DOD 250 Overdrive Preamp

two knobs, one little metal on/off switch. so easy.

(i'm not sure whether this dod is a vintage model or not, but its stamped DOD on the baseplate, has true bypass, and screams like a champ) been playing boss ph2->crybaby->dod250->fender princeton 65 with my usa washburn tele lately... sounds amazing when the amp is around 5-6 and the guitar turned down on vol + tone a little... jesus. i played it back to back with an analogman ts9/808 mod the other night and it sounded as good, but a lil different. the dod has a brighter growl with a little more texture, the analogman has a deeper sound to it... i liked the dod better, but then i;ve been playing on it for a year or so and have only played the analogman for about 30 minutes... meh.

so far so good... no real problems. sometimes it doesnt turn on correctly or something, maybe a switch issue, but i just click it again and it works. could also be bad batteries.. i dont know.

haven't dealt with them so i dont know.

this was an impulse buy on ebay--maybe i should say steal because the digitech reissues of this pedal go for this much... anyways, the pedal rocks my face... i play through s-d hummers, fender strat singlecoils, tele-style stock washburn pickups (that i need to replace) and it all comes out better. i havent heard any overdrive pedals that i can say i like better outright, even the analogman ts9. the dod is versatile and quiet and true bypass and beautiful there in yellow and black... get one.

2 knobs (drive & volume) plus footswitch to engage the effect. However, the drive and volume knobs are very relative to each other, meaning that you can't turn the drive down and crank the output as on a tubescreamer, because the drive knob also has great effect on the overall volume. Also has no led, so if you use subtle settings you may not be able to tell its on. So its a little trick to set initally

I'm currently using this w/ my homemade tele, and agile valkyrie (with Dimarzio tonezone in the bridge) into a peavey classic 50 w/ 2x12 open back cab. Like I previously mentioned, it's a little tricky to set the pedal's drive needs to be at least @ 9-10 oclock to get any sort of boost out of this thing. It's a pretty transparent sounding driver (meaning that it keeps the sound of your guitar/amp combination in tact, adding volume and grit), that tends to get brighter as you increase the drive knob. My personal "sweet spot" has the drive at 12 oclock and the output between 1 and 2 oclock. This gives me a nice boost, which adds volume, sustain, and a bit of breakup on the clean channel, and a nice sustain and gain boost on the drive channel (for those tapping leads). If the drive is too low it sounds a bit dark, as others have mentioned, and it starts to get really bright as you crank the drive. However, with the drive cranked & using humbuckers through ganged channels of My silverface bassman, I got a great Husker Du tone. (bob mould used the mxr d+, who's circuit is almsot identical to the dod 250). My setting suits me just fine. It's definetly "clearer" sounding than the tubescreamer I used to use, and seems to work better with humbuckers than the tubescreamer did. It also rocks with single coils!! The pedal's not true bypass, but it doesn't load down on your signal, therfore I can't detect any "tonesuckage". Not too versatile, but what it does, it does great!!

This thing is built like the "proverbial tank". Very similar construction to the MXR pedals, however, it's constructed inside more like the older mxr pedals, (i.e. the jacks, pots and switch are all seperate form the board, not board mounted like the reissue mxr pedals). This will make the pedal very easy to mod (i.e. adding a true bypass switch or led), and should hold up to years of abuse.

For $30 new, I got an awesome sounding, sturdily constructed pedal. It does exactly what I ask it to and couldn't really ask for anything more. Forget the overhyped botique crap, this pedals where its at!!

Bought this pedal back in the late 80's, it has 2 knobs-Gain & Level. The gain knob on mine was BROKEN when I got it and never been fixed. It is constantly at the maximum level of gain. This doesn't tend to be a problem as I use several guitars with different output levels. If I want more crunch, I'll switch to a guitar with higher output pickups. (Battery clip died somewhere along the line too so now it's strictly used with wall warts).

Both of my vintage tube amps ('61 Fender Showman & '64 Gibson GA19RVT Falcon) are non-master models so to get any dirt at lower volumes, I need to add something for that special crunch. Through the open back Gibson, it requires tweaking with an EQ pedal but sounds great through the Fender (running into a 4x12 Yamaha cab) by itself. No true bypass and I hear a bit of dirt even when the pedal is kicked out, but okay for most live apps.

Switch sometimes is unreliable but haven't had too many problems.

N/A

I play in a variety cover band, and it's sound lends itself to most of the material we go through. I've played since 3rd grade, almost 32 years now, and I've had a vareity of other tone machines including a Foxx Fuzz/Wah with an octave doubler (sounds similar to a Mayer Octavia) that goes well with the Hendrix we play. If the DOD were gone tomorrow, I'd have to go and find another used one immediately, because nothing else is quite as sonically versatile. My favorite feature is that even though the thing is only working in one mode, it's virtually indestructable. Tried it against my brothers Boss OD pedal; he likes his, I like mine, 'nuff said.

EZ! gain knob (distortion), level knob (volume), switch (on/off)...review is for both vintage (1980-ish) and the reissue (2005-ish) i love both...use them together as my only effects in signal chain-usually the vintage one set at 10 o'clock gain and 12 o'clock level-gives a nice slight tube overdrive edge to my amp-and use the reissue set at 4 to 6 o'clock gain and 10 to 11 o'clock level for leads and harder overdriven sounds

10+++ clean, clear gain, nice biting distortion or softer overdriven tube amp sound-no muddiness or grating fake distortion sound-excellent.i use strats thru TWO of these (one vintage-one reissue) and into a 64 fender vibro-champ, clean biting signal chain, no bs-pure guitar sound-excellent for blues, bluesy rock/hard rock sound-not for extreme metal heads--UNLESS used in conjunction with other distortion pedal.

my vintage one has been used and abused for quarter of a century-recently got reissue-same great sound-both will last another half century or more

??? who knows-simple tough construction makes support unnecessary

i play bluesy/spacy rock-great overall rock sound-very tube like sustain/gain/distortion-smooth as silk-playing since 1979-use many guitars-mainly 3 strats now-also using danelectro/ibanez/hohner lp copy/tele/various 12 & 6 string acoustics/ukes/basses/accordion/flute/bongos/harmonica/loop machine/--whatever... i use the 250 overdrive with many instruments-including vocal tracks-great sounding unit in almost any application. got the reissue after seeing the price to buy another of the originals-and i was not disappointed-also a great sounding unit-tried other vintage/new distortion units-some good some bad-this is my fave. steal this and i kick you in the nards and steal it back. these boxes, along with my vibro-champ and my strat is MY SOUND.

2 knobs what do you thing

I use my dod308, with a ibanez js1000 in and marshall dsl 50w 4x30 vintage cab.
I also use a boss ns2 noisegate as it can be noisy if you add to much gain. My setting is Volume = max and Gain = 3.
It sounds awesome very warm tube sound.
The reason i bought this pedal is that i like yngwie`s sound but i also want more power and clean sound so i bought a dsl 50 with 2 channel one with very warm clean and one overdrive channel the dod works perfect with the overdrive channel it makes it go insane and sound tubey.
The ibanez is perfect in the setup coz it can split from hum to single coil when i play clean and has a great fender neck and great tremelo i can play all kind of music with this setup.
I Love my setup anyone touch it i will kill them

will still work after many generations build as a tank.

will never need them as this think works forever

Cool pedal if you want to boost you tube overdrive.

Dialing in bad sounds is impossible, for me anyway it was not usable unmodded: I disassembled it, soldered out the Switch and drilled a hole for an LED, then I installed a 3PDT Switch to keep the LED out of the original schematic. I also changed the DC-connection to a boss-style one.

Simply great, sometimes less is more, very good way to boost a JCM 800. Mine is a Reissue made in China with a 4558 JC in it, I was surprised, this chip is only mentioned in Schematics of YJM308 Units up to now?a lot of people think this IC is one of the best, as used in Tube screamers, Boss SD-1 and several other great Pedals.

Well, I use it with Ibanez RG Guitars as first effect in my chain. Followed by  Dunlop DB-01 Wah  MXR Doubleshot Distortion  JCM 800 2210  (effects loop: Boss NS-2, Boss CH-1, Boss OC3, Nobels DD-800)  Marshall 1960AV

I can easily change the volume on the unit (big knobs can be turned with the foot!) so I can use it to alter my rhythm tone or for leads. It delivers a rich harmonic content (presence on my amp between 6 and 7) boosts the upper mids and the overall volume, and adds some dirt, depending on the gain settings. I really need it for the great vintage tones that my setup missed before.

There should be no Probs, the sensitive Parts I replaced by parts of known quality and resoldered anything that looked week, but this was not really necessary.

n/a

Highly recommended, the reissues are not that bad as some people try to tell us. They are cheap and easy to modify, if you really do not like the sound, but I can not imagine that, if you know that the OD 250 is a vintage overdrive and if you know what an overdrive should do.

You have two knobs, gain and level. I use it in front of fender champ.
I usually crank the champ to 5 and use the pedal to adjust my gain. Its really clean and pristine and breaks up at the right point. You can just dial in he creamiest distortion with both a tube and solid state type amp. Ive been trying to find a good overdrive for a while.
THIS IS IT!!!! This Is a good tone!!

Im using a champ or a Marshall combo(bluesbreaker).
A fender strat or a jazzmaster.This pedal is quiet.
I live in NYC and there is a lot of interference and this
pedal still is quiet!!!!!. I have used it alone and with an overdrive and it sounds insane. You can nail any sound, its a full bodied warm sounding overdrive.

sounds good works well. The pedal is metal and feels solid. Can pack foam inside if you want for the battery.I thinks these are great.
can take it when packed in a full bag.

This is equivalent to the boutique pedals today because they are limited in numbers and frankly the workmanship is of top quality.
Ive had many overdrives, Its a good sounding o the ear distortion.
doesnt color your sound too much, enhances all the dynamics of your guitar.

2 knobs. If you can't figure it out you need to be a bass player! ;-)

This is where it gets fun.

My chain consists of a tele>wah>1982 RAT>small clone> pb&j echo> fender hotrod deluxe.

I originally wanted this as a boost, but when I tried this it made me chain sound like crap. I tried it in every position in my chain and blah.

Just for grins I set my amp to clean and used the 250 by itself and it screamed! It has become my main dirty sound.

It has a very late 70s hard rock sound to it, with great overtones.

THIS IS NOT A METAL PEDAL.

This pedal is like a steel brick. It will survive more than you can.

The only thing that bugs me is that the pots are soldered directly to the circuit board.

Again, this is an overdrive and not METAL ZONE type of pedal.

For $30 bucks the tone on mine can't be beat. It works with my amp to get great tone instead of being an "effect".

I hear that these are hit and miss so your mileage may vary.

Two knobs, a footswitch, and a school-bus yellow casing.

I'm reviewing the vintage 80's yellow box version. NOT the Reissue.


How easy is it to get a sound out of it? I'd say EXTREMELY easy.

This thing sounds so damn good it's not even funny. I got it in the mail, thanked my FedEx man, and plugged this thing in. I was simply blown away. Nothing I've ever owned even has come close.

I pulled out my vintage Boss SD-1 (with the JRC whatever chip), plugged it in, and all I got was the same results. Noise, noise, and more noise, topped by flabby unresponsive ugly sounding overdrive. And this was the vintage version, which is (supposed to be) 10x better than the Taiwanese Reissues.

I plugged the 250 back in and said, yep, this is the one alright. I'm keeping this one. The SD-1 is going on the auction block.


Two weeks later, I recieved a Danelectro Daddy-O. That pedal rocks so hard. But it doesn't even touch this beauty. The DOD 250 just has something, I can't explain...but let me try.


There's two knobs, right... that's all you need.


