Boost Pedal Comparison (through a JCM 800 Studio)

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thomann Affiliate: www.thomann.de/intl/index.html?offid=1&affid=3210 My personal Thomann recommendations: thmn.to/thocf/cv37zixo68 My webstore for Captures, presets etc: ko-fi.com/sonicdrivestudio Thanks for supporting the channel!

[@elvis_chen]

1:10 JCM 800 Studio 2:18 JCM 800 Studio + OD808 3:13 JCM 800 Studio + SD1 4:10 JCM 800 Studio + Soul Food 5:14 Side by side

[@slag5150]

SD-1 is a legend. Love it here and in front of plexis.

[@williamhogarth6866]

Agree. However, I know a few ppl who think the DS-1 is on par with the SD-1. I've never liked it. And sense it was my first pedal, it was a few years before I gave Boss another chance. I heard a guy in a club using a SD-1. He sounded great. I talked with him after the set was over. He explained all the nuances of the two pedals and also agreed the DS-1 is kinda shitty but that it does have a place among certain genres and can sound great. It just never happened for me.

[@christiancordaway2181]

SD-1 is my baby momma! 800 and Plexi for me!

[@teddobbs6516]

As much as I normally love using a TS9, here I have to agree! It’s a pedal made to go in front of Marshall’s.

[@phantasmagora6542]

Great tone and playing. All three are great pedals. When you're using this much gain up front the differences become subtle. OD808: Mid-focused. Tightens up your original tone. SD-1: Aggressive. Creates an edgier pick attack and cuts bass. Soul Food: Flat boost. Retains more body of the original tone.

[@rangerdoc1029]

OMG that sounded so good unboosted.

[@shafiksalamoon7255]

I'd second that. Sounds so good.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Nothing wrong with that!

[@KeannuReevezzz03]

to each his own man, some people like myself like it tighter, and some like it with more body

[@zackakai5173]

It was alright, but a bit loose and flubby in the low end. It would be great for a blusier style of rock but for this kind of hard rock pushing into metal territory, I think the boost definitely improves the sound.

[@G-NutZ]

That’s what I’m saying, sounded raunch rolling bone dry.

[@mystdeisanto9647]

SD-1 is perfect companion for Marshall amp (and similar sounding amp i.e. Friedman), OD808 is for everything else (5150, Framus, Randall, and other modern hi gain amps). OD808 tighten up some low end and slightly roll of the high, that what makes this pedal a gem. In the other hand, SD-1 is cleaner and almost like treble boost.

[@elvis_chen]

Cannot agree with you more.

[@Particle67]

+1

[@dildojizzbaggins6969]

Cannot agree with the cringey broken English.

[@Flametopology]

SD-1 all day long!

[@roybuis7646]

1:34 Unboosted 2:42 Maxon OD808 3:37 Boss SD-1 4:34 Soul Food

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Notes: I realize this is a simple way of comparing boost pedals. If there are enough requests for more with different styles (low gain bluesy for example) I will consider making another one. The amp settings remain the same throughout the entire video.

[@horse_dog]

Sonic Drive Studio You should try with an Abominable Electronics Hellmouth. It’s a tube screamer clone with extra bells and whistles like toggle-able LED clipping, gain boost, bass cut/boost switch, and a clean blend

[@markedwards7721]

They are not being used as lead pedals , but rather rhythm sound changers.

[@RefereeDahmer]

Great idea. Please do more. Thank you.

[@c.turner4588]

Lower gain bluesy would be great please. Great work.

[@CrazyCalabrese78]

Good video, as usual :) Maybe you can try the same comparison but with master volume all the way up and preamp gain turned a fair way down.

[@NickHillMakesMusic]

Always cool to hear these types of comparisons. It’s not even about what sounds better but helps one figure out what direction they want to go with their sound. Great video per usual Jon!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thanks bro!

[@scottl4026]

Thank you for adding the isolated guitar. that is so important when demonstrating a guitar tone. Good video. I think the JCM 800 sounds great alone. But it's interesting the different tones you get boosting a Marshall.

