Yes. Germanium transistors break up differently. They have a different “signature.” They respond differently to being overdriven, but also very important, they respond differently to how they are biased and the operating voltage.

I have the Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi, but the Germanium OD also has a bias and voltage control. One of the “features” of the older Germanium circuits was that they would sound different at different temperatures. They would also sound different if they were being “voltage starved” because the battery was dying. The temperature could affect the bias of the circuit and a dying carbon zinc battery would affect the voltage. In fact temperature could also affect voltage because a cold battery puts out less voltage than a warm one. The Germanium OD has a bias control to let you simulate the effects or compensate for the effects of temperature, and it has a voltage control to let you simulate the effects of a starving battery.

Some performers would have a selection of batteries that they had intentionally let discharge, but not all the way. The old carbon zinc batteries would lose voltage gradually, so there would be a long time where the battery would be running at 6 or even 5 volts or less before it died all the way. The pedal would work, but it had a recognizable “voltage starved” sound to it. Newer alkaline batteries tend to hold close to their full charge longer, then die very quickly at the end, so you can’t get the same effect with alkaline batteries. You also can’t get that sound when you’re using an adapter. The Germanium OD has a voltage control to let you simulate all of that.

Germanium transistors respond to a starved voltage differently from silicon. You can starve a silicon circuit too, but they tend to just stop working below a certain voltage whereas Germanium tends to just get more compressed and gated until it finally gives out. That’s why EHX doesn’t have a voltage control on any of their Silicon pedals.

Also, Germanium circuits actually sound different depending on the type of battery you use. I thought this was a myth, but it’s easy enough to test. I used a FRESH alkaline battery and compared it to a FRESH carbon zinc battery. I did a blind test with a friend, and not only could we easily hear the difference, but both of us prefered the sound of the carbon zinc battery. We tried the same test with a silicon distortion and the difference was much less noticeable. I tried it with my Nano Big Muff Pi, and again there was a difference, but not as great as with my Germanium 4 Big Muff. So, there appears to be something about the germanium transistors and the circuitry around them that makes them more responsive to the power source.

Carbon Zinc batteries are getting much harder to find. Electro Harmonix sells Carbon Zinc batteries for this reason and all of their newer pedals that come with batteries have been supplied with the EHX Carbon Zinc batteries. Danelectro sells carbon zinc batteries which you can get at Guitar Center. And, you can still purchase them from eBay and such.

If you buy a new Germanium OD it will probably come with CZ batteries.

P.S. Just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s “better”. For some people, dialing in the right sound on a Germanium overdrive is difficult. There’s definitely more tweaking involved and as you can tell, they’re sensitive to the power supply (type of battery or adapter), the pickups and tone controls of your instrument, their position in the effects chain – before or after wah, before or after phase, before or after another distortion, etc, etc, etc. You can get a very classic sound with them, and you can get a more modern “smooth” or “velvety” distortion similar to a Big Muff, you can also get a very nasty heavily gated zipper type distortion, but you have to be willing to spend some time with the settings. Some people just never like it. They’re looking for something more like a Big Muff, or a Soul Food, or something more modern sounding like a Metal distortion. Still, if you have room on your pedal board for yet another distortion, I think you’ll be impressed at the flexibility of this one. And it will definitely allow you to get some sounds that you can’t really with with anything else in the EHS lineup.

Finally, I think, Germanium seems to “play nice” with the front end of an amp, especially a tube amp. That’s one reason they call this an “overdrive”, not a “distortion”. I have both the Nano Big Muff Pi, and the Germanium 4 Big Muff Pi which is like a Germanium OD with a Germanium Distortion in front of it. I tend to like the sound of the Nano Big Muff Pi when I’m playing at low volume, but I still want lots of distortion. I tend to prefer the Germanium Big Muff when I’m really pushing the front end of a tube amp. It’s more transparent and responsive to my dynamics than the Nano Big Muff Pi. There is some overlap between the two, but there’s definitely a niche for a Germanium OD on everyone’s board I think.