Boss DS1, DS2 or MD2? How To Choose Which Boss Distortion Pedal Is Right For You

[@yallimsorry5983]

I really feel the opposite of the person who said this video was too long, this is really in-depth and informative. I had no idea how nicely the OD-3 can shape the distortion pedals' sound. Also you play a lot nicer than a lot of people making these kinds of demos. Really cool! Thanks for making this!

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Wow thanks for the kind words Y'all! I'm planning on doing a video on Boss overdrive pedals soon. Your feedback is really useful! I'm going to try to still get all the information I can in it but just try to condense it a bit more and cut down on the rambling I think. Thanks for commenting!

[@frankrizzo5710]

Agreed, very informative.

[@thomaslthomas1506]

I had to watch in 2 sittings nothing wrong with that though.

[@BobcatOneManBand]

He makes the OD-3 sound incredible! This pedal is my second favorite overdrive tone overall (only to the nobels for most single coils)

[@carloto96]

That "trick" of putting the OD-3 after the Distortion is really eye-opening! Thank you!

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Glad to help! There are a lot of pedals that do well in that low drive slot that the OD-3 is taking, I really like the Catalinbread Foundation series.

[@dagony7383]

Thats the way i was taught go do it back in 78 when i first started playing.

[@dagony7383]

Md-2 all the way!! Only distortion pedal ive used since it came out.

[@bagazheful]

@@dagony7383 you definitely need to try some other pedal

[@blacktoothfox677]

Hope you tried a low gain setting on a powerful distortion, with a Tubescreamer of some kind in front of it? I don't do much gain-stacking, yet the TS in front of other pedals in an absolute. I have the lil' Michael Angelo Batio signature vintage overdrive, with a 'bass boost' - its my fave tubescreamer ever, and aint expensive, but the THUD is awesome. Best of luck with it all, and ant questions dont hesitate to leave a comment somewhere, I've literally only gotb a handful of subs on me lil' channel so WILL reply! Cheers, stay heavy out there.

[@felliperockz7857]

Many people hate the DS2 because of the mids on mode 2. But in a context of a band playing or even with a backing track it makes the whole sense. The guitar sound easily find a place. When we play alone we have a completely different understanding of the sound that we are making. The same settings in most pedals are wonderful in case A and awful in case B. It's just a matter of patience and open ears.

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

When he talked smack about that setting I wasn't expecting that much but the moment he went into mode 2 the pedal sounded dramatically more useable. Mode 1 was so thin and tinny by comparison. Embrace the honk!

[@ImotekhtheStormlord-tx2it]

no one reasonable hates ds2. it has the best sounding distortion

[@UseTheSupeRsonic]

Spot on. Hearing a tone isolated is deceptive. It’s not until you hear it among other instruments where you really get a feel for what’s going on. Whenever I craft a tone, I always try to do so with some reference alongside it. I’ll pull up my drum software or listen to a modern record to see where I ACTUALLY stand. In the room is one thing, but once your tone is mic’ed….it changes the whole thing

[@kinnanton]

I don't know why the ds2 turbo mode is só underrated. Thats my fav. I love that.

This is a great comparative. Simple, clear and concise and very well explained. Great work! Greetings from Argentina.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Thank you very much! Hello Argentina you beautiful people.

[@luismendo]

Nice move simultaneously switching one pedal off and two on :-)

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Thanks!

[@adriandelacroix]

Excellent video, you’ve inspired me to pull out my old DS-1. Never could get it to do what I wanted, now I’ve got some ideas though. The side by side comparison here is fantastic. You really did a good job describing the different tones and representing what each pedal could do.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Great to hear! I hope you have a bit more success with it this time around.

[@Zappabain]

DS-1 was designed in the 70s to be used with an already saturated amp. Just in case you were trying it with a completely Clean channel. I hear the thing is to find the sweet spot of amp saturation and DS-1 distortion. If you know way more than me about this, as I imagine, let this serve to people who don't.

[@christuxford4462]

My OD-3 into DS-1 at the front end of the amp is my absolute favourite distortion. Endless violin sustain. It sings beautifully for lead and rhythm when all is dialled correctly.

