Duncan 805 Overdrive User Manual

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OVERDRIVE PEDAL

USER’S GUIDE

Congratulations, and thank you for your purchase of the Seymour Duncan 805 Overdrive™ Pedal!

The 805 is a very transparent, classic Overdrive pedal designed using the legendary 808
chip as a starting point but with an expanded gain range and 3-band active EQ that is not
commonly found in 808 style overdrive pedals.

The gain range extends from 8dB to 36dB, allowing for a wide range of overdrive options
from mild boost to saturated lead gain. The active EQ circuit is designed to allow players full
access to be able to fine-tune all elements of the low, mid and high frequency content.

Typical applications for the 805 Overdrive include:

• Use for frequency contouring. Set up a frequency response that works well for
saturated overdrive sounds.

• Use to boost level into single channel or clean amps to push them into overdrive and
create essentially two channels.

• Use the pedal’s own smooth distortion to create a rich, saturated tone even at lower
volume levels, with amps that don’t have separate gain and master knobs.

HOW IT WORKS

1

Level – Sets the overall level of your signal. With the

wide gain range available you can dial in the Level
based on how much crunch you dial in with the
Drive knob. The cleaner (lower) the gain, the higher
the Level should be and vice versa.

2

Drive – Regulates the amount of gain the 805 Overdrive

is putting out. Low settings will provide a very
slightly overdriven, boosted tone. Increasing the
Drive pushes the front end of your amp harder,
and depending on the output of your pickups
will start to add some rich distortion anywhere
from 9 o’clock for higher-output humbuckers, to
11-12 o’clock for the lower output, more vintage type
pickups. Gain range on the 805 Overdrive is a versatile
8dB to 36dB providing a wide, flexible tonal palette.

3

Bass – Active control provides +/- 11dB of boost or cut

at 90hz. Turn clockwise for thunderous low end or to
fatten up an open-back cabinet, counter-clockwise
to clean up closed-back cabinets that may be too
bass-heavy for the venue or style of music.

3 5

4

7

10

6

1 1

8 9

(On back panel)

11

4

Mid – Active +/-11dB of boost or cut at 750hz. From 12 o’clock, turn clockwise to boost the

mids for more presence, counter-clockwise to cut the mids for a more scooped tone.

5

Treble – Active +/-12dB of boost or cut at 2.12khz. From 12 o’clock, turn clockwise to boost

the highs, counter-clockwise to cut the treble available at your fingertips.

6

Status LED – Indicates when the 805 Overdrive is active. LED is on when the unit is

engaged, off when in true bypass mode.

7

True Bypass footswitch – Removes the circuit from your guitar’s signal via a hardwired

connection from the input jack to the output jack.

8

Output Jack – Run a cable to the input of your amp or to the next effect in your chain.

9

Input Jack – Plug in your guitar or other pedal cable here.

10

Power Jack – We designed this pedal to be convenient. You can use any 9V to 18V

regulated DC adapter (negative polarity center terminal).

11

Easy access Battery door (located on back panel) – When it is not in use, save your

battery life by removing your guitar cable from the input jack.