Boss DS1, DS2 or MD2? How To Choose Which Boss Distortion Pedal Is Right For You

I'm comparing the Boss DS-1 Distortion, DS-2 Turbo Distortion and MD-2 Mega Distortion pedals.

Which do you prefer? Let me know in the comments.

I did this comparison to help me decide which Boss Distortion pedal I should use for various different playing styles and sounds. I thought other players might find it useful when trying to decide which pedal to buy.

Timecodes:
00:00 - Intro
00:47 - Quick Comparison
01:37 - How To Get The Best Sound From a Distortion Pedal
05:19 - DS-1 Distortion
08:11 - DS-2 Turbo Distortion
12:35 - MD-2 Mega Distortion
16:11 - Summary and Final Comparison

If you buy one of these pedals and want to support the channel please consider using my affiliate links:

- Boss DS-1 Distortion

- Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion

- Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion

Other equipment used in the video:

- Boss OD-3 Overdrive

- Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue

- Celestion G12-M Creamback

[yallimsorry]

I really feel the opposite of the person who said this video was too long, this is really in-depth and informative. I had no idea how nicely the OD-3 can shape the distortion pedals' sound. Also you play a lot nicer than a lot of people making these kinds of demos. Really cool! Thanks for making this!

[carloto]

That "trick" of putting the OD-3 after the Distortion is really eye-opening! Thank you!

[felliperockz]

Many people hate the DS2 because of the mids on mode 2. But in a context of a band playing or even with a backing track it makes the whole sense. The guitar sound easily find a place. When we play alone we have a completely different understanding of the sound that we are making. The same settings in most pedals are wonderful in case A and awful in case B. It's just a matter of patience and open ears.

[kinnanton]

I don't know why the ds2 turbo mode is só underrated. Thats my fav. I love that.

This is a great comparative. Simple, clear and concise and very well explained. Great work! Greetings from Argentina.

[luismendo]

Nice move simultaneously switching one pedal off and two on :-)

[adriandelacroix]

Excellent video, you’ve inspired me to pull out my old DS-1. Never could get it to do what I wanted, now I’ve got some ideas though. The side by side comparison here is fantastic. You really did a good job describing the different tones and representing what each pedal could do.

[christuxford]

My OD-3 into DS-1 at the front end of the amp is my absolute favourite distortion. Endless violin sustain. It sings beautifully for lead and rhythm when all is dialled correctly.

[bushleague]

Damn, I've never been a fan of the DS1, but run into that overdrive it sounds awesome! In my mind the DS-2 is a classic, just because its been used on so many albums that I like. Most significantly the new Refused album "War Music" was largely recorded just running a Ds2 through a Twin Reverb. Everything from crisp, modern hardcore tones to smooth bluesy overdrive, amazing the milage they got out of such a simple rig.

[dml]

Hello, I am very late to this party but wanted to say thank you for this video it helped me a lot, lot, lot. Made my decision based on this.
Od3 will be my very first choice of paddle. I want to put it in front of a high gain Wild Fro from Tonecity, which I got as a present.

I recently decided to take up playing the guitar again. 36 now, used to play since i was 15. when I turned 30 i suddenly stopped cause of my occupation and the loss of passion and start of some depressed phases, to a point even, when the guitar could not cheer me up anymore and i just forgot about music. Turns have tabled and...
Now I got myself a Marshall origin 20h with a 2x12 cab with v30s. Guitar a Jet Js 300 which has been amazingly modified and i cannot wait until i can start my holiday at the weekend with my first practice day again. Thank you!

[justinwhite]

I have an OD-3 and a DS-2. I found i could get some Brian May like tones from the turbo setting on the DS-2, really cool. I often would use it like a clean boost after OCD into my AC30. Great Vid cool comparison.

[SaxJockey]

The summary at 16:22 is good, and thankfully lines up with my choice (DS-1 is fine for classic rock). Good to see you also playing with single coil guitars 👍.

[warthogdriver]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I'm just getting into pedals so this was very helpful to me. I liked how you went through the tones and showed how they sounded best.

[fastacesus]

So late to your channel. These are really useful well thought out vids. Thank you.

[freeelectron]

Much better with OD on before Distortion - brings out the low mids. Makes the distortion sound more full.

[DanAdlingtonOnline]

Having the OD-3 in there made a difference. I own the OS-2 with Distortion and Overdrive combined which is a very nice pedal. The downside it you don't have the ability to simply switch off the overdrive and quickly put it back later mid song. A separate pedal is very useful. I like the detail in this video. It's not too long.

[andrewgremba]

This is an excellent demo, some of these pedals were meant for styles that are different than the styles shown. This is in no way meant as dismissal of your playing, knowledge and expression. All of which are far beyond my own level and experience. Again a very well thought out video with a lot of useful information and mind changing facts and sounds. Thank you.

[theDragoonyaboiCJ]

The OD and DS together really gave me that sound i was looking for when playing territorial pissings and breed by nirvana which i believe were done with plugging directly to the console

[ecxdigc]

Boss overdrive and distortion pedals are good. It's all about the different tweak options. Each pedal has a distinctive sound suited for different genres of rock guitar sound. 🎸 Buy them all. You can never go wrong with Boss pedals.

[ironmaiden]

Fantastic video. Gotta be the best, most informative video on YouTube when it comes to these pedals.