JHS Pedals has introduced the Overdrive Preamp, a copy of the classic DOD Overdrive Preamp 250 circuit, which according to brand owner Josh Scott “didn’t exist.”
“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 gray folded metal enclosure that resembled Electro-Harmonix more than DOD, and it was conspicuously lacking the ‘250’ model number,” the description reads.
As Scott puts it into words, “This stompbox represented the genesis of ‘America’s Pedal.’ For a pedal historian, it was the equivalent of uncovering the Dead Sea Scrolls.”
Aesthetic differences aside, you’ll find some key functional deviations that the Overdrive Preamp draws inspiration from. While the circuit is almost identical to DOD 250, it consists of components derived from old radios and electronics.
Immensely streamlined, the Overdrive Preamp sports a dual-knob control interface of Gain and Level, which takes care of cutting/boosting the signal and setting the overall output of the circuit.
You can access the clipping arrangement via a nifty slider switch between the two dials, serving up various nuanced overdrive tones.
Per JHS Pedals owner, the circuit inside “feels like a 250,” but with more grit and gain on top of a unique low/mid presence.
The JHS Overdrive Preamp retails for $179.
