Maxon Reissue Series OD808 Overdrive

Product Information

The build quality is impeccable. The pedal has a nice weight to it, and I predict it will still be working perfectly long after I'm gone! A few years ago we tried to figure out which were the best-selling overdrive pedals on the market by looking at several online music stores’ listings organized by “most popular.” The answer we got from the data was unequivocal: the Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 and its mini sibling won first and second place. In all likelihood, those two pedals are still topping that list to date, and it’s very likely that the Tube Screamer also tops the list of the best-selling pedals of all time. Another thing to consider is whether you'd like a more traditional pedal over something more modern-sounding, or vice versa. The style of music you play will have a huge influence on the type of Tube Screamer clone you buy. The amounts of gain, tonal control, and voicing of your new pedal will need to be taken into account, as well as whether you'll be using it as a clean boost or not.

Different pedals work well for different amps. i have never understood the use of a tubescreamer to boost a marshall or 5150 etc. Maybe because they're known as a boost pedal, primarily because of SRV. But here's the thing. SRV was Fender user, and LOTS of country players use TS's. and they generally use Fenders. Why does this combo sound so good? because fenders are typically amps with a scooped character. the TS adds in what isn't there. The OD808 distorts signal in the amplifier circuit itself which yields a smoother, milder, more natural sounding distortion than a separate clipping stage. This is also the reason that the IC type used in the circuit has such a large impact on the unit’s tone. The Reissue uses the correct JRC4558 Op Amp that made the 808 the tone of legend. When is a clone not really a clone? Simple: when it's designed and built by the original pedal's creators, making it more of a reissue than a generic clone. Which is exactly what you get with the Maxon OD808! A New Take on the World's Most Popular Overdrive Pedal The brand might also play a part in your decision to buy a clone over an original. Us guitarists can be an odd bunch, and one of our many quirks is that we form strong and strict loyalties to certain brands that we like. If you want to spend a load of your hard-earned cash on an TS-style overdrive pedal, but don't really like the Ibanez brand, then a clone is the perfect option. During the late 1970's, Maxon designed and created the original OD808 overdrive circuit, which later found fame as the legendary Ibanez TS808 Tubescreamer. Cut to the modern day, and Maxon have decided to re-release the OD808 circuit under their own name once more, but have improved upon it to make it more suitable for the modern guitarist.Use the OD808 as a standalone effect going through a clean channel, use it to boost your overdrive channel even further into filthy saturation territory, or even go the way of using two of the pedals together to help you blast out those dynamic riffs with conviction. For those who want only the very best overdrive tones emanating from their 'board, Ibanez has produced (and continues to produce) hand-wired versions of the TS808. The limited edition Ibanez TS808HW – whilst also acting as an investment for players who want to see their money put to good use – provides an impressive tone which delivers on all of the TS808-sounding promises. Whether it sounds that much better we'll never know – but it's worth getting hold of one if your bank account will allow. also, if you get an 808 or TS9 etc etc from whoever some are relay switched, some are TB, whole myriad. for the relay switched ones, this little item to convert them to TB without drilling holes is supposed to be good. Traditionally-voiced pedals will get you closer to that old-school TS tone that Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Edge made so famous, whereas the more modern voicings of some pedals may take you down the higher-gain route.

Now, saying something is the ‘best’ is obviously subjective – but the eight pedals in this guide are the ones that really ‘spoke’ to us. Whether it was amazing value for money, impressive durability, great looks or ridiculous tone, the following pedals stood out as the very best of the bunch. We’ve included some in-depth buying advice at the end of this guide too, so if you’d like to read more about the best Tube Screamer clones – and the famous pedal they're based on – then that’s the place to go. If you’d rather go straight to the products, then keep scrolling.Yet for all its legendary status, there are some who wish the 808 offered just a little bit more – and for those players obsessed with excess, Maxon has created the OD808X Overdrive Extreme. The main volume, drive and tone controls – while fairly self-explanatory – offer the user a pretty vast range of tones to work with. Finding your favorite tone on the Bonsai is surprisingly difficult, which is mostly down to the abundance of choice, but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable experience altogether. Imagine having a pedalboard full of TS-style pedals – including some of the most rare, sought after options on the market. It’s a real treat. In recent years the OD808 has been adopted as the overdrive of choice by a generation of guitarists in a most unlikely musical genre – metal.

Basically Maxon are the people who designed and built the TS's for ibanez up until about the mid to late 90's. Even early maxon made TS9 Ri's are going for silly money.. It's kind of like Swiss army knives. Victorinox make the "original" swiss army knife and Wenger make the " Genuine" swiss army knife, but they're both swiss army knives.While all of these pedals are great, they all have different qualities which make some more suitable than others. Do I want something traditional or modern? As with the Ibanez TS-9 reissue, Maxon needs to be applauded for taking the time to produce a finely-built unit that is obviously made to last. The Maxon 0D808 is often compared to the slightly higher priced Ibanez TS808, as they are quite similar to each other in many aspects. I found the Maxon was less harsh on the mid-range and featured more tonal control. Furthermore, thereis a general consensus online that the Maxon is the superior overdrive pedal overall, which I am inclined to agree with. So the Maxon OD808 is not really a clone. Ibanez's parent company Nisshin was the brand to develop the original Tube Screamer circuit and pedal in the early 1970’s, producing Ibanez branded pedals. Nisshin also released their own line of effects under the Maxon brand. The OD808 and the TS808 are, for that reason, identical pedals – so if you’d rather avoid having ‘mainstream’ brands on your ‘board, then a Maxon OD808 could be exactly what you need.

Another consideration is that as parts get older, component values will drift somewhat and therefore tone can be affected to a small degree. According to Godlyke (distributors of the Maxon OD-808), the circuit is identical to the original units produced in the ’70s that are also identical to the Ibanez TS-808. It may be fair to say then that the reissue Maxon OD808 sounds closest to what the original OD808 and Ibanez TS-808 units did when they were first released in the ’70s. (**12/23/01 EDITOR’s NOTE: I’ve examined the OD-808 and discovered that the output resistors are truly the same as those found in the TS-9: therefore the circuit matches the original and reissue TS-9 except for inclusion of the JRC4558D chip rather than the TS-9 reissue’s Toshiba chip**). You can trust Guitar World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test. Housed in a heavy-gauge metal enclosure, the OD808 certainly feels rugged. I also have a preference for the older-style stompbox switches as used in the OD808 as they seem to hold up well to long-term abuse and are easy to replace if they do go down. While I have not experienced problems with the Ibanez 9-series style footswitches personally, I have heard some complaints regarding reliability issues with some of them.

When even legendary overdrives just aren’t enough, it’s time to go to the extreme – the OD808X Overdrive Extreme. Maxon play off being the original makers and charge lots of money, and Ibanez are the original brand. and charge lots of money. and a million and one other makers make clones at varying levels of price. The most outrageous of the standard production ones is the TS808HW (handwired). they don't use "premium" or "hand selected" components, they use the same bog standard stuff out of the same parts bins as the other pedals. Maxon developed the OD808 circuit more than 40 years ago, and since then it’s become the most used, most imitated and most lauded overdrive circuit of all time. While the 808-style overdrive circuit is commonplace nowadays, in 1979 it was a unique design and an industry first. Besides the fact that the Maxon OD808 Reissue sounds richer, warmer, and BETTER than the Ibanez TS808 Reissue, there are also these facts to consider: