Jimi Mac Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 This just arrived: I got it on eBay for less than $50 to my door. It is a reissue no-doubt as the seller said he bought it a few years ago new... Maybe his memory is bad and it is from last year. I'm not sure how long they've been reissuing these, but since I've seen them back on the market I've wanted one... My very first pedal ever was an original one of these back in the 1980's... I've always had an affinity for them and can't wait to give it a test drive! I'll let you all know how it sounds... I think back in the day I had a little Fender Champ solid state amp with my first electric guitar that I used this with; A Memphis brand lawsuit era Les Paul Copy, MIJ. It was a hot axe and this made it kick like a mule! I knew nothing about amps/tubes/pedals and I'm sure I'd have gotten much more awesome results with a tube amp with this, but it sounded good even thru a solid-state amp. Now that I know a bit more, I can't wait to try it thru tubes! With a real Gibson Les Paul! Excited!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 I have a friend who swears by those (he's a bit of an Yngwie devotee - he also uses scalloped neck Strats). Anyway, they can work wonders in front of a tube amp - kinda straddles the line between a booster and an overdrive. The reissues he says are quite a bit louder than the old ones (he has a few of them). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 It's definitely used... The Gain pot was so loose that I thought it might be broken at first and a good stiff wind might change the setting. I took it all apart and it seems all intact and in pretty good shape. I used a prick-punch on the collar where the main shaft of the Gain pot comes thru and made 4 equi-distant punches adding some drag on the pot shaft so it feels "tighter" and won't be knocked off-setting easily. The the A/C adapter is a different type than standard these days for pedals. it is a female receptacle for a pin-plug that looks much like a 3.5mm plug goes in. I found them online as cheap as anything I can get at Radio Shack so I'll order one up eventually, but the seller even included a new 9v battery with it, so I'm using it in the meantime. I see the new reissues, done by DigiTech apparently, have both an LED "on" light on them and the updated standard A/C adapter port so they can be chained more easily... This one just says DOD on it with zero reference anywhere on, or in, it to DigiTech... Not sure about it any further than that... All in all I think it looks to be in really good shape and I'll give it a good test later today... It's was as much a sentimental purchase as anything since it is what my first pedal I ever owned was. I just couldn't see spending $100 on a sentimental purchase at the moment so I thought I'd give this a shot first... If I really like I might get a new reissue to more easily hook the the power chain of my other pedals and that LED indicator light is handy too. We'll see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 OK, I took it for a test drive and while I found some issues with this particular pedal, that I have no way to tell if I caused with my tear-down and "fix" or were already present in the pedal, due to not trying it before I tore it down, I found I love it! Like I said this one is having some popping and cuts out intermittently, but sometimes works flawlessly for quite a while. I find the tones it gives are really good! It has a darker fuller sound with alot of presence in comparison to my other drive pedals... I think SurfPup is right it is in between a drive and a boost pedal. It also borders on a fuzz pedal with some of the saturation it gives. All in all I really like this pedal and the sound I get with it. I'm definitely going to invest in one I can attach to my current multi plug 9v standard power supply as the new ones are. It's got balls and it just jumps out at you but it never wimps out by going too bright it remains thick and strong in tone and the presence is way out front! All in all I give it two thumbs-up in tone and growl and although this pedal has further issue that I may or may not be able to clear-up, it was worth the investment to investigate! It's (this particular specimen) fine for in-studio use but I don't trust it enough to gig with it for the lack of notice before it cuts out and all sound stops. Live and learn, but I know I gotta have one of these pedals in my arsenal for sure... It's simple, straight-forward, and gutsy! It produces kick and growl with fat tone and never gets thin, tinny, or strays bright. Worked awesome with both humbuckers and P90's! As you can see the new one features both an LED indicator light and you can barely see the standard contemporary 9v power supply port on the top (in the pic below) which is more ergonomically placed than the one I have now (the 3.5mm plug port is right next to the out cable port) making the new version (below) much easier to chain in my pedal array... Love it! I'm going to invest in a new one for my gig rig for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 OK, after puting it thru a test with the majority of my guitars including my Lesters, I am totally convinced this is the best overdrive/boost