JHS Pedals Overdrive Preamp

JHS has paid tribute to the earliest version of DOD's iconic Overdrive Preamp 250 pedal — one of the world's most coveted gain stompboxes. Adored for its simplicity and organic sound, JHS' spin on this legendary circuit is just as easy to use as the original — with its 'Level' and 'Gain' knobs letting you fatten up the front-end of your amp with some gritty boost, turn up the heat for a thick overdriven rhythm tone, or attain a singing saturated lead sound into a cranked amplifier. There's also a variation slider switch that changes the clipping arrangement, giving the pedal a different voice!

The Story Behind the Pedal

"In 2019 I stumbled across a pedal that didn’t exist. Yeah, cue the 'Twilight Zone' theme song. It was a DOD Overdrive/Preamp that predated the 'Gray Box' 250 pedals that everyone — myself included — had assumed were the first version ever made.

The pedal was encased in a large grey folded metal enclosure conspicuously lacking the '250' model number. The typeset and DOD logo were different, but it still had the same charm and quirky feel of the vintage '70s DOD. The sticker on the pedal’s backplate said 'DOD Electronics Company' and listed the home address of founder David Oreste Di Francesco, as well as a number: #75. According to my interview with David himself a year later, I had found the 75th DOD pedal ever made and one of the first ten DOD Overdrive/Preamps (250) ever sold. For a pedal historian, it was the equivalent of uncovering the Dead Sea Scrolls!"

The internals featured a floating/loose hand-etched PCB and the same DOD 250 circuit, but with a few changes. The internal parts dated as early as 1972 and, according to David, were harvested from old radios and electronics he scavenged when he started building his first effects." — Josh Scott, JHS Pedals.

JHS Pedals' Take on an Icon

The JHS Overdrive Preamp is a faithful recreation of this unobtainable V1 of DOD’s most loved pedal. The 'Level' control adjusts the overall output of the circuit and lets you cut or boost the signal. However, the level control on this version has been modified from the original wiring of the #75 unit — giving this pedal much more volume. The 'Gain' control adjusts the amount of gain inside the overdrive circuit. Turning it up creates more clipping as it pushes the op-amp and hard clipping into overdrive.

JHS also added a slider switch to this production version, which wasn’t included with the original DOD 250. While researching the #75 "Big Box" pedal, Josh Scott acquired a second early big-box unit which used a completely different clipping arrangement. He therefore thought it only seemed fair to offer this switch, so that you could explore these two variations for yourself!

This "Big Box V1" DOD 250 circuit definitely feels like a 250, but with a few changes: more gain/grit overall and more unique low/mids. This makes it a must-have addition to any DOD collector’s lineup, or for anyone who's curious about how it all started.

Specifications

• Power: 9V DC, Centre Negative
• Current Draw: 5mA
• Dimensions: 4.7" x 3.7" x 1.66”