In a search for pedals to repair I found an old BOSS DS-1 on Craigslist the other day. I sent out an offer and headed off for a scenic 50 mile round-trip through the Allegheny Plateau. Finally, I had the chance to experience (and experiment with) the classic distortion.
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The Problem
I plugged it in, flipped it on, and…a hum was present at the output. A faint guitar signal could be heard riding along the hum. Though the noise was so overbearing that you could barely hear the signal.
I made the following video clip from Thomann’s Guitar and Basses’ channel demonstrating the same type of hum. The video is centered on alleviating guitar hum but, in my case, the hum was constant and loud.
I had to investigate!
The Troubleshooting
After gutting the DS-1 I realized a very simple issue: the output jack had no ground wire connecting the sleeve lug to the circuit board’s ground. What a simple fix! This explains why I could still hear a faint signal coming through the wall of noise that the signal lug was picking up. The signal was still getting there, it was just baked in hum.
The Repair
In the end, I soldered a wire (green, below) from the ground lug to the circuit board’s ground. The DS-1’s footswitch has a ground connection back to the board, so I used that connection point to ground the output jack’s sleeve lug.
Meet the Author:
Hi, I’m Dominic. By day, I’m an engineer. By night, I repair and modify guitar effects! Since 2017, I’ve been independently modifying and repairing guitar effects and audio equipment under Mimmotronics Effects in Western New York. After coming out with a series of guitar effects development boards, I decided the next step is to support that community through content on what I’ve learned through the years. Writing about electronics gives me great joy, particularly because I love seeing what others do with the knowledge they gain about guitar effects and audio circuits. Feel free to reach out using the contact form!
The Tools I Use
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