They've been around since the '70s and people have always said they sound terrible. But it's such a nifty idea that I've always kind of wanted to hear one. Not enough to buy one though.

But a couple of years ago I bought a used guitar on eBay that had one installed. I like some things that other people slag so I had an open mind and was really looking forward to trying it.

But yeah, they sound bad. Ratty, harsh, spitty distortion. Uglier sounding than the cheapest nastiest pedal you've ever heard. I took it out and rewired the pot as a regular tone control.

They've been around since the '70s because they're super cheap/easy to make and because the idea is so tempting that people buy them despite their reputation. But no famous guitarists use them, no manufacturers install them in their guitars, you don't hear them on records, and you don't see people on the internet recommending them -- the reason is because they sound like crap.

And they need high output pickups to function. Most single coils (and many humbuckers) don't put out enough voltage to make the diodes clip. Unless you've got very hot pickups, you'd be totally throwing your money away. (If you've got hot pickups it might not be a total waste -- you'd at least get to satisfy your curiousity.)

Yeah, but it now has FOUR different overdrive options and SIX wires coming out of it. That's got to account for something.

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Bill

Bill...
This is clearly a great marketing idea.....go for it!
cheers,
Alex

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......it's a topsy-turvy world when noses run and feet smell...

Hey, the 6 wires over the previous version's 4 wires is a HUGE improvement. That way, if you snap 1 or 2 off, you still have the other 4 to work with.

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Bill

The one I had was the original 2-wire version.

After looking at the link I see it's changed quite a bit. They used to recommend only using it with high output pickups but now they say it'll work with just about any pickup. And of course the old ones only had one overdrive option.

So to be fair I guess I have to say that the new version might not suck as they used to.

But I'm still pretty confident that for $20 you could buy a used dirt pedal that sounds a lot better.

Maybe $25:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Boss-DS-1-/2610 ... 3cc98b2599

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Bill