Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

[xxxplorer]

I scored an old MIJ Boss SD-1 for a song so I figure have it for 'collecting'. I compared it to my Fulldrive and it goosed my Marshall just the right way and knocked off the Fulldrive from my board! Yes, it cuts a lil low end and may not do all those switchy things, but it just sounds good! The fulldrive almost sounded muddy in comparison. Now, the FD does win into a clean amp, but that's not the goal of my overdrive use, but many do that.

Over the years my board is becoming more and more... Mass produced... And... I love it.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

yup. i keep an old sd1 around for just that purpose. i started doing it back when i was rockin an 50w jcm800 half stack in high school. it really is a great match

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

Love my old SD-1...

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

This is my 2nd MIJ boss hehe. I scored a beat-up DD-2 on craigslist a month ago. THAT sounds different than the DD-3 MIT I have as well. I'm quickly becoming a fan haha!

 

[ErikH]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

It's like peanut butter and chocolate.

 

[Surgeon]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

I loved it when I used to own an 800... Very complementary indeed.
Jeremy plays it cool bit he forgot to mention that he sold and bought that pedal at least 3 times...

 

[Reckless Abandon]

Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

Love the SD-1 in front of my 800

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

I guess I like 'em, hehe



The faded one with all the paint chips is my original one, I've had it for over 30 years. It's been at every jam, rehearsal, gig and recording I've ever done in that time. It used to sound great when I used an old Marshall, although it's been used with Boogies, Fender amps and many home-brew amps, and it never fails to sound great. It has the Monte Allums GT-SD1 mod kit and all the signal caps have been replaced with Wimas (some values changed, too). I accidentally killed it with a reversed power supply, but got it going again yesterday, and so good to have it back.

The new-looking one is a back-up, again with the Monte Allums kit and Wima caps. I wired the symmetrical/asymmetrical switch and the extra gain/presence switch, but they are redundant to my tastes and i will disconnect those switches and leave it in regular SD-1 mode.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

nice crusty.
what are these "wima" caps of which you speak?

to the Op: i used to use an sd-1 when i was running a marshall stack back in the 90s. I got another marshall combo a couple years back and yeh, the sd-1 did sound really good and organic with it.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

nice crusty.
what are these "wima" caps of which you speak?

Wima is a brand of capacitors. They are usually in red casings, as you can see in my pic, although there are audiophile 'black box' versions. There are many types of constructions/materials, but i find that any Wima cap is usually a big improvement over stock components, and the Wimas are not difficult to obtain. I keep the 400 Volt and 630 Volt ones for use in amps and try to find the lower voltage ones for the pedals as they're smaller. They're not particularly expensive, and almost always a big improvement. They come with a variety of lead types, from short pins to suit pcbs, to versions with longer leads. I always keep a stock on hand and they're my 'go-to' caps for everything unless I am going to use paper-in-oil. (for small pF values i usually use polystyrene).

You can get them from a place called 'Rockby' in Melbourne, they have a website with a comprehensive listing of their stock. There's another place closer to where I live that has them, esp the lower-voltage models that better suit pedals. There's always plenty to be found on ebay.

 

[Laughing Kookaburra]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

Been using a stock SD-1 on and off for years. It was my main OD for the Hiwatt that I used as my gig amp for several years. Recently it was given the Allum mod treatment, and the Maxon 808 RI has been sold as a result...nothing really wrong with the Maxon, just prefer the Boss myself.

The stock SD-1 also sounded great with a couple of Fender amps that I used to own!

 

[jeremy]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

I loved it when I used to own an 800... Very complementary indeed.
Jeremy plays it cool bit he forgot to mention that he sold and bought that pedal at least 3 times...

thats very true! but in my defense i always sold them when i wasnt using a marshall

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

It's funny..."I want to sound like guitarist X when he played through a Boss SD-1 into a Marshall JCM800, but I can't get it to sound right with my flavour-of-the-month booteek pedals and amp...."

Erm...

 

[ErikH]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

It's funny..."I want to sound like guitarist X when he played through a Boss SD-1 into a Marshall JCM800, but I can't get it to sound right with my flavour-of-the-month booteek pedals and amp...."

Erm...

Yeah, they're all "tastes like chicken" pedals. The SD-1 IS the chicken. LOL

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

^ Pretty much!

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

I had a SD-1 with the monte gt mod a while back. I don't remember much about it. Does it just 'enhance' it, or add a bunch of lows and all?

I also always read about the c-6 mod, but I can't help to think they put that thing in there for a reason. I'd get a used newer SD-1 and leave this one alone to experiment, but for my application, it may just be wasted time. I use it just to make my Marshalls kill lol.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

I remember using an OD-1 as my main OD into a Marshall, then trading it for an SD-1 because I thought having a tone control would make it better. I was disappointed that my OD-1 sounded richer and more organic.

And now, look at the vintage prices for an 80's OD-1. They sell for around $250. I wonder how close the new OD-3 is to the OD-1? I'd like to A/B an SD-1 with an OD-3 and see which one I like better.

As for pedals into Marshalls, I like how the MXR Classic OD sounds with them. It's true that some expensive OD's don't sound better into a dirty Marshall. The better they are, the more they seem to be suited to clean amps. My Green Rhino is like that. It's perfectly suited for clean amps but sounds too muddy and bloated to run into a midgain Marshall.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

The OD-3 is nothing like the OD-1. The circuit is completely different. The SD-1 and OD-1 share the same circuit design, essentially, with some part differences here and there, and of course the tone control (I'm talking the 8-pin chip OD-1). A SD-1 can be converted to an 8-pin OD-1 fairly easy. I've done it a few times.

The C6 mod opens the SD-1 up a bit. Takes a way some of what some may call a "blanket over the speaker" affect. It's most effective when adjusting C3 (I believe, going from memory here) for more low end.

Now that I think about it, if the SD-1 is the chicken, the OD-1 is the egg.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

An egg does not make an ideal stomp box, the sound gets too squishy, with a nasty crackly sound around it.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Boss SD-1 really does boost a Marshall perfectly!

The OD-3 is nothing like the OD-1. The circuit is completely different. The SD-1 and OD-1 share the same circuit design, essentially, with some part differences here and there, and of course the tone control (I'm talking the 8-pin chip OD-1). A SD-1 can be converted to an 8-pin OD-1 fairly easy. I've done it a few times.

The C6 mod opens the SD-1 up a bit. Takes a way some of what some may call a "blanket over the speaker" affect. It's most effective when adjusting C3 (I believe, going from memory here) for more low end.

Now that I think about it, if the SD-1 is the chicken, the OD-1 is the egg.

I figured the OD-3 was it's own design, but I was pretty impressed with it when I tried it.

I'm actually surprised that Boss doesn't reissue the OD-1 exactly as it was when it was the perfect pedal to run into a JMC 800. And it really was the perfect pedal for turning a midgain Marshall into a singing lead tone.

The SD-1 came along because every OD pedal had to have a tone control at that point. Even the modulation pedals were starting to add a tone control. Most earlier OD pedals just had volume and gain.

My rig in the Sunset Strip days was a Jubilee 2555 stack with an OD-1 in front for leads. It was a great highgain Marshall sound. I'm more into fatter Bogner gain tones these days, but I still have a Jubilee 2550 50W fullsize stack with an MXR Classic OD in front of it for the true 80's metal sound. I love playing on it since it's so fluid and toneful. An SD-1 into a Jubilee is a beautiful thing for highgain Marshall lead tones.