DS-1 Distortion Review

Uses 9-volt battery or PSA-120 adapter (not included).

Ease of Use:	9.2
Sound:	8.4
Reliability:	9.3
Impression:	8.7
Overall rating:	8.9
Users rating:	8
Comments:	113

overall: 10

Featured review by: AC/DC_Rocks_Ang, on december 13, 2004

Price paid: $ 82.9421

Purchased from: Ted Good's Music Store

Ease of Use: This pedal is simple to use. This is my first pedal and I got it brand-spankin' new. It comes with a manual and some sample settings to help unexperienced users. // 10

Sound: I use this with my Peavey Raptor and Backstage amp since I don't have alot of money. This pedal is never noisy, even when it's maxed out. The effects of this pedal are endless. You can get almost any sound you want from this baby. Yepperz' you can sure get the sound of some good artists, such as Kurt Cobain or James Hetfield, this baby swings with the best of em'. All effects on this baby are awesome. // 10

Reliability & Durability: Damn right you can depend on it, it's rock solid and is made entirely out of metal. Damn right I would use this on a gig without a backup. I'm playing to shows soon and I just got this so I can't wait to try it out. // 10

Impression: I mainly play rock or metal and this pedal suits my every need. I may use a Peavey Raptor but it sounds amazing even with beginners equipment. I have been playing for a few years on my friends old Marlin SG. If this pedal were stolen I would castrate the bastard who stole it. The thing I love about this pedal is the amount of sounds you can get with it. There is nothing I wish this thing had, it's a perfect distortion pedal. People complain about no Overdrive but thats just it, it's not an Overdrive pedal. Buy this thing. // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: daevyne, on september 18, 2003

Price paid: $ 63.2

Purchased from: Musician's Marketplace

Ease of Use: The DS1 Distortion manual was really informative and gave different settings that could be used such as british rock, metal, hard rock, etc. It has one tone, distance and level knob. Simple to use and gives what you paid for. // 10

Sound: I use it with a Fender Princeton and a Sidekick, it isn't really noisy but gets a weird buzz when I crank up the tone to full. The effects are strong and full sounds, and only got better when I tried it with a gibson les paul and an Ibanez strat. The effects only start to die with the battery, but I"ve had it for 2 years and with my constant playing I"ve only needed to replace it 3 times. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I depend on this pedal for many gigs because it's never failed me once, I'd use at a gig without a back up because it's also the only pedal I have. I haven't encountered one problem with it so far and it's fulfilled all my need. // 10

Impression: For the rock and blues genre I play it is an excellent match. I can also tweak it around to get some grungy sounds which is great for some songs. I've been playing guitar for about 3 years and if it were stolen, I'd probably hesitate to buying it again, but it is a great pedal for the beginner or experienced player. The pedal lacks Overdrive and the harsh metal sound, but makes up for it with the different varieties it offers. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on may 23, 2005

Price paid: $ 38.99

Purchased from: Music123.com

Ease of Use: Simple pedle to use, simple to get good sound out of it. // 10

Sound: I use it through a Fender Frontman 75 watt and a Fedner Strat HSS, my amp is noisy already, so this adds to the noise, that's why I am getting a Vox amp, but on the clean channel it's noisless. I am sure I have played the sounds of any artists that uses a medium distortion effect. All the effects are good. // 8

Reliability & Durability: So far it hasn't let me down, I would deffinantly want more effects (Phase Shifter ect) but not another disotrtion, this thing is the Boss. // 10

Impression: I play punk rock, real punk rock not any of that poppy s--t, and I play lead guitar, this thing adds a lot more sustain to my solos. I have been playing about 10 months, at least serious playing. I'd buy it again if it were stolen or lost, it's a great value 38$ you can't go wrong. I love the sustain, I don't like the noise of the peddle and my amp mixed together when I use a lot of distortion. It's a great pedal for an awesome price. // 10

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: tcr_viper, on december 23, 2005

Purchased from: Riverside Music Shop

Ease of Use: I purchased this pedal not knowing how well this small, simple pedal would sound. I got home, plugged it in and start jamming away on this thing. The DS-1 Distortion is a great pedal. You can get nice smooth distortion, mild&soft sounds, and super grungy tones! It has 3 knobs: tone, level, distortion. If you mess around with these knobs you can get your perfect distortion. The manual that comes with this pedal is easy to use and very simple, it even gives you a guide to different sounds. This pedal is built well, very firm and won't break easy. It is also compact and very portable! // 10

Sound: I am using my DS-1 Distortion pedal on my Roland MicroCube right now, but I have used it on my Marhshall JCM800, and my Fender Super Reverb. The pedal sounds great on all of them! It doesn't give you alot of noise, it is rather quite, but if you put the level knob on the highest setting you will get some feedback and noise. The distortion always sounds the way you want it to. It's up to you how much distortion or how much tone you want. A lot of artists use this pedal, it has very good sounds. Great buy! // 10

Reliability & Durability: I can always depend on this pedal for my distortion. It won't break (unless smashed by a huge fat guy, with a sledge hammer) and it will withstand anyone with a leadfoot. I wouldn't use it on a gig without a backup because, it is not the "ultimate" distortion pedal, but it is the best compact, portable pedal. For my backup to this pedal I would check out the OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion or the DS-2 Turbo Distortion pedals. // 9

Impression: My overall impression is that this pedal kicks ass! Check out all of Boss's pedals! // 10

overall: 8.3

Reviewed by: merabharatmahan, on february 08, 2006

Price paid: $ 40

Ease of Use: It is really easy to use and there is absolutely no need of a manual. The manual explains obvious stuff and is for only new guitarists. You can get a good sound on it but you would need to experiment on it a lot. Otherwise it is an amazing pedal for new guitarists who want a cheap pedal. // 8

Sound: I play it with my strat-style guitar and a Stranger amp. The playing can get a little noisy on high tone but otherwise it is pretty noise-free. It can sound great but it all depends on your settings. Some settings really sound crappy and some are just great. A good setting would be to turn the tone knob really low and have the distortion really high. It gives a good sound for rock. // 8

Reliability & Durability: It is really durable and reliable. It is metal-bodied so it can be kicked around a lot before it breaks, if it does. It has high battery life and can be used for fairly long periods before the battery runs out. It can be used for a gig but I would prefer and advise people to use a better and more expensive pedal for a gig. // 9

Impression: I play mostly rock and metal. It suits these genres decently enough. I have been playing for like a year and I find it a good buy for a player like me. If it ever were stolen, though I like it a lot, I would buy an other superior pedal. But it is good for all begginer players. The best part about it is the durability, it really is unbreakable. But it does give a certain fuzz in the background sometimes. Overall it is a really good pedal for begginers but another pedal would be more suitable for experts. // 8

overall: 7.5

Reviewed by: KoRn dude, on march 07, 2005

Purchased from: Soundcontrol- Birmingham

Ease of Use: If anyone was to get confused whilst using this then there must be something wrong with you, this is an extremely simple pedal and to make things easier it gives you a list of example settings. But, I don't think its fair to give it 5 as all pedals are pretty much simple to understand anyway. // 8

Sound: I use it with a Crate GT15R and it does have pretty good sound quality. However, when gain is switched on the pedal and the amp seem to counteract each other, loosing all distortion, so it can be a pain in the ass to change all settings on the amp just to get it too work. But wen used with a amp with no gain (I tend to use a Park amp) it seems to act very well and does have an Atreyu sound to it. Overall, not bad, not great. // 6

Reliability & Durability: I find it very dependable and have used it everyday since I bought it which was around 3 months ago. I think it would be best to take spare 9v batteries with you everywhere, as I find sound quality really begins to suffer as the batteries begin to die. // 8

Impression: I find it very good pedal for metal and rock but not much else as it has a very heavy sound to it. It is perfect for me as I tend to play Atreyu and other music around that genre. If I was to loose this/have it stolen then I would probably try other pedals but this is only because I haven't been playing very long and would like to see how others sound. I probably choose this one because a friend had let me play with his and it does have a particulary good price. // 8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on march 01, 2005

Price paid: $ 59.99

Purchased from: Jim's Music

Ease of Use: This is pretty much the most idiot proof pedal out there. It has three controls; gain, tone, and level. I find that if you turn the gain and level up, it is best for any kind of metal, and some rock. About three fourths of the way down is a very Robbie Kreiger of the Doors sound. The manual is not really necessary to read, because it is so easy. However, it gives you some tips on how to get certain tones. // 8

Sound: I use a Peavey 25 watt amp and a Fender Jag-Stang. I originally bought the pedal because my amp is a tube amp, and didn't have very good distortion unless it was really loud. It doesn't really have any flaws, except for it sounds very tinny no matter the setting if you play it over the clean channel of most amps. I usually have to switch to the lead channel and turn the amp distortion down to get good sound. I can almost duplicate the tone of Kurt Cobain if I use this pedal with my guitar and my friend's Marshall 15FX. I like too turn what little gain I have on my amp on, and then the pedal over it, because it kind of sounds like Slash. Overall, it has very good sound. // 10

Reliability & Durability: Well, I'm too poor to gig with a backup, so I have to, but I have before, and it has not failed me yet. The only thing that I would bring to a gig to go with the pedal is a spare 9 volt, because it eats them up in about two or three days, if you play with it a lot. // 8

Impression: I play Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Guns N' Roses, Jimi Hendrix, and a lot of other things, and it is perfect for this. I have been playing for about three and a half years, and am pretty young, so I haven't gotten as much experience as I'd like, but it's okay. I'm pretty much the only one of my friends that has a pedal like this, so I can't compare it to their gear, and this is the first pedal I've ever owned, but I would say that it is an okay pedal. Ideally I would like a MXR doubleshot distortion pedal, but this will do for now. If this were stolen or lost, I would buy the MXR that I want, but I don't think I will be that fortunate, haha. // 8

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: ch153, on march 03, 2009

Purchased from: Counts Brothers Music

Ease of Use: You can get the sound you want from this in a snap. it's that easy. This thing is very easy to use. Very basic. The manual for this pedal is very basic and staight to the point. It tells you everything you want to know about the pedal. I do know the firmware revison number. This unit has never been upgraded. // 10

Sound: I use my Peavey Mystic and my Marshall with it. It always sounds great! I can get the sound of most of my favorite artists. This pedal gives a slight "scream" when not playing... that's probably the only downside to it. But almost all pedals do that due to feedback. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This is very, very, very reliable! I have used it in about 3 gigs and no problems what so ever! it's a really tough pedal. It can take the abuse. This pedal is durable. Very small in size... Fit's nice and snug in a pedal board. I would use this in a gig without a backup. There's really no need for another... 1 can handle it. // 10

Impression: If you want all around distorion... I suggest you get this! I've been playing for over 8 years and have used around 6 different distortion pedals... And this gives me a various amount of distorion rather than just giving me the sound of just one genre. If this was stolen... I would buy another one. // 9

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: TheAmishOne, on may 31, 2006

Purchased from: Music Store

Ease of Use: Just like all Boss pedals, very simple. Tone, volume, and distortion knobs make for easy adjustments. It's very easy to find the sound you are looking for, but this pedal won't find every sound. It came with a manual, but you shouldn't have to read it. Using this pedal is that easy. // 10

Sound: I am using this in a Fender Princeton Reverb tube amp, and it sounds great. It's never noisy, and never creates that annoying little hum. The distortion is great for a bluesy sound, and even for that thrash metal sound. You can get the sound of most artists, but there are some that you will quickly find out cannot be achieved with this pedal. // 8

Reliability & Durability: First of all, it's a Boss pedal, so it will definately last forever. I would gig with it and not have a backup of course. Definately buy the power adapter though, as I would not gig with batteries, as for some reason it seems to eat through those really fast. // 8

Impression: I play mostly '80s rock, and this can find most of the sounds, but not all. I have been playing for three years, and I now use the MXR Distortion along with an MXR 10 band EQ. I still use it in my setup of course, because I love the bluesy sound I can get with it, and of course it can hit that Nirvana sound really well (considering Kurt Cobain used this pedal for quite some time). If it were stolen, I wouldn't replace it though; simply because I am much happier with my MXR setup. Bottom line, this is a great pedal for a great price. But if your looking for that 80's hair band sound, or just a more treble sound, I would go with something else. This is definately worth the money though. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on december 09, 2006

Price paid: $ 50

Purchased from: Dick's Music Shop

Ease of Use: This is a great beginner pedal (a good professional pedal for that matter). The dialing knobs move very slick and no matter what setting you'll get good distortion. The manual gives some sample settings for beginners and blank spaces for you to create your own settings. // 10

Sound: I am running the pedal through a Crate GX-15 and using either a Univox Hi-Flier or Fender Jaguar. The only time it's noisy is if you turn distortion, tone, and level all the way up and go up to the amy for feedback. The effects are flawless every artist I've tried to emulate (except Slash) I've been able to pretty much match. It especially works for Nirvana, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and '80s metal (not glam I hate that crap). This is definitley one of the best range distortion pedals on the market able to make a crunch, light, or fuzz. // 10

Reliability & Durability: With being made by Boss this pedal is all metal therefore extremely durable. The battery has really good life as long as you disconnect the pedal when done using. I would definitley use it on a gig by itself, although for as many tones as there are possible to achieve I (granted the money) have a few copies for different sounds. // 10

Impression: I play hard rock, and a little grunge. Grunge is the perfect match for this pedal unless the fuzz isn't fuzzy enough (which I highly doubt). Hard rock works just as well this pedal really emulates that '70s and early '80s medal/hard rock. I've been playing for 6 years. I also own a Small Clone Chorus Pedal, Boss BF-3 Flanger, and Boss DD-3 Digital Delay. The only thing to ask is to see the pedal before buying it (I doubt these would possibly break) just in case. If it were stolen I would knock the guy Who did over the head with my Hi-Flier several times and tie him to a light pole with the strings. I love everything about it. I hate nothing about it. My favorite feature is the fact that it's made of metal and comes with a 5 year warranty (like I said impossible to break but) just in case. I tried it alongside a Rat Fuzz box and the fuzz box sux. This one has such a long range for different styles of music. The only thing that could make this purchase better was if it had been free. One last thing I got it half off for $50.00 but I would say $200 dollars isn't too much for this pedal. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on may 08, 2004

Price paid: $ 40

Purchased from: wholenote.com

Ease of Use: This pedal is better (I emphasize on that) than my last pedal, which was a Danelectro French Toast. The manual I thought was kool cuz i was a rookie on using Boss pedals. It's very easy to get a good sound from it. You can even get POD's guitar sound from "Sleeping Awake" on it (set the tone to 45 degree angle and dist. to MAX & gain down th middle 90 deg). // 10

Sound: I use my Squier Affinity Strat along with this bad boy. I also use either a big keyboard Peavey amp at my church or my Guitar Research acoustic amp(100 watts) on it. The effects of th pedal are of authority & if u want a kool sound especially for lead playing u shud boost ur reverb and get ur chorus depth high. As for gettin th sound of fav artists? Hell yea!! I managed to get th saound from Sleeping Awake from POD, What If from Creed & a few songs from Switchfot & Skillet as well. It's all about toyin w/ the settings. The results are good. Now if u want a deathmetal sound or somethin, go get th DOD that Boss made. // 10

Reliability & Durability: ull have to get a van to crush it cuz i press pretty hard on it lol But in all sincerity, dont bother bringin a backup cuz this bad boy's durability is almost god-like. The only backup ull ever need is a 9-V battery in case is u bring it to a gig/church service/watever w an almost dead battery. // 10

Impression: I'm honestly more of a latin/bluesy/rock/metal type. I've been playin for a good 4 yrs n i was stuck w a Danelectro minipedal that was exaggerative until it messed up. I got this DS-1 for Christmas n dang it its bcome my best buddy. I wouldn't trade my lil buddy, not even for a million bucks. Soemtimes i even do rock/reggae with it too. The only option i wish it had was a pedal slot for weah effects but thats y u got those multi effect pedals out for (duh). If it was stolen ill jus go and get a new one, unless th cops get th friggin creep that stole it n i get it back.

Without my strat, it jus isnt th same. Sure it sounds hot on a Gibson, epiphone, Fender, etc. but it has bonded so much w my Squier Strat that it jus isnt th same. People this pedal is jus for u all around guys. If you also like an industrial sound, this does it too. // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: jc_queb, on july 12, 2004

Price paid: $ 51.35

Purchased from: Long and Mcquade

Ease of Use: This pedal is easy to use: you step on it and it has three knobs. There was a manual, but I don't think I read it "thoroughly" (I think they show you a few ways to get some nice sounds with the pedal). // 10

Sound: For a while after I bought this pedal, I didn't like it because I was getting a really thin metallic distortion with it. Finally, I realized that it was because I was putting the tone near full all the time. I would suggest keeping the tone knob around or below half way. This pedal is quite versatile: I can get a nice crunchy distortion, a fairly heavy metally distoriton, nice modern-rock distortion, a punk distortion. I can almost get a nice overdrive-like sound. I also use this as a boost when playing lead parts in my band when I don't really need a distortion, but just enough boost to cut through the rhythm guitar. You might not be able to get a distortion for metal, but you can always try a different pedal for that. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I have played this live without a backup and I use it with my band for rehearsals frequently. This thing is built like a tank as you would expect from a Boss stompbox. // 10

Impression: I play basically any kind of rock and also some blues. This pedal isn't great for blues obviously, but it's not too far off from the blues drive. If you're a blues player, go with an Overdrive pedal. I wish I had tried more pedals because I might have chosen something else. However, I am very happy with this pedal. If it were stolen, I don't know if I would buy this again. I might use the distortion on my amp (with a footswitch my current amp is not footswitchable so I bought this pedal) and get an Overdrive pedal for lead boosts. // 8

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: Nero, on september 25, 2003

Price paid: $ 56

Ease of Use: This was the first pedal I purchased, I use it with my Squier Strat and Frneder Bullet Amp. Its amazingly easy to use, with a Tone, Distortion and Volume pedal its almost self explanitory. If you just mess around with it for maybe 5 minutes, you get the idea. The manual is also helpfull, it has some settings you can use and it has areas where you can make up your own effects settings and make note of them // 10

Sound: For the most part I play punk rock and metal. I do play some soft rock and older stuff (Ac/Dc, Mettallica etc) After messing with the pedals settings for a day, and than listening to a song, i was able to reproduce the sound very closley. Im using a Fender Squier Strat and a Fender bullet amp. If you crank the knobs to max, you might get a little fuzz and buzz. // 8

Reliability & Durability: Its very VERY durable, its been dragged around, jumped on, fallen into mosh pits, set on fire (no nt really) its made of durable metal and its sure to last through pretty much everything.
// 10

Impression: Overall, i think its an excellent first pedal, and second pedal too. Its wonderfully made, very good sound, excellent ease of use and durability. It suites pretty much any style of music. (punk, heavy metal, older rock, emo, hardline etc) If it were stolen, i would kick the ass of the person who stole it, and probably buy another one just to have 2. Overall, I'm very impressed, and I like it a lot. // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: abd kid, on september 25, 2003

Price paid: $ 35

Purchased from: Marshall's Music, MI

Ease of Use: I've never used an easier pedal in my life, and saying that, that isnt true, because every Boss pedal that i've ever used was so simple, it amazed me. Three knobs, and excellent durability just make this a fantastic pedal. // 10

Sound: The sounds are ENDLESS, when matched with other distortion pedals, the Boss DS-1 comes out in front. I play tons of Blink 182/Boxcar Racer type stuff, plus alot that ive written, and i can almost perfectly emulate the sound of Tom's guitar/distortion. I also play lots of heavier stuff too, POD, Alt. Rock, and this pedal is the perfect mathc for the playing style. // 8

Reliability & Durability: It's made of a thick outer shell, completely composed of metal, and can literally be stomped on again and again and will refuse to compromise its durability. When using a 9V battery with this Pedal, you can easily go for 3 weeks before having to change the battery as long as you dont leave the cord inside the "input" jack, which drains the battery, but ive played for next to 3-4 hours a day, with distortion 90% of the time, and the battery does indeed last. // 10

Impression: I love this pedal, and i would never change to a different brand when it came to the pedals i use. I would HIGHLY recomend this pedal, no matter your playing style....its just the way to go. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: deon2, on september 19, 2003

Price paid: $ 38

Purchased from: Music123.com

Ease of Use: This little pedal is extremely easy to use. Especially after reading the manual and trying out the settings that they have marked, the sounds from that alone sound beautiful. I've noticed too that no matter what setting you put it at, it always produces a clear distortion, even when playing chords. // 10

Sound: This pedal is flawless, with little to zero buzz in the amp, even when at max. I feel it works best with a tube amp, mine being a Crate. I once had the Boss turbo dist. and it had so much buzz and it sounded very canny, like it was in a tin or something. The ds-1, has this warm thick sound, especially when tone is at minimum and distortion 25%, you can get that nice warm Radiohead distortion, but if you crank it up to max you can get amazing fuzz distortion. The spectrum of sound is unparalleled. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This pedal is very reliable, like all Boss pedals, it is thick and sturdy and tough enough to almost jump on if your playing like heavy metal during a gig. It fits well when mixed with the Boss SD-1 Overdrive. You can really make thousands of combinations of distortion with the two. // 10

Impression: Because I don't use heavy heavy distortion, this pedal is perfect. If you are trying to reproduce sounds of older Radiohead like Fake plastic trees, or any U2 sound that uses distortion, this is the pedal for you. I have not found another pedal that produces such a warm thick distortion sound that makes you melt. When I add this to my other pedals, like tremolo and reverb, the sounds are studio perfect. Most other distortion pedals overdo the distortion, which unfortunately is getting pretty popular nowadays, mostly because most new bands can't play that well and they hide their shame by overly distorting their sound. But if you like to really play, and make sure the audience hears every chord, and solo perfectly, while still having a smooth distortion, buy this pedal. It should be sold with the guitar you buy! // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on august 23, 2005

Price paid: $ 73.2

Ease of Use: The manual outlines a few different sounds you can make, but it is better for you to tweak it to suit your own music taste. It is relatively easy to get a good sound out of it - just hammer the distortion knob, and get the tone knob in the right place and you have a great rock sound. // 8

Sound: I am using it with an Epiphone dot and a Squire Strat that has a JB humbucker. The effects are definately not weak. I use it to get a Nirvana sound or lower the distortion to get a more subdued punk sound (Green Day, Tsunami Bomb etc). // 10

Reliability & Durability: If it had any treads you could probably invade a country with it. Boss is renowned for making pedals that are solid. Although a power cable is expensive, I would suggest purchasing one because it depletes batteries like a fat guy with pancakes. // 10

Impression: A cheap pedal that gives you a perfect grungey sound. Ideal. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: nehe-miah, on august 13, 2005

Price paid: $ 51.35

Purchased from: Long and Mcquade

Ease of Use: The Boss DS-1 Distortion, my first pedal and what a pedal it is, ease of use? Super easy, how hard can it be with only 3 knobs? The manual does provide anything and everything you need to know about the pedal, from example settings to what each knob does and sounds like. // 10

Sound: I am currently using an Epi Les Paul Custom and a Marshall MG15DFX amp and the combo is great! No matter what sound you're looking for, you can get it with this pedal. I play alot from Sugarcult to Queens Of The Stone Age, and I get the sound I'm always looking for the crunchy punk sound to a milder classic rock sound. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This thing can withstand anything that comes its way, I would play it at gigs with confidence and without a backup, it's made to last! // 10

Impression: I've been playing for about 2 and a half years now, and I just recently bought this pedal, this pedal is great for any genre of rock, if your looking for a distortion pedal this is the one to get, if it were stolen I would defenitly replace it, and buy a second in case someone stole my first replacement. Great pedal and great price, go out and buy it! // 10

overall: 7

Reviewed by: neuroplay.com, on december 20, 2004

Price paid: $ 45

Purchased from: Guitar Center (Buffalo)

Ease of Use: It's really easy to use, but what single distortion pedal isn't? If you can't figure out how to change the 3 knobs it has, you should simply die. The only thing I don't like about the use is that when you stomp on it in the wrong way, it flips over, really easily, which can be a problem when you switch between disorted and clean a lot. // 8

Sound: This pedal isn't the greatest. It's got some ok distortion if you crank the gain knob. It's got kind of a plain sound. It's really treble, i. e. even when the tone is set on bass-ie. It sounds ok with some guitars, like my Ibanez RG321, but my Squier Strat it sounds horrible. Whenever I use the two together it turns nails on a chalkboard to a lullaby. // 6

Reliability & Durability: After purchasing this pedal, I ran out about 2 weeks later and bought a DigiTech Grunge pedal. I have to use both in the same chain, because I just can't rely on it. It's never broken down before or anything, but It keeps flipping over. I'm affraid something will happen. // 8

Impression: I play Grunge and '90s rock a lot. It goes good with some songs in both genres, but not all. It has a better sound than processor distortion (the big pedals, that have like 20 effects all built in). I the DigiTech distortions (pretty much all of them) better than this pedal. The Grunge is my favorite pedal. I originally bought it because I thought it was the distortion used by Kurt Cobain, but that's the DS-2 (I believe). If it were a little more bass, i. e. and a little heavier, It would be so much better. The battery access is also kind of inconvenient, but you only need to take the 3 hour journey of unscrewing it every month or so. // 6

overall: 5

Reviewed by: Darkk, on july 01, 2005

Ease of Use: // 0

Sound: I'm using this with my Line 6 30 watt amp with a Epiphone G-310, nothing fancy but sure sounds good. I play in my room which isn't the best place because for one it's too loud and another it's too small so you get a lot of feedback if you leave the distortion pedal on and not play. It sounds really good though if you play with some clean guitar and then just smack the distortion on and it's just nice. // 10

Reliability & Durability: // 0

Impression: I play a lot of punk and pop/punk type but then I like to always play some heavy rock solos and rock songs. It's be 4 years since I started guitar and I must say having this pedal has made me write some songs that sound really good. It's a pedal that everyone who plays guitar must own, it's a little treasure that you should Pick up. They are fairly cheap these days, like 30$ USD and they just sound really nice. The Boss DS-1 is by far one of the best distortion pedals this market has to offer. // 10

overall: 3.8

Reviewed by: supergerbil, on december 22, 2006

Price paid: $ 54.8817

Purchased from: Soundcontrol

Ease of Use: This pedal is difficult to get a good sound out of, and as yet I have not found one. The 3 dials are easily acessable apart from the level dial. If I try to turn it, I end up turning the tone dial as they are so close together. The manual is O.K. It has a few basic examples and tells you how to change the battery, how to turn it on but not how to plug it into your amp. // 4

Sound: I used it with my Gibson Les Paul Studio and my Laney VC30 210. It makes my guitar sound like a synthsesizer when turned up to full. The distortion is very synth sounding in turn. It is, in my opinion, overly trebley and the tone dial just changes the synth style. // 2

Reliability & Durability: I could depend on it at a gig as it is solid metal. However, I wouldn't use at a gig. If reliability means relying on it to sound bad then yes it is relaible. it probaly is durable as there are models still around from ages ago. However, this new model sounds as if it would fall apart quite readily. // 7

Impression: I play many styles of music but I got this pedal for heavy rock and metal. It doesn't match these styles, but it would match electronica. I hate the whole thing completely and if it was stolen I would thank the kind theif Who did. Before buying this product I wish I had took my gear into the shop and tried it with that as they promised me the bad sound was due to there bad amp. // 2

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: Elocselil19, on october 15, 2007

Price paid: $ 39.99

Purchased from: Mary's Music

Ease of Use: This stomp box is rockin right out of the box. It only has three knobs (tone, level, and distortion) so the tweakability is cake. It comes with a manual which is very helpful and even comes with some sample settings. It does what it was made to do and it does it well. // 10

Sound: I use mine with a Schecter Omen 6 and a Fender Blues Man Jr. 15 watt. This thing has very little noise just a little bit of buzz on the higher distortion settings. The distortion can sound a little empty, but with a little tweak of the tone knob, this can be fixed. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I totally depend on this little bombshell. It's made of metal of some sort, so I know it's at least midly durable. I would and did use it without a backup and it did just fine (but I am using the ac adaptor). I don't really think I can afford a backup, but I trust the DS-1. // 10

Impression: I play Progressive Metal (Messhuganah Etc.) and some rock. This thing suits me perfectly. It's just powerful enough to give you that metal umph, but not so distorted and fuzzy that you don't know what your playing anymore. I've been playing for about 3 years. I originally owned a Lyon Distortion pedal (Target brand) and at the time I just wanted to blow my amp out (I was young). If it were lost or stolen, I'd either get it again or get it's bigger brother the DS-2. I just love this thing. I just wish it had a little bit more tweakability. // 10

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: cheeseisthebomb, on october 02, 2007

Price paid: $ 39

Purchased from: Musician Freind

Ease of Use: This is a simple pedal, even for a Boss pedal. There are three knobs. A level, which controls the volume. Tone, which is kinda like a treble. And gain, which controls the amount of distortion. The manual was worth flipping through since there was a bunch of sample settings. // 10

Sound: I am using this with all my Epiphone guitars (Epiphone G-310, Epiphone G-400, Epiphone Dot). It dose get noisy on certain high gain settings. This is a generic distortion pedal so I can't really get a certain sound out of it. About all I can do with it is control the amount of distortion. It has sustain that is very awesome, which is why I turn down the distortion knob and turn up the level knob for a boost. // 7

Reliability & Durability: It's a Boss so it's built like a tank. I've thrown it, stepped on it, ran over it with a car, and even set it on fire (not on purpose) and it still sounds like it did the day I bought it. Boss is the most reliable pedal brand on the planet. I feel very comfortable using it onstage without a backup. // 10

Impression: I play rock and blues. This pedal gose with anything that requires distortion, so it gose with it. I've been playing for 4-6 years and own various other Boss pedals. It it were lost or stolen I probably wouldn't buy it again. I'm oly using it as a Live boost at the moment and my playing wouldn't suffer without it. My main overdrive/distortion pedal at the moment is a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, that sounds a lot more natural than thist pedal. Pretty much, this is a good pedal for a first distortion pedal, but if you are looking for a specific sound, look further. // 7

overall: 8

Reviewed by: dividedsky, on december 27, 2007

Price paid: $ 40

Ease of Use: The 3 knob set-up is pretty straight forward. There's tone, drive, and level controls. The switch is very good as well, and batteries are easy to change. As far as dialing in your tone, it's hard to get exactly what you're looking for with this pedal. However, it's so straight-forward you should easily be able to get in the ballpark of what you're looking for in a few seconds. // 9

Sound: It's a pretty decent distortion, but I wish it had a little more bottom end to give it a fuller, richer sound. If you have an EQ pedal along with this then it can sound great. You can find a variety of tones from mellower bluesy distortion to really brittle crunchy sounding distortion. However, it is not very good for a Tubescreamer like sound, and is definitely a distortion pedal rather than an Overdrive. I've tried using it to overdrive an amp that's already distorted for lead work, and it gets pretty noisy. // 6

Reliability & Durability: It's made from thick metal, a hippopotamus could use it for a three hour gig and afterwards it would still be fine. You can be really confident that it won't break on you. This is pretty true for all of Boss' pedals. Really good quality build, excellent enclosure, etc. // 10

Impression: It's good for a starters distortion pedal, but I find I want a warmer sound. It's definitely durable and good for a variety of sounds. Then if you ever get bored with it, you can always try modding it (I might) to get a different sound. All in all, very useful, and it will definitely last you. // 7

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: Robert353, on april 02, 2008

Purchased from: Musicians Friend

Ease of Use: The Boss DS-1 is very easy to use, but it's simplicity may sometimes get in the way of finding a better tone of distortion. It comes with a Level knob (for volume), tone knob, and a Distortion knob. It's as simple as that, not complicated, but not complicated enough. // 7

Sound: I have used the Boss DS-1 with a Squire Standard Stratocaster thru two different amps, a First-Act Practice amp and a Johnson Reptone15. The sound varied upon these different amps. The pedal can get a little noisy on the highest distortion, but still sounds good. The effects are strong, but when it comes to trying to get that perfect amount of distortion, it can't get thick and creamy, but it can get noisy and loud. I heard that Kurt Cobain of Nirvana used this pedal, so I naturally tried some Nirvana songs with the pedal. It did most of the songs justice, but as I played some songs from the bands album In Utero, it was not thick enough to play the songs. The distortion from this pedal is good, but don't expect it to sound Thick and Creamy, but expect it to definetly loud and noisy. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I would definetly depend on my Boss DS-1 to be reliable and durable. I would definetely use it on a gig without a backup. The people at Boss certinly know how to make an indestructible pedal. I have thrown it, stomped on it, poured water on it (by accident) and it still sounds the same. 100% satisfied. // 10

Impression: I've been playing styles from Alternative to hard rock, so the DS is a good match for my hard rock tastes, but does not have the creamy distortion that I wish I sometimes had. I have been playing for over three years and I own 2 other pedals, a Rocktron TriWah and a DOD Grunge Distortion. I wish I had asked for a sound test, though so I could have saw what I would have been stuck with. If it were stolen I would buy it again, but if it was lost, I simply would wait untill it showed up. I didn't compare the DS to any other products, I wish I did though. // 9

overall: 7.5

Reviewed by: shoegazer501, on february 16, 2008

Ease of Use: Alright, it's a really easy pedal to use. Plug it in and dial in the tone and distortion you want. You really can't screw up when it comes to using this pedal. Step on the activator and you're ready to go. As far as finding the sound you want it's just a matter of playing with it and seeing what suits you best. Boss does a great job when it comes to making player friendly equipment. // 9

Sound: Ok, here's where I have issue with the pedal. It's very good and a great starter, but I find it generic. The set up I'm running is a Fender Deluxe Player's Strat into a Crybaby Wah into a DS-1 through an Electroharmonix Small Clone Chorus and into a Vox AD50VT. It does a decent job it really doesn, but I play a lot Pink Floyd and this pedal really isn't ideal for it. With a pedal like this, expect punk and alternative. We're talking Radiohead, Nirvana, and the like. You can get "Sunshine Of Your Love" ala Cream, however, I find it limited to a degree. If you're looking for something a bit more smooth and violin like, go with something like a Big Pi Muff or Fuzz Face and play it through (and here's the important part) a tube amp. // 6

Reliability & Durability: It's an incredibly reliable pedal, I mean, the thing's built like a tank and as far as battery use, it is really good on a 9 volt. I would easily gig without a back up, I mean you really can't expect anything less from Boss. They build really good quality equipment that lasts. // 8

Impression: Overall it's a great pedal for trying out and starting up. It's not for every style of music, but it has a very versatile use. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. If lost, I would replace it with a Big Pi Muff or Fuzzface just because those suit what I do a bit more, however I would not put Boss products out of the picture. I suggest giving it a whirl with your rig and seeing how it fits in and playing around with it so you have an idea of how well it complements your sound. // 7

overall: 7.5

Reviewed by: roast, on march 04, 2008

Price paid: $ 97.02

Purchased from: Waltons

Ease of Use: Relatively easy to use. Three controls, tone, level and gain. It's not actually very easy to get a smooth, stand-alone distortion tone from it. See the Sound section for a better explanation of that. The manual is helpful, has some sample tones to use, and gives good directions on the unit. // 7

Sound: I use this pedal with a Hughes And Kettner Warp 7 head, and a Bogner Shiva. I noticed the tone is extremely trebly once you go past 11 o' clock. Keep it at around 10 or 11 o' clock, and you can get a smooth, bluesy tone with the Gain at around 12 o clock. When the Gain is pushed high, it can get very noisy. Unless you tweak it a lot, you will not get a desirable tone with which you can play with without any other distortion. I primarily use the DS1 as a treble/gain booster for my amps. If you have other effects in your rig, it can be be niggly to decide where to put the DS1. It sounds absolutly rotten if it's placed in front of say, a Wah effect, and sounds extremely horrible if put after any sort of Delay or Modulation effect. Choose wisely, kids. // 7

Reliability & Durability: I'm pretty sure I can depend on it. It's quite rugged, although I noticed that the Power jack may be susceptible to damage if you don't look down while pedal-tapping. It looks fragile to me, maybe it's just my unit. I would use it for a gig without a backup, reason being is that I don't rely on using the pedal too much while playing, just as a booster. But, if you were to gig with this pedal, make sure you use an AC adapter, or bring a few spare batteries, because this unit really sucks battery life. Make sure you unplug your guitar cable out of the pedal while you are'nt using it. // 9

Impression: I play a lot of different styles. Mostly metal and blues. For blues, I could use the pedal on its own, but for metal, it's far too fizzly to use without combining it with your amp's distortion. I have been playing over 6 years now, and have a lot of equipment, and on every amp I own, I would not use this pedal on its own. It just simply does not hold its own against a decent Amplifiers distortion. Would I buy it again? No. I would prefer to buy a Tubescreamer, or if you're looking for a stand-alone distortion sound, choose a ProCo Rat. I love the fact it's compact, and the fact it's a handy gain/treble booster. I hate the fact it dosent have a nice distortion sound anywhere past 11 on the Tone control. // 7

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: corrda00, on march 17, 2008

Ease of Use: This pedal is easy to use. there's only 2 knobs to worry about and you can just give it a few turns and bam, you got anything from full on metal distortion or just a bit of fuzz. I didn't get a manual for it but I don't think I need a manual anyway, it's so easy of use. // 10

Sound: My setup is a baron guitar with a baron amp. To spite the crappy setup this pedal still delivers. I can get full distortion with little buzz to spite having single coils. I even use it for my bass and it can do all that a bass distortion pedal can do, although you have to do a lot more tweaking of settings. I play a lot of metal so I need a good pedal that can provide a max distortion and this does the trick. My favorite artists are Trivium, Megadeth and Metallica. Trivium and Megadeth is very easy however I can't quite get a Metallica sound out of it too well. As far as bass it does pretty well, I can play Anesthesia and Under The Bridge with this pedal, however some distortion bass parts are hard to recreate with this pedal. The only problem I have with this pedal is no matter how you adjust the level, it is still louder than clean. This poses a bit of a problem for my bass, guitar I've learned to Live with. // 7

Reliability & Durability: This pedal is amazing, I'm worried about the battery inside breaking before the pedal breaks. I haven't put it through much yet, just dropped it a few times and it's still working great. I would never have to bring a backup to a gig. This is the most reliable piece of equipment I own. // 9

Impression: I play metal, metal and more metal. If this pedal can do metal it can do anything. I've also used it to play some punk and it still works great. I've been playing guitar for about 3 years now and bass for 1 year. This pedal can back me up in the craziest riffs and solos like nones business. I wish I had of known that it takes batteries but it's pretty efficient on battery life so I'm still happy. If I lost this it I would probably upgrade to something with multiple effects, or a bass effect since I don't play guitar much any more, I can't say I would try to replace it. Above all I wish it had chorus/flange, I've wanted to try that forever. // 9

overall: 8

Reviewed by: Necro-cide, on august 22, 2007

Purchased from: Coda Music

Ease of Use: It find it's a really simple pedal to get a decent sound from. There's the simple three knob deal, which is how I like it. I don't like too many knobs and switches to fumble around with until you get your sound. I didn't get a manual with mine as I bought it secondhand but I believe that you get a manual with it that gives some examples of differant sounds. // 9

Sound: I use it in conjuction with my B.C. Rich Warlock playing through a Zoom MRS-1608 and the sound is quite diverse, I can play everything from metal to Blues. It is definatley more suited to playing Blues stuff. Pinch harmonics don't sound to well on it unless it's loud, but noone has their amps quiet. The pedal definatley leans more towards lead playing as it has plenty of treble but the bass doesn't stand out too much. // 7

Reliability & Durability: For playing live blues, I would depend on this pedal to the end of the earth. I find I don't need a backup as it's battery life is brilliant, and has the decent durability and quality you would expect from any Boss pedal. For metal stuff I tend to use this as a backup pedal, as it's not the best pedal for it. It will work and it will hold it's ground, but there are better pedals for metal out there. // 8

Impression: I play Blues and Metal, as I've said, it's perfect for blues, I couldn't ask for a better blues pedal. In metal it is not at it's top form. I've been playing guitar for about 3 years now, and I own a few more pedals, but this one really holds it's ground to me. If this pedal were stolen I would be quite unhappy, but I can be bought secondhand for about £25 so it wouldn't be too big of a loss. I had one problem in which the knob kept falling off as the two pegs had been forced together, and open triyng to open them back up (with a knife I might add) one of the pegs broke off (and the knife went into my hand) but it's merely an aesthetic problem. I find this pedal can sound really amazing through a Marshall Valve of any sort (as would anything) and if you really crank up the volume you can hit those treble notes beautifully. // 8

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: FoolOnThePlanet, on july 04, 2007

Price paid: $ 40

Purchased from: Musiciansfriend

Ease of Use: This is a superbly easy pedal to use. It has 3 knobs, controlling tone, volume, and distortion. The manual, like most Boss manuals are awesome, tghey have 4 or so models of settings. I found it better to just find my own setting though, what I did was bass it off a manual setting and tweaked it to better suite me. // 9

Sound: I use it in my whoel rig of Boss pedals and a Fender HSS Strat through a Twin Reverb. I mainly use the DS-1 for rhythm playing. It's not that it can't be used for lead, but I use my Blues Driver, Big Muff, and MD-2 for lead. This has great tone for lead and rhythm, it can get super trebly or can get a nice fat scratchy sound too. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This is one of my first pedals that I had about a year and a hlaf ago, and it's still perfectly fine, it holds batteries pretty good, but all my pedals are run through a Boss BCB-60 pedalboard, so batteries aren't a matter anymore. This is true for all of Boss' products though, they're built tough and last long. I'd deffinately use this without a backup. // 10

Impression: This pedal is really versatile, it can get a big variety of tones from blues to rock, it probably won't reach heavy metal tones but it can get pretty heavy. As with all my other Boss pedals I was very satisfied with this. I'd deffinately buy it agian, especially since it's only 40 bucks. Great for the price. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on april 10, 2007

Ease of Use: It's very easy to operate. With only 3 knobs I can't see how you couldn't figure out how to use it. The manual explains everything if you couldn't figure anything out (and I'd be very surprised if you didn't) and also gives some tones like British punk, hard rock, etc. // 8

Sound: I'm using this with a Squier Affinity Fat Strat and Peavy Backstage amp. They both aren't very good at all but the Boss DS-1 livens up my tone a lot. The effects are good unless you turn the tone knob all the way down or up or something. I like to lower my amps volume a tad and turn the level up on the DS-1, because it gives a more defined tone. I play stuff like The Who, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Cream, and some other classic rock stuff. The DS-1 covers most of what I play, but I'm not obsessed with sounding exactly like an artist and prefer to find my own tone, so if you're the guy Who wants to sound exactly like Jimmy Page this isn't for you. // 7

Reliability & Durability: The Boss DS-1 seems to be very durable, but I'm pretty careful with it. I took some points off because the battery life isn't too great (you have to shell out an extra $25 for the adapter, which unfortunately isn't as durable as the DS-1). The effects sound horrible when the batteries are dying too. I would gig without a backup, but I'd be sure to take a couple of 9 volts with me. // 6

Impression: I play Classic Rock, and it's a pretty good match. I use my Boss ME-50 mostly now though, because I can get a much wider variety of tones with it. I've only been playing for about 5 months and don't own much other gear besides what I've mentioned previously and a tuner. If I lost it I wouldn't buy it again, because my ME-50 has the DS-1 on it, and it sounds better. I like the price tag on it a lot and hate the battery life. I couldn't really say what my favorite feature is, because there's nothing out of the ordinary on it. I chose this one purely for it's price tag, because I didn't want to blow all my money on a single effect pedal. There's not much more to wish for on it with a $50 price tag, so yeah I'd recommend this to someone in need of a cheap reliable distortion pedal. // 8

overall: 9

Reviewed by: Norse_Iron_King, on april 06, 2007

Price paid: $ 40

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: The DS-1 Distortion pedal has three knobs: tone, level and distortion. The tone controls the bass and treble in the mix of the sound. The level is pretty much the volume control and the Distortion chooses the amount of drive. Like any Boss pedal. it is relatively easy to use. To remove the battery, it has a small screw in the back which if you loosen, you can insert the 9 volt battery. If you choose to buy a power adaptor, you plug it in from the front. // 10

Sound: I usually use this pedal with a Yamaha EG 112C and a Line 6 75 watt combo. You can get a variety of sounds from hardcore 80's punk to post-black album Metallica to Guns N' Roses and Led Zeppelin hard rock and alternative. It isn't too noisy, unless you decide to turn everything all the way up. It takes a while to establish the sound you want, but you shouldn't take too long. // 9

Reliability & Durability: It's a Boss pedal and the Boss quality never seems to fail. The knobs are large and very durable, it has a metal casing and is very dependable. You can take it to a gig and it'll survive. The battery life is about 60 hours straight on standby, 40 when activated, // 8

Impression: While I am a metalhead, I play in a punk band for some reason, so this pedal goes perfect with the style. I've been playing for 3 years now and this is my second pedal. The first was my Boss MT-2 but that was way too aggressive for the punk style. I bought this one and it never let me down. If it was stolen I would probably get a new one because it's a nice price and is the best pedal for the price. The only bad thing that people could complain about is the distortion isn't extreme so I wouldn't recommend it for anything heavier than AC/DC style hard rock. // 9

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: RG_FANMAN, on march 17, 2007

Price paid: $ 59.99

Purchased from: Guitar Center Totowa

Ease of Use: It doesn't get much simpler than the Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal. Three knobs: tone, level, and distortion. Operates by pressing on the pedal. Manual provides some settings for different styles, but I find it best to take those and tweak them to your liking. You can download upgrades from www.indyguitarist.com if you are unsatisfied with the tone of the pedal, but I doubt that will happen soon. // 10

