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 .....

??

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.

This pedal is easy to use even if it has a lot to offer... It has two modes: Overdrive and Distortion and a Boost option for each mode. So, there are four tone variations available. There is a separate light control for Boost and effect on/off switches and this is a big plus. Boost is activated by foot while to go from Overdrive to Distortion you have to reach down and flick the switch by hand. Other features include: bass, middle, treble- eq knobs, Gain and Master(level)knobs. On the back next to the AC cord input is a built in Noise Reduction with on/ off switch and a threshold control. The Rod 881 has metal chasis and of course a 12AX7 tube inside. The unit runs on 9V.

This is one of the most amazing and impressive Tube OD/ Distortion units I have ever seen and heard. I own and have used many classic pedals out there over the years like Tube driver, Tubescreamer, DS 1, SD 1, DOD 250, Maxon OD 808, Guv'nor, Guyatone OD X, Radial Tone Bone Classic... but this one beats them all! It can do anything each of above mentioned can and then some... My main guitars are an ESP Vintage+ (Strat type) and ESP H 1000 Deluxe which is a set neck/ two humbuckers type of guitar. I use various amps like Laney, Fender, Crate,...
Sounds ROD 881 produces are very warm, thick, "real" and "organic". It feels as if it becomes one with the amp and just pushes it to a new level. It has a great range of tones since it has three independent knobs for bass , middle and treble frequences - so you can really dial in sounds you want. There is a lot of volume/headroom available - it's loud if you need it to be. The range of Gain can go from slight OD boost like Tubescreamer 808 (but better)all the way to turning a clean sounding amp to Marshall or Boogie rage...think early Van Halen. It's very articulate and smooth sounding...you get to "feel the string" under the pick...which means - very dynamic and responsive. The 12AX7 tube that it comes with seems to be a nice one. Unit also cleans up very well with the guitar vol. knob roll off even in higher ranges of gain which is very important for me. I have never been so excited about an OD pedal I have to admit... Both modes - OD and Distortion are good (although I prefere OD). Boost does not add too much of volume boost but thickens the tone instead. On top of all this there is a switchable Noise reduction feature that is "built in" and which works just great... better then Boss NS-2 for example. This feature is very cool since it allows you to use amp's clean tone and then step on ROD 881 and have a high gain tone with Noise reduction feature "on" and then go back to clean amp sound. With an outside Noise reduction unit this would not be possible since you can't set such a unit to "clean- up" high gain noise effectively but still go back and use amp's clean setting. You would have to switch the outside Noise gate unit as well to be able to use the clean sound - which is a drag... Maxon solved this problem with ROD 881's built in Noise Reduction- Bravo for this extra usefull feature!!! But it's not that the pedal has a lot of noise when this feature is in "off" mode... The only thing to improve here would be if the Noise Reduction switch could be activated or deactivated by foot (you have to do it with your hand). Same goes for OD/Dist mode switch- but I guess this would take a lot of space and doesn't really bother me.

The one thing I can't get here is a transparent clean boost like MXR Micro Amp - but ROD 881 is not designed to do this in the first place.

As far as lead tone quality goes (with the right guitar and amp)this is a teritory where this pedal is unrivaled. I can dial in sounds very close to Eric Johnson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Van Halen, ZZ Top and anything in between...enough said.

Works fine for now. I didn't have any problems yet and don't expect any. But on a gig everything needs backup...

Maxon pedals are distributed by Godluke for US and these people are great to deal with. Kevin knows and cares what he is selling...

I play "virtuoso- oriented" guitar music mixing styles like rock, metal, blues, neoclassical... This pedal is the most "complete" out there. Sounds amazing! It runs on 9V so it's easy to integrate on a pedalboard with other 9V units... not like some other Tube OD s which are 12V and in some situations hard to deal with because of that. Only thing I wish it had is a "footswitchable" control for the Noise reduction feature .
If lost I would want another one right away.

Gain, Master, Bass, Middle, Treble.
Some tweeking is required to get it just where you want it.

Toggle switch between overdrive and distortion.

Slide on/off slide switch and knob on back for noise reducer and sensitivity.

Effect (On/off) switch and boost switch.

1 12AX7 tube.

Excellent warm tube sound. Not tinny or buzzy. No noise at all. The noise reducer on it works better than it needs to and it does not suck any tone. You can adjust the sensitivity. It is not true bypass, but it is Maxon and I've found that their non-true bypss products don't change the tone.

It has 3 modes. 1 overdrive mode, 1 distortion mode and a boost that works for either mode. The overdrive is very warm and ballsy. I like the overdrive mode with the boost on better than the distortion mode. The distortion mode to me is too over the top.

It comes with a EH 12AX7WXT tube in it, which is a great tube. I think the distortion on it is somewhere near 60%, but I might be wrong. The best part about tube distortion boxes is that you can change the tubes. I put a JJ 12AX7 in it and it totally changed the tone. It mellowed it out to a vintage type medium gain distortion. I put a 12AX7EH and it put it over the top. I tried a Mullard 12AX7 and a 12AU7 and finally settled on the 12AU7.

I play mostly harder stuff, like Zakk Wylde, Ramstien, Pantera type of thing, but this works for the lighter stuff too. Actually, the stock tube is more sutited for medium to high gain hard rock. The Mullard I have in it gives it more balls. If you want a metal sound, I would go with a 12AX7EH or a higher end Sovtek, which are both about $10, so its worth the upgrade.

My setup.
Ibanez RG-570, Schecter C1-Classic, Fender Telecaster =>
Morley Bad Horsie => FD2, FD DS-Pro, Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive (Keeley mod), Zvex Fuzz Factory, Retroman Lola => Boss EQ-20 10 band => Rocktron Hush => Maxon CS-9 chorus, Maxon AD-900 delay, Boss DD-20 delay modeler =>
SMF 15 Watter (badass $1700 new amp made by the Matchless guy)

It is built very well, with a few mass produced shortcuts, as a previous reviewer pointed out. I would put it in the same ball park as Fulltone. The tube is not mounted on the circuit board. It is mound in a heavy duty socket on the side of the metal casing, so you can change it as many times as you want without it breaking.

I have never dealt with them.

Excellent tube distortion. It has the benefit of being able to produce anything from light pop rock to the classics to metal, with the change of a tube and some EQ tweeking. Excellent quality sound with no noise whatsoever.

Well, here goes. I've used this guy for one gig so far, so the jury's still out on this one, but it seems pretty damn good so far. Here's a little background on me and tube-king-type pedals (of which this is one): I stumbled accross the Japanese version of the Tube King when my Chandler TubeDriver kicked the bucket around 10 years ago. The Tube King was my main pedal for 10-12 years before I finally got really tired of fixing it all the time. I saw that the TK999US was built more like a tank, so I buoght one. The TK999US to my ears actually had a thicker, more Mesa-y metal distortion than the TK999 (Japanese). At the time I was playing blues and preferred the transparent sound of the Japanese model. The band I'm in now does lots of rock, and I have come to prefer the TK999US for that sound-the high-gain Boogie recto (whatever you want to call it) sound. Makes my Twin reverb sound passably like a high-gain amp.

Enter the ROD881 -- A tube king with a switch between OD/Dist AND a BOOST SWITCH? I had to have one!! Needless to say, I went through quite some trouble and money to get my hands on one all the way from Japan. Now I have to hand it to Maxon, they MUST actually listen to thier pedals because when I got it I opened it up and it had an Electro-Harmonix 12AX7 tube, straight from Japan!!! I was very surprised that they went through that much trouble to get a good-sounding 12AX7 in there. So now you know the story of how I got it, etc. read on....

Oh, by the way, it really takes a LOT of playing with knobs and switches to get to know the sounds that are possible from this box--and there are many!!

If the TK999 Japan is more transparent and musical than the TK999US, than the ROD881 is like the TK999 Japan, maybe even a little bit more transparent!! Very warm suond. Again, I have to think that Maxon actually used their ears to design this product, that's the only reason I can see to use an Electro-Harmonix 12AX7, they're certainly not the cheapest 12AX7 you can get, nor the highest-gain (well at least in my opinion--anyone have actual numbers?). So that leaves TONE as the reason to use this tube. Now I am back to the transparent sound of my Japanese TK999 that I liked so much, but I'm missing the Boogie/Marshall preamp crunch sound. Enter the boost control. But first, a caveat: In playing through a tube amp with tons of clean headroom at a low volume, this pedal sounds buzzy/fuzzy, almost bad, and the boost is WAY too much boost. However, I was very pleased to find that when used live, with the preamp already close to breakup, the distortion is rounded out quite nicely, and the boost gives a small volume increase but an AWESOME fatness increase in the distortion!! Way out-boogies anything I have played excepting a true Boogie or Marshall preamp saturation. So, I think it will be my guy from now on. Look for my TK999 Japan and my TK999US on ebay pretty soon, I'm going to stick with this guy!

Unfortunately, along with the great sound of the Japanese TK999 I now have to put up with the Japanese version's construction. Who the hell decided it would be a good idea to mount the jacks and power supply connector right to the pcb? And a metal nut on plastic threads no less? Come on, get real, this thing is poorly constructed for live use. The knobs stick way up high and they are loose, so good luck keeping them!! I lost 3 out of 5 for my Japanese Tube King....

I do have a new NGM pedalboard, though, which is built like a tank. Enough, in fact, to make up for the pcb-mounted construction and loose knobs on this pedal.

Maxon actually conversed with me over email although I did not buy this pedal from them, I think they may still be the same guys that designed all those great Ibanez pedals? These guys are INTO tone, unlike our Dunlop/Fender/Ibanez/whatever crappy corporations we have here these days where nobody uses their ears or actually plays an instrument. No wonder a Maxon (Ibanez) TS808 goes for $600!!! These guys actually care whether or not their product sounds good!!!!

For me, this pedal is the Holy Grail. Everyone has their own opinion, and I still use a TS9 and Metal Charger too, and I still feel like I can't get all the sounds I want, but this one is so versatile and incredible effective with a tube amp that's just beginning to distort that I'm selling my Ibanez Tube Kings. I almost wish this thing had patches so that I could switch settings in the middle of a song...

Due to the jacks that have PLASTIC THREADS WITH METAL NUTS MOUNTED TO A PCB BOARD design I can't give this pedal a 10. Sound quality is everything I had hoped, and it's almost TOO versatile, but I sure wouldn't mind a more road-worthy construction.

Easy! It's just like another channel added, it's got pre and post gain, bass, treble and middle controls. It also has a switch to go between overdrive and distortion, plus an added boost switch which really kicks the pedal over the top (forgot to mention, comes standard with a GE5751 valve)

This is hands down the best distortion/overdrive pedal i own, it can go from typical tubescreamer overdrive to over the top gain, even sounds better when you open your amp up, just like a true tube amp!

It's made of metal, it looks very sturdy & should be able to keep up with constant gigging

i haven't tried them, i don't think theres too many of these units out there

like i said, it's got to be the best distortion/overdrive box out there! if you do get the chance to buy one, take it!!

Quite easy to use, has a gain & master volume with a three band tone control (Bass, mid, high - just in case you were wondering!)
Tone controls are very sensitive & can change the whole effect quite easily
Has a switch to go from overdrive to Distortion & also a boost switch onboard. Also runs a 5751 Jan Phillips valve !
(Basicly it looks the same as the Ibanez Tube King TK999 - Maxon made these effects for Ibanez (Along with the original TS-808)

I use this with a Marshall TSL100 (On the crunch cannel) and a Peavey Classic 30 (With 12"Ext Cab) With various guitars, mainly a Ibanez RG470 with Paf's, a home made strat & a Fender Toronado.
I love this thing a lot - it's been one of the first distortion pedals i've owned that doesn't sound like crap when you turn the volume up to stage levels. Has a fair amount of gain on tap, not to go into the metal range however cause the overdrive of this unit sounds more "Real" than most pedals i've used.
But if you turn up the tone controls - which are quite sensitive, you can throw in what sounds like almost too much midrange - so just gotta play around with them until you find something your happy with.
Doesn't sound like everyone else this pedal - you can sound however you want.
I play alot of everything from Rock to funk & groove - for the rock side of things this pedal really (& i mean really Kicks it!)

This is pretty well built - all steel constuction, I took it apart to try different tubes in it and found this thing has a whole bundle of those JRC4558d chips !
very nicely done!

Havent had to (touch wood) but i might be difficult cause i once contacted Maxon in the USA who told me they didn't sell this pedal there cause of a Patend infringment (??? wonder whats going on there?)
But was able to check a few things out on Maxon' Japanese website.

Very happy with it, can do all types of drive imaginable - well for my needs anyway! This pretty much would be the same as an Ibanez Tube King with more gain, and its really well made, great sounding bit of gear!