The Boss OD-1 Overdrive was one of the first 3 Boss compact pedals produced (along with the PH-1 and SP-1). The OD-1 was released in a time when fuzz and distortion were the go-to choice for guitarists and overdrive was considered to be too underwhelming. The OD-1 and was originally planned to be a distortion effect, however the designer decided on the smooth, clear overdrive that can be dialled from a crisp clean boost up to a warm crunch. The OD-1 was one of the first pedals to use the term "Overdrive", with pedals prior to this generally being referred to as "soft distortion" (such as the OD-880).
The OD-1 had a range of PCB revisions and IC changes over the years. The first batch used mainly the RC3403ADB Quad Op-Amp (known as the "long chip") and these pedals are considered to be the most desirable OD-1's. The second version used a pair of Dual Op-Amps such as the famous JRC4558. This change occurred not long into the production and was likely due to the lower costs of using Japanese produced IC's rather than the USA made RC3403, although a Boss employee claimed the change was due to the high rate of faulty RC3403 chips that were being supplied.
The OD-1 features a simple interface, the Level knob increases the output volume of the pedal and the Overdrive knob controls the intensity of the drive.
Produced from November 1977 until July 1985.
Variations:
Switch - Clear, Black
Screw - Silver, Black
LED - Momentary, Solid
Dash - Long, Short
Notes:
While there is technically no OD-1's that were made in Taiwan, the last PCB's are printed with Made in Taiwan on the bottom. This was during a transitional period that Boss started shifting their production to Taiwan, with pedals being started there before being shipped to Japan for assembly and completion. These PCB's seem to be used from 1983 onwards.