Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
My superb sounding Boss DS-1 Distortion with Twin Drive Mods has landed!
It turns out that I’m quite a fan of these Twin Drive Mod types - this is my second of that ilk after the Twin Drive OD-3. These are Japanese Mods made by more than one party, I’m not sure who did the very first one, and for us in Europe and the USA - mostly available via Ebay, but in very limited quantities. There are several marketplaces in Japan that carry these Mod types - including jp.mercari.com.
For my 2 - I acquired the OD-3 Twin Drive from Reverb.com, and the DS-1 Twin Drive from Ebay - where they’re priced around £150-£175 and equivalent.
They feature a second gain channel - with second Gain and Level controls - where said channel essentially functions as a boost on top of the core original gain channel. So with the controls at noon you get an audible boost with more saturation and a touch more volume - which you can then crank up further.
These Twin Drives have a second footswitch to flip between the Channels, and they come with 2 extra toggle switches - one of which is usually a Phat Mod, and the other is either Compression or Clipping Options - as is the case with this one.
Within the circuit - several components have been upgraded and switched up to improve the output profile - here to deliver a lower noise floor, thicken up the mids, and smooth out any harsh high / top-end frequencies. You get a much richer and more sounded soundstage.
As a result - the Twin Drive sounds a lot warmer and more expressive than the stock DS-1 - particularly on LED and Diode Lift Modes. It gives you a 2-Channel pedal - where in this instance - the core / stock Blue Channel can cover your Rhythm tones, and the more saturated / boosted channel can cover your Lead tones.
Controls - Master Tone, Distortion 1, Level 1, Clipping : LED / Diode Lift / Silicon Symmetric, Phat Mod : On / Off, Second Channel 2 Footswitch, Distortion 2, Level 2, Engage Switch.
I was incredibly impressed with the OD-3 Twin Drive, and If anything - I'm even more impressed with this one!
Some will say it no longer sounds like a DS-1 at all. It's a much fatter and more vintage sounding circuit here - with glorious warm and richly textured distortion.
For sure one of my very best DS-1's - in fact - pound-for-pound it may even be the greatest!
The stock original DS-1 sounds positively feeble against this one - which is considerably louder and wider ranging.
The pedal already sounds superb with all dials at noon - and you do get a noticeably extra saturation boost on the 2nd Channel with those default settings.
For my preferences - Tone is @ 2 o'c, Level @ Noon, Distortion @ Noon, Clipping at either Diode Lift or LED, Phat Mod On, Distortion 2 @ 2 o'c, Level 2 @ 2 o'c. That way you get a more significant Lead Boost. Of course all-Noon settings sound pretty great too - but the Lead Channel is then a lot more subtle.
This is very much a souped up and turbo-charged DS-1, I paid just £150 for mine - from an Ebay seller called RiversideWorks.Japan.
I so like this series of mods - that I'm definitely getting the Metal Zone Twin Drive 'Bogner' Edition too - probably next month!
In the meantime I can heartily recommend the DS-1 Twin Drive Mods - it's a superior DS-1 pedal every-which way - with improved noise floor, output profile, more extension, and a second channel. What's not to like! For Clean Pedal Platform aficionados like myself - these kinds of pedals are a godsend - as the stock DS-1 sounds horribly anaemic into my rig - just horrible really - while the Twin Drive DS-1 sounds utterly magnificent - rich, warm and rounded - just glorious!
Alas there is no demo for the Twin Drive Mods - so I will leave you with this Comparison between Keeley, JHS, and Analog.Man Mods of the DS-1 - none of which sound nearly as impressive as the Twin Drive Mods!
Rough Sound Samples from other Modded DS=1's
