Great sounding overdrive/distortion unit. I was quite skeptical of it at first because it is a digital pedal and I prefer analog overdrive and distortion units. However, even from that admittedly prejudicial starting point, I was impressed enough with this pedal that after trying it twice in the store for periods of about half an hour each (I try to take the time to get to know a pedal before I consider bringing it home), I decided that I'd try it out in my own setup. I have a good relationship with the local music shop I bought it from, and was assured that if it didn't work out for me, I could bring it back and get my money back.
That has not been necessary at all!
First, a word on the technology. The "Dyna Amp" concept has been well used since its inception by Roland/BOSS in their floor- and rack-based modelers and guitar synths, and also in the more expensive of the Cube amps. However, this is the first successful application of it in a single pedal (probably just a matter of waiting for the technology to do so cheaply and efficiently to be in place – I haven't looked up the DSP that they're using, but I do know that the technology requires running two concurrent algorithms in parallel and dynamically and seamlessly switching between them with the volume envelope, which I'm sure is relatively processor intensive). I actually used the GT-8 for awhile, and I liked this aspect of it (though not much else, especially regarding its dirt). The Dyna-Drive is totally seamless in transitioning between the two levels of drive, and the actual algorithms themselves are finely tuned to complement each other at every possible level of gain. In fact, I think it pulls it off a lot better than the GT-8 was ever able to. The really outstanding thing about this pedal's digital nature is that you wouldn't ever know if they didn't tell you. The single clue as to its digitalness is the fact that when you turn it on, there is about a 2 second delay while the circuitry engages. From that point on, it does not operate any differently than any three-knob dirt pedal.
The sound ranges from light overdrive with just a hint of harmonic distortion (works well as a sort of half-and-half OD/compressor with the gain low, for reasons on which I will offer a conjecture in a moment) all the way to DS-1 levels of harder edged distortion. The gain knob does control both the higher and lower gain algorithm, and keeps them at a complementary level – with the knob maxed (where I tend to keep it, by the way), you get substantial overdrive to substantial distortion, though you can control the level of the overdrive and distortion by reducing the volume knob on your guitar further. With the knob turned down lower, the ceiling for each goes down; it becomes possible to go from a lightly overdriven clean tone to a medium-gain distortion pedal (think MXR Dist+).
The neat thing, and a tangible (if under-the-hood) benefit of it being a digital pedal, is that there is some general volume correction applied (I'd call it compression, but it's very transparent – more like normalization than out and out compression). The end result is that when you roll back the guitar's volume control, you get substantially less grit relative to the gain knob but the volume doesn't fall of sharply like with many analog pedals. There is still enough dynamic range to get a "kick in" boost in the level of your sound when you raise the volume knob back up or dig into the strings, but the overdrive tone is not sacrificed at the expense of the distortion.
As far as its actual tones go, well, if you like the Boss OD-1/OD-3 you'll like its overdrive tone, and if you like the Boss DS-1 you'll like its distortion tone. If you don't like the characteristic Boss dirt tonality this pedal probably isn't for you. I find that this pedal sounds best into an already overdriving preamp or amp (or pedal), though it can be used with a clean amp as well without any trouble.
The only thing easier to use than a three-knob stompbox is a two-knob stompbox. Or, uh, a one-knob stompbox. You get the point.
Though this pedal is a complex digital device, you wouldn't know it from looking at or using the thing. That's a good thing, in my opinion, consistent with the target market of this compact pedal.
10/10 because if you can't use a 3-knob pedal you're doing something wrong.
Seems perfectly reliable to me – well built . It isn't very often that you see a broken Boss pedal, though of course they do fail (everything does, don't kid yourself otherwise).
Q: What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?
A: I play fusion- and blues-inspired metal
Q: If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
A: I would see about getting another pretty soon. I have about 18 overdrive and distortion pedals, of which this is one of only two digital pedals. I would not use it if I didn't really like it – goodness knows there are plenty of other pedals (many of them a lot more expensive, for that matter) that could take its place on my board; but, none of them could take its place as far as its function goes. Very cool to have a simple 3-knob overdrive and distortion pedal that responds cleverly and intuitively to your playing to give you a wide tonal landscape, rather than having extra switches or multiple clipping circuits, etc., to accomplish the same feat less smoothly.
Q: Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?
A: Well, as I said, I've got plenty of other pedals to compare it to quite directly, most of which cost significantly more than this unit – and that's not counting the many pedals which have entered and then left my possession (some of which I miss – come back to me, oh pedals of yore…). I chose this pedal because it sounds good and it has an impressive function that is way beyond being a simple gimmick, but is instead a useful tonal tool.
Q: Anything you wish it had?
A: I do and I don't. Half of me wishes that it had deeper tone controls; a means of fine-tuning the overdrive and distortion individually; the ability to adjust the threshold at which it starts blending between the OD and Distortion. However, the other half of me recognizes that what really impresses about this pedal is its lack of complexity and ease of use. It showcases the power of its digital guts by maintaining a transparent simplicity of operation – the digital nature of it is more a fact than a function, something you know but something that never infringes upon its operation.
Q: Does it help you make music, or does it get in the way?
A: Definitely helps! Put it in front of a preamp, amp, or good distortion pedal and adjust the gain, tone, and level to taste, and you have a powerful, dynamic, but totally straight-forward tool to shape your preamp/amp/other pedal's response and dirt. It's like adding a "More Dynamics" switch to any other piece of gear past it in the signal chain. It can really bring a flat amp or dirt box to life, and let you take advantage of the real power of what might have been an unappreciated tool in your collection. And all that from a digital box!
Q: Anything else you'd like to share?
A: I know that we guitarists have a Luddite streak among us, and that the idea of a digital dirt pedal is an immediate cause for suspicion, if not a complete turn-off. I urge you to look past that prejudice and evaluate this pedal on its own merits, because it might genuinely surprise you. It certainly surprised me!
