This is a straightforward preamp overdrive. It can be used by itself as an overdrive pedal. (I don't like the sound that much when used in this way.) It can also be used as a gain/preamp booster, i.e. in front of a dirty amp or in front of a distortion/overdrive pedal. I believe it is digital. To my knowledge, it cannot be edited via computer. There is an input and output, as well as an input for 9v/dc power supply. This is a floor pedal, so it is not rackable.

Configuration is very simple, with just two knobs: level and gain. Getting the intended effects is really easy. Turn the gain all the way up, then adjust the level to your liking, and you're done with presets. I think I have the manual, but I don't think it was very useful. Luckily, you don't really need it.

As I said earlier, as an overdrive by itself, I am not so impressed by this pedal. However, when I put it after my noise suppressor and before any distortion pedals, it makes a wonderful, screaming preamp booster. I stomp on this baby primarily for solos, either with a distortion/overdrive pedal already engaged, or when the amp I'm using has it's drive/distortion pedal kicked in. It gives you days and days of endless sustain. I can also do fast,long solos without wasting all of my hard earned energy trying to press the strings so hard to get great tone and sustain. The only things I don't like about this pedal, I fixed by buying additional specialized pedals. It is very noisy, especially with the gain turned up. A noise suppressor fixes that. I also wish that it would boost volume when engaged, precisely because I use it for solos, but this unit does not give much of a volume boost when engaged. So I bought an equalizer that I can engage along side of it when it's time to solo.

The DOD Grunge pedal is a bit misnamed, it can maybe create a "grunge" sound for you if you play with it, but it is mostly a pedal for metal lovers.
Its a fairly typical distortion box, 1/4" input and output, red led, ac adapter input, in a sturdy metal casing with a cheap plastic stomp button and battery cover like all DOD boxes, when will they ever learn not to use plastic? It has 4 knobs; "loud", "low", "high", and "grunge" (which means 'gain' in DOD-land for this pedal anyway). Its pretty simple to use.

I was a bit suprised at how much control the "low" and "high" knobs give you. You can't just max this thing out and rock out like some guitarists are tempted to do, but you will equally lose out by just leaving the EQ at 12 o'clock. You can add a ton of thick low end to your palm muting riffing with the "low" knob without it getting muddy as quickly as I would expect, and the 2 eq knobs seem a bit interactive. It adds a lot of versatility to this pedal.

This pedal will probably elicit a 'love it or hate it' reaction from most guitarists. I do like the meaty crunch of it and the amount of gain possible, but it does start to sound a bit "synthetic" to my ears and never really sounds "warm". Its a very raw, grating distortion. It might be cool to play Pantera riffs, and detune to play newer metal, but..... I would never play prettier music like indie rock or even screamo with it. Its just to nasally and over the top. I go to this pedal when I want super aggressive distortion for metal type playing. I have the sense to reach for my Tube Screamer when I want creamy overdrive/distortion for lead/soling, and my Snarling Dogs Black Dog when I want a more classic sound.

I hate the sound of it with the gain turned down, its not very versatile in that regard either.