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.

***Just a note to everyone who's reading it: this review is going to be very analytical and accurate (and not misleading like a lot of other ones that I've read).***

The unit is *very* easy to use with it's simple 3-knob setup. The manual doesn't provide too many sample settings--just 2--which is good, since you're left on your own to figure out your own "perfect" setting. Also, I think that a pedal, especially a distortion one, should have ONE unique sound and not 10 different distortion sounds that take everything away from it's character. No matter how much you tweak the knobs on this pedal, you'll never be too far away from the "signature" OD-3 tone/sound.

This is my setup (all the pedals are BOSS unless otherwise mentioned):

Fender Jazzmaster --> TU-2 Tuner --> OD-3 Overdrive --> BF-2 Flanger --> TR-2 Tremolo --> DD-3 Delay --> Roland JC-120

Now let me tell you just how good this pedal sounds: this pedal is the BEST OVERDRIVE pedal that I've *ever* played. It sounds so good through my JC-120 that I returned my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (which is a tube amp). So, in other words, this pedal sounds even better than Fender tube amps (at least the cheap and no-so-good ones like the Hot Rod Deluxe) when played through a guitar like the Fender Jazzmaster and an amp as awesome as the JC-120. It sounds just as advertised. You get a very nice, growly overdriven sound with all the knobs at 12 o'clock, and you get an amazing-sounding overdrive with the gain all the way up. I had bought the Blues Driver pedal in my search for a warm, tube-y distortion sound, since I'd heard and read so many good things about it. And in fact, I was initially impressed by it and thought that no pedal could surpass it in warmness. But when I demoed the OD-3 next to the Blues Driver in a store, the Blues Driver sound like a thin fuzz box. This doesn't mean that the Blues Driver is a bad pedal though--it's good if you want a harsher distortion sound (and it even sounds reasonably warm--but not warmer than the true sound of your guitar since it filters the bass--through a good amp), but if you want a truly amazing warm overdriven sound with ANY buzz or fuzz or hiss on the top, then get this pedal! It has *enough* gain and sustain so it's very versatile unlike the useless Boss OD-1 (which is *much* worse than the Blues Driver). I had initially developed a bad impression of the "OD" series of pedals since I'd used the OD-1 and the all the other overdrive/distortion pedals by BOSS, which gave me only a thin, GRAINY sound. The Blues Driver temporarily solved the problem. However, once I used the OD-3, I realized that even the Blues Driver wasn't free of graininess. My guitar distortion now sounds very nice, and even people like my mother, who hate *any* sort of distorted sound, don't seem to think of it as me making "noise" with my guitar. The pedal is very melodic and gives a new meaning to the word "overdrive," especially through a solid state amp.

Look at all the other reviews about this.

I've never dealt with BOSS or Roland.

My musical style ranges from minimalistic/textural rock (a la The Cure) to ambient rock (My Bloody Valentine) to noise-pop (The Jesus and Mary Chain) to harsh and "bleak" rock (Joy Division). With the OD-3, I can cover all the genres *easily.* I can get lovely sounds with slight overdrive and tremolo, and I can get screechingly harrowing, and yet fat and "big," sounds with the drive all the way up. This pedal creates a nice sound for the whole band.

I've been playing for about 9 years (I'm 21 now), and I firmly believe that this is the pedal that I've always been looking for, and it'll always be a part of my setup. I'm not really a person who has to have at least 10 pedals lined up on stage--I only need those pedals which are absolutely necessary for the texturalization of my sound, and this pedal is a must-have for all my distortion/overdrive needs.

By the way, if you're looking for distortion, and not overdrive, then don't invest in this pedal. I'd advice you to get a BOSS DS-1 or something (don't get the Metal Zone because it SUCKS). For my needs (and for anyone who wants vintage tube-amp distortion and yet wants the ultra-clean, even at high volumes, sound of a solid state amp like the JC-120), this pedal is perfect and irreplacable. Now I've started writing songs with enthusiasm again because I have the sound I want.

tres perillas : volumen , Drive(ganancia)y Tono ,de muy facil uso, y gran sonido,con un aire muy similar al "hot" de un amp.
?que mas?.

mi guitarra es una fender stratocaster american standard con mics Seymour Duncan JB - Fender original standard- S.D Jazz. y mis pedales son:Ernie Ball Volume mono,DOD Clasic fuzz, Boss Digital dimension RV-3, MXR Phase 90, Boss Tremolo-Pan PN-2.
Amp Gallien Krueguer Back Line 100Tuve por un tiempo un SansAmp y encontre un sonido con la llave puesta en Marshall, con ese pedal fui a recorrer las tiendas, comparando el sonido con otros pedales ,(ODs y distortions)y el que mas se acercaba era el OD3 seguido por el viejo boss SD-1 Super Overdrive,
La diferencia (ademas del precio) estaba en que cuenta con mas volumen, y en cierta "calidez natural" tipo valvular que el SD-1 no contaba, segun como machacara el sonido podia hacerse ahuecado tal como un amp valvular.
muy buen pedal.

Tal la calidad de boss, tiene aguante.
Practicamente indestructible.

