Maxon ROD-880

same as ibanez tubeking

i have had tubeking for 12 years so i am going to compare with two
version..

with stock tube..rod880 has better sound more close to tube amp drive.

however..tubeking with 12au7 tube ,,ibanez win at this point(more damping ,,dynamic even with just little gain much more close to tube amp even with non tube amp such as fender princeton chorus)

if tubeking with 12au7 is 10 then stock rod880 is 8

and tubeking with 12au7 has mre gain with same setting..

so far so goos..i believe it durable muchas tk999

i will try different version for rod880..
if below review is correct( different tube make loss of output)

i will consider to sell rod880

Standard overdrive pedal controls with a 3-band EQ. It's quite easy to get what you want out of this pedal.

It sounds very much like the gain channel on a tube amp, and that's probably what you're looking for out of this pedal. I usually prefer distortion and overdrive from solid state devices (they tend to yield smoother tones as long as they're not digital), although this is a nice sounding pedal. It's got some great range, and it really sounds good everywhere on the gain dial.

I've got some issues with it, but they're not deal-breakers. It's not true bypass, but the buffer is so good that you won't notice. Another issue is that you can't use a different type of tube such as a 12AU7 or even 12AX7. It's got a 12AY7 in there, and those tubes tend to be more rare. Putting a different tube in there causes the output to drop drastically. I've swapped tubes in other tube-based overdrive pedals and achieved great tones, but this pedal apparently doesn't like different tube types. It comes with an Electro Harmonix tube, so I'd rather change it, but I can't seem to find a proper replacement.

It's got a great sound regardless of my issues with it, so I'll still give it a good rating.

Seems good to me, although this pedal isn't used as heavily as others.

They've got a good service staff.

I've been playing many styles of guitar for twelve years. If you like overdrive and distortion, check out this pedal. You'll probably like it.

Okay, here is my review for the ROD-880. As you can see below I recently reviewed the"OD"-880 (not ROD) but HC put it here with the ROD-880 which only confuses things since they are not the same pedal at all. So to make it clear this review is for the tube "ROD-880" and the other was for the solid state "OD-880".

Very intuitive. 5 knobs gain, volume, bass, mid boost, treble.

It should be noted here that the pedal will hum if you don't use the Maxon power adapter.

Outstanding tone from this pedal. At low gain it could be a little smoother, but is great for medium to high gain tones. Almost clean-boost through tube-screamer with character to high gain tones.

It's only got one tube and it runs at 9 volts (tube starvation) so how tubey sounding can it really be right? Pretty damn tubey actually. It really melds with my guitar/amp combo (kinman loaded strat into fender super 6), and gives me the gain channel that is all this 6x10 combo all it needs to transform from pristine clean into a raging stack.

Very convincing, realistic and authentic tube overdrive tones.

The previous owner loaded mine with a NOS GE JAN tube so I'm sure that doesn't hurt. I've never heard the stock tube.

I do hear a little bit of noise in the bypass signal at very high gain settings. It has a double poll double throw carling switch but for some reason they only used one poll. With that switch they could have at least done a hard bypass if not a total true bypass. That's why I'm taking off a point.

I've come to respect Maxons reliability over time. Even there 70's era pedals are still relible 30 years later.

It's worth what it costs in my opinion.

you could spend a lot more and end up with another cheap boxy sounding tube screamer clone. Your money is better spent on this pedal.

I submited a review below for the OD-880 and they put it here under ROD-880. I realise it has a similar name but these two units are nothing alike. The OD-880 is a 2 knob solid state device. I didn't make a typo I meant OD-880 NOT ROD-880. Really should have its own entry. Oh, well.

Pretty easy to use, but can be tricky for a straight OD pedal. All the EQs are rather sensitive, and the gain has a surprisingly large range which means that good sounds have to be really dialed in. All in all, the wide eq (bass, mid, treble) makes this pedal great as a HUGE variety of overrive sounds are available with a little experimentation.

