Has anyone here tried one yet? If so, how does it compare to various muff-type fuzzes and/or the original 850? Is it anything like the DOD early "FX series" overdrives of yore that enter fuzzier territory when cranked?
My Ibanez 850 RI arrived earlier today. I've never owned a vintage 850, so I can't comment on how the RI compares. It seems to fall somewhere between a Civil War Muff and Bee Baa in terms of tone and texture with a slight mid scoop and plenty of saturation on tap.
Ibanez was kind enough to include a male DC jack adapter and carbon zinc 9V battery, so it was good to go right out of the box. The only concerns I have after my first few hours with the 850 RI are the somewhat-anemic output level, internal wiring nearing the point of rat's-nest-quality, flimsy-looking circuit boards, and oddball LED that is virtually invisible when looking at the pedal from an angle. The chassis seems more than solid enough to protect the internal components, though I still wonder about the board attached to the footswtich eventually giving way.
Overall, my honeymoon impression of the 850 RI is favorable. It delivers delicious walls of crackly doom with ease and will likely replace my Sofa Car Effects Violet Ram's Head Muff clone.
I'm not surprised about the meh build quality considering the modest price tag. 'Made in Japan' doesn't mean the same thing as a couple years ago I guess
I was kinda hoping it was the same circuit as my old Maxon D&S (triangle/rams head based?), but with a led and made true bypass. It's my favorite muff so far, but since I'm not much of a big muff guy I don't want to spend more than $90 or so
I suppose it looks better than some boutique builds I've encountered over the years, though the circuit boards are much thinner than they appear in the photo. After doing a bit more research, I learned the OD 850 RI may be comparable to the Ibanez 60's Fuzz Soundtank, which I actually owned almost a decade ago.
ck3 wrote:I suppose it looks better than some boutique builds I've encountered over the years, though the circuit boards are much thinner than they appear in the photo. After doing a bit more research, I learned the OD 850 RI may be comparable to the Ibanez 60's Fuzz Soundtank, which I actually owned almost a decade ago.
Interesting. Link? I had one of those 60s Fuzz Soundtanks a couple years ago, I recall it being verrrrrry noisy, and actually think the OD 850 RI (which I picked up because of this thread) is not as noisy, though I'd be interested to A/B them. The one thing I really like about the RI is that it's actually usable with the Gain all the way CCW, which is something I've always been looking for in a Muff-style pedal but seems difficult to achieve. Like there's a certain grittiness to Muffs in general I enjoy, but I want it without the higher gain sponginess that is inherent to their sound, but want to be able to have less gain but retain some clarity The 850 RI seems to get maybe 75-80% of the way there, and that's better than most.
Scroll quite a ways down to access the Maxon and Ibanez section. After reviewing the info again, based on specs, the RI could actually be more like a V2 850 than the V3, the latter of which is supposed to be identical to the 60's Fuzz. My bad.
Scroll quite a ways down to access the Maxon and Ibanez section. After reviewing the info again, based on specs, the RI could actually be more like a V2 850 than the V3, the latter of which is supposed to be identical to the 60's Fuzz. My bad.
i'll get my hands on a reissue eventually and check the circuit out. just finishing up writing a blog post on the OD-801 and D&S varians from Maxon so this will likely overlap with that.
Scroll quite a ways down to access the Maxon and Ibanez section. After reviewing the info again, based on specs, the RI could actually be more like a V2 850 than the V3, the latter of which is supposed to be identical to the 60's Fuzz. My bad.
i'll get my hands on a reissue eventually and check the circuit out. just finishing up writing a blog post on the OD-801 and D&S varians from Maxon so this will likely overlap with that.
If I remember correct, that same article is also where I read that the Ibanez '60s fuzz (soundtank series) is similar (if not identical) to the D&S version I've got.
The 60s fuzz has a led and DC bus and can be bought cheap, but it's got the tiny plastic controls and annoying flimsy enclosure and switch...
