Rich and Harmonics Rhythms, nice price

Currently, testing this pedal so I would prefer you take this review like a grain of salt.

Previously, I had a TS Mini, BD-2 Blues Driver, Fulldrive 2 Mosfet and recently got a Nux Tubeman MkII, all them are great on its own for the way these were designed. Now, it's time for a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive. My rig for test was a Gretsch G5420T into the SD-1, then jacked into a Vox AC15C1 and to a Fender Custom Deluxe on Vintage Channel. The electrical outlet is grounded properly, just the power supply for the pedal is ungrounded.

I read great reviews about this pedal, and all them are true. The AC15C1 might sound harsh in some setups, but the SD-1 tames well this amp. The SD-1 brings a mellow sparkle and a very comfortable smoothness to your playing (Strokes-You only live once rhythm interlude riff for example), but if you add more gain to the sound, you can play hard rock or even metal if you bring treble.

Volume and gain pots are like an equation to balance for me, but sometimes I can experiment full volume and gain just for fun. Starting at zero gain, we get sparkled clean boost with some mellow vibes. The more the gain, adds more subtle sparkle on the background guitar sound, so you can understand what is currently playing. The Volume control is preferred at 12'o clock first, then you turn the knob to adjust The Tone knob is toward clarity (contour).

For the Fender CDR 68', I liked better how the SD-1 matches the amp, the smoothness is still noticeable, but not excesive, like when playing on the Vox AC15C1 that feels like playing on a sponge fretboard (that grade of smoothness in a good way). The sound is amazing, you can listen to the notes, and still a little grit on the background, a distintive chime for the SD-1. However, using the Custom Channel that uses mid-push I found an interesting response from the amp, still clear, pushed the low mid frequencies in a good way, great for soloing and still can be rhythmical. Probably, a compressor could be added to the formula, but is not required.

Comparing the SD-1 versus other pedals:

SD-1 vs. TS Mini. As far I remember, the TS Mini has more grit and can sound harsh on full tone, its EQ makes that you want to do riffs all the time. With the SD-1, I tend to do mellow rhythms (bigsby included). Also, the TS Mini needed a booster to do nicely for solos and consistent riffs (EP Booster). Probably, a booster might help for the SD-1.

SD-1 vs. Fulldrive 2 Mosfet. Not in the same category, but for versatilty, the FD2 wins here, however, the SD-1 has clarity while the FD2 might sound unclear or muddy on some setups, unless you plug a 18 vdc power supply for the FD2 to bring clarity. For mellowness, dynamics and vibe, the SD-1 is the way to go. If you want versatility, you may prefer the FD2.

SD-1 vs. BD-2. This is an interesting match, both are somewhat transparent, however the SD-1 sounds mellow and also its EQ is provided with Mids, where the BD-2 is mid-cut, it might sound harsh on a Vox AC15C1 or a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Not the case for the SD-1 on these both amps.

Boss SD-1 vs Nux Tubeman MkII. A very close match. Both are mellow, both starts on clean boost setups. However, where the Nux has a modern vibe tone because the FET electronic design, the SD-1 tends for a classic tone. You can play with both pedals the same songs and probably you will don't notice if the pedal was changed. But, both are EQ on different ranges, and I tend to do rhythms with the SD-1 more than with the Nux, which is more an general purpose pedal. Update Feb.19.2023: Is also important to mention, the Nux Tubeman MKII has less grit on the gain Pot where the SD-1 has more grit starting the 9 o'clock gain pot position. You could 'clean' the grit on the SD-1 with a compressor before the SD-1 lowering the sustain and bringing up the level. As Summary, the Nux Tubeman MKII is a bit cleaner than the Boss SD-1.

On its own, the SD-1 as lead tone, is not being a favorite for my taste, is because I feel so much the mid push on my fingers, probably could fit nice for slow riffs or rhythm-riff-like solos (Hendrix - Little Wing). Also for rhythm lead feels great, warm, smooth and easy to go between chords, Bigsby vibrato chords or changing the neck position.

Update Feb.19.2023 The SD-1 matches other pedals nicely, say, for Riffs and Solos, put a very subtle Reverb on the first spot of the pedal chain to improve the acoustic frequencies. As well, pairing the SD-1 after a MXR Micro Amp gives extra frequencies to the overdrive.

Based on the previous comment I can state:

The Tone Knob controls a contour parameter for the whole EQ sound, if you balance the gain-volume and finally you adjust the tone, you will be able to master this pedal. Think about this like a mini amp.