Although the unit is a bit noisy when the gain is run up, a noise reduction setting that is built in can help to control a high-gain sound. This thing gets way more high gain than I thought that it would. You can totally scoop the mid to go with it if that is your thing. I run it like a classic 808 with the gain turned all the way down with some added mids, bass and a slight high cut. Really great sound. warmer than transistor overdrive, but there is also a slight bit more of natural tube compression. Very flexible. I think you could dial just about any classic sound out of this box. And for the prive you damn well should. Used with a 1999 Jeff beck signature strat and tech 21 trademark 120 amp.

Not sure yet, but it seems less solid than i had hoped. The screw pattern binding this unit together makes very little sense (look at the bottom, seriously) and I hope it odesn't fall apart. Tubes make me nervous, but if your od pedal breaks down its not half as bad as your tube amp breaking down. A chance taken.

Overall, a truly outstanding OD pedal. Gets warmer with more girth than any transistor ever could. However, there is more gain on this pedal than I had hoped as well. The frequency response is very full with 3 band EQ you really can't go wrong. This makes the pedal usable with almost any setup. I wish it had a gain reduction setting and a different chasis design. Only 4 small screws hold this thing together. The price was pretty steep, but after all it is the best sounding OD pedal I've used. I sold an analogman modified TS808 for this thing.

If you get frustrated with it being too hot, this is a very sensitive pedal. Obviously great gain to the point of any metal sound you can want but I personally never put the gain past 9 O'clock and the treble never past 10 O'clock . Absolutly nails Claptons Cream tone and any classic rock lead sounds i.e. Billy Gibbons,Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana with slight adjustments to the bass and middle controls. Again very sensitive

Use either a 66 blackface Bassman through a Marshall 4X10 or a 67 blackface Deluxe reverb. Noise isn't a problem and I never use the niose reduction, I think its a tone squasher.My normal settings are gain 9 0'clock master 12 bass 11 middle 10 trble 9

No issues so far I play probably 15 hours weekly for gigs etc.

I purchased direct and they were helpful, answering all my stupid questions

Blows away the competion ,I play in a classic rock band and a blues band.Been playing 25+ years, use black face fender amps and Gibson guitars 62 es 335 65 Firebird routed with PAFs and a 52 convertd gold top w/PAFs.Would replace it W/O question. Once you get your settings down it allows your tone to be enhanced.

good sound in seconds, manual has some presets, don't need them though easy to use

use this with a gibson ga-15rv, (greenback speaker)good clean amp was disappointed with pedals until rod880, sound is top notch. sounds like a marshall plexi, but at low volumes, used with strat, tele, sg, this thing rocks. this is the best overdrive pedal ihave ever had. time to thow away the sparkle drive, boss super overdrive analog man mod.this pedal is superb.

don't know yet

don't know

been playing for over 25 years, play rock and blues, been looking for this tone for a long time, would defintely buy it again.

simple controls...master, gain, bass, mid, and treble..with a 12ax7 tube....basically a little amp.....it even has a noise filter on the back

im using a dr z carmen ghia with a fender strat....i use a fulltone fat boost for a little over the top push, and i use the maxon for that fat rich overdrive/distortion sound....teh ghia has a killer overdrive, but its only available with the amp very loud....even then its more of a blues/hard rock overdrive.....sometimes i need that effect of a marshall half stack on channel 2 and thats where this guy comes in....i tried so many other pedals with the ghia to get this sound, but they all caused clipping problems...very annoying.....this pedal is great though.....its slightly compressed sounding due to the tube, but i found if you cut out a litle of the mids and add a tad more treble and bass, it really opens up the sound of it....for some reason this is the only pedal i can get to make my ghia sound way over the top.....it still interacts with the amp, but it doesnt blanket the amps sound completely.....there is a little of that goin on, but its a good sound, not muffled, or digital sounding at all.....for my purposes the pedal gets a 10, but all around i gotta go a little lower cause its not perfect

well it is tube so that worries me...tubes sound great, but i dont know how long they will last in this pedal....plus when its time to change it, you have to open the whole pedal up!...that sux....the switch is true bypass, and its super quiet...nice...it seems liek it will last for a long time....i gig without a backup cause th epedal cost 275 and its teh only one that does that sound for me.....but i trust it for now

never dealt with them

overall a very versitile pedal that offers a little something for everyone in the overdrive/distortion department...try one out if you can find them.....thay are really really cool pedals....