Roland Corporation OD-20 Owner's Manual

Thank you, and congratulations on your choice of BOSS OD-20 Overdrive/Distortion.

Before using this unit, carefully read the sections entitled: “USING THE UNIT SAFELY”
and “IMPORTANT NOTES” (separate sheet).

These sections provide important information concerning the proper operation of the unit.
Additionally, in order to feel assured that you have gained a good grasp of every feature
provided by your new unit, this manual should be read in its entirety. The manual should be
saved and kept on hand as a convenient reference.

Main Features

●

Thanks to COSM technology, this distortion pedal delivers some of the most powerful
distortion you’ve ever heard. You get 22 different kinds of distortion sound, from vintage
classics to new, original sounds.

●

Features ATTACK SHAPE for changing the picking expression, and a HEAVY OCTAVE
feature, which produces a fat octave sound, allowing you to create an even wider variety of
sounds.

●

With four Memories plus Manual, you can use the pedal to switch through a total of five
sounds.

●

Built-in Amp Control feature makes it possible to switch amp channels and perform other
controls that make your setup even more powerful when combined with an amp.

Copyright © 2001 BOSS CORPORATION
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced in any form without the written
permission of BOSS CORPORATION.

Installing Batteries

Batteries are supplied with the unit. The life of these batteries may be limited,
however, since their primary purpose was to enable testing.
Insert the included batteries as shown in figure, being careful to orient the batteries
correctly.

fig.02

• When turning the unit upside-down, get a bunch of newspapers or magazines, and
place them under the four corners or at both ends to prevent damage to the
buttons and controls. Also, you should try to orient the unit so no buttons or
controls get damaged.

• When turning the unit upside-down, handle with care to avoid dropping it, or
allowing it to fall or tip over.

• Make sure the “+” and “–” ends of the batteries are oriented correctly.

• When the batteries run down, the POWER indicator gets dim. If this happens,
replace with new batteries.

• When replacing the batteries, use six AA type.

• Avoid using new batteries together with used ones. In addition, avoid mixing
different types of batteries. Doing so can result in fluid leakage.

• Battery life can vary depending on battery type.

Continuous usage time under battery power is about 20 hours with
alkaline batteries and about 8 hours with carbon batteries. (This may
vary according to usage conditions.)

2

Making the Connections

• When the unit is running on battery power, the power comes on when you insert
the connector plug into the INPUT jack.

• The use of an AC adaptor is recommended as the unit’s power consumption is
relatively high. Should you prefer to use batteries, please use the alkaline type.

• Noise may be produced if wireless communications devices, such as cell phones,
are operated in the vicinity of this unit. Such noise could occur when receiving or
initiating a call, or while conversing. Should you experience such problems, you
should relocate such wireless devices so they are at a greater distance from this
unit, or switch them off.

• Use a cable from Roland to make the connection. If using some other make of
connection cable, please note the following precautions.

• Some connection cables contain resistors. Do not use cables that incorporate

resistors for connecting to this unit. The use of such cables can cause the sound
level to be extremely low, or impossible to hear. For information on cable
specifications, contact the manufacturer of the cable.

• To prevent malfunction and/or damage to speakers or other devices, always turn
down the volume, and turn off the power on all devices before making any
connections.

• If there are batteries in the unit while an AC adaptor is being used, normal
operation will continue should the line voltage be interrupted (power blackout or
power cord disconnection).

• Once the connections have been completed, turn on power to your various devices
in the order specified. By turning on devices in the wrong order, you risk causing
malfunction and/or damage to speakers and other devices.
When powering up: Turn on the power to your guitar amp
When powering down: Turn off the power to your guitar amp

• Always make sure to have the volume level turned down before switching on
power. Even with the volume all the way down, you may still hear some sound
when the power is switched on, but this is normal, and does not indicate a
malfunction.

• When operating on battery power only, the unit’s indicator will become dim when
battery power gets too low. Replace the battery as soon as possible.

last

first

.

.

3

Making the Connections

Connecting to the Guitar Amp

fig.03

AC Adaptor
PSA-series
(option)

Electric
Guitar

Headphones

Guitar Amplifier

With a standard guitar amp, it may be a good idea to set all the tone
controls (BASS, MIDDLE, and TREBLE) to their central positions first,
then adjust from there.

Connecting to an MTR

Simulator)

or Mixer

fig.04

Electric
Guitar

(with No Internal Guitar Amp

AC Adaptor
PSA-series
(option)

MixerMTR

4

Operation

“MANUAL” and “EFFECT ON” are selected when the power is turned on.

EFFECT ON/OFF Pedal Operation

fig.05

When at “ON”

← Lit

Each press of the EFFECT ON/OFF pedal
switches effects on or off.
When effects are off, the sound coming in
through the INPUT jack is output unchanged.

When at “OFF”

← Not lit

5

Operation

MANUAL/MEMORY Pedal Operation

The Pedal mode (1–3) changes the function of the MANUAL/MEMORY pedal (or
the MANUAL/MEMORY pedal used with the EFFECT ON/OFF pedal). Use the
most appropriate setting for your particular application.

