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

Simple not much more to say

A nice tuby and also quite rich overdrive sound, it's quite good for producing a large proportion of david guilmour's sound

Seems pretty solid to me

As someone who generally plays lead id say its a goood one to have for those richer solos

your standard overdrive control parameters.. level, tone, drive

I have two.. I'm using them with a Gibson SG standard, a VP, a few delays and a chorus into a Fender RI Deluxe Reverb

I'm comparing the older SD-1, which I bought today, and the newer one, which I also own. In my opinion, while they do indeed sound different, they are both equally useful. The older one is cleaner sounding to my ears, with less gain and overall level, while the newer one has more volume boost and crunch. Both retain the same characteristic mid-hump and both do a good job of boosting my amp for soloing and providing overdrive for rhythm work. I think the older one is better for picking and arpeggio type stuff, while the newer one is better for chording.

These will not break... the older one is from 1986 according to its serial number (thanks bossarea.com) and the only thing's worn in is the spring underneath the footswitch; it detaches but functions perfectly. anyone know how to fix 'er?
i'm not going to give it a 10 because everything has its breaking point.

meh.. i've heard horror stories, but the 5 year warranty isn't too bad either

I play rock, experimental, acoustic, space, electronic.. this pedal shows up everywhere, both in my music and in my rigs

the one thing i don't like about the older sd-1 is the old-style adapter jack, which runs on 12 volts instead of 9. if you plug a wall wart into it, it's underpowered and the LED doesn't even light up.. but if you feed it through a daisy chain connected to a modern pedal before it, it works.. hm..

Has three knobs so it's pretty bonehead easy to use.

I was originally given one of these pedals by someone when I had a Fender solid state amp. I thought it was a piece of crap, but that would change one day when I got my first tube amp. This pedal is designed for TUBE amps. This is very important to know. It has never sounded good through a solid state amp as far as I'm concerned. I experimented with this pedal with my Mesa Boogie Rectifier and then later my Marshal DSL. It sounds wonderful with every tube amp I've tried. I find it really useful for two situations. First, it can act as a good rock distortion pedal if you have your tube amp on light "crunch" mode. This can actually make this pedal sound like a hard rock/metal pedal if done just right. Secondly, it can sound terrific as a subtle "boost" to a tube amps high gain channel. It works well to tighten up the sound of guitars with muddy pickups. The first thing I thought of when I tried this was "wow, I sound like Zakk Wylde's tone." A few months later I found to my surprise that he uses this exact same pedal. It's a cheap pedal that is worth well more than it's price. However, I've only owned one of the older ones from Japan which has that special chip they stopped putting in the new ones. I haven't tried the new ones yet. To my ears, this overdrive sounds just as good as a TS9, though it is slightly harsher (which I like) than the smoother TS9. This is one great pedal that is often overlooked.

The pedals last forever, but the knobs don't. I had to buy a replacement one (only 40$). The knobs fall off over time, but other than that, it's fine.

Never dealt with them.

Like I said, this is a great value for the money, but I've only used the older Japan versions. I found one of these for 30$.... few things have been such a great value. Not the smoothest overdrive pedal, but certainly a good one for raw tones.

Fairly easy to use. Level, drive, and tone knobs. Only so many sounds to choose from.

Through all my amps (marshal, fender, epiphone, even an off-brand guitar research amp) it sounds bad. It just sounds too digital, it's very obvious that it is a pedal and not real overdrive. Definitely not crunchy enough for metal. I don't play metal though. It just sounds so fake and digital. It is VERY noisy when you crank the drive past 12 o'clock. You definitely would need a noise gate while using this thing live.

Boss pedals last forever. Built like tanks.

I play alternative and punk rock. On a bright note, this pedal offers a smooth transition between clean and dirty if you set it right, so it might come in handy if you switch a lot during songs, but it just lacks any good tone.

Three knobs, easy to use. Suggest you start with the buffered signal first, then dial in the pedal to a tone you can live with.

This pedal gives a pretty okay tone. Nice, creamy overdrive, but it doesn't quite sparkle like some other pedals will, and certainly nothing whatsoever like a nice overdriven amp sounds like, which is what these pedals are supposed to emulate, really. Like any boosted signal, your single coils will get noisier.

