DOD 250 Overdrive Preamp

Two knobs, level and gain.

I'm using two G&L Legacy's single coil guitars into my chain. A Korg DT-10 turner, Budda Bud Wah, SPF Ego Booster, Jacques Mercer Box, Aramat Green Machine, DOD 250, Aramat Mojo Fuzz, TC Jauernig Luxery Drive, into one of two Peavey's, a Delta Bluse w/2-10's, or a ValveKing through a THD 2/12 cab. And the sound I get from the DOD 250 is great, beautiful, singing mild OD. Placement of this pedal is the key; and that's why I'm writing my first HC review. If it's not in the right place it WILL SOUND SHILL, it took a while for me to find that out. But otherwise this is a boutique sounding pedal, at Wal-Mart prices no less.

The build quality is very good.

N/A

I've been at this hobby for only a short time, and I'm learning to play 60's, 70's Rock, Blues, and Funk, so I can play Gospel in our churchs.This works very well with all the rest of my gear, and it suits my developing style perfectly. If lost or stolen I'd repurchase, no question; and yeah it need's a on light. Again, it great for what it's made for, and at the price point, it's impossible (?) to get this wonderful sound.

Two knobs = Volume and Gain. No nonsense. Easy peasy. Very solid construction, switch does not make funny noises or crackles.

This is definitely NOT an overdrive pedal, but rather an incredibly cool booster for the dirty channel. Very nice sounding and thick 70's overdrive, perfect for blues and straight ahead rock'n'roll. Gain above 8/9 it's a little "over the top", at least for me (too muddy, definitely not for metal or harder styles).

Sounds amazing at lower gain settings for crunching up the dirty channel. Also fabulous for solos and boosting a little your signal when you need that extra little bit

I absolutely luuuurve it (compared this one with the Malmsteen pedal and this one's got a more vintagey sound, less trebly, incredible for the price).

Think Marc Bolan. ;)

Definitely. Rock-solid construction, built like a (small) tank. Not heavy at all, easy to lug around gigs and will definitely withstand some throwing about. Construction inside is not "top knotch" but definitely worth for the price and easy to muck about (mods, etc).

N/A

Been playing for a while, owned too many guitars to tell and currently laying my chops on four Teles (HB's and singles). Play through a VOX AC15 and a small custom made head with 2x10" and 1x12" speakers.

This pedal did it for me. Very cheap, warm sounding, great fun for boosting those solos or getting a different sound from your amp and very reliable. Does wonders with low gain amps like my AC15 (you can go from 60's to 70's or crunch to solo in one second!).

A definite 10 for me. For those who are looking for cheeep thrills don't waste your time on cheapo junky pedals, go for this cute little yellow box.

Very easy to use. Two knobs, simple!

I have used this through various amps and guitars and have always been able to get a decent sound. This thing has a very nice and simple overdrive tone to it. With no tone cotrol on the pedal your guitar tone stays the same off or on. Not the best overdrive I have heard in my life, but for a "pedal" this puppy has it. If you are looking for nice/realistic sounding overdrive/distortion this is your pedal. Not for metal or high end crunch!

All metal!
No plastic!
Hard as stone!
No problems here.

Never had any problems so I don't know.

I play Rock/folk so this pedal works great.
I have used it for punk and surf/garage in the past.
This thing can be used for almost anything depending on the volume and gain you go for. Compared to the Tube Screamer and the Boss OD this little DOD in my mind sounds better. Don't fall for the newer Yngwie Malmsteen signiture model! Buy the yellow one.

Two knobs. Can't figure it out? Find another hobby like eating dirt.

I use a Fender YJM Strat through a Marshall JCM800 100W head and BOSS NS-2 noise supressor.
Awesome, plugin and go.
I can conjure up Yngwie, Uli Roth. It's a lot of fun.

Star Jones couldn't crush this heavy duty pedal. She could eat it though, and you'd be out a nice unit. Seriously, this thing could go through a chipper without incident. It's as tough as calculus on a dummy.

Never had to deal with them. I'm sure I won't have to. This is a tank, easy to use and always sounds smooth and powerful.

Can't get easier--one gain and one volume level with one footswitch.

Here's the setup= Fender 50's Stratocaster re-issue and a Fender HOT series (made in USA solid-state). Needed more drive from the single-coil pickups in order to get a good distortion from amp. This amp is either unwieldingly clean or super-driven; needed in-between sounds. With the gain totally cranked and the level at about 1 or 2 o'clock, I got low-noise/high-quality distortion. Think of the guitar sound of the Rolling Stones on "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" (my main goal actually)and you get that good and dirty, but not totally saturated distortion. no mid-range humps or audible change in tone.

first of all, the casing is absolutely metal like Iron Man (no Black Sabbath pun intended). the footswitch is metal and the knobs are thick and silky. all of the input/output jacks are metal and installed separate from the circuit board. Rough and ready it seems.

No opinion, only had it for four days.

