BehringerTO800 Vintage Tube-Sound Overdrive Effects Pedal

This product came within stated delivery times. I am fairly new to playing guitar, have only been playing for a year now and wanted to ‘experiment’ with some accessories. Having read the reviews I thought I would buy this considering the price. I actually bought a Behringer SF-300 Super Fuzz too so am writing this review to incorporate that as well.. again I am new to this so wanted to try other methods. I have two guitars both of which entry level Rockburns bought from Amazon- one being an Stratocaster style the other Les Paul2 style. I had already bought new/better strings and purchased a better amp too at around £70, again not top end but better than most ‘entry level’ ones.I read some reviews beforehand about being made of cheap plastic etc and not worth the money and all that, to be honest I done think they could be further from the truth.Packaging was really good the box looked like a good quality product inside and indeed I was not disappointed. The product certainly does not look or feel cheap. At first I thought it was metal but you could tell it was strong plastic. How this could be an issue I don’t know unless you have feet like a rino or intend using it with sledge hammer I cant see why this would pose an issue. To be honest unless you are one of these snobs that think you only get great quality from spending £100’s you will love it. I am no professional guitarist but can tell good quality and this is made very well indeed. Cant see spending stupid money for something a fraction of the price, unless you are a top rock band and producing your recording your own music!There is a battery compartment, I recommend you read the manual first !! I don’t often do this lol.. but it does clearly state how to access this and it is very simple, I think you can find this on youtube anyway but READ THE INSTRUCTIONS !!I also bought an adapter for it which all works well together.The sound is really great There is nothing spectacular here, just a good if generic pedal that does what it says on the box.It works, be better if it was easier to find the battery compartment. A sign saying 'Batteries Here.' would be a good idea. I found it after watching a YouTube video. Simple really.Behringer is a big company and although not great innovators, they do know their stuff when it comes to quality and value. Go ahead and buy one!Basically this pedal represents superb value for money. Good range of tones and sustain.I think the build quality is absolutely fine. Yes, it's not metal but it's still very robust. All in all, this is a steal.

I am an advocate of budget pedals when I need something specific. They lowered the barrier to entry that was prohibitively high 35 years ago when I started playing. There are lots of lower end options now so do your research and keep your expectations realistic for the price point. Importantly, don't believe the persistent bad rap about Berringer pedals. Sure, the digital pedals remain a bit iffy but the analogue circuits are probably as good as other budget brands. Yes construction is a bit flimsy but they are budget-budget and expectations need to be realistic. So, the TO800....I wanted a TS device for a single guitar sound to record tracks for three songs. It won't be gigged and likely be taken off the pedal board once tracking was done. So build wasn't an issue and £100 for a Maxon or Ibanez unnecessary. I needed to gain stack a tube screamer into a higher gain overdrive pedal to tighten the sound up and get some cut through for some songs when mixed. Live the OD pedal is great, but I needed more snarl and bite than it could do on it's own. I stumped for the Berringer because most of the circuit is similar to an original TS and other reviews made no mention of inherent noise or hiss. What can I say? It did the job perfectly and I liked it so much I am using it on it's own regularly too.I got the chance to A/B it with a current Ibanez TS after the fact. It has the same noise floor level and for the lighter boost sounds I am using it for, they perform exactly the same. The Berringer gets fizzy with the gain past 12 o'clock and can be 'harsh' with the level up high too. The Ibanez has a larger operating window across all the gain and levels. Also the tone control isn't as useable across the entire range like the Ibanez. But for me, none of this is an issue. Especially when a lot of people use TS's just for a lower level boost and not necessarily as the source of the high gain itself.If you want to try a tube screamer but are unsure and have limited cash to 'risk', the Berringer is well worth it. If you want a specific TS sound but only for very limited use, the Berringer is ideal. I've looked for faults, but I can't find any and I won't criticise build or sturdiness. There is no major issue with this, people simply seem to get hung up on the plastic casing and point out the metal cases of alternatives. Whatever your view on this you should already have those expectations in check when paying under £30 for a pedal. Sound wise, The TO800 nails it and that was the important thing for me.

Cheap enough compared with the big names. It is all plastic but ok for gentle everyday use, not sure it’d hold up long on the road

This Behringer pedal is a great clone of the Ibanez tube screamer. Anyone who says they can tell the difference is a pedal snob! Of course it's cheap in a plastic case and replacing the battery is fiddly, but for the money it's very good.

Very good Tube Screamer clone for an amazing price. I've heard people comment on the plastic housing but they are pretty robust. I had a plastic pedal that lasted years and I expect these to be similar, if you found a way to break it you'd have to be very careless / heavy footed, at which point you'd damage the knobs on a metal housing anyway.Beyond that, it's a classic Tube Screamer: look online at the comparison videos, I can't tell the difference...it's bang on. Great for cleaning up heavy tones or boosting in the amp. Or used as overdrive it gives a nice bluesy tone from edge of breakup to driven. The tone control gives you a good range of tone, from dark and muddy to bright and thin at the extremes, though largely I think somewhere in the middle will suit most people.For the price, if you want to try out that sound, it's worth your money; it's a fraction of the cost of an Ibanaez version so unless you regularly play football with it, it's going to do just fine for a few years I should think.