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Boss DS-1
The Boss DS-1 Distortion is a distortion pedal manufactured by Boss since 1978. Alongside the ProCo Rat released the same year, the DS-1 helped popularize tight, aggressive tones through the use of "hard-clipping" circuitry, a class of effects pedals that became known as distortion pedals after the DS-1. Like Boss's first soft-clipping overdrive, the OD-1, the DS-1 would serve as a template for pedals of the same type that followed.
In its history, the DS-1 has undergone several revisions and alterations in tone. After the original preamp model that Boss used became scarce, the DS-1's circuit was redesigned in 1994, introducing several issues like reduced volume and a "fizzy" or "waspy" edge. Fixing these problems spawned a community of pedal modifiers, with some major boutique effects pedal manufacturers starting out modding DS-1s. It has remained the bestselling Boss "drive" pedal since its creation.
In 1987, Boss released a follow-up, the DS-2 Turbo Distortion, which featured a "turbo" mode that added an additional gain stage and a low-midrange boost. Kurt Cobain notably used 1980s editions of the DS-1, as well as the DS-2.
DS-1 – The original pedal, released in 1978.
DS-1 Gold - Very limited gold version was produced in 1998 to celebrate 6 million Boss pedals sold worldwide. It’s estimated between 4 and 6 units exist.[citation needed]
DS-1 BK – Guitar Center exclusive with orange font on a black body, released in 2016 and limited to 3,000 units.
DS-1-4A – 40th-anniversary addition with gold font on a black body, released in 2017.
DS-1W – WazaCraft version, released in 2023.
Hub AI
Boss DS-1 AI simulator
(@Boss DS-1_simulator)
Boss DS-1
The Boss DS-1 Distortion is a distortion pedal manufactured by Boss since 1978. Alongside the ProCo Rat released the same year, the DS-1 helped popularize tight, aggressive tones through the use of "hard-clipping" circuitry, a class of effects pedals that became known as distortion pedals after the DS-1. Like Boss's first soft-clipping overdrive, the OD-1, the DS-1 would serve as a template for pedals of the same type that followed.
In its history, the DS-1 has undergone several revisions and alterations in tone. After the original preamp model that Boss used became scarce, the DS-1's circuit was redesigned in 1994, introducing several issues like reduced volume and a "fizzy" or "waspy" edge. Fixing these problems spawned a community of pedal modifiers, with some major boutique effects pedal manufacturers starting out modding DS-1s. It has remained the bestselling Boss "drive" pedal since its creation.
In 1987, Boss released a follow-up, the DS-2 Turbo Distortion, which featured a "turbo" mode that added an additional gain stage and a low-midrange boost. Kurt Cobain notably used 1980s editions of the DS-1, as well as the DS-2.
DS-1 – The original pedal, released in 1978.
DS-1 Gold - Very limited gold version was produced in 1998 to celebrate 6 million Boss pedals sold worldwide. It’s estimated between 4 and 6 units exist.[citation needed]
DS-1 BK – Guitar Center exclusive with orange font on a black body, released in 2016 and limited to 3,000 units.
DS-1-4A – 40th-anniversary addition with gold font on a black body, released in 2017.
DS-1W – WazaCraft version, released in 2023.