Maxon Apex808 overdrive - King of Tube Screamers

King of tube screamers? You be the judge. ___ Designed by Tubescreamer creator Susumu Tamura, the Apex808 was developed after meticulous analysis of over 100 vintage and current production Tubescreamer/808 variants over a period of 3 years. During this study it was determined that the best sounding TS specimens all featured not only a specific brand of IC, but also that the IC in question was from a specific production period. This IC was subsequently sourced by Mr. Tamura and incorporated into the design of the Apex808. The use of this “hen’s tooth” IC has a dramatic effect on the sound characteristics of the Apex808, generating a transparency, clarity and note-to-note separation so uncanny that it makes other drives sound as if they are being played with a blanket over the speaker. The Apex808’s hand-selected IC offers the added benefit changing the overtone components of the signal based on input level. At low levels, the Apex808 generates primarily even-order harmonics. When the input level is increased, the Apex808 generates a blend of even- and odd-order harmonics, creating an overtone series that imitates the preamp and power sections of a tube amp with remarkable accuracy.