The Electro-Harmonix Germanium OD Pedal delivers classic 60's distortion based on the germanium transistor. Gain, Bias and Volts controls are on top of the pedal, not hidden inside the case. Easily dial in that perfect vintage germanium overdrive.
The Bias control adds emphasis while the Volts control helps you dial in that that sweet spot produced when your battery's voltage dips. Dial up that slightly torn speaker sound or unleash total Germanium satisfaction. The Germanium OD pedal features true bypass switching, an LED on/off indicator, and a compact and rugged die-cast chassis
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I absolutely love this pedal! If it's used with a TS style pedal with a bit of that "dead battery sound" you get an enormous face tearing fuzz sound. But it can also get a great old school crunch like unto late 70's punk. It will compliment any type of tube overdrive you have and give your sound definate character. For solos it will rip trough the mix and give your leads some serious teeth.Make note if the level on your amp is much lower than the level on this pedal it will not sound great and it will blast, and not in a good way. The only drawback. Get this one and give your sound some individual flavour.
Making a DYI fuzz pedal days are over.
Love the old school construction
Just as much as any other pedal
Electro-Harmonix XO Germanium OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal
.I run this after an MXR Dyna Comp and before a Delta Lab digital delay into a Bugera V5, in living room and intimate jam session situations. These three pedals along with the Bugera are an amazing team for achieving a perfect balance between chime and grit. The EHX Germanium OD is not an amateur's pedal. It is an acquired taste that takes a lot of tweaking and experimentation to get quality results. But once you find its sweet spots (and there are several), it is heavenly. If you're into a 1960s/1970s slightly overdriven rock crunch, this is the pedal for you. It is one of the most unique overdrive boxes out there. Very vintage, very much an acquired taste, but my favorite (and I've tried various Dano and Boss drives/distortions, a TS9, and a BBE Green Screamer). I marked it slightly down on quality because it is a little on the noisy side.
Electro-Harmonix XO Germanium OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal
.There is no output level control, only gain, so if you want that fuzzy sound, you will have to deal with a high volume output which isn't great for recording directly into a mixer or using a looper, as it will cause them to overdrive, which isnt what they are best at doing. Most Overdrive pedals have a volume knob so you can crank the gain way up to break up the signal and then lower the volume to maintain that broken up sound but keep the levels low so you dont overload your other pedals or overdrive your amp.The pedal does add a nice tone to the guitar signal even at low gain settings. With the bias and voltage down you can make some really almost fuzz like, grainy, poppy sounds.If you like the new queens of the stoneage stuff, this can pull that tone off.I recommend this to anyone who is using this into an amp, because then the high volume output can be handled better within an amp.
Electro-Harmonix XO Germanium OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal
.This is the granddaddy of the bit crusher effect. What bit crushers do digitally this does with an analog transistor. Oh, it's also gerMainium, not geranium. Those are flowers.The key to this pedal is understanding what it does. This is not a Rat or Pod or anywhere near what I would use as my main distortion generator. In my mind this is a limited use effect that dirties up a signal in a unique way. You will be really disappointed if you think this will give you some kind of magical metal or blues tone. It's a transistor and sounds like it. The real beauty of this pedal is in the interplay of the bias and volts controls. The manual doesn't explain this very well but this video does. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVoMyws_V98The volts control makes the pedal sound like the battery is running out which can be a very useful sound if you like glitch or fuzz. The bias control varies the way the signal is electrified (the tech is above me) but suffice it to say bias has the greatest effect on the sound when the volts are turned down and the signal is degraded.I run it after a distortion factory pedal (amazing!) or my j-station (still way better than the pod) and before a compressor to eliminate the level issue with this pedal, namely that there is no level control.I also use it on my voice for a cool rasp. In fact anywhere I was using the bit crusher this pedal is giving me more consistent dirt and is easier to dial in.A sweet and unique effect when used properly. Points off for having to unscrew 4 screws if you want to use a battery (but don't). Looks pretty indestructible.