[@thorpenator9148]

Criss Oliva loved the Sd1's. He was an amazing player with great tone.

[@jfrog1979]

Right on! Showing Criss some love out there!!🤘😀🎸🌹

[@thorpenator9148]

@@jfrog1979 Yes...have to. Criss was a benchmark player.

[@adamkalkman787]

The Maxon seems to be high mid focused, the Boss is bright, and the Electro Harmonix is more of a flat boost. Paired with an amp that is already mid focused I think I like the Electro Harmonix the best.

[@kennyleejohnson5253]

What Adam Kalkman said...

[@Soldano999]

It'z a klon clone.

[@whiskerbiscuit6674]

The boss and the maxon are exactly the same circuit only the boss has assymetrical clipping. But he had the gain knob down so there was no clipping at all. So the only difference between the two was how he set the tone knob. If you look at the Soul food he had the tone down. That's what it was deeper.

[@HugoWelti]

@@whiskerbiscuit6674 there is clipping even if you run the drive knob on most TS-type pedals. Have you tried any? Also, the Maxon and the Boss aren't the exact same circuit. They are similar, but asides from the clipping diodes, theres different part values elsewhere.

[@whiskerbiscuit6674]

@@HugoWelti Yes I have tried many Over drives. I own four that are strictly labeled over drive. Both boss style and TS style. Regardless of part values the circuits are still the same. The circuit is the signal path not the part values. Otherwise no pedal would be considered the same because you can always change out a part and change the sound slightly. They say the same circuit because you can remove one or two parts of different values and replace the ones of exact value and have a direct clone. And if you're going to get anal like that then even the same parts of same rated value actually have different values because their tolerances vary from one to the other, so under your definition absolutely no pedal is the same circuit, even one TS to the next.

[@mikke69ful]

All great, but SD-1 was the best!

[@regortex3364]

In the 80’s when I was a teenager, we had this figured out. The Tubescreamer with its huge mid boost worked best for Fenders midscooped character, SD-1 worked best for the JCM800 series to push it into higher gain without muddying the waters. Zack Wilde for example did this for decades.

[@jessemuscato]

gary holt also

[@saintrhoads3375]

Wylde

[@donaldkarr3687]

god i wish i was a teenager in the 80s

[@Gitarzan66]

@@donaldkarr3687 It was a cool time. I miss those days.

[@reneotten7376]

@@Gitarzan66 it was the best. It was another, a better world.

[@michaelgriffin5304]

It's been so crazy watching this channel grow. Kudos to you for putting in the hard work and making great gear content!

[@smcgloth]

The Soul Food sounds bright and punchy. IMO the best of the three.

[@guitarpunkcovers]

I really like the unboosted tone the best. Nice video, thank you for this one!

[@MarcosCerutti]

The SD1 sounds more open and with a more controlled mids

[@jeffreylazzarinisr7419]

Great vid! Soul food for me. I could hear the "bassness/fullness" more than the others.

[@philfrank5601]

Call me crazy but that straight unboosted tone sounded awesome. The boosts just tightened things up a bit. I imagine you could feel the difference quite a bit more.

[@albertoansaldo2958]

Maxon OD808 is not "like" a tube screamer! Is "THE ORGINAL" tube screamer, as Ibanez was just rebranding the maxon due to its ability to have a worldwide distribution Maxon was not capable of, that time.

[@SamIntharaphithakOFFICIAL]

The raw sound and soul food are the best. The other 2 pedals lack bottom end. Great VDO!! Thanks.

[@metaljonesy]

Great comparison, the EHX seemed to complement the amp most so very interested in this to add to my OD collection! This test seemed to reinforce my thoughts of which boost for which amp, always choose my Maxon OD for my American amps and the SD1 for the British style amps, been doing that for 10 years because it kinda felt right and from all the reamping it just sounded the best match. Great vid as always

[@maxmolina6519]

They sound similar. To me the 808 sounds like it has more low mid push and the sd-1 has more high mid push. The soul food sounds great, like its unlocking more gain in the marshall rather than pushing it into more gain. If that makes sense

[@singleproppilot]

Max Molina You mean the Soul Food doesn’t chop off the low end like the other two do.

