Ibanez AD-80 Analog Delay

very easy to use!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
three knobs:delay time, repeat, blend.in my opinion this is the best analog delay that you can find in the word!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my setup is: fender mustang '66+ maxon od808+ proco vintage rat+ ibanez ad80+boss ce-2+ fender '59 bassman ltd.
the pedal is clean and sounds good+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i love this pedal.i play classic rock, blues, alternative and the AD80 is perfect for my sound

This is a no-brainer pedal. The knobs are delay time, mix, and repeat. The repeat knob, if turned past 3 oclock goes into self-oscillation. No patches, no edits, this is a tweaker's pedal, not a computer. Analog delay. And, in my opinion, this is the smoothest nicest stompbox analog delay you can find. I didn't have a manual and don't need one.

I just plugged my guitar into the box and into the amp. You can get chorus/flange-like sounds with the delay time set short, and it goes up to around 300 ms of delay time. That isn't much, but you can get a lot of interesting sounds from it. There isn't noise, it is smooth and the repeat function has good range, and a nice slow degrade. A very musical analog delay pedal. As stated, this delay is very smooth, very watery sounding, and makes any signal sound better, even NO signal. The unit can be turned into self-oscillation and you can turn the speed knob and create various spacy effects. As far as the repeat causing damage to speakers, yes, this is possible because it will overdrive the signal more each repeat until it is very loud. But if you just take down the repeat a bit when this happens, it is very manageable.

Very reliable, Maxon-made, almost bullet=proof. The pedal may need replaced moving parts such as pots, etc. but other than that, electronically this will continue to be a collector's item because the sound can't be duplicated. No need for a backup, though.

Never needed customer support, so I'm not qualified to state their abilities on this end.

I play alt-fusion-jazz-blues. I've been playing on and off for over 20 years. If it were stolen I'd keep a lookout for another one. I like the fact that it is a great-sounding pedal. This compares favorably to all the other analog delays, including the Ibanez AD-9, the Boss DM-2 and DM-3, and the DOD FX-90.

OK, I've already submitted one review for this, but I've had a few queries so here's an addendum.

Folks say the problem is that the effect goes into oscillation with the feedback set past 12 o'clock. I say THAT'S WHERE THE FUN STARTS!!

Above I wrote:
"BE CAREFUL - YOU CAN MELT YOUR AMP WITH THIS BABY!"

You'd like to give it a go?
For the crazy, spacey, sweep echo effects you might hear from bands like Radiohead, you can use a tape echo for the thick, squelchy type of sound at the end of 'Karma Police'. This analog delay makes a simpler, more synthy sound with the same principle (like they do in dub mixes).

- Wind up the feedback control to anywhere from about 7-10 (that's on my AD80, others may be a bit different) and the unit produces greater than 100% feedback, meaning the sound level fed back through the delay line is louder than the previous sound, and so it gets louder and louder!
- With this setting, you can move the delay time knob around for great pitch bending and sweeps. Doing this also stops the repeat sound building up too far and melting your amp.
- You'll know what I mean when everyone in the pub starts to look around for the UFO.

- Another great sound with this pedal:
- Set it up up as an effect for a pre-recorded track (slide guitar, synth, voice)
- Adjust feedback for 1 repeat only.
- Turn Blend knob all the way right (100% effect)
- Voila! Your delay time knob is now an intuitive, and spooky sounding pitchbender, where the pitch bounces back after a moment.

Above I wrote:
"Here's the sad part. Mine died one day without warning. Blew the bucket brigade chip. It will suck your 2x 9-volt batteries dry in about 5 hrs. Get an adapter, it takes an 18 volt. I ran mine off a 9-volt adapter for a while and I think that might have helped kill it."

I left it with my repair guy for a few months and eventually he was able to get hold of the bucket brigade chip which had blown.
If that's the problem with yours, it IS possible to find new old stock for these pedals.
It wasn't expensive, just hard to find the part. I'm sorry, I don't know where he got it, but there are a few websites which have that sort of thing.

I have been advised to run it off 12V DC and it's fine now. Don't bother with the batteries - it'll cost you 10 bucks to do a rehearsal and a gig!

Easy to use
Rate knob feeds back/oscilates just before 12o'clock setting, so has no use after that. it requires 18V which is inconvenient.

MIJ 62 Tele Reissue->BD2->AD-80->Fender Super Amp
Unit is not noisy. Sound is a goog match for my gear.Humbuckers give a darker muddier sound. Great Slapback sound, short delay times are long enough for me, but might not suit others.

It is still working and i do gig with it, but the switch is not as user friendly as the boss pedals, it has to be pressed quite hard to ensure it works(this is especially hard when swithching while singing ).
The pots are sometimes scratchy/noisy, and the mix pot has some dead spots.I have a DL4 as a backup.

Not Applicable for this pedal

I use this pedal simply to delay and then feedback.It does this fairly well. Have been playing 12 years. Would consider Boss Pedal in future for ease of switching, or housing the ad80 in a new case.

Really easy to get a cool sound. It may have been dead pots on mine but the blend knob had the delay sound at full at only about 2. I used it for a lot of sci-fi special effects by letting the feedback build and pitch sweeping by changing the delay time. BE CAREFUL - YOU CAN MELT YOUR AMP WITH THIS BABY!

I have an '82 Fender Concert and a '66 Jazzmaster. The pedal is clean and sounds amazingly good. Since mine died I have tried a few digital attempts at 'analog' delay and there is simply no comparison.

Here's the sad part. Mine died one day without warning. Blew the bucket brigade chip. It will suck your 2x 9-volt batteries dry in about 5 hrs. Get an adapter, it takes an 18 volt. I ran mine off a 9-volt adapter for a while and I think that might have helped kill it.

Having looked around a bit, and on advice from my repair guy, it will be very hard to find a part to fix my pedal.

I loved this pedal. It was a core piece of my sound and I really identified with it. If I could find one it would cost me about $500 in Australia today. I am looking for a replacement, but I think I'll end up with something a bit more versatile like a deluxe memory man.

It only has three controls on it, so it isn't that difficult. But the repeat can only go from the six o'clock to the twelve o'clock position before the effect goes into oscillation. As long as you understand that , there is no problem.

I use the pedal with a 1959 Fender Bassman, that amp is noiseless and this pedal is too. AD-80 has a nice slapback setting you can dial in and it is really good for rock-a-billy too. You can dial in some good Pink Floyd settings too. I have a Boss DM-2 and a Carl Martin Delayla; the AD-80 blows away the Boss and is just a hair better than the Delayla; keep in mind that all these are excellent pedals.

It is 23 years old. Looks like crap, but sounds good still.

Never dealt with Ibanez, but Japanese companies never compare in customer service as with American companies.

I play classic rock and this pedal will help you get some of the old sounds. I have been playing for 20 years. I love the clear delay you can get from this pedal; very impressed. It is rich and analog works good with a old tube amp.

Hmmm... three knobs. Delay time controls the delay time. Repeat controls the number of repeats. Blend controls the blend. I don't get it! (But knock one point down because if you dime all the knobs you'll get some unpleasant feedback.)

Gorgeous. Warm, beautiful sound. Dial in a little delay to fatten your sound, or a lot to space it out. Fantastic! And for the real-time knob-twiddling experimenters, you can get some weird robot sounds by changing settings mid-note. Electronic switching means that it doesn't tone-suck like pedals with non-true-bypass mechanical switches can. (See the explanation on www.analogman.com about true bypass.)

It's lived a pretty long life already, so I'd guess it's reliable. I've owned it for about six months of light/moderate use without a problem. Just one warning: Just don't put it in the line-level unbuffered FX loop of your early-80s Boogie (like I tried once), or it'll squeal like a stuck pig. It didn't damage either the pedal or the amp, but be warned. Modern (i.e., buffered) FX loops are fine, in my experience.

