The Behringer OD100 is a compact pedal that covers both overdrive and distortion in one box. MusicRadar's reviewer Chris Vinnicombe describes it simply as an "Overdrive distortion," a stompbox whose Mode control blends the two sounds to taste1. It sits in Behringer's line of budget drive pedals alongside the Behringer OD300 and the Behringer Overdrive Distortion.
How the Mode control shapes the sound
The Mode knob is the heart of the pedal. Vinnicombe's review maps out its travel1:
- Hard anticlockwise (overdrive side): the overdriven sound, which he calls "predictably the most organic sound" of the pedal's extremes1
- Between the extremes: the "halfway" sounds between overdrive and distortion, which the review lists among the pedal's reasons to buy1
- Hard clockwise (distortion side): distortion alone, which the review found "too scooped and fizzy for our tastes"1
The scooped character of the distortion side has a practical consequence for a player in a band. The review explains that scooping mids reduces your ability to cut through a mix with any real authority, and puts it bluntly: "twist the control hard clockwise to hear your guitar sound disappear"1.
Settings and styles
For a usable starting point, the review gives a concrete recipe: Mode between 10 and two o'clock, with the Drive also set to around two o'clock. "This yields a solid, muscular drive sound that is great for alternative rock and the grungier end of the indie spectrum"1.
What reviewers said
MusicRadar's verdict is positive on balance. The halfway sounds between overdrive and distortion are listed as a reason to buy, and the overall verdict reads: "Behringer looks poised to clean up." The main criticism is the distortion-alone setting, judged too scooped and fizzy1.
"Behringer looks poised to clean up."
A note on the name
The OD100 name also belongs to a Custom Audio Electronics amplifier, the OD-100 head built by Bob Bradshaw's company. In a 2000 interview on the Custom Audio site, guitarist Richard Hallebeek described that amp's approach: "plug into an OD -100, put all the controls at 12 o' clock and you'll get a great sound either way"21. The two products are unrelated apart from the shared name; this page is about the Behringer pedal.
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Questions
Is the Behringer OD100 an overdrive or a distortion pedal?
Both. MusicRadar's review describes it as an overdrive distortion pedal, a single stompbox that blends the two sounds. The Mode control moves between an overdriven side and a distortion side, and the reviewer found the sounds in between the two extremes were the pedal's strongest territory.
What does the Mode knob do on the Behringer OD100?
It blends overdrive and distortion to taste. Hard anticlockwise you get the overdriven sound, which the reviewer called the most organic of the pedal's sounds. Hard clockwise you get distortion alone, which the reviewer found too scooped and fizzy. The settings in between are where the pedal works best.
What kind of music suits the Behringer OD100?
MusicRadar's reviewer found that with the Mode control between 10 and two o'clock and the Drive around two o'clock, the pedal yields a solid, muscular drive sound suited to alternative rock and the grungier end of the indie spectrum.
How much does the Behringer OD100 cost?
MusicRadar's review lists it among decent sounding stompboxes retailing at £15 in the UK. That figure is in British pounds as the review states it, and no US dollar list price is given here.
Sources (2)
- Behringer OD100 Overdrive Distortion review, MusicRadar, 2008-02-07
- An Interview With Bob Bradshaw, customaudioelectronics.com, 2000-09
