Monte Allums Mods - Pedal Mods, Pickguard Shields & eNut Tuning System

DISCLAIMER - Absolutely no refunds. All sales are final. We cannot be held responsible if you ruin your pedal. I got ripped off by a buyer of my TR-2 mod. Said he wasn't happy with the mod so I offered to buy the TR-2 from him. I gave him $110 in good faith. When I received the pedal it was non-functioning. He had drilled the hole for the pot in the wrong place piercing the ribbon going to the depth pot and completely pulled 4 traces from the PCB. And he wanted to know why the mod sounded bad. Because of this I will no longer issue refunds of any type on mods. If you do not have the skills required to perform the mod then please let us do the mod for you. Monte Allums

DS-1 Roxx Tri-Gain Plus Mod

This is my newest mod for the DS-1. I'm calling it the "Roxx Tri-Gain Plus" mod because simply "It Rocks"! This is the name that came to mind right after I finished the mod.

This mod is built around a pair of NE5532 opamps. It’s pretty amazing how the NE5532s sound in this mod. All the harsh spiky highs have been removed. The stock DS-1 has a very fake sounding distortion. Not very natural sounding at all. In my opinion this is where most pedals fall short.

I will not be offering a cross-grade or upgrade for the Roxx mod because the Roxx is a complete mod rebuild. It is totally different from my Rectifier mods. This, IMO, is my best DS-1 mod to date. I built it around dual stacked NE5532s. This completely removes the fizz from the DS-1 circuit and gives the pedal a very natural sounding distortion. In fact I almost named the mod Velvet because this mod has an almost velvet type smoothness to it.

Getting a pedal to sound like an actual tube driven amp on the verge of breakup is the challenge pedal manufacturers face. I have been able to obtain that vibe with this mod. All the fake shrill gain has been replaced with a very smooth dynamic harmonically rich distortion. This is arguably my best DS-1 mod to date.

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IMPORTANT - Boss has started using surface-mount components on some of their new pedals. I've created a page to help you determine if your pedal is moddable. Read about it here.

Hear For Yourself mp3s
This mp3 was graciously submitted by Tim Bechtel. In this mp3 Tim compares all three modes of the Roxx to the stock DS-1. Thank You Tim for taking the time to make this mp3!

Roxx_Youtube_Video
This Video was graciously submitted by Chris Manning. You can watch Chris's video by clicking here. Thank You Chris for taking the time to make this Video!

With this Kit you will receive a 3mm Super Bright Clear White LED, Solder and Desoldering Braid along with detailed easy-to-follow High Rez PDF Mod Instructions sent to you as an e-mail attachment. IMPORTANT - This mod will only work with the newer DS-1s. The older vintage DS-1s use a different type of inline chip that is not compatible with the chip adapter. Your DS-1's PCB must look exactly like this.

Boss DS-1 MIJ Vintage Tri-Gain Plus Mod

The Boss Pre-1995 MIJ DS-1 is actually a pretty decent pedal stock. But there's always room for improvement! I am a chronic tweaker you know! With this mod I will introduce a New Adapter that will allow you to change out the MIJs TA7136 Opamp for any of the many Higher Quality Dual Opamps available. You should hear a RC4558P in the circuit. That's the one I supply with this kit. Unbelievably good in the MIJ Vintage DS-1. But with the TA7136 Adapter you can swap Opamps until you find your sweet spot. Me, I'll stick with the RC4558P.

With the mod I flatten out the scooped mids and add warmth and clarity. I also upgrade some of the older caps. They tend to go bad after time. The 3-way Tri-Gain Switch will add to the versatility after the mod. You have your choice of keeping the 1S2473 clipping diodes or replacing them with a couple of 1N914s. You also get LEDs and a Diode Lift Mode.

With these changes, and a few others, the mod turns this already good sounding pedal into a Great Sounding Pedal!

IMPORTANT - Boss has started using surface-mount components on some of their new pedals. I've created a page to help you determine if your pedal is moddable. Read about it here.