[@fabriziofanti3645]

This Is the point, is the od better before or After the distortion? In this video Is putting After but i know sound Better before like boost..

[@christuxford4462]

@@fabriziofanti3645 Definitely before the DS-1. It boosts the signal then hits the DS.

[@freeelectron8261]

Much better with OD on before Distortion - brings out the low mids. Makes the distortion sound more full.

[@dml8379]

Hello, I am very late to this party but wanted to say thank you for this video it helped me a lot, lot, lot. Made my decision based on this. Od3 will be my very first choice of paddle. I want to put it in front of a high gain Wild Fro from Tonecity, which I got as a present. I recently decided to take up playing the guitar again. 36 now, used to play since i was 15. when I turned 30 i suddenly stopped cause of my occupation and the loss of passion and start of some depressed phases, to a point even, when the guitar could not cheer me up anymore and i just forgot about music. Turns have tabled and... Now I got myself a Marshall origin 20h with a 2x12 cab with v30s. Guitar a Jet Js 300 which has been amazingly modified and i cannot wait until i can start my holiday at the weekend with my first practice day again. Thank you!

[@kevincrozier8625]

I had an original DS-1 back in the 80's. I recently bought another one and man you can tell the difference right off the bat. But I always used my boss overdrive as a power booster with the DS-1. I have a couple of other overdrive pedals that I use the boss with as a power booster. I learned that trick years ago and it works great. Plus the sound is more clearer.

[@bushleague3472]

Damn, I've never been a fan of the DS1, but run into that overdrive it sounds awesome! In my mind the DS-2 is a classic, just because its been used on so many albums that I like. Most significantly the new Refused album "War Music" was largely recorded just running a Ds2 through a Twin Reverb. Everything from crisp, modern hardcore tones to smooth bluesy overdrive, amazing the milage they got out of such a simple rig.

[@warthogdriver55]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I'm just getting into pedals so this was very helpful to me. I liked how you went through the tones and showed how they sounded best.

[@jacksonmasco]

people who are hating on this, let alone saying you SHOULDN’T have done an on/off OD comparison, have no idea what a good, thought out, well recorded demo is supposed to be. keep up the good work, bro

[@user-ec6xd2ig4c]

Boss overdrive and distortion pedals are good. It's all about the different tweak options. Each pedal has a distinctive sound suited for different genres of rock guitar sound. 🎸 Buy them all. You can never go wrong with Boss pedals.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Well said!

[@vince8081]

The overdrive and distorsion Ds1 are absolute classics, the best you can get from boss. For the other two (big modern saturations) other brands offers really better pedals.

[@justinwhite6534]

I have an OD-3 and a DS-2. I found i could get some Brian May like tones from the turbo setting on the DS-2 , really cool. I often would use it like a clean boost after OCD into my AC30. Great Vid cool comparison.

[@2beJT]

I love my MD-2.. especially with bass guitar!

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

I've heard of someone else liking the sound of it on bass guitar. Good to know!

[@theDragoon007yaboiCJ]

The OD and DS together really gave me that sound i was looking for when playing territorial pissings and breed by nirvana which i believe were done with plugging directly to the console

[@Zappabain]

Kurt insisted in plugging a RAT directly into the console, to horror of Butch Vig.

[@rolandomota9258]

Ecuador(SouthAmerica) is watching you

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Wow! Hello Ecuador!

[@andrewgremba1450]

This is an excellent demo, some of these pedals were meant for styles that are different than the styles shown. This is in no way meant as dismissal of your playing, knowledge and expression. All of which are far beyond my own level and experience. Again a very well thought out video with a lot of useful information and mind changing facts and sounds. Thank you.

[@davidbuzzin426]

👍🇺🇲❤DS-2 TURBO MODE II ....is the magic 🤓I LOVE THE DISTORTION CRANKED, SLIGHTLY ROLLED BACK TO FIND THE SWEET SPOT ON THE POT ....AROUND 99.7 ish %

[@ironmaiden5658]

Fantastic video. Gotta be the best, most informative video on KZbin when it comes to these pedals.

[@SaxJockey]

The summary at 16:22 is good, and thankfully lines up with my choice (DS-1 is fine for classic rock). Good to see you also playing with single coil guitars 👍.

