Korg 105od Classic Overdrive

Not a real review but important explanations about how it can sound better :

1/ Use a power supply! batteries make it sound noisy
2/ Always plug it first in the chain !
If you don't, you'll get crazy hum and hiss from it when turned on!
Try this and you'll see the difference !

Has a few slightly confusing switches and knobs without the manual.

I am super impressed with the quality of this distortion pedal. I mainly use DIY pedals but every now and then try a pedal out to see what it has to offer. This is a great sounding pedal. I gave it a 10 for being a simple stomp box distortion pedal and it's price range. Sounds far better (IMO) than most if not all rack mount unit distortions I have played through and also better than many pedals even modded ones I have tried out or owned (e.g. Boss DS-1, Boss SD-1, Ibanez TS-5). I also cannot figure out what these other people are talking about in regards to noise. they obviously have a defective pedal. I can turn everything on 10 and it is still very quiet although I haven't tried this at ear bleeding levels but anything will be noisy at those kind of volume levels. This is one of the most quiet distortion pedals I have ever heard.

I haven't owned it long enough to comment on this but it is physically built like a tank.

Never tried.

Fantastic value for it's league and type of pedal it is. Very good quality tone.

for the most part, it's pretty straight forward -- knobs to tweak and switches to stomp on. however, figuring out how to program the sounds took me a good 10 minutes. maybe i'm stupid...haha. but i eventually got it, and if someone were to just explain it to you, i'm sure it'd be pretty simple.

i personally find this pedal to sound quite nice. i don't know what problems these other reviewers had, but i didn't experience any noise at all. if there was any noise, it was nothing more than what i would expect. again, this is an overdrive unit; some noise is bound to be present. in terms of sound, i would say it's pretty smooth and very much to my liking. i have a boss sd-1 and for the more mild setting i tried to tweak and model the sound off of that. i also have an ibanez tube king, which i used as a model to tweak the more intense overdrive sound. it can handle both quite well. the only area i found to be limiting sound-wise is that the lowest drive setting has more crunch than i would like and i'm not able to get any less of a distorted sound. but this was ok for me since it was only a tiny bit over what i wanted. my one major gripe though, is the fact that there's a drop out in the signal when the effect is engaged. but a previous review stated that the problem is fixable. i will try it out.

i just got it, so i don't really know for sure. but it seems very solid. the brushed aluminum is very nice-looking.

?

got this thing on ebay for super cheap and i'm so happy i did. i would say this things is worth around $80 or so. it sounds nice and is very rigid in its construction. like i mentioned before...the one major thing that bothers me is the signal drop-out. i need to find some way to fix that. but overall, this one's a keeper :]

It's not the easiest thing to understand right away, with the program function. I could imagine that if one didn't have a manual, someone would go nuts and throw this out the door! But once you figure it out, you go "aha, I can get two overdrive sounds via footswitch", which is a very handy and fairly rare trait of an OD pedal.

I got this cheap, as these were discontinued, and the store just wanted to get rid of them. I use a Les Paul and SG through a vintage 140 watt Fender head, with a cabinet with vintage Celestions in it. At first, this pedal seems not very good, but it does what it does very well, and this is due to the lack of hype in the signal. It doesn't add brilliant highs to your guitar's signal (just click off the footswitch, and you'll see that it basically retains your guitar's natural tone/ EQ). But I say this not as a bad thing; it's a great thing indeed, it just had to be said here. You're not gonna get a trebly fuzz. You're not gonna get trebly screaming distortion. What you DO get, is an excellent overdrive vintage sounding crunch, with smooth sustain (not as transistor-y as some pedals that i've tried, with very "buzzy" unnatural sounding sustain). You can't alter the actual tone too much. The tone knob, even at full crank, doesn't have alot of top end, and the contour knob can be used to get some good mids, but it doesn't allow you the option to get too far from your guitar tone's natural EQ. If you want something more extreme in EQ options, this pedal is not for you (there's no bass knob, and like I say, the tone knob on the pedal is not extreme, and is more like a upper mid boost than a treble tone knob). The boost on it is slight, but it adds a bit more crunch, if needed. If anyone lost the manual (the programs seem like crap, because this is a somewhat complicated pedal), you can change the default program settings by moving the knobs, then holding the program button down until it stops blinking. If you hear the other program's sound being played when it switches, this is natural....just keep holding the program button down until the blinking light stops. The green light is for program one, the red light is for program two.

