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Biyang: OD-7 Overdrive
List: $85
If you go shopping for electronic goods at major electronic superstores, the proverbial salesman would warn you against spending foolishly on Chinese products; they look good for the taking but they rot the moment they’re put to use. Pangs of regret would entail, of course. Nevertheless, the ‘Made-in-China equals dud’ mentality isn’t quite applicable in the guitar industry. Given its time honoured performance, the Chinese wares, guitars or otherwise, are slowly showing its shrewdness. The Biyang OD-7 pedal here is such an item in question.
Features/ build
The OD-7 overdrive unit is a simple gadget in the like of the flagrant Ibanez Tubescreamer in features- a 3-knob control option with a footswitch. Nevertheless, the manufacturer has made life more exciting for us tweak dweebs by including 3 modes (activated via a flick switch) for our fancy; TS/ Bright/ Warm. The overall build is made sturdy by the aluminum housing/ chassis but it’s not hefty, mind you. On the flipside, a quartet of corner rubber footings ensure adequate grip for players who do not believe in employing a pedal board. Battery access is via a locking hatch which is a little cumbersome but provides a secure placement for sure. The chicken head knobs add a touch of class in this otherwise very clinical product.
The only gripe here is the pedal’s peculiar switching system which fails to deactivate the unit despite you having unplugged all cables; do not be surprised to see the green LED coming on when you playfully click it in moments of sheer boredom.
Rating: 90%
In use/ tone
Why should you invest in this pedal when you know only the Tubescreamer would initiate a Tubescremaer-like tone, period? For a start, the OD-7 here features the very tone chip residing in the majestic TS808; the JRC4458. This means nothing if the circuitry on board doesn’t propel good tones but the OD-7 is ear candy in all 3 modes.
The TS mode offers the typical Tubescreamer tone with every acute interpretation included. Those of us who are in search of such immaculate tones with restricted budget would do well to check this pedal out. The BRIGHT mode, as the label promises, adds top end tingle while retaining the drive qualities of the preceding voicing. The only aversion here is its volume bump, so very apparent if you have your amp’s volume cranked up. Lastly the WARM mode offers the player some midrange injection which isn’t at the expense of a low-end drowning; it sounds very much like a modified TS set to bake the midrange but not getting into shrill territories.
In isolation, the OD-7 is perhaps the mild overdrive type unit you’ve always been searching for because you need several voicing types & dislike utilizing several pedals in your set up. For the drive booster geeks, the OD-7 works as well as (if not better than) a boutique manifestation of its ilk but the pedals sounds more useful in the TS/ WARM modes. The BRIGHT voicing, in conjunction with an amp’s driven channel/ other drive pedals in the chain, does not manifest its added treble response as markedly as its isolated performance. All in all, a superb pedal for the money in light of the tones it offers.
Tone test equipment:
Guitar: Swing Standard
Amps: Sound Drive SG100R/ Biyang 2203
Rating: 95%
Final say
Here’s another pedal to prove that outstanding tone doesn’t cost you an arm or a leg. The OD-7 is a great mild drive type unit for the money; the $85 tag (before the OD-7, a pedal featuring a true bypass switch + a JRC4458 for a sub-$100 price tag, is an impossible proposition…) is a deception to the class it exudes (it’s about a third of the TS808’s list price). Could we attribute the OD-7’s brilliance primarily to the tone chip in use? In part, it’s the affirmative but it really deserves praise in whole rather than giving too much credit to its component. The OD-7 would please tube amp mongers who believe in hooking up a drive pedal to further their amps’ performance. It’s also one of the better pedals out there to give better definition to extremity if that’s your cup of tea. It is hoped that the manufacturer would tinker with the electronics a little bit to provide us with a true switch off because if one leaves one’s battery idle in there, it would be dead in about 3 days’ time even if the pedal is totally disconnected.
Final rating: 93%
Product availability: Standard Value
Likes:
• 3 voicing modes
• JRC4458 chip in use
• Price (definitely)
Dislikes
• Battery hatch a little fiddly
• Circuit peculiarity as mentioned in review proper
Worthy contender:
• Guyatone: OD2+
Other notes: The Guitar Addict!: Biyang: OD-7
