Maxon ROD-881

The 3 tone knobs make it very easy to dial in your sound. I'm surprised that this isn't more popular, very few reviews and no video demos to be found, but I love it.
The fact that the mode is not footswitchable doesn't matter. You'll need to change your settings anyway. I don't like how the boost function works only when the effect itself is on. I'd rather have both work independently (or together). It's useless to me, but I can rate against that because it is what it is.

Sounds great, although the OD mode is very dark sounding, even with the treble all the way up. I've had tube screamers and they haven't been this dark. The mid is useful for dialing in close to a TS type tone. Different tubes greatly effect the sound, moreso that in an amp. I tried many different types and brands. 12AX, AT, 5751, etc. It's more than just a "gain factor" thing. The entire sound and all the functions changed. I settled on a TungSol 12AX7. I found that to be the most touch-sensitive and I'm big on the effect not changing to feel of an amp.

Got mine used and it looks a little worn, but everything is still holding together.

Very good tool for shaping your sound. I like the distortion mode better. The 3 tone controls are incredible. I could not go back to a single tone control effect now (and there aren't that many with treble, bass and mid controls out there).

It's easy to use.

I've used some of the normal ODs and I do like their sound: TS9, SD-1, Reverend Drivetrain-2. The problem with other ODs that I have found is that above about 12 o'clock, the tone get garbled, compressed...not good. The 881 sounds great as the gain is turned up and never loses/changes sound quality...it just increases the OD in an expected way. I use the Reverend DR-2 at a low gain level in front of the 881 and layer the gains for the two. Also, the treble/bass adjustments of the 881 do a great job of EQing the tone and are REALLY usable as opposed to the others. Really. It's pretty incredible.

No issues yet.

No issues yet.

A bit expensive for me...but an incredible sound. I could use this one alone and I could not use the others alone and I'd replace this one.

I find it way easy to use and it has enough controls done correctly enough to where you can get a wide range of useable tones that sound really good. I stuck a '94 12Ax7 Green Smelly Girl LP in and talk about sweet, my goodness, in conjuction with my Pretzel Super Deluxe Tommy wearing my Bugle Boy Jeans and a 2 X 12 cab with a Crummy alnico Blue Dog Hotty Potty and Silver Bell, Jingle Bell speaker combo this.........

pedal delivers tone to my grave when I die for wearing tight Bugle Boy jeans.....seriously awesome. I use to used allot of pedals, but after I got a couple of Crate 50W heads, a B52, & a small Gorilla Amp I stopped using pedals for awhile.....Then I saw a Pretzel clone on Ebay and took a chance....well the rest is history, because in conjunction with this pedal I have the best tone imaginable and have since sold my Crates and I am listing my B52 this weekend because I am now getting better tones period. I am keeping my Gorilla Amp, so don't bother asking for it!!!

To soon to tell...seems solid though.

Never had a problem with one of their pedals.

I play pretty much anything, but generally stick with progressive jazz & some blues shredding mix...its a new British Metal thing. Been playin' for 2 1/2 years. I used to have a real tube distortion pedal from Behringer or something I forgot the name....got a good return for it on Ebay....Like $12 or so...I like this pedal better anyway.; How many distortion pedals on Harmony Central get 10s from everyone for sound quality? This was the only one I could find and I'm glad I did. If it were stolen or lost I would cry for a week.

Just turn it on and turn the knobs.
Boost mode is very usefull when you want your solos to be heard.

My setup is Handmade Telecaster with Duncan JB mini-humbucker in the neck and Duncan hot for tele single-coil in the bridge-->Tu-2 tuner-->Crybaby-->ROD-881-->T.C Electronic Vintage delay-->Orange Tiny terror head-->Framus2x12 cab.

With this setup I can get all the classic and modern rock sounds I want from U2 to Guns n roses. I don't play heavy metal and I think this pedal is NOT for that kind of music.
My favourite setting is all knobs at 12 o'clock and I use flat EQ in my amp also. Effect is very musical and dynamic and it likes other effects too. I don't really like the distortion mode, but overdrive is just amazing. It's a bit noisy at higher gain levels, but it has its own noise gate so the noise is not a problem.So far, the best overdrive I have ever heard.

Built like a tank. It has never failed on a gig.

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I have played funk/punk/hard-rock for 6 years and I have had this pedal for one year now.

This won't be your first OD/Distortion pedal, so you will be able to work it out. It is, as noted by others, very flexible, but I have found the sound I was after, and don't really tweak it that much. The controls are logically laid out and simple to operate. Note this is an OD/ Distortion effect, not an amp modelling unit. Will connect to a standard Boss 9v negative tip daisy chain power supply. Didn't even look at the manual, just plugged it in and went for it. Bought this as new - old stock from japan.

Main guitars are a US Strat with Lace Sensors and a Gibson LP Supreme. Amp is a 70s Fender PA100 (yay PTP all tube sound) into a quad with G12 75 Celestions. This amp is fantastic for clean tones, but not much chop for any overdriven sound. I use this unit after a Barber Tone Press compressor which I think is a particularly satisfying combination. The 881 actually edged a Barber Tone Pump out of my signal chain. I have been a gadget slut for years and have tried many, many different pedals looking for that certain sound, and the day I plugged this little puppy in "EUREKA" thats it! And with the Pone Press I get just unbelievable sustain. I've experimented using this pedal with a Laney combo and a couple of japanese SS amps, and it has improved the sound of all of them, but for me, it really shines with tube amps. I've been using this setup for several months, and nothing has come close to interest me in changing. I have had lots of comments from other players on the tone I am achieving, especially other Fender amp users. Buy it, you won't be dissapointed.

I have had no reliability problems with this, casing is pretty solid, but it is not industrial strength engineering. I have gigged without a backup, but I am seriously considering buying a second unit as a spare.

I think this has been out of production for quite a while, so good luck.....

I'm a RnB player who drifts into guitar band rock, and I have found this pedal sits very well in my lineup. Been at it for about ten years and about 20 different OD/Dist pedals.
Best thing about this unit (apart from tone as described above) is that it still sounds fantastic at lounge room sound levels.
I have religion about this unit, and have converted a couple of Boss tragics to the cause. After several months, I am still getting a buzz out of this box.

It's not just easy to get a good sound, it's actually very hard to get a bad one. However, the variety of tones available is such that it pays to spend plenty of time twiddling with all the knobs.

Without doubt the most versatile OD/dist box I've ever come across. As has already been said you can get everything from a light boost thru classic tubescreamer smoothness thru 70s hard rock to grunge and metal. Probably not heavy enough for the 7-string down-tuned nu-metallers but covers pretty much every other base.
The best thing about this pedal, in my opinion, is the EQ controls - each one is capable of giving you useable tones throughout it's entire range (and indeed are the key to getting such an amazing array of textures - for instance), unlike many other pedals with tone or EQ controls which are only useable between 10 and 2 o'clock.
I haven't had chance to experiment with different tubes - I got this one used so put a new lower gain (60%) groove tubes 12ax7 in it and have never felt the need to change.
The noise reduction element really isn't necessary - the pedal is pretty quiet, even at higher gain settings - but does a great job of making the pedal absolutely silent when not playing. I have it set to on but with the ratio at minimum. At higher ratios you lose a bit of sustain as the NR kicks in as your note dies away.
Finally the boost function, although not adjustable, is preset to be very useful. There is a significant volume kick and slight boost of the mid and upper mid frequencies to allow you to really cut through a band mix for soloing.

Seems solidly built, although the knobs stick up a bit.

Maxon's distributor, Godlyke, are quick to answer e-mails and helpful.

Probably the closest thing to a 'does-it-all' dirt box that's currently available (unless you go digital of course...urgh). It's versatility is astounding and the quality of the tones as good as anything else out there. I have used many OD/dist boxes by the likes of Maxon, Boss, Fulltone, G2D, ProCo, Guyatone, Marshall, Visual Sound and Reverend and the ROD881 stands up to the best of them.

I find it easy to use and it has enough controls done correctly enough to where you can get a wide range of useable tones that sound really good. I stuck a '58 12AU7 Bugle Boy LP in and talk about sweet, my goodness, in conjuction with my Frezel Super Deluxe Plus and a my Trutone 2 X 12 cab with a Weber alnico Blue Dog and Silver Bell speaker combo this.........

pedal delivers tone to die for.....seriously awesome. I use to used allot of pedals, but after I got a couple of VHTs (50st, 50cl, Classic) and a Bogner Ecstasy 101b I stopped using pedals for awhile.....Then I saw a Frezel 5E3 clone on Ebay and took a chance....well the rest is history, because in conjunction with this pedal I have the best tone imaginable and have since sold my VHTs and I am listing my Bogner this weekend because I am now getting better tones period.

To soon to tell...seems solid though.

Never had a problem with one of their pedals.

I play pretty much anything, but generally stick with progressive hard rock metal shredding to sweet slow stuff mostly instrumental. Been playin' for 20 years. I used to have a real tube distortion pedal from Texas Chile Tubster or something I forgot the name....got a good return for it on Ebay....I like this pedal better anyway.; How many distortion pedals on Harmony Central get 10s from everyone for sound quality? This was the only one I could find and I'm glad I did. If it were stolen or lost I would buy another as it is the BEST I have found so far.

Very easy to use much like the preamp section of any amp

Believe all you read from these reviews , its the dogs bollocks !

mine was in half an inch of water from some house plant for over a week without me realising it , it still works great .....

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If you own an amp you need one of these , especially if you have a little practice amp , it makes even the driest sounding tranny amps sound warm and pleasing to play with , Outstanding !!!!!!!!!!

Gain, volume and a three band eq - sound difficult?
Nope it's dead east to use

This is the best distortion / overdrive pedal folks!

On the overdrive mode you can set it up to sound like a tubescreamer or adjust the eq for many flavours of overdrive

Flick the switch over to the distortion side & you have a very realistic distortion that sounds incredible when you amp is turned up

If thats not enough for you, hit the boost switch and you push the drive even further

Nice strong metal housing and the switches look good also

If your amp's gain channel is lacking then get one of these

This is real easy to use. The knobs acutualy do something when you turn them.

I have a 64 Fender Deluxe and 65 Bassman as my main two amps. I use a variety of guitars including tele, danelectro, 335, SG, strat, and Les Paul. This pedal is simply amazing. It will take my old Fender Deluxe I have set up for traditional blues and make it sound like a Marshall (both new and old Marshall's even). It offers as much gain as I could ever use and more. It maybe isn't the best pedal for nu-metal but everything short of that Metalic on down, it does with ease. It has two channels, overdrive and distortion. Each channel also has a separate boost. I use this for a simple boost pedal for playing Muddy Waters type stuff. When I am playing classic rock, I use the distotion channel. When I want to get into the 80's metal type stuff I just turn up the gain a little more. It also does the scooped mid sounds very well. This is simply the most versital dirt pedal I have ever found. You can make it do almost anything. I mention Marshall but it isn't a Marshall clone, it can do it yes, but it can do so much more. (BUY ONE AND SEE FOR YOURSELF). I have 8 other amps, (two solid state)and it sounds good with each of them. It does add a little bit of noise to the signal but not bad. It has a filter that can elimate it all.

It look and feel really well made. Maxon is known for making good pedals.

I have been playing for 25 years. I own tons of gear from the cheap stuff to top shelf stuff. I play many types of music but am a blues guy at heart. This pedal allows me to get a wide variety of tones from my blues voiced amps. This pedal is so good, I will be selling a lot of my amps. I would definately buy another one if this one were stolen. I can't believe this thing isn't more popular. I have had 20 dirt pedals before this one and they are all gone. This one will be staying with me forever it is that good. Go out and try one, I am sure you will buy it. What a great pedal.