En Argentina depende mas del tecnico que del service oficial.

punk,garage,grunge,rockabilly,funk,R&R.... No heavy metal, no country, No tecno...
Salvo el Carl Martin $250, el resto de los pedales de menor precio sonaban a transistores.
Si tienes un amp de estado solido este pedal le dara el toque valvular que necesitas, es ideal para guitarristas ritmicos (tal cual mi caso), por ej. el Ibanez TS9 solo sirve para puntear no para hacer base que llene.
Salvo el Carl Martin $250, el resto de los pedales de menor precio sonaban a transistores.
Si tienes un amp de estado solido este pedal le dara el toque valvular que necesitas, es ideal para guitarristas ritmicos (tal cual mi caso), por ej. el Ibanez TS9 solo sirve para puntear no para hacer base que llene.
Sonido cerca de K.Cobain, S.R.V., Reverend Horton Heat, Ramones, The Cramps, Dead kennedys, Palladines, Sonic youth,...

If you can boil water,this thing's a snap.

Hmm.I'm impressed!The OD-3 is a very warm overdrive with lotsa balls. I use it with a Fender Twin.I think it sounds the way a Twin would if it could "break up".Not overly bright,but very boomy.The color and old fashioned knobs are pleasing to the eye.It has a vintage look.The OD-3 sounds almost indentical to the TS-9,and sounds great with a wah-wah cause of it's smoothness.Y'all Bluesmen 'll dig it!

Pretty reliable.Could back it up with a TS-10.

???

Boss,I take back everything I said 'bout cha baby,the OD-3 is a cool gadget!I had some bad experiences with the SD-1,DS-1,MT-2 and OS-2,so I got a little jaded.The TS-9 is brighter,but the OD-3 has more gain and is beefier.Also,the OD-3 is a better clean boost.With the gain turned down,it's very clean.Wish it could get louder(boost)but nobody's perfect.If you can't get a TS-10,the OD-3 is a worthy substitute.I bought it cause I NEEDED a yellow overdrive box...I'm glad I got this one!

Very easy to use, hard to dial in a bad sound. Three knobs, Level, Tone, and Drive. On off stomp switch like all boss pedals.

Using this with a Strat Plus with Rio Grande pickups + Gibson Les Paul Special with Seymour Duncan 57s through 1967 Showman through Marshall 4x12 with Vintage 30s, or through my homemade tweed Deluxe or tweed champ. This is definately the best and most transparent pedal I've owned--but I haven't owned many. I'm not into pedals, but everybody with a nice clean one channel amp needs a good overdrive. This box surprised me, the EQ character was set up very well. It's very natural and musical. Smooth, dynamic, uncolored, meaty, not thin. Does the medim overdrive thing great, but for that on-the-edge-of-breakup territory, you'll have to run it into a cranked tube amp and use it as a level boost in addition to a little overdrive, which works well. Is also great for meaty rock chording and has a great strummy glassy Strat sound (using the neck or neck+mid pickups) if you turn up the tone. All the other pedals I've owned sounded like crap when I did this, all nasally.
<p>Mine is a little noisy, but it <i>is</I> yellow. It also says Boss, which is a funny company name.
<p>I'm sure there are all around better sounding overdrive pedals, especially as far as transparency and getting that slightly overdriven tone, but they cost $250-$300. For the money this pedal represents great value. Likewise, for the money, the DS-1's I've played also very pleasantly surprised me.

I think boss has a good reputation for reliability.

Never called Boss.

This is a great for blues and rock leads and rhthym, but I think it could also be of great value in modern rock, if you wanted an alternative lighter overdrive sound for leads or chords, i.e. use it as a secondary distortion pedal to your main crunch sound (as provided by your channel switching amp or your main distortion pedal).

Three knobs, one for tone. Very simple to set up.

I use an American Strat w/ a hot rails in the bridge. The OD 3 is warm with very little noise. I play through a Marshall tube combo and get excellent results. I can get a lot of overdrive/distortion with this rig, however, not a metal sound. I do get many complements on the tones I do get. Big, warm, tube-like overdrive or substantial clean boost is what this pedal does. It gets a 9 only because there are probably better sounding overdrive pedals(not much) out there if you want to spend hundreds of dollars.

Very reliable.

Never tried to reach Boss.

My band covers most styles of music. Whatever the kids want to hear we try to play. The OD 3 works well for everything we do (except heavy metal tunes). It reminds me of a tubescreamer with a little more bottom end and gain. I could be wrong about that, after all, I've only been playing night clubs for 18 years. It sounds really good in my rig (OD 3 / CE 2 / Phase 90 / DD 3). The DD3 is the only post amp effect in my simple set up. All in all, this is a great sounding overdrive pedal well worth the money spent.

Like all of my other Boss effects, the OD-3 is very easy to use. The manual wasn't of much use; but then again, this is an overdrive pedal not rocket science. I've had no problems dialing in a variety of good sounds on this unit.

I'm primarily using this with my American Strats (Strat Plus and a Standard) through a Fender Prosonic and a'65 Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue. I run my amps simultaneously and use the OD-3 for extra gain on blues solos. It sounds great without really changing the tonal characteristics of the amps. It does not thin your sound like other overdrive units. Very smooth with lots of sustain. It sounds great from very low levels to about 3 o'clock on the drive knob. There's lots of gain, although I don't use it with the drive wide open much. I also have an Ibanez TS-9, a Boss SD-1, and a Tech 21 XXL. The OD-3 has the best overall sound of the bunch.

