school me on the maxon OD808

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anomaly":2hbtzz2r said:
When it comes to overdrives, it seems to be more feel thing, and the tonal subtleties you will notice while playing live, or when jamming with a band. The Maxon od808 is one of those pedals that just feels right. It doesn't thin your tone out like some other OD's do, and it's got a nice smooth, bouncy character to it. That said, i still love my cheap Boss sd-1, and my MXR 6 band for boosting just as much as the Maxon. Different flavors. I had a Bad Monkey for a short while and i did not like it... lately i've been more into using EQ's for boosting my amps. It seems to retain more clarity.
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Boosting with an EQ pedal is the proverbial last frontier for me: i've never tried it but i probably will sooner or later. For now i like the color that overdrive pedals impart on the tone.

What's a good EQ pedal to use as a boost?
 
Sick Michael":29h628ea said:
Very subjective topic. Bad Monkey has always worked great for me, boosting a dirty amp. Better than the old SD1 cos the hump is less and the boost is more transparent, and no low end suck. I'd use something else for adding juice to a clean tone tho.
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What amps do you use with the Bad Monkey? I agree with you on the transparency. Have you compared the OD808 to the BM?
 
I've used the BM on a jcm 800, DSL, mesa quad preamp, and on a few modeller amps. It always does what I want, just give singing sustain to leads in a transparent way. Its v transparent, there is a slight mid hump, but u can even dial that out with the Eq. Its what I want, I can see why an sd-1 might be a better route to slayer or zakk wylde tones. Any OCD clone pedal is better for giving u that edge of breakup tone, but the BM is great for leads.
 
bbaug14":176d5110 said:
Sort of on topic. I have an OD808 and while I like it for it's natural sounding texture, it still has a slight EQ shift and some bottom end loss, to my ears. It is the pedal I'm using right now for a 'clean' boost though.

What would be a good pedal to take a slightly dirty amp... say a 50W Plexi w/volume at noon, and drive it such that it sounds like you are just turning the gain up on the amp (to something like 3 o'clock)? No EQ shift, just natural additional gain. I've tried

Carl Martin Plexitone
Timmy
oD808
TS9
SD1 (with and without the Keeley mod)
OCD

I've yet to find a pedal that does this right.
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MXR 6 band EQ pedal, or the Joyo 6 band EQ, which is a cheaper MXR clone that still sounds very good, and well built. Try one out. You can boost your amp with the EQ curve of your choice... I don't understand why more people don't use one for this purpose?? It's the perfect boost pedal IMO. It just takes a little time to get it dialed in just right.
 
I have a Boss OD2-r that I really like. Not your typical OD. More crunchy. I use it mainly when I play smaller gigs with a single channel 1x12 combo. For louder gigs with more amp, I prefer an Arion MTE-1 Tubulator. Killer OD for cheap
 
There are soon many OD pedals to check out nowadays it's dizzying. I liked the Maxon OD 808 but for me my go to has been my Visual Sounds Route 808. Of course the Maxon is huge with a lot of famous Metal Core bands :)
 
anomaly":8lawx7i3 said:
MXR 6 band EQ pedal, or the Joyo 6 band EQ, which is a cheaper MXR clone that still sounds very good, and well built. Try one out. You can boost your amp with the EQ curve of your choice... I don't understand why more people don't use one for this purpose?? It's the perfect boost pedal IMO. It just takes a little time to get it dialed in just right.
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How does the MXR compare to a Boss GE-7?


EDIT: i just checked the 6-band MXR, it doesn't have a level control. So it doesn't really compare to the GE-7.
 
shred-o-holic":179unj2z said:
AmpliFIRE":179unj2z said:
OD9>>>>OD808
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Not IME to me the 808 was warmer sounding
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That's why I don't like the 808. The OD9 is clearer and more transparent IMO. Great as a clean boost or when used as a distortion pedal on the clean channel.
 
Lots of good replies here.

As far as running it in front of the amp on your gain channel for an overdrive. I have yet to find something I like better than the Maxon 808.

I have not tried tons of OD pedals though.

I have done a direct side by side with the Ibanez 808 (newer version) which is what I had at the time and immediately sold the Ibanez to buy the Maxon (Thanks Leib for the awakening)

I did try the Bad Monkey and it was pretty damn awesome, not as good as the Maxon IMO but hey 1/3 of the price? Meh I'd rather spend $70-$100 for that extra goodness and I usually buy used gear.

I can't really give you a breakdown of differences between the BM and the maxon but the maxon to me was better.

I have tried the Ibanez 808, Maxon 808 Extreme, VFE The Scream (which was really really awesome, cant say enough good things about VFE pedals) SD-1 and a couple of modded clean boost pedals so my experience is not alot of testing different pedals but for ME, nothing could beat the Maxon.

Imo every pedal is going to be different for each amp and guitar so results may vary and there are so many pedals out there now and different ways to use them but as far as just a boost on a gain channel it is hard to beat out the Maxon.

To throw in a curve ball, have you ever tried an MXR eq in the loop???? Or a clean boost?

I say also give those a try because you say this in the post " MY sound and i don't want to change it." Not sure how sensitive your ears are but imo the Maxon does color your tone slightly. For me it is in a good way but if you must have your same exact tone only just tighter or with just a little more oomph, You might like a clean boost or even the MXR eq in the loop a bit more than an OD pedal in front.
 
maddnotez":1uesdc5d said:
Lots of good replies here.

As far as running it in front of the amp on your gain channel for an overdrive. I have yet to find something I like better than the Maxon 808.

I have not tried tons of OD pedals though.

I have done a direct side by side with the Ibanez 808 (newer version) which is what I had at the time and immediately sold the Ibanez to buy the Maxon (Thanks Leib for the awakening)

I did try the Bad Monkey and it was pretty damn awesome, not as good as the Maxon IMO but hey 1/3 of the price? Meh I'd rather spend $70-$100 for that extra goodness and I usually buy used gear.

I can't really give you a breakdown of differences between the BM and the maxon but the maxon to me was better.

I have tried the Ibanez 808, Maxon 808 Extreme, VFE The Scream (which was really really awesome, cant say enough good things about VFE pedals) SD-1 and a couple of modded clean boost pedals so my experience is not alot of testing different pedals but for ME, nothing could beat the Maxon.

Imo every pedal is going to be different for each amp and guitar so results may vary and there are so many pedals out there now and different ways to use them but as far as just a boost on a gain channel it is hard to beat out the Maxon.

To throw in a curve ball, have you ever tried an MXR eq in the loop???? Or a clean boost?

I say also give those a try because you say this in the post " MY sound and i don't want to change it." Not sure how sensitive your ears are but imo the Maxon does color your tone slightly. For me it is in a good way but if you must have your same exact tone only just tighter or with just a little more oomph, You might like a clean boost or even the MXR eq in the loop a bit more than an OD pedal in front.
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My amp doesn't have a loop, though i wish it did. And i haven't tried an EQ as a boost yet. I most likely would put it in front of the amp.

I have the gain on the Bad Monkey on zero and both low and high controls at 12 o'clock, so it's running as a clean boost. I don't notice any coloration at all, just more gain and thickness. Does the OD808 with gain on zero and tone at 12 o'clock color the tone?
 
adrianb":2cxcqj4m said:
maddnotez":2cxcqj4m said:
Lots of good replies here.

As far as running it in front of the amp on your gain channel for an overdrive. I have yet to find something I like better than the Maxon 808.

I have not tried tons of OD pedals though.

I have done a direct side by side with the Ibanez 808 (newer version) which is what I had at the time and immediately sold the Ibanez to buy the Maxon (Thanks Leib for the awakening)

I did try the Bad Monkey and it was pretty damn awesome, not as good as the Maxon IMO but hey 1/3 of the price? Meh I'd rather spend $70-$100 for that extra goodness and I usually buy used gear.

I can't really give you a breakdown of differences between the BM and the maxon but the maxon to me was better.

I have tried the Ibanez 808, Maxon 808 Extreme, VFE The Scream (which was really really awesome, cant say enough good things about VFE pedals) SD-1 and a couple of modded clean boost pedals so my experience is not alot of testing different pedals but for ME, nothing could beat the Maxon.

Imo every pedal is going to be different for each amp and guitar so results may vary and there are so many pedals out there now and different ways to use them but as far as just a boost on a gain channel it is hard to beat out the Maxon.

To throw in a curve ball, have you ever tried an MXR eq in the loop???? Or a clean boost?

I say also give those a try because you say this in the post " MY sound and i don't want to change it." Not sure how sensitive your ears are but imo the Maxon does color your tone slightly. For me it is in a good way but if you must have your same exact tone only just tighter or with just a little more oomph, You might like a clean boost or even the MXR eq in the loop a bit more than an OD pedal in front.
Click to expand...


My amp doesn't have a loop, though i wish it did. And i haven't tried an EQ as a boost yet. I most likely would put it in front of the amp.

I have the gain on the Bad Monkey on zero and both low and high controls at 12 o'clock, so it's running as a clean boost. I don't notice any coloration at all, just more gain and thickness. Does the OD808 with gain on zero and tone at 12 o'clock color the tone?
Click to expand...

It does to my ears with the application I had. But it was a good color and subtle.
 
adrianb":qhbjk7ny said:
anomaly":qhbjk7ny said:
MXR 6 band EQ pedal, or the Joyo 6 band EQ, which is a cheaper MXR clone that still sounds very good, and well built. Try one out. You can boost your amp with the EQ curve of your choice... I don't understand why more people don't use one for this purpose?? It's the perfect boost pedal IMO. It just takes a little time to get it dialed in just right.
Click to expand...


How does the MXR compare to a Boss GE-7?


EDIT: i just checked the 6-band MXR, it doesn't have a level control. So it doesn't really compare to the GE-7.
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You don't need a level control, cause when you are bringing the sliders up you are increasing the output, same with dropping em down below the zero mark, you are cutting etc... The level on the Boss eq is kinda like the same thing as a global master on an amp, it's not really nessessary. I didn't like the Boss ge-7 that much, it's a lot noisier than the MXR's and even the Danelectro 7 band, which was suprisingly the quietest of every EQ I tried. Tone wise, the older MXR 6 band has them all beat. It has a tighter, smoother tone to it vs the other ones. it's not even a contest for me. Something magic about that pedal.
 
Bought a ROG Thunderbird. Curious to see if it'll do the job.
 
I have a maxon od808 and od9, of the two I prefer er the od9. The od9 has less of a mid hump, a bit more bass, and is more agressive sounding. The od808 is warmer, but not as clear as the od9.

Used to have a bad monkey. Nice pedal, but I much preferred the maxons. Bad monkey sounded synthetic and murky by comparison.
 
For reference, the OD808 is the circuit from the Ibanez TS-10, not the TS-808. I'd take the OD-9 all day long, but that's just me.
 
anomaly":10xhrchm said:
adrianb":10xhrchm said:
You don't need a level control, cause when you are bringing the sliders up you are increasing the output, same with dropping em down below the zero mark, you are cutting etc... The level on the Boss eq is kinda like the same thing as a global master on an amp, it's not really nessessary. I didn't like the Boss ge-7 that much, it's a lot noisier than the MXR's and even the Danelectro 7 band, which was suprisingly the quietest of every EQ I tried. Tone wise, the older MXR 6 band has them all beat. It has a tighter, smoother tone to it vs the other ones. it's not even a contest for me. Something magic about that pedal.
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I think a level slider would be necessary to use the MXR 6-band as a clean boost, if one wanted to just increase the output without altering any of the frequencies. In that regard the MXR M-108 seems to be a better choice, if not a bit overkill.
 
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