Boss OD-3

Doesn't get much easier than 3 knobs

I have to say this is one of my favorite Boss pedals I purchased it from a music store that was going out of business never having even heard what the thing sounded like. It hasn't left my board since. It's not a metalheads type of drive though you can get a lot of gain out of this thing. For me it just really sings with the tone at 10:00 and the drive at about 2:00 at that point it says "Hello I'm Stevie Ray Vaughns illegitimate love child" It has a real nice midrange to it Of course I'm using a Strat into a Mesa Rectoverb Combo If your running an Ibanez into a Line6 solid state amp or something your results may vary

Boss stuff just seams to last. I have about 16 of there pedals all still working nicely. I love this "Would you gig without a backup" Question Uhh...YES at 40 years old If I have to start dragging backup gear for my gear thats it! At this point I don't want to lift anything heavier than a ham sandwich let alone 2 of everything sheesh.

Never called them not sure how they are.

Got to give it an A+ I have been playing 22 years I play a wide range of stuff with the exception of screaming metal. So for the stuff that needs a good OD this thing is great. If someone stole it I'd make them sit in a small room and listen to Wam cranked to 11. Well thats wake me up before you go go;)

Three knobs. Very simple.

With my Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket combo, it sounds fantastic.
With Laney VC15 combo, it sounds great.
With VOX AD50 212, it cannot produce the sound I like.
With LINE6 Vetta II combo, it cannot produce the sound I like.
What??s the point?
Use OD-3 with a decent tube amp and it produces naturally overdriven tone to valvet lead tone.
With my Boogie, I give 9 ??cos 10 means perfect and there is no perfect thing in the world, only God is perfect...

It??s Boss!

The Boss site is nice but I??ve never got answers whenever I e-mailed them.

I think it depends on your gears.
Like I said before, if you have any good or great tube amps, OD-3 sounds fantastic.
Otherwise, don??t bother...
I mean... normaly, overdrive pedals work well with tube amps in my experience
I use OD-3 only with my Boogie combo now.
I also had TS-9 and I prefer OD-3 ??cos it has more gain than TS-9 IMO.
So if you are looking for some great booster pedal or overdrive pedal, you have to try this one and you??ll not be disappointed.

Please excuse my english since i'm not a native speaker!

Nice yellow pedal with three knobs: Level, Tone and Drive. Very ease to use. Spend a little time on it and you'll get the sound you want. No need for a manual, just trust your ears and turn the knobs.

Like many said: Its an OD, no Distortion. But WHAT an OD! If there's one non-tube pedal that really gets you a classic tube sound for an exceptable price, it's the OD-3! I used to play it through a fender solid state and now im using it with my hot rod deluxe. basically im using it for a sharp funk-rock bridge-pu sound or with my singing neck-PU for a great solo sound. It's not noisy at all, only thing is: I haven't found out how to get it along with my cry baby, don't like the sound that they produce together.
Just put it in front of a ss-amp and you'll get a taste of what a tube could sound like. Put it in front of your tube amp in push it to a higher level.

You cannot break a boss!

I've compared this pedal in the music store to nearly all other boss od/ds pedals. This one really stood out, no kidding. I've tried them all and then kicked one after another. In the end, there was just the od-3. It even beats the bd-2!
I'm playin only strat, so i cant tell you about humbuckers!

Quite simple 3-knob format: Overdrive, Level and Tone.

Depending on what you run into it, it rates exceptionally good to somewhat dissappointing. If you're looking for an overdrive effect rather than a distortion box and your ultimate target aim is an OD that "simulates the sound of an overdriven tube amp", well, go for the OD-3, but ONLY if you play single coils. The OD-3 has a rather scooped midrange "heavy metal" character to it which means if you play humbuckers through it, it ceases to sound like overdrive and a lot more like distortion. Furthermore,it's a distortion with a solid state flavor to it.
My Les Paul and the OD-3 make a good match for Metallica but for tube driven blues and classic rock the OD-3 is far from the best choice. My single coil Tele and Strat work surprisingly well though. Rather warm and natural sounding through a Blues Junior, Hot Rod Deluxe and Blues Deluxe amp. Even through a solid state Crate 1x12" 60watter it retained a tube-overdriven tone.
So, when coupled with single coils, the OD-3 is exceptional in faking the overdriven tube sound. In fact, it seems to produce the SRV tone far better than my TS808 or TS9 can. This is surprising because SRV got his tone from using the TS9/808.
Some food for thought if you are considering the OD-3. I should mention that it offers A LOT more drive/crunch than your average overdrive unit - a TS9 or 808 on max drive requires 1/2 to 2/3 of the OD-3's maximum. As far as "level" is concerned, it pushes a good deal of volume out of your amp and makes a phenomenal although not perfectly transparent booster.
All told, a very good OD umit but not in all instances. Unlike many other overdrives it maintains a fat heavy bottom end rather than sucking it out as many do.

Seems robust enough, never had a Boss fail yet, although it does feel less substantially built than most other brand offerings (Ibanez, Digitech, BBE, MXR, etc...).

Unknown

The OD-3 is a bit of a "jack of all trades, near master of some" as far the crunch factor goes. Its strengths are maintaining a big bottom end while engaged, better than average performance as a booster and sounding like an overdriven tube amp with single coils. Weaknesses, or strengths depending on your preferences is that it also can sound like a very hot and solid state like distortion when driven with humbuckers once the drive is dialed in beyond a mere third. I don't know why but it just doesn't sound natural to me no matter how I dial it in when playing an LP through it. For my Strat,Tele and SRV tones it is a winner though.
If lost or stolen I think my TS808 would take over as my primary OD and I wouldn't purchase another OD-3. Tough call, I know there would be things I'd miss about it, especially the fat bottom end the TS808/9 lacks. Try it before you buy it. One thing is for sure, the OD-3 is better than your average overdrive on the market today - especially for under a hundred bucks. Cheers!

Piece of cake. :)

10 and only 10 as many said good right off the box.
My setup: Strat plus with Dimarzio HS3 setup - Dunlop Wah - Boss Autowah - Boss OD3 - In send/return loop (DOD Ice Box Chorus - Boss Delay DD-20 - Boss reverb RV5) amp Carvin Nomand (all tube). The sound is unreal warm, blusely, cream... I was looking for it so long.

100% Boos never let me down. (But I always have backup:)

Never dealed with them.

Blues, rock, hard rock...

Three knobs. Easy.

I just sold my Fulltone Custom Shop Mosfet Fulldrive 2 to get the OD-3. Yes, in my opinion, the OD-3 is that good. The OD-3 is so simple, and sounds fantastic right out of the box. Very little coloration in the sound, very natural. The bass is retained, and there is no mid-hump. This pedal has just enough mid range and compression to sound right. The OD-3 is not fuzzy, or fizzy sounding like my Fulldrive 2 was. I have used the OD-3 as a booster, and as a stand alone overdrive and have had great results from both applications. This pedal is not true bypass, but I have noticed no ill effects from it in my signal chain. Im using it with a 74 Fender Deluxe Reverb amp with an Eminence Governor speaker, and a 1985 Red Stripe Boogie Mark III. Guitars are a Gretsch Chet Atkins Tennessean, and Gibson Les Paul Standards. The bass can get a little boomy with the neck pickups on the Pauls, but is easily tamed by rolling off the volume and adjusting technique. I get nice, crunchy rock tones from the bridge humbuckers. Pedal sounds great with the Gretsch, which has large single coil pickups. I play blues, classic rock, 80's metal, and am trying to learn some jazz/fusion. This pedal covers all of my low-gain and booster needs. Its not a tube amp, so I cant give it a 10, but its a solid 9. I would have given my $210 Fulldrive 2 a 6 by comparison.

