I have both a Big Muff and a Ds-1. I find that the Big Muff overpowers my 15 watt Orange but the Ds-1 (dist: 2-3 o clock) is perfect to achieve Big Muff style fuzz tones and still leave enogh headroom to allow for dynamics in the playing.
Guess I'm gonna have to go home and get mine going again. I use way more overdrive than distortion, but this helps to see the value I hadnt seen before in the pedal.
The part about the clean amp and hot amp is something i agree a lot with, but if youre getting too much of a harsh tone and still wanna play over a clean amp just turn the tone slightly (due to the fact that it can get out outta hand really quickly). I have a method for dialing the gain and tone , you see, ive noticed that these 2 knobs work in a somewhat parallel way, what i mean is that the more gain you have, the more treble you have, and the less gain, the less treble, so basically, what i do is, the more you turn the gain knob down, turn the tone up, but never till 12 o'clock, and the more you crank the gain up, turn the tone down but never really until 9 o'clock. The range that i find pleasing in the tone knob due to how harsh and outta control it can get is 9 o'clock to 11 o'clock.
Hey Alex, thanks for this mate! Definitely makes a lot of sense and I'll have to give this method a try and see what kind of tones I can get! Cheers mate!
Hey mate, I've found that when on a very low gain setting the DS-1 stacks quite well with a mid-heavy OD before it for a solo or lead boost. I've also had some great results putting an EQ pedal after it for some intense tone sculpting, which you can see an example of in my video on the JHS Haunting Mids! Cheers mate! 🤙
I loved my DS-1 in a low gain setting on top of an OD. But by itself for me it was a bit to brittle and thin on the top end. A Still the best distortion for the price. Great vid!!!!!!!
@@joelwilson7908 That’s the key to me. Having seen the waveform of it (it looks like the teeth of a rip saw) it really helps to run it into a tube amp on the edge of breakup. The tube breakup “smooths” out the “teeth” of it’s sawlike waveform. I really doubt it was designed to run into a clean SS amp.
I still have and occasionally use my SD-1, and I still love it. I love my Wambler Tumnus a whole lot more, but for the $50-60 i gave for the Boss, I can't complain. Does Boss make a truly bad pedal? Honestly, I could fill my entire board with nothing but Boss pedals, and I bet I would sound GREAT! Actually, that's not a half bad idea.......
The only issue of the DS-1 is the drop of volume even when dimed in comparison to other pedals. There is an easy mod, but it changes a bit the clipping.
Hey Fulvio, that's true. I find that by using it with a dirty amp does somewhat solve that because it compresses the signal from pedal slightly, and also by using it as an always-on pedal, but it's still a little unfortunate. Cheers mate 🤙
Lovely video.. very entertaining and informative at the same time.. A friend had once lent me one (not sure if it was DS1 or DS2).. I used to run it straight into my audio interface (no amp) and i always thought it sounded horrible. I had assumed the particular piece was faulty. Now I have a vst version of the same pedal and it too sounds like that but i can appreciate that sound much more and can see it's usage it genres that are not supposed to sound 'good' (like black metal).. i have 2 questions 1) what did you mean by dirty amp.. like an amp with distortion already on it..? Maybe a Marshall or something like that.. even in that case how much of gain should those be.. like would the gain from a say fender champ also be 'dirty' enough or did you mean something much more high gain.. 2) When using the gain at such a low setting doesn't it become just a boost pedal..? I have a Bluesdriver that I sometimes use in that way when my volume from non-guitar sources are too low (like from my phone).. or does it still act as a distortion even at such a low gain setting..
