# Maxon OD 808 with Mesa rectifier.... Really that good?



## JP Universe (Oct 21, 2010)

Just ordered one cause of the hype on grailtone..... Just wondering if anyone has this combo and could let me know how it compares? Any settings you could recommend?

(for the Maxon)


----------



## warped (Oct 21, 2010)

Hell Yeah!!! You won't turn back now!

I run a 3 channel dual rectifier - with the following approximate settings (O'Clock settings)

Orange Channel
Bold/Silicon Diodes
Bass - 10:00
Mid - 3:00
Treble - 11:00
Presence - 11:00
Gain - 12:00 (I'll occasionally bump it up a little higher if I feel like it, but it's usually around 12:00 - 2:00)

Maxon OD808
Overdrive (just above completely off, below 9:00)
Tone - 12:00
Level - Max (or a touch less)

I also run an ISP Decimator after the Maxon just to keep things a little quieter

Good Luck!


----------



## Rev2010 (Oct 21, 2010)

Must be something to it with everyone swearing by it. But I'm the odd man out. Tried using a boost twice and preferred my Mesa Triple Rec tone better without it. Haven't tried the Maxon one though.


Rev.


----------



## JPhoenix19 (Oct 21, 2010)

Rev2010 said:


> Must be something to it with everyone swearing by it. But I'm the odd man out. Tried using a boost twice and preferred my Mesa Triple Rec tone better without it. Haven't tried the Maxon one though.
> 
> 
> Rev.



 I can make my Roadster sound good with a boost, but i think it sounds its best without it


----------



## asmegin_slayer (Oct 21, 2010)

JPhoenix19 said:


> I can make my Roadster sound good with a boost, but i think it sounds its best without it



This, the right guitar with the amp with the right cab makes it unnecessary to need a boost.

But the maxon 808 sounds good with it. The TS808 and the mosfet dual drive also sound great with the mesa amps.


----------



## petereanima (Oct 21, 2010)

Imho it has a lot to do with the pickups and the guitar itself. I, for example, use a TS808, but only with the RG7420 with Blazes, to tighten the guitar signal/cut unnecessary bass-freqs, and to give it just a BIT more output. With the Schecter/EMG707 i dont need it.


EDIT: Of course it has also a lot to do witht he amp. Our former second guitarist was using a Mesa DR, and a COW with 81-7 - boost with his setup was a must. The Mesa was way to un-tight without.


----------



## Darren James (Oct 21, 2010)

I use a lawsuit model Jekyll and Hyde. I believe it has the same chip as the ts808? It sounds great. I run it into a dual rec and an orange cab. The pickups in my 3 main guitars are active. For me the boost is a must as I feel it makes my tone a bit tighter and allows it to come alive.


----------



## Rev2010 (Oct 21, 2010)

Is anyone out there kind enough to do a recording of their amp with and without boost on for comparison?


Rev.


----------



## JPhoenix19 (Oct 21, 2010)

Rev2010 said:


> Is anyone out there kind enough to do a recording of their amp with and without boost on for comparison?
> 
> 
> Rev.



If i can carve out some time I'd love to do one- though obviously it'd be a Roadster and not a traditional Dual Recto (if that matters).

Are you thinking a mic'd recording or a in-the-room video clip- or both?


----------



## Rev2010 (Oct 21, 2010)

Doesn't matter which model of amp  Mic'd would be easier to tell the differences, but whatever you can do. Thanks man 


Rev.


----------



## eaeolian (Oct 21, 2010)

The boost definitely makes a difference (although, to be fair, using the word "boost" the way I use it isn't fair, since it's set to unity gain). If you like that difference or not is up to you. Just about any Tubscreamer-based OD will work - the Maxon has no "magic" about it that can't be had elsewhere.


----------



## TemjinStrife (Oct 21, 2010)

eaeolian said:


> The boost definitely makes a difference (although, to be fair, using the word "boost" the way I use it isn't fair, since it's set to unity gain). If you like that difference or not is up to you. Just about any Tubscreamer-based OD will work - the Maxon has no "magic" about it that can't be had elsewhere.





It's more about the EQ profile - cutting low bass and high highs, making your tone more focused in the midrange where it matters.

The effect is much more noticeable in a band mix and at volume.


----------



## asmegin_slayer (Oct 21, 2010)

TemjinStrife said:


> It's more about the EQ profile - cutting low bass and high highs, making your tone more focused in the midrange where it matters.
> 
> The effect is much more noticeable in a band mix and at volume.



100% true.

I have my bass on my roadster literally at 8-9 o'clock, the mids at 12 and the treble depending around 11-2 o'clock.


----------



## TMM (Oct 21, 2010)

TemjinStrife said:


> It's more about the EQ profile - cutting low bass and high highs, making your tone more focused in the midrange where it matters.
> 
> The effect is much more noticeable in a band mix and at volume.



+1 the same can be accomplished by pickup / guitar choice. My old KxK w/ Invader in the bridge had no need of a boost when playing through Rectos - that had as much (if not more) gain and tightness as my Oni + a boost into the Recto.


----------



## paintkilz (Oct 21, 2010)

this is the quintessential Killswitch tone.


----------



## Benzesp (Oct 21, 2010)

Makes your shitty legato not as shitty, acts as a low pass filter so you don't have that ..And justice for all 100Hz tone, bumps the mids up a bit. Just a win-win combination.


----------



## Leuchty (Oct 21, 2010)

Depends on the cab too, imo. My lead guitarist is using my Recto through a 1960A with no boost and sounds incredible.

If I run the Recto through the Recto 412 I need the TS9 to tighten up the huge rumble.


----------



## xCaptainx (Oct 21, 2010)

I've used a Maxon OD-808 with a Mesa Dual Rec, Triple Rect, 5150, Krank, Splawn Nitro, Bogner Ubershall and it worked well with all of them. Similar settings to above. drive all the way down, level cranked and tone at about 45%. Perfect little boost and makes pinched harmonics sound huge.


----------



## JPhoenix19 (Oct 21, 2010)

CYBERSYN said:


> Depends on the cab too, imo. My lead guitarist is using my Recto through a 1960A with no boost and sounds incredible.
> 
> If I run the Recto through the Recto 412 I need the TS9 to tighten up the huge rumble.



 Yes.


----------



## Rook (Oct 21, 2010)

I boost my recto sometimes. Plugging a TS808 in front of my roadster isn't more of the same amp, nor necessary, but means I can dime the bass knob on channel 4, modern, and get some seriously dirty sounding fat ass chording.

It sounds quite incredible, though left to my own devices, it goes unboosted generally.


----------



## budda (Oct 21, 2010)

I run my TS for the high gain stupidity - I dialed in the amp w/o a boost using a D-activator and it sounds fine.


----------



## Rev2010 (Oct 21, 2010)

CYBERSYN said:


> Depends on the cab too, imo. My lead guitarist is using my Recto through a 1960A with no boost and sounds incredible.
> 
> If I run the Recto through the Recto 412 I need the TS9 to tighten up the huge rumble.



Yeah maybe that's it for me. I'm not using a Recto cab but a B-52 AT-412 cab (returned the head and kept the cab due to shipping size & weight). I actually really like the cab, haven't gigged with it though so who knows but for home use it's great. I guess maybe that is also one of the reasons I never understood all the "loose" Recto talk.


Rev.


----------



## slayerrulesyo (Oct 22, 2010)

Mesa Rectifier+OD808 is my preference. I'm also using a Mesa Oversized 4x12, tons of low end. It doesn't really matter which pickups I use... (Seymour Duncan Distortion 7 on a mahogany body, Seymour Duncan Blackout on a mahogany body) I just think the OD helps with the more kick in the chest tightness of a not so tight mesa rectifier. This is also with the gain on the amp set wayyyyyy back to about noon or less; i pick hard (2 channel, set to vintage high gain on the 2nd channel i believe is what it's called) super tight!


----------



## warlock7strEMG (Oct 22, 2010)

JP Universe said:


> Just ordered one cause of the hype on grailtone..... Just wondering if anyone has this combo and could let me know how it compares? Any settings you could recommend?
> 
> (for the Maxon)



ive used a TS808 in front of both a Roadster and Recto on different occasions and honestly it changed my opinion of these amps. i liked the Rectos when i was younger but since then kinda found myself not really diggin the looser, dark voicing that they have. not that it sounds bad, because ive always thought that they sounded killer, just not the type of tone im really into. 

however, puttin the TS808 in front improved all of the things about the amp that i didnt care for. the 808 not only added some upper mids and attack to counteract some of the Rectos dark voicing, but also cut out the alot of the low bass frequencies that makes them feel loose. 

i normally dont like the TS/OD808's because i feel like they cut out too much low end, but with the Rectos i find it cuts out the perfect amount. doesnt thin the tone out at all, just makes it more "focused", which to me, is a what these amps need. 

on a Dual/Triple Rect i found the following settings, along with the amp volume pretty decently loud, to sound really alive and plenty tight:

-second channel-
bass: 4
mids: 6-7
treble: 5-6
presence: 5
gain: 5
Bold/Silicone Diodes

-pedal settings-
drive: 0
tone: 6
level: 7-8


----------



## cow 7 sig (Oct 22, 2010)

i use and prefer the mxr zw44 to my 808 with my mesa.


----------



## AVWIII (Oct 22, 2010)

Loved my OD808/2ch triple rec combo. Even though I'm running axefx these days, I'll never sell that pedal. It's a lot smoother sounding than most other ODs I've tried out through the years. 
That being said, I've never really tried anything crazy boutique.


----------



## JP Universe (Oct 22, 2010)

Maxon has arrived, gonna give this a try with the settings above.... Was looking for a tighter sound with better pinch harmonics so hopefully (it looks like it will from what i'm reading in here) it will give me that sound. Even if it doesn't it will be fun to play around with the pedal


----------



## Abiogenesis (Oct 22, 2010)

the common "rule" is maxon -> 5150 and ts -> mesa, just my 2c.


----------



## JPhoenix19 (Oct 22, 2010)

Rev2010 said:


> Is anyone out there kind enough to do a recording of their amp with and without boost on for comparison?
> 
> 
> Rev.



here's a quick in-the-room tone comparison between my two dirty channels with and without boosting. As you can tell, my use of the TS7 is more subtle, and like others have said is acting more as a filter.





It may be a bit hard to pick up on from the video, but the TS7 does help balance the tone out and refine what I love about Recto tone.


----------



## Rev2010 (Oct 23, 2010)

+Rep, thanks for doing this  I could definitely hear the difference albeit it still being a bit subtle. But just as you described is how I heard it, cutting some lows and boosting the mids a little. I wonder if a graphic EQ could effectively achieve the same result, and for less cash heh.

I still prefer my Rec without a boost from the times I tried it. I dunno, guess it's just me.


Rev.


----------



## TemjinStrife (Oct 23, 2010)

Rev2010 said:


> +Rep, thanks for doing this  I could definitely hear the difference albeit it still being a bit subtle. But just as you described is how I heard it, cutting some lows and boosting the mids a little. I wonder if a graphic EQ could effectively achieve the same result, and for less cash heh.
> 
> I still prefer my Rec without a boost from the times I tried it. I dunno, guess it's just me.
> 
> ...



I dunno, most decent GEQs or PEQs are noisier, bigger, and more expensive than a TS7. Simple solution and it works. 

At stage volume and with the rest of the band, it makes a HUGE difference, as you get more focused volume where you need it without washing out top end into the cymbals or low end into the bass/kick region.


----------



## JPhoenix19 (Oct 23, 2010)

TemjinStrife said:


> I dunno, most decent GEQs or PEQs are noisier, bigger, and more expensive than a TS7. Simple solution and it works.
> 
> At stage volume and with the rest of the band, it makes a HUGE difference, as you get more focused volume where you need it without washing out top end into the cymbals or low end into the bass/kick region.



This.  although i'd love to experiment with different frequency bands.

I find that the few times I've recorded, the TS7 puts the tone rightwhere it needs to be to come across as beefy and clear.


----------



## Darren James (Oct 23, 2010)

I use an mxr 6 band eq in the loop with my dual rec. (as stated above I also use an od boost as well) The eq is huge for me as I find it really makes a difference. I find it brightens things up a bit well at the same time tightening the gain up a bit as well. I wouldn't be using my rec without it. I've also tried a boss eq as well but found that it sounds "cheap," almost to much of a digital sound in my opinion.


----------



## JP Universe (Oct 23, 2010)

Had a bit of a play with it last night and I really liked the difference with the Maxon. my settings are

Mesa Single rectifier

Presence - 5
Bass - 4
Middle - 6
Treble - 5.5
Gain - 6

Maxon

Drive - 0.5 - 1
Level - 9.5
Tone - 5.5

Got a sweet Killswitch Engage tone and my pinch harmonics were popping out quite nicely . Lookin forward to using this at next practice


----------



## TemjinStrife (Oct 23, 2010)

Sounds about right. I usually run mine just above unity gain, but you can really get some great modern more "compressed" sounds by really hammering the input.


----------



## Harry (Oct 24, 2010)

Rev2010 said:


> +Rep, thanks for doing this  I could definitely hear the difference albeit it still being a bit subtle. But just as you described is how I heard it, cutting some lows and boosting the mids a little. I wonder if a graphic EQ could effectively achieve the same result, and for less cash heh.
> 
> I still prefer my Rec without a boost from the times I tried it. I dunno, guess it's just me.
> 
> ...



A TS tends to clip and compress the signal somewhere around 700Hz and then onwards, while the gain below that will be cut.
Then to further clean the signal up and increase the mid focus, everything above and below that particular frequency (about 700Hz) gets cut away.
The further away it is from 700Hz or so Hz, the more it gets cut away.
Hence why we hear less lows and lower mids, and less upper mids and less highs in the signal after a good ol' TS boosting.
The more we can contain the signal in the mids, the more mix friendly it can potentially be.

Of course, you can always further add more equalization (as we do anyway in the recorded realm), such as applying a low pass to the signal to further increase mid range focus, but it's always important to note that the clipping and compression AS WELL as the changes to the frequency curve that make a TS sound like it does.


----------

