The BOSS DS-1. The BEST affordable pedal you should own.

The DS-1 is a fantastic pedal everyone should own. Change my mind.

[@danielhahn7329]

Yo, was the first playing clip inspired by the United Shuffle in E by John Mayer Trio (Live) Very unlikely but if so, you’re a legend🤙🔥🔥

[@Varone26]

@@danielhahn7329 Ding Ding Ding! You are correct sir. Pinning this comment as you’re the only person outta thousands that got it right. Gotta give that Trio performance the credit it deserves. Someone’s gotta tab out Johns part!

[@ab8817]

i love how the ds-1 is having a renaissance

[@BobcatOneManBand]

It's been that way for years, but it's best not on guitar, but on vocals. I sing into this in my one-man band, on a two-year tour across the US, aiding people in their recovery from interplanetary complications.

[@Bibleguy89-uu3nr]

I just bought one I love it, even on a clean amp

[@chez36]

"uhh i just make it sound like my guitar is crunchy" -me a guitar noob

[@madsam7582]

Actually, that's pro level guitar language.

[@sl4pr66]

me personally i use it as a strait up nasty distortion pedal with the distortion and level all the way up with the tone almost at noon gives a killer tone

[@Varone26]

It can work great like that too. Especially modded versions like the Keeley and JHS models where they treat it as an *amp in a box* distortion.

[@sankdhit420]

Yup

[@Crash.7434]

Idk I tried one at my local guitar centers and it sounded no different then my gain on my Marshall amp. Not worth the money for the same sound

[@billyjettison]

I used to use the ds1 a lot to achieve John fruscante tones. But when I got the ds2 it just made the tone and range I had so much more better thru my Marshall’s. Sure do miss my old ds1 though was a absolute killer pedal for the price I paid for it. I remember it was the first pedal I got in highschool with just enough money I saved to go get it at guitar center. Still wish I was a beginner miss being able to learn so much

[@Crash.7434]

@@billyjettison I’m there right now and you may be able to help me. There’s this band from Chicago that started in 1986 called “Life Sentence” if you could, could you tell me if a waza craft boss hm-2 can achieve that sound?

[@Halcyonix-ei7vn]

The DS-1 is the first pedal I ever bought, who’s hating on this lil guy? I love it!

[@melodkeyelash]

The "Boutique" crowd = trust fund kids with no rhythm or soul. A great pedal is a great pedal, period.

[@bigweenor]

it’s shit if you’re not using it as a boost coming from someone who isn’t rich

[@Uninterested69420]

Lol how tf did nirvana create one of the biggest records of all time using this pedal then ?

[@bigweenor]

@@Uninterested69420 hit album or not Ive used this pedal and it sucks

[@numbers7889]

@@bigweenoryou don’t know how to use it, I used to hate this pedal up until I discovered how to use it.

[@bigweenor]

@@numbers7889 I used it how everyone says to I used it as a boost it sounds like a slightly below average boost

[@chanxy7925]

diatortion at 10 o clock tone at about 9. treble at 5 mids at 6 or 7 and bass at 4 sounds so good for crunchy acdc sound

[@SentiMental5414]

I'm a sucker for a good crunch tone that doesn't make open chords sound like crap

[@Lucifuge666_]

I’ve been using this pedal for ever since the early 90s I don’t know why people hate on it either if it’s good enough or Kurt Cobain, that’s good enough for me

[@James-eg3nf]

DS-1 stacked with a another OD in front of it is unbeatable. You can get get nearly any kind of tone, from hard rock to death metal.

[@Varone26]

100000% agreed

[@sallgoodman2323]

Cool

[@godzilla964]

I had a Fender strat, a Fender frontman 15 amp, and a ds1 and it gave a pretty good sound for covering Nirvana.

[@cthulhuchan9587]

The Nirvana Bleach sound is a solid reason to own one in of itself And one day I’ll own one too when I’ve got the money

[@saltylips9965]

DS2 is the same with extras which is why Kurt swapped the ds1 for the ds2

[@tya8182]

One of my all time favorite guitar solos, Marillion's "Easter" was recorded using a DS-1 with the tone all the way off, I believe. And it sounds amazing.

