Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive Pedal Reviews

Jeff
from Florida
March 15, 2012Music Background:
Piano and Guitar player.

Outstanding

I purchased this pedal to go along with the Metal Zone pedal I recently purchased. This pedal gives great distoration, but at a lower level than the Metal Zone. I now have a full spectrum of overdrive with both pedals at my disposal. You cannot go wrong for the money, this pedal is simply a great value.

yerkool45
from San diego,CA U.S.A
January 2, 2012Music Background:
live playaa! not a bedroom wanker....

Step on it and Wail!

This is by far one of the best boost pedal I've ever own without spending over $50,without killing your tone, and it also beat out those high $ pedals as well. The secret lies in how to set it up. Level Knob at max,Tone knob at 10'Oclock and Drive knob at 9'Oclok which I use as the level knob. This goes in front of My awesome Boss OD-3 which I use alot for rhythm work. And when solo spots come up during live gigs I step on the SD-1 and go at it baby! I need to buy another one of these and another Boss OD-3 for my smaller set up I'm building soon.....

Joe Faraldi
from New Jersey
April 3, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist

Unbeatable OD - Like a TS without the mud

I've tried to like the Tubescreamer but man, it just sounds like mud to me. No matter which one I try, they all seem to pull down too much of the high end while putting a blanket on the low end dynamics.

In my opinion, this is one of the best Boss pedals out there. Less trebly than the OD-3 and fantastic across the entire sweep of the drive knob. Sounds great in front of both British and American flavored amps.

Dan
from Michigan
February 5, 2008Music Background:
Active Musician

Beats the Tubescreamer

Fantastic gritty overdrive tones, beats the tubescreamer hands down. Almost the same circuit as the tubescreamer though - very moddable. At $50 there's no reason why every pedalboard shouldn't have one of these. Only complaint is the distortion bleed-through, but I don't use it on settings that high and like I said, very moddable.

J.C. AmericanDeluxeStrat
from Tazewell,TN
March 8, 2011Music Background:
21 Year Musician

GREAT FOR LEADS BEHIND A FUZZ OR DISTORTION PEDAL

I added the SD-1 to my pedal board right behind a BOSS BD-2 "Bluesdriver" the BD-2 creates a perfect crunch , then when the SO-1 is engaged it creates a perfect lead tone on my marshall tube amp. Alone the tone is not so great , but behind a good distortion or fuzz pedal this thing sounds amazing. Sounds best coming through a tube amp, looses a little of its bite coming through solid state. Bump it in on a tube amp with a little fuzz and you'll love the tone.

L. Clepper
from Sweetwater, Tx.
February 11, 2007Music Background:
Hobbyist

Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

I use this pedal in front of my amps own distortion as a lead boost. It works great for a volume boost without changing the sound of your amp. Great for fast ripping solos especially with a wah pedal. Noisy when cranked all the way up (all knobs), but just roll back off the drive a bit and your good to go. My settings are as follows:
Level: 50%
Tone:70%
Drive: 90%
Good for bluesy stuff too, with a little reverb in front of clean channel. I cant seem to find a reason not to own this thing, especially for the price. Its not designed for Death Metal. Sounds fatter than the Tube Screamer, IMHO.

Rick Rice
from Buffalo, NY
October 29, 2006Music Background:
Hobbyist

Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

For 40 bucks, the Boss SD-1 is the best Overdrive value on the market!

The circuit is very similar to that of a vintage Tube Screamer, except for the addition an additional diode in the clipping section. The resulting asymmetrical wave pattern produced a deeper, richer bass response than the Tube Screamer’s symmetrical clipping section. The SD-1’s sound is also less focused in the midrange frequencies than the Tube Screamer. There is a negative to this pedal...with some guitar and amp combinations, when you max out the SD-1’s Drive and Level controls, you can hear some distortion filtering into your clean sound even when the SD-1 is turned off. This phenomenon is inconsistent; i.e., I have heard it at times…other times I have not! To remedy the problem, back off a bit on both the Drive and Level controls or perform a simple circuit modification improves the bypass circuit and eliminates the bleed-through.

David
from Dayton, Ohio
October 18, 2006Music Background:
Gigging Musician

Boss SD-1

The Boss SD-1 is the best value in an over drive pedal on the market. It adds an awsome lead boost to my JCM800 and TS9. I would recomend it to anyone looking for an enexpensive drive pedal. the sd-1 is sweet!

tortillas_y_frijoles
from
May 7, 2013Music Background:
Always learning

Simple tone but not bad for the $

I picked this pedal up for my home studio so the guitarists can change up thier sound a little when running thru my system.

I would say you have to keep the tone knob up all the way to get some good lead-guitar sounds. You can set it up to give you a fuzz sound. But overall, it puts out a warm overdriven tone.

If you want a heavy sound, this is probably not the pedal for you.

Bryan Cee
from New Orleans, LA.
April 14, 2012Music Background:
Home recording enthusiast who loves his tube amps.

Awesome...If you aren't afraid of the soldering iron.

Can you derive a monster tone from this stock pedal straight in to an amp? Ummm...no. This pedal should best be thought of as a platform for modding.

Stock I give this guy a 3.5 out of 5. And I'm being generous with that extra .5. I found there to be some useable settings and overall it's not that bad of a pedal. Basically it's a clone of a TS (even has the famed 4558 chip) with a few differences. Mainly the clipping. As it was unmodified, I could get a somewhat decent tone going. After a certain point with the Drive knob it becomes too harsh. The Tone control doesn't really do that much to help define the sound. Kind of vague on the tone adjustment. Not a whole lot of polish. It's just okay as it is. Think Black and White analog TV. Now if you want Stunning-color High-Def 1080p? Keep on reading.

I give this guy a 5 out of 5 modified. For less than half the cost of this pedal (which is for parts and the R&D already done for you in a kit. Or you can do a lot of research on your own and spend a few bucks for the parts) you can modify this thing to be a Holy Grail kind of pedal. No joke. Total cost is peanuts when you consider many boutique pedals cost 5 times as much. Modified, there's more gain but yet it's smoother and more defined. It's more open and full. Bigger and just a quality tone to it you have to pay a lot more for from those guys who have made a business out of modding pedals.

If you aren't afraid of a soldering iron, don't mind a little bit of work and a few hours of your time, BUY THIS PEDAL. You'll have a great feeling of accomplishment after you're done and get a funny feeling a certain someone charges a little too much for what he does to Tubescreamers.

Fair warning: modding pedals is addictive. I'm only mentioning this because nobody warned me.

If you are afraid of the soldering iron, find a buddy to do it for you. It is totally worth it in every way. But mod this pedal one way or another. Your Tone Quest will be over...well maybe not over over. It's never really over now is it?

Philly Guy
from Philadelphia, Pa
August 4, 2012Music Background:
30 years playing guitar and bass

Dated Tones

I bought this pedal to upgrade with Monte Allums modifications. I did try it before I cut into into it and found it "boxy" with no bass. Compared against the new pedals from Blackstar ( I own the Blackstar Distortion pedal), these older boss pedals sound obsolete. Save your money until you can afford the new generation of overdrive pedals.

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