Rodenberg GAS-828 Overdrive

Plug in => good Sound!
I mean, you just can't get a bad sound of the pedal - exept you play 808+909 in series with to high gain settings ;).
The knobs are labeled very well on the backside, so everybody shouldn't have Problems with dialing it in.
My only complaint is about the little tone/volume knobs on the side of the pedal, because they aren't easy to adjust.
But Ulrich improved that on the new version, so theres everthing fine.
=> old version: 9
=> new version: 10


Features (from Ulrich):

* Two totally independent GAS units in one pedal
* Added switch for more gain on GAS 2 (GAS-909)
* Added 'Bolt/Serial'-switch for two different working modes
* Specially dimensioned and selected components = overdrive at its best!
* True Bypass without switching noise
* 'Long-Life'-foot switch
* Two Overdrive-, Level- and Tone-knobs
* Two 'Bass-Boost'-switches
* Case of extremely solid polished alluminium
* Upside blending of lasered high-grade steel
* Extremely bright blue and red Jewel-LEDs
* Power supply by external AC/DC-adapter
* Handmade in small series
* 2 years warranty

It sounds just like it looks - absolutely kingly, noble and outstanding!
The pedal sounds so natural and amp-like that you hardly recognize this big sound coming out of this little box and not from a good amp.

But enough, let's get more in detail:
Both sides (808/909) are - like the name tells you - based on an Ibanez tubescreamer but without the loss of bass. Let's call it a nicely balanced tubescreamer.
The 808 (there are two 808 in the pedal. one of them can be switched to the 909) is a fantastic booster, which adds nice harmonics and sustain to your already overdriven amp. In that way, it changes the natural tone of the amp just a little bit. But yeah, it changes it to the better - your neck pickup gets more definition and sounds clearer but without letting your bridge PU get too bright!
Just roll of a little tone on the Bridge PU, like I always do and everthings perfect.
The bassboost can fatten up your tone here, if necessary and with the right settings at your amp and the GAS you can get crushing rythms to smooth leads.
10 of 10 points as a booster!

As an overdrive in front of a clean amp it's as good as a booster.
Like already said, the 808 sounds like a good amp should. It has very much definition to it, cleans up pretty well and is very articulate and responsive.
In front of my Mesa Stiletto trident it NAILS the andy timmons tone, which I appreciate very much :).
10 points as a overdrive in front of a clean amp!

The 909 has a really warm, smooth singing leadtone.
But I don't think it would be useful for deathmetal leadguitar...
Great for sweet rock/bluessolos, Santanalike sounds or something like that.
The bassboost fattens up the tone even more.
So, very sweet results on that one, too!
10 points as a sweet, harmonic leadsound.

Both pedals in series just works with both in 808 mode, IMO. Sounds pretty good, especially as a double boost if you want to highlight some parts of a solo.
A 909 and a 808 together ist just too much and the sound gets muddy and well, just oversaturated. This settings isn't very useful, but who needs this...

Depend on it?
Use without backup?
Hell yeah, I would!
A pedal that's build with handselected highquality components by one professional person IS reliable.
And yeah, this pedal might be "built like a tank" but it doesn't look that ugly ;).
It's so esthetic with those nice LEDs (at my version, even the "Rodenberg"-writing is lighted red), the lasered stainless steel plate and the switches.
I think I haven't seen a pedal that's so beautiful.

Ulrich is a really nice person with good ideas!
He knows what he's doing!
Looks at his website - the other pedals and especially the amps are very interesting, too.
I think, everyone should support people like him and that's why i've decided to write this review.
Thanks Ulrich!

I play good old rock, blues, jazz funk and sometimes i want to get heavy, too - the pedal handles it all in combination with my mainamp, the stiletto, and my countless other stuff, no matter if used as a booster, overdrive oder leadsound.

The pedal itsself can't handle metal or those other new styles but as a booster, it would even get those people satisfied.

The GAS-828 is a outstanding pedal and it's definitely worth its price. I've played long enough a heard lots of pedals so i can judge this pretty well, i think.
For sure, there are more overdrives out there, but for now, this is the best I've ever played and I'm very satisfied with it.

In my opinion, it really doesn't get much better than this pedal!
Try it, i bet you'll love this sweet box.

Super easy to use, outstanding build quality, I like all switches on this beauty and where with some other "Boutique" Pedals you get a cheap paint job, on this one everything is lasered into the metal!! Amazing, I fell in love the moment I had it in my hands.

Ok here's the best with this pedal: I use a Keeley modified TS9DX FLEXI-4X2 Tubescreamer, kind of the ultimate Screamer for my ears. Currently I use them both on my pedalboard. They sound so close that you hardly hear a difference but the GAS 828 has a more creamy tone to it. I mostly use it now for lead work and with the GAS Feature (unique to my opinion) I regularly kick in the 909 just to punch in some notes or at the end of a lead line and it sounds so good it makes me cry!! Even the drummer in my band smiles when I do this. Do you know the endless sustain Gary Moore playes in "Parisian Walkways" - with the 828 you'll have a laugh when you first do this because it's so easy.
The stacking of the two drives adds noise but the fun factor and the sound resulting is worth it.
Buy the way it sounded great on all amps tested. I've checked it with all the classics (don't like to list anything) and it's so amzing good at all levels.