Sound: I can get some pretty sweet sounds out of this pedal. I run my Ibanez RG321MH through the Boss DS-1 into my Marshall MG10CD. I got this pedal because, frankly, the Marshall MG series blows. Overdrive sounds like someone's dying (and not in a good way), so during Guitar Center's president's day sale I purchased this pedal for 30 bucks. For another 30 I got the adapter and 3 foot cable I need to run it all. I plugged this pedal into my amps clean channel when I got home and found some really killer Ramones tones right outta the box. I tweaked some knobs a bit and was able to get a Good Motorhead tone. Tweaked the knobs again and made "Smells Like Teen Spirit" come to life. I thought, "Pretty sweet tones, but can it handles Slipknot?" Cranked the distortion about 3-4 o'clock, width all the way, and tone at about 9-10 o'clock and made "Duality" sound sooo good. I've been satisfied with the sounds from this ever since. Once I upgrade to a Tube Amp (and modified the pedal slightly) this pedal will be even more vibrant! this is gunna sound stupid, but I found out something cool when I first demoed this pedal at GC. I was playing it through a Crate amp(which sucked clean) and I was using a MIM Telecaster. I was doing some Alice in Chains songs when my dumb ass cousin goes "New pedal." Before clicking off the DS-1, he clicked on the DS-2. I was like "Dude, what the hell!" I mean, the whole reason I went to Guitar Center was to try this pedal, not for HIM to BS with stuff. Before I could say anything else, I hit a power chord and shuddered: I had found the most low end tone ever. Playing through a Telecaster I was albe to play some Slipknot and Cannibal Corpse riffs to a T. Now I know that running both a DS-1 and a DS-2 will create mega-metal riffs! // 9

Reliability & Durability: I've learned in my year of guitar self-tutalage that Boss pedals are built like tanks: seriously. I've dropped the pedal on different surfaces and it still has yet to dent. Would I use this as a gig without a backup? Like most things, hell no. You never know when something might go wrong. However, I doubt this pedal will wear out fast. If I went to a gig, I'd use this one as my stock pedal, and carry a "modified" pedal as a backup. // 10

Impression: Because I play primarily metal, rock, and hard rock since each genres conception, I needed a versatile pedal. The Boss DS-1 fits this bill. Plus, it's not even 50 bucks! I've been playing now for about 8 months (self-taught) and I've been using gear I bought for dirt cheap, so my sound isn't the greatest. This pedal more than makes up for. And at 40 bucks at Guitar Center, you can't go wrong. I may wind up either altering the pedal slightly or upgrading to something new, Who knows! // 9

overall: 7.8

Reviewed by: skateswitch, on may 14, 2007

Purchased from: eBay

Ease of Use: Very simple pedal, consists of input, output, and three control knobs. One knob is for distortion, one is for tone, and one is for volume, all labeled nice and simple. Powered by a 9 volt battery or AC/DC adapter can also be used, battery life is good, jsut make sure to unplug out. didn't come with a manuel beacuase I got it used but the pedal is not complicated to work, plug in, step on it and play. // 10

Sound: I use the pedal with my bass, OLP with a small Crate amp, but I've had a friend play with it using his Jackson through a Peavey amp. The distortion is medium to light, fine for average rock, semi poppy sound. If your looking o play metal, hard rock, or hardcore this is the pedal you would want to go with. // 5

Reliability & Durability: the pedal is durable and holds up, I bought it used, it's been around for several years, nothing at all wrong, alittle paint scraped off the corners, nothing else wrong. No need for a back up pedal if your happy with the sound, maybe a backup battery jsut in case, but other than that no worries, it will old up. // 10

Impression: The distortion on this pedal is alittle light for my taste, but I also play bass and usually it's just to play around, but with a guitar distortion of fairly light, maybe suitable for Green Day or Nirvana, some like that. This pedal runs about 50 dollars retail, my friends metal zone pedal from Boss runs around 100, and it's atleast twice the distortion, so if your looking for something light and fairly cheap it's a good pedal. // 6

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: Incubus=Science, on june 13, 2007

Price paid: $ 40

Purchased from: Musiciansfriend.com

Ease of Use: Uh can a pedal become any more simple? I think not. Without a doubt this is the easiest there is and it is best for begginers. With only three knobs it's hard to be confused but just incase the manual shows everything and it includes a couple samples (which really aren't that fantastic but nonetheless still helpful). Pretty much you turn this thing on and it emits great sound no matter what. // 10

Sound: Setting things up with this takes about two seconds everything can be ajusted mid play. It gives feedback when it turns on but really find me a distortion pedal under 40 that doesn't. The effects are stong and fully adjustable. You can play anything from the chili peppers to Audioslave. The distortion sounds very good. Most pedals around this price sound completely fake. Really you can't beat a Boss pedal with sound. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This thing is a freakin steel brick, it wont crack ever. Sure the paint wears off but who cares? You do not need a backup for this as I have done gigs with this pedal without any problems at all. Make sure to change the battery every now and then though. I had this for a year, no problems at all. Really I wish it came with the ac adaptor. // 10

Impression: I play stuff from U2 to Incubus. This is the best distortion pedal for begginers. Really when you decide to move on just buy a DS-2. There is no need to switch brands becuase the DS-2 is completely amazing. If this were stolen or lost I'd find the guy and shoot him, no but really I'd just go out and but a new one. It's only 40 bucks at most. But don't let the price fool you this thing is the best for the money. I have used one for a whole year and I will continue to do so. This is clearly the highest standard for begginers along with the intermediate level. // 9

overall: 6.5

Reviewed by: SABBATH_FAN24, on july 23, 2007

Price paid: $ 55.2921

Ease of Use: The DS-1 pedal is easy to use mainly because it only has 3 knobs (distortion, tone and volume level) and has the basic input and output jacks. It comes with a manual that tells you how to hook it up to your guitar and amp, what every knob does and gives you examples on what settings will get you "warm crunch," "american rock," "british punk," "fuzz tone" etc. // 9

Sound: I used to use this with a Godin SD (my first electric.) and a sucky Peavy amp (my first amp.) and it sounded pretty good for anything from Ramones to Deep Purple (Smoke On The Water, the first song I learned). You can't get too too many different sounds out of it because it just has the Tone, Volume and Dist. knobs, but you can get like all the basic tones or whatever. // 7

Reliability & Durability: I've played Live like 2 or 3 times with it and it was fine. I wouldn't recommend using it without a backup but something good about when it screws up is that slowly screws up and you'll notice that right away when you're at home playing, rehearsing or just jamming with a friend because it kinda skips and you don't hear any amplification for your guitar for a second. Mine broke after owning it for like a year and a half. // 4

Impression: The Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal is good for beginners (it was my first pedal.)I've been playing for several years and I also own a Crybaby Wah and Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion pedal. I wish I would've asked about the warranty. If it was stolen or lost (or broken like mine.) I wouldn't buy a new one. The input jack makes weird noises sometimes. I didn't compare it to any other products because I was low on ca$h at the time ans it was the cheapest thing they had worth buying. It'd be better if it had more knobs which would make more sounds available. So, yeah good for a beginners' first pedal. // 6

overall: 9

Reviewed by: scarfacesuit, on july 17, 2007

Purchased from: a friend

Ease of Use: When I first got it, it took some tweaking, but it ended up being fairly easy for me to get a good sound out of it. I bought this off of a friend of mine Who didn't use it any more, and he had lost the manual, so I had to figure out any presets on my own, which wasn't too difficult, but it took a little time. Only 3 knobs on this thing after all, tone, level, and distortion. // 8

Sound: I'm running this pedal with a Michael Kelly Patriot Q guitar, a DigiTech RP100 multi-effects pedal, and a Behringer GM108 15-watt amp, and it sounds pretty good. I keep my amp on clean at all times, and I Switch between the RP100 and DS-1 to shape my sound. The tone knob is pretty much the only thing I alter on this thing. It's basically like an EQ, adjusting my highs and lows. I keep the distortion and level knobs all the way up and it puts out some great distortion tones. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This thing is built to last. It's been dropped multiple times in the garage and off of a stage a few times, and it still works great with barely a ding on it. I've gigged with it twice and lugged it to multiple band practices and it's worked great. Very durable. // 10

Impression: Since I bought this from my friend, I didn't get the power supply ('cause he lost it), so I've been running on batteries to power it. I've tried powering it through a non-Boss power supply, and it didn't work at all. In order to keep the batteries from going dead, I've had to unplug the pedal from my rig every time after I play it, otherwise it'll drain the batteries down, whether it's off or on. That's been a bit annoying, but for $25 it's otherwise worked great. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who needs a better distortion, or someone who switches back from clean to distortion a lot. // 9

overall: 6.5

Reviewed by: Weepin_Guitar, on april 03, 2008

Price paid: $ 56.7

Purchased from: J. Billen, Belgium

Ease of Use: It's hard to get good sounds out of this. Those three knobs can give you a wide range of distortions, and are easy to tweak. the manual contains usefull presets. It's like all Boss pedals, very easy to replace batteries, but I use it with an adaptor. // 8

Sound: I play on an Ibanez GRG170DX and Line 6 Spider II amp. It gets noisy with single coils on the guitar, but sounds great with humbuckers. The sounds are very high-end, so I turn down the tone know to 9 o' clock. with the Drive knob turned all the way down, it still distorts a lot. I set it about 12 o' clock, cause I play softer kinda music with my band. It also sounds very plastic, like a multi-effect, I don't think it's that good for metal. My Dunlop GT-OD can get a way more powerful sound than this pedal. // 4

Reliability & Durability: Yes, I can depend on it, but actually, this is my backup to my Overdrive pedal. This pedal will last for years, it's well built, and I love the way the adaptor input is on the back, like all Boss pedals, all Dunlop pedals have it on the right side and that makes it hard to connect. You also don't have to press hard on this pedal, you hardly have touch it to engage it. // 9

Impression: This pedal dissapointed me. I sometimes play progrock/metal, and I knew that john petrucci and Joe Satriani also have this pedal, 2 of my favourite players, but I can't get the same sounds out of it. It was stupid of me not to check out the sounds of the pedal before buying it. If it was stolen, I'd love not having this pedal on my pedalboard, and I wouldn't buy this pedal again, I would try out the Dunlop Distortion III, and then maybe buy it, but for the music that I play, my overdrive pedal does enough, so I'd look up for a delay of phaser pedal. // 5

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: Mudvayne_LP, on august 20, 2007

Price paid: $ 50

Purchased from: The Rock Shop

Ease of Use: It's pretty easy to get the sound you want out of this pedal. There's a level [volume] knob, tone knob, and distortion knob. The manual for it show you all the basic stuff you need to know if you can't figure out how to use the pedal and the anual also shows settings for some basic sounds like fuzz, blues, etc. // 10

Sound: I'm using a Jackson SLSMG Soloist through a Crate GX60 amp. The pedal is pretty quiet unless you max out every setting you'll get some fuzz, nothing horribly annoying though. The effects are a bove average but nothing spectacular about it. You can get a pretty decent tone of almost anything you want but not an amazing tone. // 7

Reliability & Durability: This pedal is made of metal so it's pretty strong. I've had it for roughly a year and it hasn't failed me once. I would definitely use without a backup just use an AC adapter instead of the 9 volt incase of battery failure. but always bring a backup to a show becaus you never know what might happen. // 10

Impression: This was my first pedal and it helped me get the basic sound of what I was aiming for. I recommend it to most beginners as there first distortion pedal. If it was stolen I would probly buy it again bcaus it is pretty useful and don't drain your cash. The only thing I wish it had was a greater distortion range. // 8

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: Pharsti, on july 09, 2008

Price paid: $ 40

Purchased from: Mozingo Music

Ease of Use: The Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal is a pretty simple device: consisting of three knobs, users can easily dial in the tone they desire. Two primary knobs are present for changing Tone and Distortion, while a smaller center knob adjusts volume. While the uses of said knobs is self-explanatory, it should be noted that the knob's effects are a little lack-luster. The volume knob seems to have two modes: blasting loud, or quiet as a mouse. There is very little definition between the two settings, despite the presence of the knob. // 8

Sound: Obviously, the DS-1 is a distortion pedal, and comes with no other settings. While many artists use distortion pedals, the DS-1 will not give a very distinct or recognizable sound. I used the DS-1 with an Ibanez GSA-60 on both a Crate 125 watt and a Marshall 10 watt amplifier. While the large-wattage amps show a notable difference when the pedal is added to the Overdrive channel, the low-wattage amps are not changed much once the pedal is introduced into the chain. When coupled with a clean channel, both amps deliver a strong, crunchy sound with a high amount of gain, but only large-wattage amps deliver the presence needed for a good lead. Buzzing was a problem on both amps when using low quality cables, like no-name brands, but there was almost no hum or buzz when a Monster 100 Standard cable was used. // 8

Reliability & Durability: The DS-1 is an absolute tank in construction. The body is solid, all metal, and has a rubber pad on the hinged pedal. The knobs are on tight and produce no wiggle. The battery light is very bright and gives a clear notice when the battery is low. I'd suggest keeping extra batteries on hand during gigs, but you will have fair warning before the pedal begins to lose tone quality, so fear not. // 10

Impression: Overall, the pedal is great for hard rock leads, solid, bass-y rhythm, and even bluesy licks. The pedal does not give as much presence when strumming out metal riffs, so if you play a lot of metal I suggest checking out the MetalCore pedals and reviews. I recommend the pedal to anyone with a decent amp (at least 25w) who would like a nice, strong lead sound with good application in most playing styles and eras. // 8

overall: 6.3

Reviewed by: shcantdance, on february 13, 2009

Ease of Use: As with every other Boss stomp box, the DS-1 is very easy to use. You can be a total novice and Pick it up and easily figure out the ropes of the pedal. Very easy to adjust settings and how to turn it off and on. Changing the battery is easy to do. Input and output are clearly labeled, as are the tonal controls. Simple to understand, and easy to adjust. The manual provides a few hints on general tones, but you'd probably figure them out before you'd think to look at the manual because it's so darn easy. // 9

Sound: I've tried it at various guitar stores with similar results. Playing it on Peavy Amps, Line 6, Crate, Engel... and it's the same result. Very High top end with no mids and low end. It tends to be very noisy at high gain settings. Even using it at low gain settings really doesn't give you good tonal control. Either you get Less High end with little mid and low end, or get high pitched noise. Totally not suited for anything other than solos. // 2

Reliability & Durability: Reliable as hell. You could throw it at a wall or pour soup all over it and it'd still keep on going. If I actually liked the sound of it, I'd probably use it without any backup pedals. The wiring and shell of the pedal are very durable. I've never heard of anybody having problems with this pedal functioning. In my experience, you can't beat a Boss for relibility and durability. That being said, I wouldn't recommend throwing them at the wall non-stop for a few hours because I'd think your arm would get sore before the pedal breaks. You need that arm to shred! // 10

Impression: Very easy to use, Very reliable... But useless musically. This is a beginners pedal... A professional musician, regradless of style would find this pedal appalling in comparison to either the pre-amps built into their amps, or just other better quality pedals in general. This pedal just reeks of the sound of a new guitar student picking up and a guitar an practice amp combo and sitting around all day playing palm-muted open E5 chords. Boss and DigiTech both make really reliable pedals that can survive a nuclear holocaust, and the only difference in them is their eq band... DigiTech usually are more rounded sound and Boss tends to be really high. If your looking for metal, rock or Grunge style distortion but can't afford an 1500-5000 grand tube amp, I'd suggest getting acutal tube pedals... Not tube screamers but other products such as the Tube King by Ibanez. They get much better tone, more like the tone you'd hear in your favorite metal or rock band without the several grand price tag of a stack. // 4

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: DerekC99, on february 12, 2009

Price paid: $ 39.99

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: This pedal provides a moderate range of distortions, which are easy to dial in because it only has two real sound shaping knobs. The quality of the sound it puts out really hinges on the quality of your guitar and amp. The manual is very straight forward and for the most part unnecessary (make sure you know you have to unplug the input when your done, though! ). Manual presets provide a good place to start, following the diagrams I found I only needed minimal changes to get the sound it said it would make from my setup. // 10

Sound: I'm rocking this with a Fender MIM Tele and a FM212R, and it does everything I need it to. Occasionally one of my friends will bring over a guitar with buckers, and they make this thing wail. If your volume is fairly high and your distortion is past 3/4, it creates a fair amount of feedback, but it's not unmanageable. Whether you have it set for mild and dark or saturated and bright, the sound is good. Be careful with the tone knob though, it doesn't sound great at either extreme. I've never been one for mimicking anyone's sound, but I've found a good number of record-like tones, and it's recreation of Crass guitar tones is flawless, if you're into that scene. I've never run it with any other effects except my amps reverb, which it blends well with. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I've had this pedal for 5 years and it works as well as it did the day I bought it. The casing is still scratch free, none of the rubber pads are coming off, the screws hold, the wiring is tight, I almost want to punch myself for getting talked into buying a warranty. I would certainly gig without a backup pedal. // 10

Impression: I play a lot of anarcho-punk and some ska-punk and some death-rock. This is a perfect pedal for pretty much everything I want to cover from those genres. I've been starting to learn some neo-classical shred stuff, and I have to admit, it's not great for that. I've been playing for about four years, the DS-1 is the only piece of equipment I've had the whole time I've played guitar. If I had to replace it, I'd probably buy something different, but only for the sake of trying something new. Love: batteries last at least a hundred hours in this thing, it's as resilient as a cockroach, it has a variety of sounds, most of which are very good. Hate: Only one setting suitable for metal music, which still isn't that good for metal. I wouldn't say I have a favorite feature, they are all equally important to achieving a good sound. I've A/B'd this with a Boss MT-2, while the MT-2 gets a heavier and more distorted sound, it's also a lot noisier, even at low levels. I'd say the DS-1 is more versatile, as well. One thing I do wish had been included is a multi-band EQ (or even just dual), rather than one tone knob that can only cut or boost treble. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on january 28, 2009

Price paid: $ 35

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: I will start my elongated and elaborate review by saying this, it is a Boss, simplicity is it's calling card. There are three knobs, the tone, level and distortion factors that make the pedals sound. The manual will help some of you newer guitarists, it explains how to keep the pedal in good condition and how to use it. The specs of this particular pedal are:

The level knob
The tone knob
The distortion knob
Input and output jacks
Footswitch
AV adapter jack

VERY simple, to say the very least. The manual also displays several sample settings to give you an idea of what you will need to achieve your perfect sound. That is where the "ease" of use shall fall oh so short. Finding the right and correct sound for your tastes from the Boss DS-1 will be hell if you do not know where to start, and also, if you don't know what to do, you will hate this pedal like many others out there do, because you will critisize the aspect of most importance in a pedal. // 8

Sound: Because I truly wish to inform you good people in my review, this will be the most descriptive and elaborate piece of my review, but, I will first explain many of the controversies when it comes to the DS-1, and why many people despise it, or in my case, enjoy it.

I read several reviews on not only this website but also many others on the internet, and A LOT of these reviews detested the trebley sound that emanates from it, a paper thin distortion that sounds like the equilization got screwed in to a squeal. I could not understand why at first so many people dislike the treble of this pedal. ( The tone knob typically would increase the treble dramtically when turned clockwise.) At first I had to ask myself, "Does The Music I play sound bad? What with all these people hating a pedal I love?" I typically have my tone at about 2 o' clock, and many other reviewers said that the treble was just unbearable when used at that config. So, I decided to dig deeper. I decided to watch some youtube videos in my research and found the answer. Watching someone review the DS-1 on youtube, I finally realized that paper-thin distortion that so many critisized, it really sounded bad, much more treble that I had on my own set up, even though this mans tone was set around 11 o' clock, it made finally clicked.

Now, I will explain why, and to the best of my ability. A lot of it has to do with your set up. My own set up is my Epiphone Les Paul Standard, an Alesis Strat (that I do not use now that I have my Les Paul), the DS-1, and an Orange Crush 15 watt practice amp. What most advanced guitarists know is that your amp, guitar, and pedal all affect your sound. But subtle things go a long way. My Les Paul of course has humbuckers, and this is one of the largest factors in the different sounds between Strats, Ibanez, and Les Pauls, and is why some get a VERY trebley sound. Because my Les Paul has mohagany, not maple, it has a much deeper tone, that and the humbuckers make very thing more crunchy and deep. This alone means in order to get the crunchy yet punchy sound I want from my Les Paul, I need to set the tone up more. Single coils will naturally have that brighter and almost fuzzier effect, as they do on the neck Pick-up on my strat (its bridge is a humbucker) so, if you are using sigle coils, OF COURSE it will sound paper thin with the tone being jacked way up. For some, this automatically turns them off the DS-1.

Next the amp. My Orange Crush is by no means bad when Brand New, but it is banged up, and ever since I spilled milk on it a couple months ago, it has gotten muddy and almost has a wah effect that resonates from it. This is not as bad as it seems however. I can still find the sounds I need, but for this pedal, a tip from another review I read, setting the level up on the pedal ALL THE WAY and then simply reducing your amp volume brings more of that eq and nearly eliminates all muddiness from your sound.

Before I finish with my sound, I want to explain the real difference in guitars, a lot of the more advanced guitarists will think of this as a big DUH! but I beg of you to not critisize the newer musicians. You all know that guitars of more expense and value will have a different quality, a better quality of sound than their cheaper counterparts. It is a subtle yet important thing to realize that not only does the quality of sound increase, but the type of sound wil grow distant in an exponential manner. My Les Paul is perfect for the DS-1, and therefore I reccomend it to anyone with one. As for you Fender and Ibanez customers, purchase at you own risk. Your sound can differ from my own in MANY ways.

As for myself, I can play any of my own music on it, being a punk rock and alternative guitarist, this thing suits my every need, atleast with what it is that I have in my set up. Keep in mind it will differ for everyone. I play (besides my bands own music) Green Day, Blink-182, Rancid, Anti-Flag, Guns n Roses, Dead Kennedys, The Clash, The Ramones, The Subhumans, and The Sex Pistols, this pedal, although simple is diverse enough for all those bands.

This pedal will also suit anyone Who does classic rock, ska, rock, soft rock, or even classical, to a degree. As for more hardcore, metal, and screamo, you probably would require the Metal Zone or Metal Core. They are both very good pedals, and have oodles (yes, I said oodles) of distortion. The Mega Distortion is also fairly good, but does consequently have a lot of noise.