I started using Boss pedals about 17 years ago and currently own about seven of their pedals. Despite heavy use of some of these units, I HAVE NEVER HAD A SINGLE PROBLEM WITH ANY OF THEM. The OD-3 is a solidly built, reliable device.

I've never had a problem so I've never had to deal with Boss.

I play rock, blues and metal. The OD-3 works very well for blues through a clean channel. I don't use it much as a boost pedal for an already distorted signal but it has worked well for this purpose too. I've been playing for about 25 years. I have alot of gear (I never seem to get around to selling much of it). I have Fender, Gibson and Ibanez electric guitars. I have five amps -- mostly Fenders. If it were lost or stolen, I'd replace it. My only criticism is that the signal does not have a ton of punch. On the other hand, one of things I like about it, is that it is relatively transparent. Overall, it's a great effect.

It's easy to get sound out of it.The manual is junk not very useful.
3 knobs tone, level, drive

Very quiet pedal by itself. The overdrive is pretty good as a boost, but when you crank the drive it is way to bassy. You can put the tone all the right and it just won't get rid of any of the bass.I used it with a Marshall and a Crate and the effect was the same on both of them. I bought it for playing the songs on the first Black Sabbath album, but my SD-1 is best for that. It doesn't compare to the Tubescreamer like everyone says.

Boss Better than Jim Dunlop

Try it out before you buy it you may like it or not. I didn't try it and I hate the thing

Pretty straight-forward to use. Three knobs: Level, Tone, and Drive. Very easy to get the sound you want out of this pedal.

Fender American Standard Lone Star Strat (H/S/S) ---> Dunlop Crybaby Wah-->Boss GE-7--> Boss OD-3-->EHX Small Stone-->DOD Icebox Chorus-->Boss DD-5-->Marshall Valvestate 100R <--(crap)

I use this instead of the VS's crappy OD1 Channel. Works very nicely. I haven't compared it to the other Boss overdrive pedals but this one sounds very nice and gives a good crunchy sound. I also use it sometimes to get a little extra bite with my amp's distortion. Sounds kinda like the intro guitar on Radiohead's "Optimistic."

It's a Boss

Never had to deal with them.

Like I said above, if you are looking for a good overdrive pedal, this makes a nice addition to your pedalboard.

3 Knobs: Level, tone, drive. Everything self expalanatory and if you should need help the manual is a good guidance for beginners. It's pritty easy to get a good sound of it.

I love to use it for soloing and single line riffing. It has really nice fat sound with just the right amount of bass to prevent you from getting muddy. It's not noisy, not even with single coils (my guitars are all perfectly shielded). It reacts very good to guitars volume adjustment, cleans up nicely. If drive setting is at extreme it compresses nicely, improves sustain.

Boss = undestructable.

Never had to deal with them. I have six other Boss pedals and all of them do each 'n every day what they have to do nicely. Good manufacturing quality and experiencing no problems is indeed the best support.

I play hard rock, blues rock. This pedal gives me a good tone, which I wouldn't want to miss. So, if stolen or lost, I would definetly get another one. It gives me the tone I grove up with (playing since more than 20 years). With this pedal I'm Rory Galagher, SRV, Ritchie Blackmore,... all the guys with the classic tone. Good bang for the buck. Period.

Very easy to use. A drummer could figure it out.

I'm running a Fender Deluxe Strat Plus with two silver lace sensor pickups and a hot rails in the bridge. Then into the OD-3, into Blues Driver into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with a 1x12 sealed back extension cabinet. I changed the speaker in both the amp and cabinet to a Jensen C12K for a deeper sound. Not noisy at all. The pedal produces a very smooth overdrive sound. It works very well with single coil pickups. Probally the best OD from Boss (I tried them all). In the Boss catologue its listed as the smoothest OD pedal and I'd have to agree with them. It is smoother than the Blues Driver and more natural sounding. Running two OD pedals together produces a very saturated but smooth sound. Similiar to that of Boston or even Van Halen or SRV. Sounds strange but the pedal on its own through the HRD nails the SRV sound. Adding another pedal in series produces long sustain and a creamy Van Halen 1 sound. Remember that pedals running in series multiplys in output. For example, two pedals with a 20 mA output produces 400 mA. Two pedals in running in parallel produces 40 mA of output. The mild overdrive from this pedal provides soft clipping which helps eliminate that "round" Fender clean sound. This is the basic principle of the Tube Screamer. (When SRV uses the Tube Screamer, it produced more output, not more gain. SRV used his TS to boost the Power amp, thus the amp produced the distortion. From time to time SRV claims he used 2 Tube Screamers). Then run another pedal to overdrive the first pedal. Try running three pedals in series for a smooth but extremely overdriven sound. Most Fender amps only have 2 or three gain stages within. Soldano's and 5150's will run 5 and 6 gain stages within. This distortion can easily be duplicated by running your pedals in series. Overall, a really good pedal.

Only had it for 1 week. I don't forsee any problems. Never had a problem with a BOSS product.

The pedal is a perfect match for the style of music I play. I've been playing for 20 years. I own 11 guitars but mostly play the one Strat listed above. If lost or stolen, I'd replace it. I like the sound, hate the price. Overall, this pedal enhances my sound. Why anyone would give this pedal a bad review makes no sense. Why the hell did you by it? Bring YOUR guitar and YOUR amp to the store and try it!!!

Very easy to use: 3 controls...drive for how much overdrive or gain,tone controls how much high end, and volume for how loud the effect is compared to when it's off.

The sounds are quite good. One of the advantages in my mind to pedal distortion as opposed to a patch on a multi-effect is that depending on guitar, amp, room, or how hard you're striking the strings that night,you can easily change the sound. Like other overdrives and distortion pedals, there is noise, particularly with single coil pickups, but the OD-3 is fairly quiet. It doesn't seem to favor Fender single coils, P-90s, or humbuckers. Lately I've been using a DeArmond M75T and a Gibson Les Paul Special with the OD-3 and other Boss effects thru a Vox AC-15 and a Ampeg Jet reissue. These amps are all tube, and run about 1/2 way up, so adding the OD-3 not only brings in Boss overdrive, but the volume boost makes the Vox and Ampeg add distortion of their own as well.

Bought this pedal used off a friend in 1983...it's still working fine.

Overall, I'd say this is a very nice unit, and compares to an Ibanez Tubescreamer. It it were lost or stolen, I'd probably buy another one, or maybe a Tubescreamer...the OD-3 does fit nicely in my Boss pedalboard. For classic rock, oldies, country, it's a good unit...for heavy metal, punk, etc., it might not be nasty enough (unless your amp is already dirty). Like a Tubesceamer, you can turn down your guitar volume and still get useable sounds, although it may not clean up enough to use all the time...but that's what the on-off pedal is for. I own other dist./od pedals like a Chandler tube driver, Boogie V-Twin, Pro-Co Rat, but the OD-3 gets used the most, partly because it fits in the pedalboard, and is easy to use,but it sounds good, too.

This is an easy pedal to get great overdrive out of. If you need the manual, you'd better stick with distortion pedals and big muddy humbuckers.

I play a US Strat into a little 25W solid state Fender practice amp. The amp has great clear Strat transmission, but the drive channel is flat and a little lifeless. This pedal doubled the usefulness of the amp. All solid state amps should have one of these included. The effect is completely transparent when desired but will repond to subtle changes in picking technique with a very musical, toneful, overdrive effect. It will provide as much "distortion" as I'll ever need. I flat out love this thing, and it might be the best guitar related toy I've ever bought. Since I got it I've been neglecting my Martin, and playing the Strat until my elbow gives out.

If I ever have a problem with anything that says Boss on it, it'll be the first time.

I like any good blues or rock that doesn't feature spandex, nipple piercing, musical incompetency, or excessive phony bullshit attitudes. This pedal is INDISPENSABLE to my style and equipment. It is NOT a distortion pedal. If you're not old enough to shave, you probably won't like it. It won't hide your mistakes like a distortion pedal, but it will give smooth punch and sustain to a really toneful guitar like a Strat. If you want to add about $300 to the sound of your amp, spend $70 on this pedal.

3 knobs--DUH!

Please read all of this:
When I first got, I set my amp (Marshall MKII), cranked all 3 knobs to 10, cut it on---IT SUCKED!!! Then after playing around with amp settings, pedal settings I found where this pedals mission--to use as a boost to a distorted sound, setting the amp with pre-amp full, master on 2 (this 50 watter is LOUD!) putting all knobs around 5 and using it as a solo boost--ROCK CITY. No loss of low end, no excessive coloration, just everything I like about Marshall amps, except MORE. The noise is less than I expected (but a slight amount present). I've never been much of an effects person, but I really like this pedal in this capacity. Using it into a clean amp seems to take out the bass and some lower midrange- but to boost an overdriven amp-YES!

The only Boss pedal I've owned is a GE-7 EQ. I've now had it for 14 years-it's been through total hell, and when I pull it out from the old milk crate, blow off the dust- IT STILL WORKS LIKE NEW. I believe that and all the other reviews say something about the company.

I play rock/alt/metal, I've been playing a long time. I bought this on a whim, and do not regret it. As I stated before, I'm not much of an effects person, but this will be part of my gigging set-up, to mainly use for a solo boost. I've heard about all these &quot;boutique&quot; , &quot;clean boost&quot;, &quot;transparent boost&quot; ... I don't believe they could be any cleaner, or more transparent than this. I will try one out one day and let everyone know if the hype is real. But if you're like the sound of your amp, and wish it had more gain, I would recommend the OD-3. Use your ears-trust them more than someone elses words

It has 3 knobs, level, tone and drive, so it's pretty routine. One great thing about this pedal is that I don't think that there's a bad setting on it.

I use this with a Fender strat and a Fender amp. This is, by far, the best overdrive I've ever heard (barring a really good old overdrivin' amp). I went to the guitar store with the intention of buying an Ibanez TS-9, but I gave this thing a whirl and it sounded a great deal better for less money and more sturdy construction to boot. For a stompbox, it's surprisingly quiet. At low drive levels, it sounds like a Tubescreamer, but it actually has good bass response. At higher drive levels, you can get a lot more drive than you would out of most overdrive units. When combined with another distortion, be it another stompbox (I use a BOSS DS-1) or your amp's natural drive, this think can get surprisingly heavy.

I assure you that my BOSS pedals will be part of my estate someday.

Never had a BOSS go wrong, so I don't know.

I've seen this thing get compared to the Tubescreamer over and over again, and I don't think it's even a contest. I'm sure that when the Tubescreamer was first released, it was the best overdrive out there, just because it's lasted this long and been re-issued. However, something better has come along.

