Distortion +

[metropolis_4]

I’ve always been Distortion + curious but I’ve never actually tried one. So I figured since I’ve been on such an MXR kick it was time to give it a try. Especially when I found one for $45!

First impressions: it’s exactly what I predicted it would be - absolute shit on its own into a clean amp, but really nice in front of either a dirt pedal or an overdriven amp with the volume up and distortion down!

I’m really loving the combo of it in front of the Morning Glory right now! They stack beautifully!

I’m gonna have to throw it in front of some other pedals and see. Also sounded great in front of my overdriven AC30.

 

[Chocol8]

It is definitely an interesting pedal. It is a very old circuit design, and it shows. The biggest issues that you eluded to are the volume needs to be all the way up most of the time and even then it is usually not high enough and the more you turn up the gain, the more treble you get on a pedal that is already on the thin side.

It is a pedal that I think HAS to be into some other dirt, and I think both the guitar and amp matter a lot. Bridge single coil into bright Fender amp is probably not a good pairing. I bet into the Morning Glory can work pretty well though.

 

[newholland]

far as i know its a micro amp with gain. def try it with dirt off and volume up over half . the eq alone it kicks in is awesome! im never getting rid of my micro amp cause its just such a crusher for punting amps into meltdown in great ways!

 

[metropolis_4]

It is definitely an interesting pedal. It is a very old circuit design, and it shows. The biggest issues that you eluded to are the volume needs to be all the way up most of the time and even then it is usually not high enough and the more you turn up the gain, the more treble you get on a pedal that is already on the thin side.

It is a pedal that I think HAS to be into some other dirt, and I think both the guitar and amp matter a lot. Bridge single coil into bright Fender amp is probably not a good pairing. I bet into the Morning Glory can work pretty well though.

The volume level is good for me. Up all the way and then back off just a bit and it’s perfect for stacking without adding too much volume.

It’s definitely in the same camp as the DS-1 in that it’s not gonna sound anything like an AIAB into a clean amp, but it adds great texture to an already overdriven tone. The distortion knob is almost like a tone control.

far as i know its a micro amp with gain. def try it with dirt off and volume up over half . the eq alone it kicks in is awesome! im never getting rid of my micro amp cause its just such a crusher for punting amps into meltdown in great ways!

That tracks. It’s got that sort of sound.

Yeah, I love the EQ of it when it’s on! It adds something really nice to the signal.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Nice!!!

The D+ was a staple of Jerry Garcias tone later 70s and forward….

I have a stomp under foot dire wolf which is based on the circuit. I always liked it but I didn’t start REALLY liking it until I started running it before my archer ikon. Now it’s a frequent go to so I agree with your assessment

 

[EOengineer]

I had a distortion+ breadboarded as a random test subject in my music room for months. It was incredible through anything crunchy. Not super useful through a squeaky clean amp unless you want obvious pedal distortion.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Isn't a DOD 250 basically the same thing? IIRC. I guess I could search for the schematics to check... or I can be lazy and not do that.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Isn't a DOD 250 basically the same thing? IIRC. I guess I could search for the schematics to check... or I can be lazy and not do that.

Never had that dod, but did have the EQD gray box which I believe was the same circuit…. Only eqd pedal I ever hated…. Maybe I wasn’t running it right given some discourse in this thread lol

 

[FuzzyAce]

Isn't a DOD 250 basically the same thing? IIRC. I guess I could search for the schematics to check... or I can be lazy and not do that.

Ok, I got unlazy and did a search. Basically the same, just some value differences.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Never had that dod, but did have the EQD gray box which I believe was the same circuit…. Only eqd pedal I ever hated…. Maybe I wasn’t running it right given some discourse in this thread lol

I think it makes a good clean boost, with the gain set very low and output high. But yeah, it sounds better hitting an already dirty amp or stacking with another pedal imo.

 

[metropolis_4]

I’ve always heard the D+ and 250 are almost the same circuit, just with a few different values.

I’m thinking I might need to pick up a 250 now. If my hunches continue to be correct I think a 250 will do for my Strat what the D+ is doing for my LP

 

[dbagchee]

If it’s like the DOD 250 then running volume up all the way with dirt off sounds great as a single coil clean fattener!

 

[Alex Kenivel]

I can't remember if it was one of these or a micro amp my bandmate used with his bass rig when the other guitarist and I couldn't hop on a tour across the country on short notice.

It sounded glorious with just bass+drums but when they got back it just disappeared in the mix with the guitars

 

[Chocol8]

The main difference between the DOD 250 and the Distortion + is the 250 uses silicon diodes with a little higher output. The MXR Microamp is basically the same circuit without the clipping diodes.

 

[James Freeman]

I wanted one too to complete my classic MXR collection, until I heard it on youtube.
Nah I'll pass this one.
It's pretty though, so maybe as a display unit on a shelf only.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

The od250, distortion+, Ross distortion and a whole load of others all using the same topology. The MXR seems to keep the same values for most of it's run but the dod changed quite a bit over time.

The KWB in the Helix is based on a modded version of the circuit that Ben Adrian used to make. It uses a mix of the Ross and MXR values with very asymmetrical clipping.

Sounds great into a cooking Marshall.

 

[joezlo]

I have a really weird version of it some one gave me in a black box that looks more like a DOD pedal.
Sounded great, but it was more plastic and temperamental.
I needed a Radioshack power adapter for it because the cover for the 9v on the bottom of the pedal was gone.
Can't seem to find a picture of it.

 

[metropolis_4]

Played a little more today and liked it just as much as yesterday. It’s even better in front of the Nobles! Those two pair really well together.

One problem I noticed today is tone suck. I have a split path setup with an A/B toggling between two signal paths. I had both the script Phase 90 and the D+ in one and I noticed a significant reduction in high frequency response when I toggled between them. Removing pedals until I found the culprit it turned out to be those MXR pedals.

That’s a bummer… I’ll have to think about what that means for adding these to a board for shows. It’s making me tempted to dig into boutique versions… or maybe I should try the JHS Overdrive Preamp.

 

[Chocol8]

Played a little more today and liked it just as much as yesterday. It’s even better in front of the Nobles! Those two pair really well together.

One problem I noticed today is tone suck. I have a split path setup with an A/B toggling between two signal paths. I had both the script Phase 90 and the D+ in one and I noticed a significant reduction in high frequency response when I toggled between them. Removing pedals until I found the culprit it turned out to be those MXR pedals.

That’s a bummer… I’ll have to think about what that means for adding these to a board for shows. It’s making me tempted to dig into boutique versions… or maybe I should try the JHS Overdrive Preamp.

I would use a loop switcher or just replace the foot switch to make them true bypass before going down the boutique rabbit hole.

 

[metropolis_4]

I would use a loop switcher or just replace the foot switch to make them true bypass before going down the boutique rabbit hole.

Yeah, I might open them up and see if a switch would fit