All in all, I LIKE the sound I get from this pedal, it suits me fairly well, and has that crunchy and punchy sound my band needs. It can get noisy, but using that tip I mentioned (lowering amp volume, raising level on the pedal to FULL) you can reduce the noice and reduce the muddiness. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This is a Boss pedal, if anything it is reliable. It has a steel casing, and I have allready tripped over, dropped, hit, stepped on, and scraped this thing, it's sound still screams warm crunchy and bright tones from my Les Paul. My band has not started gigging just yet, but we will by the end of the summer. I have gigged before by myself, but these were small events. In other words, I would certainly gig with this pedal, just bring that spare 9V just in case. // 10

Impression: I play almost anything I can learn, but mostly I focus on punk rock and alternative, and this pedal most definitely meets my sound requirements, not only have I found the sound I needed but I also have gotten rid of what little muddiness that it has. Mind you there are much, much better pedals out there, next one on my list is probably the OD-3, but that is open to change. All in all, this pedal is quite possibly the best buy for it's price. I am not saying this pedal is absolutely amazing, because it is not, it's sound quality can still be muddy, and will make buzzing noises, but that may be because of my jacked to hell amp. I have been playing for the better part of 3 years, and practice about 4 hours or so everyday, regardless of how much homework or what ever that needs to be done, music is my life, and my guitar is my companion in it. I have no other gear mainly because I have been selling and saving to get a halfstack or a large tube amp, as I have heard tube amps sound much less muddy with the DS-1, and have seen and heard it on you tube. It can sound VERY VERY VERY good with the right set up. If this were stolen or lost, I would not replace it, not because it is a bad pedal, but because I know that as a gigging musician. I will eventually need a better pedal that will bring out the best part of Les Paul. I love that I can get my bands sound, crunchy and punchy, from this pedal, but I hate that it was not as simple as it should be to find it. My favorite feature would be the level, it seems the eq improves as you raise it. I compared it to the other Boss pedals in Guitar Center that day, but because I already was getting my new Les Pual, I could not get the OD-3 as well. You will find this pedal good only if you follow my info from the sound section, I implore you to really think about it, because you will end up hating it if you do not have at the least a Les Paul or a better amp. It seems that with Fenders this pedal delivers a bad paper distortion, and it simply sounds BAD. Try out this pedal before buying with your own guitar, if it sounds very harsh and thin, then ADJUST THE TONE KNOB! That will fix the problem if you dislike the trebley sound. With my guitar, it does just fine however, as with the tone knob at 2, it does not sound half as bad as a Fender at 11. There are better choices out there, but if you are on a budget and just need a half decent pedal, this is your best bet. // 8

overall: 7.8

Reviewed by: SG Commander, on january 19, 2009

Price paid: $ 39.99

Purchased from: www.musiciansfriend.com

Ease of Use: This is an extreamily easy to use pedal the distortion. this pedal only has 3 knobs 1 tone, 1 distortion, and 1 level and in the manual there is some more advice on settings. // 10

Sound: I have it setup through an Epiphone G-310 an after market hand wound Seymour Duncan pickup in the bridge and the stock in the neck position and the amplifier is a 1981 Carvin combo amp with magna lab speakers. There is a lot of feedback and string scratching and too much treble it's like reduclious how much treble there is on this thing the upside of this is tapping sounds exclent it's got perfect sound quality for tapping. // 6

Reliability & Durability: This pedal is completely dependable the only thing you might wanna bring is a backup battery if you left it plugged in during a jam session or practice or something the life span for the battery is like 50 hours so even then you should be fine. I would use this on like 5 gigs in a row without a backup. // 10

Impression: I play more of a classical rock to a metal scene and this pedal is overall a very good low priced pedal this pedal is probaly the best pedal you could get for the price of $40 espicaly for the rock to metal sence I've had this pedal for 1 year and have been playing for 3 and if it were stolen I would probably get a more expensive pedal because it's obliousy not the best pedal but definitaly a good pedal I saw my friend using an envlope filter so I thought I'd get a pedal too but I like lots of distortion so I got this pedal and I love it's simplicity but dispise it's lack of complexity. // 5

Reviewed by: unregistered, on february 27, 2009

Purchased from: used from friend

Ease of Use: I have Just bought the Ds-1 from my friend. I had one a couple years ago but didn't like it. I know how hard it is to get a good sound out of it and even that usually isn't great, but i also have a DigiTech rp-50 and on the clean setting on the DigiTech with only reverb added it makes the stock Ds-1 outstanding. I really like ds-1 now. // 4

Sound: The sound isn't good unless u got a reverb pedal. I am using the fullerton FG-60 amp and The Gibson les paul custom with triple humbuckers. I really like the lespaul on any of the pickups with volume on 8 and tone on 5. I can get sound from band any where from ac/dc to Green Day. // 8

Reliability & Durability: Reliability & Durability is good, all stompboxes are very reliable and durable. It always works good; I have had no problems with these pedals.
You may especially like the battery feature. I used it in My hunting cabin with no power. It worked fine with headphones. // 9

Impression: I play mostly classic rock and some newer rock. Yes it is perfect only if you have another pedal for reverb. I have been playing for 5 years. I own a bc rich warlock and an Ibanez semihollow body and a Peavey M-2600 poweramp.

No regrets. I would get another one of these No Doubt. I love that it is so reliable. I compared it to my DigiTech rp-50 and blew it out of the water. // 7

Reviewed by: unregistered, on april 27, 2009

Price paid: $ 40.00

Purchased from: Uncle Bob's

Ease of Use: It is very easy to get good sounds out of this pedal. There is a manual, but as others have noted, it's not really necessary. Even if you're a beginner, just experiment for a few minutes and it's pretty simple. The tone knob is your high and low end with the high going right of noon and vice versa. Level is simply your volume, so set your amp where you want it's volume first, and go from there with the pedal level. Distortion is simply that; the more you turn it to the right, the more you get. Some people have mentioned some buzzing all the way right, but I haven't noticed that, it does get real grainy all the way right, but sometimes that's ok. There are no mods or upgrades on mine. // 9

Sound: I use a mid 80's japanese contemporary Fender strat (single coil neck, humbucker in bridge) and a Mexi-made tele with much better pickups, a hot rail in bridge. Amp I'm using is a Peavy Windsor head with a 4x12 Randall speaker cab. It can get a little too high end with some solid state amps- tube is the way to go, really evens out nicely that way, and it just sounds real smoothe. Easy to get sounds you want, or mimic. May buzz when all dials are jacked up, but you'll never need to do that. In fact I'd encourage people to try another distortion pedal along with the DS-1 if you're any good at harnassing cool feedback sounds, it's pretty fun to use this as another flavor in your sound arsenal, but you know, only when necessary, don't be the guy in your band that has to overpower everyone else, no one likes that guy. // 9

Reliability & Durability: It is a very dependable pedal with a sturdy Orange metal casing. It never cuts out on me or fades out or anything of the sort. I'd use it without a backup if I didn't have other distortion pedals. However, I generally take really good care of my gear, so I wouldn't really tell anyone to play a gig without some sort of backup gear. And come on, pedals are awesome, so why not have some more? It's great getting a new piece of gear, but when you go back to your Original baby, sometimes you forget how much you missed her. // 10

Impression: I play aggresive alt-rock and works great for it. Been playing for about 10 years. I also use a Pro Co Rat2, they have similar circuitry and you can make the two pedals sound nearly identical, but I use the rat2 depending on the song, and set it to a more muddy-dirty sound, and use the DS-1 as my main dirt box at a smoother setting. I also use it with the Rat2 to create some nice obnoxious feedback. I love the pedal because it looks cool and is so easy to dial in what you need, even between songs at a gig. If it was stolen, I'd find the person that stole it and jam the DS-1 down there damn throat, then I'd take the money from their wallet and go by another one. Oh, and some of the reviews that complain about this not having enough Overdrive? Get with the program people, the DS-1 is a distortion pedal, not an Overdrive pedal, there is a difference. // 9

overall: 9

Reviewed by: asfastasdark, on september 21, 2009

Price paid: $ 39.99

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: The Boss DS-1 is pretty simple, three knobs: a tone knob, a level (volume) knob, and a distortion (gain) knob. The tone knob allows you to select how much treble you want. The pedal can be powered with a power adapter or a 9-volt battery. Within five minutes you can get a pretty good tone. The manual comes with this pedal, but you can also find it online. The manual explains pretty much everything there is to know about this pedal. // 10

Sound: At high gain levels, this pedal can be a bit noisy but not so much that it gets annoying. You can get anything from a nice bluesy crunch to a hard rock (and dare I say classic metal) distortion out of it by messing around with the gain and tone knobs. You can get a pretty powerful distortion out of it. The only problem with it is that it is a bit light on the bass and mid frequencies, but still, for the price this pedal sounds great. If you're not satisfied with the tone, there's always the option to mod it, because there are many different mods available for it, of which the Keeley DS-1 mod is one of the most well-known. The manual shows eight different settings that you can use to get the tone you're looking for. // 8

Reliability & Durability: The pedal is made out of a very strong metal. The pedal itself is very sturdy and comes with a 5-year warranty as well. I've heard stories of people driving over these pedals with a truck, but that sounds a bit exaggerated. The pedal is extremely sturdy though, and it can withstand even very powerful stomps on it. // 10

Impression: I play metal and the pedal is not great for it. For rock though, it's great. I have been playing guitar for almost eight years now, and I usually play a Schecter Hellraiser Deluxe through a Crate GTD65. If I ever lost this (and I was actually into rock), I'd definitely buy this again. The price is simply unbeatable and the sound is surprisingly good for such a simple and cheap pedal. The Boss DS-1 is definitely one of the pedals to check out if you play rock or anything in the range, whether you're on a tight budget or not. // 8

overall: 10

Reviewed by: osXtiger, on august 11, 2009

Price paid: £ 36

Purchased from: Amazon

Ease of Use: This pedal is pretty simplistic. 3 control knobs. One for tone, one for distortion and one for level. This thing comes with a manual, but I prefer to just mess about with it until I get the hang of it. (Who doesn't?). I rate this 10, because in all honesty, it's one of the most simple things to use.

There is also a red LED to tell you when it's on. When this thing is running out of battery, the sound is sustained for quite a while right up until it actually runs out of battery life. And you can tell it's running out buy the LED growing dimmer. // 10

Sound: I use an Epiphone G-400 with a Peavey Vypyr 30 watt amplifier on a clean Fender Twin setting.

if you crank the distortion and level, it will get pretty noisy, which is understandable, however, on the right settings it can give me just the right amount of crunch to get me through a good riff or solo.

Set the tone control to 12 o' clock and your tone stays the same, rock it back and the bass is increased, giving a thick tone. Put it forward and get a knife edge sharp tone that could cut through any solo. It's very difficult for me to give this any other rating than ten. // 10

Reliability & Durability: The knobs are plastic, but they aren't thin or cheap feeling, so I am confident that they will last the life of this pedal. The enclosure for the electronics is completely metal, and is fairly hefty. The outer foot Switch (that your foot actually presses on) is completely metal with a rubber pad on top.

Mine has a couple of paint chips which are very small, but that's due to me dropping the thing onto concrete. So you can rest assured that it's durable as hell because the metal isn't even dented in the slightest.

I would use this without ANY backup because I feel totally confident with this in my chain. I can confidently say that I don't think this thing is going to break any time soon, I don't even think I'll need to replace it in the years to come. // 10

Impression: I play classic rock, blues, instrumental rock, experimental rock and a little bit of metal. It suit's all but one of these perfectly. You would be better off with something else for metal, but to be honest, this thing is still pretty good at pulling it off if you find the right setting.

If this thing was lost, I'd try desperately to find it. If it was stolen, I would find the guy that stole it, then beat him with the pedal, because I know that he's going to be less durable than this thing.

I love the tone setting, it gives me way more versatility in my playing. If I want my tone to be thicker, I can. If I want my tone to be sharper, I can. I don't even think I can really ask for anything more out of a distortion pedal. I've sat here and REALLY thought about what I DON'T like about it, and I can't think of anything.

It's a distortion pedal, a damn fine one. I can't ask for much more except maybe a maid to come and clean my house. // 10

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: eteam_sammy4him, on may 28, 2009

Price paid: $ 42.34

Purchased from: Local Music Store

Ease of Use: The Boss DS-1 is one of the most commonly used pedals in all of the guitar world. With opening the box, the DS-1 is very straight forward. Tone knob, Drive knob, and Output knob. This pedal can literally be taken out of the box, thrown on your pedalboard, and be used once you get the right settings. The manual for the DS-1 is quite easy and straight forward also. In the back, the manual also provides you with a variety of possible settings. Getting a good sound, though, is a little tricky. Setting all the knobs just the right way can be very tricky depending on what style of music you intend to use this pedal with. // 8

Sound: On my standard setup, I run this pedal through a Fender Frontman 15 with a Squier Strat. I have been forutnate, though, to be able to run this pedal through a Fender Jam 75 also, which is what I will base the following information off of. The DS-1 has great potential, you just have to unlock it. The tone knob is, to me, very sensitive. Running too much Drive with tone tone knob past twelve o'clock gives a very nasaly tone, but turned around eleven o'clock, there is a nice tone for most punk rock. I wouldn't argue the effects always sound great, but definitely good. There isn't actually that much noise produced either. Aside from a very small, almost inaudible buzz, this pedal is silent. // 9

Reliability & Durability: Boss compact pedals are all made like tanks, but nonetheless, playing without a backup is stupid. This is a very sturdy pedal, and you would probably be okay without a backup, but common sense says bring one anyway. This pedal could definitely withstand being thrown openly offstage, and even the most vicious stomping. The only fear of mine would be it would die onstage, due to short battery life. I would advise using a certified power adapter with it. // 9

Impression: Lately, I have been playing alot of punk rock (Green Day, MxPx) and have found this pedal very suitable. This pedal is third in my chain, after my DigiTech RP70 and MXR Dyna Comp, but before my Boss ML-2. If this pedal was stolen, I don't think I would buy another. I would probably save for an Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer. Nonetheless, this is a very strong pedal, I only wish it dodn't sound so whiny with the tone knob. // 8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on january 05, 2009

Price paid: C$ 50.00

Purchased from: long and mcquades

Ease of Use: This is a a very easy pedal to use for beginners and experts alike. The instruction manual is not needed bu good to read for further info about the pedal and how it operates. No mods on mine. // 10

Sound: The setup I use this with is a Epiphone riviera or Fender telecaster into my ehx big muff to ehx worm to iibanez ts9 to DS-1 to Boss chorus to Hiwatt wah wha to Fender 4x10 hot rod deville. the pedal is only noisy with my tele becuase I don't have the noisless pickups. the sound of this pedal is pure crunch great for leads and when engaged with the ts9 you can get some great tones alla mike mcready or alone john frusciate. this is a great distortion pedal as I am a lover of all types of distortions they all float on and off my pedal board or all get used together and I don't see this one floating off too soon. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I'd put my life on it takes hits like ali. I would not use it alone at a gig my sound calls for more that just one fuzz box but if I had one fuzz box to take it would be this one // 10

Impression: As a player of mostly rock this pedal is great I've been playing for about ten years now and I wish I had this pedal to use in the studio when my band recorded. if it were lost or stolen I'd Pick uo a new one without question. I love how it provides you with endless options for distortion messing around with the knobs gives you a lot of range as far as ur crunch goes. I'm going out to buy another one soon to throw on the board so I can have 2 set up differently. // 10

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: heavyheavyheavy, on december 08, 2008

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: I bought this effect pedal as my first from a visit to guitar center. It is very easy to use and you get a range of sounds from as well. There is a tone, level, and distortion knob on it. It has a light indicator on the top. It takes a 9 volt bateery or ac adapter, which I like so you can use the cord if you out of batteries. The instruction manual tell you how to change the battery, and work it. // 9

Sound: I use this with my single coil and humbucking guitars, but I find that the tone is better with humbuckers. It does get a bit noisy with high distortion and high tone. The effects sound very good when it's turned up a little. If your trying to keep it quiet and at a practice level volume, the effect gets kind of quiet. You can get the sound of Grunge from nivana and bush, but then also get the heavy metal tone of sabbath, and you can get the crunch from Zeppelin. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I can depend on it just check it before you use it at a gig, but I wouldn't use it at a gig without the ac adapter cord, because the batteries might die. It has a very good and tough structrue, this thing is like a tank! It is senseitive enough that it will turn on with evey stomp but a light tap won't turn it on. // 9

Impression: I play a lot of metal, Grunge, classic rock, stuff like that. I have been playing for a year and a few months now, I own a Line 6 amp, and 2 Epiphone guitars. If it were stolen I would probably get the upgrade to the DS-2 Turbo Distortion just so I have new stuff to play with. I love the range of tones you can get but I hate the buzz it makes. My favorite setting is the level and distortion knob turned app all the way anf the tone knob at the middle. I wish it didn't buzz but otherwise it is a pretty good product. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on june 20, 2008

Price paid: $ 49.95

Purchased from: Easy Music

Ease of Use: This is a pretty straight-forward pedal that does what it does nicely. I have a TS9DX for Overdrive and needed a pedal that could do the heavy stuff. Finding the right tone took a bit of tweaking while listening in line with my amp speaker. It would be nicer to have a Mid tone control, as the Tone control tends to be high on treble. // 9

Sound: I play a PRS SE Singlecut through a Kustom Defender. I like the Distortion high, with the tone near 12 o'clock. It hits just about the sound I need. I've been experimenting with my amp clean, or a little saturated, and have to tweak my amp's EQ settings for either option. I like how heavy this pedal can get! Give it a Mid control! // 9

Reliability & Durability: I can always depend on Boss pedals. They build these things to last! I had a Metal Zone before, and got my money's worth with it. I can rely on this pedal, but can always use my Tube Screamer in it's place, even if it can't get as heavy as the DS-1. I will definitely use the DS-1 for gigging. // 10

Impression: I play a lot os classic rock, with a mix of Grunge and modern metal. I've been playing for 15 years and prefer this pedal over my last distortion pedal, the DigiTech Grunge. This pedal is a nice match with the TS9DX, giving me just the right amount of distortion I need. I like it. A Mid tone control would be a nice addition. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on june 14, 2008

Purchased from: tone music

Ease of Use: This is an awesome distortion pedal! It's really easy to find good sounds, whether you want clean, distortion, or even super distortion, it can be made with this pedal. It doesn't have any fuzz or unwanted sounds. It really extends your sound variations. My cheap amp doesn't have very good distortion, and this really helps. If you play metal, rock, alternative, whatever, this will really enhance the sound of your guitar. // 9

Sound: I use this with an Epoch (Gibson baldwin music education) les paul and a Peavey Backstage 11 amp. The amp has a little fuzz to it, it's not the pedals fault. the guitar still has the stock pickups, which are crap as far as distortion goes, so I'm going to Switch them, but the ds1 really enhances the overall sound, so I'm not too worried about it. I really like to play Scorpions, Deep Purple, Nirvana, etc. and sometimes it's hard to get just the right sound, but thanks to the Boss DS-1 Distortion, I can nail the tone I'm looking for! // 10

Reliability & Durability: This thing is unbelievely durable. You could probably drop it off of a ten story building and all you'd get is a chip, I mean this thing can stand up to just about anything (except water)! You can take this thing to any gig, indoors or out, and not worry about backup gear (unless you bring other pedals to mix with it). // 10

Impression: I play rock, metal, and alternative, and this gets them all! I haven't been playing very long, but I think I'm pretty good for my level. I own a DigiTech Turbo Flange, a Peavey Backstage two amp and an epoch les paul. I would buy this thing a million times if I had to, I just can't Live without this thing! I love everything about this equally and there's nothing I hate about it. If you're in the market for a distortion pedal, check this out. // 10

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: _Metal_Guitar_, on april 04, 2008

Ease of Use: Unless you do not know what a guitar is and have never heard of an effects pedal, you will find this pedal very easy to use, it just has selectors for distortion, tone and level, (and obviously the on/off pedal switch). The manual is helpful and gives some sample settings to get you started. // 9

Sound: I'm using the ds-1 with my crappy Yamaha erg 121 and Marshall MG10CD amp (also crap), so obviously it doesn't sound amazing. But for around £35 this pedal gives you a wide range of sounds from punk to a crunchy metal tone, and you can also get a damn good fuzz sound out of it. The only problem is that there's a lot of feedback when you turn up the distortion (but that's probably just down to my low quality pickups and amp). // 8

Reliability & Durability: I haven't had this pedal for long, but so far it hasn't failed me in any way, the battery lasts for ages. Also, my Boss DS-1 pedal has been bashed around quite a lot and is still working perfectly, so it's clearly a very tough and durable pedal. However, the battery that came with it when I bought was crap, so replace it with a good quality battery (9V I think) and it will last for ages. // 10

Impression: This is a good (not brilliant, but definitely good) distortion pedal, which gives a wide range of tones and is very reliable. It is suited for playing almost any style of music (from light rock to metal), I love this pedal and through a good setup the DS-1 should be great. // 8

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Aj1991, on march 12, 2007

Price paid: $ 128.44

Purchased from: Custom Music

Ease of Use: When I got this pedal I expected it to be good because Boss are a great brand but I didn't expect it to be this bloody good. It's a piece of piss to get a good sound out of it becuase it only has three clearly labelled knobs a red led and the footswitch itself. The three knobs on this pedal are distortion, tone and level. The distortion Switch alters the level of distortion, tone alters the pitch of the distortion and the level is the level of volume the pedal makes. The led indicates wether the pedal in distorting or not and this is controlled by the footswitch. The pedal is turned on when a cord is plugged into the input (also clearly marked). It runs on a nine v battery and says in the manual that it lasts up to ninety hours and I have not have to raplace it yet. The battery also came with it. // 10

Sound: I use a Maton MS503 Mastersound guitar with this pedal and a Fender rumble amp and it sounds great with both of them. This is a bloody noisy pedal and can create a variety of distortions with te twist of a nob. I can easily get great silverchair and Rage Agaisnt The Machine tones and they always sound great so I always have great tones. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I can always depend on this pedalbecause it is a Boss and that means it is built like a tank and have not encountered any problems what so everwith it so far and I have had it close to a year now. I would definetly go to a gig without backup with this bad boy. // 10

Impression: Because I play rock music this is a perfect match for the music I play. I also own a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver and a Boss CH-1 Chorus pedal and it sounds great with all my stuff. Except the shit faced didtech thing I bought, it totally wrecks the whole set up. If this mad ass pedal was stolen I would definetly buy another because it is great and there is nothing that comes to mind when said is there somthing I wish it had. I compared it to some DigiTech effects but I chose this because the distortion on the DigiTech was just a slur of crap. // 10

overall: 8

Reviewed by: guy_tebache, on july 12, 2008

Price paid: A$ 89

Ease of Use: Its damn easy. There are 3 knobs: Tone, Level, and Distortion. Tone is how it filters the guitar sound; all the way to the left is A basier smoother distortion, all the way to the right a crunchier more trebly sound. Level=volume and distortion, well you can probably figure that out. The manual is pretty comprehensive, it explains everything and has plenty of suggested settings for you to try. I only gave a 8 here because its, "How easy is it to get a good sound?" It works but I wouldn't use it to record for most kinds of music. There are much better distortion pedals out there. // 8

Sound: I use this second in my fx chain right after a homemade tubescreamer. I use it with an Epiphone Les paul and a Fender FM 212R at the moment (if you want to know the rest of my gear check my profile). I usually use this to thicken up my Overdrive channel with a little crunch cos I use my tubescreamer for smoother sounds. This pedal has quite a few sounds from a smooth base-y dist. to a crunchy trebly dist., but not all of them are good. IMO you'd be better of going for the DS-2 and a big muff. But then most of the Boss Distortions and overdrives sound a little tinny to me // 7

Reliability & Durability: It's a Boss. Batteries make it hard to gig without a backup, but I'm working on remedying the power situation. It wont let me complete the review without writing more here so I'll happily say that you could throw this at a concrete wall or drop it of the side of a small building and it would still work (believe me I know). // 9

Impression: Trying not to be stereo typical, but I'm a big RHCP fan (they werent popular where I came from) and this does not help me get a Froosh tone at all. But then the rest of my gear doesn't really work towards an RHCP sound either, so I'm sure it would work ok with a Strat and a Marshall Plexi Head. I've been playing for about 8 years and there is one thing I wish I had asked before buying this: "Can I see the DS-2?" If it were stolen or lost I wouldn't buy it again because you can get the same sounds except better and more out of a DS-2 and the price isnt that different. Anything I wish it had? A DS-2 screen print. // 8

overall: 5.3

Reviewed by: Zecromancer, on november 24, 2008

Price paid: $ 40

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: This pedal is very basic, and the controls are straightforward. There's a "Tone" knob (turn it left to make it sound worse than averagely muddy, turn it right to make it sound fizzy and tinny), a "Level" - basically a volume knob, and a "Dist" knob for controlling the amount of distorted fizzy-fuzziness. The manual that comes with it has a couple of preset settings; none of which sounded very good to me in my first few minutes of playing around with it. I later understood that it was the pedal's fault, not he presets'. All in all, this pedal is very easy to use, unless you're actually looking for a good sound. // 7

Sound: I used it with a Fender H-S-S Stratocaster which was connected to an amp which my friend (an owner of an aspiring amp company) made. It's an all-tube 160 watter, not a bad amp at all. I also played it though a Fender Frontman 10 watt (solid state) practice amp to see how it would sound through a "normal" (and bad) guitar amp. I'd like to point out that I originally used this pedal with the Frontman, as I didn't have the tuber when I first bought the pedal.

