Faulty SD-1 or just not for me?

[Suttykins]

About a year or so ago I bagged myself a free Boss SD-1 in a promotion Roland did here in the UK.

I tried it out but didn't really bond with it so it hasn't seen a lot of use.

Now some time has passed and my tastes have changed and subsequently, so has my rig.

I'm currently playing a classic 60s tele through a EHX Deluxe Memory Man and into my Deluxe Reverb and it sounds great.

I've been cranking the DR to get as much grit as I can but I want a second gain stage and to be able to mic the amp up live to get more headroom and balanced sound with the option of stomping on something for minimal grit (I play mainly clean, ambient/soul/RnB).

Anyway I digress..

So I dug the old SD-1 out and tried it both at home and in a band setting and it sounds like pants. Even worse than I remember in fact!

It's flabby, noisy, muffled (REALLY muffled.. turns my DR into one of those little marshall battery amps) and completely 'flat'.

I see guys who I revere such as 11 gauge singing their praises and after all, it's just a tube screamer variant with asymmetrical clipping.. right?

Well the good old fashioned tube screamer has been on the board of some of my favourite players; Jim Weider, Bill Kirchen, Adrian Utley, Bill Frisell and countless others!!

Now I wouldn't consider myself a "noob" when it comes to gear but overdrive pedals are something of an enigma to me.

So what is it? Bad pedal or do my ears deceive me?

I can post high-quality sound clips if required.



(P.S. it has nothing to do with the bright cap on the vibrato channel of my Deluxe.. It sounds as dull through all inputs/all volumes.)

[JoeNeri]

It's not you, it's the pedal. The only reason the SD-1 is popular around here is that it's relatively cheap and folks love to mod it to sound somewhat like a tube screamer. Sonically and unmodded, I think it's one of Boss's absolute worst pedals. And, if you're going to mod it, why not just go all the way and get yourself a decent TS.

[teleNtweed]

Well, I can't guarantee the same result but by removing one component from the sd1, you can tranform it from a door stop to a very respectable od!

Desolder or cut C6 off of the circuit board and it will be like giving that pedal x-lax!! No more constipated yuk!!

I did this to mine and I use it constantly now and my main squeeze is a king of tone!

Give it a try, as I see it, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!!

[Ash Telecaster]

I can't answer your question but I can tell you that I like my sd-1 and use it a lot. I do not use much in the way of distortion but I have 4 over drives on my board. The sd-1 is the pedal I use most. I set the gain very low and kick back the tone just a hair. I like using it for rock shuffle rythms. It fattens up the sound just enough to be rock n roll.

I just bought a Rivera era Twin. It doesn't seem to sound quite as good on that amp as it did on my Deville and the amps crunch channel is pretty nice so I may find myself using it less.

[imsilly]

They suck stock. It took new clipping diodes, a restructured tone control and a bunch of other tweaks to get mine useable. If you can use a soldering iron it's a good way to get started modding.

[Fearnot]

I like mine. It's very snarly.

[waparker4]

I think you have either a dud pedal or just a normal SD-1

I have the same amp and play some of the same styles and I think a TS-808 is pretty much exactly what I need. If this is supposed to sound like a TS it's definitely falling short.

Fuzz is another way to go, for the 60's feel and ability to clean it up with the volume knob.

The youtube demos for SD-1 that I've seen have been very underwhelming IMO.

*Edit: I use a DRRI

[Suttykins]

Right.. So the muffled, transistor radio sound isn't what the infamous "mid-hump" of a tube screamer sounds like?

Because there lies my next question.. I want a decent sounding overdrive but living in the north of England (Gawd 'elp me! ) I'm limited as to what gear I can access without buying online.

So here's what I've looked at so far including my concerns:

Ibanez TS9 (if it's good enough for Bill Kirchen.. but does the magic lie in the JRC chip that the current models don't exhibit or is that just internet hype?)
Ibanez TS808
Maxon OD9 (Is it any better than the TS9? I know that it's true bypass but I'm not sure I buy into the true bypass thing.. A good buffer can do wonders)
Maxon OD808

So it's the battle of the screamers.. I'm not asking for pedal suggestions and I realise there is no way of telling whether any of these pedals will work for me without trying them with my gear but what I'm asking is are there any inherent flaws to the standard TS9 or are things like the JRC OPamp and true bypass important factors in getting the classic TS sound/functionality?

[Tonemonkey]

I have an SD-1 modded by 11 Gauge ( to give it that Zendrive flavour), it now sits alongside my ZD on my pedalboard, providing the rhythm OD where the amp won't give it up.

