dr.barlo
New member
I honestly can say that John (Stratdeluxer97) did a terrific job. I don't know what he did, and now I am looking for a used TS9 to send to him (BTW if you have one handy, just shoot a pm 
).
His is the least focused, the most clear one. It is as if the tubes get into overdrive at lower volumes. And in fact this was what I have been searching for all those years. The second I stepped on my MesaBoogie V-Twin, or Barber Direct Drive, or FullTone Full Drive II, I know the tone will have NOTHING to do with what I hear clean. Yet with Spina modded DS1 of mine well it is as if somebody just increased the volume so that the powertubes start cooking. And the great thing is that the controls are quite responsive so that when the vol on the amp is increased, one can reduce the difference from none to DS1 tones by reducing the drive on the pedal.
It even does work as a boost, in fact does a great job if you know what you are doing. Just reduce the drive, adjust the tone, and increase the output from the pedal. The rest is done by the amp.
I have tried it with my JJ/Celestion Blue modded Blues Jr. and my beloved 95 LP standard. The result was instant Marshall-like tones (I'd say JTM kinda) from this setup. It can give the sparkling bright Beano tone, and Kossof's magnificient tones pretty well. At least the results are good enough for me.
Then I tried it with my favorite strat. There I think I need more time to digest what it can do. But as I said above, using it for semi-clean boost worked miracles right away. BTW I am not too fond of overdriven strat tones.
Finally, JD in my tele through this setup sounds beautiful. I mean the whole clarity thing was most noticable with the tele bridge. Because I hate it when overdrive pedals I have turn my tele (that I know sounds GREAT with the blues jr. cranked) bridge into a focused tight tone. The magnitude of that change is quite considerable. Now I can use an overdrive pedal and go lower than the 7th position without the high E and B sounding thin.
Man you've outdone yourself. I honestly mean it. But the above does not have anything to do with seeing you as a friend. I mean what I say, and hope to make an honest assessment of the result.
I gotta try this pedal with my other amps, Bassman 59RI, and Peavey classic 30. John by the way you don't have a tube amp don't you. Cyber twin is what I remember you have. If so and if you have not done it yet, you gotta hear the results on a tube amp brother, they are superb.
Another thing: As John has found out, mine is not a regular DS1. It is old, got it like 89 or 90 don't remember. Have not used it for quite a time, and believe if it were to be that good, I would have. Anyway, mine is a made in taiwan model, but unlike others has some of the japanese construction features (short board as opposed to a longer board). John says that could make it brighter and be somewhere between the regular DS1 and TS9. Since I have it I don't care, but thought that you guys should know about that. But maybe that's because why it can sound like FullTone2 and Barber DD at the same time you know.
To sum up, I think it clearly beats FTFDII and B-DD for what they do. MesaBoogie V-twin comparison is not that fair, because that beast has much more gain. Still for my tastes I'd go with Spina-modded DS1.
B
). His is the least focused, the most clear one. It is as if the tubes get into overdrive at lower volumes. And in fact this was what I have been searching for all those years. The second I stepped on my MesaBoogie V-Twin, or Barber Direct Drive, or FullTone Full Drive II, I know the tone will have NOTHING to do with what I hear clean. Yet with Spina modded DS1 of mine well it is as if somebody just increased the volume so that the powertubes start cooking. And the great thing is that the controls are quite responsive so that when the vol on the amp is increased, one can reduce the difference from none to DS1 tones by reducing the drive on the pedal.
It even does work as a boost, in fact does a great job if you know what you are doing. Just reduce the drive, adjust the tone, and increase the output from the pedal. The rest is done by the amp.
I have tried it with my JJ/Celestion Blue modded Blues Jr. and my beloved 95 LP standard. The result was instant Marshall-like tones (I'd say JTM kinda) from this setup. It can give the sparkling bright Beano tone, and Kossof's magnificient tones pretty well. At least the results are good enough for me.
Then I tried it with my favorite strat. There I think I need more time to digest what it can do. But as I said above, using it for semi-clean boost worked miracles right away. BTW I am not too fond of overdriven strat tones.
Finally, JD in my tele through this setup sounds beautiful. I mean the whole clarity thing was most noticable with the tele bridge. Because I hate it when overdrive pedals I have turn my tele (that I know sounds GREAT with the blues jr. cranked) bridge into a focused tight tone. The magnitude of that change is quite considerable. Now I can use an overdrive pedal and go lower than the 7th position without the high E and B sounding thin.
Man you've outdone yourself. I honestly mean it. But the above does not have anything to do with seeing you as a friend. I mean what I say, and hope to make an honest assessment of the result.
I gotta try this pedal with my other amps, Bassman 59RI, and Peavey classic 30. John by the way you don't have a tube amp don't you. Cyber twin is what I remember you have. If so and if you have not done it yet, you gotta hear the results on a tube amp brother, they are superb.
Another thing: As John has found out, mine is not a regular DS1. It is old, got it like 89 or 90 don't remember. Have not used it for quite a time, and believe if it were to be that good, I would have. Anyway, mine is a made in taiwan model, but unlike others has some of the japanese construction features (short board as opposed to a longer board). John says that could make it brighter and be somewhere between the regular DS1 and TS9. Since I have it I don't care, but thought that you guys should know about that. But maybe that's because why it can sound like FullTone2 and Barber DD at the same time you know.
To sum up, I think it clearly beats FTFDII and B-DD for what they do. MesaBoogie V-twin comparison is not that fair, because that beast has much more gain. Still for my tastes I'd go with Spina-modded DS1.
B