Another thing - why is it that all these people complain about effects "coloring their sound" and how they love effects to "sound transparent"? Aren't effect pedals supposed to affect your sound in some way or another?

These guys would probably love it if BOSS came out with the DN-1 Does Nothing pedal. It would feature no knobs and no footswitch for ease of use and would basically have the same effect on your sound that your guitar cable does. I'm sure it would get rave reviews..."Oh, it lets my TRUE great $15,000 Original 1786 Custom Les Paul with Pickups That Cost More Than My House sound come through...sure, it's a sad hunk of rotting wood with rust marks where the strings once were, but it sounds so sweet..."

didn't even need the manual to get killer tone. just remember either to bring lots of batteries or a 9v power supply (recommended)

relatively noise free, even at higher volumes.
i play a PRS standard 22 or a custom made SG (68....by j. rhyne) through a fender '65 twin reverb reissue. i've read the twin review saying that it's a one trick pony, and that's true, but not with this pedal. add an extension cab (closed back 2x12) and this pedal and you've got SLO tone without buying a 2500 dollar amp. great with tubes, but also gives a smooth sound with solid state amps (set to clean). i love the sound of warren haynes. trey anastasio and jimmy herring, and i get closer to those tones the more i tweak with this pedal. also gets that carlos santana tone with either guitar. sometimes too transparent with the twin, though. still looking for the watery quality of anastasio's tone, but working on a chorus that might do it? this pedal works well with a danelectro cool cat. with the PRS's single coil settings it's possible to match the tone of barry bailey (atlanta rhythm section) on his strat stuff

it's a boss for god's sake.

haven't needed it so far, so...

for blues based rock, southern music, and jam band tones ala gov't mule, allman bros., ARU, ARS, and lynyrd skynyrd, you can get any tone you want. brings modernity to the old tunes my band plays. i'd buy another one if this one breaks....unless boss makes an OD-4 with a slightly thicker sound.

Very easy to control. Has a volume (boost) knob, a tone knob, and a distortion level knob. Manual is simple but effective. Yellow is a great colour for a floor pedal - easy to spot down there in the dark. Takes a 9-volt battery, which is easy to install, and/or an external
power transformer. One thing I don't like is that the battery power is
engaged when you plug cable into the input jack, whether the effect is
switched on or not. I'm not sure why this is, but what could it have
cost to engineer this so as to avoid unnecessarily draining battery
power? The manual says that you may expect a battery to last up to
30 hours, depending on settings.

Just what I was looking for. I tried a BD-2 first (and reviewed it here) because everyone I talked to recommended it. The BD-2 filtered
out bass end and gave a grainy chunky distortion. I wanted boost and
smooth 'warm' distortion, which the OD-3 delivers without serious tone
filtering. I use it with a '58 Stratocaster (original pickups and
switches) and a newer Les Paul studio into a Fender Hotrod Deluxe (Sovtek tubes). If I want crunchy distortion I use the overdrive channel on the amp. The OD-3 gives me a generic effect to work with
and doesn't take away anything from the rest of my rig. I'm very happy
with it. The distortion is not super heavy even when maxed out, by the
way, but gives me the sizzle and boost I wanted. If really looking for
dominating dist, I combine it with the OD channel on the amp.

No problems at all to date, but after only a few months of use I
won't give a rating. Does impress me as being very solidly constructed. If it has a weak point it I'd expect it to be the
on/off switch inside, which is made of pastic or nylon.

No need yet.

I'm a professional cellist who loves to play electric guitar to bust loose, so my concept of 'tone' comes from a different place. I like Hendrix, Dimeola, Joni Mitchell, Ed Bickert, Billy Gibbons, Collin James, Clapton, swing, jazz, and play a lot of blues as well. I haven't gigged with electric guitar since the mid 70s, but may again. I wanted an overdrive that would give me the kind of sizzle that Al DiMeola gets on his "Tour De Force - Live" album, without tampering with the luscious sound of my Fender amp. I don't need really heavy distortion. The Boss OD-3 fits the bill perfectly. It does amplify hum from my Strat when set to full distortion and with the pedal's tone knob turned right up, but that could reasonably be expected. This is
the overdrive pedal I was looking for, and came at a very decent price
as well.

How hard can it be to use with 3 knobs?... level, drive, and tone. When using it for the first time, it will yield and excellent tone with all knobs at 12 o clock. This is a rather new overdrive box (I think 98).

I use this between a jackson kelly with dunkan design humbuckers, and a Fender Performer 1000. Great for adding some drive to that Fender Clean, very transparent and bluesy. SRV is not far away from this sucker. In the drive channel, I use it as a booster for sustain and width of tone. This is the only case where you will notice some noise. Overall it's a very quiet pedal with a realitiveley flat frequency responce.... it'll add some high-mids, but will also leave all of your bass there!!! That's something no other overdrive or distortion pedal has done.
Overall a very good sounding overdrive pedal. Better than tube-screamer, and certainly better than any other OD pedal from BOSS (in case you're deciding between Blues Driver or OD3, the OD3 offers more diversity and flexibility, while still sounding as tubelike as the Blues Driver).

