MXR CSP-021 GT-OD

Not hard to use....turn the knobs...the switch is a little stiff, not good if you don't always play with shoes on! The pamphlet gives you a couple ideas on how to get a sound you might like.

Pretty decent for the money. For what they cost they are a pretty neat sounding pedal. They do a good 808 impression, but retains more clarity than a cranked up 808, nice sounding pedal and it gets a fair bit heavier than an 808 as well, not extreme but fairly chunky while retaining decent clairty and definition on the lows.

Not keeping it so I won't skew the vote.

Sounds like MXR is questionable here...I've got some other dunlop products, but I've never had any problems with them.

For the money it is pretty cool. Is it what I expect from a "Custom Shop" pedal; No. BUT on the other hand it doesn't cost like a custom shop pedal either. It does have some good sounds in it and if I didn't already have a couple really nice OD pedals I my collection I'd seriously consider it to toy with.

I get sounds I like better out of my Sparkle drive and Fulldrive, but they cost considerably more...

Tested using a Les Paul Std with PAFs and 62 RI Strat w/ rio grande tallboys, amplifiers used; Fuchs ODS 30 and a Victoria Victorilux.

It's got three knobs. If you can't get those to work, you've got issues.

Truth be told, not bad at all. It does a really good classic "808" sound, but not much else. Sounds killer on a strat neck pickup, otherwise I don't have a lot of use for it. Really, it's a cheap toy that fills a niche in my collection and that's why I have it. I don't know whats so "custom shop" about it, just a TS clone, and for the money it ain't that bad. It IS really noisy, though. It's probably the nosiest pedal on my board right now, even at lower gain settings. Still, it's useful and I think I'll probably end up keeping it.

Hmmmmm.... Well, I'll be honest. I don't have much faith in MXR products. I bought the Carbon Copy Delay and was so floored by it I thought I'd give this pedal a chance. While it seems to have a much more substantial switch on it than the CCD, but I don't think it has anywhere near the build quality. It just seems..... kinda crappy. I like it and it works for now, so let's roll with it. I'll post an update if anything heinous happens with it.

No customer support as of yet. I've read mixed reviews, so I can only imagine that it varies depending on what is needed.

Meh. I have way better pedals than this one, although this one isn't bad. Again, I just don't see what's so "Custom Shop" about it. Nice stomper for the money, but for geeks like me who've gone the way of fetish/botique builders, it's a no brainer. This is the one you spill the beer on, not your Klon/Landgraff/MI/Fulltone/whatever.

There is no way to get a sound less than great out of this pedal. I bought this pedal needing an overdrive that was versatile enough to do anything (chunky rhythm, boost clean/dirty, etc). I didn't expect that this pedal would be capable of everything I could've wanted and more. It is literally impossible to get a bad sound out of this pedal, it is a beast!!!

This pedal can get a light overdrive (while still retaining fullness and body) all the way to getting an aggressive overdrive/distortion sound. It can also be used as a boost (which is a waste of talent here). This overdrive is amazingly transparent, with a natural, organic, and open sound. Retains the natural sound and characteristics of your guitar without saturation or mess. I would compare this overdrive head to head with any tubescreamer, or boss (JUNK) out there. Seriously, boss is ok for a "my first guitar pedal" kinda thing, but when you get serious, GET SERIOUS, boss just doesn't cut it. Compared to the other overdrive MXR makes, the Zakk Wylde (highly overrated) this is leagues and leagues beyond. Honestly, whatever sound you want, it's here.

MXR offers a one year warranty. I own about a dozen of their pedals and have never once had a problem. It doesn't get any better than MXR, their stuff is 'built like a tank'. All metal chassis, jacks, true bypass switching, very quiet operation. Have owned this pedal for almost two years, no problems, no concerns, never needed a backup, never will. No reason for less than a ten in this category either.

