Boss DS-1 - Can It Sound Good?

00:00 - Intro DS-1
01:38 - Rubbish Tone
04:46 - Very Cool
06:00 - Chuck Schuldiner
I've had so many discussions with mates over the years about the Boss DS-1. I've read about it in GuitarWorld for ever and a day hearing how awesome it is and the countless recordings it's been on.
I wasn't having a bar of it until now :)
It's actually pretty cool and easy enough to find one cheap on the used market.
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[@mikerauter1859]

Not sure whether you've stumbled on it but (it's out there in DS1 literature land - an ancient advertising spiel from Roland which states that these were DESIGNED to go hand in hand and used in tandem EXACTLY as you've just demonstrated with the SD-1 and DS-1 stacked) well done!

[@aquilarossa5191]

I remember that brochure from back when I was a lad. They had suggested pedal combinations. Overdrive and distortion stacked was in a few of them. I could never remember which way around they said to do it. Going by this video it seems OD into the DS1 is the way to go. P.S. I always heard Satch, Gilbert, and Vai used the DS1. I also could never get it to work. Sounded like a windy butt crack. I have seen them talking about how using the DS-1 let them use almost any backline and get their tone. It makes me wonder if they also stacked an overdrive. I also wonder if even earlier players stacked fuzz pedals with treble boosters, so the fuzz is not that thick sludge tone.

[@mikerauter1859]

Good point and also the amount of compression and eqing post recording, Nevermind has a killer DS-1 based tone, it hits like a scooped sledgehammer, surely a lot of post-production to achieve that compared to the DS-1 tone you hear in front of your amp on its own.@@aquilarossa5191

[@thedddemon]

Only problem, the SD-1 came many years AFTER the DS-1.

[@djabthrash]

The boosted/DEATH tones were absolutely badass

[@j.harris1351]

I've had the sd1 as my "always on" pedal for my fully distorted tone for years now it never fails

[@burnoutzzz]

The ds1 nails death's very early albums, chuck actually apparently used one up until he started using valvestates!

[@thedddemon]

Yes you can clearly hear it on the first album, DS-1 + JCM800.

[@wootks]

Quite interesting (and in hindsight obvious) pedal combo with the SD-1 and DS-1. Really goes to show with the right ear and hands you don’t need a whole lot to get some classic tones. It seems like there are no bad Boss pedals, you just don’t yet understand how to use them. It’s funny to see people realize that pedals like the DS-1 and Metal Zone are actually quite good in the right context. We all sold them short as beginner players.

[@altpath]

Yeah Ive used the metal zone as a preamp into an IR loader pedal and into powered speakers. Sounds great.

[@matheusrocha4082]

As always great video and great playing

[@ale0800]

Great job!!! Your story is very interesting because it happened in a very similar way to me. I started playing in 1989 with an SS amp and the DS1 and HM2 sounded horrible on it!!! After this traumatic experience, I switched to other equipment but I always wanted to understand what the secret to using these pedals , since many people had excellent results! Thank you for sharing your experience!

[@bodydomelight]

Holy DeaTh Chopper !!!! Loved hearing you play those riffs .

[@zacharydavid403]

Flying V, Boss stomp boxes, Lambchopper video-Let’s Go!

[@paulbeharrell]

Just ordered another one thanks to your excellent demo! I'd had a DS-1 for ages that modded up nicely, but I've got a nice stocker from 2002 on its way. Looking forward to stacking up some great tones... Cheers! 🤘😎🎸

[@thrashnbash314]

Great video is always. I don't have any boss pedals at all But I do remember frustration with my practice amp not being able to get a decent sound throwing a cheap pedal in front of it. It's amazing that you are able to nail that Death tone with just a couple cheap petals.

[@JTB--]

Crushing Day!! Great Tune

[@carlmcgregor2707]

I got my 1st DS-1 3 days ago... absolutely love it.

[@zandig666]

I actually like this pedal it sat on my shelf for years now I love it its my base tone. Pedals are soo subjective to peoples gear and settings but I've got this dialed in in conjunction with an eq

[@travismiles5885]

I got my DS1 in 1987 and then bought my guitar teachers 1979 or 1980 Boss CE-2 chorus pedal for 25 bucks a few months later. Love em both.

[@CPUrafael]

Very nice!

[@Bryan06106]

Hey Lamb, I also had a DS-1 and couldn't make it work for me so I sold it and now you kinda make me wanna buy one again lol. I wonder what it'd sound like through my EVH 5150 III Stealth. Cleannnnn playing as always 9:40 🔥Could you try to do some Trivium tones??? 🙏

[@ziggyz2958]

Great riffage as usual! I'm glad I bought the SD-1 instead!