Vintage_DS-1_Mod.mp3
This mp3 was recorded on the LED mode of a Modded Vintage DS-1. Unbelievable on-the-verge-of-blowing Marshall type vibe. Notice how the gain seems to bloom as the notes explode through your speakers. Very cool vibe! If you're looking for that early Marshall tone this is it! Placed it in front of a clean amp setting or an already distorted amp. And with my new TA7136A Adapter you can swap out the opamp with your favorite Dual Opamp. I use a RC4558 but a Burr Brown OPA2134PA sounds great also as does a TL072 and JRC4558. With the Adapter Socket you can even swap back to the TA7136 which also sounds pretty darn good. Your options are endless. This is a very cool mod!

IMPORTANT - This mod will only work with the Vintage Pre-1994 Boss MIJ DS-1s. The older vintage MIJ DS-1s use a TA7136 Opamp in a 7-Pin Configuration. Your DS-1's PCB must look like this.

With this Kit you will receive a 3mm Super Bright Clear White LED, Solder and Desoldering Braid along with detailed easy-to-follow High Rez PDF Mod Instructions sent to you as an e-mail attachment.

DS-1 Rectifier Tri-Gain Mods

WARNING! — The OPA2134PA opamp, of which are included in many of my kits, is currently extremely hard to find. Mouser and Digikey are currently out of stock with none expected until 2023. I have hundreds in stock. BE CAREFUL BUYING THE OPA2134PA ON EBAY. THE MAJORITY ARE FAKE! Manufacturers in China are rebranding cheaper opamps and selling them as OPA2134PA opamps. I test all my OPA2134PA opamps I buy. You can easily test whether a OPA2134PA has been rebranded. Do this, take some Acetone on a Q-tip and rub across the lettering of the opamp. If it is Fake the ink used to print the labeling will dissolve into the Q-tip.

This kit is exactly the same as my regular DS-1 Rectifier Mod. Chad Matthews suggested I try installing a Toggle Switch to switch between a 1N4002 diode and an LED. The effect was simply stunning! Now you can have the best of both worlds. The awesome richness and smooth distortion of my regular Rectifier Mod and the FAT, thick, tubish type gain, with tons of glorious sustain, that the LEDs will give you. This mod takes the Rectifier Mod to a new level tone-wise and improves an already great sounding mod.

IMPORTANT — Boss has started using surface-mount components on some of their new pedals. Stinkfoot has written a great article on how to identify the new smt pedals and how to identify those that can still be modded. Read about it here.

Hear For Yourself! (.mp3s)
Rectifier_TriGain.mp3	DS-1 Rectifier Dual Gain Sound Samples - Played entirely through a Boss DS-1 modded with our Rectifier Mod Kit. Played on A Strat through a stock Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp mic'd with a SM57. The Uni-Vibe type Chorus effect is a Yamaha MagicStomp II. I also used our new CS-3 Opto Compressor on this mp3. This is one FAT and Transparent Compressor after the mod. Absolutely smokes any compressor at any price.
Hey_Joe_Joel_Erik.mp3	This mp3 was submitted by Erik Henry of Germantown, MD. Erik used a Opto Plus modded CS-3 and a Rectifier Tri-Gain Plus modded DS-1. Recording path was Texas Special Strat into CS-3 Opto plus into DS-1 Rectifier with Tri-Gain into a Fender Blues Junior. Great job Erik, and Great Tone!
Take_Over_DEMO.mp3	This mp3 was sent to me by Will Smith of Jacksonville, FLA. It was recorded in Will's home studio. Will's band is named "By Grace". Great tone Will, and a Great Song! Thanx for sharing it with everyone.
Rectifier_TriGain_Plus.mp3	This mp3 was sent to me by Nigel Anderson from Germany. It was recorded with a Strat into a JVM410H through the clean channel. Thank you Nigel! Great playing!

With this Kit you will receive a 3mm Super Bright Clear Green LED, Solder and Desoldering Braid along with detailed easy-to-follow High Rez PDF Mod Instructions sent to you as an e-mail attachment.

This is exactly the same mod as my extremely popular DS-1 Rectifier Tri-Gain Mod. But I swap out the rather plain sounding inline chip for two Burr Brown OPA2134PA opamps. The two OPA2134PA Dual Opamps will open up the tone with increased note clarity and less noise. This mod reminds me of an OCD on Steroids. The gain after this mod has that same type of airy and open gain that the OCD is famous for. This may be my best mod yet! I ain't kidding folks, this is one awesome mod.

IMPORTANT - This mod will only work with the newer DS-1s. The older vintage DS-1s use a different type of inline chip that is not compatible with the chip adapter. Your DS-1's PCB must look exactly like this.

DS-1 Rectifier Mod

I designed this mod to be an absolutely "In Yo Face" Distortion. The name alone conjures up images of a pedal that takes no prisoners. This is one awesome pedal after the mod. Tons of volume and some of the richest, smoothest, tastiest distortion you have ever heard. Looking for that Satriani type wall of sound with thick tasty leeds. This is the mod for you. Those of you that liked my SD-808 will love this mod also.

Very similar harmonic structure with enhanced pinched harmonics and sustain for days. There's a wide variety of tone in this mod. With the gain turned down you'll get this smooth edgy vibe that's almost like an overdrive. Push the gain up and and this pedal will go into heavenly type distortion with no splatiness or flabby bass. Thick and smooth is the order of the day. Not a raspy tone in this mod. If you're looking for a pedal that sounds equally good at bedroom or concert volume this is the mod for you.

MPORTANT - This mod will only work with the newer DS-1s. The older vintage DS-1s use a different type of inline chip that is not compatible with the chip adapter. Your DS-1's PCB must look exactly like this.

Hear For Yourself! (.mp3s)
Played entirely through a Boss DS-1 modded with our Rectifier Mod Kit. Played on A Strat through a stock Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp mic'd with a SM57. The Uni-Vibe type Chorus effect is a Yamaha MagicStomp II. I also used our new CS-3 Opto Compressor on this mp3. This is one FAT and Transparent Compressor after the mod. Absolutely smokes any compressor at any price.

DS-1 Rectifier.mp3

IIMPORTANT - Boss has started using surface-mount components on some of their new pedals. I've created a page to help you determine if your pedal is moddable. Read about it here.

With this Kit you will receive a 3mm Super Bright Clear Green LED, Solder and Desoldering Braid along with detailed easy-to-follow High Rez PDF Mod Instructions sent to you as an e-mail attachment.

Boss DS-1 Cap Upgrade Mod Kit

Electrolytic caps in tube amps, over a period of time, start to leak, loose their tolerance and go bad. It’s just the nature of Electrolytic caps. Sometimes the leaking is actually visible. But Electrolytic caps can look okay and still be faulty. By replacing Electrolytic caps in older pedals you can actually improve the overall effect of that pedal. Honestly I was skeptical until I received an email from a client that was having issues after he modded his Boss BF-2 with one of my kits. He said the flange effect was barely noticeable. A couple of weeks later I received another email from the same client. The client said he had solved the issue by replacing all the Electrolytic caps in his BF-2. This peaked my interest so I started experimenting.

I was astonished how some of my older pedals benefited from the cap upgrade! Noise seemed to be reduced and clarity and presence of the effect were enhanced. I am now offering these Cap Upgrade Kits for many of the pedals I offer kits for. In some cases some of these caps are already upgraded in the kits that I offer. But I am offering kits that replace all the Electrolytic caps for those that have not purchased my kits. They will benefit from upgrading the Electrolytic caps that I do not replace in my kits. You’ll find that some of these same caps are already replaced in the kits I offer. It’s a win win all around for those that want the maximum benefit when upgrading their pedals. But I didn’t stop there, when possible I have upgraded these Electrolytics with Metal Film and Tantalum. Not only do these caps have tighter tolerances but they will also last the life of the pedal.

