Guitar.com - A place for guitarists to call home

Forums > Tone and Technique > Problems with a pedal

Jump:

Forums > Tone and Technique > Problems with a pedal

Code of Conduct Search

Original message:103 days 13 hours 1 minutes ago

+ 1

Member: David "Tyrone"

3
WebCred

Hey guys, I'm new here and trying to get the hang of this place lol. But, I have a problem with one of my pedals, and I'm not sure if I was just ripped off and sold a crappy pedal or not. I have a Boss Distortion DS-1, and I bought it mainly because I don't have alot of money and it was on sell. I can't get this pedal to make any decent tonal sound. I can plug into a Boss Metal Zone and sound fine, so I'm pretty sure it's not my pickups even though I play on a pretty old guitar(Ibanez Roadstar II). Any suggestions?

My gear recommendations:

Reply:103 days 12 hours 57 minutes ago
Member: Zombre

752
WebCred

Well, dude... keep at it, I'm sure it'll sound "OK" as time progresses...

My music recommendations:

My gear recommendations:

http://www.scottkerrmusic.com

Reply:103 days 12 hours 57 minutes ago
Member: The Rocker

261
WebCred

Its a tough one dave what amp are u using?

My music recommendations:

Does Humour Belong in Music.

Reply:103 days 12 hours 54 minutes ago
Member: David "Tyrone"

3
WebCred

It's an old amp as well. But like I said, I can plug in with a different pedal and sound fine. The DS-1 just has a hard time making notes run together when I'm playing licks. It sounds really chattery when I play fast. Also dropping to D on this thing sounds pretty bad.

My gear recommendations:

Reply:103 days 12 hours 50 minutes ago
Member: Zombre

752
WebCred

Hmmmn. Could be that there's something wrong with it... Take it to n elictrician, and see what kind of magic can be worked...

Also, there are mods you can get;

http://www.robertkeeley.com/product.php?id=10

My music recommendations:

My gear recommendations:

http://www.scottkerrmusic.com

Reply:103 days 12 hours 47 minutes ago
Member: David "Tyrone"

+ 1

3
WebCred

Thanks, I might take it to someone. I've heard this same version of pedal played before and it sounded fine... I suppose there was a reason this pedal was marked down 25 bucks lol. Someone probably played kickball with it or something..

My gear recommendations:

Reply:103 days 12 hours 49 minutes ago
Member: The Rocker

261
WebCred

The DS-1 iis not a pedal with high gain like the Metal Zone, Its more akin to a blues type sound or you could use it as a boost for the metalzone or it could be that you may need to put it in a different position in your signal chain? you may just need to experiment a little.

My music recommendations:

Does Humour Belong in Music.

Reply:103 days 11 hours 42 minutes ago
Member: shanejohnson2002

820
WebCred

I agree. The DS-1 is most definitely not a high-gain pedal. That's why I drive mine with a tubescreamer. It gets a massive sound and endless gain that way.

My music recommendations:

My gear recommendations:

Angels of mercy, guardians of time, shackled and chained to the eternal flame, the hammer will slowly arise.

Reply:91 days 16 hours 53 minutes ago
Member: Zhille

+ 1

20
WebCred

I have a small Fender Frontman 15G Amp (15Watts, no reverb :)) and my friend came to me one day with his DS-1 and managed to get a pretty cool sound, but only with the "drive" selected, where he added some gain from the amp. Not much but it worked. So if you have a low budget amp, try that. If you do gigs, you'll definitely play on better amps, and try to connect that pedal on a channel with some gain already. Other alternative is to get a MT-2 :)

When you buy your equipment DON'T be a cheapskate...I am basically poor, but I got my brand new Metal Zone with my own money, and I paid it almost a 110 bucks(impossible to find it cheaper in my city Novi Sad, Serbia). Equipment is really important and if you have a better pedal for additional 30$ hold it and try to save 30$ more, to buy that better pedal.

My music recommendations:

My gear recommendations:

A lick that you can't repeat or don't understand is not a lick!

Reply:91 days 16 hours 12 minutes ago
Member: kRem Osle

5
WebCred

Hey there! I got the same Boss Metal Zone 2, and it's acting up. Sometimes when I try to switch, it just doesn't do it. Whether I stomp on it or I just apply "4 ounces of love," it doesn't switch all the time. How can I fix it? Or, do I have to send it for repair?

kRem

My music recommendations:

My gear recommendations:

kRem Osle

Reply:91 days 15 hours 57 minutes ago
Member: Zhille

20
WebCred

Sent you a note :)

My music recommendations:

My gear recommendations:

A lick that you can't repeat or don't understand is not a lick!

Reply:91 days 16 hours 10 minutes ago
Member: JTC

660
WebCred

Maybe you can find someone else with the same pedal and see if theirs produces the same problem using your equipment.

My music recommendations:

My gear recommendations:

JTC Web Page
Dreaming of a New Cloud

Reply:91 days 13 hours 14 minutes ago
Member: Grensley

128
WebCred

first off, i have 2 ds-1s, and i've modded one. i've also broken an additional one. the ds-1 is a nice pedal, and it sounds amazing bought new. If your pedal takes enough abuse (ie. stomping REALLY hard or turning it on and off really fast) the internal components (i'm guessing the capacitors, because they do short term storage) can take a beating. i know with one ds-1 that kind of abuse led to more gain from the pedal (no idea why). As a rule of thumb, don't try modding unless you know what you're doing (or had an extra cheap pedal that you don't care about).

All in all, you're probably screwed. it would be best to get a ds-1 or ds-2 because they really are good distortion pedals

My music recommendations:

My gear recommendations:

Jump:

This is your home page. Here you'll see real time activity on guitar.com from the forums, groups, blogs, music and gear recommendations and more. You can add whatever content you want to your home page via rss and move it around via drag-and-drop.

Tell others about yourself, your favorite music, gear, movies, genres you play, set your screenname, share your bookmarks, embed vids and more. If others buy music or gear based on your recommendation, you get a commision.

Start or add to discussions, embed outside URL's for discussion, embed vids and have your music and gear recommendations seen.

If you've got something to say, chances are someone wants to read it. Write your blog for education or amusement, embed vids or images and pass out the link. Guitar.com gives you advertising revenue generated from your blog pages.

See what you're fellow musicians are listening to and watch YouTube videos based on artist names.

Ever wondered just how musicians get that sound? On guitar.com musicians list the gear they use and tell you why they use it.

List stuff for sale or swap in our classifieds section.

Create and manage groups. Make them private or public. Manage them at anytime.

Learn a tip trick or lesson from other musicians and professional educators in the Get Educated section. Have a tip trick or lesson to share? Create your blog, mark it as educational and drive traffic to it from here.