Maxon OD-808 Reissue

VERY easy. Just use your ears and know-how.

I think it's great, BUT I use it a very specific way. I put it front of an amp that is on the verge of overdrive and the set the level high (3:00) and the gain low (8-9:00). In this way I'm not hearing the sound of the overdrive per se, just the boost, with a little bit of welcome drive and compression. When I do this, my tone is transparent, it sounds like my amp, AND the characteristic tone is smooth and "woody." I ride my volume pot andn vary pick attack for variation in tone. If the amps breaking up already, this really pushes it into great msuical overdrive. I fillow it with other pedals for more agressive overdrive/distortion/fuzz, but I love this pedal for gentle overdrive, and organic woody tone. I never use it with the gain high and the level low, I'd rather use a smaller amp. In the studio, I used it as descibed above, this week to push an 18 watt marshall into even more hair. Sounds great, and there is no TS mid hump anywhere to be heard.
I no longer use pedals like this to take a CLEAN sound and make it OVERDRIVEN, the way I might have in the early 80's. So, used right, this pedal is a great addition. But, ok it's not a Klon. So no 10.

So far.

I play Americana, blues, alt country, fusion, rock, britpop thogh various amps (old vibrolux, tweed deluxe, marshall 18 watt, Gibson skylark). I do like this pedal as the first stop in my pedalboard. Used the way I use it, there is no loss of low end, no mid hump. It doesn't go into endless sustain and raging distortion the way I use it, but believe me, if the amp is set to break up, it'll deliver the goods, with a nice organic woody tone.

three knobs. overdrive, tone, and balance. just how i like it.

this pedal can be kinda tricky. if you're using it on an already overdriven amp, dont turn the overdrive up that much. use it as a clean boost. this way, your tone will stick out more and it does sound a bit dirtier.

also, i think it sounds best when used with an amp thats clean, but is on the verge of breaking up. kinda like when you crank a fender tube amp and when you hit the chord hard enough, you can hear a little bit of breakup. if you turn this thing on when your amp is set like that, this thing really kicks some ass.

also, it doesnt sound that great with really high output pickups. it gets compressed and its just not that great. sounds great with my tele, es335, and les paul though. i love mids so the mid "hump" that some people bitch about, is a blessing to me.

ive had it for a few years and its been through hell. its still ticking.

i love this pedal. i've gone through so many different drive pedals since i got this. i've had pedals that cost anywhere from $15 (used DS-1) to $260 (fulltone distortion pro, among a few other fulltones i've had) and this one is by far the best. i like the fact that i can play it and it doesnt sound like pedal overdrive; it sounds like the overdrive from an amp.

this pedal doesnt allow you to make mistakes. if you can't play, you'll know. it has such great tone that i dont have to worry about my sound and i can just worry about my playing.

be warned that this pedal is not for everyone. if you're into metal, this isnt for you. if you dont like the tubescreamer mid hump, its not for you. however, if you want a nice overdrive that packs a bit of crunch, this could be for you. better than the ts9, ts9dx, and the ts808ri (which is good though).

Very easy to use. If you know how to work a TS then you will know how to work this (because it is a TS). Manual is worthless...

This is my setup> '04 Gibson LP Standard > Fulltone Clyde Wah > Sweet Sound MojoVibe > Fender PT-10 tuner > Maxon AD900 Analog Delay > '89 Marshall JTM 45.

I also use a 1975 Traynor YMG-3 Guitar Mate Reverb.

Also, I use '59 Danelectro DC2 Reissue, Fender Custom Shop Tele, Gibson EDS-1275 and a '85 Fernandes Strat copy.

This pedal I find is not very good with the LP and the JTM45. It gets very muddy and highgaining, even when set properly with gain on zero and level max. Doesn't boost at all actually bogs down your tone and gets lost in the mix. (i gig regularly and the JTM45 is usually maxed out). Not nice! With the tele it cleans up a bit but still does not jive well with the JTM45. Impossible to use it with the doubleneck and the danelectro. All in all this is not a good pedal with the JTM45.

With the '75 Traynor and the Fernandes (which I believe has more tone than any fender other than the custom shop guitar) the tone is standard SRV. Dull and repeated to death by every wanna be out there. Colours your tone. Not transparent. Adds alot of mids even when you are trying to run it as transparent as possible. The tone the traynor is glassy, shimmery and clean with a wonderful breakup (this is a non master volume amp, 35w, with a greenback) when you put the od808 it loses all the shimmer. Its great if your want to forget about your amps tone and just have SRV tone.

If you are looking for SRV tone this does it better than all the other TS reissues out there but its still a TS which has inherently a very limited sound range.

Runs better through a very clean non-master volume amp without any other pedals. In the traynor it will actually boost your tone. Also, tested on a Marshall JCM 900 4102 and a JCM 900 2100 (both master volume amps) and it was not a pleasant tone... very muddy.

Seems quite sturdy. The battery knocks around in the casing. Switch is okay. Not a heavy duty switch by any measure. I am returning it on monday to try something new. so I cant say if its longterm reliable

I've dealt with Maxon concerning my AD900 and they were prompt in their reply and helpful (very to the point).

