bass player on the opposite side of the
stage. Get aggressive with the tone knob,
too, and you’ll verge on Beck-/Page-like
Telecaster sounds.
The 100 Hz boost is equally valuable
in high-gain environs, and when used with
generous gain settings, the pedal can get
positively nasty. A Les Paul and Marshall
Super Lead will go from big to fiery and
ferocious. And cranking the tone along
with the 100 Hz and level knobs turns neck
humbuckers into flamethrowers—super hot
but capable of great pick sensitivity.
If you’re interested in shaking buildings to their foundation, hitting the bump
switch and switching to the neck humbucker will summon a throaty, cavernous
roar from a 4x12. The bump switch is a less
obvious match with clean settings, though
when used in conjunction with doses of
the pedal’s gain, tone, and 100 Hz knobs,
it gives a Telecaster’s neck pickup through
a Fender Twin a deep, smoky, and honking baritone-sax quality that adds a super-heavyweight kind of authority to singing
blues leads.
The Verdict
MXR pulls off an admirable balancing act
with the Custom Badass Modified O.D. It’s
a thoughtfully designed pedal—rangy, full
of character, and capable of what at times
seems like a thousand different voices. Low-gain settings make this pedal perfect for
jangly roots rock that needs a kick, Stonsey
chug, or lending a little dirt and boost to a
clean 6L6 amp. Crank the gain, tone, and
100 Hz knobs and put it front of a hotter
amp, and you have a pretty sizzling metal
lead voice.
The Modified O.D. is not entirely
transparent, but at low-gain settings it adds
a few pounds of muscle without sacrific-
ing your guitar’s voice. And though it isn’t
the only overdrive out there with more
expansive tone-shaping capabilities than
your run-of-the-mill TS clone, you won’t
find yourself chasing your tail in an EQ
tweaking labyrinth. It’s pretty easy to find
a tone, easy to get back to where you were
when you move on, and a very tidy bit
of engineering on that count. And at just
around a hundred bucks, it’s a contender
for the performance-to-value crown in the
overdrive division. This is one pedal that’s
badass in more than just name.
RATINGS
MXR
jimdunlop.com
Custom Badass Modified O.D.
Street $99
Tones
Ease of Use
Build
Value
Pros
Great range of tones, from clean to filthy.
Impressive range in controls. 100 Hz control adds lots of meat. Great value.
Cons
Cleanest tones have a little too much dirt.
Bump switch can’t be foot activated.
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