ODR-1 BC

The ODR-1 BC is a variant of an overdrive that appeared in the early nineties and has kept its place on plenty of pedalboards ever since. BC stands for bass cut. Under the battery cover sits a switch that lets you choose between the original ODR-1 sound and a version with less sub-bass. That turned out to be needed, because some guitarists found the original a little on the heavy side.

The sound is round and transparent, with more dynamics than you would expect from most overdrives. The pedal responds well to the volume knob on your guitar: small shifts in tone are easy to make with your volume and your picking, without touching the pedal. One control, called Spectrum, boosts bass and treble together and leaves the mids alone. That keeps the sound transparent but warm. It works with single-coils and humbuckers, and bass players use it too, for its clarity.

You can power it from a 9V battery, a 9V adapter or 18V. At 18V the pedal has more headroom, so there is more room before the sound breaks up, which helps when you hit hard. The housing is solid metal and the knobs glow in the dark, handy on a dim stage. The bypass is buffered, which protects signal quality, but it also means this is not a true bypass pedal.

Who is it for? Someone after a natural overdrive that lets the amp come through rather than dominating it. The shortfall is limited flexibility: with a single tone control and a hidden switch it offers little to vary, so anyone wanting many different characters in one box should look further.