Maxon OD-820

Easy to use, three knobs, Drive, Tone, Level.

In reading some of the previous reviews, I really wonder what these guys who criticize this pedal were hearing. I think it's a top notch overdrive, and competes with the best pedals in the business, including the MSD Bonnie Blue and the Tech 21 California. It provides a great boost to your amp, and can also be used for direct recording.

I had an original Tube Screamer back in the early 1980s, and this pedal is actually better than the original. I like the fact that it boosts the 9 volt signal to 18 volts.

So far so good.

Haven't needed any customer support.

Used it to boost a Germino Lead 55 and a Bogner Shiva, both sounded superb with this pedal.

Easy to use, three button controls a la every other dirt box out there.

If anything, I would grumble that I wish it had separate treble and bass controls, as a single tone control just seems too lo-fi for such an otherwise great pedal. To illustrate, the B. K. Butler tube driver comes in a three knob flavor that's 'good,' or a four knob flavor that's so 'gerat' that Eric Johnson used it. I wish I had a little more control.

Also, the manual doesn't explain where or how the unit goes from it's low grunt 'boost' mode into it's Tube Screamer, overdrive mode. Somewhere around 8 o'clock on the dial there's a change, and below that point sounds more like a transparent boost, but immediately after that things change. The site has some sample tones, but I hate them. They don't sound like the way I use this pedal. Too SRV and rock oriented, and there might be better pedals for that kind of music. The OD-820 excels in other areas.

I have been looking for a ZZ Top, David Grissom, old Buddy Guy type overdrive / boost pedal, something that give me a little more juice without taking over my rig, and I found it in the OD-820. It adds meat, potatoes and booze harmonic thickness to the mix. Sort of like Tom Jones to an Tom Waits, but maybe not even that dramatic. In fact, this can be a VERY subtle effect, which is not something all of them can say--most OD boxes are not this transparent. I love it.

I play a Hamer Special P-90 loaded with Fralins into the OD-820, into a Tweed Deluxe clone with Weber P-12Q. Sometimes I jumpter the OD-820 between the channels and plug the guitar straight into the amp. I find it is a bit noisy on the higher gain settings, but at that level nobody at the club gives a damn.

I can depend on this pedal, and I would gig without a backup. It has a thick metal housing and a sturdy feel.

No idea.

I play blues, trashy, low rent jazz, alt-country, and some classic rock. This pedal is extremely versatile for these styles. I love the way it adds just a little more soul to the tone, without changing the essential character. Since it's not a terrific gain pedal, IMO, it will not make rockers or metal players happy, except perhaps for a crunch channel booster for chording.

I've been playing for 20 years, and I had just about every different fuzz and drive box out there up until ten years ago. At that point I started buying Fulltone gear and stopped buying anything else, so I don't know about the competition these days. But I dropped the Fulltone stuff also, and all of my other effects, and I am very happy with just the OD-820. But then again, I have a simple rig and want to keep it that way. I prefer it over the Fulldrive, FWIW, because the Fulldrive didn't do low gain as well and lost low end, and the high gain channel was way too much for me.

This pedal definitely helps the music, and doesn't get in the way.

Easy as it gets with any 3 knobbed overdrive.

I was quite disappointed with the sound of this unit, especially since I own and love the Maxon OD808. I thought the "Pro" would afford me the same wonderful tone with even more gain. To me, it's a completely different pedal, that tone-wise, pales in comparison to the OD808. The "engage" switch makes a horribly loud "click" through my amp, which is unforgiveable for a unit of it's retail price. I've been playing pedals since they're inception in the 60's. It's not a piece of junk mind you, but if you're looking for the Holy Grail of overdrives, the one I've found is called the Cusack Screamer. Yeah, baby!!!

Can't depend on it with that click through my amp every time I step on it.

I've been a rocker since the 60's man. Again, it's not a bad pedal, it's just that there are superior ones to be had instead. I wish it did what I had hoped, simply given me more gain in the very nice enclosure it's housed in. And of course, a silent switch for God's sake.

Three knobs, standard tubescreamer setup.

Amazing sound. I've owned a TS-9, OD-9, and Fulltone OCD, and this really my favorite. The sound is very tubescreamer-esque, just not thin/brittle. Plenty of gain in the pedal, really the best OD I've used.

It seems to be built sturdy, I've only had it for a couple weeks.

An absolute must for tubescreamer lovers. You can find a great price for them in the used market.

About as simple as it gets. Found that the manual's suggested setting provided a good jumping off point too.

I play a 52 Reissued Tele > Maxon Compressor > Xotic BB Preamp > Maxon OD 820 > Boss CE-2 Chorus > Flip Vintage Tremolo > Maxon AD-9 Analog Delay. Amp wise I use either a Reissued Fender 59 Bassman or an early 80's Marshall JCM 800 2x12 Combo. As you can probably tell I'm a bit of a Maxon fan considering half of my pedals are manufactured by them. The OD 820 was my first introduction to Maxon. I use it to fatten up and add bite to my amp which I usually run clean. I recommend this pedal for that type of sound/application. When the drive is set at about 8 or 9 o'clock you get a smooth overdrive that is fairly transparent. With a tele it gets a good tube screamer type sound - a lot of midrange and classy drive. You can, and I have, run the pedal full throdle but I don't recommend doing that. The pedal looses it's character, gets a little noisy and less transparent. But for a classic overdrive sound you can't beat it.

The only complaint I have is that one of the pots is a little scrachy. Don't really know if I can fault Maxon for that considering the dives I usually play in. Oh, and I have spilt a beer or two on it. Okay, I'll be honest, I don't take the best care of my stuff all the time. So yeah, I guess it's pretty reliable. Maybe not as solid as the original or reissued Maxon pedals - those suckers are little tanks. But I'm sure you could drop it down a few flights of stairs and not have any problems.

Never had to deal with them.

I play in what I'd call a pop rock band. We cover a broad range of styles and have songs that sound like The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, The Who, Guided By Voices and Sloan to name a few. This pedal fits in nicely. Like I've been saying it has a classic overdrive sound. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who isn't somewhat seasoned as a guitarist - chances are they'll hate this pedal since it doesn't hide your playing ability. It's an honest overdrive. When I bought this pedal I found out the hard way that I'd been masking my ability behind effect pedals that were nowhere near as transparent as this one. I've always wanted to have the tone that this pedal has and I could hear it when I tried it in the store. Since I started using it I've had to become a better guitar player. Hope that makes sense. If it doesn't then you probably shouldn't buy this pedal either. But if you want a real classic and natural overdrive sound then give it a try. The price isn't all that bad either.

This unit has the basic Tube Screamer controls: Drive, Tone and gain. It also has true bypass switching, which is nice. The manual has some suggested settings and can be helpful. Larger than a Tube Screamer for better noise reduction.

I'm always looking a better overdrive that sounds even more transperent and more vintage Fender sounding than the last one I've owned. Though this is a well-constructed and nice pedal, I can't say it's as transperent as my Reverend Drivetrain II. When compared to a regular Tube Screamer, it sounds very similar with just a little more low end and a little less midrange. It still has a big midrange hump when compared to the Reverend and doesn't have as good low-end. If you use it going into an already mildly overdriven amp, it will give you that singing sustain and crunch Tube Screamers are known for. With that said, you should save $100 and just get a Tube Screamer since the sound is nearly identical.

Seems well-constructed.

I play rockabilly and blues. This pedal is better than some, but not as good as others for transperent, mild "Fendery" overdrive. If you play straight rock, this may be just the ticket since the mid hump will give you that singing "honky" lead sound. But if you just want the sound of your Fender-type amp with a little more "hair" I'd try something else (Reverend, Sparkle Drive, etc.).

Very simple to use...provided the gain is used wisely, like in the first 35%...after that the character of the pedal gets lost...not that the Maxon is not useful wacked up...its just not as good. The manual gives a rough guide...those sort of settings depend on the amp and pick-ups...with the settings we'll all have different results.
Mines bog standard out the box...found on Ebay...should have got the power supply with it...wrong supplys = hum as usual. Sorted now...so all nice and easy.

Mines been going thru a soldano Atomic 16..wih either a strat or my 69 Les paul Goldtop. i prefer the with the Fender..often as a boost and second lead sound to te soldano itself.In front of it , i like to have a Guytone
To-2 overdrive ( that a class pedal! ).
The Maxon is pretty quiet, but then i've been i the habit of using little of its gain to get what i want...and here i agree with the guys whom talk about the subtle use of this pedal.The range of voicings that come out of the Maxon are truly staggering...its such a responsive to touch, as it were device...i've often had to listen twice to recordings to believe the lush,creamy and sophisticated toneof this thing. I did'nt really expect the goodies...being sed to stuff feeling chunky and industrial f its good. The maxon is a bit flimsy, but its got the tones i want...i prefer it to my V-twin...not for all uses, but for many...must be those sacred chips.
The maxon, again depending on the amp/pup thang...has got a thousand blues/rock sounds nailed...i would not relate what it does that close to the trad screamer sound...its not as liquidy...but thats why its good with the Atomic...some serious interaction here. The Maxons undoubted transparency and beautiful moodiness its greatest asset, i mean that this is the best pedal i've used for those slow/quiet lead breaks..............i'll stomp elsewhere for hairy stuff..maybe!...but this ones got the sound of tragic bad blooze nuz for those times when you just have pay what you feel...and it wont sound weak ever for this, with the gain down low. I like it often with the volume low too...but tone up. I'm not an out and out moody player, but when the Maxon does its thing, its the saddest and outright meloncholy sound on the planet.I'm sure theres more...but i use other stuff for that...and the Maxon gets to do the trippy arsed my landlords gonna eat my babies over the rent bits. If this took a year...its a fantastic achievement by maxon. Its own voice, and so much sheer clarity of the amazing soundz this puts out.A real players pedal.

Totally reliable but i'd always have back-up.

No idea here not needed them.i'd not upgrade it no way...thats pointless. I would never be without it priceless.

I guess its good for a range of overdrive needs.I've been playing 20 years...i'd get another. I hate nothing about it...i love its amazing range of texture.Best feature, chameleon like tones.
Compared to others, they do their thing, and the Maxon does.I choose it for its heart breakin "crying" sound. unique! Could be made like the TO-2...in a heavy box with mains to be an all conquoring classic...its legion of admires would pay.
Its inspiring for serious blues players...those tone's can sound like its time to pray to the lord!...this pedals bad news for stuff thats got no soul.I feel sorry for the competition.

Pretty simple, with drive tone and level controls.

I have a Menatone Red Snapper which I use as my light crunch/OD pedal. It has a very natural open sound and has been the King of my board for a couple of years. Having said that I'm always looing for something better, and that's why I tried out the OD820. I saw the 820 as a sort of tweaked Tubescreamer and hoped it could give the Red Snapper a run for it's money. While good, I'll keep the Menatone. The 820 is a good pedal, but it just doesn't have that open crunchiness I want.

Didn't have it very long.

A good pedal that's an improvement over the TS, but not as nice as the menatone. Well built, but a little large for my taste.

Much the same as any other OD pedal out there. Drive, tone & level. Don't get much easier than that I guess. Getting a decent overdrive sound is painless & quick. The manual gave some suggested settings but we all know the best way to figure it out is to just start twisting knobs 'till we find what we like.

First off, let me tell you that I only had this pedal for 1 day because of reasons mentioned and this is my first experience with Maxon products so all of you potential buyers of this pedal please keep that in mind. (YMMV) The pedal itself has a nice tonal quality to it with fairly warm tubelike drive that remains nice & mellow even when the drive knob is cranked high. It does have some noise but i considered it very acceptable since I only could hear it when I wasn't playing. I used an american strat & a Super Reverb reissue with this pedal and George L's cable. However, one of the reasons I didn't keep this pedal is because I also have a Sparkle Drive pedal modded by Robert Keeley & after A/B-ing these two pedals side by side, I felt the SD had more clarity, smoother drive with more gain on tap, more transparency, & slightly more midboost which IMO means more projection. I'm not knocking the OD820 at all, in fact I liked it alot soundwise but to my ears the SD just sounded better. The other reason I let this pedal go is below....

The footswitch wouldn't turn the pedal on sometimes. When I would step on the switch sometimes the sound would disappear completely even though the LED light would be on. I had to click it on & off several times to get the sound to come back. Now to me, this is an expensive pedal & for it to behave this way is totally unacceptable. I scrolled through these reviews to see if this was an issue with other OD820 owners but apparently mine seemed to be the only one with this problem. I don't gig but I do play live with friends for fun & I could not use this pedal with the switch working only sometimes. Unfortunately, I have to give a low score here.

I have never dealt with the company themselves. I bought from musicians friend after reading these reviews and checking out sound clips from the Maxon website. For some reason, music stores are not very popular where I live so I cant just go out & check out lots of gear like I wish I could. So, I depend alot on sound clips and all of my fellow musicians here on HC. Musicians friend did take it back no problem, though.

Overall, I think this pedal has decent tone and if not for the footswitch problem & the fact that I like my SD better, I would've kept it. Maxon products are condidered "high-end" products by many so I was a little disappointed with the reliability issue from it. I am considering a CS550 chorus but to be honest I am worried about the reliability now. Sound clips sound nice, though. I think the OD820 is a bit pricey & mine was unreliable but it has good, mellow bluesy tones.

3 knobs. It's pretty obvious how they work.
The manual is pretty funny actually. The motto on the manual says
"Make it your favorite for a long time." Man, those Japanese dudes are hilARious!

I play a Fender Cyclone II with Jaguar pickups into a Fender Blues Jr. Every other overdrive pedal I tried with this setup sounded too midrangy, squawky, just plain obnoxious. The Maxon is exactly what I was looking for. It's a super warm sound. There's a lot of note definition even when playing thick chords at higher drive levels. It's a great clean boost too. Best overdrive pedal ever made.

I just got it a couple days ago but it looks very sturdy.
After hearing this pedal,I wouldn't want to use anything else as a backup and I definitely can't afford to buy another one!

This is the perfect pedal for the style of music I play. I'm the only guitar player in the band, so the overdive sound needs to be THICK!! This pedal makes my pint-sized Blues Jr. sound freekin huge!
I recommend this pedal above them all.

Three sensible knobs, very easy to use

My Setup: Ibanez S370 - jim dunlop cry baby wah - electro harmonix phaser- mxr flanger- Maxon Od-820 - mxr distortion+ - Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde - Voodoo Lab Proctavia - to an TSL 122 MArshall combo or to an H&K Tubeman (for direct recording) . This pedal is not noisy and every sound you get from it is so amazing. I couldn't believe it when i began to use it. It keeps the sound of your amp intact. It's super warm and organic sound. You can get the warm blues Sound , AC/DC sound..etc, etc, but when I record harder music I also use this pedal in the background to give the warm punch I always need to hear. Very cool bass sounds, andwith the tone knob in combination with the drive one you can give your ear a pleasant feeling.

A very solid pedal. I can give this a monster to eat and I cann be sure it will continue working

Didn't a need support

I've been playing for six years and have experienced a lot of pedals and professional studio recordings . This is my favourite overdrive pedal. I like it more than my ibanez Tubescreamer(sounds good , but when I compare both sounds I prefer the maxon one). I play hard and soft music. This pedal suits perfect for brit-rock, alternative, blues, everything that needs a warm and defined color of sound. It gives my Marshall TSL tube amp a totaly new sound.

With just three knobs things things is very simple to use, anybody can get a good sound out of it with ease.

I use a moddified fender american strat and a 76' fender starcaster. Guitar>>>Teese wah>>>Line6 Delay Modeler>>>Analog man Silver modded TS9 turbo>>>Dyna Comp>>>OD 820>>>origainal 64' Twin Reverb. This thing really sounds great, not noisy at all. I use it at the end of the chain mainly as a boost. It's so transparent and warm with no compression. As an overdrive it sounds really great, warm and expressive. But it can't beat the clarity of the analog man TS9 turbo. But it's a slighly different beast, and I like both equally. As a boost it just kills, sends your overdriven tone into madness, rich with overtones and sustain. With the strat I use it only as a boost with the drive almost all the way down and the level up. With the starcaster though (which is semihollow with humbuckers) I set the drive higher for overdrive heaven. With those two overdrives the starcaster howls with incredibly smooth, fat screaming tones overflowing with harmonics. the OD 820 is your basic TS9 sound but grown up and mature. It makes the best use of the beautiful tones from my old twin reverb. Great pedal.

It working fine so far. It seems to be able to last the test of time

This really is a fine pedal if your after the old TS sound. you'll be satisfied

Has the usual three knobs found on most tubesceamers- volume, tone and gain.

Good solid clean boost or overdrive- with the gain down and volume up its a clean boost, and if you begin turning the gain knob up it kicks into overdrive. Sounds very clear and responds well to playing techniques (assuming you have any).

Nice large solid heavy metal box.

Maxon is cool!

Im a blueser. I wail with Strats or Pauls (real vintage guitars from Gibson and Fender and NOT some Epiphone or made-in-Mexico Fender crap).
Im fully qualified to give an opinion, and since Im the one playing the guitar, in my mind my opinion is the only one that counts. This is a pro pedal and wannabes are well advised to look elsewhere- perhaps that Danelectro Cheese Cake Egg Salad Whipped Cream Distortion pedal is right up your alley.

As easy to use as any stompbox overdrive pedal. Features are common to 3 knob TS and OD lines by Ibanez or Maxon. Manual was in Japanese. New pedal with true bypass, they should all be made like this! Overall easy to get good sounds out of.

Beautiful. I'm kind of biased when it comes to Maxon gear, since I bought and sold so much of it and have every Vintage series effect I could get my hands on but again this is the best of what it does that I have come across! Not noisy, used with ton of pedal (Maxon, CC2, teese wah) through Victoria amp and MIJ strats and Tokai LP's. Great sound, better than my modded TS9DX! Smoother overdrive, same SRV tones in there just more organic and warm. Best OD I've used to date.

Don't know, but should be as good as all my other pedals?
Don't gig, just annoy my neighbors with horrid whale noises, sometimes I like to make tones that resemble cat's in heat.

None that I know of? Don't know again, and don't speak Japanese so?

Overall happy I got it, still use my TS9DX, sometimes with it to get crazy sounds. I've been playing around 13 years, still suck but having a ton of pedals keeps it enjoyable, fresh and fun! Own and have owned a ton of sh*t! Good pedal for SRV, blues, fuzzy overdriven tones! Organic, true bypass and non tone destroying pedal. If your into overdrives this is probably one of the best versions, I highly recommend it!

It's a three-knob overdrive pedal: Level, Tone, and Drive. Hopefully everyone can figure that one out.

The primary reason I decided to put a review up for this pedal. I can't say enough good things about it. For one, it doesn't sound like an overdrive pedal. It sounds like an overdriven tube amp. It's also incredibly dynamic. It never compresses my tone. I'm a Tele-through-Fender Amp guy and my dynamics are important to me.

I play at home in my basement, so I'm probably not the guy to discuss reliability. I can tell you that it's built like a tank. Very heavy-duty.

Never dealt with Customer Support.

I rarely give anything an absolute 10 rating, but this is an exception. I've tried just about everything else green and tube-screamer out there and this guy is the best, period.

Three knobs for volume tone and drive. Cmon people, its easy to use, its easy to use, its easy to use. Repeat after me, its easy to use. Dont be afraid.

Gibson Les Paul into JCM 800 baby!
With the drive knob at zero its a totally pure clean transparent boost, approx 15 db boost to be precise. When you turn the drive knob up the overdrive circuit engages and I perceive a slight loss of bass as the pedal goes into its tubescreamer mode and does its thing, and does it well. Sounds like flat mids and smooth highs, better bass than the Maxon OD 808, but I prefer the OD 808- I find that the 808 cuts through better and has a more vintage sound to it than the OD 820. The OD 820 is very airy sounding, like some modern pop sound. Lots of dynamic headroom but not the kind of punch I expect from what I thought would be a blues pedal- its more of a pop pedal.

