Boss DS-1 japan/taiwan

Ok, I know that the Boss DS-1 distortion was made in Japan, Taiwan, and possibly Korea. Does anyone have any information on this, and if the different makes sound differently? I`ve read that the Japanese model isn`t made anymore, and that it wasn`t as trebbly, but that`s all I can find.

before 1990, was originally made in Japan and is now made in Taiwan. Boss has never made pedals in Korea, although there are definitely some Korean knock-offs of Boss pedals.
As for sound differences: Prior to about 1994 (IIRC), the Taiwanese and Japanese-made Boss DS-1s were identical. Around 1994 Boss made some slight changes in the circuit of the DS-1. You can tell the newer pedals by the power adapter jack -- the new ones call for the PSA adapter, while the older ones call for the ACA. Now, do they sound any different? I ... don`t ... know. I own several DS-1s, including a really, really old Japanese one, a more recent Japanese one, and a new circuit" one, and *in the tests I`ve conducted* I can`t tell them apart. It`s possible that some combination of guitars, amps, and effects with the DS-1 can bring out some subtle difference. But for most purposes, I`d say they`re the same. However, some people (notably Joe Satriani) swear that the older ones sound better. I dunno -- I doubt that Satch ever did true blind A/B tests.
Kate Ebneter Collector of Noise Toys

I have found the japanese and older taiwan ones with the seperate power jack sound significantly better than the current Taiwanese pedals. They used a better sounding chip, it has a different number of pins than the current model. I have 4 DS-1 pedals here that I use for comparisons, one early stock Japanese, one stock new taiwan, and 2 of our Taiwan mods.
I think your best bet is a cheap new one with our PRO mod which uses a chip even better than the Japanese version. Or if you can get a Japanese one cheap (they made BILLIONS!) that could be good, or the early taiwan version which should be about $25 or so used. have fun!

When shopping on ebay, how would i tell the difference between new and old taiwan models? Japanese ones are in the $70+ range on ebay, which is way way too much for me to spend on a distortion pedal

specifies. ACA = older, PSA = newer. Just click on the "Ask seller a question" link and ask away.
Kate Ebneter Collector of Noise Toys