December 9th, 2020

Believe the hype. The Maxon Apex 808 Overdrive truly is the pinnacle of overdriven tone. Designed by the original Tubescreamer creator Susumu Tamura. Maxon Effects meticulously analyzed over 100 vintage and current Tubescreamer/808 variants over a period of 3 years in order to determine what unique components gave them that special something. One particular IC chip stood above the rest and was featured in the best sounding units. This hand-selected IC is extremely hard to find and all are sourced as NOS (new-old stock).

The tone of the Maxon Apex 808 is stunning clarity and definition while preserving the bottom end. Low drive levels give a pleasing break up that responds effortlessly to dynamic playing, if you dig in hard it will break up but stay clean when playing lightly. Pushing the drive harder introduces more 3rd order harmonics, leading to a rich and saturated drive tone without getting muddy.

Check it out in our latest installment of DIAL-IT-IN on YouTube

The best sounding in its league.

"The Apex808 allows the user to capture the sounds and feel of the very best vintage Tubescreamer without having to play through or pay thousands to do so."

Written by Collin Watson