Distortion 1

Name: Distortion 1
Price: 29 USD
Author: Audiority

by Audiority · Distortion · DS-1 distortion pedal model

Not rated yet

Distortion 1 is an analog modeled simulation of the Boss DS-1 distortion pedal from the late 70s.

It offers 8 circuit types, a noise gate and level meters, for $29.

Best for: Guitars, Bass, Keys & Synths. Genres: Rock & Indie, Metal.

Keywords: bass, metering, electric guitar, 70s, analog-sounding, crunchy, synths, drums, hardware emulation, simple, utility, classic, corrective, built-in mix knob, mixing, parallel processing, resizable UI, single-band.

What it does

Distortion 1 is Audiority's "analog modeled simulation" of the Boss DS-1, the orange distortion stomp box introduced in the late 1970s. It keeps the pedal's simple three-knob layout and adds circuit variants and studio utilities around it.

Pedal controls: Tone, Distortion and Level, laid out as on the original pedal.
8 circuit types: different versions of the DS-1 circuit, including modded variants, added in version 1.1. The product page does not name them.
HQ mode: a higher-quality processing mode, also added in version 1.1.
Noise gate: built in, and improved in version 2.0, to tame hiss and hum at high gain.
Gain staging: pre and post effect gain, so you can drive the circuit harder or match levels after it.
Mix and metering: a mix control for parallel distortion, level meters (added in 2.1) and a resizable interface.

Version 2.1 (May 2024) updated the framework and added the level meters; version 2.0 (June 2021) brought a new interface, and the first release came in April 2018. It is often discounted. A demo is available; in demo mode it outputs 3 seconds of silence every minute.

Source: Audiority product page

When to use it

Distortion 1 is a cheap, single-purpose pedal model: pick it when you want the bright, cutting DS-1 tone and nothing else. Compared with Saturn 2 or Rift it has no multiband, modulation or mode library, but it is much simpler and costs a fraction of the price. Compared with Cytomic's The Scream, it is one fixed pedal voice rather than a tweakable drive with its own tone shaping, which makes it quicker to dial in but less flexible. Next to Audiority's own Doomagorgon, it is the more general rock and punk distortion rather than a dedicated fuzz and chainsaw box.

Best for: classic rock and punk distortion on guitars in front of an amp sim, plus crunch on bass, synths and drum machines.
Genres: rock, punk, grunge and metal.
Look elsewhere if: you want smooth overdrive or a more tweakable drive (The Scream), or a flexible multi-mode saturator for mixing (Saturn 2).

What producers say

There are few user reviews, but the one on KVR is fully positive.

KVR users rate it 5 out of 5 from 1 review (2020, version 1.0); the reviewer called it a "goto distortion" and said it sounds better than the original Boss pedal.
Beyond guitar: the same KVR reviewer found it works well on guitar and bass as well as synths and drum machines for crunch.

KVR user reviews

Where to buy

Audiority: $29

Tutorials and reviews

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