Feature:
This pedal lacks features for one reason: it doesn't need alot of features to do its job. I didn't find this as a displeasing at all, but rather better. I gave it a 7 as it's not a completely flashy pedal. I don't wish it had anything more.
Quality:
I love Boss pedals after I first bought the MD2 - which later turned out to be not so amazing after I discovered palm muting sounded awful on it - but after my slight experience with the way it was built like a tank, I expected no less, and no less were my expectations correct. It feels rock solid, the dials have a very unique quality to them, the finish & color is very recognizable (and that's a Boss thing; and I love it), and the sound, last but certainly not least, is better than my amp's overdrive channel in that is sounds very deep, resonant and natural. Suffice to say, it's very pleasing to have the SD1 in my loop.
Value:
I find it extremely - amazingly - worth the price at any retailer. The price I paid was modest and still kept close to the retail value, and I would pay just about anything close if I had to buy it again.
Desirability:
If I didn't have this pedal I would be working myself to death trying to get money for pickups, then I might decide they don't make my guitar sound any better and I go out in search of a pedal, but I can't because I'm broke as I just bought new pickups. Needless to say, I now thrive on this pedal simply because it gave me an amazing shortcut in my tone, altogether with the price I paid for it, I feel like I got my money's worth, and plenty more than that.
Sound:
I originally came into my local music store two/three weeks agolooking for the SD1 - after buying Digitech's Bad Monkey, returning it and finding the SD1 newly in stock, I quickly returned the bad monkey and scooped it up - and how glad was I! The tone is miles ahead of the shrilly digital sound of the Digi overdrive - whereas three simple knobs can make such a difference. It took a few days of tweaking and experimentation, but just recently I dialed in the perfect tone on my Crate Flexwave 120FW - and the sound I get when I stomp the boss is so pleasing I'm scared to touch the solo knobs! Overall, with a little tweaking, this pedal has enough.
Ease of Use:
With three knobs, how could you go wrong? My justification for buying this pedal was I didn't really want to be swooned to spend $100 dollars on a Tubescreamer when that in itself could buy a new pickup if need be. For $50 and less in some places (in my case, as it was $45), and with Boss, I knew I had to atleast check it out. All in all, you don't have to be a good guitarist to get any type of moderate distortion you want.
Support:
I have never dealt with Boss at all, but the stamp of approval on its' 5 year warranty on the box practically speaks for itself in matters of support.
Overall:
I have never tried another overdrive (beside the Bad Monkey); and although this is no original vintage TS808 or TS9, I'll give it a 9 because it isn't the best overdrive in the world. If I had to replace it, I wouldn't think of buying anything else unless I had to, and I could afford it. Because It feels like it could withstand nuclear war, this pedal isn't going anywhere out of my possession.
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