Boss SD-1 Super Over Drive Pedal Modification

By Guitar Kit Builder
Feb 11, 2011
in Guitar Kit Builder - Pedals & Effects

The BOSS Super Over Drive SD-1 pedal was designed, according to BOSS, to "exactly replicate the sound of an overdriven tube amplifier when used in any amplification setup."

The design was intended as an advancement from prior overdrive devices to be highly touch-sensitive and to respond to delicate playing techniques. The overdrive can be varied from very hard to very soft, allowing it to adapt to a wide variety of guitars and styles without fundamentally altering the tonal characteristics of the guitar. Producing the warm, natural distortion of an overdriven tube amplifier while maintaining the subtle nuances of a player's picking technique. This is one of BOSS' more subtle and smooth overdrive pedals, perfect for blues and rock.

The SD-1 has the following three controls:

Over Drive - regulates the amount of over drive effect, distortion harmonics and sustain from a very soft, subtle effect to one that is very hard.
Tone - varies the effect sound from crisp highs to soft lows.
Level - adjusts the output loudness to match or contrast with the straight signal level.

Here is BOSS' demonstration video for the SD-1:

A modification of the SD-1 to give it some of the tonal characteristics of an Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer can be found at Erik's Corner. Here's a video demonstration of the modded SD-1.