Arion SOD-1 Overdrive

Not a really versatile unit. Interesting double output thing, I just use the soft (low gain) output all the time.

I would agree with the dumble comparisons, but it really doesnt cut it for rhythm or even double stops. Adds a soggy kind of dirt to the tone..er, mud, even. But thats not a bad thing, if you focus on lead, its really nice warm singing tone.

It looks well made, in sri lanka. There are worse plastic jobs out there.

you could try going to sri lanka to get replacement parts..

I play blues-rock-country-folk-jazz, or BRCFJ as its known on the STREET. Sorry for that one. I use a boogie amp, dynacomp, ce-2, od-1, sd-1, microamp, phase 100, akai delay, old schecter strat, suzuki les paul and ibanez blazer. I havent owned the SOD-1 for long, its not going to be my main od, the od-1 is my sound, but it will be making a few cameo appearances for sure.

Simple to use.

Great tone using PRS CE24 ->SOD-1->A/B/Y Morley pedal->CarlMartin Plexitone->Vox wah->V30 Class A head powering an Eminence Legend 112 speaker-> Hughes and Kettner RedBox Pro. Considering a Sonic Stomp but rather use the DI100.

While teaching I use it with a V5 Class A tube amp.

Have sweet Marshall, Dumble ODS, Fender chimes when wanted with either setup.

Play Jeff Beck, Hendrix, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Scott Henderson, John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, funky tunes and tones.

This is a simple pedal to use but it is a fussy one as well.
This is the first issue gray case model, I have both black and gray as Well as two SDI-1's gray box.
A/b the two and there is a difference.

I use it in chain with my custom built 18-watt two EL-84 Bonepicker non reverb PTP wired amp with a single 12? Tone Tubby ceramic hemp cone speaker.
Maxon Compressor, SOD-1, Alesis Nanoverb reverb and a Parts Telecaster this setup sounds best on this amp and not my 65 BF Deluxe Reverb. This pedal and amp combination comes real damn close to Danny Gatton Roy Buchanan sound with a Tele and I am using Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro in the bridge and a GFS Austin Mini Humbucker in the neck.
It is a real cool pedal for the price but I would like a backup just in case, they seem to be getting harder to find even the early Japan black case models.
Nice control with your guitars tone and volume controls, my bridge I can pinch harmonics off just about any note and get Roy?s live sound easy and Danny Gatton tone from Crusin Duce?s thanks to the tone control it can get bright so tweaking is a must at first till you get it down.
It has a smooth crunch that doesn?t seem to get all blown out of control l not a big mid hump and that?s what makes this pedal special to me.
Now I did have some fun with the SDI-1 after this pedal and I messed with it for a few hours.
I use this with the GFS Austin MH and I swear it gets that fat Allman brothers sound and Government Mule, this all sounds great but it sounds like this in this amp and not as much as in my Deluxe Reverb?
My guess its this Bonepicker EL-84 amp I never found a better amp yet, and I have had Many over 25 years of playing.
As well as having a slew of pedals this is a rockers keeper.
In my Les Paul with humbuckers it is not all that great seems to love single coil guitars.

As far as sounding like a Dumbel going into drive mode I have never played one so I couldn't say but it just sounds good to my ear.

They hold up mine are over 20 years old I guess that works?

I don't even know who is the true maker never had a websight?

I won't say it's the Holy Grail of FX stomp distortion but for what I was looking for in tone this is it so far my setup is simple and built for Country, Blues and Rock As well as a little fusion with the SDI-1 behind it..
I like being able to use my guitars tone and volume with this pedal and the mid hump cutback makes it a +.

Basic overdrive controls like a tubescreamer.
The stereo output is a cool feature. Output 1 is the standard overdrive while output 2 can be switched between "soft" and "direct".
Do not be fooled by previous reviews! There is no clean boost in this pedal. Soft is differently voiced overdrive and direct is just your guitar signal passing through the pedal. The controls have no effect on this setting.

Both outputs sound very solid state, which is a bad thing because even if it is a solid state pedal, "overdrive" refers to tube sound and this was what i was expecting.

I couldn't get any volume boost out of this pedal at all... I think it actually killed some of my volume.

This pedal doesn't have a ton of midrange, which isn't a bad thing, but i felt the overall tone was lacking.

The gain control has very little effect from about 0 to 3, and then has way too large of a jump. They should've spread the gain out a little more. I guess it is nice for some players who want a lot of fake sounding overdrive.

