Analog Man Ibanez SD-9 Super Mod

Very easy to Use,mine has been Modded for the external mids mod so the controls are drive,volume,tone,and mids

it's quite easy to dial in a range of tones
bypass was quite good anyway so no issues with tone suckage

also i had an Amber L.E.D fitted,much better than the weak red one it came with

I'm using this with a large range of guitars/pedals/amps but mostly it's a Tele or an S.G into an Orange amps AD30H single channel head with an orange 2x12 loaded with celestion golds

this pedal was definitely noiser stock,it's improved alot now(i'm guessing due to the older components being replaced by mike)
it's not exactly noise free but to be honest who's listening for noise at maxed out volumes?

this sounds fantastic with the gain about 3/4 the way up,probably my favourite crunch sound out of the couple of dozen disrortion/overdrive pedals i've had...
think Blur's beetlebum riff when set low or pearl jam's rearview mirror when cranked up
originally it was pretty limited in the range of the tone pot either way too bright or very muddy,so at first i tended to keep the tone around 11 o'clock,a really nice sound but not very versatile

Mike worked his magic and removed the really harsh treble edge on the tone pot past noon,but even when modified the tone pot either boosts bass to the left of 12 or boosts treble to the right..
it doesn't remove the fact that stock the mids are quite scooped,usefull at times but often I found myself wishing it had more
Mike solved this with a really excellent idea a mids pot!! with the mids and tone low i get a gilmourish muff tone,maybe not as extreme but tonally close with the mids pushed to 3-5 o'clock and the tone around 1ish I get the most amazing Rat like crunchy rhythm sound that loves tele's! I've had three rats and only my old big box one would have come close to this in tone(but with far less gain)
comparing a current Rat makes the Pro-co sound really plasticy and harsh
compared to my keeley modded TS9-DX(another very nice pedal)
it's not quite as blusey sounding but has far more power on tap with the gain low it will do a pretty decent vintage sound (because the tone controls cover so much ground) but really this one meant for rockin out!
to some up,I adore this pedal as unlike say the ts-9,which needs the amp to be cooking to work it's magic,the sonic distortion is happy to drive my clean orange into orbit!

if your looking to play slow blues solo's look elsewhere...
if you want people to put down their pint,shut-up talking and listen to you,this'll work!

I'll knock off one point cause it whistles slightly with all the controls maxed out (this is due to the early version I have,Ibanez/Maxon redesigned it at some point to eliminate the whistle when maxed),
I'm just adding that as a caveat to potential buyers
I personally never use this setting though so in reality for me it's perfect!

as my pedal was quite old I asked Mike to do his KWS mods aswell
over the years the pots very a bit loose as were the jack's etc...
so alot of work is done to make the switch and pots solid,now this thing is a tank :) no need for backup!
i'll rate it 9 cause it's got that electronic switch,which by no fault of mike's isn't exactly a perfect design,but once you don't jump on it i think it should give another 20 years service

Mike is a gent,
really fast and clear email response,he sounds like a practical guy who calls a spade a spade!
I've no doubt any problem that ever occur would be handled promptly
one of the best customer service experiences I've had
some brands,even bigger than AnalogMan should take note...

for grunge/indie rock this is an excellent "heavy sound"
think pearl jam at their heavest
I've been playing 12 years and studied sound engineering in college,so i'd like to think i've got a good ear for tone
if lost or stolen I'd get Mike to Mod me the Maxon version instead as it's true Bypass unlike my Ibanez version (but hey i got this used on the Bay cheap)
I have compared this to a Keely TS9DX,my Foxrox ZIM with ts-9 and brown muff cards,an EH double muff,a current issue Rat and my Boss feedbacker Distortion
Definitely worth the Cash and something a little Different from all those guys out there with Tube screamers!!

my HC username is Mr Benn if you've got anymore questions i'd be happy to answer