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BOSS

DS1 Distortion Pedal

SKU: # 4219   |   Model: # DS1   |    Product Reviews36 Reviews  Write a Review

DS1 Distortion Pedal

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YouTube Video DS-1 Distortion

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The classic DS-1 Distortion pedal provides a harder distortion effect for guitar and keyboard sounds. Instead of toneless, fuzzy distortion, the DS-1 faithfully reproduces all the subtle nuances of playing dynamics - at any volume.

Features
• Classic BOSS Distortion tones for guitar and keyboard
• Reproduces dynamics of playing, from soft to hard
• Distortion, Level and Tone control to tailor overall sound as desired

Specifications
Nominal Input Level: -20 dBu
Input Impedance: 1 M ohm
Nominal Output Level: -20 dBu
Output Impedance: 1 k ohm
Recommended Load Impedance: 10 k ohms or greater

Controls:
• Pedal switch
• TONE knob
• LEVEL knob
• DIST knob

Connectors
• INPUT jack: 1/4-inch phone type
• OUTPUT jack: 1/4-inch phone type
• DC IN jack

Power Supply: Alkaline battery (9 V, 6LR61) or Carbon-zinc battery (9 V, 6F22)
Current Draw: 10 mA

Media


DS-1 DistortionWatch Video
Youtube video product demo

Q & A


There are currently no questions for this product.

Reviews


3.239.119.159
claudebot
Great distortion 0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Campbell River, British Columbia
This pedal sounds great when used right. For a heavy distortion sound, I like having the tone around 10-11, level around 1-5, and distortion around 2-5, with the volume on my guitar at 9 or 10. For a little bit of a lighter sound, I put the distortion at 9 and the volume on my guitar at 6. It is really versatile if you remember to adjust your guitar and amp!
Posted by Josh on Mar 19, 2024
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Boss DS-1 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
I initially bought the L'il Rat because it would better fit on my pedalboard, and I don't need an "arts and crafts" session to get Velcro to stick to the bottom of it. However, the little knobs on the pots and not marking the knobs so you can easily tell where it's set made the pedal pretty much unusable, especially when it required changes when you changed guitars. So I brought it back and bought this one instead. First, the DS-1 sounds better, just what I was looking for (you can never tell what a pedal will sound like until you try it with your rig). It's easier to adjust (bigger knobs, readable). It needs a lot less adjustment when you change guitars. It stacks well with my boost/OD pedals. It was $13 cheaper to boot! If you're looking for that classic rock / 90's grunge distortion sound, look no further.
Posted by bp66 on Apr 5, 2023
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boss ds1 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Edmonton North, Alberta
This is one of the best pedals I own, its so cheap to so if you are looking for a cheap distortion pedal, you should think of this almost immediately. This pedal also features a great tone for blues, jazz, rock, hard rock, and metal. This pedal is also a top competitor for a really good tone in the market. And as a bonus, this pedal is great for rhythm and lead playing.
Posted by anonymous on Dec 3, 2022
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Great pedal!! 0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store   Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Amazing , was exactly what I was looking for, you just gotta turn the Tone Knob almost all the way down and sounds Fuzzy/distorted , the guitar sings for lead and also get a nice grunge Rythm tone, Happy with this.
Posted by Ale on Oct 19, 2022
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CHECK YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR 3 of 5 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Victoria, British Columbia
I once saw a video of Steve Vai agonizing over which pedal had served him well (the best) over the years. The DS1 was a close second to the DD8 - but he almost chose the DS1. So if it works for him...
Posted by Kevin B. on Feb 4, 2021
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Why Are You Here? 12 of 16 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Vancouver, British Columbia
I don't know why you're here reading a review for this pedal, you already either own it or know everything there is to know about it. Everyone does, it's been around since the dawn of time and that's the beauty of it. That monolith the monkeys went crazy over in 2001: A Space Odyssey? It was the shadow cast by a DS1 a mountain top. Seriously though, this thing has been around forever. It's not the most versatile pedal in the world, but what it does, it does well. Apparently this was the only distortion effect Prince ever used. Need I say more?
Posted by Tyrone P Biggins III, Esq on Jul 8, 2020
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Absurdly ok 0 of 11 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Brampton, Ontario
Nothing really amazing about this pedal. Quality is really good, but the distortion and everything is just meh. It's saving grace is it's low price.
Posted by Michael on May 6, 2020
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perfect for noobs and pros 0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Surrey, British Columbia
beautiful grunge/punk sound for its price. highly versatile. amazing beginner pedal.
Posted by kegan on Jan 23, 2020
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The world is ending and I've got 10 of these. 26 of 27 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Calgary Chinook, Alberta
Got a friend who's dad plays guitar? He's got one of these in his den. Know a guy who plays bass? Probably has one in his closet. Professional violinist? They've got one in their backpack, for whatever reason. This pedal is absolutely essential for any musician. It's unbelievably cheap, and sounds like a million bucks. This is usually the only pedal I use, because it just works. Stop reading this review and go buy this pedal before all the musicians who are already buying them cause a resource drought in the earth, driving these pedals to become extinct from the inability to manufacture them and in turn forcing the companies who create the internals to turn the gorgeous tone-making components into a baby-monitor.
Posted by Zack on Oct 13, 2019
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Boss DS-1 6 of 6 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Ottawa, Ontario
There's a reason this thing has been around forever. It's cheap, and it's plentiful, but it can snort. Plug it in to a slightly dirty tube amp, keep the tone knob between 9-10 o'clock, and adjust the distortion to your liking ( varies using single coils or humbuckers). The problem is people plug it in to solid state or transistor amps and expect it to sound awesome. Well, that and you have to use the tone knob sparingly.
Posted by Sean on Jul 14, 2019
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Fantastic pedal! 3 of 4 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Calgary Chinook, Alberta
I'm surprised how low priced this pedal is compared to the rest of the Boss pedals, especially since this one has the same classic Boss quality. Classic rock, Punk rock, or metal, this pedal does the job well. Definitely worth the price!
Posted by Zack on Jul 9, 2019
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Great Pedal!!! 3 of 3 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Abbotsford, British Columbia