[@andreidoanca4262]

mate that Spirit Crusher tone sounded right on the money

[@pedrova8058]

And then they put both pedals in one box, added an EQ and the Metal zone was born! haha People hate those pedals just because they don't spend 5 more minutes turning the knobs; there's no "instant sound" with those (that's why they put controls) xD It reminds me some of the sounds of Mastodon, crunchy, full mids, at the edge of been saggy

[@bnzboy]

SD-1 saves the day!

[@The_Absurdistt]

I recognize that bird... it's the singer of the band HateBeak!

[@Lintmusic]

I hated the sound of my DS1 about 20 years ago, could only get thin distorted thrash and grunge that didn't sound anything like I wanted. In recent years I found turning the overdrive and tone all the way down and doing like you have done: having an OD in front (I use a Tonedriver) and turn the bass up on my tube amp. Suddenly i've got a thick and tight sludge tone, perfect for like Down, Eyehategod and also stuff like The Sword. DS1 is a classic for a reason

[@christopheranderson2158]

Try running it directly into the amp FX loop Return to bypass the amp pre section. That makes the DS-1 your preamp and, into the right amp, sounds AMAZING!

[@sunsty1e]

death riffs still sound so fresh lol

[@ajizzle4rizzle]

Siiiick

[@johnbambara163]

Sounds even better with the waza booster preamp in front of it

[@jonathanrasmussen4848]

I don't have a SD-1 at hand, but I do have a TS9DX... do you reckon I can get the same result with that in the original TS9 mode? Same as you, I have a DS-1 but rarely use it. I need to go try it. Love your videos dude!

[@wootks]

He mentions you can probably use a tube screamer or any other boost pedal. Likely with the TS it will be a bit smoother sounding due to the difference in clipping in that pedal. Might work great. I think the real magic sauce is the EQ pedal.

[@TheShreddDude]

Can you do a Boss Katana EVILE tone from Five Serpents Teeth

[@romanf9149]

Do you think you could do a tone capture on Exodus Fabulous Disaster or Metallicas Kill ‘Em All

[@13guitard00d]

He could easily do the Fabulous Disaster tone with his gear, since Gary used his JCM 800 while it was still stock and boosted it with an SD-1 on that album.

[@finishin.my.coffee8780]

The sound around 2:40 is faithfully recreated on the Katana lol

[@user-iw1sd6bx7r]

I stacked mine with my HM2 back in the day.

[@Petterstrojka]

Nice combo. I use a modded ds-1 (less gain for more control and assymetric distortion) into a janky mxr fullbore metal. It is nasty.

[@13guitard00d]

Do you still remember the settings you used? I have tried that combination since I have both pedals, but I never got any decent results.

[@fullclipaudio]

I bought a DS1 last year because I saw some videos where people were really making this pedal shine but I got out of it was a farty tone. I'm gonna dig this pedal back out and give it a try.

[@DirtyxLarry]

I think we've all owned this pedal at one time.

[@smarkalet9078]

Always seemed strange to me that when stacking pedals, the soft clipping mild overdrive goes before the hard clipping heavy distortion, when in amps it's the opposite, the mild mushy power amp distortion is after the hard clipping pre-amp.

[@aussieas6655]

Ive got the ds1-x. Hate it. Would be keen to see if you can make that sound half decent before I sell it 😂

[@BigMuff75]

Spiwwit Kraaashaaaarr!

[@eze8024]

Have you ever used the Boss Metal Zone? Id love to see you dial in some Metallica tones using just a Metal Zone in front of a clean amp

[@kurtcummins9067]

I have this distortion pedal.

[@mattster693]

i think the ds-1 suffers from the same problem as the hm-2 which is they both dont really handle high output pickups at all, you really get nothing but flub no matter where the distortion knob is set unless you turn it all the way off, even with lower output humbuckers in a lespaul i find i have to turn the volume on the guitar down to halfway or lower to get any clarity or punch for rhythym playing, but its also cool because now you basically have a lead boost directly on the guitar by using the volume knob for more compression and gain! its actually magical

[@billsalvey]

It sounds awesome...fucking awesome!!!

[@Cam-uv5sc]

At the end of the video, it would've been nice to see just the DS1 through the 20 watt jcm 800 playing stuff off Leprosy, Spiritual Healing, or Human since he used that exact setup for those in the studio. I know he used a Solid State Randall on Scream Bloody Gore so that would probably be out of the question for a video, but hopefully we can get a tone video for the others since they are really simple to get.

