Maxon DS-830 Distortion Master

Easy

I use a 68 twin reverb and a 71 stratocaster. It sounds terrible...too much treble, no balls, not enough distortion effect. 170 bucks is not worth it. My $55 big muff blows this thing away.

It reliabily produces crappy sound

who knows, who cares....I kept it for a week and returned it after trying for hours to make it sound good.

I play the kind of music you would use this thing for...blues, classic rock, rock...it doesn't do it for me. I don't understand this cult around overdrive pedals. I have one of the best tube amps out there and this thing still sounds crappy. Just as bad as a tube screamer in my opinion.

if you can't figure out how to work this thing then you should not have purchased it. just as easy as any boss pedal. it is not hard to get a good sound... infact... i couldnt find a bad one... i sh*t you not.

I have a weird setup... i use a marshall jcm2000 60 watt into 1960a for dirties and a 79 twin for cleans. i dirty up my marshall using clean boost and i push the power section hard. it's slightly grungier than say srv... but cleaner than say tom morello. its big full and fat... with great sparkley highs... this is my green clean channel. when i was kickin on the amber crunch channel... i lost the bottom and the fatness... i was told that this is because my amp was not relying on that much gain from the power section... i had a few other problems... there was like a half second delay when i hit the footswitch... and the amber channel was lost in the mix when i kicked it on. i decided to buy a high distorion. let me tell you... this is hands down the fattest, most transparent box in the entire world. the first time i plugged into my board my drummer just about pissed himself. you can hear every note i play in a chord... and you can still get big muff mud... by the way... i sold my big muff to get this... and it does everything i wanted the big muff to do... as well as plexi esque sounds... mesa recto chomp... and even nice semi clean boost. i will never take this off my board.

i have had maxon pedals old and new, and they are tanks... and they stay pretty too... i am confident that this will be the same... but i wont rate cuz i dont know for sure.

never dealt with them.

i play in an original band... we cover grounds like... Radiohead, Muse, Modest Mouse, Primus, Incubus, Coltrane, Miles, Chillies, Silverchair (newer), The Who, Zepplin, and I am a session guy as well, my producers will love this pedal... i cant wait for my next session... its pricey, but you will never ever hear another pedal like this.

This pedal is Sooooo great to use. You only have to step on it to get a good sound. Of course if you're looking for bad sounds you can find them, but it took me a while. There are basically four knobs, Level, Bass, Treble and Gain. Just set them all to straight up and dial in your tone.

Okay, so I use a Gibson Les Paul, an ESP Eclipse Custom and a Tokai Silver Star. I run these into a Laney VH100R with matching lead cab. My signal chain runs: Ernie Ball Volume Pedal (with tuner out), into a Budda Bud Wah, this goes into a Maxon CP-101 compressor then into the Maxon Distortion Master. After that i have a True-bypass modded Big Muff Pi USA, then an Ibanez Tube King TK999 (also Modded). I have a Loop-Master dual bypass loop for modulation and delay. I use that for my Electro Harmonix Small Stone and Electric Mistress, and my Yamaha UD stomp.

Because the Maxon is True-Bypass you get great clarity of tone when it is off (something I rely upon in my signal chain, using many effects). The sound when switched on is beautiful. So much so, that it has become an integral part of my sound. You can get everything from a creamy blues tone, to full on thrashy punk or metal sounds. Such a versatile and great sounding effect.

I would and do regularly gig it without a backup. This is a very sturdy box, and whilst not bullet-proof, would definately stand up to some rough treatment. Highly dependable!

Never dealt with.

I play rock and experimental music with a bit of blues and funk. This pedal defines my sound. It's beautiful tonal quality is really something I couldn't do without. I did a lot of research into upgrading my distortion (I used to use an "MXR Distortion +" before, but I wanted something with more definition). This was the pedal that took my breath away. It is my dream distortion! It is a little expensive, but for me it was worth it.

Thought that this pedal took some work to get the sound I was looking for. At first I just plugged it in and thought the sound would be there. The bass knob to me plays an important role in the overall sound

Play the DS-830 through a Marshall DSL and strats.The pedal is suprisingly not that noisy unless you dime the gain.The sound is a very powerful distortion.CVompared to my classic gain channel on my DSL it is more distinct.

I think the Maxon pedal is reliable. They are built great. Just look at the parts.I have a OD-820 as a backup.I use 9Vbattery's compared to the ac power supply I have.