Hah! If anyone knows where I can get an 18-volt adapter that'll fit this little sucker, please email me. (The adapter socket is a miniplug-type, not the usual barrel found on most current effects.)

Fan-freaking-tastic!

Possibly the greatest analog delay ever made is also tricky to use because of the control parameters: unlike the later 9 and 10 Series pieces, the AD-80's Blend and Feedback controls have a very limited range for conventional use- set either one past "9 o'clock" and look out- you're drenched in delayed signal, and verging on infinite feedback which can seriously damage your amp. Be careful, pilgrim.

As good as analog gets- this circuit requires 18V, either from a pair of 9v batteries or a wall wart, but the result is excellent signal fidelity even when you're running it at the maximum 300ms delay setting. Great slapback tones, great "following" delay on 8th or 16th notes, and it won't clip out if you show it a Big Muff or Rat.

I snagged mine used about 3 years ago, it was already well worn, I've gigged it all over the East Coast with no problems. The square switches on these pedals aren't easy to replace, so if you get a line on one, grab it- it's got to be cheaper than the cost of a second AD-80!

Ask around, Hoshino doesn't even back up most of the gear it currently has in production.

These circuits have shot way up in price since I bought mine, in part because of 808 Series collectors and in part because the bucket brigade chips they're built around are no longer in production. That said, if you can find one at a reasonable price, they're among the best of their kind ever made.

Simple three-knob operation makes it extremely easy to use while offering all the flexibility needed to get a wide variety of delay sounds. One demerit for only being mono rather than stereo, but this only matters if you have two amps and are intending to run in stereo.

Hands down the best stompbox delay these ears have heard. Sounds better than the Maxon AD-80 reissue, which is supposed to emulate the sound of the Ibanez AD-80. The smoothest, most organic sounding delay short of a tape echo.

Mine's 20 years old and is still working fine -- I'd say that qualifies as reliable. Does eat the batteries, but that's why they sell 9Vs in large quanity, bargain packs.

Never had to deal with Ibanez, so I can't comment on this.

For that slapback rockabilly sound, without the expense, size and reliability issues surrounding a true tape delay unit, this is THE pedal. The Maxon AD-80 rates a close second, but this pedal just has something more natural sounding about it. Would buy another in a minute, but I've noticed that they're continually escalating in price. Some stores are asking as much as $300 for these!

3 knobs...How much easier can it get. I think most people that do have these know what type of echo they are trying to dial in, but a novice could easily dial in great sounds.

I've used this through many setups. My American strat with red lace sensors in the bridge and neck with a stock middle seems to do really well going through this pedal to my friend's 69' Super Reverb. My PRS Custom 24 gets great clean tones through it as well. I really don't like playing distorion units through it though...it seems to really shine with clean to slightly overdriven sounds. I wouldn't suggest using this through a Marshall. When I tested it through my JCM 800 it just didn't seem to do much for it.
I had to really spend some time tweaking inside pots to get mine to perform well (the guy I bought it from had it so that it would do weird sound effects by barely turning the knobs). I set mine so that I can get the weird feedback stuff at only extreme settings. It's not noisy at all and seems to improve your sound when it's off. I really like this pedal, but it doesn't really compare to my Space Echoes. I'd have given it maybe a 6 when I first got it, but now that it's propperly tweaked, easily a 10.

Most of these that you'll find out there have had the 9volt clips replaced. If you don't have a power supply, I wouldn't gig with it if I were you. It seems to suck two 9 volts down in a short time..... Could be trouble on stage just using batteries. Get a power adapter (18v) and you shouldn't have a problem.

I play proggressive rock. this pedal can do great things to a clean sound and if you were to put a good chorus after it, you'd really get into some sweet territory. I've used it with my Small Clone and it really works out nice. As far as delays go, this one beats out a lot of the opposition (other than Echoplexes and Space Echoes of course).