Ibanez SM-9 Distortion

A friend who plays drums gave me this along with some cables and mike stands as a freebie just to get some of the stuff out of his house. I still can NOT get a crap sound out of it no matter where the knobs are positioned. It's way easy to understand and get some decent tone from.

I play a 1978 gibson les paul custom (not sure which type humbuckers) thru the SM-9 or an SD-9 sonic distortion or an expandora II into a mid eighties marshall jcm-800 50 watt mark II lead head and finally out of a 90's ampeg 4x12 cabinet with celestion vintage 30 speakers. I have finally find MY holy grail of tone with this setup (SM-9). All that comes fourth from my rig is a smooth, warm thunder of sound. Beautiful.

Initially it took a couple of stomps to kick in the effect but now it comes on most of the time on the first try. It is in very very good shape aside from missing it's battery compartment door. If it failed I would use my SD-9 but i've been thinking of getting another SM-9 just in case.

Never dealt with them

It's pretty versitile for anything from blues to heavy music. My tone is a kind of bluesy, trashy punk rock sound (think New York Dolls, Ramones, White Stripes) and the tone i can get from this pedal fits nicely. I have even found it irresistable to play Motley Crue "Live Wire" relentlessly. Could Mick Mars have used Ibanez 9 series pedals in the early days? This box sure evokes his tone.

this is the second review im writing foor this pedal it is the best ibanez sounding distortion in my humble thoughts i own the whole series except the od9 i even own the st9 and this one blows even that away even with 5 knobs very easy to tweak good sounds out of it

ive used this with a vox ac15 and a mesa subway rocket this is great for bitting distortionyou can tweak for more subtle distortion hey whats with all the hype about the sd 9 i just dont get it

the 9 series is very reliable aleins will be digging it up 2000 years from now and jamming with it

you can battery covers from them if you try hard enough buy over all they need better customer care

well this is the second one i baught the reason being is cause my first one came up missing i own over 300 pedals i was so distrauf=ght and missed the sound of it i waited till i saw a good price on one and baught it i love and would buy another if the one came up missing

Very easy to get a good sound since that JRC chip really lets your tone come through. Just play a little with the knobs to get what you like. If you don't like knobs, try a SD-9 with one tone knob...
Used with no manual.

Great sound quality! I use through a '59 Tweed Tremolux and a Strat or LP copy. No noise to speak of and can sound smooth and creamy or raunchy, depending on the distortion level and tone settings.

I just play for fun, but would gig with it. I can definitely depend on it, especially since I was able to fix the switch myself--YES, you heard me!!! For anyone who is nimble and doesn't mind fooling with their pedal, the directions are below. Don't blame me if you fuck up your pedal, though... I'm not putting in my cantact info because I don't want a million emails about how somebody can't get their pedal back together again. That being said...

NOTE: This only works on VINTAGE (1980's) Series 9 pedals

Well, everyone makes this seem like it's brain surgery, but all you really need is some electronic lube cleaner (like Lube Job, Radio Shack Tuner Cleaner), a Phillips head screw driver, a q-tip and some nimble fingers. Just follow these steps:

Step 1: With your finger nail, carefully remove the remnants of the foam padding in the battery compartment. There are wires connected to a pc board right underneath, so DO NOT use a sharp object to do this.

Step 2: Remove the 2 screws that are holding the oval shaped switch. Carefully store them on the side.

Step 3: Carefully pull out the switch assembly. You will notice there is a spring. Remove it and store it to the side.

Step 4: Hold the switch assembly firmly in one hand, and gently and slowly pull on the black plastic switch shaft to open it up. It should pop right off with a little pressure. Put it to the side.

Step 5: Keeping the switch assembly facing upwards, carefully turn it over to dump out the tiny switch disk. It is a little metal disk that has the convex or bubble shape facing up toward the opening. Remember the way it came out, because you will need to put it in the same way.

Step 6: Spray some cleaner on the q-tip. Gently clean the disk (both sides) and all the little metal connections inside the switch assembly that were under the disk.

