DOD 250 Vintage Distortion

2 knobs, Who cares about the manual! Set the levels and go!

Kramer into a 535Q wah-wah, into the DOD, into a Fender 112. In the clean channel, i use for a line booster, it really doesn't distort. In the Dirty channel, MAN! I don't know why but my Fender produces a loud hiss, the pedal makes this hiss louder. The good thing is IT DOES ITS JOB AND MORE, the notes sing, last longer, and if the levels are set up right there awaits a nice little feedback at the end which i love. IT DOESN'T MESS UP THE ORIGINAL TONE!

Very dependable. Metal enclosure, my only gripe is the 4 screws that slow up the battery changing process, and it is a process! I'm getting a wall wart for this....soon!

I just bought the original model Straight out of the box and it sounds amazing! No need to call those guys, don't think i will either

I play Everything, the little guy is good for rock don't know if its cool for newer metal 'cause my amp is not very good in that area. I've been playing for 14 years, have 2 guitars, a well made kramer and a no name explorer plus what mentioned before. I'd buy it again if it were lost, this guy's up there with the Distorsion Plusses and the Tubescreamers of the world, it's that good! I like it's ease of use and it does what it's built for. I don't like the way the battery just sits there, it needs some padding to keep it still. I chose it after doing some research and living in Venezuela, this was a STEAL, everything is so DAMN EXPENSIVE OVER HERE! CAN YOU BELIEVE A USED, REALLY USED (I'D SAY RAPED!) HAMER SUSTAINIAC COSTS $1119? If that isn't flat out robbery i don't know what is! To surmise, my newest buddy sounds good, is cheap, and it won't let you down! BUY IT !!!!!!

Very easy. With two knobs, GAIN and LEVEL, you should be able to figure it out. Unfortunately, figuring out at a glance whether this pedal is on or off is more of a mystery--that's where it loses points on ease of use.

I am playing a reissue Tele Custom through a silverline Fender Deluxe Reverb. It's slightly noisy at high gain and level settings, but that's OK. If you've got it that high and actually don't like the noise you definitely need a "prettier" pedal. I like using it with the gain at 9:30 for that nice crunchy slightly-dirtier-than-clean sound a al Gang Of Four or other bands of that ilk (perhaps a Steve Cropper sound as well), but it also sounds great with slightly more gain for that '60s garage (Kinks, Creation) or '70s power-pop (Big Star/Badfinger) quality, nice attack and clarity of chords but good sustain on leads as well. And it sounds great when the gain is high--not too ridiculous, you can still hear the notes. "20th Century Boy" is what I use to test good gain...and this pedal passes the T. Rex test!

I've only used this with delay. Sounds fine with them.

You can definitely depend on this. Just bring a battery and a screwdriver just in case (the bottom needs to be completely unscrewed in order to replace the battery). I'd feel fine without using a backup--since it's an original it feels even heavier and more durable.

Haven't needed them yet...

I play a variety of styles--from soul to garage to country-rock to pop to power-pop to post-punk to surf to...well, you get the picture. Save for out and out death metal, this is a very versatile and great-sounding pedal that suits pretty much all of my dabblings. I would definitely try to hunt another one down if this one were to be lost. I used to have a Chandler Tube Driver (in fact, my review is somewhere on this database) that was OK, but a bit too glassy. This sounds more natural than most overdrives and really sounds like a nice cranked-up amp. It doesn't sound compressed at all. I do wish it had a light to indicate whether it was on--you end up pulling a Clint Eastwood, counting how many times you've stepped on it to figure out whether it is on or off (I use it with a Boss Power Supply pedal that turns on/off all the effects at once, so it's not like I can tell by just listening). But it is a very musical pedal that doesn't get in the way of the music at all.

I've been playing for seven years now. The only other gear I own include the aforementioned Boss Power Supply pedal, a Boss Analog Delay, a Boss Digital Delay DD-5, a Boss Equalizer pedal, a Boss Tremolo/Pan pedal, a Boss Super Phaser pedal, and an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal (not all used at once).

The fact that this pedal has two knobs (Gain, Level) is just fine; however,there is NO LED light. If using an already overdriven/distorted signal, it may be hard to determine if the unit is even on. The manuel is really of no use. I have found it difficult to attain a good souung from the unit. The actual switch seems to go down rather hard, unlike a normal footswitch on, say, a Fender, Crate, etc. footswitch. However, maybe I just got unlucky with a bunk switch.

I use various Fender guitars, mostly strats, but with humbuckers, and I use Fender amps, mostly a Princeton Chorus. The effect is not noisy; however, I feel it is a very weak sound. There is little tone in the signal, and there is no knob to adjust it. The effect is 100% similar to the overdrive channel on a Fender amp, although a Fender amp will give Limiter and Presence aswell. The effect most definately should be used with an already distorted signal, not however, the overdrive/distortion that is built in your amp. I also found this effect doesn't sound aswell when used in the effects loop; however, that may vary.

I have always found DOD products to be reliable. The only thing I don't like is unscrewing 4 screws to get at the battery. That is very important to me: 1) I play live a lot and need to change batteries on the fly, and 2) I dislike using adaptors, as it wates valuable set-up for myself. There is a 9v adaptor outlet, so if you choose, you can not use a battery. The battery life is long; however, so changing batteries is not too much of a burden. The effect is in a bomb-proof casing, so don't worry about it breaking.

I play prog. rock and alternative rock in a number of bands, and have been playing for years. I have ALWAYS felt DOD had great quality for the buck. This was the first and only DOD effect I had to return, and sadly I must admit. DOD delays and choruses have always peaked my fancy; however, this unit was just not for me. I would always choose DOD over Boss, partly because I like the quality of DOD and partly because I like the quality of Harmon (makes DOD) products. Be sure to try the unit in the store, and make sure it is EXACTLY what you wanted.

update (and apology for submitting 2 reviews)

Apologies for submitting 2 reviews I got impatient. If you read the reviews I scored it higher second time. I now give it a 9 as I found
an excellent slide sound! Set the gain at 3/4 and wiggle away in open
E tuning.

DOD overdrive/preamp re issue. Listed on this site as distortion 250.
Yellow box one stomper two knobs for gain and level. No LED.
Manual tells you to hook up guitar to input and amp to output. Thanks.
Set gain and adjust level to dry sound.

Gear-Strat Vox DS1 BB1 Guytone OD(retired). This pedal can be used as clean boost or overdrive.Has more gain than the Bluesbreaker and wider range than the DS1. Full gain to my ears is a little too much.

I have an increasing collection of OD/Distortion pedals so I would not consider buying backups. Just plug in 2 that suit the gig. This pedal is well built. There are two problem areas. 1 The battery flops about in the casing so I used some of the foam from the packaging to wedge it securely. 2 getting at the battery involves removing 4 crosshead screws. If the battery went I would change the unit.

No but the vendor has always been good to me.

I like this pedal. It does useful tones at a useful price. I got it cheap which was nice. It does not do everything. I have found that the best thing to do with pedals is let it do what it does and get another to do something else. This is why I prefer pedals to multi stuff. You are not stuck with one make.Also you have to work with pedals.I buy a SH or reduced pedal on average every 3 months. This keeps my conscience and family at bay. TO quote Stan Lee. Nuff said.

Dod overdrive preamp 250. Re-issue. Yellow box. Two knobs Gain and level. One stomper and no LED.Twiddle gain for gain and set level at the right level. Here comes the difficult part. If using this as an overdrive min is too clean and max is too dirty so you have to fiddle with it. You can find some great crunchy chord sounds but tit is lead sounds that this pedal excels. Clean boost is ok but I didn't buy it for that.

Mex Strat Vox AC15TBR DS1 Bluesbreaker pedal. This pedal has more gain than the marshall and less than the boss. I think it has a slightly wider range than both pedals. What I want is classic OD/Distortion at bedroom levels. I know its almost impossible but I will try. At higher levels the amp will give the right amount of od but at the moment I am playing at home only. I like this pedal it's almost there.

I would always take a variety of pedals to a gig. I won't be duplicating pedals for back up. If you cannot play without pedals you shouldn't be playing. No offence!

I dabble with guitar. I mostly get asked to play bass. This pedal makes a bridge between the other 2 pedals. I appreciate the extreme gain end of the DS1 and the bluesy tone of the bb1 more now I have this one. This is another flavour. It wont be the last pedal I buy and I would replace it if it went AWOL.

Could not get a good sound out of it. There are only 2 knobs and it should have been easy, but it sounded awful. I wanted to use it instead of my old lpb-1 just as a line booster, but there is a tremendous treble dropoff with the pedal at lower gain settings.

Used it as a line driver for several stompboxes between a variety of Fender Strats and Fender Amps. The unit failed to be a decent line driver or preamp as both the first effect in the chain and the last effect.

Did not have it for long enough to know. Returned it to the store, Guitar Center, Totowa, NJ where I bought it.

never have dealt with DOD.

This pedal is not useable as a preamp (as its name indicated) because it kills the treble. As a distortion, some may like the sound. I was looking for the basic volumeof the guitar to be louder but the tone unchanged. At zero to 1/2 turn of the gain knob, there is a huge treble dropoff. Stick with you lpb-1.

No brainer..... Level and Gain. Not much that can go wrong there.

This is the second one I've had..... the first one I had, I traded in as part of paying for a Tech 21 XXL..... which I then traded off later on for a Voodoo Lab Overdrive... which is said to copy this pedal, but with an added gain stage. Good tone, but way too much gain.... at least if you're trying to get a sound similar to the OD 250. I somtimes crank the Level and set the gain at about 3/4's or so... like I said in the previous review. But, when using my Fuzz Faces, I set both the Level and Gain to 1:00. That gives the FF's the right amount of extra boost that makes it oh so nice =-) Here's how I run it: lefty '68 reissue Fender Strat > Vox wah > germanium Fuzz Face > silicon Fuzz Face > OD 250 > Peavey Classic 20. Curiously, when I crank the gain, just like the VL Overdrive, it gives a bit of a treble boost, although not QUITE as pronounced as on the Voodoo Lab. All in all, a VERY warm and tubey type overdrive/distortion =-)

I bought it used, and although there is a fair amount of goop on onbe side of it which is prolly from velcro, it was in very nice condition. As I don't have a band yet :/, it'll definitely stand me stomping on it.... being housed in an MXR-style enclosure.

Again, being used, whatever warranty there was is long gone. And even if there were, I'd prolly void the warranty if and when I convert this thing to true bypass.

I was after a different type of overdrive than the Tubescreamer TS-5 I owned previously. This will be a keeper =-) Only quibbles I have is that it's not true bypass.... but then again I'm guessing the originals weren't either.... or any 70s era effect for that matter. Another thing is having to unscrew the 4 screws just to get to the battery. If there's at least one good thing to say about DOD's current effects line is their battery compartments. But then again, this thing isn't a battery sucker either and it also has an AC adaptor jack. And speaking of the bypass...... although not having true bypass, again I can't discern much tonal suckage when in the effects chain; but I do place it at the very end of the chain, so I don't know how it'd affect the other boxes I have. Although after I convert it to true bypass, that won't be a problem. I love this thing.... a good example of at least one thing DOD got right =-)

Two Knobs, gain and level. I give it an eight because the controls are very dependent on each other to tweak the sound just right. Unlike a distortion+ or newer pedals where the drive/gain control controls the amount of distortion and the level is a volume control these controls work together and can make or break this pedal. Too high on the level and the distortion starts to become more shrill. You probably will need to search for the controls sweet spots.

I found using this pedal with single coil pick ups and used in conjunction with another source for overdrive will give the best results. Running the 250 overdrive into a Hiwatt Bulldog combo already overdriven provides a very cutting tone for leads and the "blizzard of Nails" British amp sound on chords. Even more impressive was the DOD 250 after a tube screamer with the tube screamer's drive at about 11:00 position with the 250 set about 10:00 on the gain and the level over 12:00, into a Blackface Super Reverb. The tone was very in your face '70's type rock tone. Plenty of highs but not overly shrill. Trying to push the gain on the pedal, especially with the level turned up as well, can lead to some extremly shrill sounds that some may find usefull but most would say hurts their ears. You really need to work with it a bit.

Has not broke yet.

Never dealt with DOD, but my pedal is about 20 years old so I would not expect much.

I give it a nine because it adds the signal boost I am after, plus adds more depth to the tone, both in highs and lows, unlike most signal boosters, like a micro amp or lpb 2 etc. It lives up to the preamp name in that way. On the down side this pedal IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. Blues purists and "women tone" mongers would probably hate it. The pedal works best when seeking a heavy handed, but not metal insanity, cutting tone. Equally good for alterna rockers and that classic 70's overdriven tone. Stomp box nuts should find it to be pretty cool. A little playing around with it in ones rig should provide happy results. For more info check out tonefrenzy.com. My 250 is the older grey one and their sound sample for their grey one is pretty close.

Anyone can use this pedal, there are just two knobs (Gain and Level) and an on/off button

I bought mine in 1978, back when I was in a happening band in Boston. I used it with my 100Watt Marshall Stack because I couldn't get the distortion levels for that rock crunch without cranking the hell out of the Marshall head. this little box served me well then and continues to serve me today.

As I said above, I have owned it for over 20 years and it has never had a problem even though I have broken the battery cable in half and still use it this way. I have moved away from the Marshall stack and are into blues more these days, so I don't use it as often, but my 11 year old son does with his rig. Maybe he will pass it on to his kids?

Never needed to contact them in over 20 years. Pretty good, eh?

I understand that they just reissued this pedal in the last year. I saw it in a magazine and I am not surprised because I am sure that some of them are wearing down after 20 years and I may need a new one someday!