I don't know, I have yet to drop it from a plane, but anything less than that, it has survived flawlessly. It's a BOSS!!

never done it

I play anything from jazz-country-progressive rock (a la Dream Theater). My setup (though limited and unexpensive) is now satifyingly complete. Along with my other Boss pedals (delay, flange, chorus) I can cover all the bases. Great thing about this sucker is, with level and tone set to 12 o clock, and drive to minimum on the clean channel of a fender amp, add some reverb and a little delay, and you start playing out of pure inspiration from the beatiful tone. It's that good. It actually helps you make music. It does what I want it to, acording to my pick attack and needs. Great tool, not just an overdrive one trick pony. It's an indispensable tool for any electric guitarist. Great because of it's simplicity, versatility, and frequency responce. I'm convinced it's the best overdrive pedal out there now... the tube screamer and such are old and overrated, not bad sounding, but limited and, lets face it, worth only for their vintage character not actual full tone and versatility.

Three knobs. Way simple. What more can you ask for.

I'm using a Fender Strat Plus with Dimarzio Virtual Vintage pickups in all positions. The amp I mainly use with the OD-3 is a Marshall Valvestate combo. The combo only has two channels which I'm running as clean and heavy rhythm. I needed a slightly dirty rock sound for some songs so I decided to try running the OD-3 on the clean channel. What do I think? Plain and simple, it's great. Not a 100% tube sound but close. It even has the same dynamics and feel. It goes from way clean to a dirty rock without any real noise. One important thing is that it doesn't mess with your tone when bypassed either. Great choice for a warm blues or rock sound. Definitely better than the other pedals out there claiming to have tube tone.

Don't expect any problems here. It's built like a tank.

Never had a problem with anything BOSS yet.

Get, use it and stop wasting money on all the other junk out there.

Three knobs: Level, tone and drive. I crank the drive, keep tone pretty low and the level stays somewhere around 1/3.

Manual is quite useless, but looks ok.

It sounds pretty good. There's a lot of bass in this yellow monster. The walls in my room are shaking whenever I use it. Smooth highs, a little compression. I was afraid it wuld sound just like my bluesdriver (which sounds great too)but the tone is quite different. More woody, i guess. Maybe cleaner.

I play a strat trough a rotovibe, jh-1 wah, bluesdriver, od-3 and a fz-3 fuzz plugged into a Fender DeVille 2x12. It sounds very good with wah or rotovibe.

..........

I dunno.

I mostly play blues, which is what this thing was build for. I read another review which said this thing could not be used for palmmuting.

Say what?

This pedal is heavier than a metalzone...
Tons of bass. Just crank your amp for some extra distortion.

3 knobs, could it be easier?

that's kind of funny, by itself, cranked, it's awfull, but, if you mix it with your amp distortion with the gain on about 4, turn the overdrive all the way down and leave the level and tone all the way up, it's amazingly -T-O-O-L- sounding. i use a crate gx-140c and this pedal mixed for all of my tool covers.

it's a Boss, they don't break. i've had mine about 6 years and all i've had to do was replace the battery holder thingy. once, i got mad and kicked mine out into a field, two weeks later, (after it had rained twice), i found it and it worked perfectly!!! and that's used!!

never needed any help with mine

as i said, by itself, it's useless, but to boost amp distortion, it's completely amazing. there's so much treble without being shrill and awfull. amazing tool tone mixed with my crate gx-140c. it's also great for bass!!!

It's very easy to use. It's got three knobs: Level, Tone and Gain. It's not hard to get the sound that you want.

I'm using it with a MKII 100W Marshall from '73 and a Gibson Les Paul from '81. It isn't noisy at all. It's not far from the Malmsteen sound. It's very round and bluesy. Very good for rock rhythm and great on fat guitar solos. If you decide to play some heavier stuff and using a technuiqe like heavy muting it doesn't quite handle the lows. It still sounds good though.

Like all BOSS pedals, it's very reliable. And there would be no problem using it without a backup as long as you got batteries in it.

I play a wide range of stuff. This pedal would be great for blues, rock and some heavy metal. The lead tones are great. It's when playing really chunky rhythms that this pedal don't quite do it. It's great for rock rhythm and just a bit of overdriven crude sound. I love the round sweetness in the tone but you can't really hate anything about this pedal.

Very simple. Three controls: level, tone, and drive.

I play a Fender American Standard Strat (H/H/S) into a Fender Princeton Chorus. I've never been happy with the overdrive channel on the Princeton - too crunchy,too distorted, and fake sounding. I'm now using the OD-3 through the overdrive channel with the gain on the Princeton set very low (about 2 or 3). The OD-3 sounds GREAT! With the drive set at about 11:00 the sustain is great and the overdrive is smooth and clear. I compared the OD-3 side by side with the Ibanez Tube Screamer Turbo in the music store and the OD-3 completely blew the TS away. But remember, this is through a solid state amp overdrive channel. I haven't played either of them through a tube amp.

I've only had it a week. I'm hoping that this pedal lives up to the Boss reputation.

I've never dealt with Boss

This is a GREAT overdrive pedal for a solid state amp (not to be confused with a metal pedal - I use the Boss MT-2 for metal). This is one pedal I would not be without.

Three knobs,very simple.

I use my Fender Custom Strat and my Pignose G-40V.It's not very noisy. Very easy to get a great sound. Puts my Ibanez TS-10(Mod 808) to shame,it's now retired. I think Stevie Ray Vaughan might have liked it. It kicks my Boss OD-1 ass!!!!!

