JT’s original Nobels ODR-1 (1993-2001), picture from 2009
Overview:
The Nobels ODR-1 is a relatively complex overdrive with emphasized low end and reduced high end. It thickens the guitar sound without any hint of grittiness or fizziness, and it’s a favorite of Tom Bukovac and other Nashville session players.
History:
Nobels was founded by business owner Bernhard Kurzke in Hamburg, Germany. He had owned a shop already and in 1979 became the European dealer for Fender, Rogers, and Rhodes parts. In 1983 he became the first distributor of Charvel and Jackson guitars to Europe, and in 1984 he started designing guitars for Hohner, controlling production in Korea, setting prices, and making the marketing worldwide. With this knowledge and experience, he renamed his company “Nobels” in 1985 and started producing his own effects with electronics technician Kai Tachibana.
In 1992, Tachibana would design four effects pedals for Nobels; a Preamp, an A/B Switcher, a Distortion, and an Overdrive. The earliest prototypes for the overdrive were named OD-1, but it was changed to ODR-1 because Boss already made a pedal called the OD-1.
Tachibana had tested a mid-’60s Fender Bassman head with a matching 2×12 cab and enjoyed how the amp reacted to different levels coming from the guitar. “I liked that with increasing volume, the tube-overdrive slowly, evenly and continuously increased,” Tachibana said in a column on nobels.de. “The basic character of the guitar barely changed.” This was the inspiration for the sound of the Nobels ODR-1.
The pedal was put into production in Korea and started being sold in 1993. In the early ’00s Nobels changed the aesthetics from green to silver, and then back to green around 2010. Kurzke’s goal for Nobels was to produce affordable pedals, and they originally sold for around $50. The originals have become collectors items and regularly sell for $500 used as of 2020.
Use:
The ODR-1 is an overdrive pedal. It distorts the guitar signal. The thing that makes the ODR-1 unique is how it tames high end and thickens up the low end. The character of the distortion is less fizzy than other overdrive pedals. There are 3 knobs: Drive, Spectrum, and Level. Drive controls the amount of distortion, Spectrum controls the EQ, and Level controls the output volume.
The spectrum control is unique because it makes the EQ fairly flat at noon, then as you turn it up it boosts both the highs around 2kHz and the lower mids around 300Hz, and has the least amount of effect around 750Hz. If you turn down the spectrum, it does the opposite and cuts both the highs around 2kHz and the lower mids around 300Hz, and has the least amount of effect around 750Hz.
From pictures and video during sessions where his Nobels ODR-1 is in use and visible, it appears J.T. often used the Nobels ODR-1 with the Drive knob between 9 o’clock and 11 o’clock, the Spectrum knob between 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock, and the Volume knob close to noon. He used it with his Blue Tele, SG, Gretsch, and likely other guitars as well. He would also sometimes stack it with a compressor.
J.T. owned an original Nobels ODR-1, then an original Nobels ODR-1 rehoused by XTS (likely the same pedal), then a green reissue Nobels ODR-1, and a Nobels ODR-1 mini.
Specs:
Width: 2.91″
Depth: 4.96″
Height: 2.28″