Boss OD-3

The OD-3 is very simple to use. One level (volume) knob, one gain (amount of overdrive) knob, and a tone knob. I guess you'd have to be some kind of knob yourself if you couldn't figure out how to operate the OD-3. ;^)

Anyway, I bought my pedal new, so it has a manual; however, I haven't had to refer to the manual at all.

My setup is as follows: 1977 Fender Stratocaster > Ernie Ball Volume pedal > Electar PBX-1000 Pedalboard (which contains the following Boss pedals: Boss CS-2 Compressor/Sustainer > Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter > Boss BD-2 Blues Driver > Boss OD-3 Overdrive > Boss PS-5 Super Shifter > Boss DD-5 Digital Delay > Boss DD-3 Digital Delay > Boss PN-2 Tremolo/Pan > Boss BF-3 Flanger > Boss CE-3 Chorus) > Korg G4 Rotating Speaker Simulator > Alesis Microverb > stereo into two silverface Fender Twin Reverbs.

The OD-3 has a really nice, growling tone--lots of low end--which makes for a really nice creamy, tasty, satisfying drive. This tone is sorely lacking in most other overdrive pedals, especially Boss'. I can conjure that woody SRV tone using my Stratocaster's neck pickup; furthermore, the OD-3 lets me pretty much nail any kind of lead or rhythm tone, any kind of good blues and rock crunch or subtle, rich jazz 'drive. The OD-3 sounds lovely, no matter where you set the knobs...subtle or all-out, this is one great overdrive pedal; quite versatile. And virtually noiseless! Works great as a crunch pedal on its own, or as a nice amp booster.

For my overdrive, I used to use the OD-2 Turbo Overdrive with Turbo off, but hated the high-end, tinny buzz it had; not so with the OD-3. The OD-3 has real testicular fortitude---in other words, balls! The BD-2 is a bit too tinny and fuzzy, compared to the OD-3. The PW-2 Power Driver, while able to match the OD-3's low end, is just too over-the-top with the crunch/distortion/fuzz for my taste.

C'mon...it's a Boss. Heaven forbid, but if the world is ever destroyed by nuclear annihilation or any other form of mass destruction, the only thing left will be cockroaches and Boss pedals.

I can't speak intelligently on this particular subject. I've been a Boss pedal user for more than twenty years, and I've never had reason to contact Boss' customer support.

I play kind of eclectic blend of jazz, blues, and rock, kind of a "Bill Frisell-meets SRV-meets Alex Lifeson" style. I have been playing for 26 years, and I love to write and record my own tunes, as well as play live.

The OD-3 is the best overdrive pedal I've ever played, and I have played/owned just about every imaginable kind of overdrive stompbox, from lo-fi to boutique. The OD-3 simply has that kind of indescribable "anti-fuzz" tone I've always looked for in an overdrive pedal, but could never find. I will say that the OD-3 is definitely not a pedal for metal/rap rock, but is great for everything else from John Scofield to Angus Young. This pedal, in my humble opinion, more closely reproduces the tone of an overdriven tube amp--primarily Fender--of any pedal around. I think I'll buy 10 more of 'em!

Until they come up with a pedal with just one on/off switch that gives you the exact sound you want every time, this is as easy as it gets.

This pedal was tried in a store with a Tokai strat copy into a black panel Fender Twin at low volume. The OD3 was also a/b'd against a Fulltone Distotion Pro - which is more than three times the price. Right off the bat, I was impressed with the OD3: It had the flavour of my old SD1, but without the boxy midrange, lack of bass and general harshness. The natural harmonics and open sound of the guitar/amp combo was not compromised by this pedal, it just added a bit of the classic Boss OD flavour. It's not fair to give a real assesment of the Distortion Pro, since you need a lot of time to tweak it to get certain tones (it's very versatile). I just found that the Distortion Pro didn't immediately grab me the way the OD3 did, and the D Pro made the setup sound 'different'.

Things can always break down, but Boss is usually very reliable

Just a great, simple od pedal which is versatile enough for clean boosts, overdrive and a bit of raunch. As transparent as my Fulldrive2, but more immediately satisfying. My next pedal purchase for sure!

Three knobs, a red light, put two cables in each end and let ip rip. If you can't figure it out, then you shouldn't be playing at all.

I've already explained my set-up on previous reviews, so i'll make it brief. If your looking for a creamy, bluesy crunch without overpowering the audience, this is the pedal to get. It works for both that slightly dirtier than clean sound to a hard O/D sound, to everything in between. Just play with the knobs. Oh, and that volume knob!!! I always set my clean bypass volume first, but the OD-3 is a loud pedal. I ususally keep the volume at 9 o'clock.
BUY IT.

It's a Boss.
I use a Marshall Jackhammer, so I'm covered with the crunch.
I also have my DS-2 pedal on the shelf. But if some unthinkable fluke would occur, I'd replace the OD-3 instantly.

N/A

I border on modern/hard/pop-rock, and this pedal covers them all. From a cheesy minor pentatonic riff to frenetic strumming. It has helped me turn decent hard-rocking riffs and rhythms to slightly lighter but tonally great. I use it i both gig and church settings, and I works for so many musical situations. I sounds great with my Epiphone Alleykat, just a superb, mouth watering driving tone.

Come on.

I run an Ibanez RGR320 through the OD-3 to a Marshall Lead Mosfet 100. This pedal gives a warm, smooth rock overdrive. That's what it's designed for, and that's all it does. If you're looking for a growling Death Metal distortion, you won't find it here. 9 because the pedal hums slightly.

Well, the casing looks tough as hell, but I've only had this for a few days so it's hard to say...

My music styles range from death metal to blues, and the latter one this pedal suits well. I got this as a christmas present so no I did not compare this with other effects. Actually I probably wouldn't even have bought this one, I would have sought for something a tad harsher. Decent pedal though.

About as easy as pulling a girl if you're me.

sounds sweet. A real TRUE guitar sound. People how give this products sound less than 8 must have a REALLY fucked up set-up. Mine is - - - - Gibson Les Paul Classic -> OD-2 -> Marshall AVT2000 275

sounds great.

Its a Boss.

never needed ever (had over 20 of their pedals).

Overall A real great peadal for almost any kind of guitar playing also a huge range of nice tones.

Muito facil de usar 3 botoons nada mais.

O som deste pedal e muito legal.tem um ganho de volume fantastico.pode ser usado como boost pela forte saida e sem drive.eu uso com um fender performer1000 e uma strato fender 79.gosto de usa-lo como pedal principal com pouco drive 3 ou 4 volume no 5 que e superior ao sinal da guit no amp direto e um tube screamer para solos.a dinamica e o forte.palhete fraco e voce tem um som limpo meio que saturado de valvula mesmo.aperet um pouco a palhetada e pronto ja tem um som crunch e definido corda por corda.ja com o drive aberto eu achei que ele fica muito cortante,estridente muito duro.por isso optei para dar o drive no tube screamer que tem um som com mais medios graves.

Sem proplemas boss e bosss.

toco rock blues.realmente me impressionou muito este pedal com a dinamica e a sida muito forte.tenho um od2 turbo overdrive e seguramente o od3 tem o dobro ou mais de saida.paguei R$200 nele novo na loja.um tube screamer ts9 saia por R$350.na minha opni?o este pedal vale cada R$ e omelhor OD que eu ouvi da boss,tendo em vista que n?o conhesso o OD1.

Facil como todo pedal over drive,3 botoons drive level tone,

Muito bom este pedal.me surpreendeu.tenho um turbo od3,e este pedal tem 2 vezes ou mais volume.pode-se usar como boost tambem,apenas tirando o ganho [drive o] e aumentando o volume.a dinamica e impressionante.com o drive no 4 eo volume no 5 basta segurar a forca da palheta para que voce tenha um som de saturac?o de valvula ate um pouco de drive maia na cara sem precisar alterar a regulagem.com o drive no ultimo me soou um pouco ardido.mais o forte e usar ele com menos ganho e mais volume para ter um som muito cristalino e com uma pegada de rock blues na cara.tenho tambem um ts10 classic tube screamer.o nivel de saida do od3 e muito superior ao ibanez.da um pau facil.paguei R$200 no meu novo em Campinas.e um tube ts9 sairia por R$350.pela grana este pedal vale na minha opni?o cada R$.por este preco vair ser dificil um pedal melhor para "rock blues".

Very easy to use, as mentioned in my reviews two slots down. I'm using it differently, now though, but it's still a piece of cake. I use it as a gain booster (Drive on 8 o'clock, Level all the way, Tone left of the middle.)

I said in my previous review that I used this instead of my amp distortion, cos I love how tight and full it sounds. Problem is, that I always want more gain. I know this is an OD pedal but it contains a fair amount of gain, just on the edge of distortion, which is annoying as when you play stuff that I do, you always want that little bit more! Anyway, I've found THE sound for it now. Previously, I'd shoved it in front of the amp and use it either with the clean channel or as a booster for the od channels. I never liked the way it added a fair bit of midrange colour to proceedings, which is a problem as this ain't true bypass. However, on a whim I threw this into the FX loop of my 100W Marshall combo, put it on booster settings, and tried boosting the amp's gain channel. WOW! Gone is the awful fuzziness of the solid state distortion, replaced with tight, full, beautiful-sounding gain. I am now happier than ever with my tone, all thanks to the little Boss. Solid state owners have got to try this in their FX loops if they want valvey gain.

Just an update, but as a testament to the sound I get now: I was considering selling both my amp and the pedal the way I was using it before, now I love them both!

The Boss OD 3 is a yellow 3 knob(LEVEL; DRIVE & TONE)overdrive stomp box.
It's pretty easy to dial in a good natural overdrive tone.
The controls do interact well so that you can get a natural tube amp overdrive or a grainy distortion.
Very good for the classic rock cat.

If you need a natural sounding overdrive to complement your non channel switching tube amp, the Boss OD 3 is a good choice.
I'm using the OD 3 through a 35th anniversary white 50 watt Marshall 1987 half stack and Top Hat Ambassador with various Gibson & Fender guitars. With my white Marshall; 52 re-issue Telecaster and 1992 Gibson Les Paul Classic Plus, the OD 3 yields some close Billy Squire; Joe Walsh (James Gang) & Jimmy Page (Zep II) tones. If you set the drive higher than 12:00; the overdrive gets a bit grainier. By setting the drive at 11:00 and adjusting the Level and Tone knobs, you can still retain the natural tones of your amp.
With the Top Hat Ambassador, I felt that those lead tones from "Hotel California" were at my finger tips.
I've heard kids at Sam Ash using the OD 3 and it wasn't pretty. I was completely turned off by those finger fumblers. But when I demoed the OD 3, I realized it was the player not the stomp box.
If you're in the market for a quality inexpensive overdrive pedal, try the OD 3. You might be surprised.

Never had a problem with Boss equipment.
Don't expect any now.

Never had the need to call them.

Depending on the tube amp used, the OD 3 can sound excellent.
I own a Matchless Hot Box (my favorite); Maxon 808 Re-Issue; first run Bixonic Expandora; Vox Valve Tone V810; Boss OD 3 and a bunch of other lesser tone quality overdrive stomp boxes. My tone taste leans towards effects that still retain the identity of the guitar and amp combination used. I've kept a Dano Fab Tone (a great brown wheel chock) for those ears of stone shapeless blurr sessions I sometimes do (the Fab Tone and other paper weight boxes remain in my closet shoe box).
Anyway, the OD 3 may not be the first choice for those SRV clones or current flavor of the day skate boarders. But if your ear candy needs are in the classic rock vibe, check one out.

Pretty easy, provided you have an idea of the sound you want, as this pedal is very versatile. No problem to use, though. Of course, the LEVEL knob needs to be constantly adjusted to suit your playing circumstances, but that's not really much of a problem.

I'm using this pedal thru a Marshall VS102R (Valvestate 100W 2x12 combo) and a Gibson LP Studio. The pedal is not at all noisy - even amp distortion makes some noise and this pedal makes hardly any. I originally bought this pedal to emulate the Pearl Jam distorted sound, both Mike and Stone use TS-9's, but considering this pedal is cheaper and is supposed to have better bass response and more gain I bought it instead. It's worth noting that Boss's claims are true, but the pedal is set-up to allow the bass from your amp to come thru, so on the clean channel (which is where I'm running this pedal) the EQ still has to be altered a bit. I had an SD-1 before this, and that pedal was a nightmare - grainy, thin, piercing - but this pedal is lovely. I run it with the tone 10 o'clock, the drive all the way and the level quite low, as I've found the best sounds come from cranking up the amp. With the pedal I can not only get a Pearl Jam sound, but I've found I can get the overdrive that most of the bands I'm into seem to be gravitating towards, what I consider to be light yet still heavy (if that makes any sense!) The sound I'm referring to is like on the song 'Muzzle' by the Smashing Pumpkins, and this pedal does that perfectly. I originally tried this pedal on a JCM2000 Marshall, and that sounded ten times better than what I'm getting thru my Valvestate, so try multiplying the score for this pedal by ten if you have a tube amp!

I have two other Boss pedals - a TU-2 and DD-3 - and they haven't given out on me yet.

Never dealt with Boss directly, but the store I bought this pedal had to order it from Roland UK cos they didn't have one in stock, and that took three weeks, which was really annoying! Considering this is one of Boss's newer pedals, and one I had tried and liked, it was very irritating.

I play alt-rock and this pedal gives me a great overdrive - musical, clear (you can hear every note ring) and the right amount of girth and gain. Very pleasing, although it would be nice if the bottom end had a bit more crunch, although without it the smooth sound is good to play some Perfect Circle! It has definitely become the basis of my sound, I now hate the amp distortion. If you have a tube amp, you may consider this pedal if your amp does not have a gain channel or is really heavy, and you want some lighter sounds. If you have a solid state, or valvestate, amp - this is a must.