Ibanez SD-9 Distortion

Simple...Push button and turn knobs till you like what you hear.

This is a great pedal; too me it's like a TS-9 with a lot more output/bottom end with a little less warmth. In fact I use a TS-9 re-issue in front of it to get more bottom end warmth. My setup is an American Strat w/TX specials, TS-9, SD-9 and a Fender Blues Jr. with a Legend GB128 speaker. I am into blues/blues rock and so far I like the tones I'm getting from the SD-9.

Settings that I like:
TS-9: Drive 7 o'clock, Tone 7 0'clock, Level 3 o'clock
SD-9: Gain 10 o'clock, Tone 10 o'clock, Level 5 o'clock

AMP: Bass and Middle maxed, Treble 3/4

My SD-9 is 26 years old and still going strong!

Luckily I haven't had to find out.

Overall I love this pedal because of the output and flexibility of sound that can be obtained, especially when used with a TS-9. If something happens to this one I will defiantly find another one. In fact I may buy another one just to have as a back-up. Unfortunately, nice ones are getting harder to find and are getting pricy as well. I found mine locally on Craig???s List for $80 and it is virgin with the JRC4558D chip. So far I feel like I stole it! Happy tones :-)

it's super EZ, controls are like TS-9, however they interact slightly different.... it's got a ton more range !

This is my main distortion pedal, why? it's got tone! it's got range! it's got simplicity! It's got TONE! I like to set it into to chunky territory and then use my guitar volume to go from tubey bluesy clean to crunchy chunky rythm or sustaining leads ITS ALL THERE! the better your amp the better it'll sound. I've a/b'd this to the Maxon SD-9 which you would think might be better, but you'd be wrong (IMHO) - I use either a ibanez CP-9 or a boss CS-2 compressor in front of it and it's all i ever wanted - plus no mid range hump like the TS9 - the tone control gets trebly but does effect your sound, and remember you can change the amount of treble elsewhere in your chain too in most cases anyways(guitar) - I've tried more distortion / fuzz pedals than i care to remember, and pound for pound dollar for dollar! i ended up here because like i say... tone , RANGE , simplicity! ALSO works equally well w/ PAFs or single coils for me and the kind of music i play anyways. texas blues / stoner rock

this is an Ibanez i've owned many! they've always been damn reliable the only problem i;ve ever had with ibanez's are switches but i've always been able to resolve my issues on my own, usually just a good cleaning, but if you need a switch you can bet there's one to be had - it NOT MADE IN CHINA OR TWAWON OR KOREA OR INDONESA OR MEXICO, there's at least a 50/50 chance it's outlive you!

i don't know anybody who uses customer support ??? do you ?

like i said.... I LIKE IT! ALOT! i've seen other guys complain about the tone control not being as usable all the way up, but COME ON! that is so freakN nit picky,, your can only use it on one setting at a time and most of the time it's same setting once you get your sound dialed in and after that change the guitar volume & tone control ON THE FLY,or change the EQ on your amp ! seriously this pedal used to be a sleeper but plenty of pros use this NOW. I'd say get one before somebody famous drives the price up!

Only three knobs: Distortion, Tone, and Level. What else?

The tone is a bit bright, but that doesn't really matter to me. I put this pedal after Ibanez TS9 that acts as a booster. I set the tone level at around 10-11 to reduce the bright tone... I love it, better than DS-1.

I have 2 Ibanez TS9, so that I know Ibanez 9 series products are the best built of Ibanez pedal effect products.

never have to deal with them.

I don't have idea why Ibanez don't try to re-issue this pedal. I think this pedal deserve it. I works with solidstate or tube amp, but I prefer using it with tube amp. the sound is awesome even with cheap amp.

C'mon, 3 knobs Tone, Drive & Volume.... Why Ibanez (or Maxon?) gave it so much available treble, I don't know. I purchased it wfrom a used music store when I was looking for a TS-9... Needless to say I never got a TS-9... the DS-9 is sooooo much better.

I trade stuff in & out of muy rig all the time but usually a Yamaha Pac 1221 to a Boss Tuner, Dano Echo, Ibanez CS-9, Digitech X-series Digital Delay, to the Lovely SD-9 (Tone slightly above 9 o'clock, Drive usually around 12:00, The the volume at 1-2:00, never check to see what chips are in it), to a MXR booster to various amps including an old solid state Ricenbecker T-75. We play mostly classic rock/80's, some blues stuff (3 piece). The SD-9 covers alot of ground, roll the drive back & it is warm & blusey, turn it up & it is absolutley "phat"... warm. This is not a "Nu Metal" pedal by any means but it does have a hell of a lot more punch than the TS-9. I tried to use them together (Well a TS-7) but didn't like it. Maybe 'cause I such a sucky plyer with a bad ear or two.... dunno. Check out Maxon's reviews of thier new version. Ibanez... get on the stick & reissue this baby 'cause the ebay price on the used is getting crazy! A little bit of hiss but mild compared to other pedal's I've heard & tried.

I have it for 4-5 years & have had no problems..... I have the CS-9 & it is quite reliable as well... They don't make 'em like this any more. The 9 series was great. I do like the idea of the Tone-lok knobs but plastic boxes... how ghetto.

Can't say that I have had to call them....

I have been plying for 20+ years but only started giging in the last 5 years or so. I have had a hand full of distortion pedals & this is my favorite. If it got stolen... I would pay the outrageous price Maxon is charging for a new one. My only complaint is the excessive range of the Tone knob. Like I said above, I am somewhere above 9:00 it has lost more room above that...

Ibanez...what the hell are you waiting on? Reissue this thing & don't put it in a stupid platic box.....

Very easy, 3 knobs, experiment until you get what you want- but I'm sure unless you want all out death metal, it will work for you and with an amp's distortion and this pedal, probably would still give that death metal sound. I play classic rock. I have no manual and with most pedals, it's all in what you like, it's labeled and that's it.

Very nice, adds power/loudness and distortion well. Can be "bassy" like one reviewer wrote if you cut the tone all the way to 7 o'clock, I like it more at the treble end of tone. I use a dean markley K20 or a Crate Tube Drive 50. Makes the little solid state markley sing!!! It's like a BOOSTER seat for my "baby amp". I play classic rock, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Clapton, Eagles, and bits and pieces of other stuff.

This puke green thing has been with me since the late 1980's and still sounds great.

Never needed them. But one day I might break down and buy a battery cover- or maybe not. I don't travel so doesn't really make much difference to me.

It is very versatile. I just bought an Arion Tubulator and that pedal is pretty much made for classic rock and that specialty it does well- The Ibanez has no limits but as one reviewer said, it changes drastically with slightest adjustment so the sky is the limit on sound but you may have to play with it, it can do bassy, boomy distortion or a cleaner 70's rock sound. I'd probably buy another one, as I have no more BMX bikes to trade and doubt anyone would want one at this time in history anyway. haha. I feel I got one hell of a trade.
I wish it had a battery cover but that's not it's fault, I got it like that.

Well, I guess this pedal is easy to use, though, you will have to spend time tweaking the knobs at gig/recording volumes before you'll get an idea of what works well, etc. The hardest part I experienced with this pedal was getting it to cut through the mix without being too loud or shrill.

It's in there but you'll have to tweak, tweak, tweak your brainz out!

OOh, I love the sound of this pedal. To begin with, my setup goes Custom Vibrolux Reverb--TU-2 (tuner)--Ibanez TSilver 9/808 (Analogman mod)--Ibanez SD-9--Dunlop 535 wah--Ibanez HD-1500--Fender Jazzmaster (two single coils: a p90 and the other is stock).

The distortion has the potential to be very thick and can be either very bright or very boomy (PICK YOUR DISTRUCTION!!). I like the boomy sound but you'll have no luck cutting through the mix if you turn the tone all the way down to get it. I used to have it 9 o'clock, but like I said, you won't cut through the mix very well. So, I have mine set at 10 (the knob is very dramatic), which gives you just enough treble and still retains a little low end. But with twin overdrives, you shouldn't be too short of low end, anyway. The midrange becomes scooped once you turn the tone knob up, as well, and that may frustrate some people. Just work with it and you'll have "it" in no time.

I do indie rock with funk, roots and reggae tones, as well, and I have no trouble finding use for this pedal in the mix. I do think it is perfect for the indie-rocker out there who needs a good tubey sound--something worth mentioning about this pedal. If you think it will give you just a grainy Boss DS-1 tone, then you are way off. The sound is more like a tubescreamer but with only slightly more potential for brightness and definitely more gain. Just don't be afraid to set the tone higher because it sounds bad in the bedroom. There is stage volume and there is bedroom volume--very different things. I have such a great lead tone from this pedal and the sound in conjunction with my TSilver 808 is heavenly on both the rhythm and lead channels of my guitar.

Some good setting ideas are:
Rock = tone-10 o'clock, Level-about noon, gain-10-11 o'clock.
Kind of blues tone = tone-10 o'clock, Level-noon, gain-9o'clock

It hasn't yet clashed with my wah pedal and the chorus modulation from hd-1500 is so cool. it has a very 80's like tone, which is cool for some people.

Overall, the sound works for me. Though, I have considered an Analogman mod to give me more control over the tone knob but it is not necessary as of the moment.