With the gain at about 10 o'clock, you can get some buttery smooth clipped clean amp tone. Turn it to about 12 o'clock, and you have a mild Zepplin overdrive. Go to about 2 o'clock...now you're in AC/DC territory. Anything above that, you've got some seriously thick Overdrive/Fuzz mania type thing going on.

The level control also works as a tone control...it's like two in one. With the level down, the overdrive is bottom heavy, and with the level up, things brighten up a bit. But it still controls the overall volume. Amazing!


...This thing just rocks.

Oh heck yeah! This thing is made out of solid STEEL! I would let a toddler play crash cars with it and a Boss, and it would be interesting which pedal manufacturer would win!!!

Footswitch seems a little less sturdy than the rest of the box though. It's still sturdy, just not like the rest of the chasis.

Nope.

I can't explain how great this pedal sounds. It's like AC/DC meets Led Zepplin meets Eddie Van Halen meets Zakk Wylde all in the same box!!!

I seriously can't justify keeping my other overdrive pedals at all. The SD-1 is definately going up for sale, and my Danelectro Daddy-O is probably going to go on the auction block too. I've owned several overdrive and distortion pedals. Nothing even touches this yellow-jacket.


I've heard horrible things about the reissues. Don't even touch those things. All you're going to get is trouble and some earbleeds with those hunks of junk. If you're going to buy a two-fifty, here's one statement of advice :


BUY A VINTAGE ONE!


They're the ultimate guitar tone in a box. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I use a Fender Stratocaster with this. I'm sure it works even better with humbuckers.

God Bless Ya!

Two knobs. As easy as it gets. Reissue model(s) [I'll explain, I promise :)]. 'Nuff said.

This is the trickiest part of reviewing this pedal.

The first time I tried this effect, I knew I had to have it. I played through a beat-up floor model, into a cheap Peavey with a cheap Peavey Strat copy with a bridge humbucker. To my absolute amazement, I got instant AC/DC-ish tone. Very Marhsall-like. So I had to have it.

But the store didn't sell me that particular DOD 250 OD. Instead, I got a fresh, new one from the front of the store.

Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad idea.

I took the new 250 home, and tried for months to find what I heard in that other box. Strats, Teles, LP's...single coils, humbuckers, P-90's...nothing mattered. The tone of the thing completely sucked. After about six months, I finally gave it away after a gig where I couldn't stomach trying to baby-sit a good tone out of the effect. It was always raspy, buzzy and thin (like a mutated fuzz box that never grew up and sprouted fuzz). Not at all like the floor model.

So I give that floor model 250 a 10 ranking (wish I had insisted on that one, it was long gone two weeks later).

I give the one that I actually owned a 2 (I'd give it a 1, but since the thing actually engaged and wasn't totally broken, I'll be charitable).

I'll average 'em and give it a 6.

But be very wary of these things. Consistency doesn't seem to be their strong suit.

As bad as the box was I took home was, it being reliable wasn't the problem.

Never contacted the company.

I play blues, rock, jazz, folky stuff, and most recently Django Reinhardt-style gypsy jazz. Been doing it for about 11 years. Have 15 electrics (Fender -- Strats and Thinline Teles, Godin, Gibson-copy, a Dean archtop, and a few other odds and ends) and four amps (Fender, two Peaveys, Vox), 5 acoustics (Tacoma and Seagull steel strings, old La Mancha and Yamaha classicals, and a "Kent" archtop -- which I can't find any information on), and a ukulele.

I've been playing more acoustic lately, but I still love a big-old fat assed distorted electric guitar tone.

I'm in no hurry to get another DOD 250. I bought a Zoom Power Drive on a whim, and was blown away by it. I always hated Zoom's cheap-o plastic stuff, but the PD kicks major ass. They've been discontinued, so if you can find one I recommend buying it (and no, the clean boost isn't as good as a Klon, but at 1/5 the price, it's darn good at impersonating it, and the extra gain is a nicer benefit, too).

As for the DOD, if you can find a good one that gives you that Marshall-y tone, it's not a bad investment. But for the one I bought, I wouldn't take it back if you paid me to. Since there are good ones, though, I'll give it the same rating as for sound quality.