From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boss DS-1
Brand Boss
Manufacturer Roland Corporation
Dates1978—present
Technical specifications
Effects type Distortion pedal
Controls
Pedal controlGain (tone), Output volume (level), Distortion (dist)
Input/output
Inputsmono
Outputsmono

The Boss DS-1 is a distortion pedal for guitar, manufactured by the Roland Corporation under the brand name Boss since 1978. The first distortion effects unit made by Boss, [1] it has become a classic effect, used by many notable guitar players. [2]

Boss released a successor, the DS-2. [3] The DS-2, "Turbo Distortion" was released in 1987, and is very similar to the DS-1 except that it features a "turbo" setting, which produces a sharper midrange tone. [4] Boss released a black limited edition 40th Anniversary model of the DS-1 in 2017.

Variations

DS-1 – Original pedal came out in 1978.

Boss DS-1 BK, limited edition pedal edition of 3000 units.

DS-1 BK – Limited edition 3000 units are made, exclusive for GuitarCenter store in 2016 year. Black body and orange fonts. [5]

DS-1-4A – Limited edition, for 40 years since original pedal made, 2017 year. Black body and gold fonts. [6]

DS-1W – WazaCraft version, 2023 year. [7]

DS-1-B50A – Orange metallic paint. To celebrate 50 years since Boss company been found. 7000 units, 2023 year. [8]

Circuit

The blueprint of the DS-1 circuit is simple, with a pair of in- and output buffers surrounding a transistor boost stage, an Operational Amplifier gain stage with hard clipping diodes, and a tone control.

It features the same JFET switching circuit as almost all other Boss effects units, allowing a simple momentary push button to reroute the signal, either bypassing the effect or engaging it. In either state, the signal will pass through the input and output buffer stage of the effect, and this is the key differentiating factor between Boss pedals and "true bypass" pedals. The buffers themselves are similar, both Common collector amplifiers with unity gain. They each feature a 2SC2240 Toshiba transistor, which is only special insofar as it is cheap and reliable.

The transistor boost stage consists of two highpass filters in series, followed by a Common emitter amplifier. This serves to remove unnecessary bass frequencies before the distortion stage, preventing the signal from accumulating muddiness as it is amplified.

The Operational Amplifier gain stage is the most important part of the Boss DS-1 circuit, featuring the clipping diodes, Op-Amps and further filters which refine and color the sound. The op-amp stage is the only part of the circuit which has undergone any real changes over the pedals history. Originally, in 1978, the circuit was built around the Toshiba TA7136AP pre-amplifier, not an op-amp, and this gave the effect more of a warm, rich sound. In 1994, the Toshiba pre-amps were nearing the end of their stock life, and so the circuit had to be modified in order to play host to an easier to find dual op amp, the Rohm BA728N. This version is slightly quieter than the original, but is otherwise essentially the same. The Rohm op-amp was replaced in 2000 by the Mitsubishi M5223AL op-amp, which remains the centerpiece of the circuit to this day. [9]

Last but not least, the humble " big muff pi" style tone control immediately preceding the output buffer is a fixed cutoff lowpass filter and a fixed cuttoff highpass filter which attenuate either the low or high end, depending on the position of the potentiometer. The way the two filters are interconnected creates a notch, or scoop, around 500Hz when the potentiometer is in the center position. [10]

Notable users

Boss DS-1 original (left) and DS-1-4A anniversary edition (right)

References

  1. ^ The Boss Book: The Ultimate Guide to the World's Most Popular Compact Effects for Guitar. Hal Leonard. 2002. p. 78. ISBN  978-0-634-04480-9.
  2. ^ a b Brewster, David M. (2003). Introduction to guitar tone & effects: an essential manual for getting the best sounds from electric guitars, amplifiers, effect pedals, and digital processors. Hal Leonard. p. 20. ISBN  978-0-634-06046-5.
  3. ^ The Boss Book: The Ultimate Guide to the World's Most Popular Compact Effects for Guitar. Hal Leonard. 2002. p. 88. ISBN  978-0-634-04480-9.
  4. ^ Music Trades, Volume 136, Issues 1-6, pages 73 & 91
  5. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  6. ^ Jef (2017-01-22). "NAMM 2017: Boss announce 40th anniversary Limited Edition DS-1-4A Distortion pedal". gearnews.com. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  7. ^ Corporation, BOSS. "BOSS - DS-1W | Distortion". BOSS. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  8. ^ Corporation, BOSS. "BOSS - BOSS 50th Anniversary 1973 - 2023". BOSS. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  9. ^ Harvey (2017-01-22). "Boss DS-1 Distortion Circuit Analysis". ElectroSmash.com. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  10. ^ Corporation, BOSS. "All About the DS-1: The Benchmark BOSS Distortion". BOSS. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  11. ^ Gill, Chris (20 February 2016). "The Definitive Kurt Cobain Gear Guide". Guitar World. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  12. ^ Kitts, Jeff; Tolinski, Brad (2002). Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time!: From the Pages of Guitar World Magazine. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 187. ISBN  9780634046193. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  13. ^ Kobylensky, Paul (2018-03-08). "Khruangbin's Mark Speer: Addicted to Reverb". Premier Guitar. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  14. ^ Gold, Jude (June 2007). "Mike Stern". Guitar Player. pp. 28–30.
  15. ^ "Steve Rothery: Marillion's King of Guitar Town". MusicPlayers.com. 2007-04-07. Retrieved 2020-12-29.