Heads up on the newer Boss SD-1

[Fret-Shredder]

Not sure if this is old news or not but I wanted to give a heads up on the new SD-1 that I just got from Sweetwater. I ordered this so I could do the C6 mod. But when I opened it up to do so I found that they completely changed the design of the main board. Miniaturized it. I don't think it's even possible to do the mod on these now. Damn!

 

[squealie]

Yikes.

Does it sound like an SD-1 at least?

 

[Fret-Shredder]

Yikes.

Does it sound like an SD-1 at least?

My main distortion is my VFE Dragon. I just got this SD-1 to mess around with doing the C6 mod. It sounds pretty darn good as is. I've never owned an SD-1 so I couldn't tell you how it's supposed to sound.

 

[glpg80]

They’ve been that way for a long time. Anything made in Taiwan is like this, anything made in Japan is the through hole design you’re thinking of. It’s why the originals are the price they are.

 

[Fret-Shredder]

They’ve been that way for a long time.

Dang. I had no idea. Oh well. It was only $49 new. Maybe I'll track down an older one if I really want to try out the C6 mod.

 

[glpg80]

Dang. I had no idea. Oh well.

I actually find the new SMD component design to be more aggressive since they use ceramic capacitors. The opamp is what’s holding it back though - the original hasn’t been around for a long time.

 

[lol]

Yes old news. I believe the sd-1 switched to smd sometime in 2017 or 2018. The made in taiwan ones before that are through hole an can be easily modded.

 

[dstroud]

I think the new ones sound great. I have several older ones. To me the new ones do sound slightly different, a little more up front. I do like the ones I mod more, but as far as stock, they do compare nicely to older ones.

 

[Racerxrated]

You should be able to find an older MIT version to mod. They are everywhere.

 

[squealie]

Stew-mac sells a 'screamer' kit that is ready for mods.

IIRC the old SD-1s were pretty close to TS circuits.

Just $.02

 

[LCW]

I have the newer one (Malaysia) and also a Waza made in Japan SD-1W. I actually prefer the new one.

 

[glpg80]

My vids are all with a made in Taiwan SD-1 which is similar

 

[cardinal]

I have some super early SD-1s with different diodes and such from the more common ones, along with some older MIT versions. If the earth is titled just right and it's the third Sunday of the month and everything else is dead silent I can maybe tell a difference?

Supposedly the surface mount stuff is more reliable/repeatable and not so bad to work on if you have the right tools (which surely none of us have, unfortunately).

 

[nigelpkay]

My Boss Waza SD-1 is the best one I’ve had. I don’t use the custom option much although it seems like it’s more more for beefing up single coil guitars. The stock setting is perfect for me.

 

[Racerxrated]

Waza is a great SD1 and every bit as good as the older MIJ versions; I have an 86. The MIT version sounds a little less dynamic maybe but they get the job done. This new version, sounds like it might be an improvement over the MIT version. Might have to try one

 

[psychodave]

I have a MIT from like 91-93 (can’t remember exact year). I think I did the. 6 mod… which is just removing it. I also did the power mod for the ACA version.

 

[Deleted member 27935]

I compared my SD-1W (MIJ) to my SD-1-4A. The Waza is a little noisier (I guess that's because of the through-hole-design, while the 4A is SMT which generally seems to be less noisy) and even in Standard mode it has a little bit more bass and a little less highs than the 4A (Pink noise test comfirmed my impression). I really like tight, bright and aggressive sounds, but the 4A cuts a little bit too much bass - even for my taste. The Waza sounds a tiny bit sweeter overall und suits my Engl Artist Edition better, which already is a quite bright and aggressive sounding amp.

I shortly had an MIT SD-1W, which sounded more like the 4A, brighter than the MIJ SD-1W (again, hearing impression confirmed by pink noise test).