OD-808 : Indespensible!

I got one of these after hearing for years how great they are. I didn't realise just how useful they are until I spent a few hours with this one!

This is a great sounding low- to medium- gain overdrive with a usable range of sounds accessible via the tone knob. This is obvious, I think, from the myriad reviews available on this site and online. The pedal is useful in a variety of situations, from jazz and blues to extreme metal.

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!

However, as much as I enjoy the drive the Maxon OD-808 delivers, my favourite feature of this pedal is the way in which it compresses the low end of guitar signals. This makes this overdrive my first go-to for anything heavy rock or metal. When I'm recording bands in these genres, I ALWAYS throw this pedal in the mix to tighten up the guitar tones, as well as to drive amps as well as the best ODs I've tried in the past.

To point out a niggle I had when I first received this pedal: initially, the bypass switch caused a brief but noticeable silence before the effect kicked on. I thought I had received a dud at first, but after a week of use this sorted itself out and the pedal worked a charm!

This has become an important element in my work since I got it. I heartily recommend this pedal to everyone with a jack lead.