I got this pedal because I was jamming with my friends and wanted to sound more like a rock guitar. This pedal did that perfectly. It has a great price for a metal case pedal.
Posted by anonymous on Jun 24, 2019
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Not what I expected 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Oshawa, Ontario
I thought it had a smoother gain sound and it sounded more like a fuzz Pretty good sound but not what I expected but still sounds objectively good
Posted by anonymous on Aug 2, 2018
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PERFECT FOR BEGINNERS, FUN FOR VETERANS! 6 of 7 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Toronto (Bloor St.), Ontario
I've owned this pedal for over a decade now. It's been through a lot and all I've ever had to do is change the battery - it's so solid! No, it's not the most versatile but for a fun, dirty distortion it can't be beaten for the price. If it's good enough for Kurt Cobain, it's good enough for you.
Posted by Robbie on Oct 1, 2017
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Perfect beginer pedal 3 of 6 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Sudbury, Ontario
If you're just starting to get into using pedals and are looking for a good distortion pedal to start getting used to using, look no further. For the price, you can't go wrong. Do it.
Posted by Jaws on Sep 11, 2016
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WHAT A GREAT FIND!!!! 2 of 2 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   North York (Steeles), Ontario
For a long time, I've been looking for a good distortion sound. Tried many pedals, but still had no luck. I picked up the Jemini distortion/overdrive pedal from Ibanez on E-BAY, because I loved Steve Vai's sound. But still, there was something missing when I tried it on it's own. So then I picked up a used BOSS DS-1 for $40 to see how it would sound. Then by hitting both pedals at the same time by mistake, had this great sound. I tweaked both distortion knobs to half and BINGO!!!!!!!!. There was my sound I was looking for, added a little chorus and delay and now have a nice warm distortion tone. The DS-1 on it's own is also great, a good sounding distortion. The only draw back on the DS-1 is, I wish it had a MID control knob to tweak the sound. I was playing through a Fender Ultra Chorus, solid state. ROCK ON!!! So by adding this pedal, it gives you more color to your sound.
Posted by Clemens on Sep 4, 2016
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Basic boost pedal for clean tube amps, etc... 3 of 5 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Abbotsford, British Columbia
Although this pedal has almost doubled in price in the last 2 years, it its almost a requirement if you want basic overdrive on a clean tube amp. Should not be used with solid state or distorted channels as it will likely reduce tone quality.
Posted by Guitar Envy on Jun 15, 2016
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Good for the price 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   St. Catharines, Ontario
The pedal is great for the price and would highly recommend everyone buying one of these, BUT you have to keep in mind that it can get fizzy and sound over pushed if you crank the distortion. If you want something to push distortion I would say get an Ibanez Tube screamer... my preference is the Tube Screamer Mini... However this is great for a beginner to start with, or a seasoned pro who wants to just push the rig a little farther to get it to start to break up.
Posted by Anon on May 29, 2016
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Great pedal 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Edmonton North, Alberta
This pedal really adds that extra power to my guitar. Amazing pedal.
Posted by Keenan on Sep 23, 2015
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Great sound for the money 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Moncton, New Brunswick
This pedal is a work horse. I use it to boost the distortion on my Marshall TSL-100 Crunch channel and smooths it out nicely. Great pedal, great value and a mainstay in any pedal board.
Posted by M. LeBlanc on Jan 31, 2015
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Sound 2 of 10 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   North York (Steeles), Ontario
This was my first pedal and when I got it a while when I first started playing. It was good at the time but now I just really don't like it. You're very limited with this pedal and the sound is not very pleasant. The distortion built into most amps is much better, even low end amps. Would not recommend unless you're a beginner and your amp doesn't have a distortion channel.
Posted by anonymous on Jul 3, 2014
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IGNORE BAD REVIEWS 0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Calgary Chinook, Alberta
you don't need an expensive Dunlop or Line 6. although built in distortion on the amps is usually a better bet, this little stomp kicks ass! there is lots of customization to the sound, especially if you throw an overdrive in with your rig. It's built pretty tough and never fails!
Posted by Kalen on Mar 29, 2014
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For gigging only 2 of 11 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Nanaimo, British Columbia
I've heard this piece of equipment at small live gigs at high volume and it works well to make the guitar cut through the mix over drums and bass, but if you only use this at home hoping to complement the quality sound of a good tube amp it's a poor choice. Fizzy, cold distortion.
Posted by anonymous on Dec 18, 2013
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Ewww... Ughh... Urghhhh... 2 of 20 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Markham, Ontario
This was just... As the title implies, terrible. Fantastically horrid, if you ask me. Really, it sounds just BARELY decent on a tube amp, and sounds like a rabid dog attacking a garbage can on a solid state. If you ask me, just get some more money for a dunlop fuzz face or something decent.
Posted by anonymous on Oct 22, 2013
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Amazing Pedal 3 of 3 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Calgary Royal Vista, Alberta
I actually have one that I got way back around 1984 or 85 and it still is a hugely important part of my pedal board. Such a solid piece of hardware, even all these years later!
