Boss DS-1 Distortion

I just bought this pedal and was just wondering if anybody else uses it? I know it is one of the cheaper distortion pedals and really that's why I bought it. My question is how does this pedal rate with some of the better pedals? I plan on upgrading to a better pedal later but I just didn't have the cash right now and I had to get some drive behind my amp so I took the cheap way out. This pedal seems all right to me, but I am very limited on pedal experience. So if you have this pedal or have used it what would you rate it (1-10) against other distortions you have used?

Thanks,

Do you like the pedal?
I've been told to get it.

It sounds all right to me, but as I said before I am very limited on pedal experience. In fact this is the only one I have used. So I really don't have anything to compare it with. That is why I asked.

my guitar teacher said stay away for the boss distortion, he has tons of pedals, he says mx somthing is great.

I have a DS1 that has been modded by Robert Keeley, cost me about $220 and it's supposed to be the best mod there is, but it still sounds shit! I'm upgrading to a valve distortion pedal soon, but I really don't rate the DS1 at all!
Sorry dude, you probs didn't wanna hear that!

Afro

agree with afro, robert keeley if u didnt know, modifies distortion pedals, and they usually sound much much better. he custom modifies them, and ther rather expensive if u want it to be, but good pedals overall. i went and tried one yesterday. id have to agree with my teacher, the mx or w/e it is, van halen uses them, sounds much better, i, am going to get an ibanez tube screamer.

Really I was expecting that. I bought the pedal because the Distortion on my amp sucks and I thought this would be something cheap that I could live with until I got a better pedal. However I didn't realize that the it would be that bad. The first time I put the post up I had only played through the pedal about five minutes. The more I play it the more I can see that it's not that great a pedal. I might take it back and trade for something else.


Edit: The Tube Screamer was my first choice also but the one I want is $170 so it will be a while. I also want a distortion pedal and I think Tube Screamers are just overdrive pedals.

tube screamers are overdrive, but one is 100. check out tht mxr. its a great distortion pedal. i wouldnt get any of ther custon series ones, like dimbag distortion, zakk wylde, or vh ones, tend to be overpriced and not as good. i wouldnt recommend them for overdrive, but for distortion, id recommend tht.

it doesnt seem like u play anything heavy, but just to check, do u?

Are the Boss DS-2 distortions any good?
Someone said they are a lot better than the 1's..

ther better, still i tryed them not as good as the mxr.

Well then I think I am def. gonna go and buy another Digitech Death Metal when I have the $$$

i didnt like digitech either, the overdrive was o.k. but i didnt try ther death metal one, prob cause i dont play death metal.

I used the DS-1 very briefly round a mate's, and I didn't like it much. I prefer the distortion that I can get from my multi FX pedal because you can use cabinet modelling as well as amp modelling, and you can use the expression pedal to control the amount of gain.

I think calling a pedal "Death Metal" is a bit weird, because the tone of the guitar does not single-handedly define the genre. It could be worth trying out. I quite liked the demo of the grunge pedal.

Hey Doz I saw where you asked about this pedal in an old thread. Did you ever buy one?

Nar, never bought it - don't really need it.

I don't know why they called it death metal. I used to own one last year from around August to October ish. (traded it for a DigiTech GNX 1) and I really really liked that Death metal. It had a very nice sound in MY opinion, and it was very sharp too if you wanted it to be. It sounds more like thrash metal sounding but I guess they just needed some kinda name for it.

I think I will take the DS-1 back tomorrow and trade it for something else. What about the Boss Metal Zone pedal? What does everyone think about this pedal? I want to be able to play early gun's stuff and would like to broaden my horizons a bit to some metal but nothing to harsh. I noticed GS uses this pedal so what do you think of it?

I used it once. I didn't like it. Plus with my old Kustom amp, it gave off this huge shhhhhhh noise , but that was because I had the mic input turned all the way up (didn't know it at the time)

But I personally didn't really like it

If you want my advice, do not buy ANY Boss distortion/overdrive pedals - with a little more money you can really do a whole lot better. The DS1s were originally fantastic when they first came out in the late 80s/early 90s, but that was because they were made in Japan with very high quality components - that's why you see a lot of Pros still using them, because those are the originals that they have had for years. These days, 95% of Boss single stomps (not dual stomps) are made in Taiwan with cheap, nasty components, the Keeley mod basically rips out these components and puts in much higher quality ones. The aim of the mod is to replicate the original DS1, but to be honest I really don't think it does it! If you go for a tubescreamer, get one with a Keeley mod, my mate has one and that DOES sound good.

Afro

I have one LP and use it,as rating it I'd have to give it a 5,but I dont use it alone,when I do use it I use it with a DOD Rock distortion and turn my boost on the amp off,but by its self it gives a 70"s kinda sound, But for the $10.00 I paid for it I coulndt go wrong

id go with digitech everything i play from them has been great. something you could also do is turn the pedal on along with your amp distortion. thats what zakk wylde does to get his distortion.

ive got a DS-2.. i love it.

ive heard Boss pedals are rap, but i own like 4... plus tuner, so 5.

and i also read Dave Gilmour say that you can completely recreate his sound with a small line-up of boss pedals.. so take that critics

if anything guys... take your guitar down to your local shop and try it out

I went back to the guitar shop and traded for a Boss Metal Zone MT-2. I know some of you are against the Boss pedals (and thanks for all the input by the way) but I played this one for about 30 minutes in the back room and it seem to be a good pedal. For $100 usd out the door it was more than I wanted to spend but it was the one I liked the best. I tried the MXR M-104 Distortion + but it didn't have the versatility that the Metal Zone has. Anyway I just thought I would tell you what I decided to go with... Later.

DS-1 should be BS-Zero.
Any other boss distortion pedal is much better. Or try some classic pedals like the Tubescreamer by Ibanez.
Good luck with your choice mate.

i used a boss pedal before i got a digitech.. not sure wut kind it is, i cant find it =p i think it was a DS.. it was pretty good, not enough effects for me tho =p

I have an old OD-2 (I know it's not an OD-1) but i have had a really good experience with it. it does a lot of different overdrive/distortion sounds. I have always liked boss pedal they are or at lease were made solid metal. the knobs were tight so if you steped on it wrong it would not break.

WOW! I just searched eBay for tube screamers. Some of the old ones from the 70's are going for $700 usd and more. They must be awesome.