Digitech PDS1550 Programable Distortion

[Chistopher]

I got this little guy on a whim a few weeks ago because I had done some looking into the circuitry and someone was selling a broken one that had seldom been used on Reverb for small change ($60) because the battery plug was busted and the power supplies are unique and impossible to find. I did some quick work fixing the plug and plan to install a standard power supply.

It's a two sided analog pedal. It's "programmable" in that there are 8 dip switches and 2 knobs on the inside. The first side is a near clone of an HM-2 plus a neat optional 10 to 40 ms delay. It doesn't really appeal to me all that much but the right side is what really stands out to me.

It's combination of a Tube Screamer and a powerful parametric equalizer grants an incredible range of tones, from creamy blues to searing leads to crunchy metal rythmn in just a few knob tweaks. Also it has a lot (and I mean a lot) more gain on tap than a standard TS while still being able to get clean.

And when I say the parametric eq is powerful, I mean it. It can have a center frequency from 100 to 3700 hz, +/- 20 dB of boost/cut, and a Q of between 0.1 and 1.6 octaves.

A high gain Tubescreamer with a true parametric EQ made in limited quantities in the 80s in the USA? How come the pedal dweebs haven't latched on to it yet?

 

[ehdwuld]

A high gain Tubescreamer with a true parametric EQ made in limited quantities in the 80s in the USA? How come the pedal dweebs haven't latched on to it yet?

One dweeb did

pcorn:

 

[Seashore]

Interesting. I see one of those switches lets you decouple the HM2 circuit from the parametric EQ and just use the internal tone shaping knobs, so it's possible to dial in separate sounds you might actually use. Dry output is neat too.

I'm not surprised this is a swing and a miss though. It's big and kludgy, the power supply is weird, the pedals are different enough from one another that using them both in the same setup is iffy, you can't stack or route them at all, and half the controls are under the backplate. I don't think I would want something the size of two pedals if I could only use one at a time. But! The TS+EQ is tempting anyway.

 

[Mincer]

I remember people really liking the delay pedal of this series, and the sampler as well. Even back then, the Distortion version wasn't a hit.

 

[DankStar]

looks like it was designed by a crazy person but I would give it a go.

 

[marcello252]

I think the power supply is a normal 9V, the DOD old pedals had a 3.5 plug instead of a 'standard' plug, the one used by Boss, but voodoo labs sell a little conversion cable in case you need it

 

[Mincer]

looks like it was designed by a crazy person but I would give it a go.

Look for reissues by the new Digitech in 3...2...1...

 

[Securb]

I had one when they came out and could never gel with it. I ended up going back to my MXR D+.

 

[Seashore]

I think the power supply is a normal 9V, the DOD old pedals had a 3.5 plug instead of a 'standard' plug, the one used by Boss, but voodoo labs sell a little conversion cable in case you need it

It's also center-positive. That's not a big deal either, but it seems like the minor inconveniences add up to a pedal that's a hassle to deal with.

It might be cool to blend the dry output signal back in with a line mixer, though, I bet with all the EQ options and a blend you could get some pretty happening bass tones.

 

[Chistopher]

Look for reissues by the new Digitech in 3...2...1...

I'd say their best bet would be to streamline it and release it as a new pedal. Sell it as a high gain tubescreamer with a parametric EQ and none of the other funny business.

 

[Chistopher]

I'm not surprised this is a swing and a miss though. It's big and kludgy, the power supply is weird, the pedals are different enough from one another that using them both in the same setup is iffy, you can't stack or route them at all, and half the controls are under the backplate. I don't think I would want something the size of two pedals if I could only use one at a time. But! The TS+EQ is tempting anyway.

They actually have a decent amount of sonic overlap if you put the TS gain knob past 3 o clock. Also, because I have on of the few units with no paint damage it kind of looks like plastic, but this thing probably weighs more than most people's houses. One other qualm about it, I would prefer it if the footswitches swapped sides.

 

[RanchManSandy]

so you're saying get one before jhs does a video about it? jk, but dang, this is pretty dope looking. Never knew about this line of 'dals (short for pedals, good way to save time if we all start using it, btw). they still pretty reasonably priced on the 'verb (for now), but the center positive power supply is a bummer. my friend todd is always telling me to get anything that is a take on an hm-2, which is good advice because that's just a great pedal and this digitech with the two channels is bringing me achingly close to a Buy It Now click.

But in other ways Todd is kind of an idiot so I dunno. like, he used to be a flat earther until I asked him when we breathe the atmosphere and not the atmoflat.

 

[Mincer]

I'd say their best bet would be to streamline it and release it as a new pedal. Sell it as a high gain tubescreamer with a parametric EQ and none of the other funny business.

That would be a great pedal actually. But I doubt any re-engineering would happen. They might re-design the power supply, but most reissues are pure nostalgia.

 

[Seashore]

They actually have a decent amount of sonic overlap if you put the TS gain knob past 3 o clock. Also, because I have on of the few units with no paint damage it kind of looks like plastic, but this thing probably weighs more than most people's houses. One other qualm about it, I would prefer it if the footswitches swapped sides.

How close can you get them? Have you been able to set it so they feel like two levels of the same thing? I feel like switching back and forth between a TS and an HM2 sound would play havoc with a band mix. Unless you're using the HM2 circuit just for leads or something like that.

 

[Chistopher]

The more "severely" you use the EQ the more similar the two sounds are going to be. They aren't going to sound too particularly close to the ears of the person setting up the rig, but in a live situation you can get them to sound close enough that most people wouldn't notice.

I'll have to play around with it some more, but it seems to me like you have three options: get a great TS tone that doesn't sound like a TS and an okay HM sound, or you can get your swedish chainsaw sound and a generic TS on the other (good sounds but how often will you need both in one pedal) with minor sculpting of the tone section, or you can remove the parametric EQ from the TS side and get a great HM sound that's not as generic as "the" HM-2 sound an a good TS sound but with no tone control.

 

[Chistopher]

I think so far my opinion of this pedal is this:

1 - It's very flexible, but not in a convenient way
2 - It suffers from the same problem the Metal Zone has but to a lesser extent. It's got a lot of good sounds on there but it takes some time to find them.
3 - It's novelty factor is through the roof
4 - The way I see it right now this is a really flexible pedal that can go from overdrive to distortion with a cool parametric equalizer, and then you can press a footswitch to get a HM-2 for some reason.

I think I'll see if I get along with it well enough just on the TS side to make my own copy of that side.

 

[Securb]

I think so far my opinion of this pedal is this:

1 - It's very flexible, but not in a convenient way
2 - It suffers from the same problem the Metal Zone has but to a lesser extent. It's got a lot of good sounds on there but it takes some time to find them.
3 - It's novelty factor is through the roof
4 - The way I see it right now this is a really flexible pedal that can go from overdrive to distortion with a cool parametric equalizer, and then you can press a footswitch to get a HM-2 for some reason.

I think I'll see if I get along with it well enough just on the TS side to make my own copy of that side.

Kinda how I remember it.

 

[marcello252]

The truth is we need an insider in JHS leaking what pedal Josh will be talking about and grab all of them before it's too late