Behringer Vintage Tube Overdrive

The Behringer Vintage Tube Overdrive TO800 is a compact overdrive effects pedal from Behringer, built around the parts that define one of the most copied overdrive circuits in guitar history. Behringer says it put the original 4558 op amps and the MA150 distortion diodes in the TO800, and that the resulting output is "extremely faithful to that of the vintage tone machines that made rock and roll history"¹.

Despite the name, there is no tube inside. The "vintage tube" in the title refers to the warm, tube amp style of overdrive the circuit aims to produce, not to a vacuum tube in the signal path. Behringer's own description of the pedal names only the 4558 op amps and MA150 diodes as the tone generating parts¹.

What it does and how it is controlled

The TO800 is a low gain overdrive in the Tube Screamer tradition. It has three controls, the same three that appear on the Ibanez TS808 reissue: Overdrive, Tone and Level³¹. Behringer describes them as dedicated Drive, Tone and Level controls that let you shape the exact sound you want, and a status LED tells you when the pedal is activated¹.

The Tube Screamer circuit this pedal follows is known for its midrange push and smooth sustain. Guitar World described the TS808 reissue's sound as "truly warm overdrive, sounding very much like a gloriously overdriven tube amp, even with strong sustain and mids"³, which is the character the TO800's shared parts are built to reproduce.

The Tube Screamer connection

The TO800 is, by its parts, a Tube Screamer family overdrive. The original Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pro was made by Ibanez, with early versions in a narrow box and later versions in a standard box, and it was reissued in 2014⁴¹. GuitarPlayer called the Tube Screamer "a close cousin of the popular TS-9" and a definitive overdrive⁵.

Behringer's choice of the 4558 op amp and MA150 diodes puts the TO800 directly in that lineage, and the strongest published verdict on how close it gets comes from JHS Pedals. Josh at JHS compared a TO800 against a first-year, black label, Japanese-made TS-808¹⁶:

Josh, JHS Pedals⁶

That is a notable claim given the price gap, and it comes from a pedal maker who has written at length about Behringer's clones, both favorably and critically⁶.

Build, bypass and power

The TO800 is housed in what a toneisland.com review describes as a Boss inspired enclosure made of molded plastic, with pots that feel lower quality than those on more expensive pedals⁷. That is the main trade-off at this price: the circuit is the classic one, but the hardware around it is built to a budget.

On bypass, Behringer says the top-quality on/off switch provides the highest signal integrity in bypass mode¹. The maker does not describe the TO800 as true bypass, so players who need a hard-wire bypass specification will not find one stated for this pedal.

Power comes from a 9 V battery or Behringer's PSU-SB DC power supply, which is not included¹. There is no mention of a daisy chain or polarity requirement in the maker's product page, so nothing can be stated on those points.

Where it sits among Behringer's tube-named overdrives

Behringer has made several pedals with "tube" in the name, and they are not all the same circuit. The TO800 is the op amp and diode Tube Screamer style pedal. The Behringer Vintage Tube Monster VT999 is a different animal: Behringer describes it as a classic vacuum tube overdrive with true mechanical bypass, and JHS reports it is based around the vintage Ibanez TK999 Tube King, quite modified but in the spirit of that old Ibanez pedal⁶⁸. JHS also notes that the earlier Behringer Vintage Tube Overdrive (the VT911 style pedal, distinct from the TO800) is based on the BK Butler Tube Driver and "stacks up extremely well against the original"⁶. Josh does question a tube pedal running at nine volts, since it starves the plate voltage, though he still says the Behringer pedal sounds really great⁶.

For players comparing budget Tube Screamer style pedals, the Valeton Tube Engine Vintage Overdrive is another option that takes its cue from the Tube Screamer, as MusicRadar's review notes⁹.

Price

Gearnews listed the TO800 at $21.60 USD in July 2025, alongside prices of £18.90 GBP and 23.00 euros for other markets². At that price it sits at the very bottom of the overdrive market, which is the whole point of the pedal: Tube Screamer circuit parts in an inexpensive package.

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