Duncan metal

Since my 805 was lying around the amps vicinity, I plugged it into my HT Metal for some gratifying saturation. Blackstar's HT Metal, to me, is one which doesn't need much help in terms of drive. It has loads of intense drive, together with upper level volume saturation, it's one angry amp not to be missed by all you metal fiends out there. The 805, well, this pedal holds its own when it comes to drive anger. It doesn't quite deliver the metal tone per se (it wasn't conceived to be one) but it has some very rowdy drive at the later drive settings. Coupling this resulted in some obscene drive delivery but there are enough EQs to see you through some clarity.

Driven thunder

I'm still putting Thor's hammer through its paces. This time, there's a need to hear its adaptability with pedals. It wasn't an ambitious intention, just my SD 805. I'm not interested in hearing the Mjolnir being pushed by the 805, instead, I wanted to hear the amps tone with it through the FX loop. TBC...

Drives

Spent some time with these darlings (L-R):

1. Seymour Duncan 805 OD
2. Digitech DOD OD/Preamp 250
3. Maxxon OD808

There is very little to separate them in terms of fundamentals; all overdrives & we know there's not much intensity to be had here. 

The 805 is a surprise in this aspect for its ability to manifest some proto-intensity with all controls maxed out. There's not much to be had in terms of tone tailoring but the in-your-face drive is there for your considerations. 

The OD250 on the other hand is the senior citizen here, but the fact that it's a repro of its ancestor disqualified it from being one. The GAIN control has some pre-determined EQ as you dial it up. At lower settings, it's a mild dirt with a little hint of touch sensitivity (only when you play loud!). Midway, it's a crunch monster retaining much bottom end inclination. Maxed out, the 250 adds fuzz into the mix & it's rather apparent, please take note. Also, at max gain, you'd hear more top end so the overall voicing is a raspy fuzz-induced drive with lots of top end definition.

The 808 will always be my little darling. It's not quite the Ibanez manifestation albeit the obvious association (& Maxxon manufacturing the Ibanez at a point in history), it's a sweet sounding overdrive with loads of clarity. No midrange bump at upper gain settings but more saturation instead, fantastic for someone with a light touch & need for speed most of the time. The 808 is the most outstanding member used with an already driven amp so that's the reason it's my gem. :-)

Seymour Duncan: 805 Overdrive

Scored! Seymour Duncan's 805 overdrive... a seemingly ordinary drive pedal. That's until you hear it in person. It's got some creamy drive going at certain settings, a lead-type tone if you emphasize some top end & quite the heavy metal generator if you max it out with a bottom end highlight. The louder your amp is, the more responsive this pedal becomes. Pedal comes with all the accessories here.

To be continued...

Seymour Duncan: 805 OD

The thing about Seymour Duncan is, they make good stuff in addition to their stellar pickups. The 805 here is an interpretation of the 808 chip in a certain green OD pedal bearing a certain '8' in its model inscription- we know what that is. Some evidence form the manufacturer: