The Harley Benton MiniStomp Dr. D is a micro-sized overdrive pedal. Harley Benton describes it as a "special little micro-stompbox" that gives you tones inspired by a certain brand of boutique amplifier, and says the circuit is "inspired by the legendary Dumble amp sound". In the maker's words, "Lively dynamics, rich harmonics and lush saturation are the hallmarks of this sound."1
It sits in Harley Benton's MiniStomp range of compact pedals, alongside drive-voiced siblings such as the MiniStomp Green Tint, the MiniStomp True Grit and the MiniStomp The Heat. There is also a full-sized Harley Benton Dr. D carrying the same name.
The controls
The Dr. D keeps things simple with three knobs1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Sets the amount of overdrive |
| Tone | Shapes the treble character of the drive |
| Volume | Sets the pedal's output level |
Harley Benton also points to "a flexible combination of Tone and Voice knobs to dial in creamy overdrive tones in the blink of an eye"1. The maker's own controls list names Volume, Tone and Gain, so treat the Voice reference in the maker's description with care and go by the three knobs on the pedal itself.
Size, power and switching
The mini enclosure is the main selling point of the MiniStomp format. At 92 x 38 x 32 mm and 133 g, the Dr. D is built to tuck into a small gap on a pedalboard, and Harley Benton specifies a solid metal housing1. A single On/Off footswitch with a status LED does the switching, and the pedal is true bypass, which the maker says eliminates signal interference when it is switched off1.
The Dr. D runs on a 9 V DC center-negative power supply that is not included, drawing 20 mA. There is no battery option on the maker's specification, so budget a slot on your power supply or use a dedicated 9 V adapter1.
Connections are a single 6.3 mm jack input and a single 6.3 mm jack output, so it slots into a standard guitar-to-amp chain like any conventional overdrive1.
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Questions
Does the Harley Benton MiniStomp Dr. D include a power supply?
No. Harley Benton specifies a 9 V DC center-negative power supply, which is not included, with a current draw of 20 mA. There is no battery option on the maker's specification, so plan for a slot on a pedalboard power supply or a dedicated 9 V adapter.
Is the MiniStomp Dr. D true bypass?
Yes. Harley Benton specifies true bypass switching via a single On/Off footswitch with a status LED, which the maker says eliminates signal interference when the pedal is switched off.
Sources (1)
- MiniStomp Dr. D, Harley Benton
