Boss DS-1 Distortion Circuit Bending

I like to tinker with pedals. It’s super fun, especially if you enjoy puzzles or problem solving in general. Over the years, it’s amazing the knowledge you gain, but at the end of the day, there still is a mountain to learn, which is great, but at times, can be frustrating. I often get asked about where is a good place to start with pedal mods or just understanding pedal circuits. I like to recommend the Boss DS-1.

I like to recommend the Boss DS-1 because of a few things. Number one, the board layout is easy to work with. Number two, the components for the most part are easy to get a hold of. And, finally, number three – there are a ton of mods for it. And those mods.. sound great!

Circuit Bending the DS-1

This post is about a lesson in mod’ing, but a potentially inspirational post on what you can do. I came across this great video where the submitter went slightly insane with circuit bending a Boss DS-1. What is circuit bending? Basically, you change the routing of paths (shorting) to get some interesting characteristics. By setting up toggle switches you can turn those on and off easily. Check it out…

As you can see the variety of tones that you can get by bending on the DS-1 is amazing. If you’re interested in a starting.. get yourself a DS-1. They’re cheap (especially if you find one used) and easy to work with. Give it a shot.. and let me know how it went!