[@benharris5210]

Im mainly a super overdrive user, but the mega distortion is criminally underrated im seriously surprised it isn't on more boards.

[@AxelAlexK]

@@GretchZ where do you think the bass is best set? I have the behringer clone of the md2 and usually keep it at like 1/4 because there is such a crazy amount of bass and it tends to turn my spark 40 amp into a fart box lol.

[@MoncoField]

Yeah, ive been thinking that for years. I never understood why the mega distortion doesnt get more love. Its clearly the best one out of the three. It has more controls on it and you can make it sound like the other two pedals if you want. Its the more versatile one. Plus i just think it has a beefier sound compared to the other two which sounds better to me

[@onerandombruh]

​@@AxelAlexKthe thing about the Behringer clone lies on the fact that it's less "dark" than the MD-2... You can kind of make them sound the same, but the more your hear them, the difference is there... Of course, in the context of a mix or a live setting, it's almost unnoticeable.

[@boris10shock]

man thats my next pedal im gonna buy

[@gunkanjima3408]

I was incredibly impressed by the MD-2. I’m not even sure I’ve ever heard of it

[@lowehaggstrom3938]

Just What i needed to see/hear. Thanks!

[@ginoames]

I am a big fan of the DS-1. Easy to mod and sounds great too.

[@DanAdlingtonOnline]

Having the OD-3 in there made a difference. I own the OS-2 with Distortion and Overdrive combined which is a very nice pedal. The downside it you don't have the ability to simply switch off the overdrive and quickly put it back later mid song. A separate pedal is very useful. I like the detail in this video. It's not too long.

[@ginoames]

The adding if the OD-3 fattens everything up and shaves off any of the harshness. Really dig that.

[@moustachio334]

I love the MD-2 as a bass distortion. It really doesn't seem to filter out any low end. Also for a guitar pedal, the two band eq is amazing

[@aliffdzulhailie4599]

Md2 can use for bass?

[@fastacesus8499]

So late to your channel. These are really useful well thought out vids. Thank you.

[@t.michaelbodine4341]

Very nice video. I now combine a TS and a Boss DS-1. Thanks!

[@robdavies8413]

Really like your comparison videos, Michael. Very informative and you make everything crystal clear. Thank you.

[@leegs6614]

Thank You for the video! It's very helpful, because i'm going to buy one of this pedals.I hope that number of subscribers of your channel will grow up soon, you really deserved it!

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Glad it was helpful! Which one did you decide to get?

[@leegs6614]

@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar i think i will get turbo distortion. I'm really liked MD-2, but it's a bit expensive for me in my country.

[@BobcatOneManBand]

On my big board, I have the DS1 for the second highest gain stage (only with my fuzz face being a higher gain than this) after it, it either goes through a nobels odr-1 and blues driver or an ehx hot wax (it has a hot tubes and crayon) it often gets swapped for an MXR Distortion + i like both, different parts call for different pedals. This is a great video showing me the differences between the 3 of these pedals

[@lespauldisciple3349]

I have the MD-2 and love it but it is kinda bottom heavy. I run it right after a Morley Bad Horsie wah and the ultra bright Horsie is, uh, "tamed" nicely but still adds a bit of extra high end to the MD-2 for a really sizzling tone. (Using a Gibson Les Paul Special with P-90's into an Orange Micro Dark into a Celestion-loaded 1x12 cab.)

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

That sounds like a sweet setup you got there!

[@massttrshrdrharmonicminor2002]

Is the tone knob up?

[@lespauldisciple3349]

Mass: I keep the tone knob at 12:00 and bump the bottom end control up slightly. I play single coil guitars almost exclusively so having a somewhat dark sounding pedal is preferred. When I want bright I step on my EHX 'Ram's Head' Big Muff fuzz.

[@massttrshrdrharmonicminor2002]

@@lespauldisciple3349 I love fuzz, I use to have the black and blue bassballs but I did not know how to use it. I'm literally playing the Orange fur coat at this moment How do you feel about a Lp with a p90/humbucker configuration?

