I worked at DOD/DigiTech from 1984 to 1993. From 1986 to 1990 I ran the repair department. Those were such great times - and those of us that played guitar and worked there were so very much into what we did! I remember David and John asking us what we thought of new pedals when they made modifications, or came out with new ideas. Such wonderful memories of a great era and even better people.
Eric, working with you was awesome. Not only were you funny and clever but you could do back flip! As I recall, you played a killer saxophone as well as awesome guitaring!
I was DOD's very first employee, working for John and David when I was a teenager. All I remember was assembling parts on circuit boards and soldering. I wish I had accepted a copy of all the first pedals as partial payment for wages.
I don't think I've ever seen you post at TGP. That would mean you were interacting with fans, which seems to be something you aren't interested in going by the lack of interactions in your comment section.
This video intersects with my life a bunch. I grew up in Salt Lake, started taking guitar lessons about 1990 at Progressive Music, got my first electric guitar about 1991, which came with 4 DOD pedals (including an fx50). Pedals got me interested in electronics around high school. After high school, I was a mormon missionary in Argentina for two years. After that, went and got a degree in Electrical Engineering. My first job out of college was for Harman Music (i.e. DOD/Digitech). My time at Harman didn't last long due to the 2008/9 recession layoffs. But the few years I was there was by far the best job I ever had.
It’s kinda crazy the number of audio design/manufacturers in Utah. From ProAudio to Stupidly expensive home audio (Wilson and Kimber anyone?!). If I only knew about this growing up visiting my great grandfather (Provo) and my dad’s best friend (sandy) growing up.
Single handedly the best channel on RU-vid. Film & Sound quality, Interesting Content, Fresh and Funny takes, Plus this channel singlehandedly got me hooked on pedals. Love this channel and recommend it to all my bandmates.
Thanks for the love JHS crew! Even though I was a part of Dig/DOD there are time periods and changes that are completely lost to time. Mysteries Abound! Oh and everybody in SLC called it Dee Oh Dee.
Hey Tom! It is weird and cool to hear your name on here (more times previously as well), and glad you took all that knowledge to do something on your own. Don't know if you remember me, but I was the Pedal service guy when assembly and service moved to Elkhart, IN. So anybody reading this, if you had your DOD/Digitech pedals factory repaired between 2013 to 2017, I was the one who did it! Good luck with Spiral, I will definitely check it out!
Good lord Josh you must make Ken Burns blush with your thoroughness. Truly you are capturing the history of the industry in a way that future generations will deeply appreciate. An absolute legend
This channel wouldn't work without the obsessive compulsive urge josh has. I love all of the enablers around him that allow this to come to fruition. And I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for this madness.
I can add some history detail for the YJM308 version of the pedal..... I was Yngwie's manager 1999-2002 I negotiated the deal with DOD for them to introduce their first signature series pedal. This YJM308 was SUPPOSED to be an accurate reissue of Yngwie's favorite Grey DOD250 We even took photos of the circuit boards and sent to DOD for reference ... I can't recall if his favorite was using the LM741 or UA741CP opamp. However DOD decided instead to keep manufacturing costs low and consistent by simply making modifications to the current yellow reissue version of the time. Yngwie still liked the pedal and used it for years -- although he ran the BASS higher on his Marshalls when using the YJM308 If I recall from 23 years ago (wow time flies) -- when he used the real Gray DOD250 pedals, the Bass setting on his Marshalls was down around 4 But when using the YJM308 pedal (that had a more drastic low cut), he ran the bass around 6 or 7 on the Marshalls
Hey! I own yngwies 250 , got it this time last year That’s pretty cool history on it. I missed out on his 308. If you’ve got any Yngwie stuff you might want to part with, I’d be interested!
I whole heartedly love the collector pride Josh has for his boxes and cards. I cant be sure if it is sincere or sarcastic, but it is certainly endearing.
