Maxon OD-808 Reissue

Very easy to use. Nothing fancy here. Just a straight forward overdrive good for pushing a tube amp.

I'm a big fan of Maxon pedals because they do their job without excessively coloring the guitar tone. My setup is a 1982 Ibanez AR-300 and 1996 Les Paul Studio through a Vox AC-15 (tube) and Fender Deluxe 90 (solid state). I use the OD-808 for light overdrive, a Boss SD-1 for heavier overdrive and a Marshall Shredmaster for big distortion. The OD-808 never leaves my rig.

The little metal button on top of the footswitch post popped off (it is glued on). Other than that, pretty rugged. No other problems.

Never needed to contact support.

One of my favorite pedals. Nearly identical to the Ibanez TS-9. Great for blues. Also great for any music where you want just a hint of overdrive. You will not get a heavy metal sound from this thing even if the overdrive is full on. Also great for classic rock.

very easy to use, tweek the knobs to your particular sound you desire.

american strat, noiseless pickups, into ge7 - maxon> vintage rat> boss chorus> dano echo> traynor 40 combo> marshall 212 cab ext. no noise at all. big lows, very versatile grind.

gigging 2 years, stomping on it all weekend .no problems .

no need to deal with the company.

i play all manner of electric other than metal,this pedal covers all the bases. if lost or stolen i would repurchase another. abit pricey but generally speaking you get what you pay fer. its dead quiet, tranparent, very versatile grind, excellent build quality, way more authentic sounding than most other pedals, and after playing 30 years i should know, but hey, sound and tone is subjective, youll buy what you want to hear. go take it fer atest drive , and cave as i did.

Like any other OD, but no numbers or markings whatsoever. In my opinion, that's silly.

Love it. I use it in front of my Mesa Heartbreaker head (modified by Voodoo Amps), along with an Ibanez TS-9 Reissue. The TS-9 is very good too, bu the 808 is smoother. I love tube screamers. A little noisy with single coils though, maybe noisier than my TS-9.

Don't know.

Never dealt with them.

I play rock and blues. I've been playing for 30 years, with a 10 year hiatus in the middle. Some people love tube screamers, others hate them. I guess some don't care one way or the other. If you like 'em, this is the one. The correct 808 chip. I AB's against an MJM Blues Devil for hours. That pedal costs $30 more and there's really no difference. When I could hear a difference, I preferred the Maxon. So I returned the MJM. This is a great tube screamer.

Cmon folks it has three knobs.

Maxon is the shit! Anyone who says their crappy cold-solder joint Menatone pedals are better than this is an idiot. Theres no noise, just clear gain that sounds like a tube amp thats been turned up full. Very convincing tube tone. The drive knob has a good range and a very smooth tapered response.

Built small butt tuff.

Excellent.

Throw away your cheesy Menatone pedals because Maxon is the shit. I play Strats and Pauls into tube amps.

Very easy to use --- tone, output level, and drive controls.

I tried this pedal thru my 90's strat w/Kinman Avn-56's and an Avn-59 in the bridge -- straight into a Carvin BelAir or a '69 Super Reverb (w/fixed-bias circuit). Didn't care much for the clean boost (thin sounding, and I couldn't dial in enough bass w/out losing definition), slight overdrive was better, but still sounded thin. Moderate-strong overdrive settings (2-3 o'clock) bring out the best in this pedal, although I thought the overdrive/distortion sounded a little too "linear" - I like it to throb, swirl, and swell a bit (ala Joe Walsh's tone on the original James Gang's Funk#49).

I didn't own it long enough to really opine, but it was magnitudes lighter than comparable BOSS and Ibanez products --- just didn't appear to be very sturdy in that regard.

N/A

This pedal has a couple of really nice sweet spots on it, particularly if you're into the southern-fried blues-rock sound. The sustain gets a nice harmonic-like squeal going, and it works equally well on chords or single notes. But overall it lacked that natural, musical sounding swirl that I associate with pro-level overdriven tones. I compared it to a Budda Phatman, a Roland GP-8 (the OD and Dist modules), Keeley-modded TS-9 (std mod), and an Analogman-modded BOSS DS-1 (pro mod). I kept the TS-9 and DS-1 in my chain, am keeping the Budda for unique situations (but it primarily rests in its box), and kept the GP-8 in the chain for its chorus and delay only. I sold the OD808 on E-bay. I've been playing for 20+ years.

This is super easy to use. Just turn the knobs until you get something you like. No manual needed. Also, really no review needed (I'm bored) as everybody and their brother has used one of these (i.e. Ibanez, which Maxon made. No secret there)over the last 20 years or so. If you've never seen one (if could happen) here's the layout of it...

1. Overdrive (volume)
2. Balance (gain)
3. Tone
4. Footswitch
5. Red LED
6. 9 volt jack

That's pretty much it, save for the in and out 1/4 in jacks.

This is what it is. An overdrive. I use it a few different ways, to kick an already cookin' amp in the ass, as a clean boost of sorts, and to add some grit to the clean channel, or as a lead boost. As long as you understand it's a OVERDRIVE and not a Metalzone or whatever, you'll be fine. Just don't plan on a wall of distortion with this into your clean channel.