Build quality is outstanding, there's nothing you'll find. Can't think this pedal would not last a long time.

Ullrich is such a nice guy. I talked with him several times on the phone and he's just super friendly. Only thing is that he's in desparate need for more employes that could help him build more gear. Now he's starting his new amazing FLEXAMP (check his site) and I can't see that his delivery times will be getting any better. He still builds everything by himself and I think that a couple of weeks waiting (3 weeks in my case) is absolutely OK for what you get.

I play Blues-Rock from Jimmy, to Clapton up to ZZ-Top and the 828 fits me in a perfect way. I play guitar for 25 years now. Main Guitar: Clapton Strat, Amp: modded Marshall JCM 2000, Pedals: Keeley, Barber, Fulltone, Lovepedal, Rodenberg, Guyatone, T-Rex, ISP Noise Gate (the best) you name it...
The GAS 828 is a keeper, I'll even order a 727 also because his pricing will go up.
Wow, this was my first review ever on Harmony Central. What a great and helpfull site you people have! A million thanks for that and keep up the good work.

All has been said. Very compact and sturdy dual pedal. Lights are very bright, I like that. Switches do not click so you might think you diid not hit the pedal. You easily get used to it, in fact, I like it so much, I wish all my switches had those buttons. Would appreciate bigger volume knobs, so I cosider giving it an 8, but stick to the 9 since it's the only thing really

Tried it somewhere and loved it immediately. What I liked the most is that it does not abuse your own sound.
Noticed that my Yamaha SG2000 with HB's leads to a smaller drive spectrum than my single coil guitar. Use it with a Yamaha T100c (Soldano design) full tube combo amp.
The 909 option gives me not tripple gain as stated, more 1,5 the gain of the 808. This sound gets more muddy imo so I use it in 808 modus. If you want 'more' you can layer both which I like.

Looks very reliable

Well...
Very friendly guy, Ullrich. I had difficulty getting a date of shipment, "I will ship within a week" has been said many times. Lost faith in that period. Friend of mine ordered the same pedal and is running into the same situation. "Shipment withing 10 days" is the case.

Tried many pedals with my own gear at a shop, didn't really like them. My best overdrive comes from my OD channel on my combo. Sounds dry, in your face and very convincing. The further I drive the pre-amp, the more harmonics I get. I use the GAS 828 to get another OD via my clean channel.

If you are familiar with overdrive pedals then you should not find any difficulty dialing in a good sound. It is two overdrives in one pedal. Each overdrive has its own footswitch. Each overdrive has its own tone, drive, level controls and bass boost switch. The second of the overdrives has a switch which will multiply the gain by three times if required. The two channels can be stacked or used independently. There are two extra switches on the pedal which change how the the overdrives work together. The first is the Bolt switch. With this bolt switch on switching on one overdrive switches off the other if it was on ie the pedals can't be stacked. The second switch is the GO switch. This switch only affects the second overdrive. With this switch on you have to keep you foot depressed on the second overdrives footswitch to activate it. This allows you to tap on the pedal for a short time giving you a quick boost that is easily released.

The above sounds a little complicated but is very easy once you see the pedal. There are only two potential negatives in terms of ease of use. The level control for each pedal is very small and slightly difficult to adjust. However I view this as a good feature as once you have the sound dialed in the level knob will not be moved easily resulting in a change in your volume all of a sudden which has been known to happen when one is little over excited on stage. The second is that the pedal is mains powered only. Again this doesn't bother me as I power all my pedals with a diago powerstation. Nevertheless some people may view this as a negative though I suspect that if you are buying this pedal you will be powering your pedals with a quality power source.

I ran this pedal from a godin artisan st1 to a blues junior with all tone controls at 12 oclock. This pedal is very transparent allowing your guitars natural tone to come through. The tone controls on either overdrive offer a good spectrum adding the right amount of treble without your guitar sounding too processed. The drive controls goes from mild hair right through to full on overdrive without you guitar ever sounding muddy. Adding the extra gain on the second pedal lets you dial in an excellent distortion without loosing too much of you guitar tone. The bass boost switches add a gentle bass without clouding the tone coming through the pedal. Stacking the two pedals together really creates full on distortion that would be enough for most people with the exception of those who desire that full on shredmetal sound. What I found particulary pleasing about this pedal is the fact the drive range is excellent. With other pedals I have tried you can find a few sweet spots with your guitar but with the gas 828 and I didn't find any drop off in tone throughout the drive range on either channel and found my guitar punching through and singing nicely with amp pedal combo. The pedal also offers excellent picking dynamics allowing you to change the drive with you pick atttack.

These are hand built pedals made to order. They come with a two year warranty. The pedal itself appears very solid. The knobs give that little bit of resistance that suggests quality and the switches move with a satisfying step. However I have not had the pedal for months or years therefore I will not give a score nevertheless I have no concerns about the build quality.