Josh really knows his stuff and I agree with 98% of all he said here about the 250 pedal. I do differ in opinion when it comes to OpAmps though -- I DO think they can make a difference in the same circuit. After I quit managing Yngwie and working with DOD on the YJM308 pedal ---- I worked with Analog Mike to offer some 250 Mods. We resoldered some pedals with a socket so we could easily compare opamps in the same circuit ----- our general opinion was SLEW RATE of the opamp made the biggest difference in the pedals character ----- perhaps more in feel and touch than tone.... It seemed older single chips like LM741, UP741 and others with a slower slew rate FELT more tubey and had better sag or touch sensitivity The newer dual opamps like KA4558 with a much faster slew rate seemed a bit stiffer and a tiny bit more transistory edge Keep in mind these differences were not big ..... but it was enough for all of us to be able to FEEL and HEAR when playing and comparing all the chip substitutions inside the same circuit with eyes closed
I hear ya but I don't think that is a valid test. You need a control with instant switching of said opamp. The human ear and mind are influenced by way more than sound. It has to be an unbiased observation and to do so you can't have a time delay or visual. I promise you can't tell in the proper scientific situation.
A wonderful example of how to be a historian: follow your interests, examine primary documents and materials/artifacts, conduct interviews with key individuals and experts, and put it all together in a narrative to tell an informative story, with a unique perspective. Well done!
Man I'm so glad I finally followed through with my dream of learning to play electric guitar. This is, by FAR, the BEST COMMUNITY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. The automotive community doesn't even come close to the Guitar/music community. Wow! It's part of why I love playing my guitars so much!
Hope your still playing, just beware there's a lot of strong opinions not unlike the car community. Just nod and smile when someone starts with "goldtop Les Pauls sound the best".
DOD was a big big part of my first years learning how to play and what I loved about tone. You guys REALLY need to have the Thrash Master in a video. I know you have one, its on the shelf behind Josh in almost every video from 2019. The Bright Pink one!
Trah master was also my first pedal, i was so impressed by the huge gain compared with the overdrive of my little Aria AG 20 amp. I finally was a true metal guitar hero. Ahhh the memories..
Ken (last name Kitamura) had an endorsement deal with Fernandes guitars, and has many custom guitar models to his name (one of the most famous being a red strat with red fingerboard and red pickups - look up LA-85KK) so I can see why this love driver pedal mentions Fernandes on the brochure.
The Rubberneck is my favorite analog delay in the world. I'm so shook I don't hear more people talk about them. holy cow. It's an analog delay that you can control every detail on and it has the double time control and the infinite loop thing it does too. And that description doesn't even do justice. You can control the modulation, how noisy and imperfect it is or not, it has a tone control for the repeats. Plus I love the huge spacestation knobs on the top. Without the bells and whistles it just sounds so good too. heck yes. edit: AND TAP TEMPO 2nd edit: aNdDd aN eFfEcTs LoOp!!!
@@Aaron-zh4kj it does have some neat features, I rarely use them. But I just love the way it sounds! So warm, and you can take it from fairly clean to just gritty. I love running my walrus slo in the loop 😉
Very cool episode!! History, interviews, rants, jams, lots of pedals, a collector's pedal, and a brand new pedal. Wins the internet for today! No contest.
i built a bunch of 250 clones like 15 years ago. I kept one and it's honestly never left my board. When you get a good one it's such an excellent pedal. Full spectrum gain with a nice chime.
This channel is seriously the best. My first ever guitar pedal was the Buzz Box, which was supposed to be a combination of the blue box octave pedal and the grunge pedal. It sounded absolutely terrible, but I loved it! Also, this probably get said a lot, but Nick is an amazing drummer!
