BOSS DS-1X Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal

Love the distortion sound. I searching for this sound for years. But Thanks to Boss They created a sound that's perfect for my ear

Cray amounts of distortion available for power chords, but unlike the Metal Zone, very usable. I usually leave the gain knob on just a quarter at 9 o'clock, that's plenty for me. Much more volume available than the classic DS-1. I mainly use this pedal when playing rhythm on contemporary tunes with heavy bass distortion. For classic rock I prefer the MXR Davolo - great pedal! Funny thing though, the DS-1x can sound real heavy with chord work, but sounds kinda semi-clean when picking single notes. For lead playing I prefer a Super Crunch Box v2 by MI Effects.

I have playing guitar for over 20 years. This is a totally new distortion for me. I have tried several others that were excellent, like some MXRs, this is even better I think. I have had the DS-1 in the past but then I upgraded to the Boss Metalzone MT2 and the Boss MetalCore ML2. Both excellent buy more metal. You can play rock, metal, blues, almost anything with the Boss DS-1X. The high and low have a wide range. The Distortion control changes the contour also adds more treble/high as it goes up. At lower values you can use it with split humbuckers or two single coils for very crunchy TS9 boosted over drive SRV type tones. This is what I like about this. Great sound with neck and brigde humbuckers and split coils. In my setup i use Evolution7, Deactivator pickups. As you play up to higher frets, the sound stays thick very smooth. On low strings it stays relevant, without being boomy. the sound morphs in sutbtle ways if you play to very low strings. it is a totally new effect, not just a distortion.

Great sound but mine lasted a few months with minimum wear on my part. Boss' warranty program is a joke and they are hard to repair yourself so not sure the price coincides with the manufacturing quality.

Been playing 38 yrs...love this pedal.

To those who are curious if this new revision of the venerable DS1 is better, the answer is yes. I have both, and plenty of amps and guitars to hear how these boxes compare. The DS1X has a greater frequency range, more precise adjustability in each (hi-low, as opposed to a single tone control) section and a tighter, more modern feel to the higher gain settings. It still incorporates the nice gritty lower gain of the older DS, behaves well when you need to back off the volume on your guitar and is a little more articulate on leads throughout. Take all this with your own grain of audio salt though. Every amp, and where you place these pedals in your chain makes a difference. Some guitarists just like gain structure the DS1, and rightfully so. It's been the standard for decades. Keep in mind, this is a distortion pedal, not really able to approach the extreme high gain needed for metal on a clean channel. For hard rock it will complement just about any combination of guitar/amp out there. It's well worth testing out for your own ears.