Is your 808 from the 1980? Wow. Must be pricy nowadays.
I have a modern TS808 that I bought like 15 years ago. One of the first pedals I actually got. Never been a pedal guy, but I started obsessing with boosts as soon as I started venturing into actual tube amps. Either way, the Maxon OD808 I later got definitely sounded different from it. I've read the Maxon is actually based off the TS10. I've also read TS9, so I don't know. But the OD808 actually sounded wider. More top-end detail, less lows cut, less honky mids. More transparent, but at the same time, less Tube Screamer-y, I found. Good boost for sure, but not dead on to what my modern 808 does. Keep in mind, the differences were not night and day, TBH. You could easily get one to do the job of the other, however.
Keep in mind I am one of those dudes who obssess about the minute differences between Tube Screamers. I've owned the TS808, TS9, OD808, OD9, TC Mocambo, and EHX East River Drive as far as straight-up non-modded Tube Screamer circuits go. They all sound slightly different, but if you're not mega picky, they all do 99% the same job, TBH.
And like I said, all stock Tube Screamers sound fatter than an SD-1. An SD-1's low-end rolloff is noticeably more extreme. But the character is not the same. There is certainly a lot more difference between a TS808 and an SD-1 than between a TS808 and a TS9. And that character difference not only has to do with the asymmetrical clipping, but on other component values that are different. An SD-1 has more gain range than a TS808, less output volume, and the tone control works in a slightly different frequency range.
Thanks for the comparison. I didn't notice any difference
but by the time I switched, the TS wasn't my primary OD anymore.
I've never actually compared my Maxon side by side with the original or with my favorite TS-type, a VFE Pale Horse.
For me the TS magic only manifests fully when pushing an amp that's already breaking up a bit.
I'm running my amps cleaner these days so it's less useful - and less used - than when it was a mainstay.
My 808 is part of a box that served as my pedalboard through much of the 80s, an Ibanez UE300.
It combines a decent comp, the TS and a stereo chorus in one chassis with AC power.
Back in '79/80 I think there was still only one Tube Screamer. Of course, I could be wrong about that.
But many seem to agree the UE300 contains the original circuit and the correct chip.
I used it with an Echoplex, back by the amp where I could reach it easily (later an MXR System II - no moving parts).
Along with the great lead channel in my Boogie Mk II, that was all I needed in the 80s.
Liked the UE300 enough that I bought a second one right away as a spare (was already writing off gear purchases by then).
One of them eventually got stolen in NYC around '89. Was very glad I had another.
The unit does have one design flaw that affects durability: its input jack is soldered directly to the circuit board.
When one of mine started going intermittent, our soundman rewired both with regular jacks. Never had another issue.
Maxon offered a UE300 under their own brand also and I figure the two probably are identical.
A lot of Ibanez electronics were made by Maxon back then, including the original 808.
It's kind of a forgotten pedal now but it was fairly popular in its time. Handy combo of effects - I've sometimes used mine on bass too.
You see them sometimes on eBay and Reverb, a real bargain considering what a vintage TS goes for these days.