Lotta history here...and we know it's done right cuz it's coming from JHS and nobody I trust more about circuits and the history than Josh... awesome work man...🤘😜🎸🎶🔥❤️
Just watched RJ ronquilio absolutely crush this pedal on LP and strat... sounds more open w a strat but LP unreal as well..looks awesome Josh...thank you all
I’m really digging the historical aspect of these shows. My Pink Floyd history was seeing Pink Floyd here in Vancouver on the “Wish You Were Here” tour. They played most of that album and then the band left the stage. An announcement came over the PA. “ Pink Floyd will take a 20 minute break and return to perform Dark Side of the Moon in it’s entirety.” Which they did. Then Echoes for the encore. Mind blowing. Funny note, after your show ended an ad for Samsung came on…
I saw Roger Waters in PDX a few years ago performing The Wall. It was the single best show I've seen. I would never pass up an opportunity to see Floyd or Waters
I'm so glad you mentioned Tom Cram and his Yellow Spiral overdrive! I currently have his Secret Chord boost (a modded version of his White Spiral boost, his take on a JFET-based Barcus Berry circuit, but with some elements of the 250 added-in) in front of a Maxon OSD-9. It's a combination that has been working great so far! Tom is one of the greats in the business!
I really liked the last dod version and especially the Yellow Spiral. Your slide playing reminded me of Lunatic Fringe by Red Rider, one of my fav. one-hit-wonders.
Dear Josh, one of the major reasons I watch these JHS videos is because i love watching you guys jam on these pedals. Anyways, I like the style of your playing. I'm more the type of guy who plays quick stuff, but lately I've been modeling my style off of your slower style. It's really quite pleasant sounding.
Great episode! My first 3 pedals (mid 80s) were DOD. The very first of which was a gift from my mother (RIP) when I was a beginner on the guitar. For me there is an extra emotional connection with DOD/Digitech stuff.
32:50 holy shit, three players at once, and every single one of them actually listening to each other, slow down at the exact same time, to wait for one single guitar note, tempo sag to the same degree and come back on the next beat all together without blinking an eye like you're watching some live action DAW augmented reality automation. that was awesome, it's so satisfying to see a group of players playing *together*...it sounds amazing when it's right
Thank you very much for telling this story. I am a Salt Lake native and live in Sandy, where the DOD/Harman plant used to be. Quite a few of my friends worked there and I have owned several DOD/Digitech products. Including the short lived Johnson Amplification series amplifier. It is a particularly interesting story as John Johnson is my second cousin. We have certainly met, and spoken to each other over the years, but we are not close. So it's a cool little peek into a company created by my family. Cheers JHS! P.S. I own the Lucky Cat and I love it, and think that everyone should have one on their board.
Thank you for honoring the beautiful Tom's work. I was waiting for it to be shown here for a long time. Thank you for blaming it where it belongs too, Samsung
DSOTM was my favorite until I heard Meddle. Perhaps I was just really high, but hearing the song Fearless for the first time was a moment where my life changed forever. However, Wish You Were Here and Animals are also badass albums. Honorable mention: David Gilmour’s self titled album may be my favorite work of his. Also, you guys are awesome. I love you.
I have a “gray” 250 with no bottom cover that had been sitting in a flooded basement. I removed the pc and cleaned and washed board with Everclear (pure ethanol ). I put it in the low temperature curing oven we used for doping speaker voice coils for a couple weeks. I found the IC was bad possibly from the dunking. Being a repair guy I installed an 8 pin socket. I’ve tried multiple op amp ICs and aside from variations in the noise floor they seem close. It sits on my vintage pedal board before pedal boards were popular. It has germanium diode’s IIRC.
The guitar solo tone on Time and Money is insane. The vibe/phase on breathe is crazy good. The weirdness of tone on Brain Damage is hypnotic. This album could and should be used as a benchmark of tone on a future JHS vlog. Peace out.
Thank you! This takes me back to being a teenager and buying a yellow 250 for $19.99 at GC in Sherman Oaks. My first pedal. Awesome history and fun hearing you jam with the various versions of the 250.
I have the DOD 250 gold version, I also have 2 of the rubberneck delays and it is probably my favorite delay ever. The subtle dig at in and out fries, was awesome!
"He has the box" never gets old. I laugh harder every episode. I feel like the timing of the segway gets more sarcastic each episode, if thats a thing. 🤣
That’s how I feel about “I don’t have this pedal.” Especially the bit at the end. “I just have to have that pedal.” Like a loud fart, it makes me laugh every time.
Just started this episode and I'm excited already, my friend had the Grunge when it first came out in the 90s and we always called it DOD not D.O.D. I got the Pre Amp 250 about 2 months ago after seeing it reviewed on TheSuperFunkyAwesomePedalShow (I think that's what its called) and I was blown away, had to buy it. So I did and I love it, I put a Xotic EP Booster in front of it and you can have so much audible gain on tap. This pedal made me start collecting vintage pedals
I like the grunge! Do not use it much but it is a hella fuzztone. Knobs don't do much, has one sound but for late 60's fuzz it is pretty good. I do use my Soctek ( green big box) Big Muff more
I love everything Pink Floyd and it's just impossible to pick favorites. Huge fan of the 69-71 era, for instance. But Dark Side of the Moon probably changed the art of production more than any other album I can think of. It's worlds apart from anything before it.
This is a great episode. Having started playing guitar in the mid-80's DOD has been a huge part of my journey. So many cool pedals. The Tom Cramm ones have become some of my favorite pedals. I would love to see more of the interviews you conducted for this. Hopefully you'll post longer parts. Thanks for putting in the time.
Right as I started watching this video, I was changing the strings on my PRS CE24 that I purchased from Progressive Music back in 1998. Also, it’s impressive to realize the impact members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have had on rock music. My wife’s great uncle is Bob Myer who helped design the Big Muff at Electro-Harmonix. And now I learn that at least one of the founders of DOD (if not both) was a member as well. Funny I also never know growing up that DOD was based in Utah.
My favorite Pink Floyd is their performance at the base of Mount Vesuvius, playing for the ghosts of Pompeii. My favorite 250 is the Yngwie, as I'm a fan and I've had 2 of them.
Who would have thought one of us Lds missionaries would have a part in Pedal History!!! Lol! Thanks for telling this story Josh! Grabbed a #75. I guess I lucked out you guys posted this later than usual!!!
Never had distortion pedal, sound is not for me, so………great episode. So interesting and context of everything is brilliant. Great work. Also, I lied - had an MXR ‘78 Badass when I first got an electric guitar, loved the name, thought it would make me sound like Cheap Trick or Kiss, had no idea at that stage, probably still don’t, gave it to a mate who won’t give it back. Bastard.
@@skatertrev7 Boomer ?????? Thats a. terrible insult down here in NZ. That cut deep. Ironically ‘Trev’ is a catch phrase here of a boomer comedian from the 70’s loved by boomers many if whom named their boomer sons Trev. Nice one Trev….
@@alantomlinson1135Yeah, sorry. I was in a pissy mood last night. That was dumb of me to say. Cheap Trick and KISS rule. I'm gonna go crank up "The Flame" and "100,000 Years". Peace
I loved this episode, and I appreciate the exhausting amount of research and confusion involved. The labor of love is unquestionable in the JHS pedals and show, and whether we realize it or not, I think that’s what makes so many people connect with this brand/content. I’ve always dug the sound of 250s but not having played one (exactly), I didn’t know what made them so special before. To me they have amazing sag and visceral analogue chewiness, which doesn’t sacrifice anything in the punchy and direct sound you need in OD/dist. When I lived in Salt Lake, I spent a lot of my lunch breaks from work at Guitar Czar. I still remember plugging in the Spiral Effects Yellow in and being blown away! Tbh I tried it cuz it looked cool and the guy said they’re new and local. That thing rules though, and as Josh often says, “I don’t have that pedal, and I’m totally ok with that. I’m fine! …What eyebrow twitch?”