Boss pedals dont break, and if they do, its probably your fault, not theirs.

To make a long story short, I needed an overdrive pedal for my vintage Deluxe Reverb amp, and I have tried almost everything, modded pedals, boutique pedals, and most of the Tube Screamer clones/variants. I thought that the Fulldrive 2 would be the ultimate overdrive pedal. I used it both live and at home for almost a year, and it just never sounded right. The OD-3 is much simpler, and sounds more natural. I used to snub the OD-3 because it wasnt a Tube Screamer, and it doesnt cost $200. After paying the money for Tube Screamers, modded pedals, and boutique pedals, I have come to realize that tone matters the MOST. The OD-3 has the tone, dont let the $80 price tag and Boss name fool you. For the money, there is nothing better. Great tone, and the famous Boss reliability. Remember, just because something costs more and has all of the "bells and whistles" doesnt mean that it will sound good to YOU. Before you spend big money on a vintage, modded, or boutique pedal, try the OD-3, you may be impressed.

Easy: plug in, dial, and go.

Great. I went to a music store and tried out 5 or 6 overdrives with my Epiphone Casino and its 2 P-90 single coils. This one sounded the best by far.

I've had Boss products for years. They're tough.

Escellent Overdrive. Much better than the old ones.

This pedal is incredibly easy to use. I was suprised to see that the tone and level controls were in the opposite positions than my DS1 though.

I use this pedal for all of my light to medium gain needs. This means everything but metal. I get amazing rock, classic rock and blues tones out of it. This pedal sounds so bloody awesome. Period. Chords sound huge, and my solos and fills never get lost in the rest of the band. This pedal is a perfect match for a Strat. I think that it sounds better with single coils than humbuckers, but thats just my opinion. With single coils there is a little more "bite" in the top end. It's kind of hard to describe, but it sounds a little less smooth, and compressed? More "explosive" is the way I hear it in my head anyway. This pedal also sounds fantastic with solid state amps. I did a small gig with a Fender FM 65, and took the OD-3 and a wah. I got a lot of compliments from the people there about my tone that night. This pedal is a little bit noisy if the gain is cranked, but when I say a little, I mean a LITTLE. There's not enough to even consider saying, "this is a noisy pedal". This pedal is effective as a boost to an amp's distortion but I use it solely as the only source of grit with my Strat. I really can't say how much I love this pedal.

I own 4 boss pedals, and something tells me I will always own those same 4 pedals (MIJ PH-2 and DS-1, and MIT GE-7 and OD-3). This pedal seems indestructable, and none of the controls are noisy or anything.

I play blues, rock, punk, hardcore, metal, and a little country/folk. For Blues, this pedal is fantastic, and you can crank the volume and keep the gain down and get a sweet singing tone.

For Classic Rock and Rock, this pedal is unmatched. I've never tried a punk, hardcore or metal gig with it, but I doubt it would shine as much as it does for rock. It doesn't sound aggressive enough to my ears.

I was looking on the market for an OD, and I chose this over an MIJ SD-1, a TS-7, a Subdecay Overdrive, and a Maxon OD-9 (the original tube screamer). I thought that this pedal was hands down the best OD I've ever used, or even heard. I have owned this pedal for almost a year now, and I absolutely love this amazing yellow box. If this pedal got stolen, I would jigatize the person that took it.

I've been playing for 9 years, and I have 5 guitars, 3 amps, and a myriad of effects pedals. This is one pedal I could never part with. I left it at home when I visited my folks over christmas, and I actually missed playing with it. It's that good. You, and everyone else that has picked up a guitar needs to own one.

tone, level, gain
on / off switch ?!
easy battery change, input, output, acdc !!

