13 replies to this topic

[Phantom]

Hi,

i've been looking to buy a distortion pedal for a while now and went to the music store the other day. I went in with the intention of playing the DS-2 turbo however they only had a OS-2 overdrive which apparently are the same DS-1 sound but the added feature is different. Was wondering what the pros and cons are of both as if i get the DS-2 i won't get to play it before i order it though i know its popular on this forum and i know that john and kurt cobain have used it.

Thanks in advance

[anachronism]

DS2 gives you the same sound through just about every amp. What you've heard in RHCP is what you'll get out of your amp, and it's a beautiful sound. I've never played the OS-2, but it's the Turbo mode on the DS-2 that Frusciante and Cobain used, so just because the OS-2 replicates the DS-1 doesn't mean it can make the DS-2 sound. (Mode I of the DS-2 is DS-1. Mode II is Turbo.)

[zzz]

I don't have any overdrive pedal, but I'm very happy of my DS-2.
From what I've read on Wikipedia, the difference is that with an overdrive pedal, the more the sound of the amp is low, the less the sound is distorted. Whereas with a distortion pedal, the sound is always distorted at any volume.
Then it depends on which kind of music you want to play... I find the turbo mode of the DS-2 is great for punk and hard rock!

[anachronism]

OD pedals sound the same on all amp volumes of a SS amp, and the volume doesn't make too, too much difference on a tube amps. (On my Blackstar, the DS-2 actually sounds a little different at higher volumes, but not much.) Really it's just the nature of the breakup and just how much gain you're using that makes different pedals sound different. (e.g. fuzz pedals break the signal into square waves and generally don't add a hell of a lot of gain)

The reason you might find that OD pedals sound different at higher volumes is that tube amps with a lot of headroom need to be cranked a bit to get any sort of breakup, whereas the gain on a distortion pedal is much greater, so you'll achieve that lovely crunch regardless.

[frufrukurtjimi]

anachronism, on 07 February 2011 - 06:13 AM, said:

DS2 gives you the same sound through just about every amp. What you've heard in RHCP is what you'll get out of your amp, and it's a beautiful sound. I've never played the OS-2, but it's the Turbo mode on the DS-2 that Frusciante and Cobain used, so just because the OS-2 replicates the DS-1 doesn't mean it can make the DS-2 sound. (Mode I of the DS-2 is DS-1. Mode II is Turbo.)

but you still need a good amp and guitar

i dont think KC used the turbo...JF does though

and mode 1 is similar to the boss ds-1 but not exaact...i find its darker and more versatile (can do low gain settings)

[anachronism]

frufrukurtjimi, on 02 April 2011 - 10:20 PM, said:

anachronism, on 07 February 2011 - 06:13 AM, said:

DS2 gives you the same sound through just about every amp. What you've heard in RHCP is what you'll get out of your amp, and it's a beautiful sound. I've never played the OS-2, but it's the Turbo mode on the DS-2 that Frusciante and Cobain used, so just because the OS-2 replicates the DS-1 doesn't mean it can make the DS-2 sound. (Mode I of the DS-2 is DS-1. Mode II is Turbo.)

but you still need a good amp and guitar

i dont think KC used the turbo...JF does though

and mode 1 is similar to the boss ds-1 but not exaact...i find its darker and more versatile (can do low gain settings)

You don't need a great amp or guitar; you'll get similar sound even on good solid state (e.g. Vox VT series) with a Squier Standard Strat if you're going through a DS-2.

Turbo was KC's thing, I think he cranked the dist all the way up though.

Mode 1 is the exact same schematic as a DS-1, but people tend to think it's smoother/darker in general. We have yet to do a blind sound comparison.

[frufrukurtjimi]

anachronism, on 03 April 2011 - 07:04 AM, said:

You don't need a great amp or guitar; you'll get similar sound even on good solid state (e.g. Vox VT series) with a Squier Standard Strat if you're going through a DS-2.

you do need one...it might not change the way the dist works but you can tell the difference when there is a good guitar going into a good amp.

my old set up was squier standard->boss ds-2->fender frontman

now its fender jag->boss ds-2->marshall jcm 800

the difference in the dist is phenominal. its doesnt sound fuzzy anymore but nice and thick

[anachronism]

Sure, but the distortion's the same on every amp. It's not like you're playing with a tubescreamer or something that's going to give wildly different results.

Really, you'd've gotten the best sound out of that Squier into your Marshall JCM 800 if you replaced the neck pickup with something nicer. Sure the action doesn't hold a candle to the Jag, but a Standard Squier's an alright guitar and it's a plenty more resonant than a Jag.

[frufrukurtjimi]

anachronism, on 04 April 2011 - 01:11 PM, said:

Sure, but the distortion's the same on every amp. It's not like you're playing with a tubescreamer or something that's going to give wildly different results.

Really, you'd've gotten the best sound out of that Squier into your Marshall JCM 800 if you replaced the neck pickup with something nicer. Sure the action doesn't hold a candle to the Jag, but a Standard Squier's an alright guitar and it's a plenty more resonant than a Jag.

in that sense yeah i guess so

tbh the feel of the squier and the jag are different but one isnt better than the other. i love my strat and i plan on changing the pickups but i doubt a pick up change will make it better that the jag. the wood and other electronics make a lot of difference

[anachronism]

Squier might not be cut well, but the wood should actually make it more resonant than the Jag. Really, a crappy pot or two isn't gonna kill the tone, it's almost entirely in the pickups and the cut. The Squier's still cut like a strat, and it's a fullscale guitar. Might be a worse guitar, but I'd expect you should get a fuller tone from the Squier all the same. Standard Squiers are decent guitars, don't knock 'em. (No promises about the Bullet or Affinities.)

[frufrukurtjimi]

anachronism, on 05 April 2011 - 08:09 AM, said:

Squier might not be cut well, but the wood should actually make it more resonant than the Jag. Really, a crappy pot or two isn't gonna kill the tone, it's almost entirely in the pickups and the cut. The Squier's still cut like a strat, and it's a fullscale guitar. Might be a worse guitar, but I'd expect you should get a fuller tone from the Squier all the same. Standard Squiers are decent guitars, don't knock 'em. (No promises about the Bullet or Affinities.)

im not knocking it...i love mine, its just that its not even a pick up change will make it better than the imo

what do you mean by resonant?

[anachronism]

I mean you get a fuller sound out of a longer guitar. Um... it just seems like shortscale guitars just kinda make the tone thinner, especially the mids-lows. When you hit a note on the Jag it just doesn't sound as powerful or sweet as on a fullscale.

[frufrukurtjimi]

anachronism, on 08 April 2011 - 08:26 AM, said:

I mean you get a fuller sound out of a longer guitar. Um... it just seems like shortscale guitars just kinda make the tone thinner, especially the mids-lows. When you hit a note on the Jag it just doesn't sound as powerful or sweet as on a fullscale.

kind of see what you mean...however i like the shortcale, makes it easier to bend and gives a 'sweeter' (dont know how to describe it) sound

[anachronism]

Shortscale's definitely easier to bend, and it might be more mellow if you've got sweet pickups in the jag, and the wood will make a difference, just not too much. Shortscale you can get the action much lower to the fretboard too, so they're a thrill to play.