The best matches for guitar-amp is Single Coils with Mid-Cut amps, examples: Strat with Vox AC15, Fender Deluxe Reverb, and so on. This because the Boss SD-1 offers mid push. However, it reinforces smoothness and mid push in a good way with Humbuckers and mid pushed amps (Les Paul into a SD-1 plugged to a Marshall, Hi-Watt, for example). It is up to your taste how your setup is going.

You can't go wrong with a Boss SD-1, which I'm considering to put on my pedalboard and kick off the current green overdrive.

31/08/2024 Update Today I did a practice pairing a MXR Micro Amp with the Boss SD-1 plugged into the Fender Custom Deluxe Reverb '68, Custom Channel, all this because all the excitement about the comeback of the Oasis band. If you don't have a Marshall Amp nearby, well, this is a practical "Marshall at home", just try to add also some compression to the recipe and the windows will begin to shake. Sounds are some like 70's-80's depending how you configure the drive-volume ratio on the pedal and the tone.

Best Overdrive Pedal

This pedal is amazing, can be a boost, main drive and also get closer to high gain when stacked. My first pedal and ever since I never took it from my pedalboard. Amazing TS Like option but with more crunch and volume.

A quintessential take on a "classic" overdrive.

It knows its place and, at any setting, remains firmly in overdrive territory, never encroaching on distortion. It provides a surprisingly wide palette of sounds within its range—from a subtle, warm, tube-like drive to a slightly aggressive, biting overdrive.

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Affordable, durable, and with a very pleasant tone, perfect for boost or for clean tones with little gain

I use this pedal as a boost for solos, riffs, and some rhythmic parts. The truth is that as a main drive, I don't love it, since it doesn't have as much gain as I like or use in my songs, but it gives a much better tone to solos, more sustain, more mids, and more volume, and it makes them stand out much more in the mix and live sound, something I had always struggled with or hadn't been able to achieve as I wanted.

It adds “that something” to the sound.

Great as a single effect. Works brilliantly with an amplifier and other overdrive, distortion, and fuzz pedals.

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A must go to start in pedal world

What you can say about this pedal, easy to use, very intuitive, very easy learnig curve, the must go to start adding noise to your signal, work very well as a volume booster, in extreme you can make a very grunge, shoegaze, noise ambient, very useful pedal and with charasteristic everlating quality that boss offers, the only bad thing it have so much treble in it, so be careful with your tone knob.

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From Gear Setup

Great

Bought this to try to emulate old Josh Homme tones, even though I'm using an original 5150 and it isn't the most suited for the job, this pedal still gets you pretty close.

From Gear Setup

Great drive, but not for me

Borrowed this from a friend for a couple weeks, so I haven't had super long to get to know it, but I'm a long time tubescreamer (clone) user so I wondered if it could convert me. Sadly, it did not. It's very much "the same but different" in very minor ways and by all means is an excellent alternative. However, I found that the colouration of the eq to be much stronger that my Kaffir lime and the gain seemed to be a touch more prickly. All in all, a fantastic overdrive. It's just not what I was looking for!

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Always come back to this one

43 years of uninterrupted production for a reason. No, it’s not “transparent” sounding. No, it’s not boutique. Yes, it’s a classic. Great for boosting leads and tightening the low-end on a Marshall-style tube amp that’s just on the edge of break-up. You’ve heard this on countless recordings. Easily the equal of the Ibanez TS-9 for half the price.

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I prefer this to a TS9

I started on tubescreamers eventually favoring the TS9 until someone gave me their SD1. I adh switched fromf ender to amrshall amps back then and the SD1 sounded better into a marshall. It sounds good into a vox. Low on bottom end though. MXR's custom abdass remedies that issue with an extra 100hz control. Mine is old, probably 80s issue? Just found it recently. It appears to power up. I'm stoked. I gave my original TS9 and some TS5s and I think a 10 away to my best buddy, but this I kept. I think it sounds better than a tubescreamer... that extra diode and handful of different cap and resistor values really make a difference to me. People say the enw oens don't sound as good but they're not far off the mark to my ear. I was in a store around DC I sued to frequent and this dude I knew who worked there was A/Bing the current Boss version and an old one they were selling for like 20 times its original retail value. Pretty close. Not the eb all end all or anything, but there's a strange wisdom to this OD. I think the edge uses one of these and a ts9 as his main dirt stomps and that guy can have anything (and does). People shouldn't be cork sniffers, this little guy sounds good and its a steal.