Fulltone OCD v3 vs Vintage Boss DS1

Fulltone OCD v3 vs Vintage Boss DS1 Fender Stratocaster Vox AC30

[lertuz]

that ds1 has gone thru a lot of comparison battle

[michael_caz_nyc]

DS-1 is Better for Metal, Punk & Thrash - as it is more Compressed, and Fizzy. The OCD is better for Blues & Classic Hard Rock with a More Open Sound, String Definition and Greater Note Articulation. Love your comparisons. They Help so many musicians - make Educated Buying Choices. - Michael Caz - NYC -

[stephanvenner]

They sound both good. I'm happy with my DS1.

[QuikdethDeviantart]

I’ve read that Joe Satriani uses (or used) the DS-1 into the clean channel of a Marshall Plexi. I love the way his notes sing and scream, his legato is tight, and I would be surprised to hear that his sound is anything but luscious and articulate. I posit that 88% of that tone is derived from his fingers, but the DS-1 truly shines in his rig. I’m sure he wouldn’t be adverse to the OCD (heck, for all I know he could use them all the time... I’m no expert on Satch’s rig), it’s a righteous sounding pedal in its own right; my point is that like any other pedal it’s a tool, and if you use it with taste and care, it can work magic for you. It certainly did for Mr. Satch!

[gregclarkreasons]

I've always kinda shrugged off Boss, but the DS-1 reacts surprisingly good with your gear in this video. Mad sound.
OCD has been on my list a while, so this was an interesting comparison

[setphaser]

i’m a 90s girls, the DS-1 just sounds “right”. it’s part of my grunge DNA

[monkeyxx]

cool.  one's shreddy one's fat, very different, like them both but DS-1 gets my favor at the moment for personal taste reasons

[nicholastotoro]

The OCD was much more "Strat-friendly" and smoother, not anywhere near as "dirty" even with the gain turned up and didn't sound sludgy.

[ETILHK]

I don't like that glassy thing in a boss, but overall i think that it's a pretty good pedal with a balls and great attack.

[doctorskull]

I have both and prefer OCD. Boss washes out in overall mix. OCD cuts through much better in a band setting.

[soupsandstews]

for those of you asking how they would sound together; just use the distortion on you amp. That's how it will sound. Like crap. The purpose of these distortion pedals is to give you distorted sound without compromising string definition. Unless you want a messy jumbled sound then use both. But if you want a clean distortion then one pedal will do.

[clementedehoyos]

If  you can, can you make a video to sample how they sound together?

[Dreamscreamermusic]

Having used both of these pedals, I will say they both have a great sound but the DS-1 has a major design flaw. You have to turn it all the way up for it to get close to the volume of your clean channel and even then it doesn’t quite get loud enough, rendering it useless in a live setting. You have to get it modified for it to work properly. Every DS-1 I’ve used had the same problem and there are online forums that discuss the issues and different mods to fix it. OCD is more expensive but it’s sooo much better.

[MikeDavis-yo]

The OCD sounds more harmonically natural, almost like an amp in a box, while the Boss has a very compressed fuzzy tone to it.

[tradbowseven]

Good comparison, the ds1 was the first pedal I ever bought back in the early 80s. I loved it but it's over with, funny how every pedal gets compared to it.

[BrClif]

The OCD is tighter and more transistor sounding. And while there is a high end on the DS-1 that works with single coils, the character is more tube-like. Listen with your ears not your eyes.

Finally, the DS-1 does not really perform well into too clean a signal, while it's name suggests distortion, it's best use is as an overdrive for single coil blues and rock.

They are both good, but the tightness of the OCD just isn't a typical tube characteristic in my opinion.

[Corinth]

Excellent comparison and much appreciated. Thank you, .

[michelzaidan]

Shnobel, the best Channel on youtube !! \o/

[sixfoursoul]

ds1 to me is not a good stand alone pedal I always have to layer it with something ..but its great for boosting yous amp gain

[Neverlast]

Another great comparison. The OCD sounds more open and transparent whilst the DS-1 is more compressed (to my ears anyway). Out of interest, are to going into the Normal or Top Boost channel on the AC30?