It sounded so fizzy and tinny that it was almost unbearable. The built-in gain on the Frontman actually sounded better (more depth, though still not much). I tried to make it less tinny by turning the "Tone" left. That made it slightly less tinny, and very muddy. Well, maybe not muddy. Picture some mud. Then picture somebody washing most of it away, but not all of it. That light brown residue is what the non-tinny settings sounded like. The best sound I ever got out of it was with the "Tone" at about 2 o'clock and the "Dist" at around 10 o'clock. Fizzy, but livable. Through the main amp, everything was better. Less fizziness on the right, less semi-muddiness on the left. It still sounded bad, but not to such a strong extent. It just had more life to it. That goes to prove that what amp you use can greatly shape the sound the pedal will make it have... If that makes sense.

Basically, through the main amp, the pedal sounded like a swarm of mutated bees. Through the Frontman, it sounded like a swarm of mosquitoes. I was seeking a very powerful metal distortion sound (think Children Of Bodom, Oomph, Rammstein, Amon Amarth, In Flames, etc.) and this pedal didn't do that at all. All it did was fuzz and make my amps sound like they were stuck inside a tin can. There are 2 practical uses for this pedal: As a "boost" to add more sustain to your notes (though there are better ways of doing that), and as a projectile. Well, maybe you could have some fun modding it as well. // 4

Reliability & Durability: Ok, first of all, it really annoys me how everyone, in this space, writes "This thing is built like a tank!". Dudes, face it, mostly ALL pedals are meant to be "built like a tank" these days, that has almost nothing to do with the quality! I bought this pedal about 6 months ago, and a few days ago it quit working. I did not drop it or anything, it just quit on me! Yes, the outside is built like a tank. The inside is not! As for gigging, well, first of all, I would not take such a bad-sounding pedal to a gig. It IS gig-worthy in construction, but not in sound. If you like the sound, then go ahead and gig with it, it should be safe. The main thing to watch out for is the fact that it'll probably randomly quit on you some day. // 5

Impression: I play a wide variety of styles, including rock n' roll, melodic Death Metal, punk, ska, funk and blues. I just play what I think sounds cool. This pedal isn't suited for what I think sounds cool. I'm not saying it's not good for those genres, I'm just saying that it doesn't sound good to me when it is. If it were stolen of lost, I wouldn't care. It's broken anyway. Come take it. I wish it had more of an EQ, not just a single tone knob. I was looking for more of a heavy metal pedal, and there are some out there. This is not one of them. A dude at Guitar Center was annoying me, so I hurriedly bought it and left without trying it. I wish I had tried it first, then I definitely would have bought something else. // 5

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: Pillsburry, on august 04, 2008

Purchased from: Musician's Freind

Ease of Use: This is an overall simple pedal from Boss. While I wouldn’t say it is their easiest pedal to use, it is without a doubt one of the most self explanatory pedals from the company. There are three knobs: gain, which adds the amount of distortion, tone, which is basically a treble knob, and a level knob that measures the volume of the effect. This is an easy pedal to use, recommended for beginners. Check out the instruction manual. It offers some amazing tips. // 10

Sound: While I have only tried this pedal through a solid state amp, I can still say that this isn’t a versatile pedal. It sticks to one distortion sound, and cannot be modified by any great means. There are basically three types of distortion with this pedal: quiet distortion, regular distortion, and noisy distortion. Yes, when turning up the gain knob a great deal, you get some noisiness, but that is expected since there is no built in EQ. Overall, this is pretty generic distortion, and I would have to say: if you are looking for a specific sound, then please, look further in the great amount of Boss pedals out there. // 7

Reliability & Durability: All Boss pedals are very easy to rely on. I have never had any breakdown problems with this pedal, or any Boss pedal for that matter. It is built like a tank. I could easily rely on this pedal without any backups for 30 straight years, gigging or not. You can step on a Boss, run over a Boss, heck, you could even throw one off your roof (I've tried). Boss pedals still sound as good as new, no matter what they go through. // 10

Impression: Overall, this is a pretty generic pedal. It does fall short price wise of the other Boss pedals, but you get what you pay for. I recommend using this pedal as an Overdrive boost for solos, because you won’t be getting much otherwise. This is also a good beginner pedal. I personally think that this pedal would be better if it had a built in EQ. While I can’t think of any particular music style this pedal would suit, I can say that the distortion sounds synthetic, rather than a natural Overdrive. So in other words: this pedal would most likely suit the heavier rock guitar player. However, if you DO play metal, I recommend getting the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone instead. // 8

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: Mr Deftino, on july 26, 2008

Price paid: £ 15

Purchased from: Friends Dad

Ease of Use: I did not get this brand new. The condition is as good as new but I did not get the box or manual so I can't comment on how good the packaging or manual is. It is incredibly easy to get a range of sounds out of this thing. 3 simple knobs that all mix in with each other to create a perfect distorted mix. // 8

Sound: I use a very simple setting. I have the Tone jus below half and the distortion and volume just above half. With this effect you get a fuzzy, crunchy tone with it so you can blast through those low, warm metal riffs. Great for playing in drop D. I play through a Marshall MG30DFX with a Vintage V100 guitar. The feedback is quite bad, but it's not the worst I've heard. When the volume is full I have to click it off if there is a gap in a song because the feedback is too noisy. The effects always sound great whatever you want. Blast the Distortion up to full for a great blues tone. Take the Tone up for a high treble crunch tone. Or back everything off for a simple clean boost. Whatever your fancy, this will have it somewhere. I always strive towards the tones of Matt Bellamy, Billie Joe Armstrong, Slash and Noel Gallagher. Every single of them artists are met with this pedal if you fiddle around with it a bit. If I play with volume and distortion just over half with the tone just below half I can get the Matt Bellamy fuzz type sound, with distortion. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This is solid. And I mean solid. You could stamp on it for a year and it wouldn't even scratch. Just be careful of the knobs when turning it on and off because they are turned very easily. I would definately play with this thing without a backup. Even though I don't play shows. If I were to though, I would use this effects pedal. // 10

Impression: I play mostly Muse and Green Day songs. This matches it perfectly. I have been playing about 3 years and I own a Marshall MG30 DFX and Vintage V100. If this was stolen or lost I'd probably buy it back, after I'd got other pedals such as a Boss FZ-5. I love the fact that it is easy to use and there is a range of sounds, however I hate having to take out all of the leads when I finish playing, but that happens with all effects pedals. If you need a cheap £30/$60 distortion pedal. This is the one to get. It's solid, it's cheap and the sounds produced are brilliant! // 7

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: ~Shred Hero~, on april 03, 2008

Purchased from: Robert M. Sides

Ease of Use: I found this pedal very easy to understand. The pedal comes with a manual giving detail on what all three knobs do and various sample settings like British punk, fusion, fuzz, and more. There are three knobs: tone, level, and distortion; making this pedal very easy to operate unlike a more sophisticated pedal with numerous knobs and switches. // 10

Sound: I use this pedal with my Squier Stratocaster (modded - new pickups and pickguard to give a better sound) and my amp is a Vox AD30VT 30 Watt Stereo 10 Inch Combo Guitar Amplifier. The pedal isn't really to noisy. You may get a lot of buzzing/crackling if you turn both the Tone and Dist. knobs up all the way but my amp can control this therefore it is not a problem for me (if you have a crappy amp it might be). The effects sound awesome. It ranges from a warm, slightly distorted clean sound to a hardcore rock sound. You can play Metallica, greenday, some Rob Zombie, all of that with this pedal. // 9

Reliability & Durability: Durable! I'll tell you that much. I can throw this thing at a wall and not worry too much about it being broken. It's made out of a durable metal with very little, possibly no fragile parts. I used this at a few "gigs" lets call them, without a backup, and perfect. The battery life is around 90 hours (depending on the battery) or you can use an AC adapter or both. // 10

Impression: I play mostly: rock, hardcore, and some metal. I've been playing guitar for about 1 1/2 years now. I own no other guitar, I own a 10W Fender Sidekick for practice, and various effect pedals. I do not wish I'd have asked anything before I bought this. If this pedal was stolen or broken I probably wouldn't buy it again. I mean I love it and all, but I would prob. Switch to a Boss Mega Distortion (to suit my hardcore needs). I love the range this pedal can reach and hate really nothing. My favorite feature is cranking the Tone and Distortion knobs to get a hardcore thrash sound! If anything, a gain knob might be nice, but the level knob can pretty much handle itself! // 9

overall: 9

Reviewed by: mustangrobert13, on february 05, 2007

Purchased from: sweetwater.com

Ease of Use: This pedal is so easy to use. I mean, it's a pedal! How hard is itr supposed to be? It has a Gain, Level, and Tone knobs. The manual shows you how to get good sounds like metal or british rock. Plus it's only 30 bucks! With a twist of a knob, you can go from an extremely clean sound to that great sidtorted sound of Back in Black. // 10

Sound: I use a Charvel and a B.C. Rich with it. I have a Hughes And Kettner 60R. It sounds great with them. It only hums when I use it at full distortion. The effects always sound awesome, even when the battery is low. I can get the sound of almost anybody, like Angus Young, Neal Schon, Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde, etc. The only effect it has is distortion, but it's a distortion pedal, not Overdriove or Chorus. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I can almost always depend on it. The only thing is, the battery life drains so fast. I've had it about 3 months and I have to replace it about every week. Yes, I would use it in a gig, but I would use AC adapter instead of the battery. I have dropped it multiple times, it still works great. // 7

Impression: I play rock and heavy metal mostly. It matches it great, because you can get that great distortion sound everyone wants. I've been playing about 2 years, this is the only pedal I own, but I'm getting a Dunlop Crybaby Wah. I am perfectly satisified with it. If it were stolen, I would definately buy it again. I love the great distortion sound, but I hate the battery life. My favorite feature is the distortion. That's the only feature. I do wish it had a better battery life, but it may be just the batteries I use, not the pedal. It's a great value for thrity dollars. // 10

overall: 8.3

Reviewed by: dcoyle4040, on march 17, 2006

Purchased from: K&S Music

Ease of Use: This pedal Is the standard in my opinion when it comes to distortion. Very easy to use, good clean sound and if you want to sound like one of the pros you can bet they are probably using this same pedal. I'm running it through a Fender M-80 head and Fender 4x12 cab, with a Gibson Les Paul Studio. Not that there arent some very cool distortions made by other folks. // 9

Sound: It's pretty clean all the way up. I did get some fuzz with the tone cranked but it could be due to the cheap cables I'm using. I think the Fender distortion on my amp is better(of course) but this pedal does a nice job as an Overdrive. // 8

Reliability & Durability: Very reliable shell (metel). As for the knobs I did break one of these I'd like to see a steel screw used to fasten the knob to the box. When mine broke I noticed they used some sort of light alloy almost like plastic. None the less just drilled it out and screwed in a different knob. I later discovered that they do sell replacement knobs for these pedals so I probably could have just found a way to unscrew the remaining screw and put a new one in but it ads character. // 7

Impression: I Like the pedal as I do most Boss products. If I lost it or it got sotlen I would have to get another one. If there is one pedal you have to have this one. // 9

overall: 10

Reviewed by: goukaookami, on march 17, 2006

Price paid: $ 61.62

Purchased from: Steve's Music

Ease of Use: This is an excellent pedal for a beginner to a on stage performer. There are endless possiblities of distortion and sounds as well as a clean tone. It's a great "plug-and-play" kind of pedal and is very easy to use. // 10

Sound: I use this with my Peavy rage and I can get some wikid distortion. I've never had it make static sounds or really any feedback unless I was right by an amp (even on really loud settings when other pedals did give me feedback). I usually play Metallica or Lamb Of God and I got really, really close sounding distortion. A lot of the time none of my friend could tell the differance between the sound. Chords and lead are very good. However 6-string chords with heavy distortion is obviously going to give you a bad sound. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I would alway use this in gigs. I have never needed a backup pedal (just a backup 9V battery). This pedal is solid metal and has never broken in the time I've had it (I have a tendancy of slamming on my pedals but this one has held up). I've had it over 2 years and I don't think Ill ever have to replace it from beeing broken. It even looks industructable! // 10

Impression: I usually play metal or hard rock music, and its a great match. If I'm in the mood for something with a softer sound (i.e. Hotel Clifornia by The Eagles) I can turn some knobs and get that sound in a couple seconds. I've been playing for almost 5 years and I got this pedal 2 years ago as my first pedal. I've gotin other effects pedals and such, but I've always gone back to my Boss D-1 for the best sound for distortion. I've never lost this but if I have id buy it again, its my favourite pedal. Anybody starting out and needs a distortion pedal should deffinatly invest in this pedal, and anybody who plays rock should also. This pedal is great all around is the best pedal I've seen in awhile. // 10

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: JMan2423, on march 27, 2006

Price paid: $ 50

Purchased from: World Music

Ease of Use: This the simplest pedal, that I own, and with 3 knobs with would it be. The second I got it, I opened the box, plugged in, and I was blown away. The manual in the box was very readable. It gave several settings to use to get certain sounds, my favorite was the mild and warm setting. If you don't want to read the manual, just adjust the knobs till you get your sound that you want. // 10

Sound: I use this pedal with other pedals that I own and it causes no problems whatsoever. It gives a great boost to your signal when you have it on. It does tend to have a problem with feedback when you use it with higher gain settings on the pedal, but that could be because my guitars are all single coils. I can get any sound I want from this pedal, with great sustain. I can go from Cobain to Morrello to Hammett to Clapton with a few simple adjustments. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This has never failed me. Even though I use it with batteries, it has never failed during a gig. I have jumped on this thing several times, and it has held my full weight of 200 pounds everytime. // 10

Impression: I play anything from RATM to Zeppelin to Metallica to Pearl Jam to Hendrix and others, and this pedal can do it all. I have been playing for almost a year, and this thing works great with my guitars, amp, and my delay and wah pedals. If I lost this thing, I don't know what I would do. Actually, I go get another one, but there'd be that 10 minute phase, where I just couldn't move on. // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: screamsoftly, on march 08, 2007

Price paid: $ 39.99

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: This pedal is exceptionally easy to use. It's the first pedal I've ever owned, but I have experimented with other friends pedals, and I would say it is the easiest to use. Now, it is a bit simplistic but that isnt necessarily a bad thing. There really is no need for a manual, but it is useful in giving you a few suggestions for setting the knobs. And also gives you a step by step about, you know, setting up the pedal, what plug goes where etc. // 10

Sound: I use this pedal with a Fender Mustang and play it through a Marshall MG. This setup has a little noise and some hum already, but I notice no added hum, until you start to turn up the tone knob and get a more trebly sound. The higher you push the tone, the higher the buzz gets, which is understandable. You're usually safe just turning up the treble on your amp to get the desired affect, which avoids all the nasty noise. This is a very simple pedal, but there are a few different tones and it is easy to find something you can match to whatever you're trying to play. I've so far found a great Lamb of God tone, a nice Muse tone, and a Yeah Yeah Yeahs tone, which all sounds great. My only complaint would be that I can't get a much heavier sound that just what I would normally get from my amp, however there are many tones to choose from. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I just recently got this. But from what I understand, this pedal is built like a rock and can withstand plenty of stomping and transport. I would use it during a gig without a worry at all, because it is a great pedal. Although I don't have a lot of experience with pedals, I would say that compared to everything else I tried, this pedal also seems to be really responsive and doesnt't require a great amount of force to Switch on and off, which will definitely improve it's lifespan. // 10

Impression: I play several styles of music and this pedal is useful for all of them. Whether it's a metal tone, or a softer distortion for an Indie rock song. It gets a really great low-end tone that just plain sounds cool, and I'm very happy with my purchase. Although, I was a little underwhelmed at first, I've come to like it. If it were stolen, I don't think I would buy it again, but that has nothing to do with the quality of the pedal, it's just I would use that opportunity to try something new. I was also thinking of getting a DigiTech Grunge pedal, but decided to go with the Boss and I am happy I made that choice. // 9

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: Stevie B, on april 22, 2006

Price paid: $ 64.05

Purchased from: Allegro Music

Ease of Use: This is the easiest pedal in the world to use it has 3 knobs, volume, distortion and tone so anyone can get a good sound out of it. The manual has some presets in and I use a lot of them because they sound good. Took me about 30 seconds to get the sound I wanted from it. // 10

Sound: I bought this pedal to give me a light distortion for use with my Vintage VS6 and Boss MT-2 Metal Zone. This pedal creates no unwanted sound, even when I have the MT-2 and this on at the same time the unwanted noise is barely noticeable. It is not as crunchy or as powerful as the MT-2 but thats why I bought this. I can get a very good Blink 182 sound from this which was odd because thats not what I inteded it for. The distortion is quite nice sounding and it gives a nice fuzz effect. // 9

Reliability & Durability: Being a Boss it won't break. Ever. Unless you hit it with your guitar repeatedly at the end of a gig. Actually even then it would break, its built like a rock. Your guitar will break before this. You would definately not need a backup just extra batteries in case they run out. // 10

Impression: I play Blink 182 which this pedal is perfect for but I also play other music all the way up to death metal. This isn't good for death metal but I really bought it to give me light distortion which it does brilliantly. Good for getting Blink 182, Green Day, Deftones, Story Of The Year, System Of A Down etc. Good for most rock/metal especially when teamed with the MT-2. I tried this and the Boss OD-3 OverDrive and this was perfect although there was not that much difference. Just the extra £20 for the overdrive. If it was stolen I would definately get it again. It could only be improved by a wider EQ range although that would make it slightly harder to use. // 10

overall: 9.8

Reviewed by: hat_man_cobian, on april 17, 2006

Price paid: $ 64.05

Purchased from: merchant city music

Ease of Use: the pedal isso easy to use it only has 3 controls tone, level and gain. I play a lot of Grunge so I turn the gain to about half and the tone to about 3/4 this gives me a sound very like Kurt Cobain's but when it comes to solo's id recomend having a second pedal to boost the distortion level. The manual isn't realy necessary because the pedal is so simple, it's basicly a plug in and play unit. // 9

Sound: I play an Ibanez GR model and a Squier Tele into a Orange 30 wat amp. This pedal causes very little unwanted noise, it does creat a bit of buzz but thats to be expected from any pedal. I've nearly completely got kurt cobains sound from this pedal it also does a very nice John Fruciante for all you Red Hot Chili Peppers fans. The distortion gets weaker as the battery drains but it dosnt suk the batterys quickly wich is good. // 10

Reliability & Durability: It's a Boss so it's built like brick shit house it can take myt entire weight and withsstand me realy kicking at it in rehersals. I'd play a gig with this pedal without a backup tho I would replace the batery before a gig just incase. // 10

Impression: I play rock and Grunge and it suits my style perfectly. I've been playing for a year and own a DigiTech RP80 witch a use for solos ect but the to pedals work together no probs. If it were stolen it probably try another pedal just out of interest I'd probably buy a DigiTech Bad Monkey or something similar. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: nirvana_fan1361, on march 16, 2006

Purchased from: Arbutus Music

Ease of Use: This is a really basic design that gives good sound and pretty high quality distortion. The manual doesn't really have much for settings but your trying to get certain sounds for yourself so the manual doesn't really help but w/e. It's a cheap but effective distortion pedal thats really easy to use. // 10

Sound: I'm using a 1994 Fender Squier with a Squier amp and just some cheap cords. You can really get the sound loud and if you need to you can make it pretty quiet. The effects really work because its not only distortion, you can also give your guitar a lot of tone which is helpful for certain songs. Since Kurt Cobain used this pedal you can get good nirvana sound out of it and you can make those certain songs sound right. Overall the sound is great. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I don't worry about breaking the pedal because its metal and if you drop it, it's got a strong casing. I don't need to worry about it at all and it's quite strong. I would use it anywhere because its a good sounding pedal that won't break on you. // 10

Impression: Overall it's a pretty good distortion pedal. // 10

overall: 7.5

Reviewed by: Ace_Frehley, on january 18, 2006

Purchased from: tom lee music

Ease of Use: The Boss Dw-1 distortion pedal is great for creating sounds you couldn't with stompbox or a Metal Zone pedal. You can mold it into whatever you want. It comes with a handy manual that tells you some basic settings for all genres of rock. // 9

Sound: I have an Epiphone Les Paul and an Epiphone mini amp and it's easy to get a good sound them with just the amp but it got pretty boring to just have the same sound for each song. It was also annoying to walk to my amp for songs like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" which you need to quickly switch from clean to distortion so I figured I needed a good pedal. I just got the pedal for christmas and I can sound exactly like Led Zep, ZZtop and Kiss. If you get it, take some time to look for the right sound for you. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I haven't had it long enough to know whether it's reliable or not but if it's made by Boss it should be good. // 5

Impression: // 6

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: JS Donnie F., on october 17, 2005

Ease of Use: Very simple pedal. The manual is very easy and has about 8 setting samples. Ther are 3 knobs - distortion, tone and level. Installing a new battery is also very easy. // 10

Sound: I am using this pedal with my Ibanez RG1570 and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I bought this pedal because the distortion on my amp is not good. It doesn't get noisy, but it ocasionaly catches radio signal. I can get a very good Satriani or Vai tone, because they use the same pedal. I usualy put the Gain on max and tone on 2 o'clock. But if I do any Slash's leads, I put the Tone to 9 o'clock. The pedal sounds really nice, very good for rhythm and hi-medi gain stuff, but not that good for those warm lead tones. // 9

Reliability & Durability: The pedal is very reliable. The battery goes out quite quick, so I use it with the AC adaptor. I would gig with it without a backup any time. // 10

Impression: I have been playing electric guitar for 2 years and It suits my styles quite well. I palay mostly hard rock, classic rock and some virtuoso stuff (Vai, Satch). I would probably buy it again if I would loose it. This pedal is such a classic and it sounds very good too. // 9

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: Jeffthecedar, on september 25, 2005

Price paid: $ 40

Purchased from: Music 6000

Ease of Use: This little pedal is just about as simple as it gets. Three knobs: tone, dist., and volume. Within about 5 seconds of turning it on, you can be playing anything from soft blues to screaming metal. Very easy. The manual didn't have much to explain what with it being so easy to use, but it did have a few sample settings, which I liked alot. // 10

Sound: I run my Les Paul Special through it into a Peavy Transtube 212 amp. If you turn up the dist., it gets pretty noisey, but not too bad. The distorting is kind of thin, and you don't have much control over the EQ with only one knob. However, for a $40 pedal, it sounds great. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I've been using it for over a year, and havn't any problems. I would gig with it without hesitation. // 10

