Modify Your Boss DS-1

Every guitarist at some point has at least tried Boss's DS-1 distortion pedal. Most People are immediately disappointed. This over hyped pedal sounds really thin with no punch. Sales people at guitar center will say something like its a "great beginner distortion pedal". Its been my experience that most of the people that work at guitar center are useless. So, always research and get information from multiple sources.

The DS-1 is actually used by many artists including Joe Satriani, Kurt Cobain, John Petrucci, and Steve Vai to name a few, BUT most of the big artists don't use the stock one. Why? Cuz it sucks!

The good news is this pedal is simple enough to modify!! In this instructable I will show you step by step, with lots of pictures, how to perform Robert Keeley's DS-ULTRA Mod. Check out the PDF

Step 1 Supplies

Tools-
Soldering Iron/Station *I LOVE my Weller WESD51 I got for Christmas but it is a bit overkill :]
Eye Protection
60/40 Rosin Flux Core Solder
Wire Stripper
Desoldering Equipment
Third Hand *Something to hold the circuit board while you work; friend, vice, ect.
1/2" and 7/16" Wrench
24 AWG Hook-Up Wire
Flush Cutters
Drill *Anyone want to give me one? :]
1/4" and 7/64" Drill Bits

Components-
24 AWG Hook-Up Wire
1.0uF 50V Stack Metal Film Capacitor x 4
0.1uF 50V Stack Metal Film Capacitor x 5
0.047uF 50V Stack Metal Film Capacitor x 1
47.0pF Capacitor x 1
220pF 50V Monolythic Ceramic or 220pF 500V Silver Mica Capacitor X1 (I'd go with the ceramic one, its
2.4k 1/4W Resistor x 1
20.0k 1/4W Resistor x 1
1.5k 1/4W Resistor x 1
On/On SPDT Switch x 1 *Only if you intend on doing both mods. I got 50 on ebay for $15 w/shipping.
3mm Blue LED x 1 *Optional
3mm Red LED x 1 *To incorporate both modes you need a total of 2 red LEDs. I reuse the one I replace with the blue one.

Comments

[pastorronnie]

Finished this Mod today, sounds killer. I couldn't quite find the exact parts listed here, but honestly ordered as close as i could from Small Bear Elec. and they all worked great.

Definitely worth taking the time to do this mod. would never use this pedal before now it has a home on my pedalboard. Especially when you drive it with a OCD you get some awesome lead sound to push you out in front of a rocking band.

[davidwaligora]

 so i tried this mod.  minor issue....  the seeing eye led doesn't light up, and i get no sound at all.  when i turn it on it picks up a radio station.  I had an issue getting r39 out and it may be i ruined the connection because it just wouldn't solder right.  this is my first time ever doing something like this so i'm a little lost.  any ideas would be appreciated.

[mrmerino]

It picks up a radio station? Whoa.

[blacknoise]

I've done the mod, and it sounds awesome!

The only problem I'm having is the bypass. It seems to work (the blue led goes out) but I still hear the distorted sound slightly (like some of it is leaking into the clean signal) and the signal is very quiet and also changes when I move the volume/gain control. It felt like something snapped when I was tightening the nut on the volume pot, but I could't see any broken parts or solder joints...

Any ideas?

[Instructionsplease]

First off, I have to say good job on the instructions.

I'm really new to this kind of stuff so please forgive me if I get a bit confusing. I'll try to explain to the best of my ability.

I had first bought different parts and put everything together and it had distortion and was working, but it didn't have the sound I was looking for. Also, the distortion knob wasn't working. It was more of a fuzz effect. Another problem is that the 0.047uF capacitor in C11 was too big and was sticking out of my pedal. So I went back and bought the ones that were on here that you provided a link for and got most of them, except one which would be the capacitor on R39. I'm sure it's the same one it can hold. I was excited to hear how it would sound and when I tried it out, the red light was on and flickering pretty fast. The more I turned the distortion knob, slower it would blink. It also had a constant buzz and would get higher tone whenever I lowered it and speed up the noise. It would do the opposite when I turned the dist. knob the other way (low and slow vibration sound). The red light also would get brighter as I turned the switch by the tone. I did everything how you said it and am a bit confused. If you could possibly help me out, I'd appreciate it very much. Let me know if you need further explanation. Thanks

[thrilli]

Umm. I have a kinda stupid question here :/ ... Should the original diodes from D4 and D5 be completely replaced by the LED-Diodes used to both mods (not be used in conjuction with either of the LED-diodes). So I just connect the wires for the switch and for the ASE-LED to the places they are supposed to go (ASE LED Wires to D5 ans the Ultra switch wires to D4) and the original diodes become obsolete? Everythings seems to work flawlessly (Except the Ulrta switch which was a REALLY crappy quality and has connection faults with it). It is just that the overall gain went down a lot and the switching doesn't seem to do much (just a slight change in volume and definition). Did anyone else experienced similar? I know i can boost the gain by changing several different resistor values and such but I'm just wondering if this was to be expected when doing this mod. Oh and BTW i did differ from these instructions by also changing by C10 -> 0,022uF to rid the harsh top end, didn't help at all :( sry for the long post

[digitalmike101]

Hello Thrilli,

I did this full mod and it worked out great and sounds awesome. This is for you or anyone out there:

It sounds great but still a little harsh with a Strat. I heard you can change the C10 cap. Have you tried using another cap to warm up the sound beside the .022uF cap?

Thanks!

[rdlpz]

I studied your procedures and thought them too difficult to attempt in their entirety. So I changed just the D4 and D5 by substituting the 3mm red LEDs and found that just that simple change improved the sound. The sound is now less harsh which was my main complaint with the original pedal. I was able to do this without removing everything from the pedal case. The C2 and C3 changes can also be made simply without removing the pcb completely from the case. Will the .1 and 1.0 uf stack metal film cap changes to C2 and C3 also improve the sound without doing anything else?

[matteo320]

hey thanks for the guide! it has completely transformed this pedal! great instructions made the mod a breeze! thanks

[Like A Boss]

You can’t modify me.
Like a Boss!

[jgcapdevielle]

Hi, first i want to thank you to teaching us these wonderful mod, i have a question for you i dont reuse de red led that is hidden in the box, i used a blue one, will these affect in anyway the tone ???'
thanks again

[_olarlite]

Done. Thanks!

[teslasteroid]

Thanks a lot..........It sounds great!!!!

[mwilhoit]

Performed the mod last night and it worked perfect. Thanks James

[asdfcrow]

What's an estimate for the total price for the components?
thinking about doing this mod; I have the tools..

[ak700]

 Does the internal LED (the one that replaces the diode) lit up when the pedal is in operation? The reason I am asking is that when I switch to ultra-mode the sound doesn't change at all ( the seeing-eye LED stops working but the sound remains the same). Also my sound seems a bit compressed even at low distortion levels. At high distortion levels it becomes very crunchy (in a bad way)
Any ideas how to debug?
Cheers

[digitalmike101]

Hello ak700,

My pedal works great but I also notice alot of compression before the note. Have you figured out how to reduce this or eliminate it?

[James Haskin]

I've got S.D. Active Blackouts in my Schecter and to adjust the compression I just roll the volume (on the guitar) down until I get it where I like it (or none at all). You'll see the difference in the LED as well. Sorry for the delay in response guys :(

[digitalmike101]

Ive done that and it works but I would like the gain to be all the way up. Is there any hardware (component) mods I can do or change without badly effecting the quality of the pedals sound?

Thanks,

[digitalmike101]

Hello,

First off let me say that this guide was great!! I got everything together and completed the mod and everything works fantastic!! The only nagging issue that i have is what i think is too much compression. When I attack a single note, I hear a volume decrease right before the note. i have to turn the gain way down on my guitar to eliminate it. I researched the issue to see if other people ran into this and saw different things to try. Does anybody have any ideas how to eliminate this or reduce this compression issue?? I figured this would be the best forum to go to for this issue

Thanks!

[James Haskin]

Hey there, try rolling the volume on your guitar down. You have a lot of tonal control from the beginning of the signal chain.

[avianoguitarist]

There are many questions here concerning the color of the LEDs and if it makes a difference. The answer is YES--different colored LEDs make a difference, as the forward voltages differ. The LEDs are for clipping and color changes will affect the tone. Blue and ultraviolet LEDs have about the highest fwd voltages, so clipping will be higher--use those if you want.

[Teburon]

does color of the LED matter? i mean for the ones that go in D4 and D5.. cause i have like 10 blue ones i want to use up instead of buying another one just for red..

[nuclearfission]

Okay I just finnished it, and it's not working :( It's making a loud buzzing noise On or Off, and no sound other than that is coming through. The ASE led is lighting up when it's in its mode. In ultra mode the led doesn't even light up. I've re-checked everything, and so far everything's correct. One thing that is different from yours is that I had to connect resistors in series.

[nuclearfission]

Okay I feel silly, but all that I had to do to fix it was mount it to its case. :|

[DjFluorescent]

Just finished this mod.... sounding great.
Thanks a ton... mostly for sourcing all the parts..

[nevadajames]

I had everything put in, but still had one resistor to put back in...now the lights don¡t light up when I play?? I don't get it..

[skaternet1]

does the capacitors have to be stack metal film

[LeeChavezMusic]

What exactly do you need the old parts for Later?

[Kid Ninja]

In case you need to test it in stock configuration later.

[bassguitar19]

What is the difference between the ASE mod and ultra? Does this guide include how to combine the two or do I choose which one I want?

[DenVeR777]

Thanx James! This is very useful instruction. But I've got a problem: Dist knob at low values work perfectly, but when I rise dist value to 12h low level signal dissapear and it's treshold rise with dist level. Another thing is there about 3,5-7v dc on a input jack, its also depend from dist level. Can anyone tells what i do wrong? Sorry for my english.

[jdmusicemail]

Has anyone tried using a different color 3mm LED for the seeing eye mod? Does this affect the tone at all?

[mrthrips]

yeah instead of using the red light for when the pedals on  i used an orange one cause it kinda looks cooler.  as for the seeing eye mod, i did that as well and just used a red one.   idk if another color would really make a difference.  cause when the switch is flipped its a really subtle change, but def there.  i love this mod and use it in front of my METAL MUFF and it really is awsome.  

[pmac93]

In step 1 you wrote:
"220pF 50V Monolythic Ceramic or 220pF 500V Silver Mica Capacitor X1 (I'd go with the ceramic one, its"
what's the reasoning for choosing the ceramic?

[frixtor]

Hi, nice mod, i have a problem, the dist knob doesn´t anything, i did not do the step 6, has something to do with it?.
thanks

sorry for the english

[Luke Ferg]

 Hey, I've just spent the weekend modding my mates DS1. It sounds amazing now! So much better than the original. I'm thinking about buying my own pedal to mod. Thanks for such a great instructable!

[mrthrips]

I loved this instructable....  At first I was a bit weary since I haven played with electronics in a bit but.... TRying to get back into music so modding the pedals helps keep me motivated.  I would definately rate this MOD at a skill level of 7-8 out of 10.  You dont have solder any ics or anything , but initially taking everything apart orienting the new parts etc... I did mess up on the led/diode placement as i thought the negative was the positive on everyone that had to be changed.   would have been better had i not assumed the polarity of the diode, but...  Overall if you take your time and just kinda stand back for a sec if you get lost which  I did this mod will be very fun and have  a bitchin end result.  I love the was the ds-1 sounds now and I completed both mods so i can have a nice hard sound with seeing eye mod or a smoother sound with the ultra mod.  I was going to go for the circuit bend mod to just to try them all but when you get this thing back together you WILL NOT want to open it again...    ROCK ON!!!  P.S.  this mod makes the gain/volume on this pedal INSANE.  I can see why they say it will wake your neighborhood up, still nice to turn a $30 pedal into something fun...

[xtufa]

Just did the ultra mod... made a lovely mess of it.... so I abandoned ship and did the seeing eye mod instead.... works a treat :D cheers! I have a nice big hole where the switch should go though.. haha

[CanasClone]

I'm looking for the parts but they seem difficult to find (your links I follow say there are 0 of the item available). Do the conductors have to be stack metal and monolythic ceramic? If not, what others work? Do stack metal conductors go by another name (because I can't find them anywhere except where you linked)?

Thanks a ton, I'm really excited to mod my pedal!