Warm Audio ODD Box

The Warm Audio ODD Box V1 ("ODD" for short) is a hard-clipping, op-amp-based overdrive pedal that recreates the circuit of the Fulltone OCD. Warm Audio describes it as inspired by an iconic pedalboard staple known for its "cranked amp" tone, delivering the sounds of a cranked, saturated tube amp: useful for boosting a dirty amp, adding breakup to a clean one, or serving as a self-contained high-gain channel¹.

It arrived in summer 2023, released the week before Guitar.com's July 2023 review, and was available at launch through authorized retailers worldwide²³. Warm Audio's listed MSRP is $129¹; reviews at the time priced it at $119⁴⁵.

An OCD-style hard-clipping overdrive

The ODD Box is a stompbox based on the Fulltone OCD overdrive, and Delicious Audio reported that it offers an almost identical layout and sound to the original, with the toggle switch renamed UK/US⁷. Guitar World's Paul Riario called the ODD and its sibling the Mutation Phasor II "very faithful recreations of the originals from Warm Audio"⁵.

The circuit itself is a hard-clipping, op-amp-based design, the same topology that made the OCD an open-sounding hard-clipping distortion with enough headroom to emulate a driven valve amp, as MusicRadar's reviewer described the design brief it recreates⁸. Warm Audio builds the ODD with through-hole construction using premium components, including a TLO82CP op-amp, 2N7000 transistors, and hand-selected capacitors and resistors, housed in a custom-folded steel enclosure with a durable powder-coated finish¹⁷².

The OCD's own lineage goes back further: Aion FX's technical analysis notes the OCD was itself a modified version of the Voodoo Labs Overdrive with added features and tweaks⁹.

The controls and the UK/US switch

The control layout is classic OCD: three knobs and a toggle⁸.

Warm Audio says the drive and tone controls combine with a high degree of touch sensitivity, so the pedal responds to picking dynamics and guitar volume¹. The UK/US switch affects both the EQ curve and the breakup character of the pedal².

The two modes are voiced quite differently:

• UK: distorts earlier, bumps the upper-mids and increases volume, giving a cranked, "chimey" amplifier tone³. Gearnews' reviewer found it a much more mid-forward guitar sound⁴.
• US: has more clean headroom and aligns better with tweed-based "edge of breakup" amplifier tones¹¹. Gearnews' reviewer described it as a much more scooped and darker tone, but also found it resulted in "a notable drop in level as well as a slight loss in clarity" compared with UK mode⁴.

That volume drop in US mode is inherent to how the switch is voiced: because the UK setting increases volume and distorts earlier, flipping to US pulls the level back and opens up headroom, which some players will hear as the pedal getting quieter and slightly less defined⁴³.

Power: 9V or 18V

The ODD Box runs on a 9-volt battery via an internal clip, or on an external regulated DC adapter between 9V and 18V, center negative, connected through a side-mounted jack⁷⁴⁸. Current draw is 5.5 mA at 9V and 6.5 mA at 18V⁷.

Running at 18V is where some reviewers found the pedal at its best. Gearnews' Bob Malkowski reported incredible dynamics at 18V, saying the pedal "really comes alive when run on 18v," feeling more tube-like with picking dynamics controlling whether it cleans up or saturates⁴.

What reviewers said

Published reviews were largely positive:

• MusicRadar: the ODD "passes the test with flying colours and does so at a fraction of the cost," and the reviewer named it one of their favorite overdrives of 2023⁸.
• Gearnews: "superb distortion tones" and "a much more versatile dirt box than I was anticipating," capable of a great self-contained high-gain channel on a clean amp, with great build quality; dislikes were the US-mode volume drop and the lack of 18V from battery⁴.
• Guitar World: Paul Riario found both the ODD and the Mutation Phasor II to be very faithful recreations of the originals⁵.

Warm Audio founder Bryce Young said of the project: "When considering the inspiration for the ODD, we wanted to accurately deliver an artist-favorite tone that has been part" of modern guitar sound, describing it as reviving a very popular modern sound³.

On JHS Pedals' YouTube channel, Josh Scott looked at the ODD Box alongside the rest of Warm Audio's clone lineup, calling it the most controversial of the bunch while examining how closely it follows the original OCD circuit¹⁰.

Click to load

Where it sits in Warm Audio's range

The ODD Box is part of a run of Warm Audio recreations of well-known circuits, alongside pedals like the Centavo (Klon-based), the WA-TS Tube Squealer (Tube Screamer-based) and the Warmdrive, with later additions including the Throne of Tone and the Fluff Drive signature pedal. It is manufactured in China rather than handmade, which MusicRadar's reviewer identified as the reason this recreation is so affordable⁸.

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

Questions