DOD FX87 Edge

Well, there's just one knob that controls this, combined with a footswitch and a four LED diplay (three green and one red), its pretty straight forward to operate- even correctly!!!

The manual doesn't really have to say much. They give a nice little pictoral of where in the signal path the Edge should be placed, as well as a rather slapped together explanation of WHAT it does. This is a very technical processor crammed into a stomp case! As one poster said, this is a "poor man's BBE."

Sound quality of an additive distortion generator? Hmm, lets see?
Well, it true DOD and Boss fashion, it uses a FET switch to turn the signal on and off. While this isn't true bypass, its about as good as it gets for this type of switch...

First of all, you must understand that if you WANT to add sparkle and bite to your sound, thats what will happnen. This unit is not the magic bullet to the end of sloppy playing, just the opposite! Much like a BBE or Aphex, this unit seems to magnify things going through it's processor, much like a really good mastering EQ would, but without the ability to zero in on selected areas.

Again, as one reviewer here submitted, the Edge does seem to process at a lower frequency than wither BBE or Aphex, but I think that is part of the idea. Most guitar rigs (I'm actually a bass guitarist) have a limited frequency range, and by making the processing range higher than it already is, most amps wouldn't benefit from that. By keeping the processing range lower, its more easily heard through, say a 12" speaker, for example...

I have to say that I was a little skeptical. When I pulled this unit off the shelf at the Local Music Store, I wasn't too sure what to expect. But for the $50CDN I paid, I thought, "well, if its a dud or craps out, at least I have a really nice case to build something into, although an expensive one at that!!!"

Onto the sound. I wired this unit into my pedal board after the following- Boss DS-1, TR-2, and DC-2. When the pedal is out, there is no noise to give away that anything else is hooked up and running, but when the pedal is activated, the sound just sparkles! Its not like adding a tweeter horn to the speaker, thats TOO much top end (especially for distortion), but more like the sound has been focussed, if that makes sense. There is more clarity to the signal, more "there" there if you like, and the tone is a little more cutting, IMHO.

BTW, don't pump enough signal into this to flash the red LED on a regular basis, only occasionally, otherwise the unit itself will add a harsh clipping-like sound to the signal. This would be the unit's only downfall...

My biggest plan is to use the unit primarily when its time to solo or if I have to start off a tune. I don't plan to leave it on all the time, but only for those special occasions that say "shine".

A 9, but not for pristine sound quality (remember the red LED!!!), but for actually doing what it says it will do when operated properly...

I have heard, and worked on/trashed DOD pedals for their crappy foot switching capabilities in the past. While I have never had a DOD pedal long enough to die from stomp syndrome, I have had the electronics die on an Octoplus many years ago (before switching to the now disco'd Boss OC-2). I can only hope that at some point I may transfer the Edge over to an empty Boss shell and footswitch or similar project case. Too early in the game thus far...

Other than that, an actual metal case that should last a life time...

If you need an extra bit of sparkle to your tone, but don't want to fork out big coin for a BBE or Aphex rack, finding one of these used might be just what you are looking for.

I was pleasantly surprised at just how neat and crisp (without hardness) this unit projected things when setup with just the right amount of "process" and a proper signal level.

Now the BBE has a stomper available, these units will either vanish into oblivion, or suddenly become a favourite higher seller on Epay.

Who knows? I like it...

This is one of two DOD pedals that is misunderstood by many guitar players. This pedal (and the older FX85, the Harmonic Enhancer) add presence or "sheen" to a signal in a very similar manner as an Aphex Aural Exciter, or a BBE Sonic Maximizer. I haven't seen the schematics for either so I can't determine the design.

However, with one knob and the ability to crank the "process" to unusable levels, the effect is easy to hear. It adds presence and high end in a manner an EQ just can't.

This thing is quiet, moreso than the earlier FX85. It will boost any high end noise or hiss in a signal, so overuse isn't a good idea.

All "harmonic exciters or enhancers" use one of two or both of these processes.

A high pass filter will separate the high end of your signal. Then the high passed signal will be clipped or distorted. The distortion adds new higher harmonics which are added back to the original signal in small amounts. This creates a high end that wasn't there in the original signal. It is not perceived as distortion.

The second method splits the signal into two or three frequency bands, then delays the mid band a tiny bit, and the bass band a tiny bit more. This causes the listener to hear the high frequency band first, although the delays in the lower bands isn't perceivable.

Because you hear the high band first, your brain perceives it as louder than the lower bands. This is a subtle, but demonstrable phenomenon.

Descriptions of these designs will have descriptions of changing the phase angle, yada, yada, but I'm convinced the phase explanation is just describing what the circuits happen to produce when splitting the bands, not a feature actually designed into the unit, but a side effect of the circuit.

The FX87 is not as subtle as some units, probably due to the crossover point being set lower than a BBE might be set. If checked with a Real Time Ananalyzer, I'd expect to see the process start around 1k. Too bad this frequency isn't adjustable.

The FX87 sounds great though. As with all enhancer/exciters, the best way to set it is to turn it up until the effect is clearly heard, then back it off just a hair.

The right amount of enhancement is a pretty subtle setting, although, for effect, the thing can be cranked, and with a muddy amp, it might be just the thing.

This all works quite differently than an eq being a dynamic process that responds to how hard the guitar is strummed. An eq won't do that.

I have had few problems with any DOD product. I also bought a bunch of NOS battery covers to replace missing ones. A weakness of DOD pedals I'm afraid. I've seen problems with the switches too, but haven't had any go out on me.

I've dozens of DOD pedals and they have been quite reliable, at less-than-Boss prices.

DOD/Digitech has been quite good, and has supplied me with schematics for free if they had them. They don't seem to have them for this pedal, but they are pretty great people to deal with.

I wish some of their DOD pedal line continued. They will be missed. The replacememt Boss-type pedals are nice, but there was a cheesy, but great quality to their older pedals like this one.

I spent too much on this one, but it is mint and they aren't easy to find. I've been playing since 1967 and used the older FX85 in my overly-complicated biamped bass rig through the 80's. This one will probably end up in a similar rig.

I do wish it had a second control...possibly a frequency control, but it is great as is. Compared to my BBE's, Aphex Aural Exciter or my Roctron RX10 (which does seem to only play with the phase), it is more guitar-friendly and just the thing to add high end sheen and presence.

Nobody steals from me. If you've seen my other reviews, you'd understand. I'm a happy, handy gun owner and enjoy GSP location technology. Would I put a GSP chip in a cheap little pedal like this? They ain't expensive, but let's just say, if it is stolen, I'll find it in minutes and the repo man in me always tells me to carry a 6 round friend with me to help teach a thief that it isn't nice to steal.

According to the manual, this little box clarifies an over-processed signal. Twisting it's single knob clockwise does just that. I wouldn't call it an 'effect', it's more of an outboard presence control...

Used in the following setup:

Strat -> Overdrive -> Distortion -> (one of several)
Fender Tube Reverb -> Analog Delay -> FX87 ->
modified Fender SF Bassman -> 2x12" Cabinet...

As advertised, it brightens a heavily distorted signal, reducing some of the mud created by the overdrive/distortion/reverb/delay combo. It introduces some noise - DOD claims a 90db signal-to-noise ratio which sounds like a stretch - however the impact it makes is profound. When engaged, each preceding effect become more pronounced and clear. It's best used sparingly, though. I typically leave it set to 11 o'clock but never turn it past 12 noon. A bright, 'tinniness' results from overuse; instant ice-pick to the ears, it's one weakness.

I like it a lot for hard rock. It does bring out tons of harmonics so think heavy metal. Good for chords and leads...

Overall, it's a good-sounding box that does one thing well. It's completely unceccesary if little / no signal processing is used.

Solid as a rock, except for the battery cover...

Great. DOD sent me a 4 new battery covers for free after I inquired about buying replacements.

It's a one trick pony, no doubt, but it's a decent trick. I would recommend it for anyone looking to clean up a muddy sound.

One knob that controls the amount of effect. Pretty simple. Hardest part is figuring out where to put it in your chain--either first or last pedal.

My experiences are that this pedal is supremely noisey when used in conjunction with distortion both pre and post gain; so I'd recommend a noise gate for any appliations.

From what I remember the best tones came from putting this early in your signal chain before distortion--preferabbly the first pedal you feed into. This allows you to lose part of the 'fakey' sound that the Edge pedal imparts on your tone (like all harmonic signal enhancers) as you run it thru your distortion EQ and post-distortion EQ.

Generally I don't have much of a need for this type of pedal anymore. I dig more natural organic sounds, but people still into 80's shred or modern tones may like it--it boosts clarity and brightness a great deal in the same manner as a BBE Sonic Maximizer or any harmonic exciter will do.

For clean sounds it is actually quite a good pedal if you must have sparkly bright sounds.

Personally I think DOD pedals are mediocre.

Well, I got this pedal in the late 80's for ten bucks off some guy that didn't like it. I experimented with it for a while and I took it off my setup when I began simplifying things in 1989-90 era (one listen of Soundgarden convinced me that metal was passe... turns out that was true). I tossed out my Crybaby Wah (horrible pedal), Rockman Compressor and the Edge Pedal. Over the years I sold the wah and compressor but totally lost the Edge Pedal--there's a moral in here somewhere.

I wouldn't mind if I found it again to give it a whirl, but I wouldn't bother buying it again.

Think of this as the POOR MAN'S BBE SONIC MAXIMIZER. If you want one of those in your setup for your sound but don't want to pay the price tag this thing is just as good--in fact if I remember correctly it had a lot more presence than the lower-end BBE's do now. Honestly, for the 20 bucks these go for it is a helluva deal.

DISCLAIMER: Just so you know I admit my review *is* biased because I don't want those modern tones. However, this is still a pretty good pedal if you want that in your setup. Hey, at least I'm being honest right?

No manual, purchased used. very easy to use one nob.

My set up is ever-changing: but currently it is:
Esp H-307 Ltd 7-string to a Home-made Pedal board which houses the following: Boss NS2, Digitech Xp-300 ,DOD Eq ,The DOD FX87 "edge" ,DOD Chorus and a Rocktech Tuner pedal. My peadalboard is routed to my effects loop of a Marshall JMP-1 Midi/Tube preamp which is racked with a BBE 462 sonic maxamizer and powered by a Peavey Classic 60/60 All Tube poweramp. The Power amp powers one Marshall 1960 A 4x12 Cabinet.
W/ this set up I can obtain sounds from Deftones /Fear Factory tones to Classic Creamy Plexi, like Clapton and good rock tones. (thanks to the Marshall JMP-1)

I own a few DODs none have failed me. But of course, the battery packs never last. All of my are lost or require duct-taping.

Never dealt w/ DOD.

I mostly play metal, however I love all types of guitar tone.
Ive been playing for 10yrs now and ive never seen or heard anything about this pedal untill one day i saw it at a pawn shop. It has four LED lights which show the process level. one nob (process).
Basically this pedal is boosts treble and adds a little bit of saturation to high gains. For clean it really does brighten up the chords and notes are a little more articulate. This pedal is really "no frills" and a simple but subtle addition to my rig.
the only reasons i purchased it was because, Ive never seen one before, and the LED lights looked cool. Kinda trival, i know but for $25 who gives a fuck?
If it were lost or stolen, I would be pissed, because my guess is that it may one day it could be worth money. DOD doesn't make them anymore, and who knows I might just one day put it on E-bay and make $50 bucks and double my money.