Knobs/battery cover fall off easily. It's made out of plastic. I guess if you treat it nice, it will treat you nice.

I've been playing for about 8 years. My band is an indie band and I was looking for a good alternative to the tubescreamer for boosts. This pedal just didn't do the job. The features are great, but the sound is not there at all. I play a Gibson "the Paul" into a Red Bear MK60 (JCM800 Clone).

volume/tone/drive. two sweet spots you'll find 'em.

a jolt from the day that solid state was king! sooo smooth and pleasant, so cliche it's wonderfull! You will not offend your grandmother with this mild overdrive. This is not a metal zone. Even a ds-1 on 0 sounds heavy compared to this thing dimed.

This is not a tube screamer; It is much more saturated but much smoother. it doesn't boost the mid and it doesn't loss a lot of bass either. It has a tone you cannot get from boss or ibanez pedals and you cannot get from tubes either. It is very warm like tubes but distinctly solid state sounding. A soft distortion more than an overdrive really. It dosn't have that "can full of bees" edgyness that most dirt boxs have. Lot's of character but very safe sounding as well. If your over thirty and retro minded your gonna adore it like that flock of seaguls song you secretly love.

check it out bro!

You will break or loss the knobs. The little tabs on the battery cover will break but you will just keep rockin' it! The switch mechanism is more reliable than boss from my experience. They never "really" die!

does arion even exist? i think stores are just tring to get rid of pedals left over from 1994! What was the last new arion model? Get the japanese ones they have to coolest most 80's retro sounds!

you may laugh you may weep. you will not hate this pedal. you may love it as much as I do, but I doubt that is possible! Best overdrive pedal ever status bestowed. Sounds great with the best analog delay pedal ever: arion sad-1 of course!

Um, it is damn simple... its no multi FX unit or anything, just an OD. Crank the level and drive to get the highest gain possible, tone makes it sharper etc... I have the tone down and the level and drive up full. Didn't get a manual, i got given this. The on/off is instantaneous, good thing.

I just got this today after my exams. I played around with this on my little Roland Cube-15. I tried it on clean, fiddled. it sounded alright, a twangy sharp overdrive. Sharp sounds get to me when loud, so i turned down the tone. instantly i got what i wanted there. I switched onto distortion (metal stack setting - basically the boss Metal Zone distortion with less gain & knobs and the like) and put the gain to about halfway.. the thing is an awesome boost pedal. The sound is thick and full. Think Jade Puget (AWESOME GUITARIST). He uses a dual rectifier! I got a sound akin to his on a roland cube with this pedal. Sounded awesome. Really. Still too noisy for my taste though.... Noise gate should fix that. it gets an 8 - noisy... but a nice OD and great boost pedal.

dunno... only just got it. Yeah id gig without a backup because frankly i haven't got a backup. I'm on a tight budget. I just play and hope that nothing fails. Hasn't yet.

No idea

I play post-hardcore/punk stuff. This works great cos i need a boost in gain for my tone. I've been playing electrics for about 2 years. I also have a Marshall VS265R, the roland i mentioned, an Ashton AR282 (go the aussie guitars) and a Samick 3-humbucker SG copy that I'm selling to buy an Ashton 31-band Equalizer. Its good for now but i'm not sure how it will compare to the marshall Jackhammer i'm getting soon. We'll see. If it doesn't compare as a boost then i'll use it for a gentle overdrive, if its better as a boost the jackhammer can be my OD. Overall i do like this pedal a lot, for its purpose. I like a good OD in my tone too, now and then. Deftones-like. They're cool.

I have three of these pedals that I purchased off of Ebay...A pretty straight forward pedal w/three knobs (Level-Tone-Gain)...However the two separate outputs are what make this OD Pedal a bit unique- -One can be used as a Clean (ala Klon) Boost & the other is the Gain (Std. OD) Output AND as the other reviews have stated you can blend them together for a very cool "Sparkle Drive" vibe....(I used a 'Y' cable)

I have used these pedals in my R&B Fusion-Jazz Combo (D'Aquisto & Zion Strat-style) through a GT Single-O & even a GK 250ML Series II...This pedal doesn't sound like other OD Pedals- -I also use a Vox Valvetone in the same pedal board...They really complement each other well!...

Hears the "Big Secret"...This pedal is the closest & inexpensive way to get a A Dumble OD sound w/o spending tons of ca$h chasing after Boutique pedals- -I have owned the following Pedals...SIB Vari-drive, Matchless Dirt & Hot Boxes, Kendrick Buffalo Phuzz, VooDoo Labs Sparkle Drive, Boss DS, OD & Bluesdriver, Ibanez TS-808 & 9...& I've even played through three different Dumbles! (Including Tom Anderson's Overdrive Special @ an Anaheim NAMM Show)...These Arion's are the best pedal that comes close to "dialing in" that tone in almost any type of amplifier set-up...

N/A...No problems so far but just to make sure I have three of these pedals...

Playing +35 yrs. & I am a self-professed Carlton-Ford-Ritenour junkie & if you know their gear- -they have slightly different type of equipment but they each come from the same "sonic place"...Again get these Pedals before "the Secret" is out (TS-808s & Vox Valve tones, etc.)...For the money that these can be had for- -this can't be touched!

Three knobs, level, tone, drive. Two outs, and a mode switch.

Love it, it doesn't color the original tone at all, a Strat still sounds like a Strat, etc. Just gets a good grind goin'. That's using out 1. Out 2 has flavor all it's own, a nice hollowed out tone that I really dig, think Richie Blackmore. Not much flexibility in the drive control, it's a one trick control, doesn't seem to change the amount grind very much, but that's OK. I've had lots of low watt tube amps, and I think this pedal nails the sound of a cranked amp. I can't deside if I should use two of these for mode 1 and 2 or use a AB box. Oh well, just more to play with.

These this are as tough as.....hard plastic?

For 30 bucks or less, do yourself a favor and check it out. I have an old grey one from Japan, and a newer model from Sri Lanka, and the sound about the same. The old is a little warmer sounding, but it would be hard to tell in blind taste test.

Very basic unit, and in a plastic case. Gotta love the easy battery access - apart from that, plug in and stomp away. Can be a bit strange to use at first with the dual OUT lines, but a few quick experiments soon solves that problem. The manual is practically useless. Can be annoying to have to switch the position of the output cable to enable the use of the soft channel.

Sound on this is actually pretty good. It has a rougher edge than a lot of other overdrives, but is full of life. You have two different overdrives on this one - which I will call "normal" and "soft". Don't be fooled by "soft" - this is what the pedals switch has on it. Its not soft.

"Normal" sound is a biting overdrive, plenty of gain and pretty responsive to your attack. Tone and Gain dials do what you expect. I found that arcing up the tone on this pedal doesn't make for a particularly nice sound. The distortion level is a bit harsh at times for my liking. Sound on this can be likened to the harsher drive from bands like Def Leppard and Bryan Adams ("lets get rocked" from the former, and "there will never be another tonight" and "summer of 69" from the latter fit this sound well)

Once you get onto "Soft" the fun starts. A warm but slightly hollow tone - think "Presidents of the USA" (first album) type sounds here. Its nice to chug along with this sound, and can be wound down for some very mellow sounds.

I've gigged with it once, and for the songs played it was good, but it can sound a bit hollow for a big venue - I'd suggest running an EQ behind it and boosting the mids where needed. I just upped them on my amp.

Pedal can hum a bit with high gain settings, but nothing that would hinder performing. Certainly a "raw" pedal in many regards, but still worthwhile.

Its a plastic case, which feels flimsy in my mind - in reality its reasonably tough. The pots can break off, which is annoying, but a generic radio dial should fit on in replacement. Other than that, it seems to be reasonably well built.

Never needed to talk to them.

For the money, its pretty good value. It would be nice to have an option for a footswitch to be able to change between direct and soft, however its a fairly minor limitation with this particular pedal, as you'll most likely pick one of the two and stick to it. Besides, at the cost, if you really want both on the fly, buy a second one. If it dies, I probably won't bother replacing it, but that should be no reflection on the unit itself. Given its versatility, its not a bad buy for someone looking for their first overdrive pedal. It was mine.

I just learned something new that I want to add to my review below. Since the SOD-1 is stereo, you can turn it into an inexpensive "sparkle type drive".

I have a cheap, ($15.00 used) Radio Shack mixer. Hook up Output 1 which, as I said below, can be run direct with no overdrive, to one channel then run Output 2 to another channel. Then I send the signal to my amp.
You can use the mixer to vary the mix of the clean channel with the overdriven one for some very cool new sounds. Now I really like this unit!