[@lespauldisciple3349]

A few years ago Gibson produced a limited edition 'Lou Pallo' signature model Les Paul with a humbucker in the bridge and a P-90 in the neck. The demos sounded seriously sweet. I would've loved to have bought one but the price was out of my league. (Lou Pallo was Les Paul's rhythm guitarist and partner in mayhem during his jazz club days from the 1980's up until Les' death in 2009.)

[@ushnicyuvnikof2748]

OD-3 affer a DS-1(W) is beautiful. Thanks for the tip!

[@implayingsomebass4753]

I recently found your videos and love your playing and insights! I've been playing far more guitar than bass in the last few years, learning tricks here and there. I can't believe how much of a difference the overdrive makes following the distortions!

[@metalfuryskulls]

This is great! I've just borrowed a DS-2 to compare with my DS-1; this has really helped to dial in the sweet spot of each as a starting point

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Glad it helped!

[@dw7704]

I have & use a DS-1 & a DF-2- very similar sounds I sometimes pair one of those with a DOD FX53 Classic Tube distortion as they have different strengths that enhance the other one

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Thanks for commenting. Would love to try a DF-2 at some point

[@navebucketdude]

This is a sick demo! Great pacing, editing, and really got a feel for all the pedals! They all sound good (DS-1 was my first pedal) but tbh that Mega Distortion sounded sooo nice with that strat!

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for commenting!

[@marcellofreitas7356]

I have the DS2, and for me it´s the best buy. I push it using the FBM1 Boss Fender Bassman. It sounds good in every way. I liked the MD2 better than the DS1, by the way. : )

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Good to hear the DS-2 is working well for you! I haven't got much experience with the FBM1 but I have the FRV1 which is from the same range and I like that. Thanks for sharing!

[@mikethompson5766]

I went with the DS1 after watching this video. Thank you

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Glad I could help. Hope that the DS-1 works well for you.

[@jasonmoskowitz246]

Mega Distortion is my go-to. Secretly it’s more of a fuzz than a distortion, but can chug out thrash where a muff can’t.

[@BrianGay57]

My tone secret is an DS-1 and an OD-3. Speakers can be a real rabbit hole! I have a more than I can hope to use!

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

I’m with you on that! OD-3 and DS-1 make such a great combo, especially for classic rock

[@BrianGay57]

@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar That’s my thing. Classice rock and blues. And don’t ask me if it will chug because I don’t know.

[@MrThemortgage]

I like all of the pedals, I have the MD-2 and set it to your settings is sounds great, thanks.

[@gonzalocastillo2804]

Tnx for the OD3 idea. I have my OD3 before my metal core. Will switch em to see the effect.

[@jacksonmasco]

absolutely fantastic demo and video, this helped me choose the MD2, thank you man 🙏

[@kurtweiand7086]

This was done very through. Good job . I have a DS1, ONE OF 1O MILLION!

[@maekong2010]

The MD-2 comes across as a BD-2 on steroids. I like it a lot, but the idea of a fourth nob is just more than my slightly underpowered brain can tolerate. As such, if I couldn't have the BD-2, the DS-1 would get the nod. You do splendid work. Keep it up.

[@TheCleaner6969]

Totally agree you have to have a speaker you like. I was so brainwashed into the G12 GB that I hated using my Phase 90 & a lot of other pedals that I avoided using them. Once I changed speakers I started using the pedals & it sounded right.

[@kyawtwankhine]

Great video comparing those three Bosses. Thinking about backing track riffs with Les Paul Black Beauty and having my eyes on MD-2 and thinking to buy it since a few days ago, this helps a lot. Thank you.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Sounds like a great setup for heavy riffing!

[@simonfowler81]

OD1 + DS2 = ❤️

[@twisky1535]

This videos great man, helped out a bunch, im a big fan of the overdrive with the DS2

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Hey thanks. I agree, the DS2 is a classic

[@victorjbarker]

very nice demo. i like the md-2

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Good choice. MD-2 rocks.

[@Deatg-ek8rf]

Anything but the Mega. DS-1 and DS-2 ars lovely. If you get a good RAT, they are great too.