It is a good, allround Overdrive, with a big, ballsy and chrunchy sound.
Ther is no tone suck in bypass mode and no noize when on.
I need it for light chrunch sounds ( when a open chord is sound good and not muddy ), so i set the gain at 9 o clock and leave level and tone near 12 o clock. When the gain is full open, it sounds a bit buzzy, fuzzy. But everything till 4 oclock is usabel for Blues, Rock, Jazz, Grunge sounds. No Metal, its still a Overdrive and no Distortion box.
I using it mainly with a Engl screamer Combo and a Gibson Paula, from the amp input in the Od 3 in a Dunlop classic Wah and Guitar, the only other effect i use everytime is a digitech delay in the effect loop and the channel switcher. I play it sometimes as a booster and it is just ok for that, not bad and not good but enough for me...
But I also have test it with my Marshall Plexi, 4x12 cab and a Fender Stratocaster and its sounds a littel "too big" so I dont use it that much here.
I never had test it with batterys, so I can not say if this change the tone ?? I use it with a Visual Sound-one Spot, 500 mA adapter.
And use only Koltz TM. Stevens cables. ( hes a Bass player and maybe ther is a bit extra Bass response from the cables to the Od3 ??
I dont know.

It is a 9 for me because I have buyed too many Overdrives like the Sd1, Ibanez 808, Maxon od9, Jekyll and Hyde, Guvnor,....and ther are all sold because there are nice for a while but fast I was boared with them so..ebay...
The od 3 is the only overdrive i still have, because the sound I need is always ther, its very reliabl, everywher to get, simple in using, not to big or small and of cours sounds good... So a 9.
Ohh and in my oppinion it is the only good overdrive and distortion Pedal the Boss guys have ever made and I have played them all in the last years....

I depend on it !!
The reability of single Boss effects is still great.
For the price and experience, I must give it a 10.

Never dealt with them !

I play in the style of Joe Bonamasa meets Bob Marley and plays with Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters some early Guns n Roses stuff ??!!
and that since 15 years. I see studios from the inside, stages from the top and still playing as my main life spirit ! But I dont get rich with that. So I have a solid main work.
If its stolen or just died, I defenetly get the same again.
Like I say, I love every point at it,...ok, the yellow colour let it look sometimes like a childrens toy, but thats all.
In fact it helps me to make music, because my amp has not the chrunch channel that I wish to had.
My mind ; a good guitar, a good amp and cables, brain and soul
is everthing that is realy needed for good music.
So this littel helper gets a 10 overall.

Extremely easy to get good sounds. The pedal is SIMPLE in design and use, which is all this type of device should be. These dam pedals with all sorts of knobs, switches, and so on, are just trying to market themselves as "jack-of-all-trades" devices, and end up just producing MORE useless sounds. The OD-3 is a clear winner ... just play it through a good clean channel (tube, valvestate OR SS ... works great for me in any environment), with appropriate external EQ'ing, and you're good-to-go.

" Ilya-V " reviewed this pedal, and i basically second everything that he/she said. This is an EXCELLENT, in-expensive pedal that gives the player a full-bodied, transparent overdrive that maintains the guitar's character. The "Gain" comes on gently and smoothly as the dial is rotated. The OD-3 compliments my setup perfectly, as i play with external compression & graphic EQ boxes to shape and color my sound. I'll tell you, you can try OD boxes that cost 2, 3, 4 times as much and don't sound as good. Boss obviously offers a variety of pedals as well in this category, and this is IMO the best at giving the player a high-quality overdrive that maintains the sound and feel of the guitar & amp. I've returned several pedals that i've been experimenting with, incl. the likes of high-priced Sansamp and Fulltone products, because they're just TOO DAM expensive, and didn't give me a usable, high-quality OD to boost and color my sound in a natural way, without sounding "processed." The OD-3 is a winner.

Not quite as "heavy" as some pedals (ala Digitech), but good enough.

No opinion. (The Boss website isn't friendly for communicating directly....hopefully i'll never want to, so that's no blotch to me. Hell, this pedal is only $70 ... if it breaks one day, i'll get another one.)

Said it all above. If you're looking for an OD boost that does it with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of quality, the OD-3 IS IT.