Boss Pedals Distortion-ology

Controls - Tone, Distortion, Mod Mode : Evil Eye (Saturated) / Ultra Mod (Beefier), Level.

So the unadulterated DS-1 was not just my first ever Boss pedal - it was my first ever pedal - and something of a disaster. Obviously most famously used by Kurt Cobain for his core Nirvana sound - he was though going into a slightly cooking amp - as was the intended use for this pedal. Into a clean pedal platform amp - this pedal sounds somewhat anaemic / unsubstantial, while into the appropriately dialled-in amp - it could sound pretty glorious. Of course Robert Keeley fixed it with his Evile Eye and Ultra Mods - which introduced further saturation and girth into the mix - that's still my favourite DS-1. 

The DS-1W adds in more mids - but I generally prefer the Keeley Mods. I also have a JHS Mod of this DS-1 and a couple of others. If you want to ramp things up further - you have the Drunk Beaver Distortion and VFE Dark Horse. Also not to forget the formidable Analog Music Co circuit-bent Evil Pumpkin - which is something quite different - and more of Multi-FX. There are some really exceptional takes of this circuit out here - while the Keeley Ultra Mod takes a lot to beat!

Controls - Tone, Mode : Standard (Classic 1978 Voicing) / Custom (Thicker Mid-focused Voicing), Distortion, Level.

The Custom mode on this one certainly thickens things up somewhat - but targets the mid frequencies rather than the Lower-Mids and Low frequencies of the Keeley Ultra Mod - which I slightly prefer. The new Waza Custom voicing is still pretty impressive - but not quite as handy for me.

Controls - Level, Low, High, Distortion.

Actually the second of 3 Multi-Dimensional Processing dsp pedals here - also including the DA-2, and ST-2 further below. This one is pretty decent too, but has the MDP stuff has always given it a weird feel for me. My favourite distortions behave mostly in an amp-like fashion - while this behaves very differently to me - it has some decent sounds onboard - and obviously benefits from it 2-Band EQ. It has slightly more saturation than the original - and obviously more granularity - while it's nowhere near as satisfying as the Keeley Ultra Modded DS-1!

Controls - Level, Tone, Distortion, Turbo / Remote : I / II (Mids / +degree of saturation).

This one is still somewhat under-appreciated - a Prince favourite! The first Turbo Mode is more mids forward and slightly beefier than the original DS-1, while the Mode II takes you into high gain territory with even more saturation. The tone-stack here feels different to the original too - with a less harsh sounding top end - somewhat more refined therefore. I've always loved this one - and prefer it to the original. While weirdly I still prefer the Keeley Ultra Mode more! I've spotted a few of these with an added custom footswitch - so you don't reed to plug in a remote - but can instead toggle the two Modes on the pedal. I may try to pick up one of those - or you can just get one of those handy stick-on switches from Pedalnetics - I may to that too!

Controls - Level. Low, High, Adaptive-Distortion.

The main thing about this one is how even tempered it is - and how it works consistently across the whole fretboard - with just the right degree of articulation and saturation. It still has something of a weird feel to me - but can sound spectacular when dialled in appropriately. I believe this is a fairly early version of MDP - with some intricate idiosyncrasies. On its own it's stellar - but I can't get it to stack well, and it just doesn't get along with some modulations. Great if you deploy it right - but something of a challenge in some ways!

Controls - Siren Mod Stich (on top edge), Volume / Boost (x4), Tone, Distortion, Overtone / Feedback, additional latching Feedback footswitch.

Both of Boss's Feedbacker types (yes I have them both) sound great - while this Leyland DF-2 is always going to be the favourite. Leyland's Caleb has done some wonderful Mods to this pedal - giving it much greater output and range, alongside a quirky Swervedriver Siren Feedback Mod. This is another excellent under-appreciated Boos Distortion which is at its very best in this Modded edition - MOD still available - while you need to supply the DF-2!

Controls - Level, Bass, Treble, Sound : Crunch > Driver > Ultra.

A decent Marshall / Plexi take - with plenty of saturation - while I have several Plexi types whose output profile I prefer - I tend to prefer open-pored - while this one is relatively dense. I find all my Marshall types (60+) can have quite different timbres and mids frequency responses - even though they sound incredibly Marshall-y at their core. As always it's a combination of dynamics, ambience, feel, and harmonic texture. And while this one performs well - I don't quite consider it top-tier. This one's possibly one tier level down from most of these - alongside the DA-2!

Controls - JHS (Angry Charlier) } Level, Tone, Drive, BOSS (Blues Driver) } Level, Tone, Drive, Mode : JHS | Boss | JHS / Boss | JHS > Boss | Boss > JHS | Parallel.

