Ds-1 thinking about replacing it

[Swampy]

Re: Ds-1 thinking about replacing it

I get what you mean but it's not THAT bad.

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With the tone above 10 o’clock it can be for me. Below that, it’s workable and can be quite good.

 

[Securb]

Re: Ds-1 thinking about replacing it

WIth my Fender amps a MXR D+ or DOD 250 always worked/works best but everyone's ears are different.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Ds-1 thinking about replacing it

^^My general rules of thumb are as follow:

1-Never run a hot pickup into a DS-1
2-Never put the gain above 12:00 or the tone above 9:00
3-You tend to get better results running into a slightly dirty channel.

I know I said "never" quite a bit, but these are just general rules that always have worked for me.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Ds-1 thinking about replacing it

^^My general rules of thumb are as follow:

1-Never run a hot pickup into a DS-1
2-Never put the gain above 12:00 or the tone above 9:00
3-You tend to get better results running into a slightly dirty channel.

I know I said "never" quite a bit, but these are just general rules that always have worked for me.

When I can turn the amp up my settings are tone 9-10, level 2-3, gain 11-12. On the clock.

When I can't turn up like to bump the tone up to 11 else I feel it's not edgy enough. Gain about 1 and level about 10. Then I run the blues driver with similar settings for the rest of the gain. I though I would like having lower tone settings at lower volumes but actually I like to bump the tone up instinctually at that level somehow. Preserves what clarity there is.

When the amp is loud and using the first settings, it's exactly what I bought it for. Kinda grungy. Thick. It conveys the residual angst of my youth.

The second, low volume settings is splat on the low strings. Fizz on top.

And lol I don't own any high output pickups but I definitely noticed though playing with order of pedals that the input if the ds-1 clips way easily. That's not a good sound to me.

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[FuseG4]

Re: Ds-1 thinking about replacing it

Also the only mxr I've used is the distortion III.
I don't use it anymore as it's too much like my East River drive, but with more gain.
I will look at the mxr d+ and dod!
But for a ds-1 replacement I know mids are traditionally the ticket for fender amps, which is what I'm using. But my TS type is plenty, I like the fact that my ds-1 bd-2 combo does not shift my mids around very much at all.


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[FuseG4]

Re: Ds-1 thinking about replacing it

Just an FYI, if you own a newer DS-1, most of the components are Surface-Mount (SMT) and cannot be modded by ordinary means. That being said, I have an older DS-1 and the mods were pretty easy to do, really improved the tonal quality of the pedal.

Mines not SMT, and I noticed a jrc op amp so I guess mines 2006 or newer but it's got normal caps, resistors etc.

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[FuseG4]

Re: Ds-1 thinking about replacing it

$8 shipped for all the parts for jcm mod ^<^ thx mouser!

if this gets me even 10% more "useable" tones I will consider it a win.


Also... jeez are there enough distortion pedals out there?? Do you ever just look at all the options and go "well, crap!"?

 

[Aceman]

Re: Ds-1 thinking about replacing it

The DS-1 is like hitting your knuckles on a cheese grater.

Yes - but it is like hitting your preamp with a creamy smooth powerful hunk of cheddar colored goodness.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Ds-1 thinking about replacing it

I did the jcm mod, I think I got it right. It is much less fizz and splat, less gain but a better eq. Perhaps slightly thin at high tone knob settings but there's a nice cut to the upper mids.
It's not unlike a Marshall and the volume up around half and distortion 3/4 up is pretty 80s sounding!
It's no miracle mod but it sure is better than before thanks guys

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[Chistopher]

Re: Ds-1 thinking about replacing it

Great it's working out for you. It seems like you are experiencing the same thinness that I did. If you feel like doing any more mods, changing R6 to 150k & R9 to 1k will fatten things up like I said earlier.