Out of love with my OD808 :-(

[Holy Diver]

Hi all,

I've been using a Maxon OD808 in front of my Roadster hi-gain rhythm and lead tones for quite some time now (along with an MXR 10 band eq in the loop for rhythm). The initial idea was to tighten things up a bit. Settings gain 0, level between 2/3 and full depending on pups... Tone around 9 oclock. Tbh recently i'm beginning to think it's taking from my tone rather than adding to it. Just seems to be adding mids, highs and fizz and it seems to be very difficult to maintain my overall tone that i had before i turn it on. Also since i got the OD808 i always seem to have to turn the tone way down to stop everything sounding extreme mid-heavy and overly bright. I know some on here have mentioned having the tone dimed - can't see how that works unless you want to severely alter the sound of the recto.

Any views on this? Btw i'm mainly taking about metal rhythm tones... nothing too extreme

 

[volatileNoise]

Like I have mentioned in a couple of threads recently, if these pedals are anything like an OD-9 then I have no idea why people even use them with a Recto or any high gain valve amp where you still want to retain your tone.

If it was a low gain amp, and you wanted a fat dirty sound with a different tone I could understand it but as for the OD-9 it is a terrible pedal for the use as a boost for a high gain amp setting. I use a stock SD-1 with the Tone all the way down, Level dialed to the max, and Gain set on around 8.30 - 9am (or around 15 - 20%) and it works much better as a front end boost IMHO than an OD-9 at least.

Hope this helps!

 

[Blaklynx]

I've mentioned this before in other threads related to EQ pedals: Place an EQ pedal after the OD and shape the tone. Many OD's have only a tone control and sometimes sound bland no matter how you set the tone control. If you're happy with the general characteristics of the pedal but feel the tone is lacking, use an EQ pedal after it. Since you've got an EQ pedal, why not try it just to give you an idea what can be done. If you're happy with the initial response, buy another EQ pedal.

I've got 3 EQ pedals; one out front after OD's for preamp tone shaping and two in the loop (one as an overall tone shaper and the the other as a boost set for solos).

The Danelectro Fish n Chips is a good EQ pedal for very little money, or buy the MXR 10 band which gives more flexibility. I have one Fish n Chips and two MXR 10 bands.

 

[espboogie123]

I quite enjoy my Maxon OD808. Without it, my tone gets lost with the flubby bass that my roadster produces. The 808 shapes my tone quite nicely. I'd experiment with some tubes if I were you. After trying many tubes out there, Winged C 34s and 6l6s just do wonders to my tone in different amps and my roadster.

 

[screamingdaisy]

With my Dual Rectifier (2ch) my Maxon OD808 sounds awesome. It blends perfectly with the amps own voicing and you wouldn't even think you were playing through a pedal it feels so natural.

With my Roadster on the other hand the same Maxon OD808 sounds like ****. The two voices don't mix right, so it sounds and feels like I'm playing through a cheap buzz box rather than the amp. I get much better results using a Fulltone Fulldrive 2, which oddly enough doesn't sound very good with my 2 channel.

 

[fluff191]

Anyone else having Deja-Vu while reading this thread? :?

 

[Holy Diver]

I've mentioned this before in other threads related to EQ pedals: Place an EQ pedal after the OD and shape the tone. Many OD's have only a tone control and sometimes sound bland no matter how you set the tone control. If you're happy with the general characteristics of the pedal but feel the tone is lacking, use an EQ pedal after it. Since you've got an EQ pedal, why not try it just to give you an idea what can be done. If you're happy with the initial response, buy another EQ pedal.

I've got 3 EQ pedals; one out front after OD's for preamp tone shaping and two in the loop (one as an overall tone shaper and the the other as a boost set for solos).

The Danelectro Fish n Chips is a good EQ pedal for very little money, or buy the MXR 10 band which gives more flexibility. I have one Fish n Chips and two MXR 10 bands.

I will give this a go next time at practice. Before I got the OD i used to use the MXR 10 band alone as a boost and I liked it a lot. Sounds like it could be the way to go

 

[Holy Diver]

Anyone else having Deja-Vu while reading this thread? :?

Yeah - sorry about that...

I haven't been on here in a few months and tbh it seems customary here to ask the same questions over and over no matter how many times they have been answered so i said what the heck...

 

[droptrd]

So is there an OD808 for sale?

 

[Neptical]

Why not just buy an amp that produces it all without any pedals in front???
To be honest, I've never liked pedals of any kind in front of an amp---especially a Rectifier.

~Nep~

 

[espboogie123]

Why not just buy an amp that produces it all without any pedals in front???
To be honest, I've never liked pedals of any kind in front of an amp---especially a Rectifier.

~Nep~

Sometimes that $500k Ferrari is just too **** expensive. Its better to go with a sweet $70K corvette and add a little cash to upgrade and smoke that Ferrari.

 

[volatileNoise]

Why not just buy an amp that produces it all without any pedals in front???
To be honest, I've never liked pedals of any kind in front of an amp---especially a Rectifier.

~Nep~

I would have agreed less than a couple of months ago, until starting up a heavier band, and realising these things cannot pull off a great metal tone without a boost to help drive the front of the amp a bit harder. The gain when set above 1.30 - 2.00 on the dual rec is as good as useless, they may as well make 2.00 dimed on the modern channel gain pot for what it's worth, the sound with it pulled back, and pushed with a boost is a better tone with added usable gain levels.

 

[screamingdaisy]

Why not just buy an amp that produces it all without any pedals in front???
To be honest, I've never liked pedals of any kind in front of an amp---especially a Rectifier.

~Nep~

And where would someone be able to find an amp that sounds exactly like a boosted Recto?

 

[droptrd]

Why not just buy an amp that produces it all without any pedals in front???
To be honest, I've never liked pedals of any kind in front of an amp---especially a Rectifier.

~Nep~

And where would someone be able to find an amp that sounds exactly like a boosted Recto?

**** it, i was going to say that :wink:

 

[Neptical]

Why not just buy an amp that produces it all without any pedals in front???
To be honest, I've never liked pedals of any kind in front of an amp---especially a Rectifier.

~Nep~

And where would someone be able to find an amp that sounds exactly like a boosted Recto?

I dunno, man. If the person didn't like the way the pedal sounded up front of the amp, I'm just suggesting getting an amp that won't need it. Maybe the grindy boosted Rec tone isn't for him--is all I'm saying. I didn't like it myself, either. Nothing more, nothing less. 8)

~Nep~

 

[Holy Diver]

Why not just buy an amp that produces it all without any pedals in front???
To be honest, I've never liked pedals of any kind in front of an amp---especially a Rectifier.

~Nep~

And where would someone be able to find an amp that sounds exactly like a boosted Recto?

I dunno, man. If the person didn't like the way the pedal sounded up front of the amp, I'm just suggesting getting an amp that won't need it. Maybe the grindy boosted Rec tone isn't for him--is all I'm saying. I didn't like it myself, either. Nothing more, nothing less. 8)

~Nep~

Surely a better solution would be to get a different pedal or adjust how the pedal affects how the amp sounds?

 

[volatileNoise]

Surely a better solution would be to get a different pedal or adjust how the pedal affects how the amp sounds?

Holy **** batman, this man has the word "holy" in his user name AND can use logic/reason... Brilliant! JK :lol:

I agree, and with a nice amount of boost the Recto can have just that bit more bite that it is missing.

*edit - after trying the noisy and ugly OD-9, and going back to the SD-1 in a matter of minutes... I would suggest trying a cheap off the shelf one, as I did. I am also looking at the MXR Micro Amp now as well, so I may try and pick up one when I offload the Maxon pedal.

Check out the demo here - http://www.jimdunlop.com/blog/?p=1391

 

[cheameup]

have you tried a dedicated clean boost ?

I just bought an overdrive to run into the front of my recto for light/mid drive sounds on the clean and it has a serperate clean boost . I never really planned on using a clean boost but it takes my modern heavy rythym channel to a whole new level

 

[droptrd]

Surely a better solution would be to get a different pedal or adjust how the pedal affects how the amp sounds?

Holy sh!t batman, this man has the word "holy" in his user name AND can use logic/reason... Brilliant! JK :lol:

I agree, and with a nice amount of boost the Recto can have just that bit more bite that it is missing.

*edit - after trying the noisy and ugly OD-9, and going back to the SD-1 in a matter of minutes... I would suggest trying a cheap off the shelf one, as I did. I am also looking at the MXR Micro Amp now as well, so I may try and pick up one when I offload the Maxon pedal.

Check out the demo here - http://www.jimdunlop.com/blog/?p=1391

The microamps are killer for amps that live on the mid heavy side like 5150s and Marks. Its one of my fav boosts. Not so much for a recto. I realy like the mid hump/boost from TS type pedals with the rectos. Either way though, Micro Amps are awesome and often over looked

 

[Holy Diver]

Surely a better solution would be to get a different pedal or adjust how the pedal affects how the amp sounds?

Holy sh!t batman, this man has the word "holy" in his user name AND can use logic/reason... Brilliant! JK :lol:

I agree, and with a nice amount of boost the Recto can have just that bit more bite that it is missing.

*edit - after trying the noisy and ugly OD-9, and going back to the SD-1 in a matter of minutes... I would suggest trying a cheap off the shelf one, as I did. I am also looking at the MXR Micro Amp now as well, so I may try and pick up one when I offload the Maxon pedal.

Check out the demo here - http://www.jimdunlop.com/blog/?p=1391

Maybe my sarcasm wasn't as clear as it should have been...