My OverDrive
I bought the Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive from the Facebook Marketplace. It’s the first pedal I bought when I decided to switch to pedals, after almost 30 years of using modeling amps. I don’t regret my purchase at all. It’s only one of the few pedals that I bought used (I also bought a used MXR compressor from the same guy, great pedal too).
It’s great for that warm sound and the natural distortion coming from a tube amp with some overdrive. It will respond beautifully to all the subtleties of your playing. It’s really easy to use, and it’s a Boss, so it’s reliable, it will last forever.
When to use it?
It’s really an easy question to answer, almost every time I’m not on clean! Currently, I have two different bands with different styles, an 80’s tribute band, and a classic rock band. For the tribute, I’m using it whenever I need slight distortion, the Drive level is about 50%, it’s perfect for the sound of that era. I’ll use my distortion pedal only when I’m playing hard rock songs like The Final Countdown or Beat it, I need more gain for my leads.
In my rock band, I’ll say my Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive is on for approximately 80% of the time. This time I’ll put more Drive, something like 75%, it’s great for the classic rock of the 70’s, but it also fits with some alternative music from the 90’s. Again I’ll only use distortion for heavier stuff, like Metallica, Marilyn Manson.
What is overdrive?
Overdrive is when you drive a valve to the point of distortion. The pedal is used to sound like if you’re turning up the volume of a valve amp as loud as it can go. The effect desired is that if you play soft, the gain will be hardly noticeable, but if you play loud, the signal will start to break up. Overall, you get a gain boost but you don’t lose the tone of the guitar and the amp.
Overdrive vs Distortion
While the overdrive only drives your amp or a least makes it sound like that, with that cranked sound, the distortion changes the sound. The wave of the distorted sound is hard clipped and compressed. I usually turn off my compression pedal when I’m using distortion, it’s too much compression, and I usually get feedback like crazy. A big difference between overdrive and distortion is that the sound doesn’t change with the volume for the latter.
Boss SD-1 at zZounds.com
Conclusion: Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive
That Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive is a must in any pedalboard, the only overdrive pedal that is more popular is the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, but it’s a bit more expensive. I made a video exploring all the possibilities of that pedal. I used my Fender Stratocaster to do the tests but it sounds good with my other guitars (I use an Epiphone Les Paul with my rock band).
- Boss SD-1 Official Site
- Differences Between Overdrive, Distortion & Fuzz
- Boss OD-1 OverDrive pedal schematic diagram
