Gain and sound Comparisons

Boss DS-1 Distortion mods

DS-1/Super - our older mod

The DS-1/Super mod takes the oldest orange DS-1 distortion pedal, and gives it a professional makeover. The DS-1 can get a lot more distortion than a tube screamer type pedal (like the Yellow Boss SD-1) and make a Fender amp sound like a Marshall after our mods- very full, deep, and rich. The stock Boss DS-1 is fairly thin and buzzy sounding, with a loss in low end. After our mod, the pedal will be a bit louder with all knobs at 12:00, and a much thicker, fuller sound, with no high end tinny buzzing. Just a true distortion sound, a lot less like the sound you get out of a pedal.

Our DS-1/Super mod was designed by Ohbayashi San (CAMTAC) and fine-tuned by Analog Mike. It replaces many of the cheap components that Boss uses (in order to make the stock pedal a super deal for the price) with expensive, high grade audio parts. It does not use LEDs in place of the diodes, but a special NOS diode as used in our SILVER mods. We also re-equalized the pedal for a punchier sound without adding more distortion or noise. Our mod actually removes a ton of high frequency noise from the pedal! This mod has been outdone by the PRO mod below, so it's only done now if you have an older Japanese or 1st version Taiwan DS-1 that has the old style chip that we can't change.

DS-1/Pro - our current mod on new pedals

The DS-1/Pro mod is the same changes as the Super mod but it pulls out the stock inline chip, and replaces it with a JRC op-amp chip. This chip really improves the tone, giving it more warmth, clarity, and headroom. It's still a DS-1: more distortion, crunchier, and more low end than a tube screamer, and after the mod it sounds awesome even with the DIST knob down all the way. It is a very useful pedal with the DIST knob down for people who don't want too much distortion, or have an amp that is already distorting. It does not have the midrange hump of a tube screamer, it actually has a scooped midrange for more of a modern sound. Most people will use them at high DIST settings, but they sound awesome at low DIST settings too. Play gently and get a clear, clean tone, play harder and the crunch and distortion comes out clear and full!

The PRO mod is only available on new style Made in Taiwan DS-1 pedals which have the power jack attached to the circuit board like the pedal on the left. The chips we use will not fit in the older Japanese or 1st issue Taiwan DS-1 pedals (on the right in the picture). The older version's chips are good sounding anyway, so they sound great with just our SUPER mod. If you have a newer DS-1, or are buying a new one from us, the PRO mod is what we recommend. We cannot mod the 2017 and newer pedals which have the power jack on the edge as on the right pedal and are usually made in Malaysia.

DS1/Pro Midrange Mod

The DS-1 has quite a scooped midrange, especially stock. This is cool for heavier modern sounds but sometimes too thin in the mids for classic distortion sounds, especially through a Fender type amp. After our PRO mod, the lows are better but but it's still quite scooped in the mids. In 2007 we came up with a mod to allow dialing in more mids for more of a classic tube amp sound. We can now add a small MIDRANGE knob under the TONE knob, as a $25 option. It has the exact stock midrange setting and sound at about 10:00. Turning it up gives more midrange and a little more volume. It works along with the TONE control. We can sell you a new DS1/Pro with this option or mod your DS1 pedal.

There is no room on the old style DS1 for the midrange pot on top, as they use large pots. But we can add the midrange pot sticking out the back on the side of the power jack, or out of the right side along the input jack. Let us know where you want the knob if you send in an old style DS1.

For best sound on the DS1, keep the TONE knob very low. Our midrange knob works great then, allowing you to add in the normal frequencies that sound great with guitar while keeping the annoying high end under control. Another cool setting this mod allows is to run the TONE knob up really high, which is usually terrible. But by turning the MID knob up really high, it smooths out the sound and gives a cool tone, very loud too if needed.

Here is a DS1/Pro/Midrange review which ran in Premier Guitar Magazine in October, 2008.

Mod your pedal

See analogman.com for more info and a link to the mod form to send in your Boss pedal to mod.