Step 7: Put the metal disk back in, bubble side facing up. Then, put the black plastic switch shaft into place and make sure it gently clicks together.

Step 8 (optional): Okay--here's my little trick for making these switches work more positively. Before placing the spring back onto the shaft, I stretch it to give the slightest bit of extra pressure on the switch. But, I only stretch it slightly, probably less than a milimeter-barely noticable. And I do it with my fingers--pliers would destroy the spring. Do this only if you feel brave. You will know you stretched it too much if the switch doesn't click over when it's put together. Simply open it back up and squeeze the spring a little to compress it back. This is a trial and error thing... It works for me and now the switch works with just the slightest tap. Otherwise, just place the spring back on the shaft.

Step 9: Turn the switch assembly around and place into its position, making sure that the spring lines up with the little round button on the inside ceiling of the actual metal footswitch. Put screws back in, close battery compartment, and rock on!

NA--So far, I've fixed the switch myself...

I play rock, okay, since the eigth grade (I'm now 35). I own a ton of other vintage to new gear that I love, but I just wanted to give a quick review of this under-rated pedal and let everyone know that fixing the switch is not a big deal--and this is coming from somebody that isn't handy at all...
This pedal is not perfect--I doubt any pedal is. But I've had many over the years, and I plan on keeping this one. I love the fluid, glassy transparency of it. It just takes a little more effort with the knobs than a single tone pedal would. I would be upset if it were lost or stolen.

Five knobs, unusual for a stomp distortion unit, but you can find your sound.

GREAT!!!

I play mainly les pauls and vintage Ibanez gtrs (Artists and copies): you can get many different sounds from he super metal, but I find it amazing for "distortion to fuzz" edge tones; it works fine with a lower amount of drive level as well, but if you're looking for a tubelike sound address to a TS9 or ST9.

With its tone controls it's possible to play humbackers or single coils getting always great sounds.

Checked with a Shergold Meteor, an Ibanez Strat copy and a Les Paul Custom 3pu; FX chain was Ibanez CP9 (always a comp before...) - SM9 - Boss DC 2 Dimension Chorus - Marshall Pre - 2 Roland Bolt 60 amps (tube final section only).

The SM-9 Super Metal has its own personality; the best image I can give you is "a full cold fuzzy OVERdrive edge with lots of life inside" (do you remember an englishman called Robert Fripp...)

Never used on a gig, only in studio, but I trust Ibanez 9 series.

In the wide ocean of distortion boxes I've used, this is one of the few stomps I'd miss.

It has five knobs. Treble, mid, and bass which makes this pedal very versatile and a wider range of tones than most distortion pedals.

I have found that when you turn the 3 tone knobs to about 3 o'clock, it really kicks in the crunch! I have several Strats, some with single coils and one with a JB jr. and an Epi Les Paul, and it really rocks. The individual guitars are able to have their own distinct tone and still sound like Judas Priest, Van Halen or the black Crowes.

All of the 9 series pedals are built to last, and even for being almost twenty years old it still holds up.

N/A

Highly recommended. Even if you play SRV, Led Zepplin, or Guns and Roses, this pedal has quite the range of sounds. I'd definitely buy another one(if I can find it). Lately I'v been using it as my lead boost.

five knobs? no big deal. very easy to use.

i'm only rating it this low because a transistor burned out and i had to get it fixed by a fellow i worked with and i don't think it sounds as good as it used to. it does have good presence though, and since i record a lot, i like to use it to layer parts because it sits well in the mix. not too hot as a stand alone, except for leads.

well, it was older than dirt when i got it and pretty beat up...and that transistor went (which was probably me leaving it connected to the wrong ac adapter). the switch is also on its last legs, sometimes i really have to work that little hummer to get it engaged.
gig without a backup? i wouldn't gig with it. maybe if i had one in better shape, though....

not bloody likely for a pedal of this age.