pedal I've ever played! I'm just about at the point where I'll likely sell my GFS Greenie Classic and GFS Blues Driver pedals... I even get enough saturation our of it to possibly retire my original SovTek Big Muff Pi! The dynamic response of this analog overdrive is amazing! If you roll some volume down on the guitar it cleans up and makes you think you don't even have the pedal engaged and then with a subtle bump up it growls ferciously and kicks the shiite outta the perfect overdriven tube tone! This pedal simply rocks. I truly am astounded by not only the range but the response and the presence and tone is simply sublime! I cannot speak highly enough of the DOD Overdrive Preamp/250! You simply have to try one for yourself, you won't believe the presence and the rich dark flavor this pedal produces without going metal-head black or tinny bright... It is just superb! It brings out a richness and gut-wrenching bottom-end romp that has always been difficult to achieve out of the mini-humbuckers on my Les Paul Deluxe; "Scarlett" I pulled off a mean version of Hair of the Dog by Nazareth and I just didn't think she had it in her until now! I'm simply amazed by this pedal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I do believe a sound clip i sin order, Jimi Mac! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awel Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I do believe a sound clip i sin order, Jimi Mac! +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted June 22, 2014 Author Share Posted June 22, 2014 OK SurfPup & Awel... Ask & ye shall receive... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY4BYMb-C6M&feature=youtu.be Yes, I'm a hack, and I flubbed pretty good in a couple spots... I truly believe the audio recording capabilities, or lack there-of, of my digital camera affected the final product. It seems duller in the playback of the video that it is in reality... I suspect some audio filters and compression of the signal has distorted the presence and richness of the sound... I also suspect that the cement floor of my studio room is also causing recording issues... Had a minor flooding issue earlier this spring and had to pull the rug so it's a bare concrete floor at the moment and the echo is causing some distortion of the recorded signal too... But hey, it's all good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 OK SurfPup & Awel... Yes, I'm a hack, and I flubbed pretty good in a couple spots... Ha! Aren't we all, JimiMac - or else we wouldn't be on here. Sounds real good to me. Most of my experience with this pedal is via a friend who uses Strats pretty exclusively. Good to see it's equally as smooth with a Gibson. Some nice tones you got goin' on there (and a great looking wine red LP as well). You really were not kidding about loving reverb were you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Ha! Aren't we all, JimiMac - or else we wouldn't be on here. Sounds real good to me. Most of my experience with this pedal is via a friend who uses Strats pretty exclusively. Good to see it's equally as smooth with a Gibson. Some nice tones you got goin' on there (and a great looking wine red LP as well). You really were not kidding about loving reverb were you? Ya, the reverb thing is a bit excessive, but I love it... It's my thing. I get told my lots of folks to turn it down, I'm used to it... The HOF reverb has a stock tone-print setting which is a bit like Peter Green's penchant for rolling it on after a note, it's not the note that is reverbed it is the lingering resonance of the note and the reverb is increased after the note is completed... Peter green used to roll on volume after a lick or note and the reverb shimmer or ring would come on like a tsunami... I really like that effect and I don't even want to experiment with any of the programable tone-prints available, I just want to keep that one... The plate reverb is awesome on it too! Thanks for the compliments, you're too kind! I'm a hack for sure, but in a band setting I can pull off an OK show... Playing by myself is a different story and my short-comings become painfully clear... Scarlett was my first Les Paul ever and she'll always have a special place in my heart. She still impresses me with her tone even after she sits idle for a while if I spend more time with other axes and come back to her it's like rediscovering her all over again... Still I'm disappointed in how the audio came out, it just doesn't do that DOD justice! I'm glad you could hear some of what I was talking about... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share Posted June 28, 2014 The reissues he says are quite a bit louder than the old ones (he has a few of them). I'd almost say the one with the contemporary 9v adapter power-port has some volume advantages even over the one I just demo'ed in my viddie that I just bought... I found one on eBay looking for a best offer and I saved over 15% off the price of a new one from any of the online retailers so I went for it... So my New Pedal Day turned into a 2 new pedals fortnight... I gave the new one a test drive last night and it kicks-@$! Love it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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