It's a Boss(the best)

Don't waste you time buy a Boss. The Ibanez Tubescreamer is way overrated . By the way Ibanez People are ASSHOLES they don't care about you only the sale ,they don't back their products!!!!!!!!!!

It has 3 knobs: Level, Tone, and Drive, plus a red check LED. The Tone knob is smaller than the two others, and is a little bit more difficult to access. There's no problem whatsoever to find a good sound to start out with (everything at 12:00). The manual suggests 3 different settings: Normal overdrive, hard overdrive and clean boost. Battery change and in/out jacks are std. Boss (1st class).

I played the OD-3 through a '74 4-input 50w Marshall JMP head (mod.#1987) with a Greenback-loaded Marshall 4x12 cab. I used a Hamer Special w. P-90 pickups. The OD-3 does not add much noise at the setting I prefer. (Level 12:00, Tone 12:00, Drive 9:00, -i.e. set to clean boost with a hint of overdrive). Compared to my old Boss OD-1 (and an Ibanez TS-9 RI that I tested earlier) the OD-3 has a fatter low end. It's overall sound is marginally tighter and more defined than the OD-1's, and it's smoother/rounder and has a slightly hotter output. It also seems to "cut through" better in a band situation. The OD-1 seems to have a more tube-like, refined attack though (it's like breaking a thin vs. a thicker piece of glass), but the difference is hardly noticeable. I'd like the OD-3's Tone control to have a wider range too. (Dark to piercing instead of round to sharp).

Yes.Yes.YES!

Haven't been in contact with Boss or Roland. Bought it at Hagstrom Music (Bergen, Norway) which is a 10+ shop.

I play blues/rock/hard rock. I use OD pedals to push the Marshall further into overdrive, and for that this one's VERY good in the blues- and rock-lead/riffs depts. But it's not evil enough for more extreme styles. It would be nice if it had a polite/rude mode switch. Great value for money.

Very easy to use.

I'm running a strat plus, a peavey generation and a Jacson Kelly into a valvestate 100W head and a 4x12 cabinet. I have tried every thing and also have the v-twin. The OD-3 really is the best overdrive I have heard and equal to if not better than the blues channel on the v-twin. Iyt has a better warmth than the valvestate distortion. For blues, classic rock and even hard rock you may not do better unless you go fork over almost 2K for a new mesa boogie. For solos you will have to drive it with something. I use a marshall shred master for soloing.

I'm not going to say it.

Haven't been there

For rock, classic rock and blues you might not find a better pedal. I am going to buy another to have them at 2 settings. It has a very warm character yet does not make your low end sound flappy. The low end is very defined.
No other overdrive (boss or other) was in the same category in my opinion

This pedal has the ideal simple setup: Level, Tone, and Drive. The controls are smooth in transition from low to high. The tone is voiced just right. Goes from smooth to clean...no shrill. The drive will give me from clean boost to nice compressed, sustained heavy overdrive. The level goes from off to plenty of clear volume boost. Great for tube amps like my Blues Jr. I love the fact that Boss pedals have one thumb screw between you and a quick battery change. Very easy to dial up whatever you want.

I am using a 1997 Ibanez Artist Reissue (basically a Les Paul double cutaway with more wood and better pickups). I go through the OD-3 to a Fender Blues Jr. amp with Groove tubes. This setup is simple yet versatile. Think bluesey cruch to smooth leads. I always wanted fat smooth leads a chords with a little bite. No problem with this setup. The OD-3 blew away every pedal in the store as far as smoothness, tone and quiet operation. I tried the other BOSS overdrives, distortions, Ibanez TS-5, TS-9DX (the new Turbo tubescreamer, which isn't very turbo), and other popular pedals, the OD-3 won hands down. I'm sold. I will keep it for life. The sustain, compression and tube tone are amazing even without any fuzz or bone-crushing gain. Would make a solid stated amp sound better, made a Marshall Valvestated sound a lot better. No loss of bass as advertized. Perfectly natural EQ. Can get smooth saturated Eric Johson type leads to fat creamy rock tones like ZZTOP, or basically any 70's rock. Not really an ultra-crunchy pedal like say a tube-king or Marshall Valvestate sound. But I didn't need that.

It's a BOSS...it will probably outlive me. I take good care of things, so I know it will.

Won't ever need it...unless it breaks in a hundred years

This won't do everything, but if you like Rock, blues, swing or country you need this to get the kind of smooth gain that pleases the ears all in a pedal. I'd say it is probably one of BOSS's top 3 pedals of all time. If only it were a little less expensive

3 knobs. Every cat knows how to set this up. Not much really you can say....very easy to use. However, I don't remember getting a manual with it....

Here is exactly what I was looking for. I play mostly prog rock. I wanted something where I could set up my fender amp (an awesome sounding clean amp. A Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Very warm) for a clean sound and use this for the overdrive on the clean channel. I wanted the characteristics of the clean channel - just with overdrive on top of it. This pedal does a great job in this respect. Boss has done a wonderful job getting the voicing right on this pedal. Sounds ALOT like an overdrivin Marshall. Naturally, it doesn't have all the characteristics of a good overdrivin tube amp, but does put you in the same ballpark. Great, slightly heavier than Jimmy Page tones in this box. I dig the level knob (oddly enough) - the pedal gets loud. I find this important in this type of pedal. The unit is very responsive to the guitar's volume knob - turn it down and I get an even warmer clean sound from the guitar. Cool. The unit is not overly noisy. I am using the knobs as follows: Level - 11 o'clock...Tone - 10 o'clock...Drive - all the way up.

