Boss DS-1

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:

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.

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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