I think mine is from the early 80s (single board, I think) so after 20 years of playing (not by me, I'm only 26!) it seems to be doing well. No footswitch problems and the knobs are intact and working well, too.

As I stated before, I do indie roots, rock and reggae with some funk and edge from time to time. I don't hate anything about the pedal but sometimes I feel as though a good mod for the tone control is in order so that I can really explore other things. But, really, it is a basic pedal with a basic purpose. So, I'll put it off until I feel I can't use it anymore for what I need.

For the rocker, you'll have everything you want but if you're a die- hard bluesman, you'll have some pretty good tone (if you keep the gain down below noon) but not the ultimate. For that, I recommend Analogman's silver 808 mod, instead (silly PR push). These devils are getting rare, though, so grab one while you have a chance--otherwise, you'll have to buy a Maxon reissue that may or may not be any good.

Three twiddly knobs. Stamp on it and let it sing for you. Brilliant.

Versatile distortion and volume boost settings, though the tone gets a little too jangly up top. Nothing to be ashamed of, the boomier distortion makes up for it.

Durable little bugger. Stamp on it with both feet in neccessary cause it can certainly well take it.

Never had any problems.

I used this formerly for a grunge feel [highly reccomendable] but since my tastes have mellowed, I can still use it for a rocky Zeppelin feel. Using it for 3 years now, brilliant.

One of the easier pedals, lots of tone choices in this box. I have been using it on and off for 22 years and I am still finding new uses for it.

This is a pedal that has really grown on me. When I first started playing I was not sure how to use it. About 10 years ago I was using it for my main distortion source, gain way up and tone at 9 oclock. It gave me a good Metal sound. Later I got tired of that sound and modded it with LED's instead of Diodes for clipping. Now when I run it on its lowest drive setting with the tone down to 7 oclock it is just like a tube screamer, just the slightest hint of warm overdrive. But on higher gain settings it is a very nice high end overdrive sound. My current use however is for a clean volume boost to push my amps into monster grind. I use it on both my Champ and my Bassman Re. I still set the gain at zero because I don't want much solid statey breakup going on, I have the volume at max and tone anywhere between 8 oclock and 11 oclock depending on the drive setting of the amp at the moment. It works amazing for this! I run a tele with texas specials into my tube amps, so to get over the top grind my amps need a push. This pedal does a great job at this cause it has very low noise even with the volume cranked. The pedal allows my amps to do all the grinding and overdriving without adding any fakey distortion pedal flavor to the sound. The tone control comes in very handy at this point. It has the amazing ability to totally change the character of my amp tone. The tone control seems to be more than just a High boost/cut knob, it seems to have a bit of contour to it. At the higher end it cuts bass and low mids, in the mid range around 12 oclock it boosts the mids and cuts slightly the highs and bass, at the low end it boosts bass and low mids and cuts the highs. That is why I run the tone at 8 to 11 oclock, it gives me a bit of bass and mid boost that makes my amps get ANGRY! I have used lots of other distortion and overdrive pedals to try and boost my amps this way, including the Real Tube Overdrive, but they always introduce way too much hiss noise, this one does not.
Ok, my latest mod to the pedal, I only have one cliping LED installed so it only clips on one half cycle. Your saying WHA? Thats right, I just did it on a whim and it sounds great, even more subtle OD on the lowend, it does not sound strange at all, it is even more TUBEY sounding. Try it!

Not a lick of trouble in 22 years even though I have been tinkering.

Blues, Blues Rock, Metal, Fusion Jazz. This pedal works great for all. If I had to use someone elses rig and I had to choose one pedal to bring with me it would be this pedal, so that I could get my sound.

Three knobs, what could be easyer.

When I got my DS9 it had the TA7555 Chip in which makes a very brittle sound. I moded it to a NE5532AN which is much better than the JRC4558D. Now the sound is very natural and goes from a TS808/9 sound at lower gain settings to a very harmonical, sweet distortion. The overdrivesound on my JCM800 sounds much better than the original TS808. The TS808 is the winner (only in overdrivesound) on my 1972 Twin Reverb. Before the mod I would rate the sound to 6 but after it's a 10.

Well it's over 20 years old and still works fine. What more could I expect?

Haven't dealt with them.

I mostly play Blues or Bluesrock. I've been playing for 31 years. I favor Stratocasters but sometimes I also like vintage Teles. To my ears only Fender and Marshall Amps havethe right sound. In my opinion the SD9 is one of the most versatile Overdrive/Distortion I've ever playd.

all basic tone, volume, distortion thats it but with pretty good range

i play with a strat on a vox amp and this pedal just makes it sing. it gives you a wide range of sound with the tone nobe giving a boost to your highs or lows

was my dad before i was born now im 19 and its still good as new

easy to use, once you realize the range of the controls.

I use mainly strat-style guitars-some with single-coils, some with hb.'s depending on how i set them up-thru a fender sidekick 25, peavey pacer(don't spread it around ;-) ) and old tube PA heads converted to guitar amps. It's a good pedal for boosting an overdriven sound as well as a single source of distortion.

I've had it for ten years,and all I've done is change the battery. I used to work in a music store doing repairs,so I got to try a lot of pedals-the sd=9 had the widest range of tone for a basic pedal.

I've never tried their support-I seldom buy anything new,so if I get a few years use,I'm happy.

I play blues, un-classic rock (they don't play Gentle Giant or Crimson on the radio around here) and acoustic folk(Pentangle,etc.)-the SD-9 is a good box for this kind of stuff-it ranges from a bluesy tone to a Rory Gallagher clang to a smooth Fripp-ish purr-or dime everything for "Red". It has a lot more gain than a tube screamer,but it still lets the guitsr you use with it show thru-one of my girlfriends used to say it made the guitar jump at you more-I'd say that's as good as any tech analysis. If it got stolen,I'd be rather be rather upset-although they sell new ones now, they won't be $5.00! I've been using it lately with a Zoom GFX-707, the gain levels match up pretty well, so I can kick-up some of the clean pre-sets without re-programing and the noise reduction covers the noise of the single-coils the best solution I've found short of a set of joe barden pickups.

As easy as cherry pie. 3 dials, my dog uses this pedal while I'm out of town.....

I usually run your strats, your tellis, a few variations of the Les Paul Customs (Hot Rodded of coarse), into my 5150.
Noise, what noise, when I play play this puppy she shins like a polished shoe sunday morning before church.
The effects...well, lets see, no.
I play mostly your Hendrix, your Page, your Vaughn S., your Clapton, yea it cuts like knife, but it hurts so goooooood!

Can you really trust/ depend on anything in life?
Whether it be a guitar pedal, a woman, or a an old beat up pickup truck that brakes down all the and you misss gigs.

If I had a phone, I usually just rock out like a double edged sword cutting through cherry pie!!!!!

Like a piece of broken glass chewing glass and spitting little tiny glass chunks out at you, yes its a good match, it in your mamas face man! My rig runs high in dry in the summer with the fd's running hot and the 5150's running side by side, you can't run you can't hide.
I wish it had blonde hair, thats about it, good pedal otherwise.
Thanks, gotta run to a gig.
-Jet

Simple to get a great sound!

I'll take this pedal over my tubescreamer anyday. I've got the analog mike tubescreamer silver mod on my TS9 and this SD9 kicks it out of the park. Finally a distortion pedal that lets the guitar sound like itself. You have to keep the distortion fairly low and the tone almost all the way the left for a good tone...otherwise it sounds like a chain saw, but man, this sounds good with my Deluxe Reverb as well as my Tophat. I hate that midrange nasal thing that the tubescreamers do.

Very reliable so far. I bought this one on e-bay a few weeks ago. It sounds soooo goood!

I've been playing for 17 years and play for a living. I know good tone. You have to let the guitar, be the guitar. Let it breath through whatever you are playing through. That's the essence of tone. This pedal does it's job without dinking with the guitar's natural sound.

Easy to use, hard to get really good sounds out of it.

Really too bright and brittle - lacks the lower midrange warmth something like a Rat has in abundance. When the gain is too high, it's fizzy - too low and it's punchless. Tone knob is ear-piercing past 10:00. Kind of cool for trashy sounds.

Sure, I guess.

I bought it because I thought it would rock. It rocks, sort of. Don't fall for the hype. My hope would be a tubescreamer style warmth and midrange bump, but with more gain. Sadly, that's not the case with this pedal.

The sonic distortion SD 9 is easy to use. Vol, Tone and Gain, thats all what can be controlled. Like all pedals of the 9er series its build to last and cpuld be uses either with a 9V battery or a 9V DC adapter.

My SD 9 is an early 80ies black-label type, containing an JCR 4558 OP amp of the same type, the early and amazing sounding TS 9 has. Despite this, not only amount of distortion is higher, but also the sound is different to the ol' TS 9. Different doesn't mean less good, my SD 9 cuts like a knife through the rest of the band when played over my 69 Super Lead Marshall. No matter what guitar I use, in combination with the band it helps to add a great sound .

Bought in on ebay several month ago and had so far no problems.

I play hard rock and metal since 1969 and used and abused a truckload of gear in all those years I had been on the stage. Depending on my age I'm deep into easily-usable, analog equipment. Digital equipment is fine for recording, but I would never use a POD on stage (damn, how does that look like, awefull), and analog sound rule in life situatioins.

3 knobs, 1 switch.

