Snarling Dogs Black Dog

mine has two knobs a gain and a volume but i have seen a version of the black dog with three knobs and two switches believe it or not

beautiful "bassy" and "creamy" overdrive puts my keeley modded tubescreamer to shame as far as warmth and character (if i had tube amps i would appreciate my tubescreamer much much more)even attack plus i can get this thing to self oscillate when i play around with feedback...i had to order a sound sense adapter for this pedal because it can be noisy if you've got the wrong plug-in honestly this pedal only comes alive with a nine volt battery in it
there are elements to this in the digitech bad monkey but this is better i use this pedal thru a crate bass combo, a roland jc160 vintage 410 cab with jensen speakers also a peavey special 130 or peavey tnt 130 bass amp whatever i've got in my possession for practice/gigging...

this is where i have to complain...the input and output jacks on this are very "wonky' and cheap, attached right to the board; i'm afraid to replace them since i could short the whole pedal circuitry out i would love to gig with this but the jacks cause me problems i'm looking for somebody to help me with this as we speak

my pedal looks to be a counterfeit version from china (the case coloring and lettering) all different than the pictures on snarling dog's website)when i change the case, stomp switch and jacks for this i'm gonna be loving it for gigging

this pedal is perfect for that cincinatti pagans/dead boys
sound...when my band does old jabbers covers i use this pedal with my les paul melody maker reissue sounds wonderful...in my opinion white face proco rats sound terrible with bass but this pedal will
bring out certain harmonics really warm not cold like my '85 rat

it was very easy to sort out....pretty much had it figured in the store before i bought it. i test drove it with a blues junior before i bought it asnd it was very touch sensetive..

i needed an overdrive to go in front of my roland jc,but i didn't want the usual mid-heavy tube screamer sound.this thing has tons of lowend response and you can dial in a wide range of highs with the bite control. it's very "bassy" with the tone bypassed,but i can see a use for it. it has one basic sound,but i'm using it with a semi-hollow,a washburn wi64 with vcc and a danelectro 56pro and it has enough flexibility to sound great with all of them..

it's still very new, but since i only use it at home, i believe it will last a long,long time.

haven't needed them. i will say that the sound bytes on their website don't do their products justice.

i play blues mainly (big tab benoit and delta moon fan)but will play whatever hits me. i use the guitars listed above with the jazz chorus,a 15w marshall g15r with a jensen cr8, and i have a tonedriver,a sparkledrive,a dano fabdistortion and faboverdrive. the blackdog is it.

I think there was a manual with this but I never used it. Here is what the Black Dog consist of: Three fancy chickenhead style knobs on top; Volume/Gain, Overdrive/Distortion (not really a distortion though) and Tone. Also on top is an Attack Control switch with a Snarl (low end) and Bite (high end) switch. On the right hand side of the box you will find a switch that you can flick to use the Tone setting or a ByPass setting (which nulls the Tone knob on the top of the unit). The best thing to do with the Black Dog is just play with it. Mess around with settings, crack the volume up and down, flick between Snarl and Bite...the tonal possibilities are numerous on the Black Dog. I give it an 8 here since it may take a while to find your tone.

First off kiddies, this IS NOT A DISTORTION PEDAL. You will not get searing screams from this OVERDRIVE PEDAL. Now that that is off my chest...
Here is my set-up as of right now: Washburn WI64PLAB (could only get at music123) > Snarling Dogs Black Dog > DOD Grunge Distortion > Dunlop Crybaby Wah > Snarling Dogs Firebawl Wah > Snarling Dogs VeryTone > Vox Pathfinder 15R (the hidden little gem of the amp world). One thing I love about Snarling Dogs is that Kenny sets up all the pedals with THMBS , which is what I do believe is a true by-pass system. Whatever it is, it works. When the pedal is not on, it's like it isn't even there. No hums, no clicks, no loss of tone, it's a thing of beauty. However, when you do fire up the Black Dog you won't be let down. This thing is just awesome, from crunchy overdriven tones to a subtle hint of subtle overdrive, the Black Dog has it covered. It reminds me of those nice overdrive tones of the 70s. I love the fact taht you can also crank up the Volume/Gain and turn down the Overdrive/Distortion and use the thing to punch out those solos when you need to get over everyone else. Beauty. And if you have trouble finding the tone you want, give Snarling Dogs a call and ask for Kenny, he's always willing to give advice. The guy just rocks.

