On our latest installment of Find of the Week, we’ve stumbled across one of the wildest items yet: this Gold BOSS DS-11998 Collector Limited Ultra Rare Distortion Pedal! Being sold by seller Woogy’s Guitar in Banyuls Sur Mer, France, this one-of-a-kind pedal was made by BOSS in honor of them surpassing 6 million pedals sold on February 28th, 1998 (as engraved on the pedal itself), and is the only gold BOSS pedal we’ve ever come across. The mint-condition pedal is currently going for $12,857.21, but the shipping is free, so uh, there’s that?
Okay, maybe ~$13k is a little out of your price range. While there doesn’t appear to be another gold BOSS DS-1 pedal currently on the market, you can snag is Vintage 1983 Japanese DS-1 for $199.99 + shipping from NXNW Music Exchange on Reverb! This BOSS DS-1 pedal may not be the special gold anniversary edition, but it has a few specific vintage features that set it apart from any other regular ol’ DS-1 distortion pedal you may happen to come across.
From the seller:
“The design of the DS-1 has changed little throughout its lifetime but the opamp the circuit is based around has changed several times. From 1978, the DS-1 used the Toshiba TA7136AP opamp. This remained unchanged for about 16 years, but in 1994 it was replaced by the Rohm BA728N. In 2000 the opamp was again changed, this time the Mitsubishi M5223AL was used. The last change came in 2006 when the New Japan Radio NJM2904L opamp was introduced. The DS-1 went through a few cosmetic changes in the early years of production. The first version had a clear switch, silver thumbscrew, and the D in DS-1 placed directly underneath the letter “t” in Distortion. This is usually referred to as the long dash version. The clear switch disappeared around serial number 8700, the silver thumb screw at serial number 0500, while the D in DS-1 ended up under the in Distortion around serial number 14xx00 (short dash version). Since early 1982 the only changes have been to the bottom label. It changed when the production moved from Japan to Taiwan in 1988, and a silver label was introduced when the circuit was modified to accept the PSA adapter 1994.”
Still jonesing for a DS-1 but don’t want to spend quite that much? We also have this Dex Audio Modified BOSS DS-1 from Dex Audio for only $120.73 + shipping on Reverb!
While this may look like your typical DS-1 pedal, the fine folks at Dex Audio in the UK have added a few custom modifications to it to improve its sound and functionality. Check out the specifics below!
From the seller:
“Many component changes have been made to this unit to greatly improve the sound and versatility, we’ve used a guide written by Brian Wampler to help us. You’ll find this unit has still got plenty of gain but with a more defined sound with much less fizz and fuzz. The tone stack has been re-built to have a much more precise feel and plenty of useable range. There have been many other component changes that all contribute to a fuller sound. The dull red LED has been replaced with a modern LED so you definitely know when this unit is on! Due to the space needed for these mods battery use has been disabled.”
Alright, fine, maybe you’re just looking for that classic BOSS DS-1 distortion without any special bells or whistles. Well, you can always get a regular old run-of-the-mill factory DS-1 used from Reverb for just $40 (+$10 shipping). Can’t go wrong with the original!
