DOD Badder Monkey: More Mayhem with 3 Drive Modes
Even more Bdd Monkey with in one pedal!
4,3 / 5,0 | 
First teased earlier this year, the DOD Badder Monkey has finally been unleashed and promises new ways to overdrive your guitar tone.
Brief Overview
- The Badder Monkey is an updated version of the Bad Monkey overdrive pedal
- This 2025 version now has more ways to overdrive with more flexible drive options than the original.
Contents – Badder Monkey
Badder Monkey
The DOD Badder Monkey takes the original Digitech Bad Monkey name and overdrive, then amps it up even further to new levels of madness and overdrive tones. This newly formulated overdrive offers the original Bad Monkey circuit, but adds even more ways to play with it.
Behaved, Bad, & Badder
Three independent overdrive circuits are now available, and this is where you can dial in new drive tones that go beyond what the original could ever hope to achieve. Behaved is the new low-gain circuit for a more subtle break-up and plenty of warmth.
Then there is Bad, which offers the original classic Bad Monkey overdrive circuit. Finally, Badder is the new modern, aggressive high-gain overdrive.
Barrel Control
The new Barrel Control offers parallel blending of any of the two overdrive circuits, which really opens up the possibilities. The phase-invert function via a dedicated switch allows for greater blended tonal variations. Troop mode lets users combine all three overdrives in parallel, which can be a little insane.
Mood EQ
To keep with the monkey theme of this overdrive, DOD has added a Mood EQ, consisting of the Grunt (Low) and Screech (Mid-High) cut/boost controls. They are both on one pot with dual concentric controls.
Then the Bananas knob offers a triple-gang Gain control for either unified or separate adjustment of the drive circuits. Finally, the Curiosity is the Output Level control for the pedal.
The pedal also has a Tri-Color LED to indicate the blending mode, so users know which of the three overdrive circuits is engaged. This pedal is also a True Bypass design and will run from a standard +9V DC tip-negative barrel jack or a 9-volt battery.
Finally, there is a useful Reversible StagePlate that offers either a rubber skid pad side or a hook-and-loop side, perfect for mounting on a pedalboard.
Conclusion
The new DOD Badder Monkey looks like a worthy successor to the original Bad Monkey. It isn’t quite as affordable as the original Digitech pedal, which was often seen on sale for around £25-30 before the JHS Pedals hype made the used prices soar for a time.
However, this new DOD version offers far more in terms of overdrive flexibility, and all that blending and the parallel options could be where the new Badder Monkey really shines.
FAQ – Badder Monkey
What is the Badder Monkey?
The Badder Monkey is a versatile, compact overdrive pedal that not only faithfully replicates the sound of the original Bad Monkey but also features two new overdrive circuits and innovative parallel blending capabilities.
Is the Badder Monkey just a reissue of the original Bad Monkey?
No. While it includes the original circuit (Bad mode), it is far more. It features three completely independent overdrive circuits (Behaved, Bad, and Badder) and the patent-pending Barrel Control for parallel blending.
What are the Mood EQ controls?
The Mood EQ consists of Grunt (Low-frequency cut/boost) and Screech (Mid-High-frequency cut/boost) controls, allowing you to shape the overdrive’s bass and treble response.
What does “True Bypass” mean?
True Bypass ensures that when the pedal is off, your guitar’s signal passes through the unit without any electronic circuitry touching it, preserving your original tone.
Price & Availability
The Digitech DOD Badder Monkey is available now at Thomann, priced $145/£132/€149
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