Which Boss DS-1 mod?

Re: Which Boss DS-1 mod?

I modded my DS-1 with a Monte Allums mod, had a helluva time doing it, and it worked for a while, but now i get terrible radio interference (well it had that before too, it's just gotten worse) and honestly I don't much care for the sounds of the distortion. Basically I turned a weak pedal into a paperweight. Not impressed :(
 
Re: Which Boss DS-1 mod?

There are different allums mods - you could try another. Or one more possiblity is that you could check www.freestompboxes.org and look at the pimp-my-cheap pedal forum for ideas on what to do. There's also indyguitarist, there's bound to be a few mods on that site.

But it would help out if you'd be more specific than "something different".
 
Re: Which Boss DS-1 mod?

Im looking for medium-high gain mod.

Of Course, I would like to remove the fizziness of the gain and some of the highs.

Im thinking about trying Brian Wamplers JCM-800 mod.
 
Re: Which Boss DS-1 mod?

One of the things Wampler does is replace the clipping diodes with 4 diodes.

Two diodes in series in each spot.

I also see that the Keeley mods use LEDs and diodes in combination.

Being somewhat of a beginner at modding pedals Im not sure where to go here.
 
Re: Which Boss DS-1 mod?

I know nothing about what the mod kits do, but I think a pair of red LED's for clipping diodes would go a long way toward getting you what you want.
 
Re: Which Boss DS-1 mod?

ok so on a whim, after not touching it for at least a two years, I put a battery in my modded DS-1, and after some fidding around, I got the most amazing tone on my crunch channel on my fender practice amp.

dirty, raunchy, distorted, growling, liquidy, beefy overdrive heaven.

oh man, it totally reminded me of old Spiritual Beggars, or like the tone that amott got on Arch Enemy's first album, Black Earth. It doesn't sound like a crispy metal tone at all, it's just all dirty and covered in mud and soot and worms and things. hahaha I love it. I'm totally gonna start a dirty blues band now.

I totally take back my previous paperweight comment hahaha
 
Re: Which Boss DS-1 mod?

That's fine that you want to increase the distortion. But, to get rid of the fizz, that gain stage needs to be dealt with per that phat mod. Then, you increase the distortion with the diodes. Add in a Ge diode in series with each of the stock diodes. That'll increase the distortion by quite a bit.
 
Re: Which Boss DS-1 mod?

Erik,

Have you done the Fat Mod without switching to an LED?

Yes, I have. It sounded really good. Much better than stock. It's worth doing and then if you still want more, just do what I mention in my last post.
 
Re: Which Boss DS-1 mod?

Do LEDs provide more distortion?

Not by themselves. They have a higher clipping threshold than germanium diodes and even silicon diodes. They're more crunchy. A very popular mod is to put a red LED in series with one of the current silicon diodes.

You really have to experiment because enough distortion for me could me too little for you.

And be careful of the solder pads. They can lift easily from the PCB when too much heat is applied. Use a desoldering braid and not too much heat.
 
Re: Which Boss DS-1 mod?

Im going to do some experimenting.

I just wanted to get a good idea of what different combinations generally do to flavor the sound.



Thanks for your help.
 
Re: Which Boss DS-1 mod?

Im looking for medium-high gain mod.

Of Course, I would like to remove the fizziness of the gain and some of the highs.

Im thinking about trying Brian Wamplers JCM-800 mod.

Sounds like my set of mods :D

side 1 = 3mm red LED + 1N4148
side 2 = 1N4148

Caps:
C14, C8, C9, C2: 1uf
C1, C3, C5, C12, C13: 104
C11: 0.047uf
C4: 471

Resistors:
R2: 1M
R14: 1.5K
R39: 22K
R35: 1K
R17: 12.5K
R13: 2.2K
 
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