Boss DS-1 vs. MXR Distortion+: Two Classic Distortions, One Amp

Start Here: The DS-1 and the MXR Distortion+ are both sub-$80 distortion pedals with decades of classic recordings behind them, but they work completely differently. The DS-1 clips harder and has a tone control that shapes a wide frequency range; the Distortion+ clips softer through op-amp hard clipping and has only an Output and Sensitivity control — no tone shaping whatsoever. The side-by-side comparison table is here. If you want settings for specific genres, jump to Settings by Genre. If you want to know which one to buy, jump to Which One Should You Get?.

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They Both Cost About $50. That's Where the Similarities End.

The Boss DS-1 and the MXR Distortion+ are both fixtures in the budget distortion conversation, both launched in the 1970s, and both have appeared on records that people still argue about in forums. But they're built around fundamentally different circuit philosophies, and the practical difference between them is bigger than the price gap suggests.

I tested both through the same setup: a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe on the clean channel, a Fender Player Jazzmaster with single-coil pickups, and a Squier Affinity Telecaster with humbuckers. Same amp, same room, back to back. What I expected was two similar-sounding budget pedals with slightly different character. What I found was two pedals with almost nothing in common except the price tag.

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The DS-1: Topology, Character, and What the Tone Knob Actually Does

The Boss DS-1 uses op-amp hard clipping through a 741-style op-amp circuit (later versions use different op-amp chips, but the basic topology is the same) with a diode clipping stage. The signal gets amplified, then clipped by the diodes in a way that produces the characteristic DS-1 "crunch" — a fairly compressed, mid-forward distortion with a hard edge.

The DS-1's Tone control is doing something more significant than its label suggests. It's not a passive treble rolloff — it's an active filter that dramatically shapes the midrange and presence. At 7 o'clock (fully counterclockwise), the DS-1 produces a dark, almost muddy sound with the treble content heavily attenuated. At 5 o'clock (fully clockwise), it gets fizzy and harsh. The sweet spot for most applications is somewhere between 9 and 12 o'clock, depending on the amp and what style you're going for.

The Distortion control (what most pedals call "drive") adds gain and compression. The DS-1 at high Distortion settings starts to sound gated — not because there's a gate, but because the hard clipping compresses the signal so heavily that the dynamic range nearly disappears. This can be useful for fast punk rhythm playing. It can be a limitation for anything that needs note-to-note expression.

The DS-1 was used famously by Nirvana (Kurt Cobain, for certain rhythm parts), Joe Satriani (heavier stuff), and on the less-documented end, countless bedroom players who plugged it in because it was on the shelf at Guitar Center and cost $50. Its reputation swings wildly depending on who you talk to. The people who hate it usually used it at the wrong settings. The people who love it figured out that the Tone knob is the whole game.

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The MXR Distortion+: Soft Clipping, No Tone Control, Completely Different Problem

The MXR Distortion+ (launched in 1973, making it one of the earliest commercially successful distortion pedals) uses a completely different circuit topology. It has an op-amp gain stage followed by germanium diode soft clipping. The germanium diodes clip softly — the transition from clean to clipped is gradual rather than hard, producing more even-order harmonics and a warmer, more musical distortion character.

Here's the immediately apparent thing: the Distortion+ has no tone control. Just Output and Sensitivity. That's it.

For players who expect a distortion pedal to have some kind of tonal shaping, this feels like an omission. For players who understand what the Distortion+ is actually doing, it's a design choice that makes sense: the circuit is voiced to produce a specific tonal character, and the assumption is that the amp's EQ section does the frequency shaping.

The Distortion+ was Randy Rhoads' distortion pedal on Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. Those albums have a specific lead tone — compressed, harmonically rich, with a smooth sustain that doesn't bite — that's substantially the Distortion+ into a cranked Marshall. It's also been used by Duane Allman, and appears in the signal chains of players who want overdrive-adjacent distortion without the op-amp fizziness.

The downside: the Distortion+ into a clean amp at full Sensitivity sounds dark and compressed. It needs the amp's midrange and presence to cut through a mix. Without tonal shaping in the pedal, you're dependent on the amp.

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Side-by-Side Comparison

	Boss DS-1	MXR Distortion+
Clipping type	Hard (op-amp + diodes)	Soft (op-amp + germanium diodes)
Tone control	Yes — active filter, significant range	No
Controls	Level, Tone, Distortion	Output, Sensitivity
Gain range	Moderate to high	Low to moderate
Character	Punchy, compressed, slightly buzzy	Warm, harmonically rich, smooth
Touch sensitivity	Moderate	Better than DS-1 at lower settings
Best at	Punk, grunge, hard rock rhythms	Classic rock leads, warm crunch
Needs amp EQ?	Less dependent	More dependent
Street price	~$50	~$75
Famous users	Nirvana, Satriani, early metal	Randy Rhoads, Duane Allman

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Settings by Genre

DS-1 Settings

Punk/Grunge (Cobain-adjacent):

Control	Position	Notes
Level	12–2 o'clock	Match or slightly boost unity
Tone	10–11 o'clock	Slightly dark. The DS-1 gets harsh fast above noon.
Distortion	12–2 o'clock	Medium-high. Not maxed — maxed sounds gated.

