Once again the story begins at my formerly-favorite guitar shop. The funny thing is that there was a brief period where they always seemed to have used SD-1s laying around. I wasn't particularly impressed by either the looks or the simple controls, so I let them pass. But after a "dry spell" of a month or two where I couldn't find other used BOSS pedals ANYWHERE, I decided I'd do some research on the Super Overdrive. So I surfed over to the reviews on Harmony Central and was surprised to read that a few SD-1 owners thought this pedal was in the same league as the Ibanez Tube Screamer! Now, I don't have a Tube Screamer (and once you've finished reading this article, you'll understand why I passed on a used TS-10 a few weeks ago), and seeing how the used SD-1s were selling for a fraction of the price, I went back to that guitar shop.

I asked the Guitar Guru (the then-store manager) his opinion on the SD-1 and his answer blew me away. The Guru owns at least a half dozen Tube Screamers, including a few vintage models, but guess which pedal gets the nod for his gigs?

Yep - the SD-1. He said he liked it better.

That's all I needed to hear. I don't think I even bothered to try the pedal out before plunking down the credit card.

That night, I plugged it into my Park amp and was ... unimpressed. Ho hum, just another overdrive, and not particularly toneworthy. So I shrugged and put it away to gather dust.

However, I couldn't forget the glowing recommendations of other owners, and so when I got my BOSS carrying case, I hooked up the SD-1 just out of respect to my elders.

One night, I went to jam with a bass-playing pal. I took along my Strat, my BOSS carrying case, and my 1965 Princeton amp. I cranked up the amp a bit, and on a lark, I stepped on the SD-1.

What happened next? Click here