot of instructions, doesn't need them

very good, I like putting heavy distortion on my amp and scratching the strings it creates cool hendrix-like sounds

Yeah, this is a good pedal, but it's even better with an adaptor... if I had an adaptor for it I'd use it without a backup

I've never had to deal with the company because the pedal hasn't broken

Very good overall, extremely useful in rock music, I'd be angry if it were stolen

Three knobs....it's pretty basic stuff.

I use this unit as a 'clean boost' for my JCM 900. I keep it set to max volume, tone at 12 noon and the OD at '0'. It's got some static noise to it depending on how much you crank it but that's normal of any gain oriented device. I don't care for the OD by itself; I prefer to fatten up my Marshall's tube sound with it and for this purpose it's one of the best pedals I've ever used. On its' own it sounds like poop with a rating of 2. My sound quality rating above is for the purpose of boosting an already good sounding tube signal.

You can definitely depend on this unit as far as I'm concerned...very sturdy indeed. I would not hesitate to use without a backup.

No comments here as it's been quite reliable over the years.

I play mostly hard rock and this pedal compliments my Marshall beautifully. I beleive Steve Vai used an SD-1/ Marshall combo when he recorded 'Eat em and Smile' with Roth so listen to those tones and you'll get an idea of what the combination sounds like. If it were stolen I would probably use it as an excuse to buy a Fulldrive 2 or a TK 999 Tube King. I found this unit at a fairly good price and it works well with my set up so I'll keep it around for some years to come. It's a good little OD booster pedal. For the money I'll give it an overall 8... Compared to more expensive units out there I give it a 6.

It's pretty easy to use and dial in a good tone, but this is generally true when using a good tube amp like a Marshall that's already got the gain cranked up somewhat. If used with a solid-state amp, it enhances the tone, but it doesn't perform miracles.

I've used this pedal with a Gibson Les Paul Artisan (w/Dimarzio Super Distortion HB) and a 1977 Marshall JMP Mk-II head & 1960 bottom. The tone I got was unreal! Lotsa sustain and warmth! This is a Japanese-made pedal that has the same JRC 4558 op-amp that makes everyone drool over the Ibanez TS808 and TS9. I owned a TS9 too, but this pedal has a little more bite and nastiness. I haven't heard the SD-1 models, but I'll bet that they don't sound this good. Nowadays, I use it with a Fender 60's RI Strat (w/Lace Sensor Golds, Randall RG-80 112 SC combo, and Line 6 Pod. I generally keep the Pod amp settings on British Classic or British Hi-Gain with the gain turned up to about 11 o'clock. Although the tone isn't as good as my old setup, it still competes.

I've had it 13 years, and I bought it used. It was manufactured in 1983, and it's still working just fine.

Never had to deal with Roland/Boss.

Overall, this pedal is what I'd call the "lost treasure" or "forgotten treasure" of the 80's. So many guitarists favor the Ibanez TS808 and TS9, but having played both of those pedals and owned a TS9, I can honestly say IMHO that this one is better. albeit slightly. I play everything from R&B to funk to hard rock, and this pedal is extremely complimentary to all of those styles and then some. I would even recommend this pedal to metal-heads, but only if they are using a good tube amp that already has the gain cranked up to full. It can ad a great deal of warmth and sustain, but it has a roar to it as well. Unbelievable pedal!

Pretty straight forward. Tone,Level,Drive. Drive means drive ,not a distortion by any means. Manual is detailed yet this pedal is pretty easy to catch on to. Good sounds are easy. Not much tweaking or experimenting needed.

Sound quality is basically real good. I use this as a Booster for clean and distorted. Nice thing is that I boost a BOSS metal Zone with this and it still sounds like the SD-1 turned up. I have the SD-1 tonal qualitiies instead of the Metal Zone turned up louder. I use a Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall JCM 900 half stack.Pedal will sustain if you let it.

Never a problem with any BOSS pedals in 22 years.

Not dealt much with them.

I'd say a must if you don't want to mess with amp channel switching.Will boost a metal pedal to overdrive cutting thruogh leads I'd say it's a essential pedal for boost and for tonal quality You can get them cheap now and it's worth that 50 bucks..

It's very easy to use.. only three knobs. I just use it as a clean boost (level all the way up, drive and tone down), because it doesn't have the mid hump a tube screamer does. I mostly play my les paul/marshall with no effects, but this goes very well with my bassman.

I mostly play a Gibson Les Paul Standard with either a 65 Fender Bassman, a 75 champ, or a 76 Marshall mk2. The pedal is not very noisy. I use it as a clean boost with my Fender bassman head when I need a little more crunch. It colors your tone a bit, but it sounds pretty good. I tried it with the Marshall, but it took away some of the bottom end and made my sound a little fizzy. I also lost a little of the 'roar' I get with that setup. Honestly, I don't think my LP/Marshall can be improved on. It's good for leads with the Bassman, though.

It's a boss..

I've never dealt with them.

This is actually the second one I've owned. The first one I bought new. It was made in Taiwan. This one was made in Japan. I can't really tell any difference, because I've been without the other one for a few years.
I use this to play rock and blues.. It's sounds a little wimpy on it's own, but it's great for pushing a slightly broken up fender. I have a TS9 that I had Analog Mike mod into a TS808 that sounds very similar to this pedal. It just has a more pronounced midrange that sounds better with my strat than les paul. I'm keeping this one.

Three knobs. Not too difficult to use, but the tone knob is very powerful. I can get a great sound out of this with minimal knob twisting, so that's a big plus too. I got mine second hand, so there was no manual, but I don't think you need one. I don't give it a ten, but only because I haven't tried everything else yet.

I use this in conjunction with my GD wah in line between my LP studio lite and my '80 Fender Pro reverb (older than me!) I have had a few different setups, and I've had tonal doubts about everything else except this pedal. It has been a solid performer ever since I bought it, never noisy, always a phenomenal sound.

As I said above, this pedal has never failed me, even thought it was beaten to s**t when I got it. This is the most solidly built pedal I have ever seen, and I have no doubts that it will keep going for a long time yet.

Never dealt with Boss. Don't envision ever having to.

I bought this pedal at a local music store when I got my first electric guitar. I didn't even know what it was, as nearly all the paint is gone on the top and sides of the pedal. I know that it was part of a gigging musicians rige for years and it still carries the velcro underside from being stored in a pedalboard. I don't know why he got rid of it, but when I plugged it in at the music store it sounded like heaven. When I was told that "thirty bucks will do it", I forked out the cash and have never looked back. Since then, I have bought and sold guitars, amps and effect processors, but I have never even thought of relinguishing this beauty. A friend offered me AUS$200 for it and I refused him cold. I know this sounds silly, but this little yellow box has become the thing I always come back to when I find my tone lacking. To summarize, I bought this pedal for next to nothing, it sounds like god, it's got bags of character (I bet it could tell a few stories!) and if it were stolen, I don't know what I would do. Like I tell my friends, You can smash my fender and trash my Gibson, but touch that Boss and I'll kick your ass. Anyway, If there's anything else I can tell you about my little friend, just e-mail me - I'm always willing to tell a few stories about it.