Boss ODB-3, anyone?

[bobostein]

I never was into effects untill a little while ago, so I did my research and Im really thinking of geting a Boss ODB-3. Alot of people say that they dont like it but I think it is the coolest of them all for fuzz/overdrive. I was wondering if anyone has had some experience with this pedal and if not what are some other cool sounding pedals, overdrive or not.

[Din Of Win]

I have loved and always WILL love my ODB-3. It was my first pedal and has stayed with me through massive pedal aquisitions and trades.

If you LIKE big digital sounding OD, this is IT. I play more on the Shoegazey end of the spectrum and it is perfect. I dunno, there's not much more i can say, i just love the pedal and i think it only really gets bashed by:

A) Analog Purists. It IS very digital/synthy sounding, and for some people, that's just not their cup o' tea.

B) Affluent People. Because obviously a $300 pedal will be better than a $80 pedal...


Anyways, yes i love it.

[bobostein]

I really like the sound, its like the Melvins... HONEY BUCKET!

[tomwilliams1983]

Only works for me if i loosen the input jack on my bass
even then its not my sort of overdrive, the notes sound terrible if you play too fast, i dont know if this is the case on all overdrive pedals but id rather play clean than use this

[fishsticks]

i have never played on in a band setting... but it's fun to tool around with... not what i ended up buying though....

[Din Of Win]

Originally Posted by tomwilliams1983

Only works for me if i loosen the input jack on my bass
even then its not my sort of overdrive, the notes sound terrible if you play too fast, i dont know if this is the case on all overdrive pedals but id rather play clean than use this

That's strange. I've played in a few crust punk and power violence bands with the ODB-3 as my only dirt. Both of those are fast styles and i never had any tracking problems. Try messing with the wet/dry (or whatever it's called) knob.

[powellmacaque]

I use mine every now and then to get that "my speakers just blew up" grind. Paid $20 for it so I can't complain!

[Spacelordmother]

an ODB-3 and a muff together create beautiful chaos!

[BarkerBass]

it was my first real pedal and even after going to the boss GT6B I've kept it for it's crushing sounds, great for wall of crunch style, think Death from above 1979 bass tone. if the treble is boosted it cuts nicely in a band context, like a rhino with a chainsaw bolted to it's horn!

[Defacto]

Originally Posted by tomwilliams1983

Only works for me if i loosen the input jack on my bass
even then its not my sort of overdrive, the notes sound terrible if you play too fast, i dont know if this is the case on all overdrive pedals but id rather play clean than use this

Are you using a stereo jack connector by any chance? That might be your problem...well getting it working anyways.

[CrispyDelicious]

Originally Posted by Din Of Win

I have loved and always WILL love my ODB-3. It was my first pedal and has stayed with me through massive pedal aquisitions and trades.

Same here. It sits with pride next to my pricer, "boutique" pedals. Love it!

[noahw1]

I used my mine for about 1/3 of the songs in my post-punk/hardcore band. We had a Jesus Lizard/Melvins/Bad Brains type sound and it was great.

King Buzzo of the Melvins uses it for his guitar.

[lowregister]

Someone once summed it up well, the ODB-3 is love or hate.

In my case I didn't like it.

While so many OD's drop your bottom end Boss compensated too much. I rarely every turned the two band EQ up more than 11:00 because it was too much boost.

For someone like me, if you have specific tastes with od/fuzz, get a good OD/Fuzz Pedal AND an EQ like Boss's GEB-7

+1 though to Din of Win, it is 'digitally' and in my opinion kind of cold.

[ssbass]

I just bought one for $20. I'm still messing around with it, but so far i like it.
Does any body have a good setting for just a little dirt/OD added to your sound. It seems it's either full on or really hard to hear.

[Din Of Win]

Originally Posted by ssbass

I just bought one for $20. I'm still messing around with it, but so far i like it.
Does any body have a good setting for just a little dirt/OD added to your sound. It seems it's either full on or really hard to hear.

I usually use it in "full on" mode for that MBV-esque wall o' sound... um... sound. But for a more subtle OD, try having the wet/dry knob at about 8 or 9 o'clock. Then just dial in the gain. The master volume will add all the volume you could need.

I do have to say that this is one of the loudest pedals i have used. I've even used it as a clean volume/low end booster in the past with it in fully dry mode, bass @ 4ish and trebble at 1ish. My MIM Fender Jazz absoloutly growls in this setting.

[Voss451]

I had one and liked it in certain situations. Unfortunately for me, when I ran it though my LMII head, there was an unpleasant 'fizz' sitting on top of it. When I used it at home with my Pod & headphones, it was fine but it couldn't hack it live.

I have an Ibanez PD-7 that has died and needs fixing but I remember that when it WAS working, it sounded great.

[K2000]

Originally Posted by Din Of Win

A) Analog Purists. It IS very digital/synthy sounding, and for some people, that's just not their cup o' tea.

It's not digital sounding for me. It depends on how you set it, and what kind of amp you're using. YMMV. It sounds good with SVTs IMO. People who hate this pedal should try dialing it way back, and try it with a tube amp.

Another good, inexpensive OD is the DOD 250. Works great with an SVT and couldn't be simpler to use.

[TheHegemon]

Love mine, got it for $40 over in the TB classifieds, pair it with my bass big muff and get some crazy sounds. Usually use it if we play Pantera or Newsted era Metallica, just turn the OD up about quarter of the way. Like K2000 said it really depends on what kind of amp your using though.

[Pitbull Growl]

Mine is that "indyguitar" modded version and it's a li'l less harsh. I personally like it to follow my SB7 blended at about 75% wet or so to put a li'l edge on the freaky, fire the lasers sound I get from the synth.

Another under-rated and fairly inexpensive pedal is the DOD FX92 if you can find one. I think I paid like $30ish for mine. It's also a blendable pedal made for bass, but it's got more of a (USA) muffish type fuzz to it.

I like using the blendable ones after pedals that destroy the sound like Bits & Synths... but that's just me.

[*insertcoolname]

Although I rarely step on it, you won't find anything else that can do the ODB-3's job. Buy used and crunch away.