DOD History

DOD Electronics or simply DOD is a Harman International company specializing in making guitar effects pedals, most of which are now discontinued.

DOD created a cheaper range of effect pedals that was sometimes said to be designed for the more novice musician, although they are still used by a number of professionals. For example many DOD distortions are largely designed to be played in a bedroom at quiet volumes through a small amplifier and some musicians playing them at high volume with a band find the sounds to be uncontrollable.

Many of the pedals are very highly regarded by experimental and noise music artists for their unique, extreme sounds and lo fi settings which are sometimes not attainable on more expensive musical equipment. Some pedals, such as the Buzz Box or Gonkulator Modulator, have become collectors items and change hands on ebay for far more than they cost new. The most popular DOD pedal was probably the "Grunge" - an extremely heavy distortion pedal designed to emulate the sounds of Nirvana and The Melvins. DOD boasted that it was used by Kurt Cobain. This is true although it was given to him as a joke and he was said to have hated the pedal, to the point of throwing it into the crowd at one concert.

DOD stands for "Division of Digitech". Many of the more popular DOD pedals are now available under the Digitech name. This includes the Grunge, Death Metal and Envelope Filter.