It’s been a while since we did one of these, but it’s been worth the wait. Dean Wareham, of Galaxie 500, Luna and Dean & Britta fame, and who also appears on the new Cheval Sombre album ‘Mad Love’, picks a pedal.

Dean eschews the pricier options and opts for something cheap and cheerful, as he explains: “I own my share of expensive boutique pedals, but the pedal I can’t do without is the humble Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive; this has been on my pedalboard in one form or another since the Galaxie 500 days (although back then it was the OD-1). The SD-1 will run you about $50 new. Apparently Zakk Wylde likes it too, so we both favour a Les Paul into this Boss pedal, but there I believe the similarities end. Some people posting on internet forums will tell you that the Boss SD-1 is the same thing as an Ibanez Tube Screamer. Not so; the Boss pedal uses asymmetrical clipping and, to my ear, sounds quite different. I am also partial to the the Boss OD-2 Turbo OverDrive, which sounds very similar but has extra sustain and volume.

“Note: this yellow pedal is not to be confused with the orange Boss DS-1 Distortion, that is another animal. Also you need not throw money away by having some expert on eBay modify your Boss SD-1 (for example, changing the internal components to make it sound like a Tube Screamer); it is just fine out of the box.”

Dean is currently working on a solo album with Jason Quever of the wonderful Papercuts. We can’t wait to hear the results of that collaboration, but in the meantime here’s some things he made earlier…