MXR "Custom Badass" Stomps - Confusion & Clarity

[devastone]

That I can't tell you, I haven't tried that many distortion pedals lately, or compared them to an OG DS-1. Sorry I mentioned this, probably best to just let it drop.

[devastone]

Weird that my response to your post shows up before the post you asked the question in. Internet time machine!

[devastone]

I wasn't being sarcastic here; I was asking because I don't know. I've played a lot of slightly (or very) different dirt pedals that I thought sounded good, but I've never played through an old DS-1.




Oops. I made a fairly small change to my post and got hit with the "Last edited" stamp in what seemed like less time than usual, so I got annoyed and deleted/reposted, but not before you replied to it. Maybe I ought not to do that.

I didn't take you as being sarcastic at all. It's been years since I played one, and I really haven't been trying out lots of distorto pedals now days, I'm normally going direct with either a GT-1000 or a pedalboard built around an AMT preamp. I have a SD-1 on the AMT pedalboard for a solo boost. Back in the day I had a DS-1 with the SE mod and a friend had a MIJ DS-1, we hooked them both up and I was pretty blown away by the MIJ tone, warmer and smoother than the modded DS-1 (the stock one is very brittle IMHO). Both were good, but I was just thinking why would they have ever change that, they nailed it the first time. Of course, the chip went OOP and they redesigned it around more available chips, but they should have renamed it too, of course, this is all just my opinion and I don't have a phd.

FWIW, I could use the MIJ DS on it's own for distortion, the newer ones are better for pushing already gainy amps, again IMHO.

[LLL]

I have trouble with people saying they hear things with their eyes and their brains, instead of their ears. Example:

So the DS-1 thing, to me, is just another Internet myth, until someone REALLY shows me that it is reliably different or that someone who doesn't have 4 legs and tail can tell the difference. One DS-1 vs a 78 DS-1 does not a reliable difference make. I can find two TS-9's that sound different, an 808 and TS-9 where one sounds bright and dark, or Vice-Versa.

Why the F is it so difficult to believe that parts available 40-50 years ago might sound different than parts available today (let alone different "nomenclatured" chips)?

Skeptical is fine, but to totally throw out the concept as myth? That's not being reasonable at all.

Maybe the deal is you don't have any experience with the subject, because you don't give much of a rat's patootie about your tone; that'd be my guess.

I've stated before that you're not that serious about tone, and I stand by that. Not that there's anything wrong with your simplistic, layman's approach to gear and tone, but to pretend you're an expert about something you obviously don't give a crap about, well... you sound ridiculous.

Go get me 3-5 78 DS-1's, and 3-5 new DS-1's. Play them in a blind test, in random orders, on the same settings, 5 different times. If you can can tell me the 78's form the New ones better than 50%....fine. Until then....An interesting and often repeated internet legend, that may or may not be true. But just because the chips or construction is different, doesn't mean they actually sound any different.

Speaking of, how's that JB pickup test you were supposed to do a year ago coming along?

Hop to, soldier - you're slacking big time.

[LLL]

I can state with 100% certainty that an old early 80's MXR Distortion+ sounded warmer than a new one, because I did a side-by-side tone comparison test.

[LLL]

Nevermind, totally different circuits from the actual service manuals,I have the electronics degree and have tried them, but since you have a PhD who am I to argue.

A "fudd" ("PhD") has zero bearing on guitar gear, tone or anything related... nor does it carry any weight.

An electronics degree does.

[devastone]

I realize that, I just shouldn't have brought it up in the first place, not worth the effort.

[LLL]

I realize that, I just shouldn't have brought it up in the first place, not worth the effort.

I'd state it anyways. F em if they don't like it.

[Dave Locher]

You left out the Super Badass Distortion. The silver one. Decent high-gain sounds but the super-powerful eq (+/- 18dB 3-band) makes it extremely flexible for boosting amps. A little touchy, though, because each eq knob covers so much range.
A lot of internet armchair experts say it's a Marshall Gov'nor clone but it sounds nothing like mine and the eq on the Gov'nor isn't the same at all.

[LLL]

You left out the Super Badass Distortion. The silver one. Decent high-gain sounds but the super-powerful eq (+/- 18dB 3-band) makes it extremely flexible for boosting amps. A little touchy, though, because each eq knob covers so much range.
A lot of internet armchair experts say it's a Marshall Gov'nor clone but it sounds nothing like mine and the eq on the Gov'nor isn't the same at all.

Yeah I have zero experience with that one.

[Dave Locher]

Try it, you might like it! I certainly preferred it over the '78, probably because I could eq it for my amp & preferences. Might be too compressed for your taste, though. I found it too smooth for that reason.

[devastone]

The original Guv'nor (big black box, not the gold one, never tried one of those) was awesome, as was the original Shredmaster (more hard rock than metal).

[NegativeEase]

Guys, you are missing the real secret of the MXR Badassidry.

The real tone difference is in the kind of rubber feet shipped with your pedal...

Avoid the 2013-2016 versions using Nitrile Rubber
Avoid the 2009-2010 versions using EPDM synthetic rubber
1995-99 is meh, it utilizes a silicone footing.
What you want is aftermarket Neoprene or Natural feet to get the best tone.

[DKSEARS]

There's a lot of misinformation out there (go figure) regarding two of the MXR "Custom Badass" stomps.


The pedal modding/cloning community has determined that the:

- MXR Custom Badass Modified O.D.

Is a somewhat modded Zakk Wylde OD (ZW-44)...
... which, in turn, is a modded BOSS SD-1

and the:

- MXR Custom Badass '78 Distortion

Is a modded BOSS DS-1 (the DS-1 came out in 1978) a la Keely "Seeing-eye" mod

Thanks for this. I have owned both of these pedals for a while and never really thought about their origins. I think it helps me understand why I enjoy one a bit more than the other.

[ErikH]

The original Guv'nor (big black box, not the gold one, never tried one of those) was awesome, as was the original Shredmaster (more hard rock than metal).

The original black Marshall pedals were so much better than the gold ones. I've used both as I worked in a music shop and me and another guy did a side-by-side. While you could get the sound of the original out of the gold one with some tweaking, it's still different. It didn't seem as big sounding to me, maybe a little more generic. The black versions though, each one has their own distinct character.