[@SaxJockey]

I would like to add that to get the best from any pedal, don't JUST adjust the tone control on the pedal. A tip that I learnt (when using a treble boost) is to reduce the tone on the guitar to balance a bright pedal; the result can be your sought after well balanced tone. For example with the DS-1 tone not more than 10 o'clock, and the guitar tone between 4 & 7 (of 10). As always YMMV dependant on guitar, amp and room acoustics! Likewise, do not set the amp EQ at 'set and forget'; the best results may require a bit of refinement as your skills/kit event evolves (in particular less bass when using OD or Dist).

[@Zappabain]

Most useful comment, I had forgot about that! The volume knob to play with dynamics is also usefull, though I'd say even just the guitar tone knob affects dynamics of an OD, at least a valve amp one.

[@dustyjeans9748]

Thanks..very well laid out...I just purchased the MD-2 before hearing this...will probably purchase the DS-2 since it cus through a bit more......

[@Sos_tenuto]

DS-2 mode II is great when you want to pretend you are Randy Rhoads. It was the first pedal I got in !989 or something. Fond memories. Very informative video. I was quite surprised how much stacking the distortion pedals with an OD-3 at zero gain changed the sounds.

[@nadeemafzal8984]

Very grateful for the comparison as u saved me 50 quid Was looking how MD2 sounds and just isn’t my cup of tea - very ordinary IMHO

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Thank you. Glad it was helpful!

[@Simpleman1964]

Very cool Ty !! I owned all 3 pedals. Ended up dumping the ds2

[@al271987]

Well I just liked and subscribed. This is a great guitar channel. The thing with the DS-1 is there was a slight circuit change in 94 that gave it a bit of a scooped eq compared to earlier units which had a little flatter EQ. It wasn’t a super massive change, and current ones still can sound great, but that slight mids scoop in the new ones can make them harder to match with certain amps. Thankfully, if you have a DS-1 made between 94 and 2016 (of which there are hundreds of thousands floating around, I’m sure), you can easily swap out a few components on the circuit board and give it a better eq curve while still keeping all the good stuff a DS-1 brings to the table. After 2016, Boss switched to surface mount components, which makes them substantially harder to mod.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

This is brilliant information. Thanks for sharing!

[@al271987]

@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar I have one that a friend and I used to do the “Outlaw” mod from Machine Head Pedals. The point of that mod is to keep it sounding like a DS-1, just free the current design of its “warts.” It was only around 7 or 8 components to change and, when compared to a stock DS-1, really did exactly that. No more mid scoop, slightly smoother clipping (just a little), less fizz, but still good bass response and a very aggressive character like you’d think the pedal would have. The result is basically what I imagine most people think a DS-1 is gonna sound like before they plug a stock one in. Between the components, the cost of the pdf from Machine Head and a used DS-1, I’m pretty sure I ended up right around the cost of a new DS-1 when it was all said and done, and the pedal is absolutely killer now. They’re fun pedals to mod.

[@marcgallant5270]

probably the best way to compare pedals is to add a couple amps to the mix to complement your Fender. VOX AC15 + Marshall (JCM800 or DSL).

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Dead right. Unfortunately I only have my two fender amps at the moment. One day I'd love to get a few more classic amps to help do better demos. Thanks for commenting.

[@dankay7982]

MD-2 all day long. I am happy with mine :)

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Good choice! Thanks for commenting!

[@nunninkav]

That opening riff with the DS-1 sounds spot on to the Jet song, I think you recreated the studio signal chain.

[@indigos290]

I modded my DS-1 now it's singing, but my OS-2 just gives me that sweet spot all the time. I think boss got it right with the OS-2 straight up.

[@raygarcia2727]

I use a blues tube blue pedal . I read in Guitar Player magazine 15 years ago that Slash likes this pedal . But honestly I must have about 100 different pedals.

[@dagony7383]

Boss Md-2 all the way!! That and the metal zone is the only pedals i use, boosted with a boss super overdrive and a dimebag wah.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Nice.

[@mikkywhalan]

None are better, just different. But I do prefer the DS-2 as it has more Mids, therefore cutting through the mix better.

[@arkada]

cutting through the mix do you mean by recording your guitar?

[@ZoitJ]

I used to has the DS-1 and now I have the MD-2. I have to say when you just use the Dist knob on the MD it does sounds very similar, perhaps the same as the DS-1, and the Gain Boost seems to be an overdrive the runs into the distortion. At least that's what it sounds like. Great video!