Impression: I play blues, classic rock, hard rock, and metal. It fits all these styles, although for all of them, the sound is just alright. I've been playing for about a year and 3/4, and I've got a LP Special, Peavy Transtube 212, DigiTech RP80, 15 watt Beringer V-Tone, and a Squier Strat. If it were stolen, I'd find the one who did it, blackmail them, and use the ass to get a Boss OS-2. However, for such a cheap pedal, I doubt you could find one of higher quality. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on october 28, 2005

Price paid: $ 26

Purchased from: ebay

Ease of Use: One of the easiest pedals to use. 3 simple knobs. Set and play. Can't be any more simpler than that. // 10

Sound: I use it in the following order. Fender Princeton Chorus->DS-1->DD-6->Dunlop Crybaby->Ibanez S470, Peavey Wolfgang. I think the noise level is really based on what kind of pickups you use, and the way they were wired. I get a fairly warm sound with an edge. Not really a tube sound, but warm enough to get good sustain. I was using a DigiTech RP-7 for a while but it sounds too "processed" and synthetic. // 9

Reliability & Durability: No problems yet. Just make sure you have a backup 9v. A given on any kind of stomp boxes like this. The thing is build like a tank. // 10

Impression: I play in a worship band, and I am one of the loudest (energy) players of the guitar players. My style is Joe Satriani-ish with a bit of Santana added to it. It works very well for me. I am also a studio musician, so accuracy in the tone I get is critical. // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: boredretard, on december 22, 2005

Price paid: $ 75.6

Purchased from: n/a

Ease of Use: This pedal is one of the easiest pedals and the best to use and it has an awsome sound. The manual is preety short and dumb cause it only tell you what the hazards are. // 10

Sound: I use this pedal with an Roland Cube 15 and Squier Strat but I am saving to buy a better amp and guitar. I don't know what amp I'm gonna buy but I'm saving up for a Fender Standard HSS. The DS-1 has 3 settings: distorsion, tone and level. I can get my sound almost identical like Kurt Cobains if I put the tone on 11 o'clock, distorsion and level on full. If you get the tone on low and distorsion on high you get loads of fuzz. I love the sounds the DS-1 can make. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I think but I'm not sure that I can depend on it because I don't have the adaptor and I use it with batteries. Because I got it around 1 week ago I don't know how long the actual battery life is. I would definetly use it for a gig (if I had a band). // 8

Impression: I play mostly Grunge and I've been playing for a year. The other thing I own is a Korg AX10G multy effects procesor. If I turn on bank 61 which is recto sound and plug the DS-1 in I get so much feedback and its so cool. If it were stolen or lost I would be so angry because I don't have money to buy it again. The only thing I hate about the DS-1 is that I have to use it on battery. I was thinkin about getting a DigiTech Grunge pedal or a Boss DS-2 but this was the cheapest one so I took it. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on january 11, 2006

Purchased from: Caldwell's Music

Ease of Use: This pedal has three basic knobs, as any other distortion pedal, for distortion, level, and tone. It was very simple to use, especially if playing in a punk/grunge fashion (in other words, set the Tone to 11 o'clock then put the level and distortion all the way up). The manual is very helpful for those who don't know how to operate a pedal giving you about 5-6 tones that are very basic. A very simple device. // 9

Sound: Putting this between my Squier SE-100 (a crap guitar, yes, I know) and my Roland Cube 30, I was very pleased with it. It gave me a nice crunch on the clean channel, and when set just right on a dirty lead setting, you could really hear some shred/metal tones. There is some feedback from the amp if the pedal is turned up very high and it's about 4 feet away from the amp, but I've been able to put the level at a nice 5 or 7 and get a fairly noiseless sound. Just remember to step on it again to turn it off if you're not going to be using it, because the feedback it produces can kill. The distortion is very rough if you set it at a near full level, but you can get sort of a buttery Overdrive for less distortion and more tone. I was able to get some old punk and Grunge sounds from it, like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and the Sex Pistols, but when I got to tweaking it more, I could get an old classic rock sound, like Zeppelin, and a nice chunky metal sound a'la Metallica (riff-wise, that is). // 10

Reliability & Durability: First and foremost, I have to say it: It's a Boss. Of course it's reliable and durable. It's been dropped twice by my friends when I let them borrow it, I've probably stomped on it harder than I should many a time, but it still plays like the day I got it. // 10

Impression: Overall, this pedal has been a mainstay for my effects. It was the first pedal I bought when I started playing electric guitar, and it will always be a major part of my sound. For over a year now, I've been able to find new tones that I use to capture the tone of many a heavy metal and shred guitarist without feeling the need to get rid of it totally. I think this is probably the best distortion pedal I've used, compared to the results I've gotten from DigiTech and other pedals I've tried out. I couldn't live if this little guy was stolen from me. So, this definitely gets the best rating I can give to it. // 10

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: reb_49, on december 22, 2005

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: This pedal is the easiest pedal to use and the best I had. This pedal has 3 knobs tone, level, and distortion so it's obviously simple. I got it as a good deal because the store had a grand opening or something like that. It came with a manual that had settings but believe me it's not that hard to operate. // 10

Sound: Right now I have a homemade Strat-style guitar that sucks so badly and a crappy 40W Peavey amp but the pedal gave me distortion that I found pretty good for me as a beginner. The only problem is that every time when I plug it into a guitar cable it always turns on automatically. // 8

Reliability & Durability: It's a tough ass pedal because I accidentally dropped it when I was going dow into my basement and it stilled worked. The pedla is like a tank, built to last until someone runs it over with a semi. // 10

Impression: Right now it's the only thing that gives my pedal distortion so it suits my needs for that Grunge type sounds I play. I have this pedal with a Dunlop Crybaby so it's all good. If it were stolen or lost I would not buy another one because I'll probably get the Boss Overdrive pedal. // 9

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: yourdyingdesir3, on june 06, 2006

Ease of Use: This is a very simple rock distortion. It gives a good metal/rock tone. It is very easy to operate with the tone, distortion, and level knobs. The tone makes the guitar song more clearer and more of the distortion sound. The distortion basically does what it says. This particular distortion doesn't have a manual but it is very easy to understand. You can make all different tones from blues to metal with this pedal. // 8

Sound: My setup is a Standard Fender Stratocaster with a 100 watt Marshall Amp. My backup guitar is a B.C. Rich Bronze series. This pedal isn't noisy at all, there is no feedback unless you put on your amp distortion with them both all the way up with distortion. They effects are in the middle, some days it sounds good, others it could be better. I can get a sound out of my favorite artist using these. The Boss DS-1 was my first distortion ever. I use it for many songs varied from Black Sabbath to Metallica to Avenged Sevenfold to Lamb Of God. The Tone is a good setting to place with this distortion. // 9

Reliability & Durability: You can usually depend on it. I would use it at a gig without a backup, but if I find a more heavier distortion I will also bring that along too. // 8

Impression: My music that I play is basically metal. It is a good match with the Boss DS-1. I've been playing for about 2 years, and own a Fender Strat, Marshall amp, Boss DS-1 Distortion, B.C. Rich Bronze series, First Act, and a simple acoustic. There is nothing I would wish for before getting this product, it's a good beginning distortion and also fits anything else you desire. If it was stolen I would buy a new one. The only thing I wish it had was delay. So I don't need my amp distortion. // 9

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: kcfshorty, on april 05, 2006

Price paid: $ 49.99

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: Ok, well, I bought this pedal about a week ago just cause I was looking for a way to add a little something to the distortion my amp already put out, and I have to say I wasn't dissapointed. I hooked it up and started playing and I was pretty pleased. It's easy to use, as it only has three knobs (tone, distortion, and level), and the manual that came with it has some sample settings for you to use which sound good. // 10

Sound: I'm using the pedal with my Standard Stratocaster, Vox AD50VT amp, and a Dunlop wah, the pedal sounds ok. The first time I hit it I was pretty surprised at how heavy the distortion was, but at the same time I was also surprised at the incredible amount of feedback and fuzz you get while playing. If you keep the volume down, and the distortion on your amp off, you shouldnt have too much of a problem with the noise. The pedal puts out a good variety of noise, and with enough tampering you can get soft warm tones, to sharp crunches, it sounds ok really, not great, but it's good. // 7

Reliability & Durability: Oh yeah, I've only had it for a week, but I've beat the crap out of it. I've dropped it a couple of times, dropped stuff on top of it, kicked it, the works, and it still works like it did the day I bought it. I don't play gigs, but if I did, I wouldn't hesitate to use it, it's a solid pedal. // 10

Impression: I play a variety of music, and therefore I want to be able to produce a variety of sounds, and this pedal is incredibly versatile. With a few turns of the knobs you can totally manipulate the sound to your liking. This is my first distortion pedal, and I'm fairly pleased with it. It's a great buy, cheap as dirt, its solid and it does its job. If your looking for a solid distortion pedal thats cheap, grab this one. But let me warn you, the sound quality isn't grade "A" so if you want something thats really going to put out high quality distortion, this may not be the best pedal for you. // 8

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: rockon1824, on june 08, 2006

Purchased from: Marathon Music

Ease of Use: Not only can you get a good sound of it, you can get a million different kinds of good sounds out of it. The manual is really unnescessary because it's really easy to use, with only three dials to change. // 10

Sound: I run this through a Peavey Rage 158 amp with a Fender Fat Strat. It can be noisy if you want it to, or quiet if your playing it late at night. It's really versatile. You can get a great range of distortion out of it. I play a lot of grunge, metal, and alternative and it really works nice. Even when I want to play music like RHCP where there isn't as much distortion but it still has an edge to it, I can get that by just turn the distortion down and the tone up. Only complaint is when you run it through the adapter it may make a little static, but thats easily fixed. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This thing is built like a tank. You could drop an elephant on it and not worry about it breaking. I use this at a gig without any worries, and I tend to play pretty wild too. // 10

Impression: All in all, this matches perfectly not only for the music I play, but any music at all. I've been playing for almost 4 years and I haven't even thought about trying out another distortion pedal. I would definitely get this pedal again if I lost it. I love it's versitility. Again, the only complaint I have is about the adapter. I wish they would have included one first of all, and it sometimes can make some static when played with the effect off, but a noise filter fixes it. I compared this to multi-effects pedals and other distortion pedals on the market and nothing even comes close. // 9

overall: 10

Reviewed by: AdamDK, on january 29, 2007

Price paid: $ 64.0317

Purchased from: Guitar Guitar

Ease of Use: The DS-1 is such an easy pedal to use. It has three knobs, "tone", "level" and "dist". The knobs are easy to turn, and aren't stiff or anything. The DS-1 also has two 1/4 jacks, input and output, and a slot for a 9V adapter. The pedal comes with a manual which you don't really need to figure out how to use the pedal. The manual does have some helpful stuff in it though, like some settings you can use for different styles. // 10

Sound: The DS-1 has great sound. I'm using a Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus-Top, and it goes to a Marshall MG30DFX, and the sound is great. My amp doesn't have the best distortion around, so I knew I needed a pedal. I tried this out at the store, and it blown me away. It works for most styles. It has a nice range of distortion from bluesy distortion into some heavy distortion. The pedal isn't really the best about for metal, but it does the job. The pedal can be a bit noisy when you have the level crancked up. I often use the pedal as a boost, and when I'm not playing, I get a loud buzz and a little feedback. But that's not a big issue for me, I just keep turning it on/off when I need to. // 10

Reliability & Durability: The pedal is great. I'd definately use it at a gig without a backup, because it is so durable and reliable. However, using batteries, it can drain them pretty fast if you use it a lot. So if you play a gig Live, and use batteries, always bring a spare one. The pedal is best used with a 9V Adapter, then you don't need to worry about it. // 10

Impression: My overall impression of this pedal is that it is amazing, hence why I bought it. I play a range of music from Hendrix blues sort of stuff to hard rock like Guns N' Roses to some metal like Metallica, and it is great for these. I love the range of distortion you get from the pedal, and I like how you can easily turn it on by stamping on the large black square which has "Boss" on it. If it were lost or stolen, I'd definately buy a new on again, I love it. If you're looking for kickass distortion, here it is. And for £34.99 it is an amazing deal. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Y.RiseAgainst.Y, on february 05, 2007

Price paid: $ 39.99

Purchased from: Guitar Works

Ease of Use: This pedal could be the one of the best pedals, and easiest to use. There are three knobs on it, and you can make you guitar have the best distortion, and all you need to set this pedal up is, 2 chords (one for the guitar to the pedal, and the other for the amp to the pedal) a guitar and a amp, and ur set to go. This pedal is one of the most easiest to use, and can give you very good sound. // 10

Sound: The Boss DS-1 has 3 knob settings and they are: Tone, Level, and Distortion. I use a Gibson Sg, and a amp I got that's 10 watts that I got along time ago, and with the pedal I can play various types of music, from rock, punk, to hardcore, and metal. it's doesnt't matter what kind of setting you put on this guitar, it will alaways sound good, the best part of this pedal though, is the distortion. It's what it's made for and this pedal is worth every cent. // 10

Reliability & Durability: You can alaways depend on this pedal, because it's just so easy to use, and it gives you great sound. At a gig I brought my pedal but it sounded horrible on the amp I was using, But after I tried the DS-1 and it gave me the best distortion I could of hoped for. I would deffinetly use this at a gig. Very dependable. // 10

Impression: I play music from punk, to hardcore, and this pedal is just a perfect match because of the distortion it gives off. I've only been playing for a year and month, but I've worked hard to get much better, and I have a lot, My friends told me that this pedal would be perfect for me because of how it sounds and they were right, amazing! If someone stole this I'd deffinetly buy another one, this pedal is one of the best ever Distortion pedals I've ever had, and it's very cheap as well! // 10

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: jay bird!!!, on february 12, 2007

Purchased from: B's Music Shop

Ease of Use: It's a Boss stompbox so it's obviously really really simple. Even the most idiotic player could learn how to use this. The manual is really not needed at all for this product. Though there are people that could mod this product to give it different qualities which could be difficult for a lot of players who aren't geniuses. But overall it is just tone, level, and distortion. Plain and simple folks. // 10

Sound: Alright I use a Michael Kelly Patriot Q and a B-52 Head through Peavey speakers. You can get a punk rock sound out of this but I find it is better for songs with more of a blues\'60s influence. There is no real punch just old fashioned light distortion. Honestly, I have no idea how Kurt Cobain got the sounds he did with this pedal. The pedal will not garner a lot of feedback as long as you don't place it super close to your amp. // 7

Reliability & Durability: If the pedal suits your style then you will definately not need a back up. This thing will get the job done, just be sure to carry with you 9 volts or a have a power adaptor at hand. And don't worry about it breaking because it is built like a 50 year old german lady. But for the most part as long as you aren't punk rock in a small crowded club with rowdy drunken dwarfs it shouldn't even garner a scratch. // 10

Impression: I play a wide variety of things so for the lighter bluesier stuff it gets a good sound. It is a good solo pedal though. As demonstrated by John Frusciante. I've been playing for a year and I would really rather use an Overdrive pedal because I like a warmer heavier sound. I don't love it, don't hate it, I just use it occasionally, I really wish it could get a warmer sound though. Advice would be, play blues/RHCP and use it for solos. Couple it with a wah pedal and you will have one sexy solo Machine. If it were stolen I guess I would do some bodily harm for it, but that's just because I don't like people stealing my things. // 7

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: metrobunny08, on march 05, 2007

Price paid: $ 40

Purchased from: guitar center

Ease of Use: With only two knobs to control the tone, I wasn't very sure of how versatile this thing would be. But I definatly underestimated these two plastic knobs! Very easy to access any kind of distortion you might be looking for. The manual didn't leave me wondering about any aspect of this pedal. The suggested settings section of the manual also let me get great sounds from the get-go. // 9

Sound: I receive no feedback, unlike my amp's distortion. Recreates a great punk sound, and then with a tweak of the tone knob you are in classic rock heaven! More of a basic distortion though, it won't completely satisfy the metalheads out there. I would still recomend getting it, because for only $40 you should have enough money left over to go out and buy a second pedal that can supply whatever else it is you are looking for. Between it and my Marshall distortion pedal, I have access to any tone known to man. The most flexible pedal I have used by far! // 9

Reliability & Durability: The battery life on this thing is less than impressive. I will most likely be purchasing an adaptor before I use it for a gig. However, I don't see this thing breaking any time soon. Like most Boss pedals, it is built fairly tough. I will always have my Marshall guv'nor 2 on stage with me so I don't have to worry much about a backup. Even without the other pedal, I would trust this thing once I invest in an adaptor. // 7

Impression: Is a great companion to my Marshall pedal. I won't be looking for anything more as long as these continue to deliver. Great for all but the heaviest types of rock. No regrets, and even if you are displeased, you only made a $40 mistake. If it were lost or stolen, I would only have to mow a few lawns to have the money to replace it. I have been serious about guitar for only one year, but I regularly play gigs and know quality when I see it. Or in this case hear it. Overall a great investment. // 9

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: lazrpo1nt3r, on december 26, 2006

Price paid: $ 40

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: This is officially the easiest pedal I've ever used. Getting the perfect sound was a snap using the tone controls. As opposed to some other distortion pedals, the DS1 actually has the exact volume of the guitar when it's turned all the way up, instead of blowing your amp as a result of volume change. // 10

Sound: Using a crappy GAX Ibanez Gio and an even crappier 10 watt Marshall Amp, this pedal makes both of the crap jobs sound extravagent. It has a great seperation between strums no matter if you're playing power or proper chords, but when the tone is at it's highest, it sounds very sludgy. Other than this setting, it's got an incredible sound to emulate Green Day, Foo Fighters, Operation Ivy, Nirvana, Elvis Costello, and many, MANY more. This doesn't have much noise circulating around, so it's perfect for adding another effect like flanger or a vibrato. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This thing's hevier than my first and second pedal combined. It's a very heavy duty pedal made of a really strong metal. There's even a tension setting that lets you adjust how much pressure you need to activate it! It's the only pedal I own that I could probably use without a backup and still feel safe about stomping on. // 10

Impression: I mainly play grunge and punk, sometimes branching out into a little rockabilly, and this works well. I've been playing for about 2 years now and all my other pedals (Washburn Scott Ian PMD, DigiTech RP50) don't compare with this one. I bought an AC adaptor so I could play it without a problem, and I highly suggest this. I would definately buy it again if it broke or was stolen, it's just that good. It has the "warm" distortion I've looked for in my 2 years of playing, but I do hate that it gets very muddy when you place it on the treble side of it all. My PMD was too muddy and my DigiTech just had amp models, exactly what I wasn't looking for, so this is what I chose. The only thing I wish it'd have would be a boost feature for leads. // 9

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: evill22, on january 31, 2007

Price paid: $ 60

Purchased from: local music store

Ease of Use: This is one awesome distortion pedal. The manual to this is wicked informative, and it even gives you a listing of what styles of music the different settings will give you, like classic rock, british, metal etc. Even without reading it though, it is almost impossible not to get a great distortion sound out of it. // 10

Sound: I use my Epiphone Les Paul Special 2 and a Vox DA15 with this pedal, and as long as the amp is on clean settings, the sound is exactly that what I was hoping for. If the volume gets too high on the amp however, it can start to sound a little over-distorted. It has an AC/DC crunch to it, with the gain around the middle, and a Disturbed sound to it, with the gain on high. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I have never used this pedal in a gig before, because I bought it pretty recently, but I have No Doubt that if I were to bring it to a gig, or a band battle, that it would be extemely dependable. I have used other effects from the Boss family in Live preformances, and they have all worked wonders. // 9

Impression: I play classic and modern rock, and occasionally metal, if I like the song, and all of these are prefectly suited for DS-1. I love this effect, so if it was lost or stolen, I would surely go out and buy a new one to replace it. One thing that I do wish it had come with, was an AC adaptor, but you can buy those seperately. // 9

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: SugarRush66, on july 18, 2006

Price paid: $ 82.35

Purchased from: Soundcontrol - Edinburgh

Ease of Use: This pedal is brilliant for most the music I play grunge, rock, garage and punk. The manual gave several settings, some were useless for me but it all depends on the styles you like. If you've bought this pedal there is almost certainly going to be a setting in the manual that you like. Three knobs, how hard can it be? Manual tells you what each knob actually does but an explination is not really needed, it's not like it's a phaser or anything. // 10

Sound: I use it with a Fender Mexican Strat, with maple fretboard (very good guitar). I use it through either a 15W Crate amp for practise or through a Marshall or Fender 30W amp at band practise. With the Crate it's okay but since that's only a practise amp it give a bit of as tinny sound. With a 30W or above, however, it sounds warm, deep and powerful. Easy to get a grungy, sustained sound, a bit like Cobain used. I think it sounds better than either or the 30W amps distortion, by far! The only problem I had with it was after listening to the sound clips on the Boss website. The 'Mellow' setting is really hard to replicate. But I also own a Boss 'CS-3 Compressor' and if you put that with the DS-1 you can get lovely warm sounds, very much like Overdrive. // 9

Reliability & Durability: It's a Boss. The only backup you need is extra batteries for playing a gig. Mine have lasted 5 months of frequent playing though. // 10

Impression: Very good for any classic or modern rock. Bands like The Strokes, Nirvana, The Kinks, some Chili Peppers and The White Stripes are all ideal for this pedal. I felt this had more sonic range than the Boss Overdrive I tried. Only problem with it is that it struggles to give a mellow sound, but if you wanted that you would be using an Overdrive or bluesbreaker. Used with a compresser, though, you can get any sound you could possibly want, except for screamo-death-hard/grindcore-metal. // 9

overall: 10

Reviewed by: crfowler_09, on october 09, 2006

Price paid: $ 39.95

Purchased from: The Music Loft

Ease of Use: This pedal was straight forward. I play out of a shitty little Kustom 10KX, and I can find the perfect tone that I need to play songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit and You've Got Another Thing Coming in less than five minutes of experimenting. I haven't done anything to it to mod it or edit it, this puppy is crystal clear. The manual is very straight forward and has nifty sample settings on it and a couple blank ones to put your own settings on there. // 10

Sound: I play a Fender Stratocaster and a Peavey Milestone out of a Kustom 10KX, and as crappy as the set up is, it delivers better than the milkman. It is not noisy, but has a tendency to pick up TV and radio signals. I thought that was funny, just sit it on the floor and it wont do that. The effects only weaken when the battery is gone, always a bonecrushing distortion perfect for Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and me. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I depend on it enough to not use a back up, I bought an adaptor anyways, and the machinery works like clockwork twenty four seven. I've played about seven gigs with it and it has not failed me at all, never letting up on it's crisp sound, and always producing the same effects I know and love. // 10

Impression: I play blues, southern rock, hard rock, Grunge, metal, and alternative, and it is perfect for all of these genres. I've been playing for 3 years on each instrument, and I use a Dunlop chrome slide and a Jim Dunlop capo in certain situations. If it were stolen, I would buy a gun, and another DS-1. I love how you can make it so distorted you can't tell what note it is, that is distortion. I wish it came with an adaptor but hey, you can't have everything. This pedal is bliss. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: xsv, on july 05, 2006

