DOD FX70 Metal X

I bought this pedal years ago and have always found it easy to use. It's like any other simple pedal...with no stupid names for level, high, low, and gain.

I've enjoyed this pedal with a variety of rigs over the years, but it is pretty much limited to metal and modern punk. Someone talked about blues with this pedal, but that's a joke. It's a super high gain pedal. Even with the gain turned all the way down it still is fuzzy. Still, it's great for metal...I play an Ibanez through it and into an old tube amp and it rocks. I use other overdrive pedals for any other sound, though.

Some people talk about how crappy their DOD pedals are, but I've had two of them for 10+ years without any problems. Don't try to smash it when you stomp and it should be fine.

I've never had to call them, but because this pedal was discontinued years ago, you can't get the manual from the website. They have manuals for other discontinued pedals, but not this one.

They're pretty cheap used and are great for playing something heavy. Just remember what you've bought. It is a specialized pedal. It can't do everything. I've been using it for more than 10 years and wouldn't even think of selling it.

This is my initial review after spending an hour with it through my amp with 2 guitars. Features are listed in reviews below.

I played it through my Kustom Quad100DFX head through a Seismic Audio 2x15 cab and a Legion Sound 4x12 individually. I also A/B'd it against a DOD FX69B Grunge. The Grunge is too fizzy and extreme, but the Metal-X is just the ticket. It has a wider gain sweep than the Grunge, and has more useable sounds. I like it best with the gain at 10:00, the low at 3:00, and the high at 3:00. The Kustom head has shit for EQ, so the pedal makes all the difference. It's decent enough, has more mids than the Grunge and sounds like it will cut through the drums better (which is the Grunge's downfall). I do wish it had a mid sweep, but hey, I'll buy an EQ.

I know the switches on older DODs tend to take a powder, but we'll see...

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Four knobs, distortion amount, Low, Mid, and level. Dead easy

I bought this pedal because I heard it was one of the heaviest pedals ever. I play lofi rock and I've used a Grunge pedal in addition to a RAT for normal use for years - not because it sounds good you understand but it gives an uncontrollable noise to get a wall of noise for occasional freakout bits. It sounds horrible. Which is good. I heard that this was totally out of control and like a Grunge on 11. I expected this pedal to be heaver than a grunge ie: total sonic Armageddon in a box. I was disappointed. It's pretty loud and it's louder than the grunge pedal. But it's not as distorted and it's got that scooped mids sound I hate. I guess I was pretty stupid to expect more from a pedal called metal X, but it's been released under different names too (Corrosion, Big Pig). It probably is one of the heaviest pedals ever but no mids mean a lot of the distortion and power is lost. You can adjust the highs and lows but there are always no mids with this pedal. Grrr.
The pedal is noisy and has a nasty synthetic sound that will work well for industrial and metal.

This pedal is for METAL. If you are into Marilyn Manson and all the nu metal stuff you'll like this pedal. It's really distorted and has no mids whatsoever. It gives that chainsaw guitar sound or a wall of noise. But there's no mids and this means I don't stand out with a band. I personally don't understand why anyone would want to scoop the mids. But whatever floats your boat I guess.

It's DOD which means footswitch problems agogo. It's basically reliable but you'll have to fix things with your soldering iron. It's always small things that go wrong you can fix yourself.
Bizzare 10 v power supply.

Never reply to emails. I've never had a response from them, ever!

This is a really distorted pedal for nu metal. I'm not into metal and therefore I didn't like it. But you might want to consider this if you like all this seven string music and are just starting out. It's not the sort of thing you will use when you get to be in a professional band though, you'll want a big stack of amps. But it will more than do for playing the Beautiful People in your bedroom.

Very easy, four knobs with good manipulation of the high and low EQ.

I bought this pedal in 96, or 97 and I have always loved the sound. It has been sitting on the back burner though for a couple of years but i have just recently put it to use again with my new setup. It is unique because of a certain amount of static noise it includes in its distortion. Its thick and very "shoegazing." But if the distortion is turned down, you can achieve a nice pre-amp tube distortion.

Here are the problems, the stomp box has a PLASTIC footswitch. That just doesn't make any sense what-so-ever. You would think DOD would learn that plastic does indeed break when pressure is applied to it, but they still manufacture all their pedals with plastic footswitches. You got me? I have been lucky though, i haven't broken it yet.
The battery hookup broke almost immediately, but I use AC adaptor anyway. But that socket is now giving me problems as well. Sometimes it turns on, sometimes it doesn't, if you jiggle it and smack it, it tends to work. But once you've got the pedal on there is not turning it off, other than unplugging it. I've tried multiple adaptors so that isn't the problem. I took it apart and all the transistors and cables were still connected, nothing broken except of course the battery hookup. So I believe if I remove the batter plug-in completely it will solve the problem.

I am in the middle of contacting their support now. There is a direct 1-800 number on their website open on weekdays. Otherwise they have a page where you fill out an e-mail to the company about your query, or problem.

It has four knobs; level, low, high and gain. Tweaking can't get much easier for a pedal. I wish it did have a midrange or contour knob though.

I originally bought the pedal because I couldn't get enough gain from my Crate GX 2x12 combo. I liked the increased gain but not the increased noise. I tried using it at low gain settings as an overdrive for the the same setup also. Again, I liked the sound but not the noise. When I got my Mesa/Boogie strategy 500 power amp, I used this as the preamp for it until I could upgrade to a Triaxis. The sound is EXTREMELY good when run through a decent tube power amp section. The pedal does have noise, but I'm planning on keeping it because it simply has killer distortion. It looses one point for noise while on and one point for some noise while it's in bypass.

I have not had a problem with it ever except for a battery dying. I have the ac adaptor for it now, however, so that is no longer a problem. I would suggest not stomping too hard on the pedal switch since it's plastic, but overall the chassis and controls can take a fair amount of pressure without sustaining damage. It looses one point for having a plastic switch.

I've never used their customer support.

For thrash, shredding, some death metal, some industrial, some alternative rock and any music that you need high-gain distortion for, this pedal delivers. I now have a Mesa Triaxis, so this pedal will only see occasional use, but it will still get used, just not as often.
Like I said in the features section, a midrange EQ control or contour knob would've been great, however the death metal distortion box is the only DOD pedal I know of that does have a three band EQ.
The noise that comes along with using it is the only thing that I strongly dislike about it.

simple design

this is a weird review. I stopped buying pedals like this when I was about 16. I've owned all sorts of crap that every 14 year old metal head wanted when he first started playing guitar. I'm in my early twenties now and my rig has undergone uncountable changes. Anyway, the other day me and the other guitarist in the band

www.randomactsofviolence.net

are in our practice space and we're without one of our amps. So he grabs the only available head in the space.. an old ass Marshall super lead 100W MK II. The only distortion pedal around is our bassist's old DOD Metal X. "damn this is going to sound like shit" we thought. So he plugs into his rig and tweaks a little bit. It started to sound pretty damn good after a few minutes. So good in fact that I tried out the pedal and head with my rig. So it was a Les Paul custom with a Trembucker into the Metal X, into the Marshall super lead, into a VHT 4x12 into a Bogner 4x12. Good god. It blew away anything I've heard in terms of volume. The tone itself if a little dirty but perfect for thrash. It sounds great really. It's embarassing to admit this rig but dammit I don't care about the means, it's all about the sound. The lead tone needs a little work but if you're looking for some serious thrash tone, go for this. No joke.

The pedal I used looked as though it had been set on fire and put out with horse piss. worked fine.

awesome in this setup. Just the right amount of beer at the right time I guess.

Not much to it. Take yer time and listen.

This pedal kicks so much ass. It simply ROCKS!!!!! I use the metal X with an Ibanez Graphic EQ (GE-9) thru a 100w Marshall Valvestate w/4x12 cab and it's fucking awesome. I mostly play Metal, Death, Thrash. Everything from Slayer to Sepultura, Deicide to Cannibal Corpse, Just blows me away....

It's pretty much been thru everything and I use it all the time and it hasn't failed me for the last 3 years.

Never had to deal with them.

Metal, Rock, Punk, Blues all the bases are covered on this one.

You may get many guitar sound easily, there is only four knobs. The manual is very simple, but it has some tips for how obtain "Metal Crunch Rythm", "Hendrix" tone, "Raspy Blues" and "Metal Lead".

The sound is pretty good using the max mid, bass and dist. knobs. there is a heavily grind distotrion, you can get guitar sound like Sabbath to Metallica. I have not a compressor, so the lead parts are very noisy.

This effect is exellent for home practice, for a live gig is very simple and is very hard to set the unit for other tones.

In Peru is hard to get thecnical support, Music store where I bought my unit don't (can't) help. The only way is have knownledge about electronics.

For metal tunes or vintage rythm is a good match, I bought it in 96', I have an own builded amp and phaser and sounds geat wiht the FX70.

This pedal is quite easy to use- just 4 knobs. Your basic level, lows, highs, and gain controls that are standard on any pedal

This pedal sounds awesome with a graphic equalizer. I use this through a Fender Ultimate Chorus and an Ibanez RG270DX and it sounds great. Without the EQ, distortion is great, but no crunch is produced. But put the mids down on the EQ, the low to 10, the high to 7.5, and the gain to 10 and you will be amazed. For that Metallica/Megadeth crunch , this pedal makes it happen happen.

I got this pedal off my friend who bought it used in mid 1996. I have not had one problem with this pedal yet. Other people say that DOD products break down within weeks or even days of purchasing. This pedal has gone through weekly band practices, numerous gigs and my size 10 foot, and it still hasn't broken in 3 years. Quite amazing.

Never dealt with the company, don't think I ever will.

I play in a Metal/Hard Rock band, and this pedal suit me fine. I've played for about 3 years now and have tried numerous distortion pedals. DOD makes products that seem unstoppable, and this is no exception. I own a DOD Graphic Equalizer, a DOD Ice Box, and a Jimi Hendrix Wah. The Metal X sounds great with all three. The crunch tone is amazing with an equalizer. I haven't come across another pedal like it. BUY THIS PEDAL!!!

The manual is complete. The settings included worked well. But i think you should never use them on a gig. There is four knobs...so its as easy as any other pedal.

The distortion is pretty good. But the noise that comes out of this box makes me crasy!!! It produces feedback all the time and it is only designed to use with a N-G according to me. The sound is maybe as nearly as good as a BOSS metal-zone....but with less mid-cut. It sounds awful with all the settings the way up...

I HAD 3 DOD PRODUCTS IN MY LIFE AND I WONT GET 4!!!! It may be made out of cast-iron...the foot switch died after 2 weeks of use. And i took good care of it. My dod FX-7 also broke after 2 months and my Thrash Master's footswith also broke after a year. Its 3000 times les durable than a BOSS. You can kill a DOD...without any problems. It's enough crappy for making me stop buying any Digitech/Dod products. It's unbelievable how it's fragile.

Its fair. It took 3 weeks to change a single piece in my FX-7. And it took 4 weeks to the guys at DOD to give me my Metal-X back after the distortion had fucked up. (yes, i had many problems with the FX-70!!1)

Like i said before, DOD had not impressed me and i don't recommend any of their products. Maybe that you already got one and its ok but don't expect it to be as good as SOME BOSS pruducts.

Pretty easy to use. 4 knobs: Level, High, Low, and Dist. The included manual is very good. It has some cool settings and suggestions to get you started. It works just like any other distortion pedal with 4 knobs.

Just what the doctor ordered! Has a wide range of sounds; everything from a thrashy grit to a warm soft sort of overdrive tone. The HIGH knob gives the sound a nice EDGE while the LOW knob gives the sound a lot of "meat." The tone control seem to have a lot more effect compared to other distortion boxes I've tried. You can do a lot with this pedal. It's pretty easy to set.

The box is made of metal. It's nice and heavy and the switch seems pretty sturdy, especially compared to other pedals I've seen. I don't think I would need a backup. And best of all, it comes with a 3 year warranty while other manufactures offer only 1 year! That says a lot.

Never had to deal with them.

This pedal has a great distorion tone. For the price, you can't go wrong! I like the metal rythm and thrashy sounds it can make. By turning down the HIGH and DIST knobs, you can make a FUZZ sound. The range of sounds are endless. You just have to try one out and play around with it. I am definately going to try more DOD pedals!

Anyone with a double-digit IQ can figure this one out. Volume (for volume), low (for bass), high (for treble), and drive (for distortion). You can find whatever sound you're looking for pretty easily, it's mostly just a combination of low and high. The manual is straight- forward, and has everything you need to know. The suggested settings are so-so, an OK place to start, but I rarely use them anymore.

There is a little bit of hiss when the unit is on, but what do you expect from a distortion pedal? When it's off, it's completely silent. I like the sound a lot, you can get some great rhythm distortions from it. If you want to play power chords, this thing can shred. Sounds a LOT better when the volume is a little past "parents are home" levels. You can get a lot of alternative distortion settings, I don't find as much use for them now. There are, however, a few settings that are just plain weak, not good for anything.

This pedal is practically made out of cast-iron. You could pitch this thing down fifteen flights of stairs, pick it up and start playing. I would trust it with my life.

Never had to have it fixed, so I wouldn't know.

It's a pretty good pedal, if you want powerful but not devastating distortion. I probably wouldn't buy it again, but that's because I've changed playing styles. Whereas I used to play mostly alternative stuff, I've found my true calling in the blues. For alternative, though, it kicks ass. You can get some really evil tones out of it. Especially good for low-end, power chord distortion. For blues, it just doesn't stand a chance. Instead, I'd probably try out a blues driver or a tubescreamer. It all depends on what you want. If this is your first stomp box, then go for it.

Difficult to get bad sounds out of it.

Quietest one I tested even with Strat/single coil pickups. Able to make powerful humbuckerish tones with my classic strat. Very useful.

Hasn't failed me yet.

Never needed support. DOD is a US company and I like that.

I recommend it to any rock or fusion guitarists. Don't let the "Metal X" moniker scare you away. Even at very high distortion levels it is relatively quiet and controllable. The bass and treble nob combination allow a wide variety of tones. The pink/red paintjob is garish and ugly but I guess the look goes with the scarey "Metal X" name. I haven't used my Ibanez Tube Screamer in months.