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Boss OD-1 OverDrive
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Boss OD-1 OverDrive
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« Legendary!! »

Published on 08/01/11 at 16:04
Boss introduced this pedal back in 1977 and back then most guitar players were using a fuzz box to get their distortion tone. This was not that type of circuitry so there was some backlash to this pedal but as the guitars tones were changing more and more people started to pick up this pedal. This would be one of the pedals that set the stage t what would become some of the most legendary Boss pedal of all time and for that much some of the best overdrives pedals of all time.

This pedal is more of an overdrive pedal than it is a distortion pedal. It does distort but give the necessary drive that breaks up the front of an amp to get a good low gain distortion tone.

UTILIZATION

Specifications

* Controls: Level, Overdrive
* Connectors: Input, Output, AC Adaptor
* Current Draw: 3.5 mA (DC 9V)
* Weight: 400g.
* Input Impedance: 220kOhm
* Output Impedance: Over 600Ohm
* Signal/Noise Ratio: 80dB
* Recommended AC Adaptor: ACA Series


SOUND QUALITY

This pedal sounds pretty good in front of an already overdriven amp. There isn't loads of distortion in this pedal but what many would consider a boost pedal compared to today's standard in high gain and distortion. It only has two control knobs and there really isn't much to dial in to get a very usable tone from this thing. You have level for your overall volumes and level and then there is overdrive which is your gain and distortion. There is no tone control knob as you would see in later pedals.

This pedal sound best in front of an already overdriven amp. It is great for getting that extra sizzle and sustain. The pedal also works well if you need a light drive for some bluesy tones with the neck pickup of a Fender Strat.

OVERALL OPINION

These pedals would be manufactured all the way up until 1985. They are obviously discontinued and the use market it the only way to go at this point. They have more revisions on this pedal and four of them are floating out there. They all sound pretty much the same and all were made in Japan. Boss would then replace this pedal with the Boss OD-2 and then more versions after that.