Heres where it shines. Tuff little mother!

Pretty darn good here in the U.S.- Maxon has their shit together and is a survivor because they dont compromise on quality. The Maxon OD 820 is BETTER then the Klon! Yes it is. I know it, and now you know it too.

This pedal came with an a/c adaptor which works with all of my other pedals! Pretty hip, huh? Runs on a 9 volt battery also. Well I bought it because Im kind of nuts about IC chip distortion, and this pedal has at least one if not two of the chips I crave- good ole IC chip distortion at its best, using ultra modern components and designs- this isnt some antique 1970's circuit with bad parts- this is BOUTIQUE, baby! I have so many fine pedals that I boxed this thing and will spring it out as NOS (new old stock) in about 20 years when its worth about $2000.

3 KNOBS VERY SIMPLE TO GET GREAT SOUNDS.THE MANUAL THAT CAME WITH IT HAD 3 PRESETS.SET IT TO ONE PRESET TWEAK TILL YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT.

I'VE TRIED THIS WITH A TELE,LES PAUL,STRAT,MCINTURFF THRU A MARSHALL 50 WATT W/412 AND A TOP HAT CLUB DELUXE.I ABC'D WITH A KLON AND A REVEREND OVERDRIVE.ALL THREE DO A CLEAN BOOST WELL THE KLON SOUNDS VERY HI-FI.THE REVEREND IS KINDA GRAINY AND HAS A MID BOOST.THE OD820 IS REAL TRANSPARENT.DOESN'T CHANGE THE TONE OF THE AMP,JUST BOOSTS IT.OVERDRIVEN THE REVEREND DOES THE TS9 MID BOOST GRIND VERY WELL WITH MORE!THE KLON DOESN'T OVERDRIVE AS MUCH BUT IS VERY SWEET.THE OD820 IS JUST AS SWEET AS THE KLON BUT YOU CAN GET MORE OVERDRIVE OUT OF IT.KINDA OF A MIX BETWEEN THE REVEREND AND THE KLON.ALL THREE PEDALS ADD SOME NOISE FLOOR TO THE OVERALL AMP SOUND BUT ALL ARE REALATIVELY QUIET COMPARED TO OTHER PEDALS.THE OD820 WORKS VERY WELL WITH THE TOP HAT AN AMP THAT IS A NOTORUIS PEDAL HATIN MACHINE(OK IT DOESN'T LIKE SOME PEDALS).THE OD820 ROCKS

IT SEEMS TO BR BUILT WELL.USE THE POWER ADAPTER IT EATS BATTERYS.I'D USE WITH ANOTHER PEDAL AS A BACKUP.I NEVER GIG WITHOUT BACKUP BEEN BURNED BEFORE.

I PLAY BLUES ROCK AND FUSION IT WORKS GREAT TO ENHANCE A GOOD TONE OUT OF YOUR AMP.I'VE PLAYED FOR 25+YEARS.YES I'D BUY ANOTHER.ITS GOT MAYBE THE BEST CLEAN BOOST TONE(THATS SUBJECTIVE)AND A GREAT OVERDRIVE TONE.IF YOU WANT TO SAVE A $100 OR MORE GET THIS OVER A KLON.

Drive, tone and level. Pretty damn simple.

It seems to get along well with the other stomp boxes. Best of all, it cured my amp problem. I have a Fender deVille (4x10) which has a lousy overdrive but a great clean channel that sounded even better with distortion. I use the Maxon ODP full time to drive the clean channel and use a distortion pedal for leads or extra presence. It sounds great now. Lineup [this week]: '73 Gibson L6S [and sometimes a fat strat] > Boss suppressor > Marshall Guvnor Plus > Maxon ODP > Marshall Supervibe Chorus > DOD eq > deVille.

Well, its brand new but seems solid so far.

Hasn't come up.

I play old skool punk and hard rock. Not cranium splitting modern metal, so I don't need huge distortion. This pedal does a great job of maintaining a great overdrive foundation to build other effects on. I drove the guys nuts at the local guitar shop trying out overdrives. This one seemed like the cure. So far, it works great.

Very easy. It is intuitive and similar to other TS type 3 knob units. Manual not necessary or useful really. My unit was bought used, stock and in good condition.

I use an old Strat with 40 year old regular PUs or a tele clone with a B-bender and sometimes a big Korean hollowbody with P-90s >>>> compressor (Carl Martin) >>>> Maxon >>>> Boss EQ box >>>> Rexer tape echo >>>> Gibson goldtone or sometimes vibrolux. The bottom line is that it has an excellent Tube Screamer like tone. Best results are with the drive up about 25% - More than that and you lose definition (just like any good TS type unit)

It is obviously well made.

no dealings with the company

I have played 35 years - pop rock, rockabilly, funk, R+B. This is the right kind of overdrive for my music. I have owned many overdrives and I'm a tone nutcase fanatic. I can compare it to my 12 year old TS-10, Buddha PHATMAN, tube driver, Carl Martin Drive n Boost (yuch) It is very much similar to the TS-10 - very woody and organic. They should be similar since they use that same chip. The bottom line: it is a little more "sterile" sounding compared to my old TS-10. The Maxon is a good unit but it will be my backup.

