The Pearl OD-5 Overdrive is a vintage overdrive pedal, an effect that pushes an amp into a warmer, more compressed breakup than a distortion or fuzz unit. Pearl also made the related Pearl OD-05 Over Drive. The OD-5 is long out of production, so most players who want its circuit today come to it through DIY builds rather than the secondhand market.
What it does
The OD-5 sits in the overdrive family alongside designs like the Tube Screamer, but the independent circuit blog Guitar FX Layouts found it has its own character. Writing about the pedal, mirosol of Guitar FX Layouts said he likes the original and that "It has some qualities that separates it from TS-masses..."1. For a player, that places it as an alternative to the Tube Screamer-style designs that dominate the overdrive field, rather than another copy of them.
The circuit
The original unit uses 2SC2240 transistors. As the Guitar FX Layouts write-up notes, "Original unit has 2SC2240s in it, so if you want to use those, just mind the pinout"1. Anyone sourcing parts for a reproduction should check the pinout of whatever transistor they use against the original part.
DIY layouts of the OD-5 have a troubled history. A stripboard layout was published in March 2013 with a warning not to build it yet because it contained errors, and it was later put on hold pending a redraw1. An earlier layout of a related Pearl circuit had also "been unverified for a long time with one comment stating \"doesn't work\""2.
A name shared with a modern pedal
Do not confuse the Pearl OD-5 with the Harley Benton Custom Line OD-5, a current overdrive pedal that carries the same model number. Harley Benton describes it as "An overdrive pedal packed with gorgeous Screamer-esque tones" with "Great sound diversity from vintage overdrive to modern high gain"3. The two are separate products from separate makers.
Questions
Is the Pearl OD-5 the same as the Harley Benton Custom Line OD-5?
No. The Harley Benton Custom Line OD-5 is a current overdrive pedal from Harley Benton that shares the OD-5 name but is a separate product. Harley Benton describes it as an overdrive with Screamer-esque tones, from light crunch to modern high gain. The Pearl OD-5 is the original vintage unit covered on this page.
Can I build a Pearl OD-5 from a DIY layout?
A stripboard layout for the Pearl OD-5 was published on Guitar FX Layouts in March 2013, but the author warned readers not to build it because it contained errors. The layout was put on hold pending a redraw, and an earlier layout of a related Pearl circuit had long gone unverified.
Sources (3)
- Guitar FX Layouts: Pearl OD-5 Overdrive, Guitar FX Layouts (tagboardeffects.blogspot.com), 2013-03-28
- Guitar FX Layouts: Ibanez OD855 Overdrive II, Guitar FX Layouts (tagboardeffects.blogspot.com), 2013-10-15
- Custom Line OD-5 Overdrive, Harley Benton (harleybenton.com)