Never needed them. Did e-mail them about a crybaby once (bought it for $5 because it didn't work). They sent a response in 2 days (be reasonable, you can wait for a reply, they have better things to do than talk to Joe Schmoe all day about his dist +). Were very helpful, considerate, and were more than willing to help me fix the problem.

This pedal is amazing, I don not know what I'd do without it. If ever it left my sight I would buy two. I'm already tempted to buy another anyways. Truthfully, if you're looking for a great OD pedal, that is versatile, reliable, and sonically unsurpassed, check out the gt-od. Trust me, you will never be disappointed.

I have had a lot of pedals with about 6 or 7 knobs, and most of them are innecesary, this pedal have only those that you need to use: gain, tone and output, so i give this a 10

My set-up:
Guitar:Yamaha rgx612a
MXR GT-OD
Visual sound jekyll and Hyde
Dunlop Cry BabY
AMP:Peavey Classic Chorus 130

I bought it because i like the Dist+ sound, and as most of us know, it really sounds like an overdrive not as a distortion pedal, so i thought that if gt-od is called an overdrive pedal, and its a custom shop pedal, it could be a lot better overdrive than the dist+....but i was wrong. The low strings sounds muddy, some chords are irrecognisible, and the highest notes sounds very, but very treble, even if i play this notes clean sound with more body than with the pedal on, Im not joking.

I dont like also the overdrive of the jekyll and hyde (bassed on ts-808), but to my ears sound better than gt-od, with more presence.

I set this pedal gain at max because i dont find sense to set it at less, and even at that i cant find it a good sound. it sounds crunchy, but my amp can get a crunchier, with more difinition and body sound, so it mekes this pedal useless.

Well, i think this pedal can resist any external damage, but i see that some of the internal pieces are not very well solded/ensambled, and the switch move a lot like it could broke at any time. well i dont really care, i'll sell it someday

I hadnt need of this service for this pedal.

I have been playng for 15 years, i have tested a lot of distortion and overdrive pedals and amps, this is one of those that i dont like to see anymore.

an average overdrive pedal, 3 knobs, with 3 simple functions, not much to confuse here. battery fits fine (in mine - this leads to the idea of inconsistency from the 'custom shop') simple layout.
finding the right sound... a matter of minutes
i give this an 8 because of the level issue (addressed in sound quality)

with a marshall + LP set up, this goes fine, even with a coil tap its not too noisy; unless the level is too high - i have found this a constant issue, i would like a mild boost in volume when i kick this in, i have no clue whether its my setup which causes this, but if its anything past 9 o'clock i find it far too loud.
i previously owned a ZW-OD (infact still do) and this was my next choice and found this has far more overdrive to it, this puts a clean amp into a nice overdriven state, compared to the ZW putting a dirty amp into overdrive uncertainty
when compared to tube overdrive, sometimes it feels very plasticcy - and clinical, with a lack of character. depending on my mood i like this, as from another angle, this is definable as punchy, strong and defined.
a 9 - i mostly like this sound, just miss the natural sounds on occasion

I am unsure of dependability, before purchasing this i had many emails with their customer service.
past experience, with the ZW44 overdrive had simply pissed me off...??60 for the pedal, ??20 for repair, and looking at another repair i just couldn't hack it.
The problem was with the switching system, once it broke, and other times it would go on, but the level would be a third of that normally, and the level knob did nothing.
They assured me that this product does not have the same switch at all (which it does not, the switch on the GT OD is rather larger and i have had no problems YET).
for a gig, yes i would use without a back up - however, this is due to the fact that i have a high gain amp which i could just dial up the overdrive to 14 / 20 and have the similar sound - and clean up with my volume on the guitar
MXR reliability i would put down to 5
but for this product i would give it a 9
maybe this is because the custom shop is actually a different department or whatnot or just a different paint job.

Consideration of the above must first be taken in
on contacting them they first explained their faults - fair enough
i enquired about what the comparrison of the zakk wylde to the GT OD was, and suddenly they were offering sales pitches on all their damn products, i didn't want to try the CAE boost, or the distortion plus i just wanted to know the difference between what i had and what i was interested in. however, the did have a couple of sentences explaining what i wanted...'the ZW is a mild overdrive, whereas the GT OD is more of a full on distortion' was about it though.
so in effect they did answer my question
however slowly - 3 days i think per email
compared to gibson which is overnight and marshall which is next day.
and i am sure i have had some unanswered emails to MXR aswell.
i rate this low as i have simply had a bad experience with them

i find this more suitable for hard rock/ metal than his own, and this is very punchy, if sometimes unnatural. been playing a few years, and have a few les pauls, rotovibe, wah, GT OD, chorus and reverb then into a marshall (and the ZW44 in pieces somewhere) this complements the sound of all of thesee.
if it were lost... i don't know what i would do, i would research other things, just to make sure that i had made the right decision. would be simpler to not lose it or have it stolen, so i think i shall look after it.
i have played a few boss pedals, and although i prefer the switching, their transparancy was not good enough and i don't like the look of them or the feel of their knobs neither.
this is the only pedal i have that has the on off switch like that, i find that rather annoying whilst playing without shoes, as i then use the ball of my foot to switch it on and off...this leads to the knobs twizzling a bit (another advantage that boss would have had) i would also prefer a more neutral paint job rather than 'hulk green'.
I would say the main issue is that of the LEVEL knob, maybe when that is further up, the natural tones come out...however loud.

Basically, this is an MXR Distortion+ with a tone control added. You can get some decent tones out of it but it doesn't have a sound in it that you can't get with about 20 other pedals either.

OK tone, nothing to get excited about though. Pretty much a mild OD sound, tends to be on the trebly side even with the tone rolled off a great deal.

MXR back in the day was indestructable, I'm not too sure about the Dunlop era stuff. I have had 2 reissue pedals arrive broken, and the new ones I have played don't feel too reassuring either. The input/output jacks are very rough, the knobs/pots are looser than I would like, and the switches need to really be stepped on hard. I would not use any Dunlop products without a backup, the quality just isn't what MXR used to be.

I had to send a broken-right out of the box- Crybaby wah to them, and while they willingly repaired it I HAD to pay for the shipping in both directions !!! Plus, the wah never felt right afterwards anyway. I gave it away to a neighbor kid because I couldn't trust using it on a gig.

A decent overdrive but not a 'custom' pedal by any means. It is a reissue Distprtion+ with a tone control. Buy the Distortion+ and save a few dollars.

Three knobs. 1. Output. Balance/boost/cut the volume levels with your amp. 2. Tone. Decide how much you want you want your tone to cut through by boosting treble clockwise, cutting it anti-clockwise. 3.Gain. Filth it up. Fully anti-clockwise gives you some nice crunch retaining string definition. Dial in the distortion clockwise. I've given it a 9 because you do have to use very basic common sense to get the sound you want. You can't just imagine a sound and it'll do it. I'm sure someone, somewhere is working on a pedal that will do this.

I get lovely crunch out of my Peavey Classic 20 from my Gibsons - a 1973 SG Pro and a 1982 Heritage Elite Les Paul Standard. However, it doesn't have switchable channels so I got the GT-OD as my overdrive option allowing me to incorporate a clean sound into my options.

This meant finding a (great) clean sound with the Peavey but sacrificing it's lovely, warm, tube overdrive for a pedal version. So I took a punt on the GT-OD, but what a punt!

With the gain fully anti-clocked, it gives a really chunky rhythm sound which for me is as good as the Peavey's natural tube sounds which I love so much. The pedal has even inspired me to tweak my tone by brightening it up a little with the tone control.

I never use the gain beyond 12 'clock and rarely past 10 o'clock but I play 60's 70's rock, punk and reggae so don't saturise my sound with distortion.

I've started using pedals in the last month or so and have gone for an MXR set-up which comprises of the GT-OD, an MXR M-134 Chorus and a vintage Phase 100 which I was lucky enough to pick up recently (you might want to check out the reviews that I'm going to post for these units). The GT-OD works really well as the first pedal in this chain going into the amp.

