The (Almost)
Original:
DOD 250
Preamp
Overdrive
RI
the gain is increased, creating the
perfect, muscular tone for rhythm or lead
lines with some heft.
I fell into the
world of boutique
pedals in part because
I noticed my clean tone was a
little worse when I plugged into my 250.
Well, a couple of years ago, DigiTech
relaunched the DOD brand and solved
this problem and few others with their
DOD 250 reissu e. The new version is
true bypass, has an indicator light and
a standard nine-volt jack but, mercifully
everything is the same, right down to
the seemingly crucial 741 op amp. Like
the original 250, the reissue has flat mids
and, as with the original, the lows slowly
roll off and the highs slowly creep in as
34
TONE TALK //
To me, in addition to the flat mids,
the real joy of the 250 is the way it
compresses as the gain is increased; the
low end loss is balanced by increased
compression that’s reminiscent of a
cranked amplifier. Meanwhile, the topend boost is just subtle enough to offset
the compression. These characteristics
are absolutely wonderful into an amp
that’s just breaking up, but they work
well with a clean amp, too. The breakup character is reminiscent of a Fender
Tweed, most notably in the charming
splat of the 250’s top end, a sound that
could be off-putting if it didn’t sound so
organic (think Ron Wood with The Faces).
The Legacy of the DOD 250: 5 Killer Clones