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    Tsar of the TS808

    Jul 30, 2019 5 minutes
    BY ART THOMPSON

    IT’S BEEN 40 years since Japanese engineer Susumu Tamura created the game-changing Maxon OD808. Subsequently rebranded for Ibanez as the TS808 Tube Screamer, this tube-sounding distortion/boost pedal with midrange-enhanced sound quickly became a must-have for legions of guitarists following its use by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Johnson. It’s gone on to inspire countless imitations by scores of pedal makers ever since.

    In celebration of this landmark achievement in guitar tone, Maxon has released the Limited Edition 40th Anniversary OD808 Overdrive, touted to be the closest in sound to the 1979 version (see sidebar, p. 28). We spoke with Tamura, who resides in Matsumoto, Japan, about designing the pedal back in 1979, and about revisiting the analog circuit four decades later to make it

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