The Boss OD-1X Overdrive is a digital overdrive pedal from Boss, released at the 2014 Winter NAMM Show as one of two special edition compact pedals alongside the DS-1X Distortion12. Despite the name and the styling, it is not a reissue of the 1977 analog OD-1: it is a brand new design built around Boss's Multi-Dimensional Processing (MDP) technology, which analyzes the guitar signal in real time and voices the overdrive to suit whatever you are playing345.
Boss describes it as an advanced overdrive pedal delivering "wide-ranging drive sounds with rich harmonics and natural compression" through powerful real-time processing3. Where a conventional overdrive applies one fixed clipping curve to everything, MDP constantly adjusts the drive character so that, in Pete Thorn's words from his 2014 demo, it creates "the optimum overdrive voicing for whatever part is being played"4.
Multi-Dimensional Processing: a digital overdrive
The core of the OD-1X is Boss's MDP (Multi-Dimensional Processing) technology, the same platform used in the DA-2 Adaptive Distortion, running on high-speed DSP7. Boss says this delivers "a superior playing experience that's unattainable with analog" circuitry3. The technology later carried into the DS-1X Distortion and the BB-1X Bass Driver, which Boss introduced for bass at NAMM 20152.
The practical difference for a player is how the pedal handles chords and complex voicings. In his demo video, Pete Thorn found that complex chords with sevenths or ninths "ring through really clearly" rather than collapsing into a jumbled distorted mess, and that single coils at low gain (the Drive knob around 9:00) gave "a really smooth natural sort of optimized breakup"4.
On the noise question, Thorn also noted that switching the pedal on and off added barely any audible hiss4.
Controls and looks
The OD-1X keeps the compact Boss enclosure but dresses it in a deeper, darker shade of yellow than the original, with exclusive chrome knobs and a chrome control plate63. The battery compartment is reached through a vintage silver knob, a nod to the screw-on battery doors of old Boss pedals3.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Drive | Sets the amount of overdrive |
| High | Adjusts treble response |
| Low | Adjusts bass response |
Each of the three knobs controls multiple internal parameters at once, which Boss says provides sophisticated sound shaping not available with a standard analog overdrive's simple tone stack3. Thorn noted the tone controls have a lot of range for boost and cut, similar to the DS-1X2.
How it relates to the original OD-1
The OD-1 OverDrive was Boss's first compact overdrive, produced from 1977 to 1985, and in some ways the successor to Boss's large-box DB-5 Driver pedal85. Early units used a 14-pin RC3403 op-amp, later replaced by dual op-amps such as the JRC4558DD5. Guitar World's Rod Brakes flags the distinction directly: the digital OD-1X Over Drive released in 2014 should not be confused with the original analog pedal8.
MusicRadar's reviewer Trevor Curwen framed the relationship the same way: the OD-1X "takes the legacy of its earliest compact, the OD-1 Overdrive (1978), and runs with it"7. Pete Thorn was emphatic in his demo that although the OD-1X and DS-1X resemble the Boss classics of the past, "make no mistake," these are brand new designs, not the original circuits42.
What reviewers said
Guitar World reviewed the OD-1X alongside the DS-1X in May 2014, listing it at $243.50 and crediting Roland Corporation U.S. as manufacturer6. MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen found the standout qualities to be sharpness and clarity:
"What is really apparent is that you are getting overdrive with sharpness and clarity: hit a chord and you'll hear all the notes"
Curwen's verdict emphasized that all the notes stayed audible with no mushiness, and that the pedal was very responsive in dynamics and clarity7.
Pete Thorn's demo video walks through the pedal's range, from low-gain single-coil breakup to complex chord work:
Videos
Sweetwater
Guitar World
BOSSchannel
News
Questions
Is the Boss OD-1X analog or digital?
It is digital. Boss says the OD-1X uses its MDP (Multi-Dimensional Processing) technology with high-speed DSP to deliver a playing experience that analog circuitry cannot attain. It is not a re-creation of the original analog OD-1 circuit.
Is the OD-1X a reissue of the original OD-1?
No. It borrows the name and the look of the 1977 OD-1 Overdrive, but it is a brand new design. Pete Thorn, demoing it in 2014, stressed that although it resembles the original OD-1 and DS-1, it is not based on those circuits.
Does the OD-1X take a battery?
Yes. The pedal has a battery compartment, and in keeping with the vintage styling it is accessed through a vintage silver knob on the control plate, alongside the chrome knobs.
Is the OD-1X noisy?
Reviewers found it very quiet. Pete Thorn noted in his demo that switching it on and off added barely any audible hiss, and MusicRadar's reviewer praised its clarity, with every note of a chord audible and no mushiness.
When did the Boss OD-1X come out?
It was released at the 2014 Winter NAMM Show, alongside the DS-1X Distortion, as one of two special edition compact pedals. Guitar World listed it at $243.50 in its May 2014 review.
Sources (8)
- Boss Unveils New DS-1X Distortion & OD-1X Overdrive, Premier Guitar, 2014-01-15
- NAMM 2015: Boss releases 2015 guitar, bass and vocal pedal line-up, MusicRadar, 2015-01-22
- BOSS - OD-1X | OverDrive, BOSS (boss.info)
- Boss OD1x and DS1x, demo by Pete Thorn, YouTube (Pete Thorn channel), 2014-04-07
- TONEHOME, TONEHOME
- Boss DS-1X Distortion and OD-1X Overdrive Pedals, Guitar World, 2014-05-21
- Boss OD-1X Overdrive review, MusicRadar, 2014-06-05
- Boss overdrive pedals: the evolution of its essential stompboxes, Guitar World, 2021-09-28
