MXR DD-11 Dime Distortion

Very easy, control layout similar to that of any amplifier or any other pedal. Manual not necessary, just plug in and start experimenting!! I found that with this pedal, as with most pedals and amps, you need to spend some time trying different settings. I have three different amps and three different guitars, and I tried all of them in different combos with this pedal. I feel that this is the best way to get a true evaluation of what the pedals potential is.

I use Heritage H-150CM guitars (Made in Kalamazoo, like a Gibson Les Paul but BETTER!!) with Rendal Wall and Seymour Duncan pickups. I play through three Fender amps (Blues Jr, Deluxe Reverb, Hot Rod Deville 212) and run through a pedalboard with the following pedals: Bad Horsie Contour Wah - Jeckyl and Hyde Ultimate Overdrive - Dime Distortion - Boss Delay/Reverb - Small Clone Chorus - Boss Tuner Pedal. I play mostly classic blues influenced rock (Led Zep, Gary Moore, Aerosmith-also like U2). I love the tone that my Ultimate Overdrive gives me, and wanted something with more mids and a little more aggression to go with it. I tried a Metal Zone, and actually used it for a while, but it sounded too artificial to my ears. So the search began, I didnt care what the pedal was, as long as it gave me the sound I was looking for. So I tried out lots of pedals and I found the Dime Distortion. I do not listen to Pantera, and could care less what Dimebag uses. I tried out this pedal and loved it, it cuts through very well live, and is not as noisy as my Ultimate Overdrive pedal. I tried different settings, and I found my personal "sweet spots". I wont tell you what they are, because your ears need to decide that for you. I love the tone, it does not sound an AM radio like a Metal Zone, and to me just sounds more realistic. The only knock I have on this pedal is the amount of distortion available, I wish it had more distortion on tap, but it works fine for me, Im not a metal-head. I kick this pedal on when I want some more aggression, and it does the job. My solos cut through really well, and the pedal is crunchy enough to suit my tastes for rythm playing. I have no use for the tiny "focus" button, and do not use it. Sounds good in tandem with my Bad Horsie and my Small Clone, although most of the time I just use it with some Delay. I use the pedal with all of my amps, and it sounds good to me with all of them. I am very pleased with it, although I wish it had more distortion on tap, and I wish it was powered by the more common Boss style AC adapter. Because of these two dislikes, I am going to give it an 8, hey, nothings perfect!!

Built like a tank, use it every week, no problems so far. Time will tell, but I think its going to last.

Again, I play classic/hard blues based rock. I have been playing now for 8 years, and have had all kinds of amps, guitars, and pedals. I like this pedal, its a great match for my style of music and my guitars seem to love it. I compared it to the Metal Zone, Rampage, Digitech Metal Master, Jackhammer, Ibanez Smash Box, and Line 6 modeler pedals, and I came back to this one, the Dime Distortion. I dont buy things based on the "name", I buy based on the "tone", and this ones got it in my opinion. As with anything, you need to know how to play, and no piece of gear no matter how great can make you sound good - its mostly in the fingers. Die hard metal players may not like it because of its lack of distortion, but for classic/hard/eighties rock it suits me just fine. If it were stolen I would probably buy the MXR Double Shot, which includes the Dime Distortion, along with another more "classic" distortion.

This pedal is very easy to use, and it also simulates dimes pq3 and pq4 parametric eq's which is more of a shelving eq.Those of you that don't know what that means, lets just say that you can't spin knobs back and forth drastically like a cheap amp or pedal. Its very precise and has a wider eq sweep.

I was basically following dime's tone for a while now. Thats why I bought this pedal.I was playing out of a 5150 head and randall cab for a while but I didn't care for the cold distortion on that head. Even with the bias knob and tesla tubes.I finally got a randall rg100 head and ditched the 5150!It was definetly more of the tone I was looking for. Than I got a furman pq3 eq which got me pretty close to dimes actual tone(PRETTY CLOSE WHEN DIALED IN RIGHT)but when I got this pedal last week I actually unplugged the furman because I was finnally getting his sound without the eq!So as of right now I run a les paul double cut with emg's to my dime wah,then to the dime distortion then to the clean channell of the rg100 stack. thats it,and I'm finally happy with my sound after about 10 yrs. of throwin down the heavy shit and I didn't need a giant amount of effects to do it!

Ive only had it for a couple weeks so I'm not sure but as a gigging guitarist I think I'm going to get a back up just like I do with everything else I use on stage.Mxr is a reputable company! I'm not worried about it.

never had to

One of the best things I've ever got for my sound aside from the dime wah and my parametric!

