DOD has unveiled a special 50th anniversary edition of its legendary Overdrive/Preamp 250, featuring switchable clipping, through-hole components, and guitar picks and assorted collectibles inside the box.
If you are lucky enough to grab one, and you will need luck because they are only making 1,974 of these overdrive pedals, definitely keep the box. We can imagine these being very much sought-after in years to come.
But set aside any thoughts of selling this further down the line; DOD has done everything to make this an ever-present on your pedalboard.
Of course, no one needs convincing of the Overdrive/Preamp 250’s charms – it is “America’s Pedal,” the stompbox that made DOD famous, and the number of clones on the market are a testament to its success.
This, however could well be the ultimate variant, offering three-in-one clipping options that offers two distinct flavours of overdrive/distortion plus the option to run the pedal as an op-amp boost to push your guitar amp.
The Overdrive/Preamp 250 is not a mini-pedal per se but it is compact, enough to stick in your back pocket – it won’t take up too much real estate on your ‘board.
There’s no need to over-complicate things; the control setup is super-simple, just two dials, one for Gain, one for Level, and a three-way toggle switch for choosing your preferred clipping configuration.
Those Gain and Level controls have been carefully tuned to replicate the same taper as the original units. That’s sure to delight DOD purists.
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So too will the silicon diode clipping mode, which offers the same sound as the OG Overdrive/Preamp 250. But the the alternate clipping mode is similarly vintage-inspired, with DOD sourcing some vintage parts for an asymmetric germanium diode clipping mode that offers “even-harmonic” distortion.
The third mode, Lift, is where those clipping diodes are taken out of the equation and the LM741 op-amp is doing all the heavy lifting. Choose this for a clean boost – though if you max it out it will had some dirt too as the op-amp clips. DOD has also added a helpful LED to let you know when the pedal is engaged.
Other anniversary details include a laser-etched badge that takes pride of place on the enclosure. Inside the box you will find an individually numbered certificate of authenticity, picks and a bunch of stickers.
One of the secrets to the Overdrive/Preamp 250’s success is its versatility. It could be a tone-sweetener, your boost for solos, a go-to overdrive or as a distortion pedal at higher gain settings. It’s a hard-working pedal.
There’s also one more thing that the DOD team have considered; this has been designed with the modding community in mind. And so, if you want to tweak this, perhaps swapping out a component, changing a diode, whatever, that should all be doable. The circuit has been hand-wired (in the USA) with through-hole components.
Priced $250, the Overdrive/Preamp 250 50th Anniversary is true bypass and available now. See DigiTech for more details.
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