Talking about tier categories - this one's definitely an S-Tier candidate - that parallel stacking really sounds superb. And you get to mix up the Blues Driver and Angry Charlie - to utter perfection. One of those greater than the some of its parts types. It does require a little diligence on the dial-in - and is capable of some really spectacular results. This one occasionally falls a little under the radar times - but it really is one of Boss's all time greats!

Controls - Level, Tone / Bottom, Distortion, Gain Boost.

Another somewhat under-the-radar and under-appreciated Boss Distoriton. A really cool High Gain - but not necessarily Metal gain pedal. Some find that it has a slight harsh top-end - and there are a number of modded versions out there which solve that - including from Alchemy Audio. While I actually really like this effect as is - and I enjoy is somewhat brasher characteristics. This is another pedal - where it's all about the dial in - but again - with some due diligence - you can achieve some spectacular tones. 

Controls - Level, Contour (post-distortion mids : scoop > hump, pre-distortion mids, Distortion.

This is one of those Boss pedals with great potential, but, but a somewhat flawed execution. Those dual Mid controls - Contour & Punch - operate very weirdly - and I was never able to get the balance totally perfect for my preferences. While the overall distortion character is really decent - just the tone stack that is a little problematic. My good friend Vitalii at Drunk Beaver 'fixed' this circuit with his #24 Pedal Drop - the Uzhhorod Xtortion. Where the dual Mids control operate much more satisfactorily. That one is surely what Boss originally intended with the Xtortion!

Controls - Level, Tone, Drive, Mode : Single (Distortion only), Doubler - Delay I / II / III, Chorus I / II.

This is truly one of Boss's greats - featuring a hybrid arrangement of analog high gain distortion combines with 3 Digital Delay, and 2 Digital Chorus Modes. I've always loved using Chorus with High Gain and the way the two sides combine is really special. This seems to be so finely executed - as those digital modes are so complementary. It's a shame that this pedal is unlikely to be resurrected and re-issued - while it really needs to be. You can tell by how few Mods are available for this pedal as to how succesful its core output is! A proper Gem for sure

Controls - Level, Low, High, Distortion.

Into Boss's proper Metal High Gain category now - this one is often cited as a favourite Boss Metal Distortion - it's Rob Chapman's favourite for instance. While mostly you will find the Metal Zone and Heavy Metal pedals topping those favourites lists. I really like this one too - and always include it in my metal pedals roundups - while I'm with the masses in slightly preferring the MT-2 and HM-2 variants!

Controls - Level, High / Low, Mid Frequency / Mid ±, Distortion, Keeley Mod Modes : Stock / Ultra Tube (4x12) / Tripe Diode.

This is my favourite Metal Zone - even better than the MT-2Z - even though that one is decent too. This one really ramps up the saturation - and low end punch / thump - and particularly with the Ultra Tube Mod engaged - which delivers molten lava full stack tones - really immense! It has a much beefier and more satisfying time compared to both stock and Waza Craft Editions. The Waza edition is actually really stellar and solve many of the dial-in quirks of the original - the Custom mode on that is particularly impressive. While the Ultra Tube Mode still blows it out of the water. This version of Metal Zone has longe been one of my most favourited Metal Distortion Pedals!

Controls - Level, Colour } Low, High, Distortion, Mode (on rear) : Standard / Custom.

Much like with the MT-2W - it's the Custom Mode that really delivers magic for me. Here with more punch and low-end gain. I dial in a particularly thunderous voicing on the Custom Mode for sure. There's so much range on those dials. And a lot o players use it for far lower gain than it was intended - while the all dials at max twin peaks chainsaw setting still sounds suitable raw and visceral. They've ironed out some of the quirks of the original and delivered a much lower noise floor. Overall this pedal is much improved over the original - and with more range. There are still some though that prefer the even rawer sound of the original - with all its harsh frequencies firmly in the mix. I kind of straddle both camps - and mostly use it as a rather more typical High Gain pedal than a Swedish Death Metal Firebrand! I still feel it retains enough of the original's visceral quality and verve - it's just mostly slightly better behaved now! Boss did a really great collaboration and consultation on this pedal with the fans - and it was decided that the facia had to remain the same - as so many have tattoos of this design - and they didn not want to upset those. So the typical Waza Custom switch goes on the rear of the pedal!

Controls - Level, Colour } Low, High, Distortion.

There was so much lore around the HM-2, that the slightly updated HM-3 failed to resonate in the same way. Essentially Boss hones the output of all those dials - delivering more range and output. While at the same time tackling some of those harsher sounding frequencies from the original. This one has noticeably more low-end and gain, but less of those harsher higher frequencies. The original twin-peak distortion with all the dials maxed as a slightly rawer sound to it. I feel both the HM-3 and obviously HM-2 are really decent - while I overall prefer the dual flavours of the Waza HM-2.