[@abiwankinobi]

They all sounded really good in different ways but if I absolutely had to pick only one, I would take the sd1

[@jaroslawsiemienowicz2750]

I used to add 80’ RAT2 to my Marshall. Sounded great. Older RAT2 has that ability to go from light OD to Fuzz(ish) sound. If you have a chance just check it out.

[@jonathanfoster100]

For me, I think the SD1 & soul food sounded the best, maybe it’s just when you here the maxon these days with all the vsts it just gets plain Jane. The soul food is more smooth as where the sd1 is bright. I would go for the soul food cause I’m lazy and don’t want to cut frequencies but the sd1 would probably cut in the mix better with a little notching. Anyways great video man.

[@singleproppilot]

They all sound good to me. Even the unboosted head has raw, spartan crunch that I find appealing. However, I couldn't help but watch the video six times just to learn this riff! Awesome and stylish playing!

[@thruthenever]

Wow, what serendipity! I am pulling the trigger on a new 800 today and was wondering what would be the best to boost it. Then this shows up in my subscription feed. Thanks for the great video!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Awesome!

[@torahwarrior2442]

I use a tight metal jr. Tight drive jr. And a bad monkey plus a EQ in the loop...gets everything from judas priest to maiden to GnR. With that selection....killer tones. Such a good amp when you know how to use it

[@williamsimpson5507]

I've always been a Tubescreamer fan but this video has me really wanting to try an SD-1. I think the SD-1 was actually my favorite, lots of presence and clarity.

[@raybrooks2429]

You should try it. You can get them all day for $40-$50, and if youre into tweaking, CSGuitars has a great video on how to replace a couple of diodes for LEDs and it really turns the pedal up a notch.

[@lewisstorer89]

once again for modern metal and recorded hard rock/metal tones, I think the SD1 is the best. The way it cuts/boosts is just perfect for mixes

[@tked970]

SD-1 for the kill

[@StratMatt777]

If you've got a Blues Driver laying around set the level to 2 or 3 'o clock and the gain and min and see what you think. It works great on my soldano astroverb for adding just a bit more edge, transparently. My favorite is probably my Barber Direct Drive. If you pull the tone knob up it boosts the mids to turn it into a "Tubescreamer Killer" (according to the instructions), but that is too muddy/middy so I leave the knob down. Great video and I still LOVE that riff. And yes, the JCM800 alone sounds great.

[@BrodySilverSN]

StratMatt777 I’ve just recently went back to my Boss BD2 and have it set up as a boost pedal. Needless to say, I’m loving it. I use it boosted in front of JHS Charlie Brown v4, JHS Angry Charlie v3, or Joyo American Sound (all three set up with slight grit).

[@dannyahansen]

I guess I am biased as I have been using the SD1 for over 20 years. I just has the right tone to it.

[@semyonboyk0]

Just found this channel, and now I'm binging it. Your videos are crazy good, thank you very much for all your work, kind sir

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thank you and welcome!

[@jasonstallworth]

Dude, I think I'm liking the sound best with the Boss SD-1. It has more 'bite' to it. But that Soul Food pedal has a bit more warmth. All 3 sound great, and if it were me, I'd record one track with one pedal and the 2nd rhythm with another (hard-pan each) to have those subtle differences in the mix.

[@stevestarr6395]

The Maxon was great and the SD-1 always sounds great in front of a Marshall!

[@g3ultra]

Back in the 80s, I played an MXR dist+ into a JCM800 and got a great tone. Now I'm chasing tone with a JCM 2000 DSL. They all sound great and that riff is BADASS!!!🤘

[@jmyers9010]

I use a TS9 into my JCM 2000 dsl. Can’t beat it!

[@bobbihomo2517]

D+ into JCM800 is basically Rhoads tone as the superlead added a stage, so 2 gain stage with CF became 3 gains with CF (JCM800), then hit it with D+ OD. Only thing else that would be needed is EQ to tweak the frequencies, but also all above nominal, so acting like a boost, on top of OD, on top of JCM800 (with bright cap)!!

[@msmoniz]

Boss SD-1 did it for me! Cut through a little more and kept the bottom pretty tight.

[@danthrax7407]

It´s a pleasure to see your videos man, you make so easy to see, easy to hear and you give us the easiest way to check them that only can say thank you!! And for me I prefer the Maxon, but I think it´s because I had it in the past and I regret to sell it.

[@RayRay-pg3fx]

I was pleasantly surprised by the Soul Food. Tight gain with a good bottom.

[@jgmopar]

I love the green box OD's My main go to is the SD-1 or MXR Ill Diablo for boost.

[@dangoesweedlywoo]

SD-1 for sure. Tightened up the low end and sounded super bright and aggressive. The Maxon was alright, also gave that nice high end but didn't tighten up the low end as much as the SD-1. Can't say I like the EHX all that much. Sounded super flat and little energy. Super awesome video though!

[@sparepartsfordeadpeople]

I've always been a great fan of the Maxon pedals. But in this comparison, the Boss did the best work with the Marshall amp. I love this bright sound.

[@iancurrie8844]

This a great way to do a comparison. The real answer is Blues Driver!

[@jessemuscato]

mesa grid slammer like a blues driver and a screamer

[@MrVegiita]

Since I never heard of Soul Food pedal, that sound was very interesting. The Maxon and SD1 are slightly grainy sounding but still good.

[@Josh-it6uy]

I think your channel is pretty cool and helpful for looking to look for amps with a variety of guitars.

[@xjohn1970]

that JCM800 sounds prefect. a lot of bands still use them to this day

[@rapragermusic]

Good idea for a video. One thing though, you should start with more of a break up tone on the amp as opposed to full distortion to really hear what the pedals are doing. By starting with an already distorted signal each pedel is lost in the fuzz. Most famous players who use this technique do that so you don't lose the transients/definition.

[@chrismitlyng1411]

I’ve used an SD1 and Soul Food in front of my 2203 for years. The Soul Food for a baseline pedal (always on) to get the amp where i need it, and use the SD1 to boost the amp for solo work.

[@LaszloErdosy]

Maxon stood out the most for my taste. Cool video man , thanks for sharing.

[@TheChayseEmge]

Dude, that’s a banger riff, had the head moving.

[@AndiKravljaca]

What this video proves to me, is that a boosted 800 is still just about as close to tone heaven as you can get! for what it's worth, I thought the soul food was a teeny bit better than the other two, but they all sounded great.

[@torahwarrior2442]

The secret weapon to classic jcm break up at room level volumes is an attenuator...I got a weber minimass 50...you have to drive those power tubes. Tone gold

[@ArpeggioBeast]

Hey tim are they easy to use ?? if so how do i use 1 i wanna buy one =)

[@thefilthygringo9228]

I’ve got the limited edition stealth sc20h and I love it on its own. However, I recently bought a TC, electronics, mojo, mojo and love it.

[@robertolsen9721]

Boss sd-1 for me cause I have a dark amp

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Great choice! The Soul Food can also be dialed in much brighter but the SD-1 does this more in the mid region

[@robertolsen9721]

@@SonicDriveStudio I use it with the kraken preamp in the effect loop of my Engl fireball.

[@TheCandyMan666]

Unboosted > EHX > Maxon > SD1 The EHX kept it pretty neutral, which I liked. The SD1 just added some unpleasant brightness to it.

[@jeremywooldridge5537]

I use an Ibanez TS9 with mine. Works well but damn, this vid has me wanting that Soul Food. Great comparison here. Keep it up!