Price paid: $ 80

Ease of Use: This pedal is so easy and versatile to use, its your portable distortion pedal that screams. The manual is pretty neat acutally, when you read it it has some preset tunes you can set your pedal to, to give the sound you want.This pedal has got to be the easiest pedal to use, simply adjust the tone, volume, and level to your desire, and presto, you've got all you would need. // 10

Sound: My setup is a Fender stratocaster, Fender 25R, and a Yamaha RG. This pedal compliments all of my gear and is an accessory that no one should forget about. This pedal doesn't add that much feedback and when you put the tone and volume all the way to the right, its the noistiest it can get, but yet it still doesn't put that much feedback. The effects on this pedal scream. This pedal has got to be the pedal you have to get because its so easy, versatile, and personally my favorite. The effects of this pedal are never weak, and this pedal can definitely impress you. I can the exact same effect as the bands I listen to. The bands I listen to are Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, Relient w, All-American Rejects, Switchfoot and all that punk/pop/post hardcore rock in that category. The distortion on this pedal is flawless, it's superb and worth your time to go check one out. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I can definitely depend on this pedal because it is built very sturdy with great quality materials. I would definitely gig with this without a backup, because I can trust all of Boss' products to satisfy my needs. I don't think I'll need a backup because I have a feeling this pedal will last me my whole life. // 10

Impression: Since I play a lot of pop/punk/post hard core rock the Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal satisfies every bit of my needs. I've been playing for 2 years now and I currently own a Fender stratocaster, a Yamaha rg, a Fender frontman25r, and a Gibson SG coming my way. Something I would've asked before buying this, would probably be "Why did you buy this pedal?" because then the person you are asking can give you a lot of detail in one question. If this was stolen I would most certainly buy this product again. I love everything about it, nothing to hate. I love the tone feature because it can really alter your sound. You could go from post hard core to blues in 3 seconds. It's just so versatile. I didn't compare this to any other products because my friend just bought one, and I loved it, so I wanted one too. I wish I had a chorus pedal though just because the effects of that pedal would also suit my needs. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: the_guy, on october 09, 2006

Price paid: $ 54.9

Purchased from: nevada music

Ease of Use: Very easy pedal to use, just 3 knobs, one for tone, one for volume and one for distortion. In the handbook provided it shows how to get a particular sound for a particular type of music. Turn the gain knob up, the gain goes up, turn the level up, and it may get louder. Press the pedal down, you get distortion, press it again, it goes back to clean. The manuel is informative, clear and concise. Even a 3 year old could use this. // 10

Sound: I'm am using it with a Yamaha Pacifica 112 guitar (lovely guitar) and a Marshall MG15CDR (terrible distortion). I must say this has improved matters immensely. You get nothing but crisp, crunchy distortion, and it's very versatile, you can tailor the distortion to the type of music you are playing with ease. It is never noisy even at high volumes. The tone knob is a little sensitive, you have to be very careful where you place it or you do not get the right sound. The effects always sound great no matter what. I can get the crunchy fat tones of Stereophonics (1000 trees, Local Boy) or the brutal distortion of Muse (New Born, Stockholm Syndrome, Supermassive Black Hole etc). I can also get lighter softer distortion for softer songs very easily. // 10

Reliability & Durability: It's made by Boss out of the strongest metal known to man. You could do anything to it and it still won't break. I have never used anything so durable and solid. I would definitely use it at a gig without a backup, anyway, why would I want another distortion pedal, when this can give me so much more? The battery life is good, I get about 18 hours of battery life, which is more than enough for me. // 10

Impression: I play anything from rock, blues, Indie etc and it is very easy to get excellent distortion and tone from all of the genres. No wonder it's so popular with guitarists around the world. It's so reasonably priced too. I have been playing electric guitar for a year, I own a Yamaha Pacifica 112 and a Marshall MG15CDR and all three work brilliantly together. If it were stolen or lost I'd buy it back defo, or I might try out the Ibanez Tubescreamer TS808. I love the range of tones, the reliability and the value for money of this pedal. I seriously can't think of anything wrong with it, apart from a sensitive tone knob. If you play rock and want proper creamy distortion, buy this pedal! // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: wylde_overdrive, on october 10, 2006

Purchased from: N/A

Ease of Use: My brother got a new amp, so he had no use fo a distortion pedal any more. He gave this pedal to me for free because he figured it would be a pretty decent distortion pedal for my small Peavey Rage 158. He was right, it gets a pretty good sound. It's very easy to get a sound that you like out of it. // 10

Sound: Here is my gear: Squier Strat, Peavey Rage 158, Boss DS-1. It serves as a good distorton pedal. It's only noisy if I turn gain and volume all the way up on my dirty channel (which is useless because my amp is a solid state), so it really isn't noisy. It's not even noisy when I just use one of the single coils alone. I can get a mild to heavy distortion with the pedal. I can get a decent sound for most of my favourite bands. // 10

Reliability & Durability: It's a Boss pedal, so I know reliability isn't even an issue. I could easily use this at a gig without a backup. The only Boss pedal I have ever seen broken was a chorus that my brothers cat peed on. I think this pedal will last for a long time without any hassle at all. It is built to last and that's what it will do. // 10

Impression: I play rock mainly, and some metal and I think this pedal does those sounds great. I've bee playing for just over 2 years and this pedal suits me fine. I really have no regrets with this pedal because it was free. If it were stolen or lost, I would probably just get another one. I love the sounds I can gwt from the pedal, and I don't hate anything about it. Overall, I recommend this pedal for anybody looking for a nice solid distortion. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on december 09, 2003

Price paid: $ 30.24

Purchased from: Bought Used

Ease of Use: This pedal is easy to use. I didn't get the manual but I guess it isn't important, since there are only three parametres: gain, tone and volume. There are lots of possibilities with the Gain parameter but them all sound OK. // 10

Sound: I use this DS-1 with a Telecaster and a VS-100 Marshall. I combine the DS-1 with other distortions and have a big range of possibilities with it. You can use it with tone at minimun and gain at maximum to get the sound of a pseudo-e-bow (delay or reverb also helps) and combined with a soft crunch in the amp it sounds sweeet. If you go changing the gain parametre you'll find you can play from a soft gain to a hard fuzz. Classic distortion is also easy to find with it. In general terms it sounds OK, but don't try to get some refined sound, it tends to sound dirty. // 6

Reliability & Durability: I think this pedal has like 6-7 years. I've been playing with it for 2 years and I think this pedal never dies. // 10

Impression: I got this pedal from a friend of mine who didn't want it, and I think it is one of the best things I have bought for such a ridiculous price. I combine it with my super delay rocktech (great pedal too), Boss flanger, Nobels tremolo (sweet) and crybaby. My style is something like Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, Luna... and it fits very well. Very versatile pedal and definitely the best distortion pedal that Boss has. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: afrothunder666, on february 25, 2005

Price paid: $ 37.95

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: It's pretty easy to get good sound out of this thing. I was surprised how simple it was. Usually it takes me a while to produce the exact sound that I want, but I plugged this thing in and I had that perfect sound I was looking for. The manual tells you everything you need to know about the pedal. It also has a little suggested settings section. // 10

Sound: I have a Marshall amp and a Ibanez guitar that I use this pedal with. I listen to Nirvana and this is the pedal that Kurt used for most of their recordings. I played a couple of their songs and it sounds exactly the same. It doesn't have too much distortion and it doesn't lack distortion at all. I have a Overdrive pedal and I like this far more than the Overdrive because the sound is more rich and on the Overdrive pedal the sound is too weak and thin. This pedal is good for Grunge, rock, and hard rock. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I can depend on it at home, but if I use it at gigs I would to have the Boss adapter hooked into it. It seems like it is built pretty tough. It should last. // 10

Impression: I play a lot of Grunge and rock. This pedal is a good match for those types of music. I been playing guitar for about 9 months. I own a Ibanez TS7 Tubescreamer and a Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Chorus pedal. This is a nice add-on to my little setup. I like the DS-1 better than the Tubescreamer. I love the sound and the cool orange color. If it broke or was stolen I would get another DS-1. This pedal is great. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Atreyu014, on december 27, 2004

Purchased from: www.musiciansfriend.com

Ease of Use: This pedal is super easy to use, it even comes with a little booklet that shows you where to position the knobs based off what kind of music you play brittish punk, hard rock, american rock, ect. // 10

Sound: I ran it through a Behringer Ultratwin GX212 and an Epiphone SG Speical. Because of the SG (which is naturally pretty gainy itself) it's not really noisy but not yet suttle. You can get about fifty distinctly diffrent sounds off just one knob! And if you mix them just right you can get just about the most perfect, cheapist version of metal, hardcore, post-hardcore, and even metalcore. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I would deffinitly depend on it at a show but probably not with the battery, (I don't trust them) but with the power supply. // 10

Impression: I play everything from emo, screamo, post-hardcore, hardcore, metal, and metalcore. This pedal is perfect for all of them. If it was stolen, I would probably buy a new one. My favorite feture is the level knob, no matter if your practicing in your room or playing a show, you just mix the level knob and the distortion will match it perfect. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 02, 2005

Price paid: $ 40

Purchased from: music 6000

Ease of Use: This pedal is awesome. The controls are easy, there is a gain knob, a tone knob, and a level knob. Using just this, it is amazing how quickly and easily you can get so many different sounds. // 10

Sound: I've use it with a Gibson Les Paul Special w/humbuckers, run through a Peavey Special 212, and I sometimes use my DigiTech RP-80 with it too. Pretty much my only complaint is that if you crank the distortion, it gets pretty noisy. Also, if you turn the tone knob alot to the right, it gets pretty ear-peircing. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I've used this pedal for over a year, and it still works like new. I depend on it, and if I did a gig, I would feel completly comfortable using it w/out backup. // 10

Impression: I play mostly blues, hard rock, and classic rock, and this pedal fits all those styles perfectly. I also dabble in heavy metal, and although I'm no expert in that sound, it seems more than fine to me. I've been playing electric for about a year and four or five months. This is the only distortion pedal I've ever owned, but I tried one nearly three times as expensive, and didn't like it as much. If it were stolen from me, I would hunt down the loser who stole it and kill em in the face. But yeah I would buy it again with out a second thought. I love everything about it. When I got it, I got ti cause it was cheep, but since then, I've compared it with other dist. Pedals, and have not yet met it's equal. It is the best pedal of my life. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 12, 2004

Price paid: $ 114

Purchased from: parramatta music

Ease of Use: This pedal is very easy to use, it has 3 parameters, gain, distortion and tone knobs. I spent like 5 minutes getting a sound I liked (I have expeience with Boss pedals) I did get a manual with it, didn't really need it, but it does give a novice some good ideas for sounds and how long your battery will last for etc. // 10

Sound: I use this pedal through an ESP M-100, and an Epiphone Les Paul Custom, through a Marshall MG 100 Stack. This pedal isn't really noisy, it is just right. With the distortion turned all the way down, and the tone a bit warm, you gte a nice Overdrive sound, crank up the distortion all the way, and you will have a nice heavy/grunge rock sound. With this pedal I can get a frogstomp and freakshow silverchair sound, more rock and Grunge, I can even get a ride the lightning sound , if I eq my amp good, ots a heavy rock pedal. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This pedal is very reliable , like it is a little tank, I've dropped it heaps of times, and its fine, the electronics are second to none, no faulty wiring etc, I would use it without a back up, but I have like 3 distortion pedals, so I always have a backup, but it is reliable. // 10

Impression: My band, our music is a heavy Grunge (ie Metallica ,meets Pearl Jam) this pedal is good for the more grungy kinda songs, like for the heaveier ones, I use the metal zone, (even though the ds1 has a better tone) but this pedal through my Marshall it kicks ass, it really has a metallica sound, I've been playing guitar for 5 years, at first all I wanted was gain, but I've grown out of the white noise distortion, this pedal is a keeper, it is my tone. It sounds very chunky through my esp. If it was stolen and I found the guy who did it, I would throw this pedal at his face, and it would break his/her nose. And I would plug it bak in. I love the valve kinda sound, it has awsome tone, it is a little weak on the gain, and bottom end side. It was between this and a DOD Grunge, I am happy with my choice. // 8

overall: 10

Reviewed by: mr_butterworth, on september 05, 2005

Price paid: $ 88.2

Purchased from: Musik Partner

Ease of Use: It's very easy to get great sounds out of it, and with my amps distortion its great to play Grunge with. It's very easy to use, because there's not much to do with it, but yet its much. There's a manual, but you dont need it. // 10

Sound: I use a homemade guitar made out of a Fender body, and Ibanez pickups, and a Vox AD30VT and its sounds great! But sometimes the volume goes away and comes back, like in waves, but that's probably the batteries. This thing is never weak, if you have like none distortion, it gives you great blues sounds, and turn up the gain and it screams like a pig! I use a Cry Baby Wah Wah to it and it's very easy to get out early zeppelin sounds, and turn up gain and there you have '80s rock! // 10

Reliability & Durability: This thing is great! I can always depend on it. It can be stomped, it is made out of some kind of metal and it wont break in the first place. I really never play gigs, but if I did I would use it for sake. // 10

Impression: I play stuff like classic rock, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, and '80s sleaze, Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses and stuff like that. It does the sounds perfectly! I've been playing for like 4 years and I recentley used a Zoom 505, but that s--t broked but when I had that it was great. The DS-1 is much better, I really dont like pedals with 2 million different effects, it's much more fun to put up your own table of like 4-5 different effects. No, nothing, I love it! If it were stolen I would buy a new one or find the sick cheap bastard who took it, but that's probably one of my sick friends who dont know how to use it. If some other kid took it, I would bash his head with a screwdriver and throw him down Kopparklinten (Swedish name for a high plays where I live)! I love everything. The gain is awesome! Great for blues and sleaze, and classic rock. I wish it had nothing more, then it would be like to much. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: PUNQ, on august 18, 2004

Price paid: $ 42.66

Purchased from: Wentworth Music

Ease of Use: The DS-1 is extremely easy to use. Just 3 knobs: Tone, Level and Distortion. The manual is also pretty damn straight forward. An ametuer could use this with ease. // 10

Sound: I use my '76 Gibson Explorer with this stompbox, along side my Rocktek RK08 amp. The DS-1 sound so bad-ass when all the knobs are maxed out, its so sharp and distorted it'll make your eyes bleed! By toggling with the Didtortion knob, I managed to make it sound like British Punk, even as close to the Sex Pistols music! Every setting on this little box is over-the-top goodness. // 10

Reliability & Durability: With its non-slip rubber pedal and its hard metal casing, those 2 things make it quite hard not to depend on it. This DS-1 is very worthy of live playing, I havn't used it in a show yet, but I know it won't let me down, let alone anyone who would use it in a show. // 10

Impression: Instead of answering all these questions, I'll sum it all up in 1 sentance. The DS-1 Distortion StompBox met everything I had in mind, there's nothing more I want of it, and there's nothing less it could possibly need, this is one rock-solid piece of equipment! // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: dscguitar, on september 19, 2003

Purchased from: Melodee Music

Ease of Use: This is, by far, the easiest pedal I have ever used. The simplicity really contibutes to it's ease of use. With just three knobs (Tone, Level& Distortion) it makes it extremely user-friendly. The manual it comes with is very extensive and even includes settings for popular distortion sounds. // 10

Sound: I use the DS-1 with, either my Yamaha EG-112, or my Epiphone LP Special II. I play it through my 10 Watt amp that came with my Yam. I don't know if it's too much for my little amp, or if it's the pedal, but when I have the distortion maxed, there is a slight hum, but it is very subtle. The effects are awesome. It can go anywhere from warm fuzz to screaming distortion. It is hard to get Overdrive from it, the lowest dist. setting is still a little too harsh for some of the softer songs that I do. It's hard to say that I get the same sound as someone because there is so much diversity with this pedal, but it gets extremely close to any dist. sound that I try to emulate. I listen to Metallica, Nirvana, Zepplin etc... With your p/up selector on the "neck" seeting, and the tone to the max to the right and the dist. on half to full, you get a very nice crunchy sound, and with your p/up selector on the "bridge" setting and the tone just before halfway and the dist. on max you get a very nice warm hard rock distortion sound. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This is an extremely durable and reliable pedal. It's made of thick metal and has been dropped down three staircases and still works wonderfully. I would definately use it without a backup in a gig. The power-supply comes seperately but I found a nice little thing: If you have one of those Texas Instruments "TI 83" graphing calculators, the power-supply that comes with that is compatable w/ the DS-1. // 10

Impression: I play progressive hard rock and some soft rock. The DS-1 is a perfect match for my style of playing. I have already converted three of my friends to the DS-1 collective and all of them are wonderfully pleased with their DS-1's. If it were stolen, there is no doubt in my mind that I would replace it. I do wish it had an Overdrive setting, but it's a Distortion pedal not an Overdrive pedal, so I'm still extremely happy with it. BUY THIS PEDAL!!! // 10

overall: 7.3

Reviewed by: Ierius, on june 13, 2006

Price paid: $ 80

Ease of Use: Well, I bought it used from some guy but it was perfect. When I plugged it into my amp I heard distortion heaven. Of course that was to the untrained ear. It's extremely simple to use, it's just three knobs after all: one tone (I use it mainly on the midranges, very low or very high the tone just sucks, either it's completely muffled or it's uncomfortably screeching), one level (that's just the output volume, it makes your sound clearer within your amp's volume at the time) and one dist. (under the mid the distortion is really sucky) so it's really easy to use. I didn't get a manual with it, it isn't necessary really, but if you want one you can just download it. I'll give it a 10 just for how incredibly stupid of using it is. // 10

Sound: Okey, my gear is not great. I have a generic Washburn guitar and a Maxtone 20W amp, so that's not the best gear to test it. In my local shop I tested this on a Marshall 50W and three guitars: an Ibanez RG (don't know wich), a Jackson RR1 and (just for fun) a Washburn Dimepro. In all the guitars it was the same, it was (and still is) noisy when you aren't playing on every setting. It's just a noisy pedal, period. I have a friend that picked up a radio station with this so. That's not a good impression. The distortion maxed out or near maxing is very good, very "hard rock" though you can still pull out a metal or a heavy metal in this. The tone knob just muffles it or makes it screech, in a bad way, so as long as it's in the midrange its fine. Tone just defines the muffle-ment more. I've also tried it with my bass, with my keyboard and with a microphone for vocals and I have to remark: it's a guitar pedal. It thins out the sound, its screechy and well, it doesn't cut it, though I did get a nice synth bass sound with the dist to max, tone at min and my bass's tone to max, sounded cool, even though it thinned out the sound. // 6

Reliability & Durability: I've had problems with it. I live in an apartment in a 12th floor and the PC, my amp, guitar, bass, and gear are very near the balcony and it rained, now, it was something like a thunderstorm, ok? So a little water leaked into the apartment. The DS-1 didn't get wet, but one of its sides was a bit damp. That was when I bought my bass, and I left guitar for about a month: when I tried using it again, it didn't work! But it was nothing mayor, I opened it and cleaned it up and it worked fine again. I wouldn't throw it aroun the room, not after seeing it inside out, yeah, its metal and all that, but it's a bit thin, even though it is admitabbly a lot more resistant than, lets say, Zoom pedals. I wouldn't use it in a gig, but if I had to do it I'd have it as a backup, 'cause it really is not that great. But if you want to, have a spare battery just in case, it doesn't drain the battery life, but the sound worsens as the battery wears down. // 8

Impression: well I play a lot of classic rock, hard rock, art rock, metal and heavy, and if it wasn't for the noise it would fit them well you see, I have 5 years playing guitar, 2 years acoustic and electric the rest and this was my first pedal (though I still haven't had the chance to buy a Boss MT-2 or Line 6 ToneCore Uber Metal, I recommend them a lot more than this one, I don't find it worth the money (even though it's cheap). I wish I had tested a MT-2 or the Line 6 one before rushing to buy this one, but I was a newbie. If it were stolen or lost it would be a blessing, 'cause I'd have an excuse to buy another distortion pedal (I'm under age and my dad is who buys them). I hate that noise, it's this buzzing that kills me and I hate the tone knob, it even kills your sustain. I don't love anything about it: it's a nice starting pedal, but I really don't know how Joe Satriani manages with it. If I could turn back time, I would've been more level headed and tested other products before buying this. It's a really good starting pedal, but I'm an intermediate-somewhat-advanced player, and it just doesn't cut it, so if you want a good starting distortion and it's your first pedal, go on buy it, but you'll regret it when you get more advanced. // 5

Reviewed by: unregistered, on september 30, 2003

Price paid: $ 106.4

Ease of Use: The Boss DS-1 was my first pedal but not without me shopping around to try and find the best one. Since it has only three nobs and one pedal its hard to say that this pedal isn't anything but simple to use. The manual gives you easy instructions on how to manipulate the sound to your liking and I found I could get anything from metallic clang, an almost Overdrive, fuzz and standard distorition // 10

Sound: The sound from this pedal is really good for what it is. I use it with my shitty Yamaha 10 watt amp and shittier Yamaha guitar but I do use it with a better Fender 60 watt amp with my band. Overall it gives great sound through both but there is a bit of fuzz with the Yamaha, but even the onboard distorition does that to the amp. This pedal lets me re-create juts about any true distortion and get close to a lot of Overdrive and metal. It's really easy to get Kurt Cobain's setting (Tone 11 o'clock, Distortion Full) and that's cool. Overall good sound, and realistically the ability to make more than one sound. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This pedal is reliable and durable as it's hardly got a complex setup or lots of little parts. I'd happily use it at a gig without backup because you'd have to like hit one of these with a sledgehammer to break it. // 10

Impression: This is a great first or really any pedal especially for fans and punk and hard rock (especially Nirvana) and one well worth getting, especially because it's well priced. If I lost my pedal I probably woudln't buy it simply because I've now got enough money to get a Boss ME-30 or 50. I can't find much to fault with this pedal, it does what it says and then some. A bit more Overdrive would be nice but that was never claimed. Good pedal, go get it. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 11, 2005

Price paid: $ 38.99

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: This box is incredibly easy to get a good sound out of. No matter what setting it's on, it sounds great. If I knew what and editing patch was, I'm sure it would be great. The manual isn't very helpful seeing as how this thing is so simple to use in the first place. // 10

Sound: I use and Ibanez Artcore Talman semi-hollowbody guitar and a pa system(Behringer mixer, Jbl 15" cab). It does get a slight buzz but if you put your hand on the strings it goes away. The effects sound too strong unless the amp is semi-loud. I can get the sounds of all 3 of my favorite bands (Leftover Crack, Anti-Flag and The Sex Pisols) and tons of other sounds. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I can definetely depend on this pedal. I've already dropped it 5 times and it didnt even scuff/scratch. I would most definetely gig with it, if I played guitar in my band (I play bass). // 10

Impression: I play classic punk, ska-punk, and ska. This pedal covers all those genres wonderfully (except ska, since it doesn't use distortion). I've been playing guitar for 7 months. All I own is this pedal and my pa. I just borrow guitars from friends. I would replace this pedal without even thinking about it if it was lost or stolen. I love pretty much everything. I hate that I don't have my own guitar to use it with. My favorite feature is how easy it is to use. I compared it to a Line 6 CrunchTone pedal and this one won out because of the price difference. // 10

Comments

[jake_blakeley]

I found It sounded Awsome and easy to use. Except my adapter that connects to the battery broke when my dog tripped over it. If anybody knows where to get a new adapter for the battery can you tell me?