This is the place where reviewers tell little funny stories about their boss pedals. Naturally, we all know how Boss pedals are made....so - hell yeah it's dependable. I dropped mine out of a plane and whada'ya'know...plugged in and it worked perfect. No need for a backup.

I have never had to deal with ANY pedal company.

Great for classic rock, moderate drivin amp tones. I have been playing for about 10 years and this is the best overdrive pedal I have owned. I use this with a choice of PRS Standard or PRS CE-BOLT On through (in order) the OD-3, a TS-5 Soundtank Tubescreamer, an Ibanez Tueb King (for hard rock tones), a Boss chorus ensemble, an Ibanez Analog Delay, and finally a DOD Digital Delay. For what I use it for...it is the best I have found (there are prob better out there - I just have not been able to get/find them. It's really cool to go from a clean Fender, chorus, lightly-echoed tone to a dry overdrivin Marshall type sound. VERY responsive to the guitar's volume knob. Feel free to E-mail if you want more info.....

Three knobs is as easy as it's going to get.

How many times have you set up your amp sound perfect, and when you stepped on your overdrive pedal it sounded like someone turned all the lows OFF? This is your cure. The bandwidth on the od-3 is one of the best I've heard in my 20 years of playing. I've had first generation tube screamers, MXR, you name it, but they all affected the low end in an undesireable way.. BOSS has finally gotten RIGHT. THANKS.

It's a BOSS , come on now.

Excellent company. Just had a rack unit repaired with them. Very helpful.

Once again, this thing rocks. This pedal will be the new standard for overdrives, not the thin, squashed TS-9 Ibanez. Check one out. If tone is what you're after, this is your baby... What's the deal with the two separate power adaptors though.( PSA and ACA ) Why can't you just use one adaptor for all the effects..PAIN

3 knobs - level, tone, drive

My setup is an Am Std Strat w/ Dimarzio Fast Track 2 in bridge into low input on a Marshall JCM800 half stack. I'd say that this pedal is very similar to the SD-1 but with more gain. It's not as nasal and crunchy as my TS-5, but has more gain. It has a very round distortion with no rough edges and absolutely no harsh grittiness. You probably can't use this for anything but classic rock or blues. Heavier music like punk or hard rock/metal is out the question because you can't palm mute with this pedal at all. With the gain maxed, you can hear a cutting pervasive jangliness that is evident no matter where you have the gain knob set. Contrary to Boss' sales pitch, this is not a do-it-all pedal. Even though it has tons of sustain, it's a very jangly pedal with no grit or crunch. The tone is way too bright and thin with the tone anywhere past 10 o'clock. I bought this pedal basically to add sustain to my clean sounds and it does the job. With the tone on 10:00 and gain at 10:00, it adds the right amount of compression and sustain to add articulation to my clean arpeggios. For what I use it for, it does a great job but I wish it wasn't so cutting. Since it doesn't work exactly as advertised, I'll give it an 8.

BOSS!

I play mostly power-pop and for the janglier songs, this does the job. I have an SD-2 and a BD-2 for my heavier songs. I wish it had a slightly beefier EQ like a TS-5, but other than that, I think it's a great pedal.

3 knobs. Duh.

Weak. Very, very weak. Not for anything but maybe blues, at least that's how it sounded through a Fender deluxe 112 and a Tele. I don't know how it would sound through my setup, but with that one it sounds like crap. You have to max the Tone to get anything but mild dirt out of it. I prefer my OD-2, it's much more versatile.

I don't even have to own it to tell you it'll never, ever break. It's a boss.

Not for anything but blues. Maybe even too weak for that. No matter what, this thing is just weak. Even with everything maxed. It's like a tubescreamer, but weaker, if you can imagine.

Gain, tone, and volume. It's pretty friggin' simple.

I have always hated Boss overdrive/distortion pedals. They have all had a thin, buzzy overtone. The OD-3 is the new pedal from Boss although it looks like their old OD pedals (yellow). Well, they finally got it right. This thing kicks! At low gain settings, it's a Tube Screamer, but richer. Crank the gain and the tone and you'll get a fat, creamy AC/DC tone. The overdrive is not brutal, yet it has tons of sustain, and it's practically noiseless. I've never run it through a solid state amp (I use a Groove Tubes Soul-O 75), but it really makes tubes sing.

I've had 20 or so Boss pedals over the years. The only one that ever went bad was a Digital Reverb pedal. Boss pedals generally do not go bad.

Never had to use them - my local shop always takes care of me.

For rock and blues, this is it. I swear, it sounds as good (or better) than those boutique $200 pedals (Centaur, Fulldrive, etc.). This thing will NOT do Pantera or Manson sounds, but it can handle classic metal sounds (Priest, Maiden, etc.). I have a Tube Screamer, but this makes it obsolete. I also have a Tube King, which is a great pedal (and more versatile, actually) however the Boss sounds better with my current setup. This is a very musical pedal, and the fact that's it's a Boss and not some trendy overpriced pedal should not discourage you from checking it out.