[@LambChopper678]

I thought he used a Gallion Kruger on those earlier albums

[@crowbarmode]

⁠@@LambChopper678the 250ML, if actually true, was supposedly only used live for one maybe two tours! A few records before the Valvestate were an 800 with the DS-1, although I’ve never gotten that combo to sound as good as scream bloody gore 😔

[@Cam-uv5sc]

@@LambChopper678 That is what I heard originally as well, but then I saw a post from someone there during the recording of Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy and they said something about the tones being blended with a solid state randall. Personally I feel more like it would be the Randall rg anyways, since the SBG tone is harsher with more upper mids and treble, and the 250ML doesn't have that from what I have heard. Then again the DS-1 could've given the 250ML that tone. I only know three things for certain. One is that 800s were used on tour for Leprosy and Spiritual Healing since you can see them in live videos of those tours. Two is that someone who toured with Death for the Human tour said he saw them using Gallien Kruger 250MLs on stage. And three is that Solid State Randalls were definitely used in some way because there is a picture of James Murphy recording solos for Spiritual Healing with Randalls in the background.

[@sniffmatip3865]

Hey dude, im looking for a v style guitar, I dont have any shops near me that stock them to try them out but I like the feel of Ibanez wizard necks and would like something close to that. Do you have any models to suggest I should try and check out that have that flat shredder neck with nice big frets?

[@mountkarate-nunchucka]

I'm looking for a js32t. Affordable and reviews look good. King v or rhoads.

[@LambChopper678]

I think the cheaper Jackson models are great quality. Carbon stiffeners to keep strengthen the neck and compound radius fretboards is awesome. I’d stay away from Floyd specials though or replace the saddles for Floyd 1000. Still a bargain

[@mountkarate-nunchucka]

@@LambChopper678 just ordered that js32t I was talking about. I'll keep u posted. (I'll probably forget) @asniffmatip3865

[@Juicexlx]

ESP-LTD Alexi Laiho for the win or a Jackson Rhoads neck-through. Save and put good money on any of these two & you'll have Limo in your hands. Soo good.

[@mountkarate-nunchucka]

@@Juicexlx that alexi is what I really wanted, my wife: not so much. For $500 aud the js32t is an ok introduction to the shape for me. I'll find out if I like it soon enough.

[@danielsaturnino5715]

My favorite setting is actually - off. That Said, nice sound you manager to squeze out of it.

[@williamwhalen7764]

The DS-1 and the TS-9 were the distortion pedals of the 80's. They were great but you did need to work with them to get the tone you want.

[@BigMuff75]

As a general consideration, I'd rather not go beyond 10, 10 o clock with the distortion on the DS-1. This will introduce that nasty fizz on top.

[@someonehadtosayit2566]

My biggest disappointment in pedals to my surprise has been the Revv G4. Very flubby pedal in both the front and in the effects return. Same formula with an OD next to it and eq in the effects loop and it’s workable. I think you made the boss sd1 sound even better than my G4 honestly.

[@rovespasiano7425]

ds1 work w pick up that it has low imput and need to the amp need to have little of distortion

[@C17YES]

That is one beautiful bird! I have a cockatiel and she gets scared of my guitar.

[@JayLee-od8ob]

The DS-1 through an old Hiwatt head. If you know, you know.

[@Hoscitt]

Plenty classic punky tracks recorded with a ds straight into the desk

[@djabthrash]

Examples ?

[@TheShreddDude]

You dimebagged your Jackson

[@LambChopper678]

Yeah I’m not into the Mustaine thrash factors as much as I thought I would. Just tried the dimebucker and it sounds great

[@tonycullotta8528]

turn the distortion knob to the left you may find something you like

[@Malevolent_DaniT]

Can you make Boss Katana Anthrax guitar tones please? I've been requesting this since last year.

[@JimVincent]

Juca Nery has a Madhouse tone that's decent. His Justice tone works well for some Anthrax too.

[@aheadofmetal]

Hey dude! Check out some of the full mixes I did with this pedal on my channel. It can get a pretty interesting slam/early death metal tone when running an eq into it.

[@johnbuell8035]

What do you expect when you already have huge distortion on the amp and then add more with a pedal? The parrot’s got the best tone.

[@Fartinhalerr]

I use it when I'm playing the sword, I use the amps distortion and just color it a bit with the ds1. I only use it for the sword tho

[@ChuggOfCthulhu]

I honestly don't think it's THAT hard to get a good tone out of a DS-1. These tone chasing videos are great if you're new to guitar, gear, studio techniques used on recordings etc., I love the channel, no disrespect, at all. You've nailed tones to a point beyond anything I could attempt! I've just never found getting a good tone with MOST gear, that hard. That's even before a EQ is used. The amount of EQ used here is out of control lol. You can start with the amp EQ, dial in the pedal EQ, then add a 6 or a 10 band. You don't need these all these parametric and preamp pedals. Yes, it's fun and cool to see what's out there. Please just don't go away thinking you NEED to drop $500 at Master Effects or Fortin. Everything Lamb has done with the Boss Katana proves that...

[@micahwatz1148]

Its a classic hard rock tone for clean amps.

[@mf5514]

I forgot to ask, going to Knotfest, or Lamb sideshow?

