Wow! This is a very interesting and what I feel a very important discussion and sharing of views among DS1 and Mod users. The 1st DS1 that I ever used was an old stock Japanese made bought in the early 80's. It was $40 new then...imagine that! 8O I previously hated the stock Boss orange 3 knober's tone but saw on a stage shot of a live Gary Moore album that a simple DS1 together with a wah pedal was all he had between his Strat and his Marshall stacks. It made me reconsider so to gave it another go if acknowleging a monster such as Gary Moore himself using it so why not? Right?
Well like most of you I came to realise through the years that you can acquire the guitar, the pickups, the pedals and woodshed in the mountains of shredom for hours on end on a daily basis and still not sound like your hero because besides a master's sheer god like talent through his fingers it's also the full tube Marshall Head, the Tubes, The Stacks, the Mics and the Mixing Console Techniques that make a Big Big difference in that elusive
"Sound" I struggled for that sound with my small solid state amp and the JC120 amp! Hehehe. Funny how I could dial in to get the old Police and U2 sounds rather easily but the elusive Shred God like tone was ever so far away! :roll:
I do own and use 2 DS1 pedals...actually 3 if we count in a stock one that Shredcow donated that I use for comparison purposes for mod clients to hear the differences so as to allow them to choose what's right for them.
As what I would explain to most about the variation between the Japanese and Taiwanese made DS1. The critical difference is the op amp chip. Typically a Japanese or Taiwanese 1st issue DS1 will have a "black" label on the bottom plate. The op amp chip is usually a TA71364. The Taiwanese made ones with "silver" label on the bottom plate contain the 5223 chip.
Even in stock format, you'll be able to hear the differrence between the black and silver label DS1. The black label sounds thinner and noisier compared to the silver label which is sometimes described as harder, harsher and less noisier.
So the common question
"Which is Better he Black or Silver, Japan or Taiwan made?" My answer is that there's really no clear answer to this as it's all about identifyling the strenghts and weaknesses and appllying them in the correctly musical context. You see the black label DS1 when modded makes a great blues rock boost pedal that's more garang than any boutique overdrive pedal but less sever than any Distortion pedal out there now. I love my black label and usually like to set the drive knob at around 7 to 9 o' clock withe tone from 10 to 12 o' clock. Set with a germanium diode in the clipping circuit the tone is incredibly pick sensitive.
Black Label Hint: If you wanna make your boutique Overdrive pedal owner friends really sit up and take notice and watch their faces go green.... The Black Label DS1 with the custom SEM mod is the Killer!
Black Label Suggested setting;
Tone at 9 or 10 o clock
Vol at 10 o Clock
Dist at 7 to 12 o Clock
The Silver label is actually ideal for those into the more modern type of super saturated thick distortion super sustain type of lead sounds. the 5223 chip in the silver labels have a higher threshold for handling high distortion in the signal without generating so much noise compare the the black label.
Silver Label Hint:If you really want that Vai type of lead use these suggested settings;
Full Tube Amp Stack Owners to set all dials on (eg. Marshall or Mesa)amp to 11!
DS1 setting
Tone: 7 o Clock (min)
Vol: 5 o Clock (max)
Dist: 7 o clock (min)
Solid State amp owners set your treble at 2 o Clock, Mid and Bass at 10 or 11 o Clock
DS1 Setting
Tone: 7 or 9 o Clock
Vol: 9 or 10 o Clock
Dist: 3 or 5 o clock (turn down tone to min if you max the dist knob.)
I suppose some are confused by all this variables discussed here about this hunble looking lil Orange Monster of a pedal. Do post so others here may learn, share and help. Hope this has been of service to you guys ya! Merry X'mas and a Happier New Year everyone!