Dear Josh and the people of JHS. First of all I want to thank you all for the top quality show, it really is informative and entertaining - a testament why nobody watches regular television programs anymore and a really good reason to pay all these modern day internet connections and computers ect. Seeing somebody enjoy doing something they are passionate in is truly inspiring. Thank you, excellent job. Now, the reason I'm writing to you is a little selfish but I think you could help me with a problem I have been facing for a while now. I live in Finland and I've been trying to sell my Akai D1 Shred-o-matic distortion pedal on the local used gear market but nobody is interested on buying the damn thing. I know more pedals is more good and there shouldn't be any reason for getting rid of this pedal but the thing is; lately I´ve been collecting only Boss pedals (thanks to your boss related episodes) and the Akai doesn't fit my pedal shelf and it doesn't look good next to my little Boss collection. Your influence on the used pedal market is undeniably that great, it can affect desirability and the prices of any product you mention on any of your shows, even here in the periferia, the eastern border of civilized world. Could you do me a favor and drop in a casual "akai d1 shred-o-matic is cool" in some of your future videos? I bet I could get rid of the pedal (although I don't have the box) in matter of minutes. Keep up the good work and thank you for your help in advance. Your biggest fan, JJ
Correction and clarification: The FX-50B is not sort of like a Tube Screamer, at all. What it is like is the FX-55B, which is a stellar metal distortion. In fact, I’m certain they’re the same pedal in different enclosures made at the same time. I own 2 of each, and all 4 are totally indistinguishable from each other at the same knob positions. If you want to know what they sound like, imagine a Rat with a boost in front. It’s high gain and very tight.
I think the Overdrive Plus (and the Classic Tube FX53 in the upper parts of the gain control has a boost that gives more gain and mids. To me that pedal is like the Tube Screamer without the mid bump-of course until you max out the gain. I miss those pedals, I got them new when Jeff Healy used them and sold them later to fund a Dual Rectifier amp.
I have 2 55Bs and..., 'I Have the Boxes!'. Not a metal player, but I had to drive a 12-watt '64 Princeton against a Marshall stack and a bass player's Ampeg!? Even playing mostly rhythm my tone still cut through the mix. ;)
Oh you’re talking about the Supra Distortion. The Overdrive Plus is more like the TS without the mid bump. I had a Supra Distortion and didn’t like it; lacked low end so I got rid of it. Wish I still had the Overdrive Plus FX50B and the Classic Tube FX53.
"Wish You Were Here" is my favorite post Syd Barrett Pink Floyd album. I've never been able to determine which I like better "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and the early Floyd singles or "Wish You Were Here". Obviously they are completely different, yet both closely tied to Syd.
Thank you Josh! We know that you must have spent a ton of time and resources assembling this 250 show, finally some reliable information on the history of this amazing pedal! Hoping the future includes more info on the DOD/ Digitech pedals/history!
I had the DOD Milkbox Compressor for my bass when I first started playing because I read you “need” a compressor for bass. It definitely sounded good but I think I got rid of it because a) I didn’t know what I was really doing with it, b) it didn’t make cool noises like other pedals. 😁
You don't need a compressor or limiter for bass unless you're recording... All I want for bass is 1000 watt head with one input and a volume control and nothing else!😅, one 2x15 cab and one 4x10 cab
My favorite overdrive!!! Thanks so much for covering this. I’ve had to justify this pedal to my friends since I started playing electric guitar. I have 3 versions/eras of the 250, plus the Earthquaker Grey Channel. Love it!
This was such a great video Josh, and you've now just schooled me on an iconic pedal that I would of otherwise overlooked and now eager to discover! Not really relevant to your initial personal journey through 250 lore, but more as a follow up comment to how you ended the video. I was personally really bummed after Tom Cram and DOD got shut down by their parent company Samsung. Especially after putting out such an ambitious and sonically unique run IMO that included some super fantastic sleepers stomp boxes like: The Obscura, The Boneshaker, The Rubberneck, The Nautila, The Freq Out, The Looking Glass, The Gunslinger, Carcosa, and many more... All are absolutely freaking AMAZING pedals with visually beautiful designs of either retro minimalist or visually artistic printed case graphics. The Boneshaker on bass guitar is honestly one of the most brutal tones that I've ever recorded. A super versatile "low end" geared distortion pedal with a parametric EQ that once literally sold online at a liquidated price of just under $40 during the end! Seriously, if you happen to stumble upon one, or any other of that run? Buy it. Buy it without hesitation. Do it! Thank me later.