I have a Laney GC120(solid state) using a Fenix(Strat copy(coil)) and Tanglewood Semi(humbuckers) and it sound great with both, obviously the humbuckers giving a sharper, brighter edge.
Its great in that it doesnt limit the volume, some pedals are either on or off, but with the SD-9 you can pick the notes softly and strum hard and the distorion amount goes up or down accordingly.
Alot of other reviews said that the tone knob hardly does anything, this is nonsense. Even a slight movement will change the tone, going from muffled base to ear hurtingly trebley.

With the gain down full its a gentle, loose sounding distortion. Up to a good solo sound with full dist. It works really well with the Laney's onboard overdrive, giving a really grungy thrash sound.

I would like to give it a higher score here but the switch used to be a bit dodgy(I think from non use). Although it has been fine for years now. I also took it to bits for some reason and it still worked after I put it together again!
Use it without a backup.

Don't know, 2nd hand.

I also have a Danelectro Daddy-O which is crap in comparison(but it is an overdrive, not dist) and I never use it. Also have a multi-effects but the dist on that is crap.

Would absolutely rob graves to get another one if need be.

I think it helps me write stuff, you know when you can be a bit bored of your guitar, but just turn the knobs a wee bit and it's like a new instrument.

I am not sure how much I payed for it because I got it as part of an amp-guitar-pedal combo second hand. #280 for a Park G10, Fenix guitar(very nice strat copy), SD-9, bag of cables and a tuner. I have seen the reissue SD-9 for #99 so that can't have been a bad deal eh?

u can get very good sounds out of this pedal w/o hafta spending a bunch of hours trying to mess w/ it my sugestion use it with a tubescreamer and it just sings

my setup is a tubescreamer dx the sd9 a dano echo into a marshall jcm800 head through a mesa cab loaded w vintage celestion 30 and i cann get that crunch like the beggining riff pearl jams this is not for you

this is a 9 series pedal the most best built ibanez series these pedals are over 20 yrs old and still goin strong i own 6 others from this series and they all perform flawless the footswich on my sd9 can be tempementall sometimes but would be no biggie to get fixxed

i always give a low one for ibanez they need to have better customer support i mean if i want to order a battery door for the 9 series i have to go through a third party dealer which cost about 15 for a battery door when it should only cost 2

im glad i got this at a good price i had been searching for one of these on ebay for a while but didnt want to spend a 100 i got one cause i saw pearl jams guitarist was using one in his chain

Simplicity thats whats so great about it, same as a tube screamer which every guitar player on the planet knows of. Drive / Tone / Volume.

Compared to a stock SD-9 which I also run in my chain right next to the SD-9/808/brown to really get some metal tones goin, it's like a buttered up version, visualize this Analog Mike's Mod compared to the stock pedal is similer my Firebird's pickup's, Analog Mike's being more rich and buttery like the neck pick-up.I
also play w/an SG-I w/JB pick-up/ through a 95 blond Custom Vibrlux Reverb Amp, or a 65 Black face pre CBS champ (pactice and recording amp), and a 63 Silvertone Twin Twelve through a larger Bandmaster cab w/EV 15".

This is Analog Mike were talking about, he has returned all of my inquires in record time. Not to mention the original design Ibanez
were built to take abuse.

As I said above Analog Man is the Man.

I play multiple style's of music, If your looking for a reliable distortion pedal that's not all that costly yet, get an SD-9 it will
do blues and hardrock like nobodys business. And if you really want
to take a little of that high freqency squelch out of the equation,
which all the Ibanez 9 series distortion pedals w/or w/out the JRC 4558 chip have, especilly w/out. I'm talking TS-9, SD-9, SM-9, never
played w/OD-9 or STS-9,
WHAT I'M SAYING IS ANALOG MIKE'S MOD TO MY SD-9/808/BROWN, IS GREAT
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ALL.

best pedal i've ever heard.and it is built like fort knox.

such an amazing sounding distortion pedal, if u want to seel your's, please email me at capttiny420@aol.com. mine got stolen a few years ago

i weigh 285, and i stomped and jumped on it and it didn't even hurt it.

i play power-pop like material issue. and it is a perfect match. it is my favorite distortion pedal

Very easy to use, many many many good sounds in this box. The tone knob is only useful in the 11-1 o'clock range, but is very sensitive to slight changes. Overall, very intuitive pedal.

I've used this with an Ernie Ball Axis Super Sport and Yamaha Pacifica through a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia, and most recently, a '62 Bassman head. Man o man, what a pedal. I've searched for years for this kind of versatility and tone in a pedal, and I finally have it. As mentioned before, this thing does the Tubescreamer sound perfectly. Merely roll the gain all the way down, and turn the tone knob more to the bass side, and voila, wonderful crunch in the spirit of your amplifier. Turning up the gain adds gobs of distortion and body, and yet still retains its character. Really changes with different amps, and yet always sounds good. Quite possibly the perfect overdrive/distortion pedal.

