Boss announces DS-1W Waza Craft distortion pedal

October 6, 2022 · 5 sources

Boss announced the DS-1W Distortion, a Waza Craft version of its DS-1 distortion pedal, on October 6, 2022¹². The pedal is based on the DS-1 released in 1978, Boss's first distortion pedal and its best-selling compact pedal, with more than 1.5 million units sold³².

The DS-1W has a two-way switch labeled S and C that selects between Standard and Custom modes². Standard mode uses a discrete circuit version of the original DS-1, with a two-stage gain circuit¹². Custom mode is described by Boss as a thick, mid-focused tone, and the company says the Tone control is tuned for each mode¹⁴. Boss says Custom mode also raises the available level by 6 dB and has more input sensitivity¹. The pedal has Tone, Distortion and Level knobs, and a premium buffer for clean tone when bypassed³¹. Guitar.com reported that each pedal comes with the standard compact series five-year warranty¹.

The DS-1W is made in Japan². Sources differ on price and availability: MusicRadar gave $149.99 and said it would be available in October⁵; Guitar.com said it was available at $149.99 in the US¹; Guitar World said it would be available that month for $149³.