I play classic rock and blues. Mick Taylor-era Stones, Mick Ronson, Mott The Hoople and the Peter Green/Danny Kirwan Fleetwood Mac. I've been playing for 13 years. You saw the main gear above. I was trying to get some good dirt, not necessarily a raging bull-type of distortion. Admittedly I have to crank the pedal pretty far to get the amp going good below 1/2 volume, but it can be done. This is the reason I am writing this review:

I have read many other reviews here and I feel some things need to be pointed out. It seems as though some tube-amp people here opine that the pedal is not meant for pure distortion or for use with solid-state amps. Sorry guys, that makes no sense. Yeah, you've got to crank the pedal all the way, but then you have to crank the amp up too to get the sustain going. I cannot figure out how anyone has failed at knowing or doing this and submitted a bad review.
1. It's not going to give you the sound of arena-sized crunch unless your are playing a full stack in an actual arena. When I say that I get the sound of "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" I mean I get a good approximation of that tone...I know it does not sound like 350-watt Ampeg SVT's lighting up Madison Square Garden.
2. No it is not good for Metal, unless you have a high-gain amp that you can add to. If your are relying on it for all your distortion, it is moderate-only. I agree it would operate differently and probably more efficiently on a tube-amp, but previously it has been very inaccurately noted that it will not distort or work with solid-state amps...crank everything to near-max and hear the magic. That's what you would do with a tube amp anyway if you're trying to rock out.
3. I have tried a Tubescreamer and a Bad Monkey before this one. The TS has an interesting sound, but the bottom-suckage/mid-range injection was not needed (see Keith Richards, not Stevie Ray Vaughn). The Bad Monkey was just the Mildly Irritated Monkey. It had a sound that accentuated the single-coils in the Strat to an exaggerated degree--and that distortion would truly go to a certain point and then stop cranking and sustaining. This pedal will not do that...it will get more sustain and crank harder as long as you play hard and push everything up. Uh oh, some people might not like having to work for it a little bit.
4. This pedal does not help alter your inherent sound or turn bad into good. It seems to take whatever sound you have and multiply it well. I'd imagine it does not cover up a bad guitar or a bad amp, it probably makes deficiencies more obvious-hence the unconscious resentment some other reviewers seem to have around here.
5. It'll clean up completely if your turn down your volume and then you can come roaring in when you want. No perceived problems when unit is not engaged.

In Summary: I think it's great. I do not miss the lack of a tone knob, so switching pickups is enough for me. I'm not using it live soon--but I would without a backup. I feel some people who have reviewed here were looking for more deadly distortion sounds or were expecting a great change to happen to their guitar sound. Once again, it is a good distortion (like Clapton had at the Cream Farewell at Albert Hall)but not outrageous. I highly recommend it for price and quality to any classic rocker or bluesman.

Easy to use, just gain and level knobs.
Mechanical on/off switch.
Thank God, no power draining LED (I run my distortion boxes on batteries).
This review is about the yellow reissue (made in China) with the 4558 chip and the D2 mod.

Out of the factory this is an average sounding overdrive/preamp with high output (level max, gain low) to push your tube-amp. It's almost exactly the same sound (and circuitry) as the MXR Distortion+.
I did the D2 mod which makes it more of a (soft-)distortion box which you can even use with a clean amp.
The sound is very 70s. Just think of 'Rebel Rebel' (David Bowie), 'School's Out' (Alice Cooper) and 'Heartbreaker' (Led Zeppelin) to get the idea. It's also very suitable for blues and AC/DC sounds.
I use it with humbuckers (Gibson) and always set the gain at max.
Definitely not for metal though.
Not noisy at all.
The mod is very easy. Just replace D2 with a germanium diode and there it is: Smooth asymmetrical clipping!! I used a GA104 (=OA705) but I guess any germanium diode will do.

Built like a tank.
Circuitry is very very simple. Not much to break I think.

With the D2 mod this is one of my favourite distortion boxes. It's the perfect 70s box.
I play mainly heavy 80s rock/metal so I don't use it every day. But I'm happy to have it in my rig.
I can't believe it costed me only 39 euro (and 25 cents for the germanium diode). If it was stolen I would buy it again.

Easy to get a great sound out of this pedal, just two knobs.

Running this with a Trace Elliot V-Type 33/Eden 210XLT...various basses.
You can get some great and useable sounds out of this for a bass overdrive pedal. As long as you don't run it at the highest overdrive settings, there isn't any majo low-end loss. Great for mild to medium overdriven bass tones.

Had it about a week so far, built pretty solidly.

----What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?
Rock, Blues, Metal. Great for these styles.

---How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
3 years. Ibanez, Peavey, and Schecter Basses. Trace Elliot amp, Eden cabinet.

---If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
Yup.

---What do you love about it? What do you hate?
Great tones, especially for the money. Hate? The power adapter costs more than half what the pedal does!

---Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?
Compares fairly well with a lot of more expensive OD pedals made specifically for bass. Jacques and Fulltone both make great pedals, that are better than this one...but for the money, I'd go with this if you just want some mild or medium grit.

This is one of the easier pedals out there. There is no LED to let you know it's on, so you have to figure it out first (especially with little brothers who like to click it on and off a hundred times a day). Once you turn it on adjust the two (Two? that's too many!) knobs to your preferred style. It doesn't really get any easier. The only thing that may not be considered easy is battery replacement. You must unscrew the back plate to get to it. No big deal. It's worth the effort.