Cheers mate! Thanks for the support and I’m glad you enjoyed the video. To answer your first question, I find the best results come from an amp that’s just on the edge of breaking up - not quite fully distorted already - as the bulk of the “distortion” tone comes from the pedal and if you were to play into an amp that’s already heavily distorted or high-gained, the pedal can’t and all that much to the gain level. In that case you’d probably be better off with something that had a bit more of an effect on the overall EQ such as a mid-boost overdrive for solos (tubescreamer, klon) or something like that. And to answer your second question, yes! By keeping the gain low on the DS-1 it does effectively become more of a boost pedal than necessarily a distortion pedal - especially with how we’re “boosting” into the front of the amp with the level to drive it a little hotter! - but it still has more gain on tap than that of clean boost or overdrive, even when at the lower gain settings, so it’s halfway between the two. I hope this helps, mate! Cheers
@@joelwilson7908 Thank you so much for the reply Joel.. After I wrote this comment I did go later to my computer and tried recreating the stuff you did.. Not much success but I did get it about once.. I didn't have much success with Fender amps even at the edge of breakup, but I think it was better with Marshalls at super low gain.. It wasn't a clean setting, just low gain.. I don't think those Marshalls get clean.. I think it is something thats kinda hard to get with a DS1 and is very specific.. But since I am in the 'computer world' i also feel its not something I'd work so hard for.. As i have other pedals or amps that do that much more easily.. I think the pedals value will be more of a the pedal that sounds like sh*t and i like it.. if i ever need something to intentionally sound 'bad' now I know which pedal I'm going for.. Also regarding my Q2 i did realise the pedal doesn't really have a clean even at super low.. unlike my Bluesdriver (which is the only actual real hardware pedal I own) which does sound pretty clean at low gain settings so only boosts volume without adding any distortion.. but with ds1 I realised as soon as its on its bye bye to the land of cleans, no matter the gain settings.. Anyways hope to see more videos like this.. As someone who didn't get much chance to play with real pedals (age/era/budget reasons), but have got them in software format for either free or much cheaper and often in bulk.. its really good to find out the history and specific use cases of individual pedals that I have never really focussed on.. Thanks again.. 💙💙💙
I heard both Stars and Awakening in the same video. You don’t know me, but if you did, we might be best friends. Switchfoot is my favorite band of all time.
I got my first one as part of a package deal and I researched them and found out they suck, but I tried it, and I wasn’t impressed so I put it away. Later I saw some videos explaining that I was using it wrong. So I pulled it back out and gave it another shot and found that when set correctly and used right it sounds great. I tried running into an already dirty, or edge of breakup tube amp and it sounds great. Dime everything and run it into a very clean amp and it will sound like a jar of angry hornets. Even the angry hornets tone might be useable in some musical contexts, but most people don’t like it and don’t realize that isn’t the only thing it offers. I actually bought my second one on purpose because it was dirt cheap at a pawnshop.
Sounds like spicy dookie. especially with single coils it's got this thin nasally tone that being said so many greats use it but I'm sure they are modified
Hey Rickey, I can understand that, mate! 😂 This definitely isn't a pedal for everyone. From what I've been able to find, Steve Vai went on to swap his out for an Analogman modded DS-1, and Frusciante to the turbo distortion, but I'm not sure about Satriani... Either way, cheers mate! 🤙
Why does this pedal sound awful on a lot of amps i used. Fender mustang lt50 it sounded awful on every model. Volume drop and just flat. Fender champion it sounds awful on every voice apart from tweed green. I play nirvana so I need a clean tone then a distortion
I have both a Big Muff and a Ds-1. I find that the Big Muff overpowers my 15 watt Orange but the Ds-1 (dist: 2-3 o clock) is perfect to achieve Big Muff style fuzz tones and still leave enogh headroom to allow for dynamics in the playing.
Hey Alex, that's a really interesting point! I'll have to try that out to see if I can get a similar sound. Cheers mate! 🤙
i have big muff and ds1 too😂
Guess I'm gonna have to go home and get mine going again. I use way more overdrive than distortion, but this helps to see the value I hadnt seen before in the pedal.
Hey Adam, glad you enjoyed mate! 🤙
The part about the clean amp and hot amp is something i agree a lot with, but if youre getting too much of a harsh tone and still wanna play over a clean amp just turn the tone slightly (due to the fact that it can get out outta hand really quickly).
I have a method for dialing the gain and tone , you see, ive noticed that these 2 knobs work in a somewhat parallel way, what i mean is that the more gain you have, the more treble you have, and the less gain, the less treble, so basically, what i do is, the more you turn the gain knob down, turn the tone up, but never till 12 o'clock, and the more you crank the gain up, turn the tone down but never really until 9 o'clock.
The range that i find pleasing in the tone knob due to how harsh and outta control it can get is 9 o'clock to 11 o'clock.
Hey Alex, thanks for this mate! Definitely makes a lot of sense and I'll have to give this method a try and see what kind of tones I can get!
Cheers mate!
@@joelwilson7908 Cheers! I hope you enjoy of trying out the advice above!
I had the very similar Turbo Distortion as my first pedal. Still don't miss it.
I've never actually tried any of the other Boss DS's but I'd be curious to see how I liked them verses the DS-1!
Cheers mate 🤙
Thank youfor this info
You sold me ds 1 excellent you said it all good job.
Facts 🙌
I love the ds1. Thank you
Hey mate, glad you enjoyed! Cheers 🤟
I love that "Awakening" guitar line by Switchfoot. Another great pedal video! Thanks!
Good catch, mate! Cheers 🤙
Very informative and cool videos man
Hey mate, cheers! Glad you enjoyed
Great video man ! Thanks a lot. Just got a MIJ one today, and your video will help me a lot am sure. Cheers ✌🤘
Awesome!! Gonna bring mine back out of retirement. What would you stack with
Hey mate, I've found that when on a very low gain setting the DS-1 stacks quite well with a mid-heavy OD before it for a solo or lead boost.
I've also had some great results putting an EQ pedal after it for some intense tone sculpting, which you can see an example of in my video on the JHS Haunting Mids!
Cheers mate! 🤙
Try a Boss OD-3 or (SD-1 for more of a mid boost . That’s what I have been using with mine.
I loved my DS-1 in a low gain setting on top of an OD. But by itself for me it was a bit to brittle and thin on the top end. A
Still the best distortion for the price. Great vid!!!!!!!
Hey William, cheers mate! Glad you enjoyed 🤙 And definitely. On its own it's way too harsh and thin, but when stacked or paired with a dirty amp... 🤟
@@joelwilson7908 That’s the key to me. Having seen the waveform of it (it looks like the teeth of a rip saw) it really helps to run it into a tube amp on the edge of breakup.
The tube breakup “smooths” out the “teeth” of it’s sawlike waveform. I really doubt it was designed to run into a clean SS amp.
This is the video that made me subscribe to your channel 👍👍👍👍👍
Hey Andre, cheers mate! I really appreciate the support and I hope you'll enjoy some more content in future 🤟
I still have and occasionally use my SD-1, and I still love it. I love my Wambler Tumnus a whole lot more, but for the $50-60 i gave for the Boss, I can't complain. Does Boss make a truly bad pedal? Honestly, I could fill my entire board with nothing but Boss pedals, and I bet I would sound GREAT!
Actually, that's not a half bad idea.......
what’s that intro song its lit😂
Muito bom!
Obrigado!
Cheers mate! 🤙
Every pedalboard shuold have One🎸😎😎
I definitely agree 👍
new sub from 🇵🇭
The only issue of the DS-1 is the drop of volume even when dimed in comparison to other pedals. There is an easy mod, but it changes a bit the clipping.
Hey Fulvio, that's true. I find that by using it with a dirty amp does somewhat solve that because it compresses the signal from pedal slightly, and also by using it as an always-on pedal, but it's still a little unfortunate.
Cheers mate 🤙
Never ever experienced any drop of volume. Although I not always using it This pedal does a lot in positive way to my playing
Lovely video.. very entertaining and informative at the same time.. A friend had once lent me one (not sure if it was DS1 or DS2).. I used to run it straight into my audio interface (no amp) and i always thought it sounded horrible. I had assumed the particular piece was faulty. Now I have a vst version of the same pedal and it too sounds like that but i can appreciate that sound much more and can see it's usage it genres that are not supposed to sound 'good' (like black metal).. i have 2 questions
1) what did you mean by dirty amp.. like an amp with distortion already on it..? Maybe a Marshall or something like that.. even in that case how much of gain should those be.. like would the gain from a say fender champ also be 'dirty' enough or did you mean something much more high gain..
2) When using the gain at such a low setting doesn't it become just a boost pedal..? I have a Bluesdriver that I sometimes use in that way when my volume from non-guitar sources are too low (like from my phone).. or does it still act as a distortion even at such a low gain setting..
Cheers mate! Thanks for the support and I’m glad you enjoyed the video.
To answer your first question, I find the best results come from an amp that’s just on the edge of breaking up - not quite fully distorted already - as the bulk of the “distortion” tone comes from the pedal and if you were to play into an amp that’s already heavily distorted or high-gained, the pedal can’t and all that much to the gain level.
In that case you’d probably be better off with something that had a bit more of an effect on the overall EQ such as a mid-boost overdrive for solos (tubescreamer, klon) or something like that.
And to answer your second question, yes! By keeping the gain low on the DS-1 it does effectively become more of a boost pedal than necessarily a distortion pedal - especially with how we’re “boosting” into the front of the amp with the level to drive it a little hotter! - but it still has more gain on tap than that of clean boost or overdrive, even when at the lower gain settings, so it’s halfway between the two.
I hope this helps, mate! Cheers
@@joelwilson7908 Thank you so much for the reply Joel.. After I wrote this comment I did go later to my computer and tried recreating the stuff you did.. Not much success but I did get it about once.. I didn't have much success with Fender amps even at the edge of breakup, but I think it was better with Marshalls at super low gain.. It wasn't a clean setting, just low gain.. I don't think those Marshalls get clean.. I think it is something thats kinda hard to get with a DS1 and is very specific.. But since I am in the 'computer world' i also feel its not something I'd work so hard for.. As i have other pedals or amps that do that much more easily.. I think the pedals value will be more of a the pedal that sounds like sh*t and i like it.. if i ever need something to intentionally sound 'bad' now I know which pedal I'm going for..
Also regarding my Q2 i did realise the pedal doesn't really have a clean even at super low.. unlike my Bluesdriver (which is the only actual real hardware pedal I own) which does sound pretty clean at low gain settings so only boosts volume without adding any distortion.. but with ds1 I realised as soon as its on its bye bye to the land of cleans, no matter the gain settings..
Anyways hope to see more videos like this.. As someone who didn't get much chance to play with real pedals (age/era/budget reasons), but have got them in software format for either free or much cheaper and often in bulk.. its really good to find out the history and specific use cases of individual pedals that I have never really focussed on.. Thanks again.. 💙💙💙
I heard both Stars and Awakening in the same video. You don’t know me, but if you did, we might be best friends. Switchfoot is my favorite band of all time.
Foo Fighters Style?
All sounded the same to me, i was hoping to see the setting for the deepest distortion.
I got my first one as part of a package deal and I researched them and found out they suck, but I tried it, and I wasn’t impressed so I put it away.
Later I saw some videos explaining that I was using it wrong. So I pulled it back out and gave it another shot and found that when set correctly and used right it sounds great.
I tried running into an already dirty, or edge of breakup tube amp and it sounds great. Dime everything and run it into a very clean amp and it will sound like a jar of angry hornets.
Even the angry hornets tone might be useable in some musical contexts, but most people don’t like it and don’t realize that isn’t the only thing it offers.
I actually bought my second one on purpose because it was dirt cheap at a pawnshop.
Sounds like spicy dookie. especially with single coils it's got this thin nasally tone that being said so many greats use it but I'm sure they are modified
Hey Rickey, I can understand that, mate! 😂 This definitely isn't a pedal for everyone.
From what I've been able to find, Steve Vai went on to swap his out for an Analogman modded DS-1, and Frusciante to the turbo distortion, but I'm not sure about Satriani...
Either way, cheers mate! 🤙
Why does this pedal sound awful on a lot of amps i used.
Fender mustang lt50 it sounded awful on every model. Volume drop and just flat.
Fender champion it sounds awful on every voice apart from tweed green.
I play nirvana so I need a clean tone then a distortion