Maxon OD808 Overdrive

Maxon OD808 Overdrive is the original TS808 circuit with all the warm, creamy, organic overdrive as the original and then some. Can a pedal be considered a clone if it’s made by the company that made the original?!?

Maxon has tweaked the current version ever so slightly to reduce noise level while retaining the legendary “808” tone. This is the perfect pedal for adding smooth, tube-like overdrive to any clean amp – use it as a secondary dirt channel to beef up a song’s chorus section, or keep it on all the time for the crunchy tone that has defined rock and roll.

The OD808 is also ideal for pushing an already overdriven amp over the edge, a ‘la Stevie Ray Vaughan. Hell, stack two of them together like Stevie did and the house is a rockin’! You’ve never heard – or felt – bluesy goodness like this before…

In recent years the drive has been adopted as the overdrive of choice by a generation of guitarists in a most unlikely musical genre – metal. Turns out that the OD808’s mild compression and slight low-end cut are perfect for tightening up high-gain amps; allowing fast note runs to stand out with clarity while making rhythms tight and punchy.

After 40 years it’s still being used to reinvent guitar tone as we know it. Reinvent your tone – play the 808.

Maxon OD808 Overdrive demo video