Excellent Excellent Excellent. Ulrich is a gentleman to deal with responds to all questions and emails quickly. His customer service is one of the reasons that prompted this review.

I play in a christian worship band. I need a wide range of tones from gently overdrive to full on distortion playing a wide range of music. For my own enjoyment I play blues jazz and a little bit of creative rock from the likes of Satch and Vai. This pedal copes with all of the above. I have tried many overdrives including boss digitech BM, toadworks deathrattle and the visualsound route 66 and JH. While some of these pedals are good none offers the wide range of tones, transparency and picking dynamics of the gas828. For a hand built pedal with this finish and these features and outstanding customer service I think you would find it hard to beat for the price

The 828 is very easy to get great sounds with. The bass boost adds just the right amount of bass and the tone control is very effective. This pedal can sound like a tube screamer but will go beyond that. It's got that little mid boost but in the right band. There are no instructions but you can learn what it does from Ulrich's web sight. I knew how to use it before it arrived from Germany.

With my SRV strat I was able to get A nice almost clean boost with the 808 side and with the 909 enabled on the right all kinds of distortion can be achieved. The option of switching between 808 or 909 on the right side is very useful, it's like having three pedals in one.It's the perfect pedal for my black face Fender amps. I was able to get Hendrix and SRV tones and was suprized to come up with a fat Santana tone. It actually had my strat sounding like it had humbuckers. With the bass boost on a huge chuncky metal chord was dangerous. The 828 is more usefull than any other of the 20 overdrive/distortion pedals i've had in the last twenty years.

German craftmenship has always been some of the best in the world and Ulrich Rodenberg has created a very rugged and beautiful piece of equipment.

Ulrich Is great to do business with and would gladly repair
any of his fine equpment if it ever needed it. He was very helpful and exchanged several emails with me about his products.

My band plays classic rock and blues, Hendrix, SRV, Classic R&B,
and many blues standards. My overdrive/distortion pedals have been a Fulltone dist. pro and a Fat boost for 3 years. I've Tried tube screamers,Boss,Klon,Voodoo labs, visual sound,and many others over the past twenty years. I bought this without hearing it after studying it on Rodenburg's web site. I have used it live and it fit right in and was very east to dial in my setting with only a few tweaks. This pedal is much more usefull than my Fulltone pro & fat where.

Very easy to get a good sound, has bass boost switch, overdrive and tone pots, full bypass. The 828 is the dual pedal version of the GAS 808. It has an 808 AND a second 808 with the 909 boost option.

A VERY COOL feature is serial/bolt mode. That is, you can chain the two overdrive pedals together so they can both be on or off (serial). Or you can have them switch between each other with one switch press (bolt).

Seems to me like a more modern and WAY more flexible version of the gool old TS 808. From Ulrich:

* Two totally independent GAS units in one pedal
* Added switch for more gain on GAS 2 (GAS-909)
* Added 'Bolt/Serial'-switch for two different working modes
* Specially dimensioned and selected components = overdrive at its best!
* True Bypass without switching noise
* 'Long-Life'-foot switch
* Two Overdrive-, Level- and Tone-knobs
* Two 'Bass-Boost'-switches
* Case of extremely solid polished alluminium
* Upside blending of lasered high-grade steel
* Extremely bright blue and red Jewel-LEDs
* Power supply by external AC/DC-adapter
* Handmade in small series
* 2 years warranty

Use it with a range of guitars such as vintage strat and Brian Moore custom guitars. While it still has a certain midrange boost to it which reminds of the classic pedals, it sounds cleaner and more professional to my ears. It has the good part of the vintage gear with modern sound and features. It simply sounds really good.

It is like a good boost pedal with the ability to add more overdrive at will. It is not a transparent boost, but the frequency response is perfect for electric guitar. With the tone controls down below half way it makes single coil sound more like a humbucker. It has plenty of level and overdrive to make a clean channel go crunchy and an already dirty channel amp go into serious gain territory.

I like having the first pedal be a more subtle boost with the tone control up pretty high and bright and then the second pedal with more boost, overdrive and the tone all the way. This way, out of one pedal, I can get a nice bright boosted tone and a fat, gainy tone (i.e. Santana) out of one pedal- very cool.

Seems to be built extremely well, I expect it to be very reliable

Hand Built by Ulrich in Germany, he answer all emails quickly and seems available and friendly. I imagine he would respond equally well if a problem arose.

It is a very professional quality unit. I tend to be snobbish about having things in my signal chain be very transparent and more "hi fi" sounding. This pedal though gives me a new appreciation for the sublte way that guitar pedals can color the tone and have it be an asset. This pedal has the same basic tone curve to me as the classic pedals, but doesn't sound squashed and small, it doesn't make it sound\feel smaller to me, which I think a lot of vintage pedals tend to do. It does seem to roll off some high end like the old designs, but it is a good effect in which the midrange is emphasized and it really works with electric guitar and kicking some energy into lead sounds.

The look and feel of the pedal is great, some very well thought out features. For exampe, the output level is a small top mounted pot that you can hit with your foot and change! The indicator lights are really bright and mounted in vintage amp style lamp cases- nice touch!

Highly recommended!