Ibanez SD-9 Distortion

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