[@zandig666]

Very cool I saw this vid I've gone back to using my soulfood and I have all those OD pedals I'm using a Volume pedal in the loop and the buffer in it is pretty killer PS thanks for showing the pedal control settings up close I would love to see your amps settings up close as well !!

[@profile1251]

Great playing and excellent presentation in your videos

[@jameslucas1137]

Very nice video. This test is something I was curious on since I have the SD1 and I am focusing on buying the Maxon. There is not such a big difference between those two, but I honestly believe the Maxon is better for recording reasons only. Lately I am using the MXR Wylde Overdrive that makes things great too, but the SD1 brings more warm sound . So , in conclusion , it depends on what you want to do. For live gigs and home practice, the SD1 is a great choice .

[@orcunozcan]

Can we able to connect that marshallhead to the directly extwrnal soundcard via dı out? by the way did you use loadbox? brand? thanks

[@maxmustardman298]

to my ears even the unboosted tone is pretty usable in modern rock / metal

[@rambukband1925]

Good job! Would be cool to see some boost pedals (which are not OD's) with that JCM 800. For example TC Spark, Fortin Grind, Dunlop Micro Amp (Plus), Keeley Katana and so on.

[@runnningonempty]

The soul food surprised me..The Tube screamer always works great but I was not impressed with the sd1 not clean enough..Thank for another great vid

[@douglask.carvalho8393]

This riff and the tone are so great that I use to put it on repeat when I'm jogging. This shit should be on a song, it's fucking awesome!

[@rk28984]

Nice! I just recently changed to a Boss SD-1 as a boost for my Orange Brent Hinds Terror and Laney AOR. Now I'm getting rid of some boutique pedals as the Boss SD-1 sounds better. In your video all the pedasl sound good, in the mix I prefer the Soul Food (very ballanced) and SD-1 (nice and gritty in the high end) but the difference is so minimal I think it doesn't matter what you use. Also good is a Proce Rat as a cleanish boost.

[@allrightasa]

Nice! I like Boss SD - 1. Myself use Boss CS - 3 like overdrive, turning "Level" on max. If you want, try a compresor pedal for boost your amp. Thank you for video, i really heard the difference.

[@chrisway7113]

It’s hard to choose. I like them all, and the unboosted tone as well. I’ve got this amp and I use a TS808DX. I tend to just use the boost side of the pedal and it sounds great. I’ve got a DSL40 as well. With that amp I prefer to use the crunch channel with an OCD. All are great pedals, both are great amps. You can’t go far wrong with any of this stuff. Great demo by the way!

[@spiraldrop4897]

Forgot to mention, I experianced that if you use these pedals with cheeper amps, you can hear more of the difference between these pedals. When you plug in higer end beasts, the difference is subtle... Used all 3 with Jet City JCA22H and now with H&K Triamp mk2...

[@runxzze123]

Maxon for me. Excellent as usual bro!

[@celestialode]

if you're not looking the differences are minimal and could be hardly spotted, great video by the way

[@satarello]

Maxon and Boss are similar. I like both of them. The differences are in detail and it is individual taste...thank you

[@soldanovht]

Dude your amp sounded great the way it was. Adding pedals to that amp is like putting ketchup on a filet mignon.

[@jswen2477]

i think Maxon is best for modern high gain sound, SD1 is the perfect pair for JCM800, i used Soulfood as volume boost coz its transparent.

[@shane2973]

I'm at 6:25 and I really like that raw and untouched! wow...I am pleasantly surprised! Huh...now I'm listening to the 808 and I really like that too...I think I really like the way you use this amp...Good Job!

[@George_K.]

Electro harmonix seems to give the amp some kind of "flourishing" overtones and I found its tone most enjoyable even if it's not as focused. The Maxon is coming in as a close second - looks like you can never go wrong with an 808. I've seen more comparisons including the boss super overdrive as of late, but on every video I've heard it it sounds too bright and a little harsh to my ears. It surprised me personally, because I've tested the boss pedal myself for a couple of days and I really liked it, though I've never compared it. BtW I've been dreaming of getting a 4x12 and trying out a combination of V30s and greenbacks in it and because your comparison methods seem so immaculate, I'd love to see speakers comparisons with the SC20H and the EVH 5150 EL34.