Electro-Harmonix XO Germanium OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal
.I have been through three overdrive pedals in the last couple years and I finally found what I was looking for, which is a shame because I almost bought this one first. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you're looking for an overdrive to push a slightly dirty tube amp even harder this is a great pedal, and you can also get some interesting lo-fi sounds playing with the voltage and bias of the pedal. I think if it had a tone control it would be perfect. I went through a cheap tubescreamer (couldn't stand the bass roll-off) and a Zakk Wylde berserker OD (good tone, too quiet) and this is the one I'm keeping on my board.
A tone control would not have gone amiss.
A solid EH cast enclosure pedal.
It's hard to find germanium anything for anywhere near this price, although I got mine used for even cheaper which was awesome.
Electro-Harmonix XO Germanium OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal
.I had my eye on this pedal for quite a time. I loved how dynamic and individual this pedal sounded online, and I liked the way it could really cover those bowie/hendrix/early zeppelin (60s-70s rock) sounds. I was really dissapointed though. First, this sucker is LOUD. Just to get any kind of gain out of it, it boosted my signal to twice as loud as it should be. Also, there was some bad soldering in mine and it squeals really high pitched and loud when its on. I hate to be the guy who talks bad about gear, but I kinda wish I would have gotten a fuzz face.
Electro-Harmonix XO Germanium OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal
.This pedal is an excellent tone-shaper. I'll echo what another user mentioned, it stacks amazingly well with other germanium pedals. I use a Germanium Fuzz Face (modified by BMF Effects) as well as an Analogman Sun Lion and the EH Germanium Overdrive works great with both of those pedals. Also, I think you need to use an amp that is on the verge of breakup to get the best results with this pedal, especially if you aren't stacking pedal. It's not really an overdrive pedal as much as it is a boost. A dirty boost. I use it with a tweed amp and a Marshall clone, it works great with both amps for amazing classic rock tones.
Electro-Harmonix XO Germanium OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal
.One its own you have to dial in for a great sound. Once you find it leave it alone because it can be tough to find the sweet spot. I put it in front of my Green Rhino and the sound is pure magic. With an OCD it can get too gritty but a TS or TS like OD stacked with this germanium chip is perfect for vintage 60's OD. I am not in to fuzz but I can see it would help in that regard as well. Overall it is a great complement to another OD if you are into stacking OD's to get your own sound.
Electro-Harmonix XO Germanium OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal
.the thing that people apparently don't realize (it took me awhile as well) is that this pedal is AMAZING with real germanium fuzz pedals.
if you are a fuzz head than you know a little dirt from a tube amp is great with fuzz pedals, if that's what you want that is. however, most tube amps have a clean section as opposed to a single channel with gain control.
so if you take this little baby and run it into that clean channel you can use the bias and volt level to create your own overdrive quality that is even more responsive with a fuzz pedal running into it. you will drastically increase the volume which could be great for solos, you could make your fuzz even grittier and fuzzier. to really get the scope of how well this works in this situation you need to plug it in with a real fuzz pedal into it and just play with knobs. that is the best way to see how versatile this thing is.
also, it is very uncompressed, even with the bias all the way back, at least compared to many other pedals. it may have fuzz like options, but it is an overdrive, so keep that in mind
stand alone, its still a great pedal, be it into a slightly driven tube amp or into a clean channel.
and for the money? fantastic, thats a unique, germanium (hard to come by), overdrive for cheap. I'm pretty sure i paid twice the current listing when it first came out and its a staple.
Electro-Harmonix XO Germanium OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal
.What's so crazy about the Germanium ODl is how the bias and voltage interact. At different settings the pedal will actually become unusable and produce very little sound. However, there are many setting that make a raw, low-fi overdrive that I quite like. This pedal is more tone than gain and you'll find that it's not that loud even at full gain. What it does is give you a versatile fuzz for rhythm (which most fuzzes cannot) and a cool buzz on single notes.
Electro-Harmonix XO Germanium OD Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal
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