I've had it for a week, and it's been fine. But some of the other responses here in this category kinda scare me a bit.

Never needed to.

I'm trying to be objective here, rather than just write a "this sucks", or "this rules!" review, which basically does nothing for those people who are thinking of buying it. My overall rating is a very solid 8. The fact that I got this cheaply is definetely a plus, but it was originally priced at around three times what I paid for it, and I still think that it's worth at least double what I paid for it (80 dollars Canadian). I would definetely get it again, if it broke or was stolen (though Korg has discontinued it, so good luck!). I usually play my style of music--loud psychedelic stoner rockish stuff--through fuzz pedals, but for tonal options in the vintage, less harsh range, I love this pedal! The sturdy aluminum case looks cool, too.

Some negatives to it are that it is a bit noisy (not bad though) when the gain is turned up full crank, but really, the gain doesn't really change much if you turn it up past the 12 o'clock halfway mark, so it's not too bad in that position, and you don't really need anything over the midway mark. There's a split second delay when you turn the effect on, which is sort of a bummer, so leave this pedal on for an entire song, when gigging, if possible. It would have been nice to have a bass knob on it, and you'll probably want to add an EQ pedal if you want more low end-- or just do the low EQ-ing from your amp. But bass is not really what most people are looking for in an overdrive pedal, they're looking for nice, sweet, smoothly broken up tube-ish sounds from an overdrive, which is what this pedal states on the pedal itself, so basically, it succeeds. And all the great pedals in the history of guitar playing are going to do what they do very well (like if you criticize a Fuzz Face for being "too unnatural", aren't you missing the point??? Do your homework first).

You won't find many pedals that do this sound better. But again, if you're looking for something more extreme, do your homework kids--because nothing labelled "classic overdrive" (meant to emulate classic 60's/ 70's sounds) was meant to be extreme, anyway.

And like I say, the fact that you have two programs on here, is great, and you don't have to use a remote switcher, like some Boss pedals. You can use one program for a clean sound, with the other program as a more distorted version of that sound (like I do, I just turn down the volume on the more distorted one to match the volume of the cleaner sound), or you could use it as a distorted tube amp in one program and put the boost on and use the second program as an over the top lead section, if needed. Even at the lowest gain setting, it seems to have almost two layers of signals--one of your guitar's natural clean picking sound, and a sub overdrive, which could easily sound fake, but here, I think, it sounds great. Chances are you'll find this for cheap, as one of the last remaining pedals at a store (maybe a demo pedal), or even cheaper, used. Pick it up.

Initially, the way the controls work seems a bit counter intuitive, but for those who understand that pedals are only machines after all, not inscrutable beings, the unit quickly yields to human control. In fact, I just goofed around with it for about 5 minutes & understood the thing completely. Do not be afraid, Luke! Use the Mind!

I would actually say that I've spent more effort adjusting my Boss SD-2 than this 105od. The difference is this: when the SD-2 is finally tweaked, I have to CAREFULLY place it somewhere where it won't be touched, or I lose my settings when the knobs get bumped. The 105od SAVES my tweaks separately for each channel & can get bumped 50 times before the gig with no re-tweaking unless I want to.

I received no manual, just started dialling. Once you like the sound, you just press and hold the "program" switch for 5 seconds, the light blinks & your setting is saved, ready for rockin'.

Others have already described the 105's operation here, so I'll move on to why I like this thing.

If you need drive (for rhythm, saturation, etc.) plus extra drive (for leads, heavy crunch, etc.), and don't like carrying pedal boards, this is the all in one unit! It's not the absolute best OD out there, but it shames most all the stock Boss and Ibanez pedals, and some of boutique pedals I've tried as well! And for the price... It should be rated a 10+ (search around and see the ridiculously inflated ratings of other mass produced pedals that you KNOW are junk). If I had to run out the door with my axe & run to a rehersal or gig, this 105od is what I would grab. Just stuff it in the pouch of my gig bag and go. I don't usually need hyper palm-muting thunder, but the lead channel on this can go there, with the help of the contour knob & the boost switch.

