The DMBL is an overdrive pedal from Mojo Hand FX, a builder whose pedals are hand-built in the USA using rugged die-cast enclosures12. The company describes it as its take on what many consider to be the "Holy Grail of overdrive tones," and lists it as a "Holy Grail" Amp Overdrive31. The pedal's stated design feature is a set of germanium clipping diodes, which the maker says give a natural, touch-sensitive overdrive3.
The pedal was introduced to readers by Pedal of the Day, which posted about the Mojo Hand FX DMBL Overdrive on Monday, June 9, 20142. It is an overdrive pedal made by Mojo Hand FX2. In the reviewer's summary:
"the DMBL Overdrive pedal from Mojo Hand FX"
What it does to your sound
As an overdrive, the DMBL sits in the same family of pedals as the drives covered on the site's Overdrive Pedals page: it pushes the front end of an amp, or acts as a drive stage of its own, rather than the harder clipping associated with distortion pedals. What sets the DMBL apart within that family, per the maker, is its germanium clipping arrangement, chosen for a natural, touch-sensitive response, meaning the drive cleans up and opens up with picking dynamics3. Mojo Hand FX's own framing of the sound is "Holy Grail" amp overdrive34.
The Extra Special DMBL
Mojo Hand FX also makes a higher-gain sibling, the Extra Special DMBL. In a 2024 buying guide of Dumble-style pedals, Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio described it as "the Extra Special is Mojo Hand's beloved DMBL on steroids; it features the same control set and delivers the clarity and swampy overdrive of that pedal, but offers a lot more gain"5. For a player choosing between the two, the control layout is the same, and the difference is headroom versus gain: the original DMBL for a lower-gain, dynamic drive, the Extra Special for more gain from the same platform5.
Background and reception
Pedal of the Day featured the DMBL Overdrive as its pedal of the day on Monday, June 9, 2014, identifying it as a guitar effects pedal from Mojo Hand FX, with the fuller review following on July 12, 201426. The review's notes on the build, hand-built in the USA in rugged die-cast enclosures, match the company's small-batch approach to its pedal range, which also includes drives such as the Rook, the Magpie and the Klon-style Sericon2.
Mojo Hand FX lists a B-stock version of the DMBL on its own site, meaning cosmetically imperfect units sold by the maker alongside standard stock1.
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Questions
Who makes the DMBL Overdrive?
The DMBL is made by Mojo Hand FX, a pedal builder whose pedals are hand-built in the USA using rugged die-cast enclosures. The pedal has appeared on the company's own product pages as the DMBL, described as the company's take on what many consider the Holy Grail of overdrive tones.
What is the Mojo Hand FX Extra Special DMBL?
The Extra Special DMBL is a higher-gain version of the DMBL. Delicious Audio's buying guide described it as the company's beloved DMBL on steroids: it keeps the same control set and the clarity and swampy overdrive of the original pedal, but offers a lot more gain.
What type of effect is the Mojo Hand FX DMBL?
The DMBL is an overdrive pedal. Mojo Hand FX describes it as delivering Holy Grail amp overdrive, and Pedal of the Day reviewed it as an overdrive built to re-create the tones of Dumble amplifiers.
Sources (6)
- MojoHand, Mojo Hand FX (mojohandfx.com)
- Mojo Hand FX DMBL Drive, Pedal of the Day, 2014-07-12
- DMBL - MojoHandFX, MojoHandFX (mojohandfx.com)
- Extra Special, MojoHandFX
- Best Dumble-Style Pedals For Your Needs & Budget, Delicious Audio, 2024-09-25
- Mojo Hand FX DMBL Overdrive, Pedal of the Day, 2014-06-09