I am mostly a rock/blues player. Working on bluegrass right now (great slide and hybrib picking to be learned there). Currently play in a Led Zeppelin Tribute who gig 2x a month and practice 2x a week. I have been playing for 11 years. I am very picky about my tone and even more picky about my pedals. Have gone through tons of pedals and am still looking for the perfect boost (the fulltone Fatboost was great but i stupidly sold it!).

I didnt actually purchase the pedal. I know the owned the guitar store where i shop and he lets me borrow pedals to test them out so there is no actual loss and none of that "well i payed alot of money for this so I'd best live with it". Sat with it for over 3 hours tweaking it and didnt find anything that impressive. Played it at a show and ended up using it for one moment and then realizing it just drained my tone and shut it off; never to be used again. Its now back in the box and ready to be returned.

Dont particularly like this pedal. Never been a big fan of TubeScreamers. Colours the tone too much and turns your tone to moosh in high volume live situations where you have an amp that has fantastic breakup.

Definetely better than the Ibanez TS reissues. But that is also based on the TS9 board and not the TS808. I had the opportunity to play an original TS808 and it sounded quite close to this pedal.

A low cost faithful replica of a classic pedal. Not for me though but for you SRV fans out there this is a cost effective alternative to boutique pedals and originals.

can't find more easy working pedal then this

i may say i got impressed by the worm tone this little pedal speaks out...it's one of the best i've played til now and i think it's really cheap for the price it's been sold out.
i play indie stuff ( metal guys this pedal it's not for you for sure)
use it on a twin reverb with the cs pro9 and ad9 also from maxon and a shredmaster from marshall..i like to keep a small and simple effects chain...use spring reverb and tremolo from the amp.
i think the od 808 came to stay on my pedal board..it can go to bluesy to great sustain...but in high extreme settings it gets noizy..oh yeah..

i alredy depend on it

don't know..never dealed with them

i play for about 12 years...this pedal it's pretty good for blues lovers..or any other style where guitars like to use smoth distortion...really worm and with great sustain.
on high settings gets noizy ( but you aren't playing metal with this right??!!! it's an od pedal)
i 've choose this one cause i also have other maxon pedals and i think they are pretty good..i ordered the od 808 without even played it..and it got me so surprised...really nice.

This pedal is very easy to use, but can be tricky to get a good reorded tone with it at first. I kinda wish it had notches or markers to where you set it instead of estimating? But it is still easy to use. The manual is helpfull and has some sample settings.

I bought the Maxon and use it on a 5150 and Ibanez guitars. It can be a little noisy on some tweakings, but low noise overall. The mids really come through with this pedal whether you like them or not. Not as transparent as I thought it would be, but I like the sound! Saturates nice. The sustain is killer, but with that comes a little distortion....It is a give and take. I think most of the settings sound kinda the same. Organic sounding. Not sterile

It looks a little weak in the stomp button part....It is pretty light. I like the looks, but It wouldn't hold up if you clapped someone over the head with it...haha

I play metal. All styles. I bought this as a boost and is how I am rating this pedal. I have been playing for 18 years and have only tried a few overdrives as boosts. This one made the 5150 sound better! I love the saturation live, but don't during recordings. I love the playability, but not much headroom. I like the looks. I did test after recording test with the Digitech Bad Monkey A/B'd and I went with the Bad Monkey. So I am returning the Maxon. They sound so similar...The Bad Monkey has a more clear sound, and is trasparent to my amp. The Maxon is more organic/tube sounding, but doesn't record as hot or clear. I did what is suited for me.....It might be different with a different amplifier. I spent a lot of time trying to get a good recording tone outta the OD808, but it fell a little short....For Live applications and quick success, this would be a great pedal. My overall rating is based on my needs for this pedal and price.

Very easy to use.

Sounds a lot warmer, natural, and a little more gritty than a TS9. Its not noisy, especially for an overdrive pedal. I use it with fender tube amps. I love this pedal. It has great sustain for lead and has enough clarity so the chords are articulate.

Ive had it for a long time and i take it out all the time and its been great.

I play most styles of music. I jam out a lot so I play whatever and love it all. If it were stolen, I'd have to buy another. There's nothing bad about this pedal. It sounds better than the ts9, ts808, ts9dx, fulltone fulldrive 2, boss sd1, boss od3, boss bd2, and many other ODs i've used.

3 Controls and a decent manual to boot, very easy.

Laney LH50R Jackson DKMGT with EMG81 and 85 set. No other effects. I tune to drop C, and set the amp to about 7 on the gain. Think Killswitsh Engage type tone, turn this bady on with the overdrive set to low and it just "heats up" the whole sound, WITHOUT destroying it, like most other pedal's I have tried.

Only just got the thing, its built to last though!