Snarling Dogs products are built like tanks.

If you call, ask for Kenny, this is VERY important. If not, you'll get God only knows who and they will just be reading you info from a computer screen. Kenny is thee guy who develops the pedals and he will hook you up if you happen to have any problems.

Since I play all kinds of music, I need pedals that can dish out a wide range of tones and styles. Snarling Dog pedals always have that little something extra that helps me achieve those tones and styles that I am trying to achieve. Little things like the Snarl and Bite Attack switch can make a world of difference when writing new music.

By and large, it's very easy to get good sound, so long as this is the type of pedal you're looking for. A volume knob and an OD/Dist knob, with a switch to go from Snarl, more guitar sound with overdrive, to Bite, more distortion and fuzz. I got it used off ebay with no manual nor adapter.

My setup goes Strat-->DOD Compressor-->Black Dog-->EH Worm-->BOSS RV-2 reverb-->Tattered remains of CRATE G40C with a broken distortion channel. On battery, it's quieter than most of my pedals, with a $12 Radio Shack adapter it had a very loud 60Hz hum, with the $8 adapter you can order from DeAndrea it's quieter than most of my pedals. The effect can be dialed in weak or strong. Volume knob cranked it's very strong, so much so that I don't use my compressor as much as I used to. Volume low with the OD/Dist knob cranked, it can be pretty shrill, especially on Bite. Everything cranked, you're all over Zep Sabbath ACDC. With the volume as a boost, and a touch of OD, I get the meaty blues/rock breakup i was very specifically looking for. As I said, my amp distortion is broken, and I just wanted some switchable balls. I can't shred or fan pick if I wanted to, but with my compressor and the Black Dog, I could if I learned how. I did a lot of research through these reviews to find the best bet for me, and got it right the first time. Incidentally, with an octave pedal and some compression before it, this thing sounds like Deep Purple's Organ and Guitar in the same voice.

I get up at 5am to play guitar into my headphones, so this dog won't be getting into any fights. I wear kung-fu slippers, I don't stomp, and I don't gig, so I really couldn't tell you if it's bombproof, cause it doesn't need to be. But the housing is all metal, feels solid, and if it fell on my toe, I would walk funny.

I called DeAnrea to order the correct adapter. The guy called me back less than ten minutes later, very cool, made some jokes, shipped it immediately, and I had it plugged in and jamming two mornings later. Get the factory adapter - it's quiet, cheaper than anything else out there, and you support a cool, smaller company.

I play what I can. I am not fast, so I can't shred. Other than that, I'm all over the place. The Black Dog gives me a lot of leeway. I play into headphones almost all the time, so it's quietness is nice. I'm not a huge gear head, so I don't have the wants, always lusting after some piece of equipment to give me tone. The Dog has given me the last piece of the puzzle, short of a tube amp. If it were stolen, someone would have to have entered my house and gotten to the basement alive, which wouldn't happen. Since I like it, I've tried it, and I like the company, I would definitely replace it before going through the research to find something else to satisfy me, especially for the money (bear in mind, it's a discontinued pedal, but I bet the Blue Doo isn't far off). It made me glad that my amp's distortion gave out, because this sounds ten times better than my amp ever did, which has inspired me to work harder on my lead playing. It's like a hammer; if you build a bookcase with it, you love it and think it's great, if you smash your thumb, you swear it's sucks ass. Me, I'm working on a bookcase.

Very easy to use. Just start with the overdrive and then adjust the level. If you want a bassy sound, bypass the tone control with the switch on the right side. Otherwise adjust the tone, left for low end, right for high. What could be easier?