Dealt with the company a few times. Very helpful. Website is great.The company once sent me a free rubber pad bottom for a Maxon VS pedal. They are prompt on emails.

I play 80's stuff. I cut teeth playing guitar then. The DS-830 is one distortion box that exactly does what it is supposed to.I've treid over 20 distortion boxes. This one is a keeper. Seems not to be to popular on ebay and other markets.But I like mine. Going no where

It took a little while for me to find the right settings as the controls are somewhat interactive. However, after about an hour of tweaking at home and then some fine tuning at band rehearsal, there it was!

I play a late 70's Gibson SG into a 70's Hiwatt 50 watt head and an 80's Marshall 4X12. Up until now I've gone effect free, but my band is starting to get into some heavier music and I needed some chunk. The DS830 provides me with a nice, tight, punchy bottom and more aggressive attack without the silly scooped mids so popular in the "metal pedals" that are making every band sound the samme - this is metal w/no cheese!

It seems well built - all metal, in any event. I've had it for a few months and have gigged several times and no problems, and that's saying a lot as my bands shows shows are sweaty, drunken messes and I don't take care of my gear at all!

Never dealt with them - I'm not the type to send in warranties....

My band plays old-school punk rock ala Kennedys, Ramones, Fear, Black Flag, etc. We've been playing together over 10 years and have done our own DIY albums and tours. Lately we've been updating our sound and blending some old-school metal in w/the punk - think Six Feet Under meets Sex Pistols. I needed a more brutal guitar tone and a friend of mine suggested this box - I got one and haven't looked back. If lost or stolen I'd probably wouldn't replace it, as I'm pretty lazy and spend most of my cash on booze and drugs, and this thing wasn't cheap! I love the fact that this adds the girth that my guitar needs to cover our new sound, but it still sounds like my original rig - only better!

4 knobs,gain-bass,treble and volume. It's hard to find a bad setting on this unit.I didn't get a manual with it.

I think this is a very good sounding pedal.The treble control seems to boost all the right frequencies so that it never gets too shrill. If an MXR distortion + ever sounded this sweet I'd probably still own one! From low gain to high gain it impresses me through my gear{carvin heads with Marshall 2x12 cabs w/classic lead 80 Celestions-my favorite speakers} and I'm glad I got this unit.It doesn't seem noisy although any overdrive has some.I give it a 9 and that's pretty damn good!

It seems sturdy, it's not too heavy, and I always have backups of everything anyways,although different brands-not exactly the same backups. I would try to find another if it were lost or stolen or spontaneously combusted.It's hard to put a number on this category.

Don't know yet. Haven't accessed these avenues yet.

I play classic rock and metal, and this seems to be suitable for this. It doesn't really thrash and crunch like a Boss metal zone so don't buy this for puke metal. The bass control boosted is warmer and higher like around 125 as opposed to a low 80 hz sonic wallop.I like to keep it at or below high noon.I'd love to hear the D&S 2 overdrive,and I wonder if the straight D&S is like what I already have? Well- I highly suggest trying one of these if you can. It has a cool metalic green color and it sounds sweet.Oh yeah,It's not true bypass but I don't notice a big difference.I give it a 9 overall.If I had to pay the full 200 dollars for it I'd probably give it an 8 cause there ain't no 200 dollars worth of parts and labor in it and that's just supply and demand bastards taking advantage of us. Think about it- you can go out and find a TV VCR combo now for under 200 bucks!

Setup and operation is fairly simple. There are only four knobs (Gain, Bass, Treble, and Level). The manual provides some sample settings to play around with. I have a few different setups, and it did take me a while to dial in what I was looking for. The Gain and EQ are greatly influenced by each other's settings, at least compared to a BOSS or Ibanez OD/Distortion.

