Boss DS-1 Distortion Pedal  

Three knobs, the way distortion pedals were intended. Tone and Dist. are easily adjusted. Level is a little harder to access, but that's fine. It makes it harder to mess up that setting.

It's a Boss.

Yes, it doesn't have a true by-pass, but it also doesn't pop when you hit the pedal.

Good value for an indestructible pedal that's been around forever. A very useable pedal for real life, not just the bedroom.

Distortion goes from mild break up to ALMOST metal territory. Great for electric blues all the way to modern rock.

This pedal in it's simplicity does exactly what I needed it to do. The "tone", "distortion" and "level" knobs makes for a quick selection of the sound I need.

I'm really quite pleased with the quality of this pedal. It is sturdy enough for me to quickly engage the distortion without hte worry I am stepping too hard.

not too high a price for this pedal, I think it will last me but then again, I have only had it for 2 weeks. Ask me again in 2 years, I hope I answer the same.

So far I would condense my opinion to simply "very satisfied". I haven't had long enough to judge it like it's "in for the duration" but the pedal' sound is exactly what I was looking for and I'm confident I won't smash it with my foot.

A one dimensional pedal that doesn't really do much.

Well built with good components. Boss does a good job of designing their products.

Not a good value from the standpoint of it's performance in my opinion. Even at the price, it's over-priced for it's sound.

Owning a Boss ME-20, I had experience with Boss' awesome distortion. I wanted a distortion pedal with a smaller footprint for my pedalboard, so I ordered this one. Man....... what a disappointment. I placed it in my signal chain and all I got was this fizzy, weak, muddy, thin sounding junk. No amount of button tweaking gave me anything that was usable. It's now on my scrap heap of pedals for a garage sale. In good conscience, I can't recommend this pedal.

This is my fourth Boss pedal, and I really enjoy using them. I was given a DS-1 for free with the purchase of a guitar through MF.  I have used the effect a couple of times to try it out and to play with the different settings. The pedal seems nice and has some good basic distortion sounds. I like Blues and classic rock so I enjoy my Boss Blues pedal more but this does make a different sound for rock.

These things are built tuff. I have had my other Boss petals for years, and they still sound just as good as the day I got them. I am sure you could throw one of these things against the wall, and they would still work perfectly.

I got this for free so I can't say anything. However, the price listed on MF is not bad for a basic distortion pedal.

I would think anyone would like this pedal if you are looking for a good, basic distortion pedal. It would not be good for blues or metal, but it can hit other styles well. Boss makes good sturdy pedals, and I am sure you will get many years of good use.

There's not a whole of features, and that's fine by me. I like low hassle, simplified products. Normally I'd rate this a full on ten, but I will admit that a bit of treble, mid, and bass range control may've been helpful a couple times while I set up different tones. But it delivers my own personally unique tone with a high degree of accuracy using the controls it has, and that's fine by me.

It's a metal case, with tough plastic knobs. I've taken to a lot of sessions and never had any problems.

Outstanding value. Low Price, High Quality. Even pros like the late Kurt Cobain have cut recordings using the DS-1. That it's been kept affordable to the working musician is remarkable.

This is the definitive distortion box in my opinion. It doesn't have a lot of features, but it has what you need. It allows my picking technique to shine through, while maintaining a nice heavy tone that is both firm and crunchy, yet refined. This box actually accentuates my amps tone, rather than replace or simply play over it. It can get loud and screaming, or sweet and twanging. The versatility is ridiculous. It's become a core element to my tone, and if this one ever goes down, I'll buy another in a heart beat. For more features, you may want to check out Boss's higher end distortions that vary in musical style. For me, this is all I need and always will be a big part of my tone.