I have a Snarling Dogs Tweed E. Dog and compared it with this. They both sound just the same. I use one of these to warm up a bass sound. I just leave it on all the time and it gives it a nice fat tubish sound. I've also used it for playing jazz guitar by keeping the overdrive/distortion all the way down AND turning down the volume on my guitar because the humbucker will overdrive it a bit even with the distortion down. Great for jam sessions when they have you running through the PA because it does warm up the sound. As for the distortion, it sounds okay. A bit too dirty for my taste. The Blue Bawls with the Blue Doo inside sounds nicer. Less boomy, not as harsh. I sometimes use the Black Dog with a keyboard amp and just leave it on all the time to warm up the sound. I use a volume pedal before it (if I want distortion) or after it (if I want all clean) to get a volume boost. The operation is very quiet for the cleaner sounds and a bit noisy for the more distorted sounds. Just like you'd expect.

I own three of these. One had a messed up tone bypass switch when I got it. I opened it up and put it back together and it works fine now. The first Tweed E. Dog I got went bad after two days. It just lost all volume. I think a ground wire probaly came off, but I just sent it back for another. That one looked like it had been repaired at some time. Maybe it was the same one. They don't seem to be very reliable, but if you get one cheap enough, it may be worth having a tech go over it for bad solder joints, etc.

Snarling Dogs has a new owner...again. D'andrea has taken over. I wonder if they'll honor the warranties?

More versatile than some would have thought. It can really warm up the sound for playing jazz (use a volume pedal AFTER the black dog for jazz to keep the pedal from overdriving) as well as get good distortion for Rock. I've also got some good Country sounds out of it. Using a single coil pickup, leave the Black Dog on all the time and put a volume pedal IN FRONT OF the Black Dog (I use the Very Tone Dog on bypass) and set if to a clean sound. Once the volume is increased, it will overdrive the circuit (even with overdrive on min) just enough so that the attack will determine how much distortion you get. Just the tube emulator makes this more useful than other distortion pedals. Even if you have other distortion boxes (and who doesn't?), a Black Dog or Tweed E. Dog with overdrive on min will make give you a nice warmer sound for guitar or bass.

This pedal (in contrast to the previous submitter) works great. I use it with my 50W Marshall to alter the depth of the overdriven sound. Using the tone control on the pedal, I can match the pedal to the normal tone of the Marshall, so when I kick it in, it just gives me a boost and lots more balls.

I use it with a Carvin Holdsworth H2 into the Black Dog into a 1977 Marshall 50W MKII into an Ampeg 4x12 w/Celestions. The amp by itself is delicious sounding, but when I kick in the Dog, I get a fatter, more mondo overdrive. I like the bite setting better than the snarl setting, just because I like overdrive better than distortion, and I use the tone control to match the pedal with the basic tone of the amp. I also play a Dr Z Route 66 using Fulltone II, Soulbender and Fat-Boost pedals, so I know what a good pedal/amp setup is. I LIKE this pedal (in fact, I have two of them). I've been wanting to use two different amp/pedal setups and I've found the right combination now. As for the guy who preceded me on this list, sometimes pedals go bad, but that doesn't mean they are all bad. Case in point, the Fulltone Ultimate Octave I bought off Ebay sounds like crap, but I'm sending it to Mike Fuller to fix it. You know that not ALL Ultimate Octaves sound like crap.....the combination of amp/pedal or the sequence of pedals has a LOT to do with the usefullness of any pedal. If you play a good tube amp, most quality pedals will sound good, but if you play solid state, it's a crap-shoot. Some sound good, some don't.....This one does.

I haven't played it enough to know about the reliability.

Never dealt with them.

I play a lot of ZZTop style, SRV, blues, rock, hmmmm. everything from 50's to 90's, I suppose....depending on which band I'm playing with on which night. I'd definitely get another one if both of mine disappeared.

Ok, its time to kick this piece of shit square in what little nuts it has. I don't understand why anyone would wanna give more than a rating of 5 for this heap of shit. I tried one of these out in a store that was selling it used for 50 bucks and i swear it was the most awful piece of excrement ive ever heard.