[@voxpathfinder15r]

It was made during an era of loud stage volume and Marshall 1959 superlead amplifiers were still king, master volume Marshall only had been out a couple of years at this point. And stage guitar leads were super long erasing lots of high frequency. It was a great pedal for that era. I still love it, go ahead and get your favorite coily cable, it’s high frequencies attenuation will be your friend!

[@SadisticSadistOfficial2]

I have every dial on max for my bass and guitar. Just ordered a HM-2 for my guitar though because I felt like my guitar could be heavier. I love the highs I get on bass when I max out the DS1 though

[@Easy-cg1it]

it's the metal zone that everyone hates not the ds1 both good pedals though......

[@digglydonk]

i always have my distortion CRRRANKED because i am a FILTHY rocker, tone down, dist up, max gain on amp makes my neurons jump around like little bugs

[@FynnFTW]

Ok, the Pedal is cool. more important. Where did you get that killswitch button?

[@Asimo44]

What does boutique even mean?

[@Varone26]

@@Asimo44 numerous things.. small batch, hand built/wired, expensive components, not mass produced, specific brand name association.

[@dcuss7294]

I had one back in the early 1990s, but I replaced it with a Ibanez DS-10. Now that's a mean little green pedal! Thumped on the power chords tru a couple old Marshall tops. But eventually I got rid of that too as I went for a cleaner jazzier sound. Still, listening to the DS-1 on this video, I'm sorry to say I never really liked the sound.

[@Yoshi1up]

One of Steve Vais favorite pedals. He said it's his go-to in the recording studio.

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Y'know what meme pedal is actually quite good? Metal Zone. Very good pedal, just not for metal. I got a cheap DS-2 which everyone says is just a DS-1 with a 'Turbo' mode, not sure if that's the only difference between two. I've seen side-by-sides and owned one years back. it seems to me that it depends on the rig whether or not they're gonna sound distinct from each other, I don't know how else to explain it. Of the two, I prefer the DS-2 - particularly when paired with another overdrive.

[@xx3astmanxx928]

That pedal works with literally anything. I bought one in high school in the early 00s & it sounded great when being pushed through a fuckin Fender Frontman 10 MIJ from 1981 lmfao

[@claudiasolomon1123]

I don't hate it, I simply prefer distortion pedals that are on the more absurd side of distortion. DOD Buzz Box, Digitech Death Metal, that's my scene. BOSS D.S. is definitely not terrible.

[@Oesbbr]

I prefer ovedrive pedals Like the valeton OD-10 Basically built on OD-1 Boss . But the DS-1 is also good for people who need more distortion gain.

[@FakeMetalHead]

This pedal here in Brazil is extremely expensive, always wanted it, you can get a used one for around 200 R$ , a new one can get to 700 R$ , wich is very expensive for the people don't know

[@aarzek]

I use the DS-1 almost as a surrogate tube screamer, and i’ll also use it in conjunction with my hm-2 for tones reminiscent of black/death and groove metal.

[@nikoma_]

It’s true the DS-1 is meant to boost an already somewhat dirty signal but you don’t need a second pedal. Just set your amp so it’s slightly dirty then kick the DS-1 on.

[@Gitfiddle]

I run the DS1 into an overdriven amp. Not gained out. Think a Fender combo that’s starting to rumble a bit. Tone at 1/4. Drive at 1/2. Level flat out on 10. It sounds fat round and beautiful. Add another tube screamer or Klonish pedal for 80’s rock. Love it!!!!

[@bjornrockettansky3077]

Nice. I do the same thing except i use the turqouis colored overdrive pedal. Cant remember who makes it. But its used by the black dahlia murder.

[@manuelester7420]

Use it to play Flying turkey trot, by Gary Richrath of REO Speedwagon. 😀😎

[@rockinbobokkin7831]

My first pedal. There is nothing at all wrong with this pedal. My favorite is to run it with a fuzz and reverb , maybe use a wah

[@rigorhead01]

I'm considering a strat with 2 humbuckers. My main guitar for many years has been an HSS strat. I need another strat anyways to keep as a 1/2 step down guitar for songs that I struggle with singing.

[@Varone26]

An HH was the route I wanted to go as 2 of my Strats are SSS and 1 HSS. This one has a SH-11 in the bridge and the 78 custom in the neck both by Duncan.