[@redpowerthrasher5744]

I got all those pedals, On my JCM 800 2203 the Boss Waza Craft SD1 sounds killer.

[@halfaron]

Great video. Not what I think of when I hear "boost" pedal, but sounded great.

[@tedzeiller2711]

Raw Jcm 800 sounds perfect to my ears. I'm a metal player. I would of course want something heavier, when needed, but wow it's just up to the individual persons ear! You can't say ones definitely better than another you never can

[@jodevries4288]

That sounds so good, my preference is the sd-1.

[@nickolaynaydenov3292]

Amazing riffs and playing!

[@nickvictor7398]

The Boss Super Overdrive sounds best to me. It had a good tone that cut through.

[@progrob27]

I can't decide, they all sounded great and with no boost sounded great- what wonderful problem to have :D

[@mariomendes993]

The pedals are very good. Super overdrive SD 1 is great, i have this pedal since 2009. Very nice video.

[@Mr131313ck]

soul food : retains original while cleaning slightly mid and low

[@VelvetYeti]

This was a really good video, thank you!

[@seventhsealhere]

The boss sd-1 sounded the most alive in my opinion. Then the EH and then the Maxon. I would normally gravitate to the Maxon but this amp seemed to open up best with sd-1

[@MercutioUK2006]

Genuinely feel that all sounded brilliant in different ways, but the EHX seemed to compliment the amp in frequencies it didn't initially focus on - slightly darker, seemed to add a little more bass and gain. Overall, stunning - and thoroughly convinced by the Ownhammer impulses.

[@dukedbk]

SD-1....tried all 3 as well. Then I tried my Monte Allums modded SD-1 and it was the winner!!

[@buzz_cooksey]

I was pleasantly surprised by the Boss Super Drive! 😳

[@nazderinkalyoncu1297]

REALLY GR8 VIDEO....LOTS OF INFORMATION IN A 6 MINUTE VIDEO...VERY USEFUL....MAYBE THE BEST BOOST PEDAL DEMO EVER...THIS WAY I WILL BE SAVING LOTS OF MONEY...THANKYEW THANKYEW SONIC DRIVE....

[@motorbreath22]

Great comparison awesome rhythm OD and the Maxxon sounded very similar to me, the Electro-harmonix had more lower gruff to it which I liked the best. The Boss has higher end rasp and the Maxxon has shimmer / crunch to it.

[@DrGray-qh6ow]

Try a Fulltone, Fulldrive 3, but rather than engage the drive effect, just engage the boost. Use the boost to push the amp, and then use the drive as a boost/extra dirt. Creates 2 stages of boost. Works. For the 3 shown, I vote for the Soul Food. All that said, I like to use a 1981. It's got beefy balls. Thanks for all the great vids SDS!

[@redeyeify]

I use a Boss Metal Zone It’s got so much flexibility so you can easily get your tone . I usually play a strat and it really has an awesome tone .

[@roimodeste]

Happy new year! I have a boss sd1 robert keeley 5 stars germanium mod with a true bypass and I think it's the best pedal to boost a plexi or a jcm800. More respectful of the grain of the amp with less midrange than a tube screamer. It keeps the sound of the jcm800 2203 with just the right amount of compression and harmonics as well for heavy rhythmic or solos piercing the mix without excessive coloration like tube screamer.

[@WillStensby]

Great video. Any chance you could do a similar demo using the Silver Jubilee head?

[@AndiKravljaca]

The SD-1 absolutely killed it. But honestly the unboosted amp was definitely good enough on its own!!

[@AnxoHunter]

Great comparison. Three pedals work great as boosters, differences are subtle. SD 1 sounded a little more trebly, soul food has slightly higher mids than the 808. 3 good options anyway.

[@dgeekay1494]

Amazing job John. For my soul food did the best job!!