Amped Bitesize Review: Boss DS1 Classic Distortion Pedal

Arguably the most iconic pedal in the world, tested, very quickly!   02-Mar-13

We are reviewing a Boss pedal every day for a month in March, and today, on day two, it's the turn of the iconic Boss DS-1 distortion pedal.

We're looking at 30 pedals this month, and then on the final day of March, we'll be doing a round up of our favourites. The idea being that you can quickly watch our bitesize reviews and make a quick decision on whether you like what you hear for each of Boss' compact pedals.

The DS-1 is one of the revolutionary pedals in the guitar world, early distortion pedals provided us with a way of driving amplifiers without having to play at high volumes on tube amps, squeezing gain by overloading the pre-amp stage with an already clipped signal.

The iconic Boss pedal has gained its fair share of plaudits, and its fair share of critics, but our aim is simply to throw the form book out the window, and see exactly what it is this pedal can do.

Rich's verdict - "The DS-1 was the first pedal I ever owned, I still own the one I bought all those years ago, but I must admit, I don't use it. Reviewing the DS-1 is something I'd never do outside of this bitesize Boss review feature, and I'm really glad I did. The tone knob is, and always has been oversensitive, but find the sweet spot and this is one of the best distortion pedals around. It just has so much life, so much energy, I've been converted back to the way of the DS-1. It just has a really raw crunchy tone, and that's what I love to work with."

RRP - £49

More info - Boss DS-1 info page

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