Seymour Duncan 805 User Manual
-805-
OVERDRIVE PEDAL
USER’S GUIDE
OVERDRIVE
We’d like to thank you for making the Seymour Duncan 805 overdrive a part of your tone quest.
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 allows players to fine-tune all elements of the low, mid and high
frequencies.
Typical applications for 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
Level – Sets the overall level of your signal. Use in
1
conjunction with the drive knob to explore and dial in a
seemingly endless variety of textures and tones. 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
11-1 2 o’cl ock f or the lower output more vintage type pickups.
The gain range on the 805 Overdrive is a versatile 8dB to 36dB
providing a wide, flexible tonal palette.
Bass – Active control provides +/- 11dB of boost or cut at 90Hz.
3
Turn clockwise for thunderous low end or to fatten up an openback cabinet, turn counter-clockwise to clean up close d-bac k
cabinets that may be too bass heavy for the venue or style
of music.
8 9
10
1 2
4
3 5
6
7
11
(On back panel)
Mid – Active +/-11dB of boost or cut at 750Hz. From 12 o’clock turn clockwise to boost the mids for more
4
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.
6
Status LED – Indicates when the 805 Overdrive is active. LED is on when the unit is engaged, o 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 eect 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) – The 9v battery goes behind this door. When
the pedal is not in use save your battery life by removing your guitar cable from the input jack.
LET’S GET STARTED!
1. Start with the unit in bypass mode (LED o) and the Bass, Mid, Treble, and Drive at 12 o’clock and Level at
lowest setting. Set your amp level appropriately.
2. Turn on the 805 Overdrive by pressing the footswitch – the LED will come on when it’s active.
3. Bring the Level control up to desired volume, then start experimenting with the gain control. As you
add gain to your signal, adjust EQ to desired tone.
Loading...