[@URFAVORITEGUITARIST]

I use the DS-1 as just distortion. I think it can make an amazing Ride “The Lightning tone” if you know how to use it: turn distortion all the way up on The pedal. put the tone (ON THE PEDAL) at halfway. Make sure your guitar is on a clean pre-set, then turn up your treble (on amp) and then turn up to your tone (ON YOUR GUITAR) all the way.Then turn the gain all the way up and same with the delay settings. The rest (like bass, medium, ETC) you can tweak to whatever you like and if you understood these directions well (and I have good directions) you should Have a “Ride the Lightning” guitar tone

[@austinsatterfield6792]

Honestly i run this with my fender champion 100 with about 6 gain on the amp and I barely have the pedal activate tbh, with low mid with the pathos pedal. Just adds a nice crunch

[@cheenu711]

Its an old pedal and in my experience it doesnt like super high output pickups. For DS1/ratt in front of adriven Marshall is the peak of tone.

[@scramblesthedeathdealer]

That was my first pedal, still own it, just got a PSK DS-1 clone for a neat side piece in my Boss collection.

[@ShaneStoneOfficial]

Boss pedals are incredible… except for their drive pedals. I’ve tried so many overdrives over the last 20 years and boss just can’t nail it. The blues driver is ok, but there are far better sounding pedals on the market

[@johnstanley6977]

Never heard a bad sound from one. Except when you turn the tone knob right side of 12 o’clock.

[@In0centz]

I'm still a beginner, but I've got a Les Paul and a Marshall mg50fx, but it seems the od setting on the amp still doesn't put out a lot of distortion, would this pedal help a lot?

[@Rael0505]

I don’t mean to hate but I really dislike the tones in this video, both before and after the pedal is activated

[@Cosmicshambler]

I'll just stick to my DigiTech grunge pedal

[@KnapfordMaster98]

GREAT tone both on and off! What SD pickups do you have in that guitar?

[@Varone26]

The bridge is a SH-11 Custom Custom. The Neck is a 78 Custom.

[@dyllyputty]

everyone hates on boss simply because they’re boss. if they took 1 minute to try a boss pedal, they’d realize, they’re boss.

[@Blindbatman221]

HATED!!! What Kurt contain used this to record teen spirit and Steve via used this in one of his signature guitar solos

[@DavidGonzalez-su6zg]

Kurt cobain used this for a while then went to the DS-2. to talk shit about this pedal is to talk shit about most of 90's grunge.

[@TheOfficialCaseMade]

Every time I hear a DS-1, my brain just screams NIRVANA.

[@F1-Passion]

How can you litterly come up with the statement “Not a lot of people know how to use it” I mean do you run surveys on this? Sounds but cocky tbh

[@youknoweverything7643]

Ds-1 is for every guitarist teens from early 2000s blasting it through line 6 spider amps or use like in video lol

[@tikeyjazz]

ds1 off : active is 1magnetic... ds1 on: active is all magnetics. play the single magnetic challenge

[@greenfly1264]

Its a cool peice of kit .You just pushing srtymon. Which i love.😂

[@markerdude]

Extremely versatile and "underrated" pedal

[@Robyn_iz_Here]

I got a clone of this which had s 2 band eq for really cheap its called the hot head by Digitech. Full recommend

[@Varone26]

Digitech is a brand that never gets the love it deserves! Bad Monkey proved it can outshine or go toe to toe with all the boutique builds. The hardwired series was some of their best work.

[@pablomaquiling9252]

NOT A REAL TEST... you used it with another pedal... Like... common, sis

[@Varone26]

The pedal is an amp simulator, not a gain stage distortion/OD. If you listened to what I said in the video, you can use it with an already dirty amp. The time you spent commenting could’ve been allocated for you to test it yourself.

[@joshferguson9703]

Ds1 and the Metal zone for them to be such terrible pedals they sell in the millions each year kinda makes you wonder

[@elkrumb9159]

Ahhhh guitar players one of the worst gear communities ever (source am guitarist)

[@adamalexanderray]

Literally my only gripe with the DS-1 is it’s not got enough output level.

[@IamLegend6]

OG ALERT, OG ALERT, HIDE YOUR KIDS AND HIDE YOURS WIVES!!!

[@PhillipGolden-o7o]

I use it is an ‘amp in a box’ distortion and I think it sounds great, don’t really get the hate, just roll the *tone* off

[@randym3982]

Should give distortion through any amp at low volume and it does neither its a POS

[@tommykaira8775]

I prefer the DS1 off, all the clarity and definition is lost

[@UseTheSupeRsonic]

If it’s good enough for Steve Vai, it’s sure as hell good enough for most of us.

[@Stsanchman]

I’ve always used it as a crunch boost, gives it a nice Punk sound

[@jroze33]

Damn Kurt Cobain and Prince didn’t use it right :/

[@whyjermeysocute]

I don’t have this pedal as I don’t really need one but I do think this is a great pedal

[@fogpumas]

I love my DS-1. One of my favorites.

[@MoreDeuce434]

I bought one. I’m happy.

[@diarmaidok]

Its the only distortion pedal I have and likely the only dirty pedal I'll ever need

[@emilytvmusic]

people just use it wrong and rely on it solely for they’re dirt but yeah you’re right it should be used to color and already dirty marshall or what have you, it’s too thin on it’s own thats why people hate on it cause alone it is mediocre

[@Varone26]

I think even using it with the drive gunned paired with an OD in front of it can sound pretty decent. Just takes time tweaking to get something good.

[@paulcurtis5317]

Got one in about 79/80, still got it, still works 👍🤟

[@davidramos4317]

Love that guitar

[@tyayres7964]

Dude these are cool pedals, i can even get good sound into a clean fender champ 100, i love this pedal😊

[@zockerhdgarantiert]

I use mine as a boost for my rat pedal. It works superb and it's also a good crunch pedal / overdrive if you turn the distortion knob to the left side.

[@ryanyost6745]

Yep, still sounds like garbage.

[@buckcrowell8916]

It's gotta be cause its orange colored but not the Orange brand.

[@kevinharpermusic]

the ds1 is the best selling effect pedal of all time. metallica used them.

[@SoniaGail]

45 years old. What they carnt up with better

[@eze8024]

Is that 2 humbuckers, a 3-way switch, 1 volume, no tone knob and an arcade button kill swich? Ive been wanting to do that but not sure how i would wire it

[@Varone26]

You’re correct!

[@basman2006]

Who hates on it?

[@Solvs913]

Yeah people just don’t know how to use it and it’s so cheap in price they think it’s no good BUT .. I know how to use mine and it’s AMAZING

[@joshdudeman9107]

Even more so for the metal zone

[@name-ni3jc]

It's good enough for Steve Vai

[@taxationistheft2.0]

I use it on a clean channel

[@gupster24]

Clean with the distortion down a bit is awesome, also love it with the level ip

[@taxationistheft2.0]

@@gupster24 I try to use Cobain settings but it's too loud at home hahaha. For me level at at 12oclock Distortion from 11 to 2 o'clock Tone full.

[@malachischarfe3781]

i love my ds1, dont care what anyone says

[@BestGear41]

I'd still have to go with "sounds like shit" 🤷

[@Emet.V]

I use a boss blues driver and DS-1. Has all the gain I need.

[@locochang6533]

Lol. Yea. It sucks hard

[@paullee5449]

Ace feckin tone 🍄

[@diegof488]

Yo lo uso hace 20 años pa los concert le agrego un ts9 streaming y suena genial

[@jamescromer550]

That pedal is mandatory.

[@BobcatOneManBand]

As Rhett Shull says, and I agree with, it's better than any tube screamer pedal. I also run this with my vocals on my one-man band set, helping people understand and hopefully resolve their interplanetary complications

[@GyroJM]

i just got one last week used for $30

[@B.C.5230]

I regret selling mine back in the 90's

[@TimothyWarner-q7s]

Twangy strat junk

[@AC2237]

The Strymon is all u need, just set it up better

[@maykolllopez1585]

I’ve always loved it

[@ghxstblxck]

No one picks on the ds-1. The meme is metalzone

[@mr.peetatto6469]

This peddle is the nirvana peddle

[@CasperTheGhost64]

That was my first pedal.

[@helio1055]

“time to make some hipsters mad!” ☝️🤓

[@meangenew.jr.6564]

Nah sounds pretty shitty.