Here's the warning part:

Tone afficianado's do NOT want to add this to their rig. It will suck tone like no tomorrow. Anyone using this with a tube amp is truly missing out on some of the nicest sounds that their equipment can produce. I discovered this when I added a Diamond Phase to my chain (downstream), but the effect sounded weak and pale compared to the videos on YouTube, when the overdrive was turned off. I removed the SD-1 from the chain and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had made the mistake of NEVER actually listening to my rig WITHOUT the SD-1, and had no idea what I really had, since I had the pedal before I had the amp. I've since replaced the SD-1 with a BBE Green Screamer, which is true bypass.

Like others have said here, this pedal does not like other pedals. Nor does it like tube amps, as it makes them sound dull.

I gigged with it for 2 years, and it's over 10 years old. Never broke.

Dunno.

I needed an overdrive for my rig, and this pedal came along through a friend. As cash flow was low, I didn't argue. However, given the opportunity to upgrade, this pedal will sit around waiting for everything else to break before it goes back into the chain. Sounds pretty good when it's turned on, but when it's not, it makes everything else sound like crud. And it's too much trouble to keep plugging and unplugging pedals from song to song.

In short: good for beginners, but upgrade to go pro, or for anyone looking for sweetness of tone.

3Knobs, so it's self explanatory.

If your sound is punk or hardcore metalheald, this pedal might not be dirty enough for you. For the rest of us, you owe it to yourself to try this. Mild to high-moderate driven distortion without appreciable tone loss. Lot's of headroom. Very quiet! I'm using this in a chain with Humphrey's modded compressor & delay, a Keeley-modded Blues Driver and a Korg tuner...this thing is very quiet AND true bypass.

No worries...the shell is still Boss so it's built like a tank. Plus, Humphrey Audio Mods stands behind it with a lifetime warranty. While I haven't had it a long time, I expect reliability will not be an issue.

Excellent. Mark is great to work with, prompt email replies. I emailed him one day with a question, left my telephone # and said please call me to discuss. He called me that day. Try getting that kind of service from the "big guys"!

If blues or rock is your style, I highly recommend this pedal mod. This is the 3rd pedal Humphrey Audio has done for me and I cannot say enough good things about the quality and service. If this pedal were stolen (I have to chuckle at the "...or lost,.."; gee, just can't remember where I put my gear) I would replace it the next day.

If you're looking for a great sounding pedal, extremely quiet that "plays well with others", try this one. I seriously doubt you'll be disappointed.
Bruce

The same Level, Tone, and Drive controls as nearly all overdrive pedals out there. The battery is easy to get to.

I classify the sound of overdrive/distortion pedals into basically 4 categories; creamy, gritty, fizzy, and raspy. The SD-1 is mostly in the creamy quadrant, with some fizzyness. I also run a TS-10 on my board. The SD-1 sounds EXACTLY like the TS-10. Not similar... exactly. I did A/B comparisons across all settings and I honestly can't tell the difference. They both use the 4558 JRC op amp, and there are mods available to bring it to TS808 specs. I have on set as mostly a volume boost with just a touch of grind and the other at about 12 o'clock, so I can have three levels of overdrive. It has a nice creamy drive that is quite compressed. Adds lots of midrange and sustain. The controls provide an adequate range of sounds. This is not the best overdrive out there but I haven't found one in the same price range that is better.

It's built solid as a brick like all Boss pedals. I would have no worries about reliability.

I play classic rock, blues, and I'm in a praise/worship band. I've been playing for 30 years and owned tons of gear. This pedal gives me the sound I was looking for. If I had to build my pedal board from scratch, the SD-1 would definately be on it. If I were rating it compared to other similar priced pedals I'd give it a 10. But since there are lots of high-end pedals out there that do sound better I'll give it a solid 8.

It's an OD pedal. It has knobs, two plugs, and you step on it sometimes. Obviously, quite easy.

I run either my Parker or my LP Studio into a handful of pedals and then into a rack consisting of a Mesa Quad Pre, G-Major, and Peavey Classic 50/50. I picked this pedal up on a whim, to give me a bit more versatility. I also have to remember that I *love* this box, so I have to be a bit careful to try and be objective.

I've experimented with the pedal a good deal, and some things seem to work significantly better than others. I know some people have had great results with using this as a boost, either for solos or for slamming the front of an amp, and it works fine that way, but it doesn't seem to be where this thing excels.