I use my pedals with a couple of different setups. My signal chain is as follows: Various Am. Standard and Am. Deluxe Strats > MXR Micro AMP > BOSS CS-3 > DS830 > into either Mesa Boogie Mark I Reissue 1 x 12 Combo or TSL 100 and Marshall 1960A 4 x 12, with BOSS CE-2 (JAPAN) > Guyatone MD-3 in the effects loop. I also use the same chain including the chourus and delay in front of a POD Pro (run Direct). The DS830 itself is pretty quiet under normal circumstances. It does get noisy when the gain is cranked beyond 2:00. The distortion created with this pedal is pretty "sizzley" and "buzzy" in and of itself. It works very well as an OD/Boost/Channel switch simulation with the amp set a bit dirty. It really doesn't sound like anything/anyone in particular. It simply creates distortion. I will say that I thought that the Guitar Player review of this product was a bit misleading. You don't get a very warm response. The higher the gain, the colder the tone, I thought. You really have to work with your setup to achieve the right balance, which for me is between the 7:00 and 11:00 positions on the Gain. The EQ is well voiced and really has an impact upon the signal. If I sound wishy-washy, its because I really don't know how I feel about this product. I think I had too many expectations. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great the way I have it set up. I just don't think that it is suited for higher gain settings, as the name might suggest. Where's the truth in advertising??? Where's the LOVE??? Again, it does sound great the way I have it set up.

I've had it for less than 3 months, but it certainly has the look and feel of being indestructible. Only time will tell (no, I am not an ASIA fan. OK, maybe a closet ASIA fan. But definitely NOT a Europe fan).

I actually contacted Godlyke via e-mail with some questions when I first purchased the pedal. They responded within a couple of hours and had some very helpful hints.

I play primarily Modern/Alternative-type Rock, but more 80's style (Johnny Marr/The The/U2/Cure/Tones on Tail). I have been playing music for about twenty five years, but guitar for just under six (at least in front of anybody). I have owned/still own various BOSS OD and Tube Screamer incarinations and some Korg Modular FX (remember those? Like Atari cartriges?). This piece is made well. I'm not sure if I'd replace it if it were lost or stolen. Maybe. I like that I get a quality, good sounding signal out of the other end, I just don't like that it's not the singal that I expected. It is defintely functional, and it doesn't really color my amp, which is good. My advice would be to try it before you buy it (if you can find a dealer - I bought mine online). So, in conclusion, I like it, I hate it, it's OK. It works for me. I don't love it. I am . . . . . . . Mr. Ambiguity!!!!!!

Gain, level, bass, and treble knobs. Pretty basic. Comes with a power supply and battery.

My setup is Fender Big Apple Strat(2 Duncan humbuckers)-Boss TU2- Dunlop Crybaby-Maxon DS830-EH Small Clone-Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb reissue. I bought this pedal after reading A review of it in Guitar Player mag. They gave it a 5-star rating and the Editor's Pick Award. I find the review to be pretty accurate. This pedal is transparent. I can clearly hear my clean signal coming through with the pedal on. The pedal just adds distortion. It's a pretty basic, generic distortion, but I like that. It sounds similar to the distortion of a Rat pedal, except it never gets compressed like the Rat. Like the GP review said, it retains clarity very well. With the gain maxed, which is where I set it, you can hear each note of any chord clearly ring out. It has good sustain. The pedal is very versatile too, although I mostly use it for one setting. But you can set the distortion to 0 for what the manual calls "no distortion". What this does to my tube amp is pretty cool. It makes it sound like I've got my Deluxe Reverb turned up to about 6 on the volume. In other words, it drives the tubes a bit. Very "tubey" sounding. This is a sweet "clean boost". I play hard/alt./pop rock and I basically have two sounds; clean and distorted. The DS830 does what I want it to do. That is, molest my nice clean tone while still leaving it recognizable. There's alot of bass on hand. It's pretty tight. too. I crank the treble all the way. I find it to be too "distant" and muddy anywhere before 9 on the dial. But it sounds good maxed. Nice crisp, cutting highs. The treble knob really changes the sound alot from 9 to 10 on the dial. This made me a little uneasy, but I don't desire more treble from it either. For a transistor distortion pedal, this thing's got to be right up there with the best.

It looks pretty tough. It's a fairly large case. Not quite as big as a Big Muff, though.

Maxon has been making fine pedals for a long time. They used to make the TS808 for Ibanez. Based on their history, the real neat and professional box with manual that it came in, as well as the pedal's well-constructed appearance, and my respect for Japanese technology, I got the feeling right away this pedal was "good stuff". I think it is. It is $200, but it's worth it to me to pay double the price of another pedal to get just a little better tone. I mean my guitar was $950., amp $750. Considering I'm using this pedal to get my main distortion sound, why skimp now? Other pedals I own which this pedal has replaced are Rat, Boss DS1, Big Muff, Boss Metal Zone, Guyatone HD2. I only want one good distortion sound, so I only have one pedal in the chain(I like to keep it simple) and this pedal, all things considered, beats the others.