Now I understand boosting with an SD-1

[Sirion]

Strange enough I have never played a SD-1. My best friend has one in mothballs since he bought his multi-effect, I should borrow it.

I cannot imagine that you wouldn't like an SD-1 into a Marshall.

 

[Securb]

I cannot imagine that you wouldn't like an SD-1 into a Marshall.

I am sure I would like it. I have so many flavors of dirt/overdrive over here I am not motivated to experiment with something else.

 

[Ascension]

It's all about finding the right combinations. Some pedals sound good with one amp, others don't. Glad the SD 1 works for you.

 

[ehdwuld]

my Joyo Ultimate Drive
didnt like single coils into my Solid State Laney at all

but into my Carvin Belair, it was awesome

 

[Rex_Rocker]

my Joyo Ultimate Drive
didnt like single coils into my Solid State Laney at all

but into my Carvin Belair, it was awesome

The Ultimate Drive is the OCD clone?

A TS-type (the SD-1 is a TS-type) sounds great boosting one of those.

 

[IMENATOR]

I don't know if there's something wrong with my current one, but it struggles to get unity gain into my Egnater. Sort of anti-climactic to step on a dirt pedal and have LESS volume....

Larry

I moved from SD-1 to MXR Custom Badass Modified thanks to suggestions in this forum, it has the same tome but more EQ teak capability, I dont seem thave that problem.

 

[Chistopher]

Yeah, many Boss pedals are like that. I'd actually say most Boss gain pedals are like that, especially with high output pickups. Nothing wrong with yours. My SD-1 and my Wylde Overdrive are like that too. Honestly, my TS808 is on the edge of being like that too.

But I don't find that to be a problem with the SD-1 because the SD-1 is normally meant to be used on top of an already distorted amp. IMO, the SD-1, much like any other TS-type, sounds kinda weak, and very pedal-like when used in front of a completely clean channel anyway.

Yeah, a maxed out DS-1 for example only puts out less than a half a volt. Fine for 1978, but for modern high output pickups, you lose your entire dynamic range and you have a volume drop

 

[ehdwuld]

The Ultimate Drive is the OCD clone?

A TS-type (the SD-1 is a TS-type) sounds great boosting one of those.

I was pointing out how the amp makes a difference in how the pedal sounds

But yeah, you are correct

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I was pointing out how the amp makes a difference in how the pedal sounds

Ah, yeah, I agree.

To me, the SD-1 tends to work better boosting amps with either an excess of tubby/thuddy low mids, a soft attack, or both.

With other amps, it can be a bit too clanky, thin, or scratchy compared to an off-the-shelf 808.

 

[larryguitar]

So what I'm getting is that the SD-1 is more an EQ than an actual distortion pedal?


Larry

 

[misterwhizzy]

So what I'm getting is that the SD-1 is more an EQ than an actual distortion pedal?


Larry

EQ and boost. I'm using it to add a little bit of punch to the mids too, but overall I think it's best used in front of a heavily-distorted amp to cut some bass and push the mids. It begs the question, "Well, why didn't you just dial in the amp without so much bass?" And the answer is, "Because it didn't sound good that way."

I've never dialed in an amp in a way that doesn't sound good with the intention of fixing it with something else, but now I understand that two components I don't like on their own can produce magic together.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

So what I'm getting is that the SD-1 is more an EQ than an actual distortion pedal?


Larry

It's more of a non-transparent overdrive pedal to add character to amps, I'd say. It's EQ and some mild clipping/compression. It is another take on the Tube Screamer thing. The circuit is pretty similar to the TS808, just with a few values shifted, and asymmetrical clipping rather than symmetrical.

But yeah, like it was mentioned before, it doesn't really have enough juice to actually "boost" volume. What it "boosts", it really does with clipping and EQ. Even with the gain set to 0, the pedal clips a little, but with the level set to 10, it's not really louder than most high output pickups these days.

I ought to post some clips of what a TS-type pedal really does to the waveform. To say a TS-type "hits the amp harder" is more or less really a myth, I find. It does clip and compress, and makes things be slightly more gainy, but the peaks are actually lower than an average mid to high output pickup being played hard.

It's certainly not a distortion pedal. Not to be mistaken with the DS-1.

 

[fretburner]

In the past, everytime I've tried to get along with an SD-1 instead of something with symmetric clipping, it's been too bright and harsh, but for this it pushed things perfectly. It cut enough bass and pushed enough upper mids to give a giant crunch. All I had to do was dial back a bit of gain on the Revv, and there it was. This is going to be fun. Now I get it.

The ZW OD is an SD1 which doesn't lose any bass when you turn the tone knob to the right. You should try it. To me, there's no reason owning an SD1 if you have a ZW OD unless you intentionally want to lose bass.

Another great "OD" for pushing a slightly dirty amp would be a DS1

 

[Chistopher]

"Well, why didn't you just dial in the amp without so much bass?" And the answer is, "Because it didn't sound good that way."

There are two main differences between what's going on un the bass of your signal between cutting the bass knob or putting a SD-1 out front.

First and most importantly, cutting the bass on your amp cuts the amount of bass at the end of your signal path, but putting an SD-1 out front makes it so you cut the bass pre-preamp, which is where most of your distortion comes from. Putting the SD-1 in front will make your bass less wooly.

Secondly, unless you are running with 0 distortion from the SD-1 you are introducing a nonlinear compression to your signal. With the SD-1 most of the clipping happens in the midrange, so it's compressing your mids a lot, and a little bit of the treble.

 

[Chistopher]

Also, I'm not entirely familiar with the SD-1 circuit, but the "bass rolloff" on most TS style circuits usually cuts quite a bit more than bass. The original Tubescreamer for example cuts off all frequencies below 720 hz, which is quite a bit more than the average amp bass control.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

The ZW OD is an SD1 which doesn't lose any bass when you turn the tone knob to the right. You should try it. To me, there's no reason owning an SD1 if you have a ZW OD unless you intentionally want to lose bass.

Another great "OD" for pushing a slightly dirty amp would be a DS1

I have both. The ZW is not night and day from the SD-1. The ZW does seem to have a very slightly deeper bass, but the ZW also has more aggressive highs that don't make it seem like it's fatter at all. They all cut bass. My TS808 sounds way fatter than either the ZW (in either mode) or the SD-1, and it still cuts bass.

 

[misterwhizzy]

The ZW OD is an SD1 which doesn't lose any bass when you turn the tone knob to the right. You should try it. To me, there's no reason owning an SD1 if you have a ZW OD unless you intentionally want to lose bass.

Another great "OD" for pushing a slightly dirty amp would be a DS1

I have one of those too. I installed a switch to go from ZW mode to GT-OD mode, and I like the latter a lot better.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

The GT-OD mode is really cool too. It's kind of in between an SD-1 and a TS808.

 

[ErikH]

The SD-1 is tried and true. Had several of them, almost of which were modified in some way by me. One of them I even made in to a TS-808. Same circuit, different values and clipping (asymmetrical vs symmetrical). These days it's the Intersteller Audio Machines Oktonaught Overdrive which is a Klon all the way. Works great as a boost to an overdriven amp or standalone. One of the best I've used. I also have a BYOC Yellow Overdrive (Boss OD-1 overdrive) which is great too. I've always liked the OD-1 over the SD-1. Still have an OD-3 as well. Has more drive on tap and works well in many situations.

The ZW-OD is literally the SD-1 circuit modified, unless they changed it at some point. I've compared the schematics.
I do know at some point the ZW got the switch inside where it could be changed from GT-OD to ZW-OD but again, that is just a part value change in one or more spots. Still the came circuit.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I do know at some point the ZW got the switch inside where it could be changed from GT-OD to ZW-OD but again, that is just a part value change in one or more spots. Still the came circuit.

It's a single resistor difference. Interesting how a single resistor transforms a pedal. It's not like it turns it into a Klon or a Rat, but it certainly takes it from a straight very slightly tweaked SD-1 clone into something more TS-ish.