IMPORTANT - Boss has started using surface-mount components on some of their new pedals. I've created a page to help you determine if your pedal is moddable. Read about it here.

MPORTANT - This mod will only work with the newer DS-1s. The older vintage DS-1s use a different type of inline chip that is not compatible with the chip adapter. Your DS-1's PCB must look exactly like this.

With this Kit you will receive Solder and Desoldering Braid along with detailed easy-to-follow High Rez PDF Mod Instructions sent to you as an e-mail attachment.

DS-1 Tri-Gain Mod

Works With Any Regular DS-1 & Rectifier DS-1 Mods!
This kit allows users of any regular DS-1 or my DS-1 Rectifier Mod Kits to upgrade to a Tri- Gain Clipping Circuit. Notice: This Tri- Gain Upgrade kit may be used to replace any diode in any pedals clipping Circuit. This kit adds a ton of tonal options to a regular DS-1 and my Rectifier Mod.

IMPORTANT — Boss has started using surface-mount components on some of their new pedals. Stinkfoot has written a great article on how to identify the new smt pedals and how to identify those that can still be modded. Read about it here.

With this Kit you will receive Solder and Desoldering Braid along with detailed easy-to-follow High Rez PDF Mod Instructions sent to you as an e-mail attachment.

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Which Boss DS-1 Mod is for You

Basic DS-1 Rectifier – This mod retains the basic character of the stock DS-1. If you like the stock DS-1 you’ll love this mod. It enhances all the good qualities and eliminates the bad. First, I have removed the harsh trashy highs. The mids and bass are evened out to take a bit of the scooped EQ out and make it more even in the frequency range. I replace the stock diodes with very smooth and harmonically rich 1N4002 rectifier diodes. I also upgrade a few components to give the pedal a more HiFi tone.

Rectifier Tri-Gain – This mod is exactly like my regular Rectifier mod except with the addition of a 3-way toggle switch. The 3-way switch will give you 3 different gain options:

Two Red LEDs connected in Parallel – This side of the switch offers a very chewy tube-like vibe with a very coarse gain and allows the pedal to clean up nicely by dialing back the guitar volume. Volume is also increased in this setting.

Two 1N4002 Diodes connected in Parallel – This side of the switch will give you a very fine smooth gain. Great for those Fat crunchy rhythm parts. Also reacts well to the guitar volume control. Pinched Harmonics and pick attack are enhanced in this mode.

Diode Lift – The middle position of the switch bypasses the clipping diodes and gives you a huge volume boost. Even more volume than the LED side. This is a good mode for using the DS-1 as a boost. With the gain dialed down you can almost use the pedal as a clean boost. Very Tubescreamerish vibe. Crunch is enhanced in this mode. Blues players and old school rockers will love this mode.

Rectifier Tri-Gain Plus – Exactly the same as the Rectifier Tri-Gain mod but I replace the stock in line opamp with a Dual Stacked Adapter that holds two Burr Brown OPA2134PAs. The Stacked OPA2134PAs will lessen noise, increase volume a bit and help clean up the circuit and also increase headroom slightly.

Roxx Plus - This is my newest mod for the DS-1. This mod is built around a pair of NE5532 opamps. It’s pretty amazing how the NE5532s sound in this mod. All the harsh spiky highs have been removed. The stock DS-1 has a very fake sounding distortion. Not very natural sounding at all. In my opinion this is where most pedals fall short. Getting a pedal to sound like an actual tube driven amp on the verge of breakup is the challenge pedal manufacturers face. I have been able to obtain that vibe with this mod. All the fake shrill gain has been replaced with a very smooth dynamic harmonically rich distortion. The 3-way switch will give you these three gain options:

LED and 1N914 Diode connected in Parallel – This side of the switch offers a very chewy tube-like vibe with a very coarse gain and allows the pedal to clean up nicely by dialing back the guitar volume. Volume is also increased in this setting.

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