Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

  • Thread starter Thread starter Skarekrough
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Skarekrough

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What's the story with them? I see them going off on eBay for stupid money now and again. What's the hubbub about with the and the difference between the black label and green label ones?
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

Skarekrough said:
If that blurb got any less specific I wouldn't be able to tell if they were actually talking about Boss pedals or not.
Click to expand...

Huh?
You will often hear that the new Boss pedals are exactly the same as the older Japanese versions.
SOME Taiwan pedals are the same as SOME Japanese pedals.

But it is obvious if you look at, for example an old 1979 Japanese DS-1, and a new one from Taiwan, the chips are totally different. They don't even have the same number of pins. So obviously they will sound different because they are different. But not all Boss effects are like that, people who say they are the same may have tested a later Japanese DS-1 that has the same circuit as the new Taiwan models.

You can't even say that all Japanese boss pedals are the same, there are always running changes. For example, the DM-2 delay used two different types of BBD chips so two DM-2 pedals (all made in Japan) will sound different because they are different circuits.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

gOgIver said:
Huh?
Click to expand...

I'm looking for specifics here....WHAT chips were changed...WHEN were they changed...WHY were they changed.....WHAT's the tonal differences between them....

I give props to analogman....but he didn't go all Encyclopedia Brown on the blurb there...
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

as a MIJ SD-1 owner (and having AB-ed the MIT one) - they sound better. smoother, more organic under gain, less fizzy - pretty much what you expect when you have a pedal modded!

i didnt check for the jrc4558 chip, but i've heard some have them as well..

tom
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

This has been talked about a lot on the DIY forum I'm a member of. The two circuits (MIJ, MIT) are identical. They both use the same 4558 chip, MIJ's using the JRC4558D, the MIT's using the JRC4558DD, which is lower noise. If you hear a difference, is because you want to. I've played both side by side and hear no audible difference at all. It's all a bunch of mojo IMO.
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

I don't hear any differences between the 2....What we do hear is alot of hype,made up Voodoo,and component tolerences...

The early DS1s do sound a bit smoother and the circuit is slightly different also...I say slightly though..

To date,I've only ever seen the JRC 4558DD chip in the SD1...
 
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Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

Why worry about that? The best sounding SD-1s are the ones that got modded by John... ;)
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

Surgeon said:
Why worry about that? The best sounding SD-1s are the ones that got modded by John... ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks Phil.....A Modded SD1 is pretty hard to beat and it kills the stock MIJ or MIT versions!
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

Skarekrough said:
I'm looking for specifics here....WHEN were they changed...WHY were they changed.....

I give props to analogman....but he didn't go all Encyclopedia Brown on the blurb there...
Click to expand...

Those two questions are answered elsewhere on his site, let me know if you need help finding them.
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

Surgeon said:
Why worry about that? The best sounding SD-1s are the ones that got modded by John... ;)
Click to expand...

I agree...I have two MIT's here that he modded for me a few weeks ago and they're incredible!

However I saw someone had posted a MIJ SD-1 on eBay with a BIN of $40 so I snapped it up. I figured at the very worst I managed to land an average-priced SD-1 which could be modded as a backup.
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

Hey, Jon! I have an original SD-1 that I bought in the early 80's. If I were to allow you to mod it, how would it improve?
(Take the opportunity to advertise, brutha.)
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

gOgIver said:
Read this:

Are Japanese Boss pedals better than Taiwanese Boss pedals?
Click to expand...

I bought a new DS1 a few years ago as my old early 80's one had a few minor problems that i needed to fix-(i yanked the battery wires off by accident when i was in a rush to change a dead battery and had to play a show with a sucky back up piece of dung pedal..... ) So i bought the new DS1 and i know they say they are different but i can't really hear that much of a difference...

As far as the old Boss OD's i've been looking for one for years... The 2 knob OD's from the early 80's is the pedal pf choice for Pete Townshend for over 25 years now.... He still has a bunch on the road these days when he plays... the Boss OD and a new MXR SuperComp
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

I own one - used it for years

I don't see the big deal. I will say it kinda has a nice woody quality to it without overbearing mids. I was so moved by the Keeley Tube Screamer, if I wanted to pay up - I'd buy that!
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

The Boss holy grail is the 2 knob OD-1. I used one for years, and paid $60 for it new. Then, like a moron, I sold it for $40. Now, they're fetching $140 on Ebay, only because it was the best Boss, and they stupidly discontinued it for the SD-1 with 3 knobs......added a tone control and changed the chip. DUH!!!
Boss really fumbled it with that move.
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

Gearjoneser said:
The Boss holy grail is the 2 knob OD-1. I used one for years, and paid $60 for it new. Then, like a moron, I sold it for $40. Now, they're fetching $140 on Ebay, only because it was the best Boss, and they stupidly discontinued it for the SD-1 with 3 knobs......added a tone control and changed the chip. DUH!!!
Boss really fumbled it with that move.
Click to expand...
Wow, I had an OD-1 and despised it. Sometime in the mid 90s I picked it up for $5-10 and held onto it for a few years. After I figured out it did nothing I wanted it to do, I might have sold it for $20 or given it to someone. I still have my old SD-1 and DS-1 though.
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

The MIJ SD-1 finally arrived...took the seller almost two weeks to get it to me.

I haven't played it yet...now that I know what I know I don't really see much of a need to. I'm kinda 50/50 as to whether I'm going to hang onto it for a bit and unload it or unload it sooner rather than later.

But please keep in mind that was my intention to begin with. I have to Spina-modded SD-1's and that's all I can really see myself needing in the SD-1 category.
 
Re: Made In Japan Boss SD-1's....

Skarekrough said:
The MIJ SD-1 finally arrived...took the seller almost two weeks to get it to me.

I haven't played it yet...now that I know what I know I don't really see much of a need to. I'm kinda 50/50 as to whether I'm going to hang onto it for a bit and unload it or unload it sooner rather than later.

But please keep in mind that was my intention to begin with. I have to Spina-modded SD-1's and that's all I can really see myself needing in the SD-1 category.
Click to expand...

Personally I don't think you'll find anything all that extra special about the Japan SD1...:smack: :beerchug:
 
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