BOSS Od-3 Overdrive Pedal

Product Information

One other comment re: the difference between the OD-3 & the BD-2. I consider the BD-2 to be more of a clean boost because it only sounds good (to me) when it's running clean. The OD-3 is definitely an overdive in my book because it sounds good running dirty. The overdrive amp will enhance your amplifier’s delivery or mimic a particular sound, whereas distortion will lead to an entirely altered sound unpleasant to the ears. The OD-3 can be a great source of overdrive on its own, paired with a clean amplifier. You won’t quite get full-on distortion from it, but it gets pretty heavy. If you mostly play clean, but need a bit of drive for a chorus or some lead parts, the OD-3 will do the job. Furthermore, it will clean up very nicely, as you lower the output volume on your guitar, similar to a cranked valve amp.

It brings increased dynamics to the table that sound bigger and smoother than any Boss overdrive pedal used before. With the active TREBLE control, I didn't need the passive TONE control any more, so that got tossed overboard.Other than subbing a different JFET for Q5, I left the 3rd stage alone. I used 47nF for C5 because it's close enough to 56nF and it's not part of a filter.

The fuzziness and thinness reported with DS-1 can be eliminated by using the Boss SD-1 Overdrive by keeping its pedal on always. This way, you get a smooth tube crunch sound with a pleasant effect overall. There’s so many cool Modded Boss pedals out there - maybe it’s time for a Boss Custom Shop - to roll out these sorts of more specialist pedals.

By turning down the drive knob and cranking up the volume you can use the OD-3 as booster and sustainer too add a creamy component to your amps overdrive. I use it with volume at 10, drive at 2.5 and tone at 4: With a clean amp sound I get a nice blues tone, with my amp distorted the Boss is a booster for my solo sound.

The good news is we are here to put an end to all your queries and questions once and for all. In this article, you will finally find the information you need when considering buying any of these two guitar overdrives. J112 has a high Vp, so I can bias it from ground in stead of Vref. I used that for the input buffer (Q1). What’s more, as testament to how confident they are in this pedal’s build quality, Boss offer a five-year warranty. If you're currently looking for your first overdrive pedal, I would say stop here at the Boss OD-3. They decided it could be used with some amps and other instruments and be the next big thing. Boss OD- The Features and SpecificationsThis means the fundamental characteristics of the Boss SD-1 Overdrive are slightly different than the typical overdrive pedals. This is what makes a fuzz tone reasonably hard to hear when playing in an intense band mix, but you can notice the saturation. Boss OD-3- The Natural Overdrive Boss OD-3 History The saturation may drop as you move up the hearing frequencies but will then stay uniform in most cases. Nominal Input Level -20 dBu Input Impedance 1 M ohm Nominal Output Level -20 dBu Output Impedance 1 k ohm Recommended Load Impedance 10 k ohms or greater Bypass Buffered bypass Controls DRIVE knob

Nice to see 1MegaOhm input and great quality buffer at this price point, also nice that it only draws 10mA, so a 9V battery lasts at least 80+ hours in continuous use, as long as you don't forget to unplug the input when not using. Suprisingly quiet unit, up there with the boutique manufacters such as Wampler, Earthquaker, etc. Compared with the symmetrical clipping of the Tubescreamer, the Boss SD-1 Overdrive has greater volume and a more dominant presence.

I moved the protection diodes from the input of the 2nd stage to the input of the 1st stage. Their purpose is to keep the Q2-Q3 diff pair from going haywire if they're driven too hard. Saved one capacitor (C32, above). Numerous users are always on the lookout for a detailed Boss OD-3 review and are often seen with searches around the topic Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive vs. OD-3 Overdrive. For the born again tone junkie, this might get you out of some of the many online support groups in your chase for a dynamic, natural sounding overdrive that has more transparency than it does color. The tone achievable with the three simple knobs, sans diode switches or vintage/modern modes is fantastic and rivals many of the independent offerings we have all spent hard earned money on for that Holy Grail end all pedal, only to still be left asking…"did I get a lemon?" The OD-3 fits perfectly in any amp character: It supports its tone and doesn't change it too much. It always adds smoothness and bass to it, but if you have a Marshall, it will still sound like Marshall. The best thing is the OD-3's dynamic: You can turn the drive poti completely up, but you'll still be able to control the drive from clean to completely overdriven just by using your guitar's volume poti.