How to sound like David Gilmour on a budget - Boss DS-1 

I'm a simple man. I see a new Gilmour tone video with Boss pedals, I press like.

The message is clear! If you have the talent to play, dig your gear, use it wisely, you can create any kind of sound.

I really don't understand the thumbs down on this, or *any* of the Gilmourish videos. Bjorn Riis is the single best resource for Gilmour's iconic tones and how to get them under your fingers (or in my case, trying to). These videos about doing it on a budget only further reinforces my point! Thank you, Bjorn, not only for the hard work, monetary costs, brilliant playing but very much for the passion you bring Gilmour's fans worldwide and for FREE! I'll never understand those ungrateful wanks for the down-turned thumbs. I know there's a lot more people who feel like I do than not. I've seen your name mentioned in countless videos by a wide variety of things related to your guitar wizardry, so I am happy that those (insert favorite expletive here) can't possibly bother you! Thanks again for all you do!

Many thanks, Bjorn, for this awesome budget series. Very nicely compliments your boutique demos which I really enjoy. Appreciate all you do.

Bjørn, another great tutorial showing how to get David’s tones with budget pedals. Thanks for doing this series. I am putting it to use.

I’ve got one of these that I’ve neglected to use but this has given me a good base point to go and revisit it. Great video as always, Bjorn!

I cant get enough of your playing and videos!!! Please make them an hour long!!! Bravo!!

Thanks! It’s easy to forget, especially after some years of playing and the acquisition of all sorts of pedals, that Boss make a solid product that sounds great and works when expected too. Great Job as always!

Thanks again Bjorn! I was getting ready to sell mine! It's been sitting in a shoebox on my bookshelf for about 3 years now... after watching this video I'm gonna be bustin it out for a comeback. I don't remember mine EVER sounding this good though and I'm not convinced that it ever will, but... we'll see what happens!

That's how you do it. The pedal has low output and scooped mids. It doesn't pair well with scooped clean amps, but with mid-pushed amps such as Marshalls. That is it. If only overdrive and distortion pedals were described in those terms. But go read a review or description of a pedal and it's all about creamy, syrupy, woody, thundery, spicy, sweet, spongy, and other adjectives that mean fuck all.

Damn rocking out!! Keep these vids coming my ninja

Thank you so much for the settings. Im a huge Floyd fan and I'm getting this pedal tomorrow. They will be the first two settings I use for sure. 👍🏻👍🏻

"The DS-1 is designed to be used with loud tube amps with a bit of break up. It's low output mids scooped character thrives on Marshalls and other compressed midrangy amps. On cleaner mids scooped amps, like Fender and Vox, it can sound pretty horrible which is probably why a lot of guitarists dismiss it. " - Bravo!!!

Blown away by how close that fuzz sound was. Btw I bought the green Russian reissue based on your review and am blown away with it. Love it.

Shocked by how close you got the sound. Would love to see more budget pedal review, like the baby boom fz 10

This has got to be the best DS1 video on YT. If I had just listened, I could easily say there was much fancier stuff involved in the tone. Which is no disrespect to the good old DS1, but rather a compliment on its quality and versatility. I've just got one and and I love it.

Great tone and nice playing. I’ve started doing the long bends in my solos as a result of listening to Gilmour. He has amazing touch and his notes seem to flow out with smooth aggression!

You have given me a very good clue with this video, thank you!

I love this series Bjorn. It shows hear is important only to a point.

wow! I got really impressed. you did it! You got a great gilmourish tones using a pedal I thought it was horrible! Thank you very much!

Incredible tone emulation, brilliant performance. Simply genius!

It's great to see so many others hear the power of the DS-1. It's all in how you use it for sure. The rich harmonic content of the distortion it produces can be further sculpted by adding a little compression and EQ after the pedal before the signal hits the amp. I do the same thing with my tube amps when placing effects in between the pre-amp and power amp when not using a DS-1. It is also an invaluable tool for those situations when you can't use your own amp for a performance (if you usually get your distorted/sustaining sounds from the pre-amp). Set in front of a fairly clean but cranked up channel on almost any amp renders a very real tube-amp-like sound for even the most critical ears. Just keep the tone below 9 o'clock or it can be quite hideous ...lol Nice demo! Thanks for sharing.

