Maxon OD-808 Reissue

Very easy to use- three knobs control volume, tone, and drive.

Sounds like a tube amp- very convincing tone. The reviewer below who trashes this pedal in favor of a cheap throw-away overdrive is completely clueless and downright incorrect as this pedal is a real beauty- its built well too with quality parts. The reason the output section of the re-issue isnt identical to the 25 year-old original 808 pedal is because maxon has IMPROVED the design to eliminate static-electric build up which caused noise- so the re-issued pedal is quieter than the original. The sound is very clear, smooth wth lots of sustain.

No back-up needed.

Very fast responses to e-mail.

Been playing for 20 years, I use this pedal with a 1989 Gibson Les Paul Standard and the new Marshall AVT 50 watt amp.

Great pedal, so ignore the bad reviewers who have a bad axe to grind.

Very simple

Not bad, but a Nobels ODR-1 is WAY warmer and smoother--Kicks this
things sorry little ass. The 808 is more hype than anything. The ODR-1 is $40.00 new.

N/a

N/a

I've had a least 7-8 tubescreamers over the years. If you get a good
one matched up with the right amp they're pretty usable. But this
new highly hyped up Tubescreamer/808 craze is just lame! Most of you fools just want an easy definitive way of buying some cool. As if
having one of these units gives you legendary tone or something. Open
your ears, there are sooo many creative options, many much better
than this. In this day of the ADD-USA generation the "be your self"
motto of the good old days has been replaced with the brain washed
easy to manipulate putty head aproach "everyone be the same"
Just listen to the radio? Hmmm?
Look a little deaper, use your own opinion, it dosen't cost more,
many time less to find a unique tone. The white boy with a Strat and
a tubescreamer is sooo tired!

Very easy to use : three knobs --> Overdrive, Tone and Balance
You can't get a bad sound out of this thing. It's not really cheap, but you will not be disappointed ... worth every dollar !

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A TS-808, DON'T LOOK ANY FURTHER, BUY A MAXON OD-808 AT +/- 140 $. THIS IS A PERFECT COPY OF THE IBANEZ TS-808.

This pedal has EXACTLY the same circuit, resistors and opamp (JRC4558D) as the original and legendary Ibanez TS-808. Maxon produced the TS-808 pedals for Ibanez in the early years ... but now they came with their own version of the TS-808, it's called the Maxon OD-808 and it is exactly the same as a real TS-808, only 1/4 of the price you pay today for a vintage TS-808 (!), and of course it doesn't look like a TS-808. Why is everybody giving 500 $ or more for a vintage TS-808 ... why is everybody doing 808-mod's on their TS-9 ??? Probably because they never heard of Maxon ...
I use my Maxon together with an SRV Strat, a Vox Wah, a TS-9/808 and a Fender Super Reverb '65 Re-issue (with Svetlana tubes).
The Maxon and the TS-9/808 boosting each other gives me perfect SRV Tones, while the BD-2 provides me some nasty and growling overdrive/distortion tones.
The Maxon should NOT be used with solid state amps, it was made for being used with (good) tube amps. Much of it's quality will be lost when placed before a SS amp.
The pedal isn't noisy at all.
It IS a TS-808 ... the most sought after pedal in history !!!

I have it for 2 weeks now. Can't say if it is reliable, but it seems a rock-solid box. Weighs less than my Ibanez TS-9/808.

Never had to deal with Maxon, only when buying the pedal. I'm living in Belgium and received my pedal (from the States) 2 weeks later. It was well-packed and fast delivered !!! Good and fast service ...
It came in a black box with a green line on it, just the same as the box of my Ibanez TS-9.

I always wanted to buy a TS-808 ... until I found the MAXON OD-808.
A friend of mine convinced me to buy one instead of a TS-808 at 1/4 of the price of a real TS-808. I didn't believe it would sound the same as a real TS-808 ... until I plugged it in.
I was nailed with my feet to the ground !!!!!!!
This pedal is the Holy Grail for any blues player, especially when you are into SRV like me ...
Buy one now because these pedals are going to become LEGENDARY !!!

Please feel free to mail me if you have any further questions about the Maxon OD-808

3-knobs. Balance, overdrive, and tone. Would be easier if it came with a little trained monkey to turn the knobs for me on command.