Only a few minutes in but the story of a missionary being asked to make a fuzz pedal so some Argentinians can sound like the stones is too funny. Seems like a Wes Anderson character’s backstory.
DOD was awesome back in the 90s. All their pedals had features Boss didn’t. My first distortion pedal was a DOD Hard Rock distortion pedal. It had a delay knob on it that was pretty much a chorus/ doubler. For a 13 year old kid with a 10 watt Crate amp, it was a major upgrade in sound.
I'm a DOD collector and have noticed Josh is right about the very first yellow transitional 250's.. but there are not to many like that as they must of changed the components of the yellow 250's fairly fast as they are rare. The 741 chip is one dead give away and they do sound different once DOD changed this. So not all yellows are the same, they vary even more than the greys.
I have the 2013 era reissue. Didn't know it was modified, just really liked the sound. Sounds great with high gain on bridge humbuckers for rhythm stuff. It's definitely a circuit designed to sound good in a band setting, very punchy and bright. My first pedal I ever owned was a DOD Death Metal Distortion back in like 1999 or 2000. I bought it because I asked the guy at Guitar Center what I should buy to make my guitar sound heavy "Like Weezer in Say It Ain't So" and he pointed me to it. So I played all of my high school band gigs with two sounds: clean as a bell through a Hot Rod Deville 212 clean channel or Death Metal Distortion. Bush's Machine Head, The Smashing Pumpkins' Today, Weezer's My Name Is Jonas, all very very very loud. Kicking that nuclear pedal on for power chord choruses was some of the most fun I'd ever had in my life.
This is why I come! Who the hell else is going to put in the effort of doing comprehensive and original historical research for their RU-vid channel?? You're writing history in these episodes for God's sake!
The Wall is my favorite Floyd album, for nostalgia reasons. My next door neighbor gave me the cassette version when I was 10 years old and i thought “the trial” was one of the coolest songs I’d ever heard. I was hooked from there on out. I listened to that cassette until it broke in two lol. Easily my favorite band.
Every time you play the “he has the box” stinger I throw a pedal box away. No matter what’s in it the box goes to a landfill. I’ve started with the most limited and expensive pedals I own. When I run out I’ll start throwing away boxes owned by friends. When they run out I’ll find strangers with pedal boxes. Eventually I’ll find you. Enjoy your precious boxes now while you still can.
After watching your 70's op amp distortion video, i found & bought one of the V8 DOD 250. Initially thought of using it with my guitar rig, it made its way to my bass rig & I love it! Gives such an amazing range from clean boost to "tube-esque" grit, to chaotic dirt. Super versatile, & i wouldn't ever trade it against anything.
Wow... I never had the idea that my dear country Argentina had to do with the origins of DOD and that the owner actually designed stompboxes for the first Argentinian rock bands!!! Great info, Josh!!!! Greetings from Buenos Aires!!! I still have my DOD FX7 and a Death Metal Distortion with me! You should really come sometime to the CAFIM expo where all of the Argentinian music products manufacturers show their products. There are even brands that do participate in NAMM every year like Dedalo pedals. I´m pretty sure you´d be invited with a lot of beer and barbecqued beef.
I love this kind of deep dive. Great work yet again! This is honestly an episode I’ll watch multiple times just so I get all the details. Thanks for all the hard work you put into this. Also if you ever clone that DOD Phasor exactly…well, just shut up and take my money…
I was reading all of that at TGP today! 🤣 I also commented on the JHS leak thread. People that saw it sure kept quiet. Nobody seemed to know it was a 250 coming out. And if they did, they weren't sharing that info 👌
I cancelled Netflix, Disney+, Prime video and Crave, because all I need is right here on the JHS channel. You get it all! History, circuit boards, comedy and jams.