[Metalology]

You can probably get them on ebay or try a music store.

[Metalology]

^ You could also try BOSS to see if they have replacements.

[nightonthesun]

This pedal really sucks. Its one of the worst I have heard. But then again there only about 35 bucks so u get what you pay for. Plus most of the reviews on here on done by newbies, thats cool, they just havent had enough time to experiment with other high quality pedals. I am tube amp kinda guy so I use an Ibanez Tubescreamer TS-808, so basically anything compard to the tubescreamer is gonna sound bad. This pedal just has way too much hiss and noise, and its really trebley and just sounds horrible.

[nightonthesun]

This pedal really sucks. Its one of the worst I have heard. But then again there only about 35 bucks so u get what you pay for. Plus most of the reviews on here are done by newbies, thats cool, they just havent had enough time to experiment with other high quality pedals. I am tube amp kinda guy so I use an Ibanez Tubescreamer TS-808, so basically anything compard to the tubescreamer is gonna sound bad. This pedal just has way too much hiss and noise, and its really trebley and just sounds horrible.

[GATLIN]

Kurt Cobain used this pedal and thats why i bought it. I like the dirty distortion and feedback it gives off. The settings for Nirvana on this pedal are..Tone 11'o'clock...level is full....and distortion is usually like 3'o'clock but sometimes less sometimes more. I play a G&Ls500 and have a Fender Leadman amp.

[x_themetalfan_x]

nightonthesun wrote:

This pedal really sucks. Its one of the worst I have heard. But then again there only about 35 bucks so u get what you pay for. Plus most of the reviews on here on done by newbies, thats cool, they just havent had enough time to experiment with other high quality pedals. I am tube amp kinda guy so I use an Ibanez Tubescreamer TS-808, so basically anything compard to the tubescreamer is gonna sound bad. This pedal just has way too much hiss and noise, and its really trebley and just sounds horrible.

Well then, you just suck at using pedals. Proper use of the tone and level knobs eliminates the problems you mentioned.

[Quintessence153]

I've been considering getting this pedal, so how does it sound on solos and rhythm parts?

[guitar_lvr]

i have a BOSS "Metal Zone" is there much difference?
by the way what does a BOSS "Enhancer" do? i have one from my uncle

jake_blakeley wrote: If anybody knows where to get a new adapter can you tell me?

any music store. or a generic one at any radio shack.
if u plan on powering more than one pedal, then buy a 1-spot adapter instead.

[Robert_Terry]

Its a good little pedal, but if your after mega tone with it you have to be a dab-hand with your amps EQ to give it more 'oomph' or so i think

[zeppelin5005]

i have this pedal and its ok. I use it more than my amps distortion b/c its actually better, but not that much better. good for beginners.

[guitaristben]

would this pedal be ideal for playing stuff like green day, nirvana, blink 182 etc...?

[eMZki^^]

reading this posts and reviews just gives me headaches ... Most people that post stuff here or either dont have any good guitar/amp/speaker/cables or need to play a few years. How can anyone say that this pedal isn´t good or makes noises ? The best guitar players in the world have it (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, etc ...). Do you hear any noises in "For The Love Of God" or "Satch Boogie" ? Its all in your gear guys, 'cause this pedal already proved that it's great stuff (any Boss in general is).

guitaristben :
would this pedal be ideal for playing stuff like green day, nirvana, blink 182 etc...?

hell yes! just tweak it to your playing style and you'll probably get the effect that you want (depending what gear your using of course)

Quintessence153 :
I've been considering getting this pedal, so how does it sound on solos and rhythm parts?

Just listen Vai ... =)

[Agent_00Funk]

Then again Vai has had his DS-1 modded by Keeley, but this pedal is still great though.

[kill em´all]

it´s a good pedal but the metal-2 is a better more all around pedal. i got both of them so i know it.

[loki_lulamen]

kill em´all wrote:

it´s a good pedal but the metal-2 is a better more all around pedal. i got both of them so i know it.

i agree totally i have both. the DS-1 is great for punk grunge and blues but the MT-2 is much more versatile because it can cover what the DS-1 does and much more. also the eq is much better

[kill em´all]

yes the eq is great on the metal-2..

[KaiserX]

why is it that every review of a pedal tells me that it can play all sounds and styles? why buy anything else then? for one thing, i know the DS-1 is not that versatile. just my rant

[DaBlackE]

guitar_lvr wrote:

i have a BOSS "Metal Zone" is there much difference?
by the way what does a BOSS "Enhancer" do? i have one from my uncle

The Boss "Enhancer" is like a BBE Sonic Maximizer, it boosts your highs & lows & tightens up the sound.

[choii]

ive had this petal for about a year, and i can get a bunch of verisitile souds from it, anything from hard rock/metal to blues and pop, just depends on how you put the tones. Yoy really have to expand your playing to really expirence this little wonder

[DaBlackE]

This pedal sounds better with tube amps and I've heard the made in Japan or older models are better but I have yet to use a old one so I cant say they're right.

[TimmyPage06]

I adore this pedal, but I eventually switched to a "Rat 2" (mostly because I like true bypass), this, with overdrive in front of it sound pretty good (The Rat 2 sounds ok, but godly if you get it modded)

Actually, Get the DS-1 Modded for maximum distortion kickassness, without modding it's great for rhythm guitar.

[whatsagoodname?]

Agent_00Funk wrote:

Then again Vai has had his DS-1 modded by Keeley, but this pedal is still great though.

Satch's was modded too... tone is in the player not the gear. you can give someone a marshall and an SG and not hear anything like Angus

[GuitarGod610]

Give someone a Squier Bullet Strat and a shitty solid-state amp, and they're gonna sound like crap no matter how good they are. The tone is in the player, but also in the gear.

[FireHawk]

I must say this is a great pedal but I kinda wish I woulda got the DS-2.

[recliner33]

I think this pedal is great for any type of music except for extreme metal like death or some thrash metal. But I just bought a danelectro fab metal to make up for it. I think this pedal is at it's best for playing bluesy stuff like zeppelin or for playing nirvana or QOTSA stuff.

[pathendry88]

the ds1 is kool if you want to play nirvana and thats it

[eric_cartman]

heres to night on the sun:

you're speakin' about newbies??? you shitbrain you do know what kind of effect the tubescreamer is, right?

it's an overdrive cocksuker not a distortion a overdrive get yourself the ****ing wax and semen out of your ear and try to hear the difference, or at least read what your pedal says: TUBESCREAMER OVERDRIVE PRO!!!!! if you wanna talk about the newbies make sure to take your head out of your ass, next thing you know your gonna say that the super chorus is not a heavy distortion

you are very sad

had a great laugh thanks

[gwitersnamps]

eric_cartman wrote:

heres to night on the sun:

you're speakin' about newbies??? you shitbrain you do know what kind of effect the tubescreamer is, right?

it's an overdrive cocksuker not a distortion a overdrive get yourself the ****ing wax and semen out of your ear and try to hear the difference, or at least read what your pedal says: TUBESCREAMER OVERDRIVE PRO!!!!! if you wanna talk about the newbies make sure to take your head out of your ass, next thing you know your gonna say that the super chorus is not a heavy distortion

you are very sad

had a great laugh thanks

But he's really having a great day.

[E V H 5150]

I'm really thinking about getting one of these because my stupid ass Bad Dog randomly broke down. It seems to be the best value for this price range, and seems to be good for any price range. But I think it's always best to try before you buy.

[742627000017]

Yeh Kurt Cobain used on Nevermind then he started to use ds2

[pinkvelocity]

ok I have this pedal but now I just got an RP250, but when I connect the two pedals, the Distortion DS-1 screwes up the volume (level) any tips?

[pinkvelocity]

ok I have this pedal but now I just got an RP250, but when I connect the two pedals, the Distortion DS-1 screws up the volume (level) any tips?

[KileManA7X]

I can't play my guitar without this.

[thebrokensmile]

out of a behringer UM100 and this i'd so rather go for the behringer. its a lot cheaper and its got more settings. but the durability is a bit weary because its made of plastic unlike this monster. anyway just get one that you like.

[scalemaster]

3rd review is ridiculous. a les paul or a what? ibanez strat!? i gotta get me one of those... i bet they rock even harder than a fender strat..... hahahahahaha

[PhantomWuss95]

I have an Epiphone G-400, and a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12. Sometimes I want a little more distortion than i can get out of this amp...but I don't want an insane amount of feedback. Should I get this? The guy at the music store also reccomended getting Gibson pickups.

[AdamDK]

PhantomWuss95 wrote:

I have an Epiphone G-400, and a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12. Sometimes I want a little more distortion than i can get out of this amp...but I don't want an insane amount of feedback. Should I get this? The guy at the music store also reccomended getting Gibson pickups.

This pedal is fine, but it can give a little feedback, and an annoying buzz kind of thing if the level is too much.

[acdcrocks0323]

goes this put out enough gain for stuff like metallica or do i need something like the metal zone?

[acdcrocks0323]

does*

[quimson]

i kinda wanna get this pedal but i think it'll be too noisy. is it going to be too noisy for red hot chili peppers stuff?

[KileManA7X]

Excellent pedal. My second favorite .

[onlyrock]

Hi! :

I bourght this pedal in summer last year, and I have to say I was stunned. I had heard the pedal before I bought it, and I have never regret that I bought this pedal. I have always rely on, that BOSS will stand up for many, many years. I I have two other pedals from BOSS. The Metal Zone, which I use for the more heavy stuff, such as Metallica, Iron Maiden and so. Then I have got the Super Chorus which I use a lot in solo's. i think it fits perfectly! :

Onlyrock

[DOOdooroCK]

i bought this 2day and im in love with it.

[ArcherTheVMan]

pathendry88 wrote:

the ds1 is kool if you want to play nirvana and thats it

what a fool you are.

spelling cool with a k doesn't help either (what difference does it make its not any easier to write it with a k?!?).

[ArcherTheVMan]

quimson wrote:

i kinda wanna get this pedal but i think it'll be too noisy. is it going to be too noisy for red hot chili peppers stuff?

no, john frusciante himself uses one (and hes got normal single coils!)

[JackWhitesCool]

Marshall Bluesbreaker 2 or this? I can't make up my mind. I have a les paul and a vox valve amp.

[123-Trav]

This must be the most reviewed piece of gear on UG. props to it.

[hoba]

This one has a normal out. I need a pedal that would be connected straight to a stereo (not guitar) amplifier and i assure you that this amp is great. I was wondering if this one can make it or should i get the digitech stuff where there is an out to connect straight to mix boards and other devices apart from guitar amps.
I need advice on it guys.I suppose ds-1 is great sounding, for example, petrucci, satriani,vai, all of the nice shredders use it, and i suppose they know what they do.But the problem is if it will suit to me, to this, final amp, not guitar amp.Please tell me.

[hoba]

I need a pedal to be connected straight to a final stereo amp not a guitar amp, and i am wondering if i should go for boss ds-1 or boss in general or go for the digitech stuff that have an out to connect to other sound devices(mixing boards and others) apart from guitar amps.
Tell me what you think.

[sg4ever]

The Behringer ultra metal is better for rock to metal versatility and it's cheaper. Booya!

[Incubus=Science]

breakable? yes. Behringer is plastic crap

[mrgreen67]

i got this thing to day the only thing i regret is not going to the local store and buying 9 volt batteries after 4 hours of playing it started to not sound good. other than that BOSS is the BEST!!

[mrgreen67]

wow this thing is 3 hours ahead

[waltb87]

Really good effect, I've been using it for 6 years and i paid about 49.99 for it, and i loved it ever since. I use it with my Fender 25R amp, and my crybaby wah. And it works perfect with my les paul.

[Thurisaz]

I use this with a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive and I can get a pretty decent tone, especially if I have the amp moderately loud. More for 80s rock and metal, but with an EQ, you could get much more range from this pedal.

[synzacky7]

so would this pedal be good for pop punk?

[Korzack]

Thurisaz wrote:

I use this with a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive and I can get a pretty decent tone, especially if I have the amp moderately loud. More for 80s rock and metal, but with an EQ, you could get much more range from this pedal.

Thank you friend, you've just solved the mystery of my next purchase. Should go well with the SD1 and the Dunlop crybaby.

[wadthefish]

does this pedal or the metal zone will get a muse sound

[NiK-117]

i run a tubescreamer into this and...wow! beautiful sound.

[GoodGod]

does it come with a power adapter or do you have to buy that?

[led,rainsong]

i got this a few weeks ago because i wanted something basic and cheap
it's ok but not the best
im new to pedals so im not sure how to adjust it well but i tried some other pedals in the store and the Boss distortion/ overdrive pedal was kinda cool because it had some overdrive with it but i couldn;'t afford it (shows how poor i am! lol)
my teacher recomended the Ibanez TS-9 but i didnt try it out

[bigtristan]

i got this pedal yesterday and i couldent be happier with it, i play everything from B4MV to U2 and blink182 and this pedal makes the perfect sound for all of them.

[E_squared]

Can anyone suggest where I should set the knobs on here to get a Nirvana sound? I've been messing with this pedal and I can get it to sound pretty close to Nirvana, but not quite there. Any ideas?

[nirvanapwns]

E_squared wrote:

Can anyone suggest where I should set the knobs on here to get a Nirvana sound? I've been messing with this pedal and I can get it to sound pretty close to Nirvana, but not quite there. Any ideas?

distortion and level to max tone between 12 and 1 o´clock

[killjoys]

the pedals got some xtra noise but its definately worth its salt and the cost is just incredible

buy this pedal and you wont regret it

[EldonsName24]

This pedal seems to---uh---beginner's Like i'd recommend the uh "Maximux Distotrus" pedal for that kinda gruge sound haha

[Grahamja]

I got this one just like two or three days ago. I got it cause i dont have a butt load o' money, and there was a bunch of good reviews for this one. I really like it. Even though it is my first distortion pedal--or any pedal I really like it. It's pretty heavy even though it's not a grunge metal pedal. I really like it though cause it's got a lot of range to it. It can go from really soft to X-tremely heavy. It's great for the price. Go for it!

[SlashsGuns]

for the buzzing problems like EVERYONE mentions just turn down the level a little, or you can do what I do and use a noise gate!!!

[stradivari310]

synzacky7 wrote:

so would this pedal be good for pop punk?

you can use anything for pop-punk, really.

[x_themetalfan_x]

This + EQ + Valve Junior = Me being happy with my tone for the first time in a long time.

[bokuho]

x_themetalfan_x wrote:

This + EQ + Valve Junior = Me being happy with my tone for the first time in a long time.

Pretty much this.

This DS-1 blows if you over-complicate things and add it in with a ton of other effects and are driving the amp hot too, but if you keep your pre-amp simple and don't abuse too many other effects, this DS-1 is a thing of beauty. I usually prefer overdrive to distortion, but the DS-1 gives most OD pedals a run for their money, when it's used right.

[munkyRobb]

sh*t this must be one gd piece of kit to have so many reviews

[Captain Insano]

I hate this pedal, my friend has it and makes the crappiest distortion I have ever used.

[Logan_B]

Okay so ive been playing guitar for a while now...electric for a year anyways but thats not the point! Which pedal would you reccomend....this one or the Boss MetalCore or whatever its called

[sorrykid77]

i got mine for 15 dollars

[TheKinks]

Alright, I got mine at $85 from spectrum music wich has recently closed down. it was discounted. I was told never to buy a pedal unless if it's boss. Damn Right. Boss is the best brand by far. Just don't buy this pedal. I have used this on many amps. it worked well on a silvertone 10 watt amp. but the amp couldn't sound any worse. than i used it on an amp that i wouldnt throw away. a laney v 100. it was shit. it sounded terrible. it may just be the amp. i dont know. just be careful when you buy it.

[Ace Frehley]

Yeah well...I bought the Digitech Hot Head first.Yesterday they gave me the Boss DS-1 for free and I'm using it as a boost for solos.Comparing the Hot Head with the DS-1,the Hot Head is by far better.I think BOSS pedals are starting to get old..

[ItDestroyedMe]

I have this pedal as well as the CE-5, and I've run into the same problem with both of them. My cables work just fine, and the batteries in each pedal are working (the light turns on), but for some reason when I plug in the pedal, no sound comes out of my amp. Regardless of whether or not the pedal is on, nothing comes out. I think there might be an issue with the pedals' output.

Anyone else have similar issues with either of these pedals?

[skvvisgaar]

sorrykid77 wrote:

i got mine for 15 dollars

same here. 10/10 it does anything I want it to do and sounds unbelievably better than the overdrive on my peavey blazer. more tone, less unwanted feedback noises, and it is easy to adjust for any genre ie. blues-tone lowish, dist-low, level-med.

[leondb]

I picked this one up recently. I replaced my Digitech Grunge with it. Overall, it was worth the money. I'm starting to find Digitech pedals to be fragile. I had problems with the Grunge and Hyper Phaser after 1 1/2 years of use. And I am pretty careful about swapping batteries.

[AlexAvarice]

leondb wrote:

I picked this one up recently. I replaced my Digitech Grunge with it. Overall, it was worth the money. I'm starting to find Digitech pedals to be fragile. I had problems with the Grunge and Hyper Phaser after 1 1/2 years of use. And I am pretty careful about swapping batteries.

Wow, to be honest, I did the opposite. I couldn't get anything close to a good sound out of this thing and traded it to my friend for his Grunge pedal. It has such a better range of high gains and crunch rather than the fuzzy distorted mess I would get from DS-1.

[flem187]

Someone talked about Steve Vai and Joe Satriani using DS-1, but they are using Keeley Mod ones, the Keeley Boss DS-1 Ultra Mod. That's why they got heavier sound from that pedal.

[bangholio214]

i got a shitty amp, which is yamaha GA 10 it came with the begginer bag but anyway, i got myself a good ibanez, but the amp still sound shitty, should i get this pedal to make it sound better

[DC5]

Did Kurt Cobain use this through a clean channel on his amp?

[skatertrev]

This pedal is ok, I think it is kinda trebley even if you mess with the tone knobs and gain controls. It has a certain sound to it and either you like it or you don't.

[noob_head]

quimson :
i kinda wanna get this pedal but i think it'll be too noisy. is it going to be too noisy for red hot chili peppers stuff?
POSTED: 03/08/2007 - 101 am / quote |

nah, its only gives out a buz if u put the distortion too loud, or the tone too loud. niether of which u need for red hot chillie peppers.

[lyonk55]

I've got this and I can get a pretty good sound outta it...BUT...I don't have much access to a "good" amp or other pedals, so I can't really compare

[Serjem]

i use it as a "booster" really, not as a real dist pedal.

DC5 wrote:

Did Kurt Cobain use this through a clean channel on his amp?

no, he used DS2
http://guitargeek.com/rigview/522/ take a look

[teknotard]

GuitarGod610 :
Give someone a Squier Bullet Strat and a shitty solid-state amp, and they're gonna sound like crap no matter how good they are. The tone is in the player, but also in the gear

wronger then wrong but oh well

[decayingdave]

GuitarGod610 wrote:

Give someone a Squier Bullet Strat and a shitty solid-state amp, and they're gonna sound like crap no matter how good they are. The tone is in the player, but also in the gear.

True, you're never gonna be concert-ready with basic gear, but out of a £50 FX pedal, what more can you expect? I've got a BOSS HM-2, I got it second hand off eBay for £3... and If you haven't guessed it already, the ''HM'' stands for Heavy Metal... Yet it's about as heavy metal as me mum.

As for the first review here, what utter Shiite - Th UG team is letting itself down letting such un-realistic reviews to be published.

[hippiemetalguy]

this is a great pedal to have ive had one since i started playing guitar and its easy to use for beginners but gives out an expierenced sound and its given me every sound ive needed anywhere alternative, metal, grunge, punk, hardcore, and even deathcore this pedal is great to have it comes in handy if your amps distortion sucks or if your looking for that extra boost during a solo 10/10

[fuel77]

Would this pedal be good for AC/DC?

[leondb]

You're better off looking for a good overdrive for AC/DC.

[element1385]

i have a metal core but im looking for something lighter sounding
would this pedal give a "blink-182" sound?

[element1385]

i have a metal core but im looking for something lighter sounding
would this pedal give a "blink-182" sound?

[aktoastmaster]

If I only had a better amp!

[Key Master]

Keeley modded ds-1 is great

[Salamandyk]

Anyone wanting one of these for cheap and in mint condition im selling one on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Boss-DS-1-Distortion-Pedal-INCLUDES-POW ER-ADAPTER_W0QQitemZ130302157996QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Ac cessories?hash=item130302157996&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkpar ms=72%3A1215|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

[DaeMoN_X517]

how the **** did that guy make his battery last for a year. mine has to be replaced once a week! and i unplug it whenever im not using it!

[razzmire]

plug it into rp-50 with reverb and g5 noisegait

[milwaukeerocker]

geez, i'm probably being a bit picky here, but learn how to use equipment properly people. Yeah, if you have a crappy guitar and amp, most all pedals will sound like garbage, idiot. an easy to use pedal, but doesn't necessarily give a GIGANTIC variety of sounds. Oh, and if you play metal of any sort, well, what the "F" were you expecting when you bought this pedal as opposed to the Metal Core or Metal Zone pedals? And yes, first and foremost, concentrate on getting a good tube amplifier, then concentrate on guitar, then pedals. Then, instead of just saying something sucks, try making other suggestions smart guys, what's the hot piece of crap you like using? Or, try your pedal with a different amp or guitar, oh gee, i never thought of that duh! Oh, i think boss is coming out with a pedal called the MMH-1, the "Metal Meat Head," sounds like it will suit some of you perfectly.

[craigfarner]

this is the most original and simple distortion pedal BOSS has to offer. I would recommend it to grunge and rock players.

[the83strat]

can you get some good "ANBERLIN" style tones out of this pedal????

[WantsLesPaul]

My DS-1 sounds pretty crappy through my G-Dec Jr. Should I switch it to a overdrive pedal?

[the83strat]

can you get good high gain sound out of this pedal?

[ChildofBodom22]

Terrible pedal, waste of £40
Real crappy sound, very buzzy and irratating

[joesoleo]

Does anyone think that ultimate guitar is swamped with bogan metal heads that crap on every piece of musical equipment because you cant play metal on it?

[milwaukeerocker]

^^^that would be at least incredibly accurate. Everyone knows that the real metal guys actually still respect many other types of music, the others are just posers who probably think scorching a bunch of power chords in drop D makes them killer basher metal gods dude!

['93]

WantsLesPaul wrote:

My DS-1 sounds pretty crappy through my G-Dec Jr. Should I switch it to a overdrive pedal?

depends on what you play...over drive and distortion are different things

[xVyKariousx]

I don't know why, but my friend and I both have the DS-1 and for some reason mine sounds like shit no matter how I set the tone, volume, or distortion level. I've compared his to mine, and there's a clear difference between them. And yes I had the battery changed.

[TheAbsentOne]

Just got one of these today. It's my first real pedal, aside from my Digitech RP250, but that's a multi-effect pedal.
I got this pedal because the distortions on the RP250 are really terrible,and I needed some better distortion than my tiny 10 watt amp could produce on it's own.
Found this pedal for 50 bucks, don't regret a thing.
Awesome distortion, low price, durable housing, what's better?
I'm definitly only buying BOSS pedals from now on.