Maxon OD-808 Overdrive Reissue

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.

The Maxon OD808 features the few characteristics standard to a typical ‘tubescreamer’ overdrive, including

-1 overdrive knob (gain)
-1 balance knob (level)
-1 tone knob
-guitar in and out to amplifiers
-powered by either 9V battery or AC adapter
-JRC4558 IC-based circuit as found in the original Ibanez TS808 tube screamers


UTILIZATION

Using the Maxon OD808 is quite simple. Depending on your settings, I can be used as a stand alone overdrive over a clean sound, or a boost over an already dirty sound of an amplifier. Hook it up, turn it on, and go!

SOUND QUALITY

The Maxon OD808 is easily my favorite of the tubescreamer clones. On its own, it produces a nice and warm overdrive, and can produce a decent amount of crunch even on its own. My favorite application for it is using it as a boost over an already overdrive channel. Setting wise, this is gain off, level up (anywhere between noon and full on depending on the amp), and tone to taste. It pairs amazingly with the gain structure of my Mesa Boogie amplifiers. When running it with a Rectifier, for example, I boost for a much tighter and more response rhythm sound. The tone becomes much crisper and clearer, as the pedal brings out a little more of the midrange, and cuts some lows, which is EQ curve that definitely helps a rectifier. With my Mark IV, I love boosting the lead channel for an amazing smooth and saturated solo tone that just screams. A third application altogether is to boost a medium gain sound for an alternate high gain sound. Whatever the use, the Maxon OD808 delivers beautifully. A final plus for the pedal, the Maxon adds very little noise to my signal path when boosting, which was a problem with some other pedals I had tried before this one.

OVERALL OPINION

This pedal is one that every guitarist should own for an additional texture of gain when needed. It is a great tool for adding that little extra ‘something’ to your base sound.

Maxon has always been working on conjunction with Ibanez when it came to producing overdrives. Whether it's a partnership or rivalry, I'm not exactly sure; I'm not quite up to par on the history between the two companies. However, they both build very similar overdrive pedals, even down to using the same components. The OD808 is a TS808 variant, but it's not exactly the same as the OD808. For one, it's actually a TS10 clone, but I'll get to that a bit later in the review.

UTILIZATION

Maxon housing are pretty much bullet proof. In fact, I like these housings more than the Boss housings. One thing worth noting is that, despite the mechanical switch, this is not true bypass. This pedal does suck a little bit of tone when bypassed. Unfortunately, due to the way everything is wired, making this true bypass isn't a task for the novice. If you're not completely comfortable with a soldering iron, I recommend leaving that to a professional. Another thing I'm not a huge fan of is that there is no LED indicator. Aside from that, it's pretty much the same as any other pedal.

SOUND QUALITY

Like I said above, this is actually a TS10 circuit. That doesn't mean it sounds bad; it just sounds a touch different. I find them to be a little more compressed than the TS808. That actually leads to a better metal sound, IMO, As a result, this pedal is used quite a bit by heavy metal bands such as The Absence, Killswitch Engage, Unearth and so on. Aside from it sucking a little tone when bypassed, the pedal is nearly perfect. A few people offer mods for this pedal, but I'm sure you'll be happy with it in stock form.

OVERALL OPINION

If you're looking for a good overdrive pedal, I recommend checking this out. These things are very reliable, sound great and are fairly easy to come by. About the only downside is the price. They're a little more expensive than something like a Boss SD-1 or an Ibanez TS-7, but if you're not looking to modify a pedal, I recommend buying this. This was my main overdrive before I started getting into pedal modding.