I have a few electrics and a few amps, and I find only one bad combination. If I turn the gain and level full on while playing through my little 30 watt Park solid state amp(Park is a subdivision thing of Marshall) with both gain levels on the amp maxed out, the distortion is very harsh. It is no longer musical, it's just bad. Also, the amp gain adds a TON of noise to the eqaution. Other than that, this little box sounds GREAT. Sounds good as a boost, and gives some beautiful crunchy tones with some gain thrown in the mix. I am not an audio expert or anything, but the box doesn't seem to change the guitar tone at all (except adding the gain if you set it that way). I am just in love with this thing though. My favorite type of distortion is that smooth creamy type. I have been told this is that tube sound that many people search for. Whatever. I just know I like it. I know I get it when I crank my Fender Pro Reverb (I think this was made in the early 80's) and it is pure ear heaven. If I adjust the level till it is equal when the box is on and off, then start the gain at o and raise it just until it starts to break up, it is great. Doesn't sound the same as the loud Fender, but you can come pretty close without the loudness. A huge bonus for teens with angry mothers, I would know. I rate this as an 8 because it gives great sound, but doesn't get quite as distorted as I sometimes like. It's not supposed to though, so I guess I am expecting too much. It's incredible for what it is.

Actually 10 + 6. That's 16 total. Yes, this box passes the scale. It is 6 better than the best. That's reliable.

Here goes. This is one of the yellow ones, but it's from a long time ago (to me, sorry if I make those of you who are more experienced feel a little old). This was my dad's friends brother's pedal. He got it new in either 1980 or 1981. He beat the crap out of it. Eventually my dad got it. He kicked the shit out of it as well. Now I have it. I am a little bit nicer, but I could beat it up to. It wouldn't matter. This thing is indestructable. I could throw it of the empire state building. Twenty bucks says I could take the elevator down, reach into a crater and pull it out unscathed. After all it has been through the back plate is missing. A lot of paint is chipped off. The battery just hangs out of the pedal by the wires. Guess what? The things still works like brand new. I click the switch, it turns on or off. We need more craftsmanship like this today.

Don't take it the wrong way. They aren't helpful at all, and they are basically worthless. It's not because they lack any braincells at all, in fact I bet they are nice. They are worthless because these things don't break. I bet they sit around playing paper football al day, looking up dirty sites on their computers. This box will never break, so customer support is useless. I don't need any support. I plug it in and rock, occaisionally replacing the battery.

I play a little of everything, but mostly older rock n roll, older metal (sabbath, deep purple, stuff like that. Yes it is metal) and blues. This pedal is pretty much the only one I need. I have a crybaby, and my fender amp has a spring reverb. I don't need much else. An actual distortion pedal could be nice, and I am gonna get a phaser or flanger soon, and eventually I will have a delay of some sort. Okay I guess I need some more ;) But seriously for basic rock and stuff this is the best pedal I have used, and I will own it until either it dies or I die, probably the latter first.

Hey all you Yngwie J. Malmsteen fans.

I'm about to expose a big secret about how he gets that great sound of his using a DOD 250.

Plug your guitar straight into your Marshall and use the DOD in the EFFECTS LOOP!

It makes all the difference in the world!

What makes that amazing tone is a tube distortion pushing a solid state distortion! That's the big secret! Hey, I put a Tubester tube distortion pedal in front of my Fender solid state Frontman amp and wow, there was Malmsteen!

Don't use a lot of gain on the Marshall or the DOD 250. Just a little and do some tweeking and you will be amazed at what happens!

High notes will jump out and sing and lower notes will be lost in frequency cancelations just like Yngwie gets.

It's a very radical departure from traditional distortion. It is far more lively and punchy.

I've been playing lead guitar since 1969.

I love Yngwie Malmsteens tone!!!!!!

I bought a Stratocaster and stuck a HS-3 in the bridge like Malsmteen and then bought a couple DOD 250's and almost went crazy trying to figure out how He gets that amazing transparent tone...

finally, I found out the secret and am sharing it with you!

You are so lucky!

Now, to learn all those kooky scales! Actually, I prefer to play Hendrix like stuff. Ever see Yngwie play and sing Manic Depression by Hendrix? Wow, super cool!

Just a slightly overdriven Marshall with the DOD250 in the effects loop. Actually, ALL the effects in the effects loop. That's how to get his tone.

It WILL blow your mind!

Simply the BEST! Get a Nice guitar and connect it to DOD-250 Over Drive (all turned up to the MAX), then connect to a Marshall 1987xl Head (both volumes on 10->MAX)... then connect your Marshall 1987xl to a Marshall Power Breaker (so you won't get deaf)... then connect the Power breaker to a Marshall 1960AC (Classic) Cabinet.... And be ready to have an ORGASM!!!!!! Ohhhhhh Shitttttttt.... That's the strongest and cleanest OVER-DRIVE THAT YOU WILL EVER HEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As I said.... Simple the Best!