My main use for this box, and what I love about it, is for warm, singing overdriven leads. I keep it set with the level fairly high, the drive pretty low (about 25%) and the tone rolled back, and when I engage it on the clean channel on my Quad (which is set to be right on the edge of breaking up normally) it pushes it into a beautifully warm, smooth drive tone perfect for single note lead lines. I do want to experiment with a few of the common mods, but the overall stock tone characteristics in this context are absolutely awesome.

It's pretty easy to get a nasty tone or nasty noise out of this thing though, that's for sure. Higher tone settings, at least with my rig, sound like an icepick stabbing through your eardrums.

I don't know, I've been rockin' it a month or two, but only really put it through the road-warrior paces for a week or two now, having recently joined up with full-time touring band After the Crash (www.myspace.com/afterthecrash so you can see the general style I'm playing in. No bluesy stuff here, so if that's your intended use you'd be best served looking through different reviews. This is modern-rock with something of an emphasis on mood/ambience stuff)

So far so good, but I might have to revise this after a few more months of throwing it around.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for about 12 years, very seriously (and currently making a living on tour) and this thing is a great value. It's not the end-all-be-all drive/boost pedal, but it's pretty sweet. I was actually shocked: I bought this pedal on a whim, intending to get it modded right away, and as soon as I plugged in and fired it up a bit, I was scared that getting it modded might lose the tonal characteristics I love! For my purposes, using over a clean channel to push it and get a smooth sounding overdrive for leads, it's quite solid. Seemed smoother than the TS series ODs.

I bought this pedal several weeks ago at a very nice price from my local Boss dealer and so far, so good. It's very easy to use. I played around with a sample unit in the store for a good hour before buying it, so I had plenty of time to get acquainted.

I really liked the fact that this pedal does not compress my tone at all. It was easily the most "open" and transparent of all the Boss overdrives I tried. I really dislike effects that constrict tone, and this one does nothing of the sort, contrary to what the previous poster said. He must have problems with his hearing or something. It works fine in conjunction with my JangleBox compressor and other pedals. It replaced a Danelectro Daddy-O overdrive that I had grown to dislike. Anybody want a good deal on it? It's going up on Ebay. I may, at some point, try other boutique overdrives, but for now, this is a big improvement on the Daddy-O.

Boss stuff is usually built to withstand a nuclear war. I don't think this one will be any different.

I have dealt with Boss C/S before concerning another pedal I had that was defective. They were great to deal with.

All in all, I like the Super Overdrive just fine so far. Ask me in six months. I usually stay away from Boss pedals and prefer boutique stuff, but heck, it sounded fine, the price was right and it kicks the crap outta' the Daddy-O. One day, I might go for an expensive boutique replacement, but for now, the Boss is doing what I need it to do.

Fairly easy to tweak around to get different sounds but it takes a while to get the tone I like.

The tone knob is very useful. Helps you to get warm and smooth creamy drive to brittle overdrive.

Well, here's the thing. I got this pedal ever since I was a beginner. This pedal gives a very average effect. Good to use it alone but I like to stack overdrive pedals for creamier and fuller sound. This thing doesn't like other pedals. Besides its a super duper big tone sucker! I bought some boutique pedals recently with true bypass such as Fulltone Fulldrive 2 MOSFET and Diamond Pedals J-Drive MK3 and they sound sweet and warm when I plug my guitar straight to the these 2 pedals and to the amp. But when I put them into my whole effects chain with the SD-1 in it, they just sound crap cos the SD-1 has a super low quality buffer in it that sucks out all the liveliness of the guitar tone.

Do not get this pedal cos it will mess up your tone! I'm glad I've sold this on eBay and now my guitar sounds so much sweeter!

I've been using it for 3 or 4 years. First the switch died on me. Replaced it and it works normally. Then the battery connectors failed. The pedal just can't stay on constantly. I've to use an adapter to solve this prob.

Boss really has lousy parts in them. It's better to have a backup when gigging with this. But the quality and the everything of it make this pedal a backup pedal rather than a gigging pedal.

Didn't care dealing with them. Lousy pedal.

I've been playing for 9 years now and I play a wide range of music. This pedal is just a tone sucker with average or even below average sound with overrated claims by Boss on how good it is. Just think of Behringer. They are in the same range.

I'm glad this sucker has gone out of my chain.

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.