Post
by Rob » Tue Feb 20, 2024 1:09 pm
The first pedal I ever encountered was a DOD Grunge pedal in the early-90s, and I fell in love with the form factor. It had a low profile, easy-access battery compartment, and a beautiful footswitch that was effortless to operate -- barely had to touch it to bring it to life. As I ventured out into the world of pedals, DOD was my brand.
Boss, on the other hand, seemed comparatively inelegant, and I hated the big spring-loaded footswitch. It was loud and clunky, and changing the battery felt like I was disassembling the thing. I also hated that some of them only had 3 knobs, which upset my OCD craving of symmetry.
However, it didn't take long for me to realize that the DOD footswitch design that I loved so much was fucking awful. Within a year, we were having to double-tap and triple-tap pedals to turn them on/off, others shorted out completely. By the time the Lamb series were all the rage, I was returning a brand new DOD Digital Delay because of electrical problems.
After one particularly bad stage experience where I ended up having to borrow a bandmate's Boss pedal just to get through the rest of our set, I saw the light and converted. Since then, probably 90% of my pedal purchases have been Boss. I've rarely been disappointed by a Boss pedal's features, and never by the build quality, reliability, or value. For my money, they're just the best there is.
I will say, however, that we're long overdue for a PH-5.