Eavesdropper Pedals Dr. Square Distortion

A good distortion pedal should give you a harder edge, more grit and a beefier tone…but it can also shape your sound, get to the edge of breakup and give a whimpy signal some much-needed love. Today’s pedal, the Eavesdropper Pedals Dr. Square Distortion, does all of these things, and a little bit more. Based on a classic effect from the 1970s, this little box will get you all the dirt you need, and some you might not have expected…

The Eavesdropper Dr. Square is a faithful recreation of the DeArmond Square Wave Distortion Generator. While it’s not too different from the classic DOD 250, changes in component values gave the Distortion Generator a unique sound of its own. The original pedal isn’t the world’s most versatile pedal, so Eavesdropper wanted to expand it further. The Gain control has been altered, to provide a better range throughout the sweep of the pot. They’ve also added a “Squish” toggle, which adds a more “open” or “full” sound/feel by altering the cutoff frequency at the input.

The “Thud” control changes the frequency response, allowing more or less low end into the guitar signal, great for higher gain settings. There’s also an added Tone control that was not on the original DeArmond design. This wide-ranging parameter will either boost the highs (fully counter clockwise) or cut the highs (fully clockwise), giving you more tonal shaping ability. A combination of silicon and LED clipping gives a little more output, as well. A unity gain buffer at the output of the pedal also helps this dirtbox stack well with other overdrives and distortions.

I loved the Dr. Square Distortion from the moment I plugged it in, and I think you can actually hear my excitement in the demo I made. The range is big, the tones are huge and the versatility is impressive, coming from a box with just 3 knobs and 2 toggles. This was my first foray into the Eavesdropper Pedals world, and I can’t wait to revisit there as soon as possible. Head over to their Reverb shop to see what other pedals await, and order some rad gear from this Houston, Texas-based company today – cheers!!