[@LambChopper678]

Nah, I wish. Just bought my daughter a car 😭

[@mf5514]

@LambChopper678 well she can drive u down then!

[@SalandFindles]

Great video, bro! Now try the DS-2! Both pedals were used heavily by Kurt Cobain. it's well-documented. Try it by itself and then in tandem with another pedal just like this video.

[@jacobansari808]

The DS-1 is a great if you play it like a fuzz pedal

[@dalepiwek]

I modded my DS1 years ago and it sounds much better. Much tighter and for what it's worth, better than the yellow OD for a boost

[@dalepiwek]

I forgot to add it's also a lot cleaner

[@tonybarber420]

​@@dalepiwekhow did u mod it?

[@dalepiwek]

I can't remember exactly as it was about 5 years ago but it involved a few resistors and the substitution of maybe a jfet with an op-amp? Some idiot stole it from me so I can't just pop er open 😂 but I can tell u it was less grainy, more full and actually usable. Plus it wasn't so buzzy, u know a bit cleaner and musical. I tell ya what I'll dig thru my old camera cards I might have a picture, if I do I'll report back. I'm pretty sure anybody would think it's better🤘

[@wizrom3046]

I used a DS-1 from 1980 through to the mid 90's. Awful sounding thing, very harsh and fizzy. You need good pickup output to get a decent sound from it like a high outout humbucker, dont even bother with a strat. And a clean amp. The DS-1 has lots of harsh fizz on its outout, so to get a decent sound you need to run it into some pedals to de-harsh it, like a delay or mild flanger and roll off some of the highs using their controls. But that is also its (only) strong point, its output contains a lot of high freq stuff so it can get tasty when you run that through enough mellow pedals. In those days (late 70s etc) the pedals all robbed you of a bit of top end so if you needed to run through 5 or 6 pedals then a DS-1 might have been a good choice as first pedal.

[@ToneOClock]

I always found it funny how Kurt Cobain, despite having one of the best amps for distortion ever, the mesa boogie studio preamp, would use a ds2 running through the clean channel of the amp instead of using the amazing built in distortion the amp had

[@wizrom3046]

Because the DS-1 sounds harsh and awful. Perfect for grunge, no grunge guitarist wants their tone to sound "nice"

[@-Taerar-]

They should have marketed it as a Distortion/Overdrive ENHANCER rather than simply labeling it Distortion.

[@PeteKaltsa]

I have a ‘78 & ‘79. Gary Moore, a 60’s Strat and Marshall = Victims Of The Future Album. One of the best tones - ever! Listen to the start of Murder in the skies here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIWxcquDnsapipYsi=bEb63OrvwoJjsf3i

[@therisendead7]

Play some Grave!

[@mountkarate-nunchucka]

Thank god for decent affordable amps these days. This is the sound i remember from the late 80s, that and those horrible peavey amps. Ouch.

[@mountkarate-nunchucka]

I wrote that after 3mins if your vid. It got better. U should find one of those peaveys for a laugh

[@flavio2989]

🦜

[@mehegama]

ds1 is not for metal. It has this muddy/fuzzy thing and the distortion does not saturate.

[@salahbaker4089]

Clipper, ...

[@greevar]

If you're playing your guitar alone, you're going to like a tone that sounds good in solo. Having other instruments in the mix makes a big difference on how you set up your guitar tone. What sounds good with the band will sound like garbage by yourself.

[@Hexus13th]

It goes in the effects loop.

[@LambChopper678]

It sounds terrible in the fx loop

[@Hexus13th]

@@LambChopper678 Don't make me make my own video. I'll do it... maybe.

[@JimVincent]

It goes in front (as Beelzebub intended!)

[@singleproppilot]

This is like digging for diamonds in a pile of shit. Back in the day, it may have been all you had, but these days there are so many better options, even on a tight budget.

[@LambChopper678]

Agreed though there’s 1000’s of these out there growing dust. It might be worth trying out for some people

[@CarRobots]

I'll be honest, I think in the right context, literally anything can sound good. Good sound = big money is just wrong. Then again, I love old punk records. Production is overrated.

[@jarhead3038]

Distortion is 60 yr old sound and easy to mask crappy playing.

[@diabeticmonkey]

Glad I'm not the only one who found that the DS-1 doesn't sound as good as the majority. I just don't like it.

[@warhead5809]

Sorry, but if you really have to use it in a very specific way to make it usable, It's not really all that good. There is no logic here, why would you boost an amp with distortion and OD pedal at the same time? I'm not saying It didn't sound good in the end, but It's not a very good pedal if you HAVE to search for a specific setup...

[@kurtcummins9067]

I have a youtube channel.

[@HIMcules2112]

Mud n rubbish 😂

[@Juicexlx]

Ok. Going down the memory lane of bad distortion on early Metal albums from the 80's. It's actually pretty good or my ears are getting too old to hear properly? LMAO!