Maybe the fact that it was pre-owned had something to do with it but i highly doubt that of a pedal with a metal casing. Hands down WORST distortion ive ever heard. Sounded like crap distortion with FLANGE or something mixed with it!

I could depend on this pedal to make an excellent doorstop, kicking toy, or murder weapon but wouldnt plan on using it with a guitar in any way, shape, or form.

It supported me quite well, my balls are not nearly as...oh shit. I'm sorry, i forgot what i was reviewing when it said "support".

I didnt buy it and wouldnt buy it for even 5 bucks. I've played guitar long enough to know what shit sounds like. This, my friends, is most certainly shit.

The pedal is very easy to use.There are three knobs on the unit, one for volume,overdrive, and tone.This box reminds me a lot of the old Eletroharmonix devices, but seem's much more durable( The case is rock solid) There is a switch that reads snarl & bite and this acts a drive boost (snarl being the high gain side) One other nice feature is the tone bypass switch. When this is activated it bypasses the tone Knob ( duhhh) to give you a pure signal..I did find that when using the bypass feature on my particular amp my tone wasn't as crisp as when it was off....In all a very easy box to use and operate

The setup I am currently using with the pedal are as follows: Carvin Valve Master 2 with a 70's Marshal red cabinet(awesome)also a 2x12 Carvin cabinet loaded with Celestion vintage 30's. For guitars I am using a Original Reverend Rocco(#550),Modified Epiphone Les paul with Bill Lawrence L500's , Grover tuners, etc,(killer guitar)and a beautiful Carvin bolt with a ruby red quilted top and Rio Grande Muy Grande pickups..The pedal is very quiet and gives just the right amount of distortion to the signal.It has true mechanical bypass so the signal stays clean wih no dropout when engaged. If you are using a High gain tube amp with this pedal it will work nicley when adjusted properly. I run the volume up on the Black Dog at about 75% and the drive at about 25% this setting gives me just the right amount of "kick" when needed. The pedal does react like a tube amp when you increase and decrease the volume on your guitar(signal cleans up nicely when volume is rolled back) and it doesn't over power your tone which is nice.

The Black Dog seems to have been built very well. The case is heavy duty and all switch work fine. The eyes on the Snarling dogs Logo light up when the pedal is engaged and this looks very cool. I think Matthews and Ryan have really been trying hard to improve all the quality aspects of their products and it seems to be working. As with all effects pedals it's always good to have some sort of back up (we all know about those gremlins that get into our gear for no particular reason)but the Black Dog I think will hold up for years to come

Here's where the company is excelling. I had questions about the gear before and after purchasing it and the guys at Snarling Dogs were very responsive. After e-mailing the company I had a response from Marc Ryan almost immediately. Marc was very helpful and answered all my questions and even asked for suggestions on how to improve there services. Definitely a Class Act!

Overall this is a great sounding pedal!...It is not a High gain overdrive pedal, but rather a pedal that will improve any serious rig.. If you want Bone crushing distortion at bedroom levels look elsewhere.If you want a pedal to enhance an already great sounding amplifier this might be the pedal to checkout.

see my submission directly below this one.

see my submission directly below this one.

reliability: it isn't. mine stopped working within 6 months. now it just makes a sound like an old man with hemerhoids goin' to the bathroom. it just plain sucks.

i tried contacting the company twice to find out how to get it repaired/replaced. they never contacted me. likewise, when it still worked i contacted them to complement them on it, & they never replied. basically, even though they say they promote customer service, they sure as %#*% don't.

i liked it when it worked....but it stopped & they won't communicate with me...so forget about it.

well gee, like everybody else said, there's only two knobs, so how could you go wrong?

I'm running an ibanez guitar into a boss hypermetal into the black dog into a laney 2x120 combo amp.

seems pretty solid. the lights don't always come on to let me know its on.

haven't done anything here..

ok, most people that use this will probably kill me for the way i use it. it gets a pretty cool old school punk sound. also, i like to run my metal zone pedal into this one to get a grind-core like sound. its mainly used by me as a "flavoring" pedal. anyhow, contact me if you have any questions, & check out our band's website at www.nothinghead.com.