MXR Raw Dawg Overdrive

The MXR Raw Dawg Overdrive is a mini overdrive pedal from MXR, developed as a signature pedal for the blues guitarist Eric Gales. It is a custom circuit based on what Dunlop calls a classic OD famous for its grit and crunch, but with two deliberate changes: the midrange has been balanced out and the gain bumped up, for what the maker describes as a sweeter, more natural sound even when cranked¹.

The pedal carries the model code EG74 and sits in the compact MXR mini housing, which Dunlop pitches as a pedalboard friendly package¹. It lists at $79.99 USD². Gales is famous for his raw blues tone, and Gearnews reported the pedal as the companion for blues players when it was announced in March 2021³.

What it does to your sound

Dunlop's own description of the circuit is the clearest one available: a classic crunchy OD circuit customized for a more balanced midrange and a bump in gain, providing what the manual calls a sweet, organic sound⁷. The product page puts it in Eric Gales terms, saying Gales serves up some of the tastiest licks in the business and needs the right seasoning on hand¹.

The classic circuit it is based on is no mystery. When Vintage Guitar covered the pedal in September 2021, the reviewer noted that Gales himself was quick to answer the question of what the pedal was¹⁵⁴:

That places the Raw Dawg in the same family as the Ibanez Tube Screamer and its many descendants, a lineage Gearnews has covered at length in its Tube Screamer comparisons⁴. What separates it, according to both the maker and the press coverage, is the voicing: where the classic circuit pushes its midrange forward, the Raw Dawg's midrange is more balanced, and it offers more gain than the stock circuit¹³. Guitar World described the result at launch as gritty overdrive tones and sweet natural sounds⁵.

The controls

The Raw Dawg keeps to a simple three knob interface of Output, Tone and Drive, which Dunlop says is all you need to perfect your own recipes¹. Gearnews called these the classic controls you would expect from an overdrive pedal³. The manual defines each knob's job⁷:

Three knobs and a mini housing mean there is nothing else on the surface: no switchable clipping modes, no extra toggles. Players who want more shaping options from MXR might look at larger offerings such as the MXR GT-OD or the MXR Super Badass Dynamic Overdrive, but the Raw Dawg's design brief was Gales' own preference, not flexibility for its own sake¹⁵.

Power and connections

The Raw Dawg runs on 9V DC with a center negative plug⁷. Dunlop's power recommendation is specific: the pedal is powered by the Dunlop ECB003 9 volt adapter, or by the DC Brick, Iso-Brick and Mini Iso-Brick power supplies, none of which are included with the pedal¹⁷.

An Eric Gales signature pedal

The Raw Dawg was announced in early March 2021 as a partnership between MXR and Eric Gales⁵⁸. Gearnews reported that the overdrive circuit had been tweaked to Gales' preferences, with a more balanced midrange and more gain than the circuit it came from³. The name matches Gales' signature DV Mark amplifier range, as Guitar Player noted at launch⁸.

The story of its development, as Vintage Guitar told it, runs through Jeorge Tripps, the designer known for Way Huge pedals. Dunlop got Gales in touch with Tripps, and in a few months Gales had exactly what he wanted⁴. The result is one of a run of MXR signature overdrives built around named players, alongside pedals like the MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive and the MXR Jail Guitar Doors Overdrive.

Gales is the player the pedal was built for and its signature artist³. The pedal is listed by Dunlop under the EG74 code on its parts page, which also carries warranty information for the product².

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