Pretty straight-forward, minimal fiddling, diagrams included

I'm using a fender guitar with a peavey bandit 112, I played around with this pedal for a couple weeks and finally decided I prefer the amp distortion better, this pedal didn't really have the low-end crunch that I was looking for, but it is a good pedal which could sound better on a different setup. It gives your guitar definition without a high-pitched fuzz, but too me it sounded a little weak for my style.

A OK

Well if I didn't need my 90 bucks back I'd probably keep it but my amp distortion still sounds more professional and meaner. It's definitely better than the boss metal zone for live playing at least. One thing I didn't like was that it didn't have enough bass and I couldn't turn the low knob all the way without it sounding funky, but it would work for some styles.

quote: "Not very easy to use. the EQ does influence to many facors. and it takes a very subtile setting for the 'right' ton. a 1/2 dgree over and the sound is completely different."

It's just like freaking amp controls. HOW HARD IS THAT?!? People pay good money for a device that has tone knobs with this kind of control variety. It's a good thing that it changes drastically. Better than buying one that you have to turn to full to get little to no change at all like alot of pedals

quote: "No sustain, no "Pantera tone" as it says in the ads.
...nowhere near enough sustain and punch for extreme metal. "

Get the right gear. A pedal is only part of the equation! Learn how to play. Did you ever hear of a compressor or sustainer(if you claim it has no sustain)..Did you ever hear of a parametric EQ or sonic enhancer? I'm not sure if you're playing with a kmart fisherprice guitar or not, but real pickups always help.


"The other pedal that I can think of that has similar features is Boss Metal Zone. That pedal sounds much better and is more versatile than the Dime."

No shit. This pedal was made for Dimebag sounds and nothing else. DUH!

Very dependable... unlike some of the reviews of so-called players

true bypass, MXR name... alot of tweaking features.

set everything to 12 0' clock and it sounds good, not hard at all.
the diagram that comes with the pedal shows you a good place to
start making adjustments for the tone.

It sounds awsome, Im running my les paul with a dimebucker at the bridge straight through the pedal and into my Marshall jcm 2000 dsl head with a 1960 b cab. very very quiet low feedback. I get the perfect thunk and for rhythm sections realy bright lead sounds. Sounds just like dimebag. I dont know what those other guys are playing through but sounds like they need be playing through a half stack not a wimpy 1 12. sounds like the bands im influenced by pantera, megadeath, slayer, testement, dio, in flames, at the gates ..........

solid as a rock

havent needed to!!!!!

for the style of music im playing its perfect (hard rock and thrash.)
Ive been playing for about 8 years best thing ive come across worth the hefty price. If it were stolen I hunt the fucker down and slay him with it A little blood on your pedal never hurt any one.

Not very easy to use. the EQ does influence to many facors. and it takes a very subtile setting for the 'right' ton. a 1/2 dgree over and the sound is completely different. i am never really finding 'the sweetspot' . if one can leave ides of how to modify the eq, section ..that would be great.

....from great to horro and back...

there is no neutral EQ setting..it is allways couloring the sound.

allmost toi must Level on minimum Volume

i guess great...

lets see...

carefull.....it is a pedal ,not easy to use ...not subtile..

Pretty easy to use, you have 5 knobs..., output which is basically a volume, lows mids and treble, then the gain knob, just turn the knob to get the sound u want really easy to use

Pretty good sound...i will say that the distortion is a lil on the weak side but if you listen to it you can tell it has the "dime" sound with his southern style, but if you use the distortion on your amp with this pedal thats when it really comes to like whatever fuckin dumbass said that it sucked is retarded, shit at first i was a lil iffy on it then i played around and said damn this is a pretty good pedal, i have an esp f 200 and a crate mx 120R with 2 distortion channels, crank the volume on the ESP and just the pedal sounds good, go thru the 2 channels and it comes to life, but lots of feedback, and if i really want some thick metal sound i got an afterburner on the ESP which adds 20 decibles of boost...thats when this baby really shines really good sound...but like i said lots of feedback so i mite need to get a noisegate pedal...and like everyone says pickups have A LOT to do with your sound no matter what pedal you use anyway, i have EMGS so that helps alot....but that dude that took his back three days later wasnt very smart i mean u gotta give it a chance

It seems pretty stout, good casing, sturdy, never gig without a back up tho...shit can happen

N/A

i play rock and metal...metallica, pantera, godsmack, this pedal does pretty good, i had a digitech rp 100 but it was just too technical and u can do so much which is great but for me i wanted something plain jane that i could tweak real fast and this pedal does damn good, only complaint is the distortion is a lil weak but like i said run it thru your amps distortion and crank the volume on your guitar and ur set...or u could hook another pedal to it

extremely easy to use, all the essentials bass, mids, treble. Very easy to get a good sound out this box.

Let me tell you a story. i play ina metal band and Ive been using the dime distortion as my main tone for about two months now. The lead singer in my band has no idea what i use and he doesnt know anything about electric guitars etc... The other day we were revieing some songs that we will cover in my band. We started with South of Heaven by Slayer the we listened to Holy Wars by Megadeth, the came Walk by Pantera. When this song started tyhe singer said, hey this sounds just like your guitar. Imagine that. He absolutely had no idea that i was using the dimje distortion. The lead singer in my band is not a bid metal fan (hes more into classic rock) he knows there is a band called Pantera but he has no idea who dimebag is. I think this pretty mush states that this pedal does give you dimebags tone, and im running this pedal with a gibson les paul custom with seymour duncan pups through a peavey bandit transtube 112.

Well made of zinc, looks very tought and dependable, this could be used as weapon.

never dealt with them, I have a couple mxr pedals and i havent had any problems.

This pedal is called the dime distortion. Does it sound like dimebag? yes, it absolutely does. I dont why this is getting bad reviews but it souns incredible to me. Its heavy thick distortion that really cuts through the mix. I own many different metal pedals like the boss metal zone (this is a toy), digitech metal master (not good for live work and very unreliable) zoom tri-metal (awsome metal sound but it doesnt cut through the mix, not enough output) marshall jackhammer (o.k, more for heavy rock than metal), line 6 POD and and stompbox
( shrill, thin, digital tone, very terrible). The dimebag absolutely smashes all of these, in terms of tone and reliability, did I mention it has tons of output and that is extremely quiet. Go get one, you wont regret it.

No sustain, no "Pantera tone" as it says in the ads. This pedal did not give me the sound I was expecting ("Dime tone" as it says in the ads). I tried different EQ settings, different gain settings, scoop on and off...the sound I wanted just wasn't there. To me this was like a 70's or early 80's style distortion with more clarity and more gain, but nowhere near enough sustain and punch for extreme metal. In Guitar World, Dime himself said he would have to link two or more pedals together to get the same ammoung of gain that this pedal is supposed to have. Forget about how it's marketed in the MXR ads. Don't believe how it's been described and reviewed in Guitar Player and Guitar World. I really wanted to like this pedal, but it's an absolute dissapointment. The other pedal that I can think of that has similar features is Boss Metal Zone. That pedal sounds much better and is more versatile than the Dime.

Returned it within 3 days of owning it. Looked like it was built very well however.

My playing is influenced by bands like Soilwork, In Flames, Nevermore, Carcass, Death, Pantera, Fear Factory, etc. This pedal didn't work at all for me in regard to getting the sounds I wanted for playing these styles. Not enough sustain for solos, rhythm settings sounded very weak and not "Dimelike" at all. The sound is more like cheap practice amp distorion.

Its easy to use but the mid-cut switch is all the way on the top side,really hard to get to by foot.

I read a review about this thing from Guitar World, they said it sounded best using a fender deluxe 1x12. I plugged it in through one playing a zakk wylde epi les paul. Rythm sounds were not thick enough for my taste, lead with same setting (bass,mid,treb =5 or 6,level and gain all the way up...NOTE*i used this with the mid-cut switch on and off) The lead sound sucked! no singing sustain,nothing sounded like playing through a cheap practice amp.

I thing this thing is a glorified "metal zone". the button on the side allows you to totally disconect the mids altogether. This theory of "NO MIDS" for solos OR rythem is fucking ridiculous!! Mids add a thickness and rounds out your sound,especially for solos,this revolution took me like 3 years to figure out! If you are planning on doing stuff like PANTERA or a cover band of there music...get the randell warhead 2x12 and either Dime wah...NOW THAT kicks ass! This ...please $120 for sound you would find in a 15 watt amp?! no waaaaaaayyyyy.

easy to use, standard 3-band eq, gain and volume, true bypass footswitch, in and out jacks. adjustments for tone are no prob.

gibson sg, marshall jcm 2000 or orange 30 adtc head, vintage 30 type cabs. lots of mid on this pedal, crushing mosquito tone, excellent cut thru on the solos. good chops on the rhythm.

comes with power supply, no battery, true bypass - it's and on/off switch if power fails, carry a different pedal as a backup.

n/a

i play hard rock, need a clearer distortion than this. this is literally the metal guy's pedal. for hard rock i recommend the boss md-2 mega distortion (mesa-type) and the ibanez smash box.