DOD 250 Vintage Distortion

Just like everyone says, two knobs, not so difficult. Mine's a 2nd generation board, with the LF351 op-amp, but appears to be in a formerly grey box. I got this off Ebay a few years ago, someone had painted it with pink and purple stripes, totally 80's. Bottom panel is still painted grey though. Date code on sticker inside is July 1982. That opamp was used in the first yellow ones, but maybe this was a leftover grey case or somthing. Who knows...

Perfect for it's intended use, I just use it to push the amp a little.

Your amp will make a huge difference in what you get out of this box. The thing is not a distortion sound generator, but just gives a bit of a push to the input, making good amps sing.

It's funny, I used a grey version with a 50W Marshall JCM800 vertical input top (was my first new amp) back in the very early 80's. I knew the combination sounded great, but eventually got rid of it for something else. Ooops, who knew the little grey box would end up so expensive! Back then it was just equipment, all new, no big deal.

I read an interview with BigEgo Malmsteen a few years back, where he described his rig, which was very much like mine, just with more amps. It was good tone.

Amps I use it with now are my own builds, an 18W Marshall-type, and a 50W Plexi type thing. Sometimes through a Matchless clone I built, but it doesn't like that one as much as the Marshall circuits.

Bulletproof.

No clue, I've never called DOD, though I have an EQ pedal from the 90's, and had to replace the switch. Not something to call the factory over, though.

These are great, though the reissues are really harsh to my ears. If you can't find a reasonably-priced vintage one, get an Analogman-modded reissue, or mod it yourself, if you're so inclined.

My favorite overdrive, over nearly 30 years of playing.

Two knobs, clearly marked. If you can't figure out how to use this pedal, you should be selling pencils at the airport.

I'm using this as an overdrive for bass. I've searched high and low for a decent sounding bass overdrive. I bought the DOD 250 after it was recomended to me by several other bass players. My search is now over. This pedal gives me the mild clipping that I've been looking for. Other pedals add WAY too much fuzz/distortion and give the bass a buzzsaw quality. The DOD 250 gives a nice 60's/70's overdriven bass amp sound. Other reviews have said that this pedal is noisy--they must have defective pedals--this thing is dead silent, even when cranked.

It's built to withstand quite a bit of abuse. I've had no problems with it so far. I wouldn't bring a backup--if it died on a gig, I'd survive. It's not a critical part of my "sound".

Forget it. Don't waste your time with DOD. I've never dealt with them regarding the 250, but I have with other products. Learn to do repairs yourself or take it to a local repair shop.

I play Rock, Blues, and Jazz. I've been playing since about 1979-80. I use to use an original MXR distortion back then, but wasn't happy with the way bass sounded with it. Thus began my search for an acceptable bass overdrive. If is was stolen I'd definately buy another one. The only thing that I wish it had was an LED light to indicate when it's on--no big deal, but it woud've been a nice addition. Bottom Line: If you're a bass player who's on a quest for the "Holy Grail" of overdrives, give the DOD 250 a try. It might be the one you're looking for. Of course, there's also the possibility that you might hate it, but you'll never know unless you try.

Is very easy to use.

Now im using it with a Fender Amercian Strat Plus with Lace Sensors.
Even a lot of the reviewers said was noisy, i don't found this to be a problem. I own a Original one, i traded it for a very bad acoustic guitar, i'm glad i did.

The sounds you can find in this Lbox are quite colourful.

I have two problems though. One is the screws for the battery change. I resolve it leaving only two of them (at opposite corners) so when the time for battery change comes i just unscrew one a little and remove the other. PRoblem number two: The batterys run out so fast that is almost imposible to use one for two gigs.

So that makes it not so reliable for gigs. At least for me.

like my friend in peru said. Ha ha ha ha ha!!
Im in Ecuador, i have difficult finding strings here!!!!

a good back up , but not a main.

You have to work a lot to get the perfect sound. Your tone depends in the level.

You can get a lot of tones from this little box but it requires time. This is one of the greatest overdrives that I have heard. You can get a very fat sound like SRV. You can get that Clapton old sound in Cream. And you can get a very dirty overdrive. This is the oldest pedal in my chain and is the one I love more.
Now I have my own sound!

I play a strat with single coils ?) Boss Hyper fuzz--) Morley Wah --) DOD Envelope Filter --) DOD Overdrive 250 --) DOD Delay sampler --) Boss Flanger --) Ibanez Equalizer --) Marshall JTM 60

You can throw it to someone?s head and I?m sure that you can kill him.

Here in Peru? HA, HA, HA

I play alternative rock. It is my main pedal. AND PLEASE TEST YOUR EFFECTS WITH TRUE AMPLIFIERS NOT WITH THAT STATE 30-WATTS CRAP.
DID I MENCION THAT I'LL KILL IF SOMEONE STEAL ME THIS LITTLE BOX.

all been said before, very easy, just 2 knobs and your ears

I liked this box alot when I first got it and liked it for that hard to find barely there breakup and thickened clean sound, but still thought the fuzz a little rough. So here goes, anyone with any skill and a small soldering pencil can mod this into a GREAT sounding just breaking OD. Inside is a simple circuit and there are 2 clipping diodes, one going one way and one going the other way. Just soften the solder on one of the diodes and replace it with two. Twist 2 together(both going the same direction) then , making sure to put them in opposite of the other, resoften the solder and insert the free ends, one at a time. REALLY SMOOTH LIGHT DISTORTION THAT I HAVEN'T FOUND ANYWHERE ELSE. And I think this unit retains the natural tone of your guitar, which is good.

I have been buying the new little danos lately, because they sound good and they're cheap but now I'm starting to have problems with there footswitches. THIS DOD HAS A NICE HEALTHY POINT TO POINT WIRED BYPASS

TRY THE MOD

This device is fairly difficult to get the "perfect" sound out of it. I have 2 of the reissues. Yellow casing, 2 knobs, Gain and Level. It requires some real listening tests to get it to perform in your prefered setup. I have noticed that at low gain setttings the drive lacks treble, and at several specific, sensitive spots, it is full across the freq. bandwidth. Esp. at higher gain settings. You just have to set it up according to your gear.

I have bought and sold a multitude of gear over the past few years. Many stompboxes, digital multieffects, and lots of studio rack effects. I have recently sold all this gear on online auctions, and have been searching for the perfect pedal board setup. I have a Warmoth Strat with Fender CS '54s and a Duncan Little '59 in the bridge. This is my main axe. I use a 70s Fender Bassman 50 amp with a 2x12" closed back cab. I bought one of the Dod's for $30 from GC, just to try it out, and was surprised. I opened it up and found it is a very basic soft-clipping type of overdrive. Very simple, very nice sounding. I was looking for a slightly higher gain pedal than my Tubeworks Bluetube Enhancer. This fit the bill perfectly. I had a Boss DS-1 distortion but that was a little over the top sounding to me, and a bit grainy. This pedal (DOD 250) has a balanced bass and midrange response, but the treble is a bit lacking. For this reason, it is really good for power chord riffing, ala AC/DC, for that powerful 3 chord kind of music. My Warmoth Strat is not poly-coated, just stained, sealed, and waxed, so this may be why the treble was lacking. I just swapped the tone cap from a .022 uF to a .010 uF polyester cap, to get a bit more treble with the tone knob wide open, and this results in a more gradual treble reduction when lowering the tone knob. This will help with "darker," warmer sounding strat (250K pots) guitars with little treble response.

I have the first 250 setup for mild clipping and the second for more distortion. These two pedals, combined with the Bluetube, make a very versatile setup. It won't do the "metallic" distortion like a DS-1 or a Metal Zone, but it will capture Aerosmith, AC/DC, & Led Zepplin sounds. With the strat selector switch in the mid/bridge parallel position, it will do the Jeff Beck "Spririt in the Sky" broken speaker fuzz lead tone with both pedals dialed in. Well, at least in my axe. I really enjoy the sounds from this pedal. It is a very good sounding overdrive pedal. The first 250 with the milder settings sounds best with single coils- more gain will make it "farty" on the lower midrange. The Seymour Duncan Little '59 'bucker sounds great with any gain setting. Try a Radio Shack part number 272-1065 (.01uF polyester cap-100V) on your 250K pot strat if it sounds dark. Avoid ceramic caps, they aren't good for audio applications. Just my .02 cents.

It is housed in a thick metal casing and the internal electronics are very basic. And yes, it has a "true" bypass. Meaning it will pass the guitar signal if there is no power. So it doesn't suck tone. A very simple layed-out pedal, and a good one. It can be relied on.

Dod isn't too good with responding to emails. I wish they would be a bit more businesslike.

I have been playing for 13 years. I started with metal, and now I play a wider-range of music styles. From Portishead mellow to AC/DC rock. It doesn't need a tone knob if your guitar is setup right. It won't do the heavier metal genres, or the heavy palmed muted stuff like I used to play back in the late 80s-early 90s. It is an overdrive device, made to sound like a clipping tube amp. It's tonal response is lower than the Ibanez Tubescreamer, but it can do leads just fine. Try it out, it is worth it. I use two for all my overdrive needs. A great little yellow box.

Very easy, 2 knobs, Level & Gain -takes only 30 minutes to calibrate to it's best sound.

I use a US Strat with YJM, HS-3, HS-3 and I'm looking for the sound of Yngwie Malmsteen (he uses it too) and I think it's gotten me closer to his sound. It adds distortion, but unlike Boss overdrive models, it's a clear/clean overdrive which makes every tone easy to hear. -however it's rather noisy

Had no problem with it!

If you're into melodic rock musik & Yngwie Malmsteen you can't go wrong with this one. I use it with my Yngwie-like strat and my Les Paul fitted with Seymour Duncan 59. It just sounds great for both rythm and soloing. BUY IT ! -but be aware of the noise. It's almost a must to have some sort of noise reduction when you're using it!

Very easy to use once you decide what you want it to do. Has Gain and Level knobs, old style metal switch, no LED. Mine is the reissue. I paid like $50 or something. HERE'S THE THING...For another $20 you can mod this pedal for true bypass AND a status LED in about a half hour.
Read on.

I use primarily an ESP Hybrid II with a Duncan tele neck p/u and the stock ESP bridge humbucker into the 250...Budda Wah...Maxon Phase tone...Fulldrive II...Blues Pearl Texas Tornado 20 watt amp.
The distortion quality with gain past about 11:00 is kind of raspy for me. I bought the Fulldrive to replace the 250 but hooked them both up at a rehearsal and got me an education. The 250 smokes the Fulldrive in compressed mode. I set the level all the way up and the gain at 10-11:00 and it provides a COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT boost that overdrives the amp beautifully and makes all the effects after it sound fuller and more alive. BTW the Fulldrive does the same thing in uncompressed mode but I prefer the compressed sound for high-gain leads. I would certainly use the 250 alone when I have the amp cranked
as it can push a good tube amp right into fat city with no problems.

I bought this pedal specifically because I wanted a pedal I could mod for true bypass. It had a sturdy metal footswitch which was NOT attached to a PCB inside. I put a Fulltone 3PDT switch in and followed instructions I found at Analog-Man website for true bypass and it was pretty simple. The third pole on the switch operates the LED(instructions also at analogman).
The box is as sturdy as you can get and the pots have a good feel. Backup? We don't need no stinkin' backup!

I have never dealt with them and don't plan to. Be aware that modding your pedal as I did will likely void the warranty.

I play original rock, pop and blues as well as some modern rock and covers in a band of geezers like myself. This pedal is well suited for all if this, especially blues THE WAY I USE IT. It also works well with my neck p/u for the jazzier stuff I do.
Funny, after I bought the Fulldrive I figured to just retire this pedal or keep for a spare, but it may just end up being the only pedal I keep on all the time.

2 knobs: gain & level. Figger it out.

My setup: Gibson SG or Am. Std Tele - Crybaby Wah - DOD250 - Ampeg Reverberocket 1x12. Simple. This particular box is an original, probably about 25 years old. It has been through a few wars, but it works great. This is probably the raunchiest, dirtiest overdrive I have played, and that is why I bought it. It *is* a bit noisy if you crank a knob or two, but all distortion boxes are like that. If you are looking for a smooth overdrive or fuzz, you are looking in the wrong place. I use this box for light overdrive, and it sounds great. When I want high gain, I use my amp's overdrive channel. Using the 250 with my sg, I get sounds much like Santana on Abraxas. I'm not sure if it has true bypass or not. It is a little trebly when the gain is cranked, but thats not how I use it. The rating would be higher if the unit was less noisy.

Very dependable. The thing is built like a tank, and the switch has been stomped on for the last 25 years. Great construction. I play my small bar gigs without a backup, but they are fairly cheap so buying a couple wouldnt be too much of a problem.

Never dealt with them, and with this unit I wont have to.

I mostly play classic rock and blues - Zeppelin, Santana, etc. I have been playing for about 2 years, and I would definitely buy another one of these if it were lost or stolen. I have owned other inexpensive distortion/overdrive boxes - Boss DS-1, Danelectro Daddy-0. The 250 is comparable to the DS-1 in sound, but much better in my opinion. This is a *very* good light-overdrive box, and is built like a tank.

Two knobs, if you can't figure this out something's wrong with you. The best sounding boxes are the most simple.

I played this in the store through a strat copy with a S-S-H pickup combination. I plugged it straight into the amp, maxed out the OD, and put on the 'bucker. Bam, there was AC-DC. Good 'ol smooth overdriven distortion. The amp was a cheap little crate, and it sounded great. I can only imagine what it'll sound like through my hot rod deluxe and strat. It's no more noisy than any OD box you have. And for anyone looking for metal, look at the fuzz boxes. This aint it. This is for guitarists who like a good sound and don't have to hide behind tons of distortion. This 'lil box can hang with my original tube screamer.

It's solid, damn solid. I'm going to buy it, and use it for variety against my tube screamer and amp distortion. It's made to be used. I am buying it soon, the thing is hella cheap too, like $50, the best value on the market to me. But, I haven't been able to test reliability yet.

Never dealt with them.

I play in a southern rock/country band. I love metal, and blues, and hard rock, and pretty much everything, country just pays bills. I love rock and blues, and this is perfect for it. As for pedals, as I said, this can hang with a TS-9. 'Nuff said. I'm going to buy it, but if it were stolen, it's cheap enough to buy again easy. It sounds great, and that's all that matters. I just wish it had a little more drive, but this bad boy of a 'lil box will make you fall in love with it. It's worth the money.

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!

It has 2 knobs, gain and drive. Hard...

I'm using the preamp to push my Marshall 2210 + one 4x12 cabinet. I place it directly after the guitar ( Ibanez RG-something with a Tone zone and an Air Norton )in front of a MXR Analog Delay and a Bad Horsie Wah. The preamp works great for heavy rock and metal. The distortion is fat and kind of aggressive and it reminds me of the sound Marty Friedman has on the solos on the track Hangar 18 (Megadeth Rust in Peace). Yngwie Malmsteen used to push his old Marshall amps with a couple of those on Marching Out. It's a bit hissy when gain and level is full though, but nothing that a good noisegate can't handle.

It's totally made of steel except the two knobs. A backup would be great but they're hard to find. It has no rubberknobs on the underside so it can be flying around on the floor if you're not careful.

Never had any contact with DOD

I play metal and the DOD suits me perfectly. It's originally a copy of an MXR Micro Amp, but DOD made some improvements ex) two knobs instead of one. If you play rock and you need something to wake up the balls of your amp this is the stompbox preamp to get.

Very easy to use! There is 2 knobs - level and gain, this is how all distortion pedals should be!

I am using this with a '66 Fender Jaguar and a Fender Bassman amp. I went through 3 different pedals to find out that the least expensive one - the DOD 250 overdrive/preamp was the one I was looking for. None of the others could drive my amp as perfectly as this one does, whether it be slightly overdriven sounds or a wall of distortion I need.

I feel you can depend on it, I recommend a backup with any pedal. I do like the old metal switch on this pedal better than the typical DOD switch.

DOD has been good to me, I lost my receipt once on a chorus pedal that needed repairs. The store, an authorized DOD service center would not do the warranty work. I called DOD and they told me to send it back to them and it was fixed within weeks.

I play alternative rock and it is good with my setup for this. I would buy this again, in fact I probably will for a backup. I love the sound and ease of use the most, it is the overdrive pedal I have been looking for. I compared it to a big muff, a tube works real tube, and a boss ds-1 distortion - with my particular setup the DOD wins hands down. Distortion is a highly subjective sound and one pedal works great in one person's setup and lousy in another's. My 250 is the reissue that DOD just re-released and you cannot beat the price.

hmmm...... lemme see....... 2 knobs..... level & gain...... you'd have to be a complete idiot to have any trouble =-)

I have to disagree with the other review of this device....... the one i bought myself has a VERY VERY fat distortion quality....... although i got that by diming the level and having the gain at about 3/4's...... but otherwise it's a very very nice overdrive =-)

Other than a seemingly faulty footswitch, which i or a good tech could change out, I would without hesitation depend on it for a jam session or a gig..... although having a backup might be a good idea just in case one doesn't have an AC adaptor cuz of having to unscrew the 4 screws from the bottom to get to the battery.... that can be a pain =-) But like other old style effects I would expect this to not be a battery sucker.

have never dealt with them so i can't tell you anything either way

I'm glad I made the trip down to Key Largo to see the store that i bought it in =-) Very very nice overdrive like i said earlier. I would buy it again at full price if I had to. Only other thing I wish it had though was true bypass..... had a look at the switch and it's not a true bypass switch..... but there's no signal degredation so I'm happy =-)

Super easy, 2 knobs (drive & level)

Very subtle. Not to noisy. Not too crunchy either. If you are overdriving an old marshall or fender, a tube screamer or Boss overdrive sound better in my opinion

I would not buy this again, I think this (vintage)pedal is highly overated. It sounds closer to an MXR Distortion + than anything else. There are better units to overdrive a tube amp. However, this unit is cheap and has a low output impedence which is good for driving other effects