View other reviews for this product:
moosers
Published on 10/25/11 at 12:20
The Maxon OD-808 Overdrive is a reissue of the vintage pedal of the same name. This is a tube overdrive emulation pedal, although no tube exists inside the pedal. It is an analog device consisting of 1/4" connections for input and output and the ability to be powered by either a nine volt battery or AC adapter. It isn't rack mountable since it's a stomp box.
UTILIZATION
If you have experience using other overdrive and distortion pedals, you'll feel at ease with the Maxon OD-808 Overdrive since it's got basically the same configuartion as most of the others out there. It's so simple to understand that even if you're not familiar with other pedals, you should be able to see what's going on here. The three parameters that the OD-808 has include knobs for overdrive, tone, and balance, the latter of which is just another word for overall level. No manual should be necessary as this should be super simple to understand.
SOUND QUALITY
The tone of the Maxon OD-808 Overdrive is pretty awesome to say the least. It's got that classic tube overdrive sound before, much in the same vein as the Ibanez TS-808 or other Tube Screamer pedals. This one does seem a bit more transparent to me, so it's cool to have another option for this type of pedal. I don't know how it would be compare to the original vintage version of the OD-808 as I've only used the reissue, but this pedal sure sounds great. I don't know that I prefer it to the TS-808 but it's pretty close and still has a fantastic tone that adds a nice overdrive without getting muddy.
OVERALL OPINION
The Maxon OD-808 Overdrive is a great pedal and a good deal if you're looking for a transparent overdrive pedal that can still give you a good amount of crunch and drive. It's actually quite reasonably priced considering that it's a Maxon, although it is of course a reissue. I'd definitely be curious to hear it compared to the original as I've yet to have that ability. I'd recommend checking out the OD-808 if you're in the market for any sort of tube overdrive pedal.
UTILIZATION
If you have experience using other overdrive and distortion pedals, you'll feel at ease with the Maxon OD-808 Overdrive since it's got basically the same configuartion as most of the others out there. It's so simple to understand that even if you're not familiar with other pedals, you should be able to see what's going on here. The three parameters that the OD-808 has include knobs for overdrive, tone, and balance, the latter of which is just another word for overall level. No manual should be necessary as this should be super simple to understand.
SOUND QUALITY
The tone of the Maxon OD-808 Overdrive is pretty awesome to say the least. It's got that classic tube overdrive sound before, much in the same vein as the Ibanez TS-808 or other Tube Screamer pedals. This one does seem a bit more transparent to me, so it's cool to have another option for this type of pedal. I don't know how it would be compare to the original vintage version of the OD-808 as I've only used the reissue, but this pedal sure sounds great. I don't know that I prefer it to the TS-808 but it's pretty close and still has a fantastic tone that adds a nice overdrive without getting muddy.
OVERALL OPINION
The Maxon OD-808 Overdrive is a great pedal and a good deal if you're looking for a transparent overdrive pedal that can still give you a good amount of crunch and drive. It's actually quite reasonably priced considering that it's a Maxon, although it is of course a reissue. I'd definitely be curious to hear it compared to the original as I've yet to have that ability. I'd recommend checking out the OD-808 if you're in the market for any sort of tube overdrive pedal.