Peavey Dirty Dog

OK, imagine your basic overdrive/distortion pedal, with controls for volume, drive and tone. Now add another such pedal in the same enclosure, with a "Thrash" button on one and a "Boost" button on the other. That's all there is to the Dirty Dog. The Lead and Crunch channels essentially mimic the channels of the same names found on the Peavey TransTube amps (I have owned two such amps in the past), minus the EQ sections. Manual? Patches? Firmware? This is a stompbox, and a very simple one at that.

The Dirty Dog is not complete tone-shaping device on its own, so some buyers/reviewers who are expecting it to do everything will be disappointed. It is meant to interact heavily with your amp to get a good tone, so it might take a bit of effort to achieve the desired results, but the pedal itself is easy to work with. It can be a very full-featured footswitch, or a very basic pedal, depending on what you're using it for.

My goal with the Dirty Dog was to replace a used-and-abused ART Xtreme pedal that was effectively killed by an electrical problem in my band's old rehearsal space. I had picked up a new amp (see #2 below) with a good high-gain tone capable of melodic death/thrash metal like what's coming out of Sweden right now, traditionally Peavey or Engl territory. I prefer passive pickups to actives, and need access to decent clean tones on a couple of songs, so my latest amp purchase - with one channel and no footswitch - wasn't going to cut it alone. I needed a pedal!

I found some of the old Peavey marketing propaganda for this pedal after buying it used on eBay, and it is presented pretty accurately as a pedal to add flexibility to an existing amp. It is NOT the kind of pedal that you are going to use all on its own to find your ideal sound! The most obvious benefit of using the Dirty Dog is with a single-channel amp, because it essentially adds two distorted channels and can be easily bypassed to use the amp's clean tone. Since I happen to have two single-channel Peavey amps, I decided to give it a shot...

Amp #1 - Peavey Classic 50/410: This is the old `70s version of the Classic series, which at the time had a grainy, gritty solid state preamp section running into a 6L6 tube power section. On its own, the amp was not capable of much more than AC/DC overdrive levels, so I always ran it clean with a distortion pedal with great results. I tried doing the same with the Dirty Dog, and frankly it was terrible. On its own, the Dirty Dog doesn't have the degree of control needed to get effective distorted tones through a clean amp. No articulation, no useful midrange, and it the most general terms, no power. As with many pedals with similar functions, the Dirty Dog is meant to act as a boost, not carry the weight itself.

Amp #2 - Peavey VTM-60: Another single-channel Peavey amp, this time a full tube head, capable of some major gain and respectable cleans but no switching between the two. The VTM amps have the traditional gain and EQ settings, but also switches to add gain stages, boost frequencies, and add compression. There are low- and high-gain input; I previously ran the amp clean with a distortion pedal through the low-gain jack OR cranked the amp distortion and plugged my guitar straight into the high-gain side. Since the amp seemed a bit underpowered without the preamp cranked a fair amount, I decided to run the Dirty Dog into the high-gain input, with the amp's pre-gain control dialed in just to the point where the cleans would start to break up. I then began experimenting with the Dirty Dog's two channels. The Crunch side really didn't do much for me, with or without the Thrash button engaged. I imagine that it would be capable of pushing a mildly overdriven amp into true distorted territory, but that doesn't help me. Then I kicked in the Lead channel (with Boost on), and - HOLY CRAP - I was getting the full benefit of my tube preamp and power amp, with plenty of balls to be heard in the mix and still have access to clean tones! My single-channel amp just became a two-channel monster with a footswitch, which is exactly what I needed.

The Dirty Dog will not make a solid state amp sound like a tube amp, but the TransTube emulation is sufficient for boosting a tube preamp from mild overdrive into high gain while sounding pretty convincing. There is going to be noise, but depending on your settings, eliminating that noise will rest as much on the amp as on the pedal. I can get the desired gain levels and a nice clear punch, but your mileage will vary depending on your amp.

I haven't gigged with this (yet), but I have mixed feelings about its construction. On one hand, the pedal looks like it could withstand a lot of abuse. However, the footswitch buttons lack the sturdy feel of Boss stompboxes, and that of course is where most of the wear and tear will be directed. Only time will tell.

I've never contacted Peavey about the Dirty Dog, although they tend to respond quickly, even regarding discontinued products.

