so after reading threads about maxon..

[rispsira]

Which one? 820?

yes man!
that way ill be able to compare it with the 808 and my keeley ts9dx flexi 4X2 (wow the name of that thing is too long for me..)

I mean first i wasnt sure i wanted to spend the money on a third screamer because the difference may be subtle? (wont know until i try) but then im thinking its an essential part of the signal chain guitar-> screamer-> head-> cab mic etc

Its not like im getting a wireless or a harmonizer or other effect unit u know?

So im willing to shed the money for even a slight improvement in tone if possible.

Thanks a lot for your help wolfeman.

 

[rispsira]

I have an OD808 and a custom made 808 style, the custom made sounds much more better.
All opinions I´ve read in forums end up with the 820 as a clear winner, with more options to tweak your sound.
Looking for one right now....

yes man i hear you. Unfortunately it will take a while for me to receive it because i get all my gear from the US as i cant find much around here. But when i get it ill make sure to keep you guys updated, just in case someone wonders the same thing in the futur then i can add my input as well.

but either way as you said everybody seems to like it around here and that made me go for it

 

[Josh Burgess]

It brings out things like pick attack and player nuances a bit better. Cool for good players but it can make a player with bad technique sound worse.

I also liked the clean blend on the 820. Gives a bit more options for boosting. With the Drive all the way down you are able to achieve a true 'clean' boost. Turn up the drive, and it blends in the distorted signal from the chip.

Is it worth the extra money? Eh, that's debatable. But it works for me so I'll stick with it.

It's never a true clean boost. Clean boosts don't change the sound of the signal. It's still going through the mid hump EQ and compression of a tubescreamer.

But yeah, it has the distorted blend feature, which is kinda cool. It blends the sound of your guitar undistorted going through the classic tubescreamer EQ and the distorted signal along with it, depending on how high you turn the knob up. It sounds very smooth and very good, IMO.

Another reason why I like it more than other tubescreamers I've tried is because it's true bypass. The 808 isn't true bypass, and it definitely sucks treble from your guitar chain even when off. The 820 is undetectable when off.

 

[Wolfeman]

It's never a true clean boost. Clean boosts don't change the sound of the signal. It's still going through the mid hump EQ and compression of a tubescreamer.

But yeah, it has the distorted blend feature, which is kinda cool. It blends the sound of your guitar undistorted going through the classic tubescreamer EQ and the distorted signal along with it, depending on how high you turn the knob up. It sounds very smooth and very good, IMO.

Another reason why I like it more than other tubescreamers I've tried is because it's true bypass. The 808 isn't true bypass, and it definitely sucks treble from your guitar chain even when off. The 820 is undetectable when off.

I know how the pedal works, but thanks anyway.

BTW it's not true bypass.

 

[Josh Burgess]

I know how the pedal works, but thanks anyway.

BTW it's not true bypass.

Only the first part was directed at you. The rest was for the OP.

Maxon also uses the term "clean boost" in the way that you did, but that's not really what a clean boost is... it's clean in the sense that it isn't distorted, but not a true clean boost because it's still going through the tubescreamer circuit. I think of things like the Keeley Katana as true clean boosts.

As far as whether it's true bypass or not, that depends on how you define true bypass. Maxon sometimes says it is and sometimes doesn't... because it doesn't use a 3PDT or 4PDT (OD-9 uses 4PDT) like most "True Bypass" pedals. Regardless, Maxon says it uses a DPDT switch wired in a special way that they claim produces improved resistance characteristics over the typical 3PDT true bypass, and that's why they still refer to it as true bypass sometimes..... Either way, no matter what you call it, the point is that it's extremely transparent & does not suck tone whether engaged or not... According to Maxon, the OD820 is their highest quality, least noisy, & most transparent tubescreamer.

To the OP:
They've also reintroduced the OD-820 as the VOP-9. The VOP-9 is supposed to have the same circuit as the OD-820, except more crammed together into a smaller enclosure and instead of always running at 18 volts like the OD-820, it can be switched back and forth between 9 volts and 18 volts. I like the OD-820 at 18 volts, so I'd opt for that over the VOP-9, but the VOP-9 is still an interesting option.

Read these:
http://www.maxonfx.com/Q_And_A.php

http://www.maxonfx.com/NewsOd820_2004LT.php

http://www.maxonfx.com/Nine_VOP9.php

 

[Wolfeman]

Yeah it doesn't suck tone at all, actually the buffer helps improve the clarity over longer cable runs. But true bypass it most certainly is not, since it does still go through active electronics when bypassed. That's why all signal is lost when you unplug the power to it.

 

[rispsira]

Only the first part was directed at you. The rest was for the OP.

Maxon also uses the term "clean boost" in the way that you did, but that's not really what a clean boost is... it's clean in the sense that it isn't distorted, but not a true clean boost because it's still going through the tubescreamer circuit. I think of things like the Keeley Katana as true clean boosts.

As far as whether it's true bypass or not, that depends on how you define true bypass. Maxon sometimes says it is and sometimes doesn't... because it doesn't use a 3PDT or 4PDT (OD-9 uses 4PDT) like most "True Bypass" pedals. Regardless, Maxon says it uses a DPDT switch wired in a special way that they claim produces improved resistance characteristics over the typical 3PDT true bypass, and that's why they still refer to it as true bypass sometimes..... Either way, no matter what you call it, the point is that it's extremely transparent & does not suck tone whether engaged or not... According to Maxon, the OD820 is their highest quality, least noisy, & most transparent tubescreamer.

To the OP:
They've also reintroduced the OD-820 as the VOP-9. The VOP-9 is supposed to have the same circuit as the OD-820, except more crammed together into a smaller enclosure and instead of always running at 18 volts like the OD-820, it can be switched back and forth between 9 volts and 18 volts. I like the OD-820 at 18 volts, so I'd opt for that over the VOP-9, but the VOP-9 is still an interesting option.

Read these:
http://www.maxonfx.com/Q_And_A.php

http://www.maxonfx.com/NewsOd820_2004LT.php

http://www.maxonfx.com/Nine_VOP9.php

Thanks for the info man! i ordered the OD820 already though i checked out the VOP-9; it seems cool though but i already have different screamers operating at 9v (i know this is not the only difference between them!) so i dont need the option to go back and forth

Thanks for the links!!!

 

[ShamStalin]

Somewhat related..

This one I found in spanish (but it's easy to understand, the A/B comparison at the bottom, I mean)
Shoot out between Maxon and TS9:

http://www.guitarristas.org/index.php?pid=117

Yess definitely! :hotjump: