Boss ds 1 distorion Pedal

James19931958

how do i get a good "sound" out of my Boss ds 1 distorion Pedal?

Sassafras

Throw it through a plate glass window.

Slimbert

Keep turning the knobs until it sounds good.

James19931958

na cant do that, is there a good etting to put in on?

James19931958

i tried turning the knobs but i just cant seem to get a good sound/tone out of the thing

Slimbert

James19931958 said:

i tried turning the knobs but i just cant seem to get a good sound/tone out of the thing

Then it might not be the pedal for you.

James19931958

ok i used to get a good sound out of it but know i cant do that, weird?

Slimbert

Different amp, different guitar, different room etc...

James19931958

ok, should i get rid of it then?

Slimbert

No point keeping it if you don't like it.

Welcome to the world of finding the right pedal...it's far from lonely!

James19931958

yeah ok. i have got roughly 10 pedals. i really used to be int pedals, but with my digitech rp500, the only pedals i use now i the cry baby mini wah, boss noise supressor, ibanez ts9 and the boss superoverdrive

ICBM

Distortion about halfway or below, volume to slightly more than the clean signal, tone control VERY carefully set somewhere between 9 o'clock and 11 o'clock - probably between 9 and 10 if you don't like 'harsh' distortion. The tone control is absolutely critical and goes from mud to screech in about the width of a hair - where exactly depends on the amp.

Some amps don't handle it at all, especially things like BF/SF Fenders which have 'bright' caps at a couple of places in the circuit which really bring out the harshness and fizz. It also tends to sound better at gig volume than home, when the amp and the speakers start to compress and round things out a bit.

But set right, into the right amp, it's really one of the great distortion pedals. Classic albums have been recorded with it, so it isn't an inherently bad pedal. It's a shame more people don't give it a chance before writing it off…

It also sounds amazing with a SD-1 or Tube Screamer stacked in front of it.

James19931958

i have both the SD-1 or Tube Screamer ts9 but i also have a marshall dsl 5c armp

Dave_Mc

What @ICBM said- tone at around 10 o'clock (for me I'd say between 10 and 11 o'clock), distortion about the same, volume where it suits (if you want a boost, or unity gain). then boost the front of it with the sd1 or ts9 (volume high, drive low) for lead tones. EDIT: I haven't tried the dsl5c, but assuming it's marshally-sounding, another option would be to run the ds1 through its od channel, which should also round off most of the harshness.

James19931958

ok

bingefeller

Very hard pedal to dial in.

Interestingly, someone on TGP posted that the current made in Taiwan DS-1s are quite similar to the 1981 DS-1s.

UnclePsychosis

Personally I love the DS-1.

But I'm also painfully aware that the music I like most other people don't and vice versa.

mike_l

Turn everything to 10, turn everything on your amp to 10, turn your guitar to 10.
Works for me.
My neighbours love it. 5 streets over......

professorben

How are you running it? 

Vai uses it gain low, tone 11'oclock and into an already gained amp, essentially as you would use an overdrive, rather than the classic Dist into clean amp. 

I used to use mine into a slightly crispy amp boosted by an Sd-1 or a TS. 

professorben

Anyway I thought you famously sold your whole rig? 

James19931958

yes only the stuff i didnt use or hardly ever used. ive kept my 1 remaining guitar, amp, pedalboard and 3-4 pedals