The orange BOSS DS-1 Distortion pedal has been around since 1978 - that's 30 years! It proves that certain sounds just don't go out of style. But if you're the adventurous type and think it might be time for a little change in your distorted sound, here are a few suggestions. However, if you have never used a soldering iron or learned to read a circuit board (or know the difference between a resistor and a capacitor), these mods should not be attempted! If there's any question, the best solution is to take your pedal to a qualified tech who can safely modify it for you.

WARNING: MODIFY YOUR PEDAL AT YOUR OWN RISK! Sweetwater is NOT responsible for any damages, problems, or malfunctions as a result of these modifications. Plus, you'll completely VOID your warranty.

To give your DS-1 classic Marshall JCM tones, find location C3 on the circuit board and change it to a value of 0.033; location R17 to 15k; C2 to 1 microfarad; D4 to 1N4148 in series with another 1N4148; D5 to 1N4001 in series with a second 1N4001; and finally C5 and C9 to 1 microfarad.

For a darker Santana-like tone, you can change the frequency rolloff to a much lower value. This involves changing out only one capacitor, C10, to a capacitor with a higher value: For a 1.5kHz rolloff (quite dark), change C10 to 0.047 microfarad; for a 2.6kHz rolloff, change it to 0.027 microfarad. The standard capacitor has a value of 0.01 microfarad for a rolloff at 7.2kHz.