10 out of 10 because it's just right for me and I don't want to spend any time looking for another overdrive pedal. I want to practice and get better as a player not spend my time just searching for the elusive perfect sound.

I'm not gigging at the moment but I don't see why I wouldn't use this pedal without a back-up.

It's too early to know whether it's dependable but MXR pedals seem solid to me.

Hope I don't have to use it.

I can give passable impressions of Mick Jones (The Clash not Foreigner), Paul Fox (The Ruts) and The Captain (The Damned) with the GT-OD.

I'd get another one if I had to.

I've been playing 26 years with a 13-year break until returning two years ago. I think I'm now a better player with a better ear after two years back than when I stopped after playing solidly for 11 years! I rate the GT-OD highly and I know good classic rock and punk tones when I hear them.

In a short space of time I've come to consider it an integral part of my set-up.

9 because there isn't a 9.5 option.

This is the best sounding OD pedal I've ever used (have used multiple others: digitech, tubescreamers, boss, etc). This pedal IS true bypass since MXR only builds true bypass, analog effects (read the manuals, I own six mxr pedals). Three knobs, very easy to use (output=level, tone=saturation, gain=amount of effect). The tone knob is extremely important, the slightest adjustment changes the entire sound completely, which is the only reason why I'd give this pedal lower than a 10, but sounds good with almost any setting anyways. It's a cool green color too (a relief from all those black pedals).

There are so many great ounds to be had out of this pedal I am tempted to buy a few more.
-Crank the output to 4 0'clock, put tone at about 10 0'clock, and set the gain low, at about 7 0'clock, (Gives a great rhythm/ mild overdrive).
-For something more aggressive, bring the tone up to 12 0'clock, and bring the gain up to your liking (mine is about 9 0'clock), and you have a great aggressive overdrive/ light distortion.
Very crisp, clear, warm, and smooth: the sounds from this pedal out of a tube amp are Godly. Even out of my little fender practice amp, this pedal sounds incredible. Anything from vintage to modern, rhythm to lead, even as a boost (transparent or dirty)! This OD is ubelievably transparent, even with the gain cranked all the way!

Have owned it for 6 months and not one problem (all of my mxr pedals have great quality: both in build and tone). The switch on this mxr pedal seems even thicker than other mxr pedals, and the jacks, and chassis are all metal.

Never had to deal with their customer support, their pedals are mucho reliable.

I play alternative, classic rock, contemporary worship: this pedal's great for anything (except metal, get a metal muff, don't get an OD and complain about the lack of ditortion, how long have you been playing guitar and you still don't know what a OD is/does?)I own a decent amount of pedals (9 total) and this is by far my favorite. Amp <MXR 10 band EQ <MXR Smart Gate <MXR Phase 100 <MXR Doubleshot Distortion <Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive <MXRGT-OD <MXR Super Comp <Danelectro PB&J <Guitar. The GT-OD runs circles around my sparkle drive:in tone (almost no comparison), in quality, in appearance, and value, (although they sound great together). If lost/ stolen, I would definitely buy another one (after the initial sulking and weeping). This pedal is extremely versatile, as I have mentioned, and I could not be happier with its' sound. Truly, no other OD like it, in its' own league!

3 Knobs: Output,Tone,Gain - similar to a Tube Screamer but sounds nothing like the TS. Smaller in size than your average Boss pedal. I find the controls very active and useful. These pedals are "custom" made and mine is not modded in any way. The overdrive comes up a bit quickly (to my taste) but nevertheless, not anywhere as bad as other pedals I have used. I don't believe this pedal has True Bypass, but it is quiet and does not seem to alter the sound even when not engaged.

In my opinion, and for what I desire in an overdrive pedal, this one is the absolute best overdrive pedal I have ever found, period! The low price is a bonus, believe me. I have had many pedals: Marshall, Ibanez, Maxon and more recently, I had been using a Fulltone OCD, so for me, the OCD became the benchmark. I had reached the point of not buying any more overdrive pedals due to the obvious expense and frustration, but I came across a positive review of the MXR GT-OD in Vintage Guitar Magazine. They boasted of the transparency of this thing, and that article convinced me to try it(luckily). The Fulltone OCD is capable of many sounds: from overdrive to heavy distortion, but to my ears, I could still hear that annoying overdrive fuzziness in the background and worse, the distortion cannot be dialed in very slowly - it becomes all or nothing very quickly as you dial in overdrive, and I hate that. I contacted Fulltone to see if they could mod the pedal for me so that the overdrive could be dialed in more slowly but they are very busy building pedals right now and the person on the phone told me to take a hike. Again, the OCD is a good sounding pedal, but the MXR goes further and does it better, that is, if you are after what I was after: A TRANSPARENT, QUIET, WELL-BUILT PEDAL THAT LETS YOU SLOWLY DIAL IN NATURAL SOUNDING OVERDRIVE WITHOUT CHANGING THE SOUND OF THE GUITAR. THIS ONE DOES IT. I have owned it for several months now. I held onto my OCD (until recently) to be sure that the MXR sound was authentically what I wanted, and, it is! I love this thing so much that I just ordered a second one (I have 2 amp setups at home for low and high volume; I don't gig out of the house). It works perfectly with anything I throw at it at any volume: Les Pauls, my Strat, my Marshall and Fender amps. It always give me the most natural sounding overdrive as I imagined it could be. I am glad I found this one. It is truly fun to use.

It seems very well built and reliable. I wouldn't hestitate to gig with it. On mine, I found that the screw-in back fits a slight bit better when I turned it upside down. I have used it with an adapter and with a battery; the battery fits in a bit tight and you have to press down on the back a bit, with the battery installed, to get the screws back on, but it's not a big deal.

Have not needed it so far after several months. I am not the type of person to contact the manufacturer just to blab etc etc unless I have a problem.

I am over 45 yrs old and my favorite bands/artists are the Allman Brothers, Clapton, Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Scandal, etc. I play at home for pleasure (I used to play guitar, bass and drums in clubs). I especially like Dickey Betts, Clapton, Larry Carlton and Joe Walsh. I have been playing over 25 years. Every guitarist has their preferences with guitars, amps and pedals and as I said, this pedal is what I personally have been searching for over the past 10 years. I really like it.

Of course it is easy to use, its a TS-style OD:-) the usual level, tone, drive controls. But one thing really bugged me when I sat down to test it for the first time today. This is MXR??s Custom shop, right? When a company labels something "custom shop" I expect the products to be handbuilt, quality controlled examples of the finest they can offer. Hnow come the unit actually didnt have room for a 9v battery( tried several)?? I had to go out in the garage and grind down metal on the inside of the bottom lid. I also had to remove the foam in the bottom of the battery compartment, in order to (barely) make it fit. This combined with all the knobs touching the front facia, reaaly gave me a bad "custom shop" impression.

I therefore was very pleased to experience a great overdrive pedal soundwise! Certainly based on the TS circuit, but less mid hump, and better low frequenzy response( although, will it ever be a pedal good enough in this area?). I found it a good sounding unit, likely to stay with me. The pedal was tested on the following equipment: Carvin DC150(Seymour Duncan P90 Stacks), 1971 Ibanez lawsuit Les Paul (Fralin PAFs)Carvin X50B head, Hughes&Kettner CC412(vintage 30), Hiwatt Custom 20(el 84) head, and Mongotone 1x12cab with eminence speaker.

Just bought it today.

Dont know. But the web site is absolutely the slowest on the internet! Layout is fine, it just doesnt work.

A fine sounding pedal with a disappointing manufacture quality. The components are probably great based on the sound of the unit, it was just let down bad by the bad workmanship during assembly and quality control. Custom shop?