Right now I'm pretty much using it with a VHT Pittbull 45 2-10 combo, or a old 1966 Gibson 4-10 Ranger. The Ranger is basicly a copy of a Fender Super, with more bottom end, and a slightly darker tone. The OD808 works really good with it, for that 'classic' 70s rock tone. This is really true when you turn it up a bit.

It also works really good with the VHT. I use it a number of different ways with that amp. It will make a noisy amp noisier (as will any pedal with gain) but it's really not bad as it's so mild.

For the most part, I play Gibson Les Pauls with buckers, and I don't have a problem with it getting muddy, UNLESS it's dimed. Even then it's still more transparent then my other OD/Distortion boxes.

I STILL like it better then my Boss SD-1. The SD-1 isn't a bad pedal, and has more gain, but the Maxon just seems to be more transparent to me. And it works better with the 2 amps above. The SD-1 does sound better with a tranny amp though, the OD808 just don't seem to work well with any of my tranny amps, but tube amps, it shines.

I expect no problems with it, and havn't had any. I've got several really (20 years plus) old Maxon built Ibanez pedals that are still going strong. I have no reason to expect any with the new Maxon stuff.

Never contacted Maxon, Ibanez is another story...

I've been using Tube Screamers forever, and this is the best one I've had so far. I plan on buying several more Maxon pedals to replace some of my Ibanez stuff that has gotten valueable over the years. It only gets an 8 as I feel Maxon is pretty expensive for basicly imported mass produced pedals. The do what they do well though. No complaints there.

It's an overdrive pedal, it's very easy to understand

I worked in a Hollywood Vintage Guitar store for a few months. I had hours everyday to try everything in the store. This is the best Tubescreamer. It sounds slightly more transparent/hollow than the original or reissue SD9's. ( I am aware that it's a slightly modded re-issue of an 808)

It's well built. I have no issues with its construction.

I have not had cause to contact Maxon

I play rock'n'roll. I like The Stooges, Hendrix, mainly '60's and '70's. I am lucky to own and play lots of classic tube amps, several British half and full stacks, and a nice old Super Reverb. This pedal suits some situations and not others. I don't think that you ever get versatile AND great in the same musical product. This is a great Tubescreamer. The best that I've found.

Easy to use if you know how to really play the guitar, and not just bang on the thing.

This pedal made history. It sounds like a tube amp- you lose a little bass response, but your ear adjusts, and the tone is very convincing, very wet sounding, with just the right amount of compression and sustain- sounds like a classic 1970's rock/southern rock pedal. Maxon is the shit!

Built small and tuff.

Excellent support here in the U.S.

I wail on guitar. Im damn good and not afraid to let you know that. Been playing 25 years and counting, own three guitars that are quite expensive mind you, and too many effects pedals to list, so I wont bore you any further but will say this- Maxon is the shit! Gotta go now. Dig the Banzai Cold Fusion too.

Easy to get good sound from...of course this depends on what you're using this pedal for...see below - sound quality.

This is an overdrive pedal, not a disto-metal-thrash-fuzz pedal. If you're looking for OTT gain, look elsewhere.
If you're looking for warm sounding, tube-like break up of signal, this is your pedal.
Am not a connoisseur of tone but I know what I like.
A/B'ed this with the ibanez TS9 and could dialled them up so that the two sounded just about identical but the OD 808 still edged slightly ahead in terms of smoothness.

Looks sturdy enough but unscrewing the base of the change batteries can be a pain if you don't have a screw driver handy.

No dealings.

This is a great pedal to stick in front of your set up to give it an extra boost. Unfortunately, this pedal will only really shine if you use it with a tube amp. The response to the dynamics of your playing will be enhanced. You can use a solid state amp, but then you'll wonder what the fuss is about with this pedal.

Very easy - cannot be easier ! 3 knobs :-)

The positive reviewers below are all correct:
this is THE tubescreamer legendary 808 circuit w less noise !

I have all the other very best pedals in the world: Klon Centaur,
Fulltone Fulldrive II, Ibanez TC-9, H & K Tubefactor, Baby Blue ...
and I tested them all through my Prosonic and my fabulous
brand new light (35lbs) Ashdown Peacemaker 40 all
tube sweet class A 30W, 3 channel 112 combo (see the review
as this is the best light all tube 3 channel combo <$700)
and what can I say about this pedal is simple :

I always use Maxon OD-808 in my band's live gigs
and helps me with SRV overdrive or singing Santana tone ...

Actually a mariage of Maxon OD808 with class A tube amp as
in Peacemaker (designer Mark Gooday from Ashdown is a 21st century genious - new Ranal Smith from UK this time )
is mariage in heaven ... but it works great also with fender Blues
Junior or Laney LC15R all tube class AB amps ...

I play all my gigs with it and never had a problem ...

Never need them

I play since 1960 (remember Duan Eddy instrumentals ?)
and I buy all the very best gear on the Planet:

Great LP or Strat through the VHT Valvulator 1 power-supply
and then into Maxon OD808 and finally through the
Ayron technologies' S & Slim pedal into the Ashdown
Peacemaker 40 is THE VERY BEST combination
that your money can buy (and you can carry those as
these are the lightest top units in the business).

OD808 is truly THE original, yet improved tubescreamer
so if you care about your tone and want to improve
the breaking of your tube sound - just buy one !