Maxon · OD808 · 1979 (Japan only); later reissued

Maxon OD808 Overdrive

This is where the Tube Screamer started. Susumu Tamura designed the circuit at Nisshin Onpa in 1979, and it went on sale in Japan as the Maxon OD808 Overdrive Pro. Maxon couldn't export at the time, so the rest of the world got it from Ibanez as the TS808. Maxon later brought the OD808 back in its Reissue Series, in a smaller, lighter box than the Ibanez with a plunger-style switch and FET switching. It keeps the JRC4558 chip. Maxon says two output resistors were moved and increased to cut noise without changing the sound. Analog Man, who mods them, says the output section is closer to a TS9 or TS10, and he warns the pots are cheap, break easily and can't be swapped for standard ones. Maxon's longtime US distributor Godlyke stopped carrying the brand around 2020, so most you'll find are used. It's the 808 from the company that built the originals. Pick Ibanez's TS808 reissue if you want the familiar green box.