Smooooooooooooooth. Did I say smooth? I like it alot. I've had mine for over a year now and I've yet to be dissapointed with it. I don't know why anyone would want to mod one of these unless they're going to use it on bass or something. To me, it sounds perfect. It's like giving my amp an instant case of the blues (in a good way, of course). I use this for mainly 2 things: 1.By itself, as an awesome stand-alone overdrive for a good tube amp to get those perfect blues tones and 2. With any combination of many effects to dirty up or overdrive other distortion and fuzz pedals. It's also the only OD I've tried that sounds really great before a wah. This thing's perfect for me and I see no reason to pay any more for any of the high-dollar ODs that seem to be the rage these days.

Looks kosher to me!

Don't know.

I play almost every kind of music and this thing hasn't failed me yet. If lost or stolen I'd definitely get another but, I might try the new Maxon 9 series because I think it's the same circuit but with true bypass. I like the way this one looks better, though. I should also add that this thing is very clear and transparent and the noise it does have is a good kind of noise. I love the way the articulation of the attack comes through on this and I'll even go as far as to say that I play slightly better with this OD than others because of the way I can hear myself play and my guitar's tone through it.

Dead easuy: 3 knobs :-)

I have all those famous overdrives including tube-based
and this is the most satisfying: better than my TS9 !

The gentleman below me must have had a faulty unit:
I play since 1962 and I have tried any top gear and this
is as good as it gets - my guitars keep the character
and I can sing if I have to even with this overdrive :-)

Many concerts - no problem:

But I also use the VHT Valvulator 1 - top secret !

Do not need it.

I would buy another one immediately.

I have all the very best gear in the world (>$20'000)
and this is the best tubescreamer there is, period.

It overdrives or sings and respects your guitar sound.

Go and buy one.

Easy to use.

I don't even feel inclined to list all my gear and experiences, 'cause this pedal is too overpriced and sounds only marginally better,if that, than a tubescreamer. Let's face it...Maxon is just cashing in on the market. This pedal isn't AT ALL worth it. The parts aren't very good, the sound isn't good(to me), it's overpriced(I must stress that) and there are just too many better sounding/better build quality tubescreamer types out there. Go buy an MJM Blues Devil or even a Sparkle Drive or Fulldrive 2. The OD808 is harsh and uninspiring, to say the least. Try one at a store before you buy!!!

Who cares, if it sounds bad?

Nah...

Yuk!! Sorry the review isn't very conclusive, but the pedal is THAT uninspiring!

There really isn't much to these controls. Basically Drive, Tone, and what they call "Balance" which is your Level control. The tone know seems a bit small...You have to, have to, have to, compare this with other Tubescreamers etc. to make sure it is voiced right for you-

My setup : Danelectro U3 into Maxon CP101 Compressor or MXR dynacomp>Ibanez TS-9 reissue (or Maxon OD808)>Boss NS-2 Noise supressor>Fender Princeton Chorus Amp>Voodoo Lab Tremolo and Akai Headrush delay in effects loop.I'll admit that I'm a little lost on the hype here. I have an un-modded TS9 reissue that I think sounds great, of course the idea that it may sound better led me to purchase the OD808. I've spent hours a/b ing them and I decided to stick with the TS9. These boxes sounded almost identical (almost) the OD808 was a little smoother, but seemed to lack that midrangey-bite that the TS9 has. The tone controls are also voiced very differently on these two pedals, I found the tone control on the OD808 too harsh and trebley,(I can't believe I just said that!) whereas the tone control on the TS9 adds alot of midrange to my Dano which really makes it sound "hollow" which of course, it is! I don't know, The OD808 sounds really good-I can almost clone my TS9 sound on the OD808 except for the midrange. The TS9 cannot clone the OD808 sound however because the drive is smoother-but one man's smoothness is another mans "lack of definition" and that's why I decided to stick with the TS9. Both pedals come ALIVE when you put a compressor in front of them, especioally Maxon's CP101 which is phenomenally clean,but maybe the fact that I use a solid state amp and rely on the pedal for my main source of overdrive has caused me to stay with my un-modded TS9. I'm sending this one back, for the money- I'd rather have another TS9 and fifty bucks in my pocket. The OD808 does sound REALLY good however, just not enough to woo me away from my TS9.

The box is well constructed and the switch is probably the nicest I've come accross. The box is aluminum and lighter than an MXR box which is heavy!!I never worry about "backups" Strings, tubes, fuses, even a second guitar maybe, sure-but stompboxes? no-if it dies then hell, it must be rock-n-roll! 13 years on club circut, never seen one die of any brand/make/model. Bad switch once on old Ibanez Flanger...

Never tried- Good warranty documentation in box.

I've been playing clubs for more than 13 years, I am primarilly a bassist, but I have played guitar for much longer than bass and I have owned/played a ton of gear. First distortion box was MXR Distortion+ circa 1985 2000 series, I was 15 and loaned it out, it was stolen. (Sigh) Anyway- This is a great overdrive pedal that is well constructed and seems to have alot of "vintage credibility" but it wasn't quite voiced right for me. There are alot of recipies for great tone, and the TS9, even in it's unmodified reissue state sounds pretty damn good. If this is what vintage 808's sound like, then maybe I don't need all that vintage stuff- I've found that there is a huge difference between getting vintage tone and having vintage gear, "vintage" is thrown around alot these days and is applied to gear that wasn't that great in it's own time. I think this pedal should cost 100.00 not 135.00, it is a great sounding overdrive, but I'm going to give the VOodoo Lab Sparkle Drive a go against the TS9 and see where I stand. I'm not 100% satisfied with the TS9 either, but it has a certain sound- go to legendarytones.com for a shootout between these two pedals.

Real easy plug and play type.

Great sounding smooth sounding overdrive at all the settings you can?t really dial in a bad sound. Responds excellent to my volume and tone on my dearmond pick ups which can be quite finicky with distortion & overdrives, Sounds good with solid-state amps too which is a plus. A good all around overdrive that kicks ass. Very smooth and warm with tube or solid-state amps.

Three knobs - Balance(volume), Tone and Overdrive level. The tone control has a wide range, better than a TS-9. Small red LED and the footswitch is the easy switching kind not the harder to push in ones like on the MXR pedals. Mine is brand new and Made in Japan.

OK forgot about TS-9 Mods that everyone is doing now, spending way too much for an orginal TS808 which you will just end up looking at and any other clone that is Tube Screamer like. I have owned a TS-9, Fulltone FD2, SD-1, a Line 6 DM4 and many other OD pedals. This is the best! It's quiet and just smoother than a TS-9 and also has more of a volume boost. It's basically a TS808 made from the same company that manufactured the TS808 originally. Don't waste your time with anything else, this is it the BEST OVERDRIVE PEDAL AROUND!

Just got it, no problems yet.

The best, a must for any serious guitarist.

Most of the reviews here talk about how easy this pedal is to use. To get the tones I was looking for took some tweaking. I wouldn't consider this a plug and play type pedal... if that is what you are looking for you might do well to look at something else. If not, the time spent tweaking the guitar/pedal/amp settings is WELL worth it... this pedal sounds GOOD.

Im running a Fender Stratocaster into a Crybaby and the Maxon OD-808. Im using a Peavey Delta Blues 210 amp.

I love this pedal. By varying my guitar/OD-808/amp settings I can go from CLEAN CLEAN to breaking up to full on, feeding back, out of control noise. My favorite uses for this pedal though are to push the clean channel harder to break up early or boost the distortion channel to get a little nastier sound. You can really play with the volume knob on your guitar to get a wide range of tones from one setting though. You can set it nasty, then back off the guitar's volume to clean it up as necessary. If you play blues or classic rock I can't imagine a better overdrive pedal. Yes, the classic tones that are associated with TS-9s and TS-808s are there... and there are tons of other tones to be found as well. One thing to keep in mind... I have heard that these pedals (and others) don't perform nearly as well with solid-state amps. Tubes are where it's at!

I baby my gear, so I don't think gigging with this pedal would be a problem for me. If you jump up and down on it like some sort of freak I'm sure you could manage to break it eventually. Kids, take care of your gear and it will last you a long time and provide a lot of enjoyment. Extra 9-volts are never a bad idea where pedals are concerned, although this one doesn't seem to hard on batteries.

I've never dealth with Maxon... I have no earthly idea what their customer support is like. I guess Godlyke is the US distributor for Maxon, Guyatone, and Bixonic... I assume they would be the people to talk to if you ever had a problem. I'd try my local music store first, they have always taken care of me.

I've been playing for around 15 years. I've owned a bunch of gear, some good... and some bad. This is the best pedal I've ever owned. Play one yourself, you just might fall in love too. I almost bought a TS-9 modded to TS-808 specs... but this Maxon OD-808 was so sweet I had to have it. It will always be in front of my amp.