DOD FX55 Supra Distortion

Paid around 30+ bux for it at guitar center.

With the tone and distortion level turned all the way up, you can get that really fuzzy Nine Inch Nails type distortion and get great tone. It is one of a few pedals that gets that "supra" fuzz.

This pedal is not very durable. After playing with it for only 2 months, the pedal has lost its volume eq and when I switch the pedal off, the clean sound of my little amp sounds way higher than when distorted by my pedal, even when all the knobs on the pedal are turned to the maximum.

Again, the inner circuitry is not very durable.

I would rather go with a cheap boss distortion pedal for that good, fuzzy crunch or maybe a danelectro fab-tone. You can get the same sound for a couple more bux and get a more durable pedal.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

1/4 inch in and out
metal housing
terrible stomp switch of plastic crappiness
level, tone, and gain controls
9v battery or plug in powered

UTILIZATION

This pedal is junk. I'll just be blunt about it, no bones about it, no beating around the bush - it is pure trash. Filth, rubbish, slime, muck. Yes, it can make your signal dirty. But it imparts so much hiss to the sound, with a cheap, ratty, nasty distorted tone that Link Wray would even turn his nose up at. It doesn't saturate like it should, the tone control just muddies up the sound more, and the switch is utter garbage. This pedal would be a better paperweight than a sound processing unit.

If you want people to boo you, this is the best thing you can plug in. It sounds like terrible blended with awful and topped with no good.

SOUND QUALITY

Sound quality is horrid. This sounds like you've stepped on the "garbage disposal" switch upon use. Turn up the tone, and you get "horror movie chainsaw death". Turn it down, and you get "muffled chloroform screams". If they would have marketed this pedal just like the last 3 sentences (aka - "honestly") then this pedal would have seemed pretty cool and kitschy. Instead, splash - this is trash. If you play this, they will leave.

OVERALL OPINION

This. Pedal. Sucks. I'm sorry to be so negative - I like a lot of things, really. But this unit does not cut it. It is the antithesis to good tone. Have you ever seen one of your guitar heroes using this pedal? No? There's a great reason why - it is putrescence at it's worst. Boo. I'd say the best advice is to give this to a young kid that's learning to play, but you'll just discourage him from playing. Use this to hide valuables around the house, not to make music with.

The DOD FX 55 Supra Distortion is an analog based distortion pedal that has a 1/4 inch input for your instrument and a 1/4 inch output for your amp or console. It has a compartment for a nine volt battery and also has a power supply jack on it. It is not a rack mountable unit, as it is a stomp box. It is made out of cheap plastic and I could definitely see it being prone to be broken easily.

UTILIZATION

The configuration of the DOD FX 55 Supra Distortion is really easy to follow as it only has three knobs - one for level, one for tone, and one for gain. These are pretty basic parameters that you would find on a lot of different distortion pedals, so if you have any experience with distortion pedals you won't have too much trouble learning this pedal. It is easy to get a number of different tones on this pedal and while I don't have the manual, it is easy enough to use that you don't need it.

SOUND QUALITY

The sound quality of the DOD FX 55 Supra Distortion isn't all that great in my opinion. The sound comes off tinny and isn't full enough for my taste. I have only used this with guitar - a Fender Strat and a '76 Fender Twin Reverb, but it is possible to use it with any electronic instrument. I'm really not a huge fan of the distortion on this pedal and I can't say that I would use it for anything as I have other option when it comes to overdrive and distortion.

OVERALL OPINION

I first used the DOD FX 55 Supra Distortion about two years ago, and since then I don't use this much or ever. While it is easy to use, the sound quality isn't all that usable. If you are looking for a good distortion pedal that is cheap, I would recommend the Boss DS-1, as it has the same exact parameters, sounds way better and is comparable in price. Overall, I would stay away from the DOD FX 55 Supra Distortion and look elsewhere for distortion.