The suggested settings in the manual are pretty vague, 'cause everybody has different gear/set-up/ears/taste etc. So you just have to play it by ear, and use the old "trial and error" system, which will probably take some time 'till you get it right for yourself.

Great SMOOTH bassy liquid overdrive! I've used (and love) my Fulldrive 2 'till now, but the OD820 has more balls. It really is a subtle thing, but after A/B tests, you do hear the difference. No mid bark, more bottom, smooth highs. Please realize, that if the reviewer below, with the SG, had more patience, and more sense, he would have probably found much better sounds from it. To this end, I don't give a hoot for his review of this fine piece of gear. To call it "junk" is just a reflection of his anger,from not being able to adjust it correctly.

Solid box construction, eats batteries though, recommend lithium 9V batts. Will be changing to Switchcraft jacks, one of the standard jacks has a loose contact. Otherwise, no back up needed.

Bought through www.musictoyz.com ...Shipped to Germany via UPS, got here intact in record time. What a service!! Never tried to contact Maxon, Never needed to. Max. points for musictoyz.

I use this for Texas Blues. Mesa Blue Angel, (heavily customized) Warmoth strat w/Rio Grande Vintage Tallboys, Fulltone-'69,Clyde,FD2,Deja-Vibe. Belden 8410 Cables throughout. Weber speakers ordered for the "Angel". Been playing for over 30 years. Would buy again if needed, if stolen, I'd break the thieves fingers, cause I would find him.....I purchased this after the reviews here. This pedal is as rare as "Rockin' horse shit!!" here in Germany. No one had ever heard of Maxon (including me). Great Pedal, give it a try if you're lookin'for smooooth overdrive.

The OD 820 is very intuitive to use. the manual even give suggested settings.

I run the OD 820 into a Morley ABY unit which splits in a Pod 2.0 & '65 reissue Fender Twin(set flat) and or my rack which has, in order, a Valve FX pre amp, a TC electronics G-Major, then into a peavey classic 50/50 power amp (w/8 EL 84 tubes). With this set-up I can cop any sound I'm feeling which is typically Gary Moore, Stevie Ray or Carlos (Santana). I previously had a TS-9, too harsh, then the Guyatone OD-2 exellent unit(2nd choice). But the OD 820 is probably my last overdrive pedal. It sings, smooth and fat, but also does the sultry blues voicings. I use a Strat with gibson P-94's, PRS cust 22, '75 les paul custom, and a 3-pu Tele with Joe Barden pickups. Although it does generate some noise, it is quite minimal unless you dime the drive and the level, which is not necessary for my purposes.

Solid, well built, has some girth. Do not see a need for a back up

No problems.

Overall, the OD 820 works well with my set-up. I'm presently into melding blues/R&B/fusion. And, I'd been looking for such a unit to round out my voice and I thought that I had it with the OD-2. But this is by far a superior product I sold the OD-2 and the TS is no the block. It's very much like listening to a demo tape of your favorite artist and actually seeing the band live at their best. When my Joe Bardened Tele sang as never before, I knew this was a keeper.

The three knobs each have a very useable range and are large enough to see on the floor and adjust with your foot if you need to. Very nice!

Use a Clapton Strat w/Gold Lace Sensors through a Blackface Super Reverb. Very little noise. A very natural "woody" sound. Lots of gain and output. You probably know the manufacturing history of the Japanese Maxon company. This is a REALLY good sounding TS9/808 type pedal. I read one reviewer compare this pedal to the Klon Centaur, which I also use. You can't really compare them as I feel they are two different pedals with two different purposes. I use the Klon as an "amp enhancer" and to boost the sound of this pedal. You can use them together, but I would never compare one to the other. The OD820 DOES have, in my opinion, the more pleasing overdrive sound BUT it can't pull the sound out of my Super that the Klon can. At first I was amazed/disappointed at how much this pedal sounded like my Ibanez Soundtank TS5 which I paid $5 for. After I played for about two hours with the two pedals, the subtle (and important) attributes of the OD820 made themselves known: dynamics, transparency,
clarity, output. Very subtle features that only seasoned players are going to notice. I'm very happy with the $200 I spent on the unit. Later during a gig, it really excelled in the sustain and in-tune feedback department with my set up. Again, if you've got a great tube amp that sounds good by itself, you'll like this pedal a lot.

It's well built, looks good. I'd play without a spare.

No need to deal with them yet but they have a 3 year Warranty which is pretty bold these days.

I've been playing professionally for 25 years. It gave me what I was I was looking for: the ability to get re-excited about the sound of my amplified guitar and play new things because of that. I own (or have owned) the following pedals over the past 15 years: Chandler Tube Driver (B. K. Butler version), Boss BD-2, Vox Valvetone, Fulldrive FD-2, Danelectro Daddy-O, Everman Fuzzdrive, WayHuge Red Llama, others not worth mentioning. Special honors have to go to the TS5-great sound/low price. Ditto the Nobels OD-1! The 0D820 also came with a power supply AND a 9V battery. Nice touch! You can tell that the designers spent some time putting together a unit that would appeal to a certain type of player who is willing to pay the price for this kind of sound quality and truly made an effort to produce the best type of pedal of it's type. Would buy it again. It's large size and large knobs are a really practical feature for the gigging guitarist.
It's pricey, but when you compare it to the reissue TS9, for example, which costs around $100, it's easily twice the pedal in terms of performance and construction so it's a good value. If you are a true "tone searcher" you know who you are and this will be money well spent. Definitely a pro level product though: You really have to have been playing a long time and gone through enough overdrive pedals to appreciate what this offers. If you haven't, it will probabaly sound just like your reissue TS9 to your ears.

Bonehead simple to use.

I had a Klon before this. The Klon was good, but this is way, WAY better. The Klon would boost and slightly overdrive but the sound was always dry and sterile, no matter what amp. The Maxon is more transparent sounding but with juicy, wet overtones. With or without reverb, this thing makes any size tube amp sound like it's pushing hard, and that's a good thing. Not noisy and well built.

Seems pretty tough to me; hell, I dropped it and it never missed a lick.

If you want to hear the real tone of your guitar and amp, then I recommend this over all the other stuff out there. Forget the marketing and just try one wherever you can find it. There are more expensive pedals (I had one); this one won't get you into heavy distortion (it's not designed to do that); but if you want juicy real tone--the sound of strings and tubes and wood, try this.

I generally dislike or hate most overdrive/distortion pedals cause they lack dynamics, and have some sterility factor that i just cant get past. my 40 years of playin is all about tone, feel, and having worked in a guitar store for 25 years, i have tried everything from klons, fulldrives, boss, rats, blah blah...the maxon 820 is the first ever overdrive that reacts and sounds like an awesome tube amp.this thing is fuckin amazing

As stated, the sound is F....n amazing...no obnoxious mid hump,detailed, just the right bit of everything...the guy with the SG either got a defective one, or can't get a full sound with his hands anyway..

Fine

the company is great to deal with...hip guys from New Jersey...they know tone....

it is awesome////in a completely different league than anything else on the market///boutique or cheap....it is really like a variable lead channel extension of my amp....the better the tube amp., the better the 820 sounds. check one out with a Fuchs /Top Hat/Bad Cat type amp class A or AB.....really scary...probably sounds good with a peavey amp

Ease of use? Three knobs and the truth. Shouldn't be a problem for anyone but the most technophobic. Manual is comprehensive and includes several examples of suggested settings.

Sound quality is A-1. Maxon engineers reportedly spent one year developing this circuit and their dedication is plainly evident. Rather than throwing together yet another tired variation of the Tube Screamer (which they invented in the '70s anyway), they've come up with something rather new, most notably in the use of a voltage-doubling circuit for the overdrive section. This is accomplished in part by the use of TWO mystical-mojo JRC4558D chips.

This pedal is used primarily with either one of my Killer KG-Primes or my Seymour Duncan SSL-5L-loaded Mexican '60s reissue Fender Stratocaster. Amplification is usually a late-'60s Fender Champ, a '69 Marshall 100-watter or a '78 Marshall 2203 with the Lee Jackson Metaltronix mod. The OD820 works well with all of 'em. (Ever notice that some pedals just will not "work and play well" with some amps?)

Interestingly enough, it also sounds just great with the solid-state Crate amp that is in my teaching studio at the music store. That was a pleasant surprise.

The sound is smooth, but with just the right amount of definition. That's important to me as some of the boutique overdrives have a little too much compression for my taste. I'd attribute the added definition in part to the output buffer circuit which is 1k/100k ala the Boss SD-1. The tone is very supple and responsive and the overdrive is detailed and airy. It's quite a subtle thing and guitarists that've got the chops and experience will be able to appreciate it. The subtler aspects of its sound might be missed by the less-experienced players. This is a pedal for guys that KNOW good tone when they hear it! Also has the true-bypass footswitch the tone cognoscenti demand.

Noise? Not really any to speak of. In fact, the pedal actually seems to quiet down the sound a bit, something I'd attribute to the expanding that's going on in the voltage-doubling circuit. That's an added bonus.

I use the pedal for either a slight boost for shred lead playing or for a moderate overdrive for Southern Rock/Country guitar playing. Works well with either.

One of the reviewers hear complained that it was too trebly. Hmmm... That's strange 'cause I don't have any idea how someone would think the OD820 is too trebly. I usually keep the tone knob around 9 or 10:00, which rolls of a bit of the high end to smooth things out.

Tone is not quite as midrange-y as most have come to expect from the TS9, but there is a bit of added warmness that works well with the Stratocaster. Rather than the pronounced mid-hump we've come to expect from the Tube Screamers, the OD820 seems to have a much more subtle and wider mid boost. The harsh high-end of the Toshiba 75558-equipped tube screamers is also nowhere to be found.

Also, the OD820 has a wider range of overdrive than the Ibanez TS9 or the Maxon OD808; the OD820 has more gain on tap than either.

Haven't had the pedal long enough to comment on its reliability other than to say that the DPDT switch certainly seems sturdy enough and the die-cast metal enclosure is far more solid and thicker than that from the Bud Case-style Maxon reissue series.

Customer support's been great. Some time ago, I had some questions for Maxon, emailed them and promplty received a nice reply. I haven't had to contact Godlyke, so I can't comment about them.

The pedal is pricey; it's around $200.00 and that might put it out of budget range for some folks. Still, one should consider that adjusting for inflation, the old TS808s were probably in the same price range way back when. I really think this thing is a sleeper. Like I mentioned in my OD808 review, Maxon might not yet have the same cachet to its name as some of those more expensive basement-made boutique glamor pedals. But if you're looking for a piece of quality gear and are listening with your ears rather than your eyes, don't overlook this one. Sometimes I wonder what will be the sought-after vintage gear of the future? What will be the next TS808 or Tychobrahe Octavia? This might very well be one of them.

Very easy to use...You can good sounds easy--its just too bright for me! It might sound better with a different guitar/amp set up. The manual is good, but Im not a manual person if you know what I mean.

I have a newer Gibson SG with the 498 pickups. I plug into mostly Marshall amps. Im using a 50 watt Plexi reissue right now. It suprized me that The pedal was so bright, considering the Plexi is rather bassy. It just doesnt seem worth the price I paid for it. I wouldnt pay $200 for this pedal. But thats just me. The pedal did have a good amount of level and gain to it though...

Dont know, I sent it back the day after I got it.

Dont ask me....

I play rocknroll. I dislike gay Mesa Boogie type sounds. Lots of newer bands use this sound. Stay away!!! Ive been playing 10 years, and would never use this pedal. Its cheap Japanese junk. Thanx

Three simple knobs.

I use a PRS swamp ash into the od820 into a digitech rp2000 into a '69 fender twin reverb. the pedal is amazing. i upgraded from a ts9 reissue and the difference is night and day. the od820 is totally transparent and liquidy. so musical it's scary. Great range of overdrives--slightly boosted to singing sustain. This is NOT a distortion pedal though!! Very quiet and true bypass. The reason why you might opt for this over the od808 is that you get tons and tons greater headroom. I use the level knob set at about 9 o'clock to match the ts9 at 12 o'clock. So this thing is great as a boost as well. All around awesome tones in every setting. This is the first effect I have ever owned that blew me away. You get what you pay for.

Dunno yet. has a warranty. i don't expect any problems.

Also, dunno. Things may be tricky since this is a smaller Japanesse company. who knows though.

This pedal will out perform any other overdrive on the market guaranteed! Huge tones. I would replace it if it were lost because I'm spoiled now.

There is one small complaint. I wish it was a little heavier. My old tubescreamer was smaller, but heavier and it stuck to the ground better while playing. The od820 comes with a rubber adhesive bottom pad designed to give it some traction, but if you pull on your cord at all, it drags the whole pedal around. (you'd think that since I have to drag around a '69 twin reverb I would rejoice at the prospect of lightweight equipment.)

I compared this to a bunch of your standard overdrives out there: ts9, od808, guyatone od-2(my second choice...great value), sparkle drive, fulldrive, blah blah blah. Literally no contest.

However, this is not a cheap addition to your rig. If you need an outstanding overdrive, nothing comes close. But, if you only need a damn good overdrive, get the guyatone OD-2 for $60 and pocket the difference. The 9 rating is because it's so expensive. But you do get what you pay for.

Three knobs and the truth. Drive tone level. Your basic ts9 set up.

This is a really cool pedal. It is kinda like a grown up TS-9 (808).
The pedal has a bit more gain and bottom than the standard tube screamer but never looses the bell like tones across the highs. It is very transparent and works great for rock rhythm and lead tones, blues jazz etc..... I am using the pedal with a strat (w/fralin blues), PRS CU22, McCarty soapbar into a super lead. Really cool tones with out changing the sound of my guitar and amp. I have an analog man modded TS9 and a turbo Ts9 and this pedal spanks both of them way more musical. I prefer this pedal over the Fulldrive (although it really sounds great when I use my fatboost to kick it up a notch) and all of the other boo-teek and not so boo-teek overdrives that I have used over the years. I think that it was worth the 200.00 I have into it.

???????

Check with me in a few years

Bought mine at mesa hollywood, great bunch of guys.

Best OD yet. If you like the klon or the Tube Screamer I would recommend this pedal highly to you. I am thinking about another one to replace the ts9 that is currently sharing space next to this pig on my board.

ODs that I have been through that I like less than this pedal. red snapper, blue collar, king of brittons, Howie, fulldrive, Rat, OD-2, drive-o-matic, GTO, vtwin, tone pump, guv'nor, real tube, hot cake, hep cat...........to be continued