Only just got

OK we place alternative metal, failry technical here and there, lots of pinched harmonics palm muting, you get the picture. The fact this pedal can be uswed for so many things says alot. Yes I have tried it as a mild overdrive i.e. into my clean channel, and while not my usual "bag" it sounds VERY VERY NICE.

But I bought the thing to drive the hell out of my amp, and still be able to hear all the detail of the sound.

JOB DONE.

Very easy to use, but does not produce the best results right away. Requires a bit of tweaking.

This pedal is pretty good. It nails that peircing cut through the mix SRV blues tone. Yet, for me, it is a bit harsh. Played with a strat it seems to be scratcing at my face. Not pleasant. With a les paul this pedal sounds better. I would guess that this is due to the observation that over all this pedal is a bit thin sounding - not enough low end , as others have noted, and too much high end, which is particularly noticable with single coils. The resulting sound, even after tweaking the tone knob, can be harsh and unpleasant. Compared to my Ful Drive II, the Maxon is less rich, less full (less bassy) and harsher. However, it has an aggressive highend that makes the full tone sound somewhat timid by comparison. Essentialy, if you want a pedal that screams, is aggressive to the point of being a little harsh, but does indeed cut through a mix like a cleaver, then this could be a good choice. One of the cool tings about this pedal is that for chord work it produces a very musical and transparent crunch that cuts through nicely. When pared with humbuckers and used for rythym the pedal sounds great.

Compared with Boss and run of the mill pedals these Maxons are a cut above. Compared with the botique market they are on the lower end in terms of build quality, stability and internal wiring. However, overall these things are solid.

If this pedal is what your after in terms of sound (see sound section of review) it represents a reasonable value. There are a thousand overdrive pedals on the market, and the Maxons are cheaper, yet more limited and less versitile. Still, some people like a pedal that is easy to use and has one basic great sound. For the money these are a good deal.

this pedal couldn't be simpler to use; 3 knobs. the manual is helpful, but there really isn't much you need to know in order to use the pedal.

I'm using a very modified squire standard stratocaster or a schecter C-1 elite into a dunlop crybaby, the maxon, a digitech ditial delay, and finally into a Fender '65 twin reverb reissue. with the strat it can get a bit noisy if the gain is turned way up (mostly due to the single coil p'ups) but all in all this pedal is pretty darn quiet. the pedal itself sounds fantastic. it can go from slighty natural tube overdrive to pleasatnly transparent crunch. I do wish it had a little bit more of a bassy punch though...even with the bass at 10 on the amp, I feel like it's missy a little something when the pedal is on (that could just be me though). I've tried this pedal right alongside an ibanez ts-9 with the maxon behind the ts-9. that sounded great for leads and I would higly suggest trying that or even better, getting 2 808's. it gives a great SRV sound (esp. through a trat of course). Also, although I've heard that the digitech X-series pedals are trash, I've managed to conjure up a great sound from the number 1 setting on my X-series delay pedal that sounds great with the 808. It's a bit like a compression/slight reverb sound; it really brings everything to life.

the footswitch looks and feels a bit weak, but I've had the pedal for almost a year know and nothing has happened to it so far. I don't have the money for a backup, so I guess I don't have a choice but to use the one pedal, but it's not a problem because it's stayed strong through every gig i've used it with.

never had to deal with them

I've been playing a lot of SRV and Hendrix of late. and this pedal absolutely nails their sounds (although having a good strat and tube amp does help a bit). I haven't been playing for too long, only about 4 or 5 years, but after purchasing this pedal I've been able to dial in great tones that I'm really pleased with and which encourage me to go out and play more and more. I've heard that the analogman modification makes this pedal even better (which is hard to believe) but I'm happy with it for now. I compared the pedal to other maxon overdrives and the ibanez ts-9 and od-9, but this one just appealed to me the most. It has a great transparent crunch sound that I can only achieve otherwise if I turn my amp to deafening volumes. I'm definetely not the best player out there...not even close, but the pedal makes so easy to dial in great tones in a flash, and works great with all my other gear. I'm just 16 now, but I have a feeling that in 10, 20, maybe even 30 years, I'll still be using this pedal or one similar to it. I just wish i had the money to buy another one.

so easy-3 knobs...

for some reason these types of pedals have become the standard-just about everyone into OD has some type of variation
on this theme on the floor(or has used one)...i like this Maxon 808 and right now am using it for a slightly overdriven sound near the same volume as the amp's clean. it does not need a 'sort of dirty' tube amp to sound decent-i have a deluxe reverb(usually with a tele) that is pretty clean under about 4 and this is a good combination.
my pedal is the american export version with the 4558d chip in there-the japan market one another fellow below was talking about supposedly has more of a mid hump than this...i would call it overall a very good sounding OD-an old ts9 i have been borrowing is not nearly as good as the maxon.

it is definitely a 'smooth' sounding pedal but not too much-a little light on the bass compared to another similar modded OD i have(but more bass than other TS pedals) ...sometimes the little drop in bass/slight mid boost thing can really work in your favor. there is one thing thats a pain: the tone knob is pretty close to the switch and it tends to not stay where you set it. i'd get another if lost...