The pedal’s right-side booster derives from the Dane’s clean boost circuit, employing a ‘lows’ knob for thinning or fattening up signals as needed. This all functions the same on the left side booster, with the only exception being that the left boost equips germanium diodes for added grit. Aion FX traced the ODR-C in 2021 and a PCB is available called the Andromeda Deluxe. It does not in any way replace the Andromeda, but is a more complex build with a more complex control scheme. Notes & references

It’s a boost, it’s an overdrive, it’s a fuzz. The Chase Bliss Audio Brothers does it all – and exponentially more, thanks to the unique design of this slim stompbox. If you love experimenting with your gear to coax off-kilter sounds from your guitar, the Brothers offers a complex and interactive puzzle to solve.

Overdrive vs distortion: what’s the difference?

It’s about time I did a feature on the Other Green Overdrive - which has long since become a firm favourite of Nashville session players. It’s very much a mostly flat-mids overdrive as such where its overall output profile is quite different to the better known TS808 - with quite a bit more low end present and much less in the way of compression - so a somewhat fatter more open-pored sort of overdrive. Most are fans of the extra low-end body, while several players have wanted more control over that aspect of the output - such that most ODR derivations have some kind of Bass Control or Bass-Cut - including the latest V2 variant / variety of ODR-1 - which has a Bass-Cut switch inside the battery compartment. With numerous requests from the pedal community and professional players worldwide, Nobels have added the option of an internal Bass Cut switch under the battery cover to help tame your low end if needed. In standard mode though, you still get the full frequency response of the original that is perfect for warming up single coils etc. In addition, the internal power circuitry has been increased to allow for 9-18 V capability to provide extra headroom, if your playing styles and tone goals require it. These new features haven't altered the fundamental tone and vibe, but have increased the versatility of the pedal massively for modern rigs.

In 2019, the original designer of the ODR-1 released a boutique, hand-made “custom” version with three extra controls for bass, mids and clipping diodes. The Nordland ODR-C is a marvelously-engineered pedal that occupies the far end of the spectrum from the original ODR-1 and its budget build quality . The Spectrum knob, though, does have a notched center detente position and in an A/B test with that knob in its detented position the sound matches the larger pedal (without its bass cut switch engaged) when that pedal’s Spectrum knob is set to about 4. Nobels is a German company that’s not very well-known in the United States. The ODR-1 Natural Overdrive was first released in in 1992 [1]. In 2002 [2], a silver “tenth anniversary” reissue was released, which was the standard for a long time until circa 2011 when the green version was rereleased. The circuit has never changed and all versions are identical, except for some of the silver versions—the initial run of these had the Drive and Volume pots mistakenly switched during production, so Drive was 50k and Volume was 250k. This severely limited the pedal’s maximum gain. Later productions had this corrected, but many owners had to take out the soldering iron and switch the pots around to correct the factory error. Playing with the Heavy Water’s two distinct boosts against a tube amp makes for the most of its fun factor. Running it into a 30-watt tweed combo, we found it only took the lightest push from the clean boost circuit to tip the amp into full-on overdrive – and with the lows control at midday, it sounded every bit as pure and transparent as we remembered from the right-hand side of The Dane.Hand-built using top-of-the-line components in Hudson Electronics’ Yorkshire workshop, the Broadcast might look like it’s come straight out of a 1960s recording studio, but the ideas displayed within are innovative and original. The spectrum knob is at first a bit weird to dial in, because instead of EQ'ing between low and high frequencies, it boosts low mid and high frequencies together. The higher the spectrumknob, the higher the boost of the two frequencies. It can be a brittle sound of you turn it all the way up. I know there's lots of players who prefer this to the Tube Screamer - but it largely serves a different genre. Definitely its own thing and a classic within the overdrive category - everyone should probably have at least one of these.

If you want the ODR-1 sound but need something a little more compact for your pedalboard, here’s the ODR-mini. The fact that you have control over the degree of compression makes this an even more formidable proposition than the ODR-S variant. It's slightly up the baseline on pricing, but I believe this is now my frontrunner and next likely acquisition target. Operation now is possible from 9V – 18V DC for more headroom, if you want it. The pointers on the knobs now are GitD Glow-in-the-Dark. If you are, or have ever been part of the Nashville scene, it is likely that you already know about the Nobels ODR-1. Otherwise it is very likely that you have never even heard of this German-engineered pedal. Occupying some of the (enormous) space between the Tubescreamer and the Klon, the ODR-1 provides a versatile yet uniquely flavored take on the overdrive genre. The core circuit and components are identical to the original vintage ODR-1 with some additional smart controls and refinements. And while you should be familiar with the Drive, Level and Spectrum (Tone) controls, there are 3 new controls - one regular-sized knob Mid frequencies control, and two mini-knobs - O.D.C. (Overdrive De-Compress) and of course Lo-cut.

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ODR-1 ON [Drive: Full; Spectrum: Full; Level: Full]The relative increase in intensity is to be expected, but notice the incredible amount of energy in the lows and lower-mids. Again, even at its most maxed-out setting, these frequencies are overwhelmingly emphasized. This is something that we do not see with any of the more typical overdrive pedals, like the Tubescreamer or the SD-1. In addition to this, you can now operate the pedal with up to 18v DC of power, giving you extra headroom for when you want to take things up a notch or two. Powered by 9 -18 V DC PSU (not supplied) or PP3 9V Battery (9 V DC, centre -, 2.1 mm, ~11 mA current draw) I’ve long meant to get an example of the Nobels ODR Overdrive - but could never fully settle on which single variant would suit me best - while I’ve come close to acquiring the discontinued Mythos Erlking on at least a couple of occasions. The Nobels circuit remains popular though and has seen recently in new varieties at either end of the scale - courtesy of the Vemuram Shanks ODS-1, and brand new Wampler Belle Overdrive Mini.