To date, it has operated flawlessly. And again, for the price, you can have 2 or three backups! But I've not needed one. Just stomp and roar.

Let's face it, customer support is for boutique pedals. These are out of production, so I wouldn't even waste my time with Korg. Shipping/Handling and repairs would cost more than just snagging a couple more on eBay. I always endeavor to be my own customer support. Buy well, treat it well, have a backup.

I have to laugh at the updated review before this one. It almost appears this person may be wanting to have the next few 105od units on eBay to himself! Not a bad strategy at all.

I've played most everything except self-hating metal. I cannot hate anything or anyone that Jesus loves! I think this is my 32nd year of playing Pro & privately. I own cartons & rooms of gear. This 105od is a good match for nearly everything I've done, perhaps a bit too straight ahead for feedback loop wildness, but that's only fun until the crowd starts heading for a break. Again, this pedal is IT for the price!

My favorite feature is the ability to dial in a sound (for each channel separately) & save it; no more problems with getting the knobs bumped & trying to find the sweet spots again whil the rest of the band stands with their arms folded.

Well, this is a follow-up. Lately I had some problems with the unit, not the tone(still very enjoyable, best digital overdrive ever) but the programmable function. Lights didn't move, so I was blind with my settings, the contour knob didn't work on the green channel, and a strange hiss came on the background. Ah, that's what people over here are talking about, I said to myself...
Since I play with a lot of stuff I just laid the korg for a couple of months and , guess what, now it is functioning again(3 weeks all day long now)...
So if you can get one on e(vil)-bay, just don't. Those units are not dependable, and you'll get mad at them because they sound so good.

l.e.d that blinked while adjusting the sound?,thats the only thing that boggled my mind.so i suggest you read the manual first,afterwhich you learn that its a patch on the program mode,you will start to love this pedal

my set up is plain simple (telecaster guitar---korg 105od---marshall amp with reverb MG15CDR).The unit is very quiet even with the drive set to maximum.The thing about this is there exist a gap sound after turning the unit "on".so you have to be careful about your timing specially on a live gig!.there are two program a crunch(green) and lead (red)mode"this thing is very much the same with BOSS DUAL OVERDRIVE"but 105od is better because of the boost switch and the contour knob to scooped out the mid freq for your desired taste.I use to cascade a compressor in my chain but this 105od can stand alone as long as you switch the boost parameter.you will get a thick compressed smooth drive for doing solo lead part.I would compare it to Boss blues driver having a round hard driven smooth sound.This is the best overdrive pedal I had.This surely knockedout my old marshall drivemaster.Im a blues rock lead guitarist and i really love this .If you are a metal fan "back off" this is not the thing for you!

all in metal casing,very sturdy I think it can withstand tornadoes,tsunami,earthquakes hehehe.

i doubt if there is a customer support since they discontinued the production of this model

I am a lead guitarist and not a tap dance.I dont want to carry to much guitar effects on the stage.1 good korg 105od and a good amp with reverb will do.The rest is up to my fingers!A good guitarist need not to hide his crappy playing behind tons of guitar stompboxes.

This is the best overdrive compare to a real vacuum tube drive sound.

I will rate it at 10/10

This unit must be properly used, the input switch changes all(I have it on hi, therefore no hiss or uncontrollable noise)! The output switch is in fact a speaker simulation which sounds good but not with a guitar amp please. With an acoustic acoustasonic junior it's impressive and well balanced.
This effect has a noise-gate to reduce quantization noises, so you can't play with your guitar's volume control: you then get high background noise and get occasionnally cut off. Of course since it has two programs I really don't care.
Use it always with power supply because of high consumption(^~120milliamperes). Rechargeables nimh batteries don't work because of not enough voltage(you then get a strong buzz, just like alcalines go weak...).
Never had any problem in 5years so it is reliable, the switches are good but you get a drop when bypassing. Switching between programs is very fast without any gap.
Now I use it as a preamp(output to "line", first program with a clean sound and second one full-blown for a solid crunch sound. The trick is a Jacques tube blower as booster for solos and man the sound is pure heaven! Without any tube or guitar amp(never had any good one so I gave up and no regrets here). I only get compliments for this sound I have, and not only from guitarists so I guess it's accurate!
Would I buy one again? Of course!

This product comes with lo and hi gain switches for pickups type, amp and line out output selection and 4 knobs level gain , tone and contour. Can also store 2 programs. No manual needed for me. Pretty easy effect to use

I decided to do this pedal a some decent service. I see many don't quite appreicate the tone from this pedal. I personally find it amazing piece of thing. I personally owns Mesa V-twin, Old Marshall Guv'nor MK1, Vintage rat, Big muff, Daddy O, Sansamp classic. I find the 105OD can do very decent sounds. I personally hates modeler or digital effects. Used to ban myself on the digital effects as I have very bad experience on them. But I must say this piece of thing is extremely playable and had caught me into it with some amazement. It has the nice warm boost play thru Les paul standard and Strat Amercian Standard with Kinmans. The Boost switch on the pedal gives the sound more highs and harmonics. Very balance low it has got but not tight and focus as compare to some pedals. You can easily achieve smooth solos sounds. with a little more reverb you can get the Eric Johnsons solos. It definitely model after some of the vintage overdrives sound as you can hear alot of color on the tone. Futhermore it is cheap. I can live with the slight noise problem. The advantage of this is I am able to store 2 program which met my requirements of nice Clean slight overdriven boost and a high gain overdrive and nice sustains solos. Play this on a Fender deluxe 112 plus. Extremely a good run for the money. Cheap pedals but many nice tone treasure you can find on this. I even got my buddy to bought it on the following day I purchase this overdrive also. He was so convince on the sound himself. we could not believe our ears that a China made pedal can sound so decent. I would said it is more decent than most boss distortion/overdrive pedals. This pedal is discontinued line of products of Korg.

Have not tested it to its limit, cannot tell now still to brand new

Got from a good music retail shop in Singapore so never had problems in csutomer service. Luthermusic shop is great.

I played guitar for almost 2 decades and love to blay blues and some Jazz not very expert in this instrument but learn

It takes awhile to find out what each know and switch does...but it wouldn't take you longer than 5 mins.The more you explore the more you discover it's versatility and user-friendliness...And saving programs is a piece of cake...The manual's in 4 languages but is pretty helpful when yoou finally find the english side...

I used two guitar/amp set-ups and the pedal still shines...I used an Epiphone Les Paul Std. together with a Kustom 12W Tube Practice Amp and it sounded nice and warm...Fine tuning was needed when i swithched over to my modded Squire strat,running through an Ibanez 50R amp,but the sound still made me smile...Another plus point was that the input jack had a hi/lo line switch to better suit high output pickups to low output pickups.it even has an amp/line selector switch which allows you to go straight into a mixer without the need for a D.I.!(Although you need a 1/4" TRS to XLR jack for this.) The 105OD can generate the sound of guitar legends like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton but it's definitely not for the metalheads who want hi-gain distortion.

The bottom casing is made out of sheet aluminium and the top cover looks like cast aluminium. It's pretty rugged so it shold last but i haven't tried chucking it down the stairs...So i wouldn't know.

i don't think this pedal is still in production but the shop i bought it from gives a 1-year guarantee that it won't go bust on you...

i play old school rock to hard rock to punk rock and the 105OD seems to be made for me...i like it's wide dynamic range and how you can go from a subtle overdrive boost to creamy or crunchy distortion...The best part is you can save two different programs and has a switch that allows you to choose between one program or the other.I have only been using this pedal for about 2 months but it seems to impress me a lot more than other pedals i've tried,like the Boss SD-1 or the OD-3.
it's amazing what this pedal can do...if it were stolen or lost,i wouldn't buy any other pedal except the Korg Toneworks 105OD Classic overdrive. And for $60(i think that was clearing price),it's the best pedal i bought under a $100!