I play lead guitar in a melodic death metal band, and was looking to essentially add a channel to my existing amp. For that purpose, the Dirty Dog works great. I have plenty of other pedals, preamps and processors, so this is one more tool in the toolbox so to speak. I have a particular fondness for Peavey amps after using them for many years, so why not try a Peavey pedal? I could live without it, but it does what I need. Not many features, true, but that's not what I was looking for this time around.

As a traditional overdrive/distortion pedal, the Dirty Dog is very limited, but as a footswitch or boost, it's great. Keep that in mind if considering a Dirty Dog for your rig.

Pretty simple to use. Plug in and play.

Using an old gibson 1x12 20w amp and a guild starfire this pedal has a very good clean to slight overdrive sound on the rhythm channel. The lead channel is a bit to much. to much bass and no definition to it. When I try to match the level in bypass to the effect channels I have to crank the volumes above 3/4. At that level the pedal sounds harsh and metalic. I think the output impediance of the pedal is mismatched to my amp, hence the large volumne disparity.

I have wrote other reviews on peavey products and this one is just like the other new products peavey makes. To maximize profit peavey has started making shortcuts in their manufacturing process. The box is very heavey duty. The circuit board is thick and well supported. Now for the bad, The knobs and buttons are directly mounted to the board. They protrude up through the metal housing. Unlike pedals of old, if you spill beer on this one it runs down into the pedal and onto the circuit board. Very bad design!!!!! (This thing is made to be on the floor in a bar band) The switches are good quality but they are solid wire mounted to the circuit board. The traces are not thick enough to support the inherent vibration and flex from users stomping on the buttons. This leades to breaks in the solder joints. Also the power for the channels runs through the channel select button. when the solder joint breaks the pedal is dead. The battery box is also directly mounted to the board. The traces are week at this point also. A good fix is to remove the battery holder and install a battery clip with pigtales. this takes the weight of the battery off the board. Secure the battery to the battery cover with tape. In light of these design flaws I would not use this pedal live until I devise a remote channel switching system so the unit can stay off the floor.

I have owned peavey products since 1973. The first bass amp I bought had a lifetime warranty. It broke, I sent it back, they fixed it. No problems. I bought a new classic amp, it broke I called they said the warranty was up? I took it apart, fixed it, called them to let them know what was wrong, nothing happened. I since modified several friends classic amps to keep them from smoking. Oh well, Peavey made fine amps in the early 70's. Truly built like tanks. Now they are making them like all the other cheap amp manufactures. When design takes a back seat to common sense and best practice for the sake of manufacturing cost you get cheap crap like this pedal. Call peavey and let them know if your amp or pedal breaks. Letting them know by complaining and not buying will get them to build affordable reliable products for working musicians like they use too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Overall this pedal was a mistake. I thought I would try it because it was fairly cheap. It is not well made and doesn't sound that great.

Easy, but you need first discover the real functions of knobs, because the strange names. The chanel changes is easy via foot switchs, very versatile. I buyed it used. I live in S?o Paulo, Brazil

If you consider that it is a transistor pedal then it's a good start to make a opinion about the product. I think that it's perfect for hard rock and many metal style. The crunsh channel is very cool without "trash bottom" pressed. The Lead channel is useful with the "boost" bottom. I can have many good distortions like Bandit amp. I'm satisfied. Low cost for benefits. I have Soldano Supercharger GTO and BadCat X-treme tone. This pedal is important for me as a alternative distortion for my songs.

Built like a tank! Metal chassi! I don't need backup.

I never need

I play alternative brit pop stile as Systers of Mercy, Mission, Cult, Cure, Siousxie and others. Visite our page www.evidenciasdofim.com.br. I use dirty dog with Peavey Classic 30, Meteoro 15 tube amp. Compared with my others distortions it is good, not like Soldano or BadCat, but is a transistor distortion excelent for hard rock and in my cases, for more hard parts of my music. I strogly recomend for this cases and it is cheap option!

I give it an 8 here because the names of the knobs are kind of dumb, and they don't really make sense. Is What is "bite"? What about "bark" or "growl"? I always think naming knobs like this is stupid. I have to look in the manual just to be certain about which knob is for tone, level and distortion. SO thats annoying.

Other than that, it's pretty straight-forward. One bypass switch for on\off and another switch for channel selection.

I have a fairly cheap amp, but with it, a 7-band EQ and a line mixer I can get some good sounds when I try. My standard distortion is an unmodified Boss Blues Driver. I love that sound. And that is what I am comparing this unit to.

Honestly, I'm glad this is not my only source of distortion. It can sound cool, but it does not pack much of a punch. The distortion soudns very canned. I like it, but only in small doses. Like for a rhythm riff or something.