I had a guitar at school and many years later I have decided to get a new one just to noodle around at home for fun. For this reason I am on a budget and also I have never bought a pedal before. I have been watching videos about pedals but never seen anyone explain the relationship between sound quality, perceived quality and the need to ensure the pedal is matched with the type of amp. This is a really instructive video as well as being really helpful on how to find tones on a budget. Awesome playing too. Cheers.

Fantastic video Bjorn! I've had success recording the DS-1 for slide as well. Also very well presented.

New subscriber cause I see David Gilmour and the Boss pedal. People tend to go with the fancy high end pedals but I see boss had helped many international artistes so this has something to do with their production. Good review 🙋‍♂️

wow the tones are spot on! nice one mr. riis

Thanks to Gilmourish I learned a lot and now I have practically a budget Gilmour fx board: -Kokko compressor -DIY Distortron (low gain at 18v as a plain eq drive) -DS-1 mod (custom mod to bump mids) -Boss CH-1 Super Chorus (MIT analog) -Maza FX Temptation Tape Echo -Boss GE-7 MIJ I guess I'm missing some vibe or Small Stone style phaser. If you set the Rate at min and Depth at max on the CH-1 you can get a flangey sound for the Dogs solos

man that DS -1 sounds _fantastic_

Very good tone. The DS-1 was my first pedal. it still works after 20 years. Cheap and versatile pedal.

Bought a DS-1 today because of this video actually, even though I'd been thinking about it for a bit. Set it to that second setting you used but in my case with a slightly cranked Orange amp, and I was sold

Thank you for this video, Bjorn. I set my Mesa Boogie Mark V on the edge of breakup with the mids boosted. And the pedal sounds awesome.

Glad to see the DS-1 getting some love. I still have the DS-1 I bought back in 1980. It was my first pedal and she is still the greasiest girl in the trailer park. God I love her.

Damn, I love this channel!

Gilmourish I will give you a pretty cool hint to use that pedal these days for a modern sound for recording. Use it as a Pre-amp pedal into a DI or an instrument input on your converter and use an impulse response loader and check it out. It sounds pretty amazing. I was about to sell mine until I tried this and wow and this idea works well with any kind of Distortion or overdrive pedal.

Certain pedals work better with some amps than others. I'm glad you started off with that. I think a lot of reviewers miss that fact.

Sounds really great!

I’ve played guitar for 30 years and always loved the DS1. If it’s good enough fot Satriani, it’s good enough for most of us. These Gilmour tones are awesome! Thanks!

Just bought one secondhand and it's on its way I'm as excited as a new puppy then I see Gilmour..hooked

Amazing! Now I can achieve Gilmourish tones even on my ds, which I have hardly ever used!

Brilliant Video, Thank you.👍👍👍. Melbourne, Australia.

In the same week I've just selled my DS-1 black edition out! lol. The pedal has a sonic characteristic that didnt combine with my sound. But it has some qualities, as you did show in this video. Congrats.

I used a DS-1 into a Fender Twin for years as my main drive sound, so I don't think it's fair to say it will always sound thin with a Fender. But you were right in the other respect, it does sound its best into a valve amp, you just have to make sure the power amp section is working out.

Great Video!!

Great video and great channel / web site. Thanks.

One thing I’ve recently discovered about this pedal; it loves single coil pickups. With high output humbuckers I found that the pedal was a little undefined but with my Strat, it does everything from Deep Purple to David Gilmour to Green Day to the Smashing Pumpkins. I currently am using it over a JHS Angry Driver. The Angry Driver sounds great on a clean amp like a Fender. The DS1, as Bjorn said, sounds amazing with a Marshall with a hint of break up.

Thank you for always great videos :) That's all my favorite songs. Very simple Backing... But when your "GILMOUR" guitar starts playing, I hear bass, keyboard and drums :) It is a wonderful guitar which is harmoniously SOUND. I also would like to practice more. Thank you very much ♪

Always used the DS-1 for faux fuzz type tones. Thx for the video.

Under your hands everything sounds awesome.

Thank you so much, this helped a lot. 👍👍

Nice tone and nice playing. From several years until now I've the belief that many people say that some gear sucks...but most of the times it's because people doesn't know how to use it/set it properly. I have my old DS-1 since 1993...It was my first pedal.

Man...you are amazing

I liked that part when u got to overdrive section and u play kind of "poles apart from the división bell" ending, i loved it

Such an underrated pedal. It was my first effects pedal, and I still use it almost 14 years later. Gets a nice thick sustain every time. Great for Gilmour tones.

Shows that a good deal of what we call great tone comes from fingers and understanding the gear!

Really nice!

Bjorn I'm a Brazilian fan of Gilmour and like a lot your work in the Gilmourish,congratulations Man!

DS-1 Great pedal!

Please Bjorn make a video showing the Boss HM-2 David Gilmour tones!!! This is a great pedal 🤘🏻

Thank you Bjorn for rehabilitating the DS1 👍

Wow, I've been checking you web-site for year's and thought you were just some young guy. - Respect, sir. People either hate, or love the DS-1 from metal player's to retro-rockers like me. It's either me making jokes about the DS-1 w/ a guitar store guy, like, "Wait. You guys stock the DS-1?!", or I'll get some guitarist who works in a hock shop avidly pushing me to pick up the DS-1 over any other pedal they have. It's not on the top of my list, but I only have Fuzz, and O/D pedals, and could use a distortion pedal. I borrowed a DS-1, so old, that it didn't even have a plug input. It was the coolest sounding pedal I've ever heard. One QUESTION - I tried though my 62' Supro 1606 w/ a clean tone (so you know the volume was rolled waaaaayyy back). This is how I found this amazing tone, but you say it prefers stacks to Combo's. I'm totally a combo, guy. Does it really sound that bad through a combo? I mean a Supro 1606 rolled back to 2-2:30 for clean played through an original Firebird Studio. I play a Strat, now. I know longer have the amp, or the Firebird. You know more than me. Did I stumble upon this incredible tone just based on potent pairing's? The effect wasn't mind-blowing distortion, but more of a papery break-up that I'd love to find again! The DS-l is more like a mild tonal color rather than an all out clipping sustain, from what I found. Could I get this result again through other combo's? I always like to run clean through an Xotic SP compressor (always on to add life to my clean tone, and other pedals), and let my pedals do the boost, coloring, and sustain. Any advice, on adding a DS-1 to this set-up?

Great video! It's funny the DS-1 gets so much hate but Hiwatts absolutely love this pedal. I used to use one until I was able to afford a better pedal, and funny enough I miss the way the DS-1 sounded through my '76 DR103. The tone is pretty much unusable past 1 o'clock, which is where I kept it, but if you don't go beyond that it sounds great. I might have to buy the Waza model.

I think it has a warm sound with my Vox-ac15 love this

Great video. Sometimes i all the way down the tone knob of strat for fuzz tone with over drive.

Sounds good. I have one and when i used it I too only used it with a clean amp as that was all I had at the time so great i can relate that it wasn't the best in that application.

Awesome! now I know how to get that sound. ☺

I wasn't a fan of the DS1, until last time I tried one. I turned the tone knob down to around 8:30 and it got thicker sounding, much to my surprise. For a pedal that goes for 25-30 bucks used, you can't really go wrong. Gilmour apparently used a Boss HM2 for a short time. I'd love to see a demo of that, or even the infamous Metal Zone, in the context of Floyd tones.

Boss ds1 is my main pedal for leads and hard rock. I use it with my strat through a clean channel like you said it’s all about how you use the settings from your amp to your guitar. Folks tend to forget the control knobs on the guitar as well.

I use BOSS DS-1 too and splendid!

Impressive tone.

I modded my DS-1 with a home spun Keeley seeing eye mod, it sounds much better now, much fuller, and tone control is now usable.

Sir could you do a review on the Boss Ge equalizer and how it could be used to improve tone on solos like Numb Time ans Back to Life. Thanks again for the wonderful videos, learning a lot.

I don’t understand the logic of people mocking BOSS pedals, they are generally very good bits of gear.

Preciate you bjorn.

The best distortion box ever made. In my opinion.

Hi Bjørn, amazing review, choosing the right amp can make the diference, i'm surprised. Dou yo think the Fender hot rod deluxe iii, can be a good option to get a huge and warm tone?

Thank you for all the materials you put out there! Wondering if you can take a look at Boss BE-5 - super cheap multieffects board from the 80s? :)

DS1 the master!

lovely sound.But if i using other types of pedal can you easily tell me how to set up how much gain and treble and middle and bass to get nearly the sound?and if i have just humbucker not single coil

very nice

And this is why there are so many different overdrive / distortion tone pedals. Not just for the general effect but because some have been designed to work with specific equipment or a certain way

First, thank you so much for these videos. I have enjoyed every video you have left. Second, I was hoping that you might be able to help us owners of the Boss E-band JS-10 find the Gilmour sound. If so, I would be so appreciative!

Very nice sound, but what are the settings of the amp, you said a touch of gain, but at what volume? Is it possible to have that soud at bedroom level?

🌓Sounds amazing🌗

This was the 1st pedal I've ever had when I was 15, in winter 2007. It could be useful for some things...

Hi thank you for your channel Can you cover create Gilmore tones using vat plugins like bias fx2 or amplitude 5?

Sounds awesome and understand what you are saying about amp selection Is this an old vintage DS-1 or fairly new? Thanks

That’s fucking amazing

I love this pedal, personally there are not many times I can crank a 20w+ marshall tube amp, but I think even on a 5w tube, or a dialed in solid state, it sounds pretty good. Also I use humbuckers for this one, it sounds better to me.

It’s difficult to get vibrato at the top of a bend and you nail it.

I swapped out my JHS and Friedman distortions for a DS-1. Amp-in-a-box style pedals just don't work on low headroom combos, where as the Boss doesn't overload the amp with low end. Also, people just don't play (tweak) loud enough to appreciate most old school overdrive / distortion pedals.

Great video as usual. With all due respect Bjorn, you could get a passable Gilmour tone out of a Strat through an empty cardboard shoebox and a crappy solid state amp. Love your tone!

I still preferring my DN2 overdrive it comes more complete with a wide range of different distortion set although it's not so versatile with amps, Boss pedals does a great job along with the marshall valve state amps... It's my opinion of course 😁

One of these into a Boonar for a really good early P.F tone if using small tube amp , simple but really effective.

Fuzz faces are cool. I built two. They use germanium transistors to get the sound. The transistors need to be matched, however the slight differences in transistors lead to different feeling fuzz faces. Both of the ones I built have different characteristics. One definitely has more treble and gets extra fuzzy, the other is more tamed.

Hi Bjorn, what settings are you using for the lionheart amp? I own the L5 Studio in combination with a 12 inch celestion Blue. Thanks in advance! Cheers!

Well said! Is there a distortion in the BOSS lineup that would work on a clean amp though? Maybe the MD?

If not already mentioned David also uses custom string sets with different gauges for his Strat's and LP's, made by GHS

I've got mine to sound great even on a fender amp. Tele into DS1 with lower gain into a 64 bassman head turned up halfway.

beautiful. nothing wrong with that tone at all.

What do you think of the ds-1 Keeley mod? Then I wanted to ask you, about budget pedals, when you make a clip with the crayon electro harmonix, perhaps I think the one that is closer, budget pedals, to the Gilmourish sound. Greetings