Posted by anonymous on Sep 8, 2013
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N/A 2 of 2 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Toronto (Bloor St.), Ontario
Been playing with it a lot and I love it.
Posted by anonymous on Aug 26, 2013
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Great Pedal for an amazing price 1 of 2 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Brampton, Ontario
Posted by anonymous on Aug 15, 2013
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perfect distortion for any guitar or rig 5 of 5 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Windsor, Ontario
I've had this pedal for almost 2 years now, and its still just as awesome as the first day I got it! it can be used for so many genres like punk, rock, alt, even can do some great metal. I find it a perfect fit for and rig, especially for grunge. perfect for any nirvana songs. it is very durable and perfect to take on the road for gigs (used for a few small gigs myself). great pedal and amazing price
Posted by anonymous on Aug 1, 2013
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The first I got, and the only one I need 2 of 2 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Toronto (Bloor St.), Ontario
This is the first pedal I ever got, and it's the main sound of my rig into a clean fender mustang. I play mostly punk rock so it's a great fit. It's also a tank, it was accidentally thrown across a stage by the stage crew, and the only mark was a small chip of paint in the corner. It's amazing. However, if you want a clean boost/just a touch of gain, this isn't for you. (But then again, you're probably looking for overdrive, not distortion)
Posted by JKG on Jun 18, 2013
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Where is TONE in the Ratings? 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Winnipeg (Wall St), Manitoba
This is a Boss pedal, so the quality is the best but the tone is not something I particularly like about this pedal. It has enhanced highs and lows, which really scoop the mids (which is the heart of the guitar). Some like that sound - I don't. BUT - this pedal is a modders dream. Sure - it voids your warranty, but that is not the point. Boss still uses traditional parts in this pedal (not surface mount) so it's an easy job. I settled on the IndyGuitarist (Wampler) vintage mod, but there are dozens of others that work as well.
Posted by anonymous on Apr 3, 2013
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N/A 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store   Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
This pedal is REALLY good. With the right settings, it can make any guitar sound great. You can get vintage or modern tones, a sharp punch or warm sustain, anything really.
Posted by Mark on Feb 12, 2013
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Old Reliable 4 of 4 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store   Edmonton South, Alberta
I hear people basing this pedal but i really cannot see why... There's tonnes of pedals out there, but seriously this is all you need unless you really want something very specific. It gives you a good distortion, or if you turn the gain lower it gives you a nice boost/crunch. Everything else is in your fingers!
Posted by anonymous on Nov 14, 2012
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N/A 2 of 2 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store   Saint John, New Brunswick
i own a lot of pedals and for 60 bucks you'll never find one better
Posted by anonymous on Jul 14, 2012
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ROCK 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Grande Prairie, Alberta
For a basic pedal, or any pedal really, this thing produces solid, throaty punch. Offers both 9v and 110v options (wall plug sold seperate), like usual. Doesn't distort when it's not supposed to - when the pedal is off, there's no buzz or any audible indication that it is plugged in. Just a solid, affordable piece of tech.
Posted by kb on May 30, 2012
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Perfect 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store   Moncton, New Brunswick
I've had this thing for about two years, used the hell out of it. Couldn't ask anything more of it.
Posted by Brandon on May 2, 2012
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Awsome 3 of 3 customers found this review helpful
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Closest Store   Abbotsford, British Columbia
The best one out there, trust me, try it out!
Posted by anonymous on Apr 10, 2012
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Available In Gear Hunter


Store Special Product - BOSS - DS1
Store Special Product - BOSS - DS1
Store Special Product - BOSS - DS1

Model: DS1

Serial: P1Q3659

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This product is normally available for rental. Please contact your preferred location for further information.

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A warranty can be a very important factor when making a buying decision. Because repairs can be very expensive in terms of parts and labour costs, manufacturers usually only provide one year limited warranties that generally only cover items that malfunction due to a manufacturer’s defect. With an important purchase such as a musical
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Because of this, Long & McQuade provides our customers with a FREE one-year Performance Warranty on most of our products. The Long & McQuade Performance Warranty supplements the manufacturer’s warranty to ensure that our customers receive complete “no hassle” warranty coverage within their first year.

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  • Performance Guarantee: Normal wear and tear is covered, so your product will be performing as well as the day you purchased it for the entire duration of the coverage. Band and Orchestral Performance Warranty does not include replacing pads or cleaning for woodwind instruments, unless deemed necessary by our repair staff. Ultrasonic cleaning for brass instruments will be provided if deemed necessary by our repair staff, but is not routinely offered under the Performance Warranty.
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