What I do like about it is the range it provides. The problem I have with the Blues Driver is that a lot of times it's too much. You have to really drive the BD-2 to get the good sounds out of it. The Dirty Dog can give you decent distortion at moderate levels.

It is true-bypass, so thats good. However, when you click either of the footswitches, there is a split second of silence. I was playing last night with a lot of delay, and that moment of silence kept getting caught up in the loop, and it sounded pretty bad. No matter how quickly I push the button, it still has that interruption. Only a very short period, probably no more than 50 ms, but enough to notice if you are litening closely.

For me, this is strictly a backup unit, a nice-to-have for the sake of variety.

Very well built. Very stout. I'd gig with it without concern. I give it a 9 because the knobs pull off very easily.

I dunno, this is discontinued so I doubt you can get support.

Overall, this one has to be a low 8. It's better than average, but it's no superstar distortion unit.

It looks very cool. And admittedly, thats what caught my eye to begin with.

The two footswitches make it a lot of fun to play. Though it annoys me that the boost buttons are tiny little things you have to push with your finger. I'd prefer an extra footswitch that would allow me to throw in that extra kick in the butt.

It uses those stupid DOD-style 1/8" AC adapter plugs. I hate those things, why can't pedal manufacturers standardize? Everyone should use the barrel style AC plug, like Boss pedals use.

All in all, I'm glad I have it. But like I said, I'd never have it as my only distortion.

Pretty easy!
The "weird" names for the knobs are annoying, but you know what they are for by jst tweaking them. I had to get used to the 2 swicthes as well... I kept fogetting that one if on/off and the other is heavy/heavier.

Excellent. Especially the red channel/hevaier channel. It soudns like SRV's super cranked TS9 tone. The other channel isn't too bad. Great if you want want something very mildly distorted. The gem is definetely the very overdriven channel.

Iv'e never had a problem with it in my 2 years. SUPER gret on battereis as well (as long as you take the 1/4 out of teh jack when not in use).

Iv'e only got three pedal that I would NEVER part with.
My Line 4 DL4, my Wah, and my Peavey Dirty Dog.
This may seem like a jnuk pedal because it's not used by many people and ibecause it's not super popular, but I suggest for you to just TRY it. Tweak it around a bit and I know you'll like what you find.

easy, forget about the stupid names on the knobs. No firmware update... Analog and not that good, see...

I play humbucking guitars, and a clean amp. I have to warn you not to buy this box, it has a big problem no one here speak of(which amazes me). It delivers far too much bass frequencies, it barfs them on your amp and overrides it. You can diminish bass on the amp but then when you bypass the unit you have a faggot thin sound.Oh my.
If I concentrate on the transtube sound it's not that good, it always lacks something. On the trash setting it's drive, on boost setting it's transparency, on lead setting it's definition and so on.
I falled for the look but it's all where this unit scores...

Oh yes you can depend on it, for the good it does... It can save your life because it's big enough to kill a felon if your throw it.
So it's not totally useless, and this way draws no batteries

Peavey europe sucks. You have to wait so long for spare parts that in between you buy another brand. Sorry folks.I had to wait 3months to get this box, and I really wish I bought something else.

I wish it has a tech21 engine inside of course! This box sounds worse than a v-amp1, it's cruel but true.
I had a bandit(usa made) and it sounded so good...I am mistaken!
Maybe if you owm a weak amp and wanna play deep purple this box will serve you well, but I can't recommend it, sorry

If you're into Blues or Swamp Rock, or maybe just a rippin' lead tone, this is the product. I like to use it when I'm jammin' to my Kenny Wayne Shappard/Stevie Ray Vaughn CD's. I use the Crunch for a mild rhythm, and then crank the Lead for wicked solos. I think this sounds better through a tubed amp (but doesn't anything?) and using your neck pickup, this packs a wallop

I use a Fernandes Tele and a '82 Jap Strat (both w/ EMG's) and it sounds awesome when using the neck p/u. Also, when using a scraeming lead tone, a wah gives it that extra scream. The Battery life is amazing,although I wish it used an A/C adaptior instead of that other crazy one. I use 11 different effects pedals, and I have this near the end beside my Crybaby and my Ernie Ball volume. It sounds relly good with delay and a volume swell for cool fills.

I think it's built Ford tough! I could drop it down concrete steps, and i'm sure it would keep together (but I'm not going to try)

Didn'yt have to use it

Blues rocker! If EQ'd right, it could prolly be used for some hard rock or metal rhtyhm and lead.

Very easy to use, very straight forward. The instruction manual is very helpful.

I've been playing for about 9 years. I'd searched long and hard for blues distortion with balls, something that could wail, but yet capture the tone of your guitar (I play a strat with Texas specials), and this thing does it. I've been using this for about three years and I love it! I've owned a blue voodoo, ampeg reverrocket's and fender tubes, but the overdrive I get from this baby beats em all. This really compares to Stevie Ray's tone.

Very very dependable. Haven't had a problem yet. It really saves batteries too. Have had the same one for months now.

Never had to use it.

I give this a ten because it is in my oppinion a flawless product. I don't know what these other guys are on saying this is crap because it ROCKS! Go down to your local retailer and try one out. You will be sold!

This is a two-channel distortion pedal. The first channel is labeled "Lead" and the second channel is labeled "Crunch". Each channel has three knobs: Bark, Bite, and Growl (Volume, Tone, and Gain), plus a boost switch on the Lead Channel and thrash switch on the Crunch channel. Foot swtiches include a channel selector and a bypass. This may seem like a lot of stuff compared to the average distorion pedal, but the manual breaks everything down into terms that even a Slipknot fan could understand. It even has some suggested presets, but they all suck except for the clean settings.

I know, I know, by now you're probably thinking "Gee whiz, with all these keen features, how could this not be the perfect pedal?" This is how: the sound quality on this thing is definitely lacking. The Lead Channel is decent, I can get some pretty good metal lead sounds out of it, but just don't rely on the presets in the manual. The Crunch channel, on the other hand, is where this pedal sucks. I bought this thing expecting to get a good thrashy, speed-metal rythym sound out of it, and it so dosen't deliver! There isn't nearly enough gain or low-end punch. In fact, I can't get any good sounds out of the Crunch channel. Right now, I use the "Singing Clean" settings in the manual on the Crunch channel instead of the Lead (as it was intended for), and that helps to add a little extra to my clean tone, but that's about it for that half of the pedal.

I bought this pedal right at a year ago and it's held up fine. This thing is built like a fucking terminator (all metal chassis, plastic knobs, metal footswitches), so I don't intend on having it break on me any time before 2029.
The battery life is also very good (probably because of the weak ass Crunch channel).

I've never had to contact Peavey about the Dirty Dog, so I guess that's a plus.

I play hard rock, heavy metal, hair metal, arena rock, power metal, speed metal, thrash, and neo-classical metal.
The Lead Channel is fine for what I play, I can go from a light overdrive to full metal distortion. The Crunch channel sucks a fat cock. Thankfully, I'll be getting a DOD FX86 tomorrow. This is not a "terrible" pedal, but it's not worth the money. If you want a classic, versatile distortion pedal, get a Marshall Guv'nor or Jackhammer. If you want a crunchy distortion pedal, get a DOD FX86 or a Boss MT-2. If it were stolen, I'd find the culprit and shoot him in his mouth with a 12 gauge slug and eat his heart (but only as a matter of principle). I would definitely NOT replace it. I'd buy a Marshall Guv'nor to replace the Lead channel.

flabbergasting...some people at zoom & other shit effects "processors" oughta take a few mins to examine it...
9 as a purpose (I don't know what would deserve a 10...)

I read some people found it perfect for hard rock...I'm surprised.I found this time-shock-proof pedal really brilliant for many styles from low overdriven ballads to full-driven progressive rock...
That's not the ultimate effect, but compared to a DS-1, it produces a sound you don't hear on every album in your collection...

if you find a better sounding Panzer, mail me as soon as you can...

I never had a prob with it.But the bass player I play with in our band (www.kuster.fr.st) purchased a deltabass head with a peavey cabinet and when he's had some probs with his gear, they've been really polite and efficient overall...

I play the dirty dog plugged in old Dynacord head and Manhattan cabinet (vintage gear, by the way).The most frequently critic people do about this product is its lack of efficiency in middle range frequencies.But what if they tried it with something else than Fender, Marshall and co. ???
I'm pretty sure every blindfolded guitar player who would play my old original 72 Tele with my amp and the Dirty dog would be amazed and wonder where I found that kind of juicy WARM tone...
Just try to watch at ur amp before u connect something to...and don't be fooled by giants such as Boss or Ibanez.Mr Peavey did it better than anyone would have for the price it costs...with a real Bypass...