ds-1 mod

darkgloryknight · #1 04-03-2009, 10:16 AM

i put my ds-1 on the shelf for a few weeks cuz a friend let me use his big muff pi, it cam time to give it back and i plugged my ds-1 in and started to play when i realized it sounds like ****. so being cheep as i am i decided im going to mod it. i did a little search and found some thing like switching c3 for a .22uF and c8 to 4.7uG and r16 to 3.3k. does anyone know of this mod? or any mod that will get me a nice bass distortion?

Duck off & Fie · #2 04-03-2009, 10:26 AM

i was going to buy this book...

http://www.pedalgeek.com/cgi-bin/new...=link--ightmgp

I'm very interested in starting this kinda of thing as a hobby.
there are a couple more available too:

http://www.pedalgeek.com/cgi-bin/new...mmand=link--ig

darkgloryknight · #3 04-03-2009, 10:40 AM

i should check thews out. i wounder if my library has them.

darkgloryknight · #4 04-04-2009, 03:34 PM

i have an additional question. would it possible to switch between the ds1 and that mod with a switch? for example my brother wants to barrow my ds1 mod but doesn't like the mod, so he flips a switch and begins to play on the original ds1.

edit: also i just want you guys to know that i will add sound clips or may be make a video so we can compare the ds1 and the modded ds1.

Kooldac · #5 04-05-2009, 02:26 PM

I will say that putting a switch between three different cap values and the originals would not be an easy task to a beginner simply because of real estate room within the pedal and that you cant solder all six caps to the board at once. I think you would need a 3PDT switch for that with the 3 rising if you want to do more cap/res value changes.

By that respect, there are a lot of different mods people have created for the DS-1. I actually purchased this book and it has quite a few possible mods amongst many you can find on the internet. Not sure how experienced you are at pedal modding but I could help you out a little on what some of the value switches do to the pedal's sound if you PM me. Good luck

darkgloryknight · #6 04-05-2009, 10:30 PM

yea that what i thought as well. this would be my 2nd mod, i did a p90 mod for my brotherlast month.

rcubed · #7 04-05-2009, 10:39 PM

Google DS-1 mods and you'll get half a dozen mods for it. There's also one that someone here did but I forget what thread it was in. Search this forum and you'll find it. The tone stack is the same as a Big Muff. So if you're like me you'll want to go from scooped to boosted mids with a resistor and capacitor swap.

darkgloryknight · #8 04-05-2009, 10:47 PM

first thing i did was google lol. i found one on here for a tremolo effect or some thing.

sonic assassin · #9 04-05-2009, 11:00 PM

i did the keeley mod. i can try to send you the schematic if you'd like. it took a great deal of that tinny crap out

clip can be heard here. second from the bottom. theres a clean clip for reference. hope that helps.

darkgloryknight · #10 04-05-2009, 11:18 PM

do you think the keeley mod sounds better? i found a great pdf file with a bunch of ds-1 schematics.http://freestompboxes.org/members/so...Distortion.pdf

sonic assassin · #11 04-05-2009, 11:39 PM

the keeley mod compared to the original? its night and day. keely mod wins every time. smoother gain, better transition from clean to drive, MORE drive, and the tone control is now usable.

i have one of both, but the stock one never sees the light of day.

darkgloryknight · #12 04-05-2009, 11:49 PM

i think ill try the keeley mod after i try this mod. i well definitely do sound clips when i do them.

sonic assassin · #13 04-05-2009, 11:53 PM

i can do before and after clips if you like..

darkgloryknight · #14 04-05-2009, 11:56 PM

that would nice thank you

jschwalls · #15 04-06-2009, 12:09 AM

I have a mod for the DS-1 that sounds like a Mesa Mark IIc amp... I worked on it for weeks... visit www.indyguitarist.com

the owner Brian Wampler is one of the nest pedal builders out there... great stuff

darkgloryknight · #16 04-06-2009, 12:36 PM

the forum on the site look helpful.

sonic assassin · #17 04-06-2009, 09:05 PM

here are the clips. the one with both is panned hard on either side so you can switch back and forth with headphones.

i took the gain up a couple notches at a time. you can tell that they both get a little ridiculous all the way up, and the modded pedal approaches the gain much slower. the tone control was at about 9 o clock on both.

hope this helps.

darkgloryknight · #18 04-06-2009, 10:12 PM

what mod was that? keeley? i like the mod better for sure.

sonic assassin · #19 04-06-2009, 11:03 PM

it was the keeley seeing-eye mod.

darkgloryknight · #20 04-07-2009, 09:05 PM

ok thanks. you'll never believe it but my pickup went bad when i was recording. freaking sucks! so i guess ill have to replace them before i start recording my mod