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MAXON OD-808 OVERDRIVE.
Originally released in 1979, the OD808 was one of the first tube-amp
overdrive simulators to hit the market. Its smooth, creamy crunch tone
caught on quickly, and helped to launch a long line of predecessors as
well as imitators. Today, the OD808 design is without a doubt the most
used, most imitated and most lauded overdrive circuit of all time. The
reason for this is simple � tone. Simply put, the OD808 provides the
natural, mild overdrive of a tube amp without sacrificing your guitar's
original tone. In addition, it can be used as a clean booster to
provide increased gain without compromising the sound of your
amplifier.
The secret behind the legendary "808 tone" lies in
the amplifier section of its circuit. Rather than having an amplifier
stage followed by a clipping stage, the OD808 uses a signal-distorting
diode (Panasonic #MA150) that is located in the amplifier stage's
negative feedback loop (which also contains the JRC4558 IC chip).
Therefore, 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. Maxon
developed this unique design more than 20 years ago, and while it is
commonplace nowadays, back then it was an industry first.
It
should be noted that the Reissue Series OD808 uses different output
resistors than the original version. After the unit's initial release
it was discovered to have a high susceptibility to noise due to static
electricity buildup. To improve performance, the positions of the
output resistors on the reissue OD808 were reversed and their values
increased in order to reduce noise levels. This circuit change has no
audible affect on the sound of the unit, save for reducing the noise
levels.
Whether it's used as an overdrive or a booster, the
Maxon OD808 is the closest you can get to the classic sounds of 1970's
rock guitar in a compact effect pedal.
Input Impedance: 500K Ohms
Input Jack: 1/4 inch standard phone jack
Output Impedance: 10K Ohms
Output Jack: 1/4 inch standard phone jack
Output: 1
Controls: Drive, Tone, Balance
Switch: Normal/Effect Noise (IHF-A) -110 dBu
Max Amplitude: 35 dB
Power Supply: 9V Manganese dry cell battery (S-006P) or special AC adaptor
Power Voltage: DC9 V (Battery) / DC10 V (AC-adaptor)
Current Consumption: 5 mA (9V) / 6 mA (10 V) AC Adaptor AC210N (option)
Input: AC120V Output DC9V/200 mA Center - / Sleeve +)
Dimensions: (whole) 70 mm (W) x 112 mm (D) x 55 mm (H)
AUDIO DEMOS:
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