PRODUCT REVIEW
ANALOG MAN
DS- 1 Pro
Midrange Mod
BY OSCAR JORDAN
Analog Mike (aka Mike Piera) of Analog
Man Guitar Effects does cool things. Years
ago I sent him a BOSS Blues Driver to
perform open-heart surgery on. He took a
relatively inexpensive, middle-of-the-road
pedal and transformed it into a high-end
tone machine at a reasonable price. Most
stompbox freaks are aware that Analog
Man Guitar Effects is not just a dealer, but a
company that modifies, manufactures, buys,
sells and repairs vintage and new guitar
effects. He caters to seekers of luscious guitar tones. Any stock pedal you send him for
modification will never be the same.
Already being a fan of his BOSS DS- 1 Pro
Mod, I was excited to discover there was
a BOSS DS- 1 Pro Midrange Mod available,
where the stock components are replaced
with high-grade audio parts and the pedal
is re-equalized for a punchier sound. This
particular modification aims to rid the DS- 1
of those nasty high frequencies often found
in the stock version. He also removes the
inline chip and replaces it with a JRC op-amp chip – this makeover gives it a warmth
and definition that will make any cork sniffer
think again. It’s crunchier, has great low-end and will Marshallize the cleanest amp.
With the addition of the Midrange knob,
players also have the option of dialing in
classic tube amp sounds or more modern,
“scooped” tones.
coax some serious Santana tones out of my
Strat’s neck pickup.
The ultimate test was using it at my weekly
gig where I put it to work covering Ernie
Isley, Eddie Hazel, Carlos Santana and
Prince. Not surprisingly, I couldn’t find a bad
setting anywhere. I started off with the Tone
control at about ten o’clock, but because of
the added midrange, I found myself moving it past noon to cut through the band a
little better. I preferred the distortion knob
maxed out – this is a thick pedal, and once
you find your sweet spot it adds goo-gobs
of rich sustain.
Buy If...
you want a versatile distortion
pedal with plenty of warmth
Skip If...
you’re a stickler for stock
I ran the DS- 1 Pro Midrange Mod through a
handful of amps, including a Fender Deluxe
Reverb, a ‘ 65 Fender Pro Reverb, an early-eighties JCM800 50-watt single channel
combo and a Peavey JSX; I plugged into a
few Fender Strats, a modified Peavey HP
Special CT and a stock ‘ 78 Yamaha SG2000.
The first thing that came to mind upon
hearing the modified pedal was the word
creamy. Even with the Midrange knob rolled
all the way back, the pedal sounded warmer
than the DS- 1 Pro Mod and was in a totally
different solar system than the stock version.
I found that by adjusting the Tone along
with the Midrange knob, I could go from
smooth distortion to balls-out gain without
any harsh high-end. The crunch factor was
fabulous; the pedal easily allowed me to
The Final Mojo
Analog Mike has taken a stock BOSS DS- 1
and replaced the ice pick sensation with
thickness, warmth and soul. It has the versatility to move between modern metal
sounds and vintage-sounding gain with little
effort. And although it would be a perfect
fit for true fans of distortion, it can also be
used to great effect for subtler rhythm tones
and blues-rock work. If you have an old DS-
1 lying around, there’s really no excuse not
to send it to Mike – you won’t be sorry.
Analog Man Guitar Effects
BOSS DS-1/Pro with Midrange knob $130
Modification Only $90
analogman.com
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