software

Both me and the other guitarist in my band picked up some used ds1's to mess around with, i was going to use mine as a boost and he was going to use it for a different tone, but we both hate them. Mine is newer (i think an 04) and was made in taiwaan with a silver label, his is older and a bit beat up, but was made in japan with a black label. is there any difference between them? they seem to have the same type of sound, but is one better than the other?

No they both suck. I'll give you $40 for them though.

I belive that there are a fwe differences in the MIJ vs the MIT...SD97 could give you good answers, and also make them much better IMO that they are right now!


Originally Posted by the guy who invented fireI belive that there are a fwe differences in the MIJ vs the MIT...SD97 could give you good answers, and also make them much better IMO that they are right now!

I have the schematics for the MIJ and the Taiwan made pedals...Both pedals component value wise are the same...The difference is that the MIJ model uses dual 8 pin opamps and the Taiwan model uses 1 inline opamp.I've never played through the MIJ DS1,but Lew and I have similar tastes and great ears.If Lew tells me the MIJ sounds better,than it is better...

Both pedals benefit greatly from being modded...The mods give the pedal more lows,less shrillness and fuzzy stuff riding over your notes,better harmonics,more tubelike in feel and tone,quieter,and the inline opamp in the Taiwan model gets changed to a better,warmer sounding JRC opamp..

If you purely want to use the DS1 as a boost,you won't benefit much from my normal mods to this pedal...My mods are for more overall gain and balls,but the tone is much better than what anyone can expect from a $40 pedal...I Mean you can dial the drive completely off on the pedal and use your guitar volume control to control clean to breakup,but the modded DS1 just isn't as clean if you use it solely as a boost..I prefer to use an overdrive pedal as a boost,but again,Lew uses his stock MIJ DS1 all the time as a boost with great results,so anything goes..

John

I own both DS1's..... I have a very old one (with the metal screw to hold the pedal shut) that i bought used at a pawn shop in 1985 and it was beat up and old then..... Then i replaced it on my pedalboard with a new one. I can't tell the difference myself between them.....

I do wish the DS1's had more lows and oneday i wish to try a modded one out...... I did try the Mega Distortion as it can sound like a DS 1 with more bass.... I'm not a huge fan of that Mega Distortion.. I bought it and it has sat in it's box ever since... a waste really.

With any Dist or OD pedals i think they all sound different thru different amps.... If your DS 1 sounds like junk in your amps try it thru others... Sometimes you have to search to find what works with your amp.

WhoFan


Originally Posted by WhoFanI own both DS1's..... I have a very old one (with the metal screw to hold the pedal shut) that i bought used at a pawn shop in 1985 and it was beat up and old then..... Then i replaced it on my pedalboard with a new one. I can't tell the difference myself between them.....

I do wish the DS1's had more lows and oneday i wish to try a modded one out...... I did try the Mega Distortion as it can sound like a DS 1 with more bass.... I'm not a huge fan of that Mega Distortion.. I bought it and it has sat in it's box ever since... a waste really.

With any Dist or OD pedals i think they all sound different thru different amps.... If your DS 1 sounds like junk in your amps try it thru others... Sometimes you have to search to find what works with your amp.

WhoFan

If you need more lows and an overall much better sounding $40 DS1,you need to send it to me when you can...


Originally Posted by STRATDELUXER97If you need more lows and an overall much better sounding $40 DS1,you need to send it to me when you can...That's VERY true...I posted a pretty long and IMO pretty good review of John's DS-1 mod...it made my DS-1 in to a great pedal...before the mods I never used it...I mean NEVER, I bought it cheep and it sat here doing nothing. Since getting it modded, I don't leave home without it!

I think the MIJ DS-1 and the newer one from Taiwan sound very very similar. So does Steve Vai. I do prefer my MIJ DS-1, but I'm not sure most people could really tell the difference if they were just listening to another player A/Bing them.

It's my very favorite pedal but most guys don't know how to use them.

I use it as boost that allows me to go from a clean rock tone to a very overdriven rock tone using just my guitar's volume control. That's the way Satch and Vai use thier DS-1's too.

When I use it I just leave it on all the time and then do everything from the guitar.

Before you send it out you might check the archives. Lew posted a guide to getting good sounds out of the pedal that I'd never found until a few weeks ago.

I'd had my DS-1 modded by SD97 expecting something entirely different from it than what I got. While it was a good pedal before and a much better pedal afterwards it was nowhere near as great as the results I got using that guide. It made a world of difference.

I was ready to unload the thing on The Trading Post but I think it just found a home in my pedal board....


Originally Posted by LewguitarI think the MIJ DS-1 and the newer one from Taiwan sound very very similar. So does Steve Vai. I do prefer my MIJ DS-1, but I'm not sure most people could really tell the difference if they were just listening to another player A/Bing them.

It's my very favorite pedal but most guys don't know how to use them.

I use it as boost that allows me to go from a clean rock tone to a very overdriven rock tone using just my guitar's volume control. That's the way Satch and Vai use thier DS-1's too.

When I use it I just leave it on all the time and then do everything from the guitar.

Yep Lew.....Here's my earlier post....

If Lew tells me the MIJ sounds better,than it is better...

Both pedals benefit greatly from being modded...The mods give the pedal more lows,less shrillness and fuzzy stuff riding over your notes,better harmonics,more tubelike in feel and tone,quieter,and the inline opamp in the Taiwan model gets changed to a better,warmer sounding JRC opamp..

If you purely want to use the DS1 as a boost,you won't benefit much from my normal mods to this pedal...My mods are for more overall gain and balls,but the tone is much better than what anyone can expect from a $40 pedal...I Mean you can dial the drive completely off on the pedal and use your guitar volume control to control clean to breakup,but the modded DS1 just isn't as clean if you use it solely as a boost..I prefer to use an overdrive pedal as a boost,but again,Lew uses his stock MIJ DS1 all the time as a boost with great results,so anything goes..


Originally Posted by SkarekroughBefore you send it out you might check the archives. Lew posted a guide to getting good sounds out of the pedal that I'd never found until a few weeks ago.

I'd had my DS-1 modded by SD97 expecting something entirely different from it than what I got. While it was a good pedal before and a much better pedal afterwards it was nowhere near as great as the results I got using that guide. It made a world of difference.

I was ready to unload the thing on The Trading Post but I think it just found a home in my pedal board....

Wow! Thanks! I wasn't sure if that post resonated with anyone or not. Glad it worked out so well for you.

Lew


Originally Posted by SkarekroughBefore you send it out you might check the archives. Lew posted a guide to getting good sounds out of the pedal that I'd never found until a few weeks ago.

I'd had my DS-1 modded by SD97 expecting something entirely different from it than what I got. While it was a good pedal before and a much better pedal afterwards it was nowhere near as great as the results I got using that guide. It made a world of difference.

I was ready to unload the thing on The Trading Post but I think it just found a home in my pedal board....

Can you offer up some constructive critism on your modded DS1 that I can learn something from? I mean,I have to hear some negative stuff once in awhile? Well......Maybe not...LOL

I absoulty LOVE John's modded DS-1, but I think we all know that it is not modded for a cleaner tone! If you want to use the DS-1 as a booster, a stock one would be fine because you could tweak the tone control on the DS-1 with the tone control(s) on your amp and leave the pedal on all the time. If you want a killer, fat, very useable, very dynamic, rich, ballsy, agressive, rip your face off, bad ass, hot rodded Marshall style tone, with a tone control that is far more useable John's modded DS-1 IS THE TICKET...if you want to use it more for a boost (which would be less grit and more to hit the front of your amp harder) a stock DS-1 would be ok, if you were gonna leave it on all the time. Like I said in my review the tone control was my biggest beef...if I was gonna leave it on I could have tweeked the tone control on the DS-1 and the controls on my amp and been fine, but had I turned the DS-1 off my tone would have been shot. To me John's modded DS-1 is a keeper...I had that pedal for years and NEVER used it, now thazt it's been modded I don't leave home with out it!

It's just as easy(Actually alot easier)to just mod the DS1 for more lows and better tone by upgrading the cap values and using better caps and metal film resistors....Everyone wants the DS1 to have balls and gain(It's a distortion pedal)...No one has ever sent me a DS1 yet and said quot;John,I want it cleaner,and to have less gain,but more lows)...Our tastes may be changing lately about the DS1....Thanks to Lew for that! LOL.....So now I need to do the Clean,tight,lots o Low mods on the DS1....No problem for me...If someone is specific about their needs(Like Lew's TS9's) I can mod the DS1 alot differently...Squeeky wheels get the grease!