BOSS SD-1, kind of disappointed.

[Diego]

Re: BOSS SD-1, kind of disappointed.

The stock BD2 is killer in front of a dark-ish amp, tightens things up nicely. I used to own one, modified it and sold it. Miss it sometimes.
I wanted to buy a SD1 a few weeks ago and I just remembered for me, the BD2 is probably better so I'm not buying a SD1, plus I own a TS9 flavored pedal so I'm halfway there already.

I like the fact the BD2 is a bit flatter in the midrange than say a SD1 or a TS9. The bass cut is just right for it's purpose, so I'm happy with it.

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: BOSS SD-1, kind of disappointed.

The SD1 sucks as a standalone, for the same reasons a TS9 does. Their thing is to push dirty tubes further.

I have not owned many distortion pedals but the best tone I ever got from pedals was by stacking a SD-1 into Plimsoul, not as good as my current rig but it was usable.

 

[jeremy]

Re: BOSS SD-1, kind of disappointed.

many people do like the stock bd2, but not me. harsh high end that i cant dial out without losing too much high end. i usually play vintage output (bright) pups into vintage nmv (bright) amps so the sd1 works well as a lead boost for somethings since its mostly upper mids

 

[Swampy]

Re: BOSS SD-1, kind of disappointed.

Let the mods begin!

 

[Swampy]

Re: BOSS SD-1, kind of disappointed.

Wow! Just the first mod on the list made a big difference. More bass and girthier tone.


(Edit: 'Ole Monte seems pretty serious about the secrecy of his mods.)

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: BOSS SD-1, kind of disappointed.

Let the mods begin!

View attachment 85813

ok simple and excellent mods: Get an extra diode (you can steal the original D1 if you are converting an old one from 12v power supply to the modern 9v) and wire it in series with D4.
This will give you symmetric clipping ala tubescreamers but with more headroom available (aceman you might want to try this).
Remove c6 is you'd like a much clearer chimier top end.
That's it.
Change c3 (.047uf) to a higher value like .1uf if you want more bass. Personally ive done everything up to .22uf (.33 was way too loose) but i find the stock .047uf is just fine if using the pedal as a lead boost into a dirty amp. Too much low end in this role is counterproductive.
All the rest such as swapping opamps and upgrading caps and resistors etc is really not important (or even noticeable) once you are playing with a band onstage. The stock 4558DD despite what the tubescreamer purists might say is actually a better chip due to it's lower noise floor. Burr browns are nice, but really not worth the effort.
Ive done just about every mod under the sun for sd1s and tubescreamers of various types. Ive even built a couple and modded/customized them. The sd1 is a good and proven unit for it's job. Don't try too hard to make it into a different animal.
Put in a water clear LED of whatever colour you like if you play outside in the daytime a lot.