[@RCMusic718]

Great video! I like the idea of pushing the sound of the Distortions with the OD-3. They sounded more focused and thicker with the overdrive stacked.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Glad you liked it!

[@RCMusic718]

@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar I actually purchased the Turbo distortion along with the OD-3 yesterday. I absolutely loved the way they sounded stacked!

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

@@RCMusic718 Fantastic! I agree, they're a great combo!

[@unixnation]

@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar thanks for the video - great work! It excellent and I think the most revealing thing was how the OD3 changes the tone of the other pedals, especially while we're playing at home-friendlier volumes! Like the previous commenter I'll purchase a pair of pedals 🙂

[@nazarlyshak]

Thanks for the info about Overdrive.

[@Xaion6]

I love my shredder stuff, I can just imagine the od going into the mega... I bet it's amazing

[@ShallNotInfringe]

Ds-1 is my favorite with the level cranked all the way up.

[@hugopezatti9805]

You've changed my mind! Thanks a lot

[@charlesrubitschung7592]

I like the DS-2 because I have a Boss DS-2 and I've been trying different sounds with it and with the Level at noon and the Tone and Distortion maxed out you get the sound of a Fuzz pedal and if you hook the input and remote jacks of the Boss DS-2 up to a Reverb pedal and A wah pedal it sounds even more like a fuzz pedal

[@thathandleistakentrythisone]

The OD makes everything sound better!

[@eravelnan659]

new subscribers here sir i love the way you demo the pedals im a fan of boss pedals too

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Welcome aboard! Plenty more Boss content on the way.

[@leftundersun]

I really liked the mode 2 of the ds-2, I love a sharp mid

[@leftundersun]

In my opinion, much better than changing speakers or using an overdrive is using an eq pedal or simply changing the eq on the amp

[@duffman18]

Fantastic video. You do everything with demoing pedals that I wish every KZbin channel will do. We can hear everything these pedals do and how they can be used, instead of noodling with settings they don't even show you like a lot of KZbin "reviews" of pedals are like. You're really good at this. And you're a fellow Brit. So you've got a new subscriber mate. Now I'm gonna spend some hours going down the rabbit hole watching your other videos Oh yeah, I've just had a thought. Cos I rarely see people on KZbin talking about this pedal, would you ever want to test the Seymour Duncan Tweak Fuzz? I could send it to you in the post and you make a video and then send it back or something. It's the first pedal that Seymour Duncan ever made and I bought it on a whim one day in a guitar shop in Luton. Little did I know it'd become my iconic sound with the band I was in. We played in Luton a lot, in the hat factory. Nice little club. The tweak fuzz is a weird pedal but it sounds amazing. It doesn't have a tone knob. It has volume and gain knobs, and then a "tweak" knob where it has 6 settings, and the knob doesn't turn smoothly in a gradient. It just clicks solid into one of six different types of fuzz. It's so simple that it's hard to get a bad tone out of it. When I was playing with that band I'd stick the tweak knob onto position 1 which is the least fuzzy of the 6 positions. And I played a bridge single coil pickup or a strat into it and it sounded AMAZING. Like usually the bridge pickup of a strat is unusable. But this pedal made it sound amazing It's just an idea, anyway. Because these Seymour Duncan tweak fuzz pedals weren't made for very long, and so now they're very rare apparently. Although not ludicrously expensive, yet. Maybe one day I'll sell it for hundreds of quid. So if you wanted to test out that pedal I could post it to you or something. Just an idea, anyway. It's probably not interesting enough for a video I suppose. I just like it cos it's the only pedal I have that's actually rare. So I go on about it a lot to people who don't really care 😂🤣 I'm just a guitar nerd

[@coleydotmp4]

This video made me realize that my MD 2 is perfectly fine i just need an overdrive pedal LOL Thanks man

[@dethbotx171]

Great video, gave me a clear idea of what I might want one for. I'm thinking DS1 for me, sounds Pagey with that overdrive on! Combined with a boost it might be able to go even further.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Good choice!

[@joelederhouse8421]

Years ago I build a DS1 into an electra lp copy. All my gear was stolen and that's all I had. That way I could run straight into the PA. I redid that guitar a couple of years ago for old times sake.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

That guitar sounds cool!

[@StueyDoo]

Late to the party on this video, but my biggest complaint on the DS1 is the placement/order of the knobs. The tone and the level should be swapped, as per Boss's other three knob pedals. It confuses my tiny mind haha.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Nah... Sounds better with them in the wrong place...

[@antoniodalfonso]

a very instructive video! thank you for sharing your thoughts!

[@keithcarter9396]

I preferred the Mega Distortion and I also preferred it when the Strat was featured.

[@diegocastro5114]

Cool tips. Very useful!

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Thank you! Glad you found it useful.

[@jitterjive4711]

Great video. Your analysis of each pedal was very helpful.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Glad it was helpful, thank you!

[@Giovy-Perez]

thanks MR. BANFIELD~~! God bless you.

[@flotenn3351]

I usually have my DS-1 in front of a ST-2, works great for me!

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

ST-2 is a good one, I'd bet that sounds pretty cool.

[@nedim_guitar]

Great stuff, especially with the OD stacking! I think I like the SD-1 best, with the OD on before it.

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

I presume you mean DS-1. Good choice!

[@nedim_guitar]

@@MichaelBanfieldGuitar Yes, DS-1. SD was a typo. 🥴

[@James-kj9hw]

What type of pickups are you using here? Its just the ds1 is very sensitive too high output pickups and i wanna know the output so i can gauge how well the od3 might work for me, unless the od3 fixes all the eq issues? Also thanks for this comparison, you have earned a sub today.

[@franklucas9313]

what an excellent video thank you very much! Question: you have the overdrive at the end of the chain and the distortion going into the front of the overdrive. I always assumed the OD would come first. could you tell us why the OD is at the end of the chain and would it make a noticeable difference if it were at the start of the chain? if it's correct to put it at the end like that I will switch mine over thanks :)

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Yeah I'll try my best to explain. When you go dist>low gain OD>clean amp, the OD just shapes the sound of the distortion a little bit in the same way that a slightly overdriven amp would, making the distortion a little more mid focused, rounding off some of the fizzy high end and tightening the low end. If you go OD>dist>clean amp, the sound of the distortion will have more top end fizz and a looser bottom end because it's going directly into the clean amp and the OD pedal will boost and add more mids to the distortion sound but it won't 'round off' the edges of it like before. All this is just in my experience and depends largely on what gear you're working with. For instance the OD-3 has a relatively full and flat frequency response for an OD pedal so it can be used straight into a clean amp to emulate a natural sounding overdriven amp, other pedals that do this well are the Catalinbread foundation series. A very mid focused OD pedal like a Tubescreamer or SD-1 can narrow the sound too much, and doesn't sound as much like a naturally overdrive amp when plugged into a clean amp, it's too narrow and nasal sounding for me but it can work brilliantly in front of an overdriven amp. For more on OD pedals you might find my Boss OD comparison video useful kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZDCpZ9sjNanb68 Remember the best way to decide is try it for yourself and see if it works for you. Hope this helps.

[@mattbradford1135]

Excellent review. Thank you!

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Thank you. Glad it was helpful!

[@REP300]

The DS-2 is hard to beat overall. I've tried a heap of pedals and it's just got what I like.

[@aurora3655]

I’ve owned the OD1, and DS1, I like both, but the DS1 is my fav. Mega is v cool too tho.

[@BassGuyRy]

Great video, you get a sub! DS-1 is still one of my all time favorite pedals.. (just never ever move the tone knob past 12 or it sucks lol)

[@MichaelBanfieldGuitar]

Welcome! I agree, DS-1 is brilliant when used correctly

[@Marc777c]

👏, please do with sd1 after. thankful

[@kimmolingonheimo]

Thanks a lot for your informative videos, Ive got 2 Boss OD-3s and 2 Boss Blues Drivers to go after or solo: great buttersmooth lead tone... tempted to buy another Boss, but moneys running out and I already have a coupla distortions to try after the Jazzy OD-3! Thanks again, Kimmo 🤣