MXR Review: DD-11 Dime Distortion Preamp Pedal

History:

Purchase: I actually wanted this unit initially to use at home for practice while my big rig (HALFSTACK ETC.)sat at my rehearsal space. I seen the ads in the guitar related magazines before it even came out for purchase and the main reason why I wanted this was for two reasons,Dimebag Darrell and MXR. I've tried many distortion/overdrive pedals in the past and I could never obtain the sound I was after. That lead me to amp distortion instead of the stompbox theory I had initially. I definetly liked the sound of Randall's preamp distortion over everybody else's version and I definetly liked Dimebag's sound in Pantera. My main rig consists of 2 RG100es heads through 2 four by twelve cabs with a Furman parametric eq(pq4) in the effects loop.

What I Like About This MXR DD-11 Dime Distortion Preamp Pedal: I like the fact that this pedal is exactly what I expected. It is Dime's tone from the ground up. With the scoop button disengaged it sounds like my Randall without the pq4 in the loop and with it engaged it sounds just like my pq4 hooked up and set to my(or Dime's) desired setting. I also relly like the way the eq on this pedal interacts with the overall type of distortion it creates. It was like connecting the eq on my Randall head with the eq on my parametric. It has to be some type of shelving eq because I've never heard this kind of range in a pedal before. Only in higher priced amps and rack gear.

What I Do NOT Like About The MXR DD-11 Dime Distortion Preamp Pedal: The two things that I wasn't really fond of were the option of having only one way of powering the thing up(adapter)and that when the scoop switch is engaged the mid control is inactive. I don't own a power conditioner so every now and then I had to tweek my settings to compensate dirty power.As far as the mid control is concerened, it would've been nice too have that extra sound too play with when I'm in that scooped setting

MXR DD-11 Dime Distortion Preamp Pedal Quality Rating: Overall construction was excellant. Built tough for the long haul!

Review Summary: This is the best distortion stompbox money can buy alongside the MXR doubleshot distortion.

Rating of this MXR product: 4

This MXR DD-11 Dime Distortion Preamp Pedal Guitar Effects Review Submitted By: broknmesure

Review Date: 2003-11-29