high gain

A staple of ’70s drive tones returns at a super-affordable price.

Adds body, life, and sparkle to lifeless guitar/amp combinations. Easy to dial in low-gain tone recipes. Easy-on-the-wallet price.

Some raspiness in high-gain applications. Not a lot of tone variation.

$109

DOD Overdrive Preamp 250
digitech.com

4
4
4.5
4.5

The cult of the DOD Overdrive Preamp 250 reminds me a little of my car-fiend friends who adore ’60s Dodge Darts, Ford Falcons, and Chevy Novas. Just like those no-frills rides, there is something beautifully utilitarian and enduring about the 250. There are certainly more flexible drive pedals, and definitely more glamorous ones, but as the prices for vintage 250s attest (they often go for many hundreds of dollars), there is abundant musical value and possibility in this straight-ahead source of low-to-medium-gain drive. Having an affordable version available to the rest of us is a wonderful thing.

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Created in collaboration with legendary guitarist George Lynch of Dokken and Lynch Mob fame, the Mr.Scary Mod adds an adjustable tube gain stage and an onboard Deep control, which together are designed to enable an amp to have increased sustain while still retaining note definition and dynamics.

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Can an entry-level modeler hang with the big dogs?

Excellent interface. Very portable. Nice modulation tones.

Some subpar low-gain dirt sounds. Could be a little more rugged.

$399

HeadRush MX5
headrushfx.com

3.5
4
4
4.5

The allure of portability and sonic consistency has become too much to ignore for some guitarists, making smaller digital modelers more appealing than ever.

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