i like to play a variety of stuff, from electronic based rock and blues, through industrial and black metal. this pedal is a good match for the electronic side of things, where texture is more important than a solid riffing tone.
i play a couple of les pauls through an line 6 pod and an older marshall valvestate.
if it were lost or stolen, i'd miss the little blue devil, but i probably wouldn't go out of my way to get another.
i like it because i like all my distortion and overdrive pedals...i just like to have a lot of different texture on tap for recording sessions. every pedal should have its day.
i also like the fact that it has a fairly wide eq, which isn't exactly in surplus from that generation of pedals. i hate that damnable switch, though.
i received it as a birthday gift when i was a teenager...it actually my first pedal ever, so i didn't have anything to compare it to at the time.
anyway, i'm giving it an overall of 8 because it's a distortion pedal, and i fell one should have all the cheap pedals one can find.

my theory: how easy is it to use if it's difficult to get a good sound out of it?

fizzy, carbonated distortion sound. For the life of me, I can't see why people love this pedal so much. I parted with mine and haven't looked back. Tried with several different guitars. the bass response was good, but overall the effect was too brittle and not real sounding enough. Perhaps good for big power chords, but on single notes, this thing was pretty brutal.

ibanez 9 series. that means tough little buggers with flaky switches. 10 for the casing + 4 for the switch + 6 for the age and rounding down because reliabilty should be scored that way...

this is ibanez. this is a big company that will deny the existence of anything not in their current product line.

I play rock and roll...I thought this pedal might be the cure for what ails me, but it fell short of the mark. my dream = TS-808 punch and color with a high gain pedal. so far, the closest I've gotten is a first issue small box Proco Rat. may work better for you than me, but I give it the thumbs down.

its got 5 knobs you can get a wide variety of sounds but i just plugged it in and got good distorted sounds right away but you got a number of ways to tweak the sound with 5 knobs

its one of the best distortions i own and i own hundreds of distortion pedals i think it sounds better than my sd-9 with the jrc chip in it i use it wit my af-9 auto filter and it sounds great its got that puchy distortion i use it with my line 6 spyder amp my guitar is a fender strat

would survive a neclear blast

i seem to still get battery covers from them

i play 311 meets soundgarden meets ratm i dont hate anything about this pedal i like it alot and glad i got it i think it sound way better than the sd9 its got the punchy distortion i also love that it has five knobs to tweak the sound any way u want it i will be using it alot

Very easy to use.Just tweak the 5 knobs to get the sound you want.

Whoa baby!!This thing is one "bad mutha..shut my mouth".It has a rich,
classic,high-gain sound that wets your ear-drums.The tone is full,not
bassy.Sharp,but no ear-bleed.The e.q. knobs are Edge=Treble,Attack=
Midrage,Punch=Bass.These dials give you tons of versitility,from cheesy low-gain sound to all out gonzo mayhem.The distortion is powerful,yet not overbearing and has a very wide range.The SM-9 is not
a tone sucker like some other pedals.In fact,you'll sound better with it on than off.I recorded it with a Cry-baby in front...NASTY!! I'll
use a Chandler Tube driver for rythym tracks,but the SM-9 is my new lead pedal.My Twin Reverb can sound like a Mashall in a sigle stomp.

Depend on it?? Hell yeah!! Gig with it?? It never leaves the house!

I haven't the foggiest idea about Ibanez support.Upgrade?The Mona Lisa
doesn't need more paint!

I've been playing about 22yrs.This SM-9 is probably the best DISTORTION stomp-box I've ever heard or owned The Smash-box,in my opinion is very good for the price.But the SM-9 has a better tone,more
beefy sound.I've heard about them,but when I got one I said,"HOLY SQUARE WAVE,BATMAN!!" You just gotta check out one of these bad-boys!!

Took me a while to figure it out, But it was Worth the time. All the knobs make it very versatile.

The best distortion I've ever heard. It has a smoother sound than most, like the Boss MT-2, and lets the true sound of the guitar shine thru.

It's 15 years old, and nothing has gone wrong.

I play blues and metal, and this pedal works great for both, I highly reccomend it.