Maxon Reissue Series OD808 Overdrive

Product Information

Maxon developed the OD808 circuit more than 40 years ago, and since then it’s become the most used, most imitated and most lauded overdrive circuit of all time. While the 808-style overdrive circuit is commonplace nowadays, in 1979 it was a unique design and an industry first.

The tone is another potential reason as to why a clone would suit you better than the original pedal. If you're all about the mid-bump and Tube Screamer style of overdrive, but want something that has more gain, a slightly different gain voicing or just more tweakable options, then a clone is probably the way to go. Remember though, that all Tube Screamer clones will have a fairly similar tone, layout and gain structure, as they're all variations on the same theme. Which brands make the best Tube Screamer clones? Way Huge pedals – especially their range of killer overdrives – have been seen on pedalboards what seems like the world over. The Green Rhino has been one of their best-selling drive pedals, with its green enclosure giving us a good idea of where it draws its tonal inspiration from – and this MKV ‘Smalls’ version channels all of that ‘screamer goodness into one small, compact and convenient box.

Tube Screamer Shootout Videos

a “Swiss Knife” angle to the format, with two gains and a three-band EQ and three toggle switch to color the sound in different ways. I got one of these after hearing for years how great they are. I didn't realise just how useful they are until I spent a few hours with this one! When Ibanez reissued its TS-9 Tube Screamer in 1996 (circuit still manufactured by Maxon), some wondered why they didn’t choose to reissue its TS-808 model instead. Thankfully though, modifications were easy enough to perform to turn the TS-9 reissue into a genuine TS-808 and many offer that service today. Please note, Godlyke, Inc. is no longer Maxon's Distributor and will no longer be receiving inventory from Maxon Japan. If you're interested in the OD808, please see Godlyke's new collaboration with Mr. Tamura (original Tube Screamer Engineer), the Tamura-Mod Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer. A hand-made 3-knob TS808-inspired overdrive running at 18v with a host of tweaking options, mostly affecting the lower end.

Talk with your fellow tone freaks on the web's liveliest (and friendliest!) tone forum. All are welcome, from seasoned pros to absolute beginners. The differences between Ibanez style pedals with three knobs are really slight. There are some other ones with more or less knobs that sound different. There are quite a few differences between some in that video I posted. That said the video convinced me to get the standard OD-9/TS-9 style overdrive with the classic mid hump. Amazingly, the OD808X does not add much noise at high-gain levels, making it an ideal booster for heavy styles dependent on chunky stop/start power chords. It turned out that the reason for the super-bright brittleness was the worn out ten year old valves in my Bad Cat Cub! It all disappeared with new valves. For this weeks review we will be looking at the Maxon OD808, possibly the best overdrive pedal I’ve had the chance to experiment with. It’s honestly soeasy to get a good overdrive tone from it.When is a clone not really a clone? Simple: when it's designed and built by the original pedal's creators, making it more of a reissue than a generic clone. Which is exactly what you get with the Maxon OD808! A New Take on the World's Most Popular Overdrive Pedal

Even though this modestly proportioned and rather plain box commits the apparently cardinal sin of not having a full-bypass switch, the sound is just sweeter and warmer than all the others. When originally constructing my pedal board, I went to great lengths to maintain an unbuffered signal path because I did not like the super-metallic brightness that buffered pedals introduced. Particularly bad with Overdrive pedals. An Eric Gales signature 3-knob mini overdrive pedal based on an original circuit that delivers Tubescreamer-style tone with a little more bite. People forget that great rhythm guitar will help make your solo sound better”: YouTube guitar guru Marty Schwartz on the biggest mistakes aspiring guitarists make – and how to fix them

The OD808 is a simple looking pedal that features a foot switch and three knobs corresponding to overdrive, balance, and tone. The manual includedwith the pedal is neat, and includes standard presets to get you started with the tone you are looking for. The Maxon 0D808 is often compared to the slightly higher priced Ibanez TS808, as they are quite similar to each other in many aspects. I found the Maxon was less harsh on the mid-range and featured more tonal control. Furthermore, thereis a general consensus online that the Maxon is the superior overdrive pedal overall, which I am inclined to agree with. Bernie had completely forgotten he had this. He said, ‘Oh, I looked in one of my old storage spaces today and I found another four guitars’”: Up close and personal with some of late guitar hero Bernie Marsden’s rarest vintage instruments The OD808 Reissue offers up all the warm, creamy, organic overdrive as the original and then some. Never one to rest on their laurels, Maxon has tweaked the current version ever so slightly to reduce noise level while retaining the legendary “808” tone (see Tech Talk below).

an overdrive + boost that marries a Tube Screamer-style channel with a silicon treble booster, probably of Dallas Rangemaster origins. a simple 3-knob take on the Tube Screamer with a wider gain range, easily getting into distortion territory at high gain levels. I have an OD9 and OD820. I always use the OD820, but sometimes break out the OD9. I have had mine for 3 years but don't use it as much as my OD820, but I still have kept it around so long because it's such a great pedal. It's the best.

a highly tweakable Tube Screamer inspired pedal from Belarus that features a bass boost toggle switch and an asymmetrical clipping mode that gives you a slightly crunchier tone. The third thing to choose is the tone and clipping set-up. Of course, the one thing that Tube Screamers almost universally have in common is their 'mid bump' and soft-clipping diodes. Like any green overdrive pedal you can get your hands on nowadays, its inspiration is fairly obvious – but as a result, the tones you can achieve from this unit are seriously impressive. The Green Mile has two working modes –‘warm’ and ‘hot’– both providing smooth, tube-esque levels of dirt. As you’d expect, ‘warm’ mode imparts a natural-sounding drive which is fairly touch-sensitive, and ‘hot’ mode takes the gain levels up a notch for more crunch. A nice chunky boost who cuts the bad, bad bass frequencies and turns my Gibson SGs into real metal machines! Of course you can have some nice texas blues sounds with drive turned up in front of a clean amp but I prefer the nice mid-boost and cut through the mix. Also on stage - what a sound! The brand might also play a part in your decision to buy a clone over an original. Us guitarists can be an odd bunch, and one of our many quirks is that we form strong and strict loyalties to certain brands that we like. If you want to spend a load of your hard-earned cash on an TS-style overdrive pedal, but don't really like the Ibanez brand, then a clone is the perfect option.