Made back in the early '80s, and still going strong today. The paint isn't the most durable thing in the world, as there are several chips, but cosmetics take the backseat to tone. The only problem electronically is that when the gain knob is turned up, and the pedal is off, there is still some slight white noise on my clean signal. Hmmm. Anybody know how to remedy this?

No idea. They probably wouldn't be too keen on helping me, given the pedal is at least 15 years old. Then again, I wouldn't call them...

I like blues. I like classic rock. I like alternative. This pedal suits me perfectly for all three. Pretty sure I'll be holding onto this pedal for a while. I've owned (roughly in order): DOD Supra Distortion (horrible), Prescription Electronics Yardbox, vintage DOD Overdrive/Preamp 250 (gray version), Vox Valve-Tone, Ibanez Tube King, Blackstone Mosfet Overdrive 2s (terribly overhyped), Carl Martin Hot Drive n' Boost MK I, and now the SD-9. I can honestly say that this is the best distortion pedal I've owned. Stolen/lost? I'd buy another. They're relatively cheap on Ebay, and a good one comes around every couple of weeks. Oh, and interestingly enough, I was pawing through a Guitar World recently which featured the rigs of the stars, and apparently one of Pearl Jam's guitarists uses one of these. Get 'em while they're cheap, people will catch on soon.

Very useful pedal, great for punk/blues, depending on settings of guitar, pedal and amp. Great to solo with. I bought it used so it had no manual. Great multipurpose pedal.

i use a fender strat or tele. A must if I am playing punk. I roll the distortion back and adjust the tone for a nice overdrive. I am using this with a peavey transtube supreme and also with a fender hot, both are solid state amps. Pedal is very quiet. You have to watch the treble it can get to be too much. The tone nob is not very useful, it must be kept around 12 oclock in my opinion

very reliable so far, although the switch may be going, maybe i need to stomp on it harder. :)

N?A

Great for punk/blues or just plan rock. Not enought gain or controls to make it a metal pedal unless an equalizer was used. I still want a TS-9, but this is acting as both a distortion pedal and an overdrive pedal for me. I use it for either depending on what other pedals i have out. I paid too much for it, but it is a good collectable pedal.

Three knobs. No fuss!

Med. mellow to sizzeling "sonic"

I've had it for eight years & NEVER had a problem

Never needed it!

Over the years I've played metal, to blues and back again.
This little puke green box has done it all with ease!
I've used it with a Peavey classic,backstage,& all tube classic 50
I now own a Red Bear(thats right,they are actually a VERY good amp
if you know your tubes!)and a '65 Fender Princeton.
Not only would I freak if it were stolen, i"ve had several of my buddies beg me to sell it to them.
I opened mine up and guess what is printed on the circuit board? "TS-5"
Thats right,I'm guessing that the pedal is virtually the same as those old $300 tube screamers with a little tweeking done for more balls.
this one will go with me to the grave. "AWESOME"

Very easy to use.

This is a great distortion pedal.It was given to me by a good friend who went the digital way and all I can say is that I am very impressed by the sound of this little box.I wanted a companion to my overdrive pedals ( a DANELECTRO DADDY/O & a BUDDA FATMAN ) that could sound a bit ruder and I found it.Compared to other distortion boxes (MXR,DOD & BOSS) this thing is way smoother and edgier.A very well kept secret!!

It's a distortion pedal, how hard can it be?

I'm using this through a fender princeton 112 plus. Keep in mind that I'm probably not hearing it's full potential. Not a real wide varitiy of sound. Using the 3 controls (distortion, tone, and level) you can get from a light overdrive, to a somewhat more then tame distortion. What you wont get is over the top, slap clint eastwoods mother type sounds. One complaint I have is that the tone control is'nt very useful, put it anywhere but 2-3 o'clock and your sound is too muddy, or tinny. However, with distortion and level cranked, and the tone set where I like it, there is something about this pedal I like and I would'nt be without one.

I bought it used, and it already looks like it's been beat to hell. Not only would I gig without a backup, I'd use it to crack wallnuts.

It really dosent seem like a great value, when you consider the limited usefullness of this pedal. Then again, what it does do, it does very well.

Very easy.

Kind of harsh, lots of highs, lots of lows, but I like it better than most tube screamers I've heard.

Very reliable, never had a problem with any fx pedals.

Great rock sounds thru a marshall amp.

How hard can it be?.....only 3 knobs; level, tone, and distortion.