Classic Rock / AC/DC territory:

Control	Position	Notes
Level	12 o'clock	Unity gain
Tone	9 o'clock	Warmer than you'd expect
Distortion	9–10 o'clock	Lower gain opens up the dynamics.

Modern Hard Rock / Metal rhythms:

Control	Position	Notes
Level	2 o'clock	Slight boost
Tone	11–12 o'clock	Neutral. Any higher gets fizzy on fast riffs.
Distortion	3–4 o'clock	High gain, tight.

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MXR Distortion+ Settings

Classic Rock Lead (Randy Rhoads starting point):

Control	Position	Notes
Output	2–3 o'clock	Push the amp's input stage.
Sensitivity	12–1 o'clock	Medium. The sweet spot is before it gets too compressed.

Blues-Rock Crunch:

Control	Position	Notes
Output	12 o'clock	Unity
Sensitivity	9–10 o'clock	Lower sensitivity, more dynamic response.

Heavy Rhythm (requires amp EQ):

Control	Position	Notes
Output	3 o'clock	High — let it push the amp.
Sensitivity	2–3 o'clock	High Sensitivity. Make sure the amp's midrange is dialed up to compensate for the warm character.

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The Modification Question

Both pedals are widely modded. The DS-1 in particular has a huge aftermarket modification culture — the Keeley DS-1 Ultra mod, the Monte Allums DS-1 mod, and others address specific characteristics (primarily the fizzy high-end and the gated quality at high Distortion settings).

The factory DS-1 is not a bad pedal. It's a different pedal than the modded version. If you buy a stock DS-1 and find it too fizzy, try the Tone control lower than you would instinctively set it. If you still find it unsatisfying, the modded versions solve real problems — but they're also $80–120 for a shop mod, which starts to overlap with better pedals in different categories.

The Distortion+ doesn't have the same modification culture because its limitations are different: you can't add a tone control as a mod without substantially changing the circuit. The players who don't like the Distortion+ generally need more tonal flexibility than the circuit offers, and a mod doesn't fix that.

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Which One Should You Get?

Get the DS-1 if:

• You play punk, grunge, or aggressive rock and want punchy, slightly buzzy distortion
• You want flexibility from the Tone control (especially useful when playing multiple amp types)
• You want the lowest possible price entry point ($50 new)
• You're open to modding later if the stock sound isn't right

Get the Distortion+ if:

• You play classic rock leads and want smooth, warm distortion in the Randy Rhoads / Duane Allman tradition
• You use an amp with a good midrange EQ section (necessary, since the pedal has none)
• You prioritize harmonic richness and touch response over flexibility
• You can spend the extra $20–25

Get neither if:

• You primarily play metal with a lot of gain — both pedals are better at moderate to high gain than at full saturation; a purpose-built metal pedal (BOSS MT-2, MXR Fullbore Metal, various high-gain options) does that job better
• You want one pedal that does everything across genre styles — the DS-1 is closer to versatile, but neither excels across all contexts

Honestly? If you can swing it, buy the Distortion+ and a cheap EQ pedal ($40 Behringer or used MXR M108) and run the EQ after the Distortion+. That combination gets you the soft clipping character of the Distortion+ with the tonal flexibility that the circuit lacks. It's a weirdly effective pairing that costs less than most boutique dirt pedals.

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FAQ

Are the DS-1 and Distortion+ interchangeable for grunge tones? No. The DS-1 is the more common choice for grunge applications because of its compressed, buzzy character. The Distortion+ is warmer and more musical in a way that doesn't serve the genre as directly. Cobain used the DS-1; its specific harshness was a feature, not a bug.

Which one is better for metal? Neither is ideal for high-gain metal applications. The DS-1 handles hard rock and moderate gain metal reasonably well at high Distortion settings; the Distortion+ runs out of steam before extreme metal territory. Both work better as moderate-gain distortion in front of a slightly broken-up amp than as standalone high-gain devices.

Does the DS-1 Tone control affect the Level? Slightly. Rolling the Tone control clockwise (brighter) reduces some perceived volume because high frequencies at high levels are more fatiguing than mids. Adjust Level to compensate when making significant Tone changes.

Is the MXR Distortion+ the same as the MXR Distortion III? No. The Distortion+ is the original germanium diode design. The Distortion III uses a different op-amp topology. They sound different. If you want the classic Randy Rhoads character, it's the original Distortion+ (or the current reissue).

Can I use the DS-1 as a boost? Yes — with Distortion at 7–8 o'clock, Level high, and Tone at noon, the DS-1 functions as a mildly overdriving boost into an already-dirty amp. It's not the most refined boost but it works and costs less than dedicated boost pedals.