At the factory settings, Pedal mode is set to “1.”
When changing the Pedal mode settings, refer to p. 7.

Pedal mode: 1

Pressing the MANUAL/MEMORY pedal cycles you through a series of selections,
in this order: MANUAL → MEMORY 1 → MEMORY 2 → MEMORY 3
MEMORY 4 → MANUAL. This convenient feature makes it easier to switch
memories in songs in which multiple memories are used.

fig.06

MEMORY 1 MEMORY 2 MEMORY 3 MEMORY 4

Pedal mode: 2

fig.07

Pressing the MANUAL/MEMORY pedal switches you
between MANUAL and the selected memory (shown by the
lit indicator). This is convenient when you want to switch
two effect sounds (MANUAL and MEMORY) instantly.

→

MEMORY

Pedal mode: 3

fig.08

Pressing the MANUAL/MEMORY pedal toggles you
between MANUAL and the selected memory (shown by
the lit indicator).

You can also select among Memories 1–4 by pressing the MANUAL/MEMORY pedal
and EFFECT ON/OFF pedal simultaneously. This is convenient for both switching two
effect sounds (MANUAL and MEMORY), and switching memories between songs.

fig.09

MEMORY 1 MEMORY 2 MEMORY 3 MEMORY 4

6

MEMORY

Changing the Pedal Mode Settings

Use the following procedure when changing the Pedal mode settings.

* The pedal mode setting is stored in memory when the power is switched off.

1.

Switch off the power.

• When running on battery power:

Disconnect the connection plug from the INPUT jack.

• When running on power from an AC adaptor:

Disconnect the plug from the AC ADAPTOR jack.

2.

While holding down the MEMORY SELECT button, switch on the power.

• When running on battery power:

Insert the connection plug into the INPUT jack.

• When running on power from an AC adaptor:

Insert the AC adaptor plug into the AC ADAPTOR jack.
When you release the button, the MANUAL and MEMORY indicators light.

At the same time, the Memory number indicator corresponding to the settings of
the current pedal mode blinks.

3.

Set the pedal mode (1–3) pressing the MEMORY SELECT button.

Pedal mode 1: MEMORY 1 indicator blinks.
Pedal mode 2: MEMORY 2 indicator blinks.
Pedal mode 3: MEMORY 3 indicator blinks.

Operation

4.

Press the WRITE button.

After the MEMORY Number indicator begins blinking rapidly, the setting is stored
in memory and the unit returns to its ordinary state.

* To cancel the setting change, operate the EFFECT ON/OFF pedal or the MANUAL/

MEMORY pedal before pressing the MEMORY WRITE button. The unit will return to
its ordinary state.

Pedal
Mode

1

2
3

EFFECT ON/OFF
Pedal

effect on/off

effect on/off
effect on/off

EFFECT ON/OFF Pedal

+

MANUAL/MEMORY Pedal

–

–

Selects from MEMORY 1–4

MANUAL/MEMORY Pedal

Switches
MANUAL/MEMORY 1/2/3/4

Switches MANUAL/MEMORY
Switches MANUAL/MEMORY

7

Operation

Panel Operation

In order to follow along with the instructions given here, you should start out by
having effects switched ON (press the EFFECT ON/OFF pedal and confirm that
the EFFECT ON/OFF indicator has lighted), and press the MANUAL/MEMORY
pedal to switch MANUAL (MANUAL indicator has lighted).

fig.10

3

1

1.

Select the distortion type with the TYPE knob and the VARIATION button.

2.

Turn the DRIVE knob to adjust the amount of distortion.

452

3.

Turn the TONE and BOTTOM knobs to adjust the tone.

4.

Turn the ATTACK SHAPE and HEAVY OCTAVE knobs to adjust effects other
than distortion.

5.

Adjust the volume with the LEVEL knob.

It may be a good idea to switch on or off using the EFFECT ON/OFF
pedal and adjust the volume to about the same level.

8

Using Guitar Amp Channel Switching (Amp Control)

By connecting your guitar amp’s channel switching jack to the OD-20’s AMP CTRL
jack, you can then use the AMP CTRL button to switch the amp channel.
This combining of the OD-20 and the amp channels allows you to get an even
wider variety of distortion sounds.

fig.11

Open

Lit

Operation

Guitar Amplifier

(amp’s channel switching jack)

Off

Guitar Amplifier

(amp’s channel switching jack)

* To determine how the amp channels are switched when the circuit is open and shorted, refer

to the amp owner’s manual, or actually confirm the sounds by operating the amp.

* You can set the Amp Control independently of the effect On/Off settings.
* You can store separate Amp Control settings to each memory. For more on this procedure,

refer to “Storing Settings (Write Operation)” (p. 10).

With Amp Control, not only can you switch amp channels, you can also
use it to switch the amp’s effects on and off, like a foot switch
controller.

OD-20

(AMP CTRL jack)

Short

OD-20

(AMP CTRL jack)

9