I'm playing a 60's reissure strat and an epiphone LP standard through a Peavy Classic 50/410...and let me tell you....this pedal ROCKS!!! With the distortion set on around 9 o'clock....the pedal does a real sweet overdrive a la tubescreamer, but with more presence. At about 12 o'clock...it reaches the max gain sound of the tubescreamer...and beyond that, it makes a real warm distortion sound. I have a Daddy O overdrive and a Fab Tone Distortion pedal (both Danelectro's ad both very good) and was looking for a bridge between the Daddy O's raunch and the Fab's "Gain Machine"....I found it..I actually use this pedal a lot.....very good warm sound. However, I don't give this pedal a 10 for one reason.....No pedal is perfect. While I have yet to find this bad boy's flaw, I still don't feel that it is absolutely perfect (but darn close)

Well....let's see......It's built in pretty much the same housing as a TS-9 (only painted yellow instead of green). I was told this pedal was manufactured in the Late 70's and they discontinued the SD-9 in early to mid-80's. Anyway.....that makes it about 15 to 20 years old and the thing still sounds great.

Never dealt with 'em, so I don't know

I play blues, alternative, rock, and wierd combinations of the above....and this pedal will do everything I need except for really high gain stuff. If it was stolen I would hunt down whoever stole it and....and.....well, do something not very nice. I would definately by another if I see one. However, since they have been out of production for like 18 years, I probably won't find another one.....so if this thing ever breaks....after bawling my eyes out....I'd have it fixed.

basic 3-knobber. gain, tone, vol. Interactive, in that tone is very musical and the gain has many shades. It's possible to get many different sounds with a little tweaking.

I'm currently using this with a Jaguar re-issue and an old vibrochamp. I've also used it with a tele through a Sovtek Mig 50. I've tried a lot of different overdrives, distortions, and fuzzes, and this is my fave so far. I like the trebly edge this unit provides. It's bright, but not shrieky. I keep the treble around 10 o'clock-12 o'clock and there's a world of subtle shades between those two, depending on volume, gain, etc. This thing sounds better than a tubescreamer to my ears. It's not as dark and the presence really helps to sharpen my sound. I also like it because it is a distortion box that doesn't make me feel like buying hairspray, wearing spandex, ripping my jeans and wearing flannel, etc. It's got its own thing, and it's really dynamic. I liked it so much I have two (just in case). I can't give it a ten 'cuz it can't beat the sound of an overdriven vibroverb, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper.

It seems dependable, but it's like 15 years old and I've heard Ibanez switches can die on you. I wouldn't really want to gig without a backup, but that's why I have two. At $75 bucks, it's cheaper to have two of these than to have 1 boutique unit I don't like as much.

I doubt they even remember they make these, and I don't speak Japanese so when it finally dies I doubt I'll be calling them.

I play indie rock stuff, alt-whatever, and like noise bands as well. When I played the sd-9 with the tele, I got a lot of compliments from other guitarists (they might have just liked the off-lime paint job). I don't know how this sounds with humbuckers. I personally don't like them. I imagine the trebly side of this pedal might help coax some edge out of them, without getting shrill, but I don't know.

This pedal is easy to use... the controls are large and react well to different settings (although i generally leave them all at the same place and change the tone using my guitar volume knob) It's pretty much 'dial it in and step on it'. I did not receive a manual with this pedal, as it was bought seccond hand. It is easy to get a good sound, and a variety of sounds can be achieved, although not all of them are useful.

I use this pedal with a Abeline Strat-Copy (humbucker at bridge mainly) and a 30w Solid State combo, and a few other pedals. The tone is good at the setting i leave it at (cranked up to 10 at the tone, level and distortion knobs). It is an excellent sounding pedal, which can move from flat-out fuzz to gentle distortion by changing pickups or volume on my guitar. On its own it isnt noisy... though a hiss can be heard when it is used in combination with my other pedals. Generally, tho, it doesnt make as much noise as my chorus pedal, so its quite good. Not all the settings on the pedal are useful... the tone knob is the main tool used to change the quality of the sound, but i generally leave it just below the top treble setting or else the tone becomes too muddy. This is not a hinderance, however, because I can make finer adjustments on the tone using the EQ on my amp. Using the neck humbucker on my guitar, the pedal replicates the sound heard on the Tumbleweed song 'Daddy Longlegs', and in the bridge position i can achieve a range of punk/rock sounds.

I have never had a problem with this pedal... the jacks all click tight into the pedal, and the all metal construction is very solid. I would definatly use this pedal without a backup, because i have never had a problem with it. And because of the wikid lime-green colour, you cant misplace it!!! :)

I bought this pedal seccond hand from a pawn shop, and i have never had to deal with Ibanez

I generally play thrash/funk/punk stuff, and this pedal suits my needs well. I can achieve a full on ripping distortion, a highgain fuzz, or a light distortion very easily. There is a good volume jump between the clean and dirty positions, and this enables me to put a lot of dynamics into my music. I have been playing about 3 years, and this is the first and only distortion pedal i have owned, although i have tried out many other pedals. I hope this pedal never gets stolen, because i dont know where i would find another one... i need this pedal. I simply love the tone that can be achieved with this pedal.. despite having a cheap, no-name amplifier, and a cheap, no-name guitar, my set up SOUNDS GOOD with this pedal. When i bought it, i compared it to a Boss Metal distortion... the Boss SUCKED compared to the SD-9. I do wish that it had another tone knob (ie and treble AND bass knob)but it still puts out a good sound without two EQ controls. It does help me make music, because it is so versatile and easy to use. Finally, the you can't beat the awesome sickly-lime-green colour of this pedal.

Easy as to dial up any good guitar sound. Three knobs - you plug in, you twiddle, you're set!

It's pretty quiet and it responds to dynamic changes in your playing much like an amp. It's kinda Vox-like wheras a TS-9 is kinda Fender-like.

It's an old Ibanez effect from the 80's it's made for the road. (you can leave (you can leave it on the road it'll take the abuse) I've never had a backup and I've never needed one.

You can get some replacement parts due to the reissue of the TS-9. -knobs, battery cover, switch, etc..

I've owned two of these and this time I won't sell it. It's the perfect companion to the TS-9 and in some ways it's superior to it. It is'nt as "dark" as the tube screamer but it does provide a greater amount of gain. It's a tube screamer on drugs!

Easy to use like any distortion, vol tone distortion what else can i say?

This is the best sounding pedal distortion i have heard. A really heavy full sound, not a cheap fuzzy sound usually heard from most cheap boxes well worth the money, and better sound than most cheaper solid state amps

sometimes the power would cut out when using an AC but i seem to have fixed it

would definately buy it again, infact looking for a second one, i hear their out of production, but they must be used with a ac, they sound down right shitty and weak with a battery, infact it seems to work best with a 12 or 15 Volt ac, likes the juice !

I saw one other review about this pedal, and I had to put one in, too. I bought mine original, which had to in 1983. I was in 8th grade and had just bought a '69 Fender Dual Showman Reverb amp, but I couldn't get the distortion, so I went out and bought the first distortion pedal I saw - the SD-9. Its been my standard ever since. Three knobs (Distortion, Tone, Level) make it easy to get a number of sounds: from blues crunch to, well, SONIC.

Excellent distortion sounds from this unit. I use a Digitech GSP-7 effects processor, but rarely use any of the distortions included in it. Why should I with my Ibanez Sonic Distortion?

Excellent. As the original owner, its got dents, missing paint, etc. but it has held up well and I've never had a problem. Still standing up after 13+ years.

Never had a problem with it: just took it out of the box and have played it almost daily since I got it.

This is a great distortion pedal. I'm keeping my eyes open for another just in case this one ever dies... Let's hope not. I consider this pedal a major part of my sound and style... whichever setting I use it for.

This pedal has three knobs. Level, Distortion, and Tone. Kind of a staple in todays guitar effects world The level is your basic volume knob. The rest is pretty self explanatory.

The volume knob At 50% it makes your distorted signal = to your clean. The distortion knob at 10-25% gives you a nice dirty crunch. Ideal for blues men. Around 50 or so It gives you a nice crisp overdrive. At 100%, can we say pure sonic meltdown? Even when my amp is at minimum volume, it sounds like it's going to burst from the energy. I love it. The tone could be called somewhat of a nasal knob. Depending on how your amp is set, it can add that over the edge tone, But sometimes it is a little to green dayish. i prefer it at around 75 or so. At times the distortion can be nice and tight, but when it gets loud it gets a sort of jangly quality at the low end With the distoion at about 50-75% it does wonders for rhythm players. But if you peg the pedal, it turns your solos from great to incredible. Does a miracle job of adding that extra tone that makes everyone just say yeah! that the sound.

Well, This catergory is simple. This pedal was stopped being made arounf the early to mid 19 80's. When i first bought the pedal it was already fifteen years old. it was $25 bucks and i figured what the hell? well, it sounds immense, after all that time. It looks like a tube screamer knock off or something, it even has that same paint. But i've heard it against ts reissues, and it beat it out. (I think). I say that if your gonna buy a used vintage ibanez, instead of shelling 250 for an original ts-9, pay the 25 bucks and go with the better pedal. I dont know about the guy before me, but this pedal has already survived a house fire, as well as a good 20 hours a week of use.

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I wish i was a guitar god, and everyone who was a good little guitar playing wanna-be would find one of these monsters in their stockings. I am a distoriton nut, and this is the best box ive ever heard. end of story