DIY Series - Modding Boss DS-1 Guitar Pedal
With the DS-1 There are many mods to choose from, each giving their own improvements and each giving a different 'sound' as you will. For example, you have the 'Pedaloc' mods that increase the colour of the sound and and turn it into a real tube driver or a solo boosting option.
What are you looking for here? Is it what goes best with the equipment and sound that you have got? Or are you looking for a solo booster because your guitar lacks the mids/highs to cut through effectively and just squeals with the standard pedal? Or are you simply looking for a more driven sound that has that extra glassy crunch instead of a heavy distortion mod?
I can't sit here and tell you which mod is right, each one has it's advantages and drawbacks meaning they can all be right depending on what you are looking for.
Fortunately for me the sound I want out of my pedal uses one of the most common and popular mods: The Keeley Ultra-Mod.
Keeley have been modding pedals for a while now and are a well recognised name in modding and pedal manufacture. Artists such as Steve Vai and Dweezil Zappa use this mod and you can actually hear it in the music.
This mod is kind of considered the standard mod for this pedal and when you listen to it post-mod you can hear the difference massively. The two reasons I am going for this mod are:
- The sound is what I am looking for.
- Instructions are plentiful on the internet.
When I make this mod happen I will document how I have gone through the process myself but will also link you to the existing instructions out there because they have been tried and tested. I will also note any problems and how I overcame them.
To give you an idea of the difference in sound, look at this link to have a listen to the difference that the mod makes to the sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZWnilE5duA
It may take a few different licks or chords for you to hear the difference but play this video through, by the end you will be wishing that you didn’t have the sub-standard DS-1 and will be wanting to mod yours up rapidly!
So hopefully over the next few weeks we can get started on the possible destruction or rebirth of my pedal. I am going to go ahead and order the parts in the nest day or two and wait for them to arrive from America.(These parts are available from the U.K. as well, but are harder to source)
Also, I will have a friend of mine modding his DS-1 at the same time, so if something goes awry, he can step in to be the hero and show you how its done with his newly modded pedal while I sit in the shower crying at my broken dreams (and pedal).
Stay tuned for updates and pictures of the modding process, fingers crossed all will go well.
Peace out,
Marc