In your situation I'd PM 11 Gauge for some simple critical mod ideas, cap here, chip there....

Good Luck

[robt57]

One of the boxiest sounding out there. Off it or maybe consider an Alum mod to make it less focused use wise.

They sell used mint on this side of the pond for 30.00 US, and 20-25.00 US chipped up. How that applies to the other side of the pond i dunno...

[Suttykins]

Originally Posted by Tonemonkey

I have an SD-1 modded by 11 Gauge ( to give it that Zendrive flavour), it now sits alongside my ZD on my pedalboard, providing the rhythm OD where the amp won't give it up.

In your situation I'd PM 11 Gauge for some simple critical mod ideas, cap here, chip there....

Good Luck

I think I'm just going to off it, I've got a big box of pedals I need to unload at some point and I'll use the money to buy one of the above (I'm leaning towards the Maxons).

They say you can't polish a.. well you know what they say.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by Suttykins

They say you can't polish a.. well you know what they say.

They would be wrong, you can buy polished petrified dinosaur dung jewelry.. not kidding either. ;)

Gives new meaning to the term semi precious stone, don't it?

[Suttykins]

Originally Posted by robt57

They would be wrong, you can buy polished petrified dinosaur dung jewelry.. not kidding either. ;)

Gives new meaning to the term semi precious stone, don't it?

Made from the dung of petrified dinosaurs?

I'd be petrified too in that situation..

[robt57]

Originally Posted by Suttykins

Made from the dung of petrified dinosaurs?

I'd be petrified too in that situation..

That is possible too

[teleNtweed]

Sounds like you knew what you wanted before you asked.

This can be polished...very easily.

However, I am always keen on acquiring something new!! Consider the new 30th anniversary TS. It has the right stuff in the right places!! Maxon is superb too though, enjoy!!!

[supernewt]

I have several well thought of OD pedals and like my un-modded SD-1 best, I think because it has less volume than the others. I like slight breakup and achieve that equilibrium best with the SD-1. I set the volume up between 50 and 75% and the gain just sort of "on." That said, I think different guitars and amps like different pedals.

[Suttykins]

Sorry to drag this one up kicking and screaming from the fiery depths of the TDPRI but I have one final question.

I now have the opportunity to get a really good deal on a (used but like new) Maxon OD9 but there is a little voice at the back of my mind shouting: "Buy the 30th Anniversary TS9... It's shiny!!"

So the questions are these:

- What difference in sound (if any) would there be since both have the JRC chip.

- I'd be running it first in my chain so would the True Bypass of the Maxon be a problem? I hear it's good to start your chain with a buffered bypass pedal, is this correct?

- Which would you go for?

Other than that my concerns are purely aesthetic, I'm like a magpie; attracted to shiny things.

Sorry again for all the questions. As I said earlier, overdrive pedals are a phenomenon that has eluded me for years.

[Tonemonkey]

Originally Posted by Suttykins

- I'd be running it first in my chain so would the True Bypass of the Maxon be a problem? I hear it's good to start your chain with a buffered bypass pedal, is this correct?

Nah. My current PB runs Pitchblack (TB), Keeley'd GCB95 Wah (TB), Zendrive (TB), modded SD-1 (buffered).

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by teleNtweed

Desolder or cut C6 off of the circuit board...

I would absolutely do this. It doesn't cost a thing, it gets the SD-1 almost on parity with a TS IMO, and like the bright cap in a DR, almost no one would ever reconnect C6.

The TS-type circuit first chops off all the bass. The tone circuit then chops off much of the treble. The "re-boost" portion of the tone control is necessary for restoring what treble may be left.

In the case of C6 in the SD-1, it is always always killing off more treble. So for someone who wants a "smooth" OD sound, it is fine (i.e. almost no one). Otherwise, it is just taking away all of the detail.

As a side benefit, more treble will give the impression of typically bass with a little more punch.

So for some folks, just snipping C6 can be a dramatic change for the better. It is just a plain Jane .01uF cap (10nF for those of you in the UK and elsewhere) that is readily available everywhere, so don't hesitate to just snip it. I would not even bother to unsolder it. There is really no need for anything to ever be put in that slot again...

Unless you are into splitting hairs, the difference between a SD-1 with C6 removed and any old TS9 is really negligible IMO, especially if you use either pedal live.

Snip C6!

[Tonemonkey]

Snippety Snip, Sootykins: