Ibanez SM-9 Distortion

Five knobs to tweak the damn thing and I'm happy about each one of 'em, gives a great flexibility. Compared to the thirty-six knobs on my MS-20 this one's a breeze, took me less than thirty minutes to figure out what knobs to turn to get the desired sound.

As far as I've read thru the reviews no-one used the pedal for anything else than a guitar, so my use of it is kinda exotic: a Korg MS-20 and vocals are the main input sources for this beast. And it's doing really well; even at high distortion levels it sounds crisp. If you crank the volume and distortions up to the max it'll produce quite a bit of noise when it's not fed with any input; but well, turn the input up a bit and you're set.

I'm usually feeding its output thru an alesis 3630 compressor into my comp; sometimes I've even used it in a feedback routing patch on the MS-20.

Overall I really dig its sound and the variety of sounds it can produce; never had better sounding distortions so far.

I'm using it in a studio setup, so no harsh treatment as it would receive on a gig. From the feel and look of it I'd say it's all fine for a gig, solid casing, the knobs are lowered a bit, so you shouldn't hit 'em when engaging the switch which works just perfectly on my unit.

Since I'm not doing gigs I'm skipping the rating on this one.

Never had to get in touch with them.

I'm doing underground electro for nine years now. My gear consists of the Proteus VX (as soon as possible I'll buy its hardware counterpart, the E-mu Proteus 2000) and a Korg MS-20 along with two Alesis 3630 compressors and an Alesis Quadraverb multieffect. The pedal is mostly used in chain with it.

If someone would steal this baby I would definetely get a "new" one.

If you want a great sounding distortion pedal that gives you a great flexibility this one's worth a look, there are not much like it out there.

5 knobs , but in 2 minutes i got great tones!

holy cow!!!! another insane pedal from the ibanez 9 series!!! early 80s. switch has no probs...

again, switch is good. no probs with pdl.

never had to contact

run out & buy 1!!! you wont be regreting this magic box!! dig the mettalic 70s racecare color on it!

Very easy to use. Set the level a tad louder than the dry signal. Then dial in the drive. Next, dial in the amount of low end punch you want then adjust the amount of edge or tone your going for. Adjust the attack to suit your taste and you are now in sonic mayhem. Like a tube screamer, use your guitars volume control to control the effected sound. Don't rely on the footswitch to control your sound so much.

I ran it alone using a Fender Strat into the SM-9 to a Peavy Reknown and it sounded excellent with some tweaking of the knobs. Very transparent when you switch it on. No noise what so ever. When I ran an SD-9 in front of it, it was singing. But again, your volume control position on the guitar sets the stage as to how over the top you want to be. Back of your guitar volume and find that sweet spot.

Very dependable. Ibanez switches in the 9 series will fail at some point in time. Usually during a gig. If the switch gets flakey during a gig, I just leave it on and roll off my guitar volume and all is clean when clean is called for. If it died I would plug in my Ibanez OD 855 or TS10 or TS9 into the SD-9 and get by. But there would be a loss in the distortion department.

Never dealt with them nor needed to. All repairs are usually handled by effects guru Analog Mike.

I have been playing for 33 years . I play rock, blues and jazz and and any other progressions that are the result of jamming. I think the SM-9 is very musical in the sense that it will take your notes and spank them into sonic mayhem when it interacts with your guitar and amps speakers.

i have this pedal and it has been with me for years i kept in my draw . i used to play with this pedal a while back .and got new stuff like marshall amps and gibson guitars. after reading these reviews on this pedal it's like everyone says it's a killer pedal . so i pulled it out of my draw and hooked it up . and wow what a tone that this thing has and using a marshall jcm 2000 dsl 100 watt half stack . unreal lots of people say wow that pedal is old .and when they hear the diffrence in sound they think twice. so thanx 4 the reviws on this pedal and i have in the chaine .. works excellent..

ok - ibanez demon wah- ibanez ms-9 -ibanez ts7- now going through the loop is arion chorus stero pedal a studio flanger- boss dd3. love it

oh ya' built like a tank' last years and years-- and years-

not sure'' it;s old//

Metal- jazz progrestion- and my own stuff- all i have to say this pedal is a 80's and i have it and i use it and it is in great shape-great sound

not very easy to use, the key word being "very". I couldn't get a cool sound out of it until I just started turning the eq knobs and disregarded the stupid names for them. Trust your ears. I keep the middle one at about 2:00 and the other two are almost maxed. The eq is weird because the lower you turn the knobs, the lower the sound gets.

once I got a good sound, it was great. I have been looking for a pedal that will handle high gain well and this one seems to do it better than all the ones I've tried. I've never tried a tubescreamer, but I'll say that the SM9 will handle a wide range of gain. Not many pedals can do that. I use it mostly with my strat that's been wired into a tele (two pickups) and it really cranks. It's not super super heavy distortion, but if you play the right chords, it gets pretty mean. The amp I'm using is a Hot Rod Deluxe and this thing goes into a dyna comp straight into the clean channel.

overall, this pedal isn't transparent, but the flavor it adds is pretty fantastic.

switch is a little tough to engage, but a previous reviewer below explains how to clean it. Other than that it seems solid. nice, heavy as fuck metal case.

I'm still learning how to get good sounds with this, but I have a feeling I'll keep it.

If you can't figure out how to use an Ibanez Overdrive/Distortion pedal...maybe you should consider playing drums. 5 Knobs, tweak em until you like the noise coming out of your amp! It's easy...I actually cheated a bit as there have been a glut of these beasts going increasingly cheap on eBay lately and I've been copying the settings fromt the photos as well as pulling up the setting that Amir Derak from ORGY has posted on his website...he loves this pedal too!

I've picked up two from eBay at an avg price of $105.00. One begins w/a "41" Serial and has a clear musical tone to it the other w/a "44" and has a bassier fuzz tone to it. These are suppose to have either (because I can't remember at the moment)2 or 4 of the JRC4558D Chips in them which accounts for the quality of the musical tone. Based upon my research, some did, some didn't...I'm guessing that the "44" Pedal w/the CLEAR MUSICAL TONE HAS THE JRC4558Ds and the "41" Pedal has some other chips. I've looked all over the web for info and read everything at ANALOGMAN and KEELEY. Analogman has modded a couple. I'd assume they're from around 1984, part of the famous Ibanez 9 Series Pedals which spawned the LEGENDARY TS9 Tube Screamer. Well...this thing is basically a TS9 WITH BALLS and EQ CONTROL! I call it a "Metal Screamer". It's an overdrive in my opinion, same as a TS9, and I run it either in front of a Tech 21 Sansamp GT2, Boss Metal Zone or a DOD BIG PIG Fat Distortion. I love the tonal variety I can get w/this monster...EVERYTHING FROM A TS9 OVERDRIVE to a 70's METAL TYPE FUZZ EFFECT (kind of like a BIG MUFF PI) depending upon what you're pumping it into.

I LOVE THIS PEDAL...SO MUCH THAT I BOUGHT A SECOND ONE! I also have a Silver Label 80s Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer, a Boss SD1 Black Label MIJ, a new MXR Wylde Overdrive and a Tech 21 Double Drive that alternate places w/this SM9 when I get bored or feel stagnant. I love to switch up guitars and pedals and seeing what I come up with from the different combinations.

It's got a BUTTLOAD OF BASS to it...also significant treble...bascially presence knobs for bass and treble frequency...controls are sort of like the ones on my Boss MZ2 Metal Zone...although this pedal is "Metal"...it retains the "MUSICAL" TONAL Qualities that made the TS9 so well know and beloved.

Everyone whines about the Pedals On/Off switch. I've never had a misstep w/either when I've engaged. Less beer=more focus...and better aim w/your feets!

Wouldn't even attempt to attempt anything w/them due to the age of this pedal. Hopefully I won't need service. No opinion.

This pedal is an UNDERRATED AND UNDERVALUED GEM! It's phenomenal! BUY ONE...BUY TWO...well...at least buy one. It will not disappoint. It sounds great with other pedals or straight into either the clean or overdriven channel of my 1979 Marshall JMP 2x12 Celestion Greenback equipped combo...and w/any of my Kramers (EE PRO Imperial x 2, Stagemaster Custom, Kramer Baretta Kline Space Graphic), Warmoth Floyd Rose SRV Stratocaster Tribute or BC Rich Gunslinger!

Not very complicated once you figure out the dials.

UPDATE:
Of all the distortion boxes(under $100),this thing is the most flexible!The SM-9 is good for Punk-Rock,Super 80's or Classic 60's-70's rock.It can even nail that "Satisfaction" tone without a Wah pedal! That "WET" rock rythym sound that it can produce is my favorite aspect of the SM-9.

Here's the tricky part.SM-9's can get a little buzzy,which is part of it's nature.But when I don't want that,I'll turn down the treble(Edge)or use another pedal.There's enough bass to make your eyes water and enough bite to sand-paper your butt! Add to that it's versitility and you have,in my opinion,one of the most unique distortions ever.
GRIMEY!!

The switch can be little moody.Sometimes I have to hit it twice to engage it.
I don't take it out much,it's a specialized pedal for me.

Ibanez should've made the Tone-Lok series like these "9" pedals.Much better housing.
I was gonna get a mod to cut some high end.F*CK DAT!! I don't wanna take away it's character!

No matter how much mixing I do,I can only create 50% of these tones!!
The Rampage(mean),ShredMaster and Johnson E.Q. dist. can't hang with the SM-9 in the tweaking dept.However,when playing big chords (5-6 notes)there is some intermodulation.Some of the notes can get washed out...but that's why I have the Smash-box.It ain't perfect,but nothing is.
SM-9's have so much gain and tone that you'll just INTIMIDATE muthaf*ckaz with it...dripping with harmonics!! And if it gets too loud,just scoop out the mids.
You can guess by now that I really like this box,huh? It helps me get DOWN and DIRTY!!

You gotta tweak a little, since there are 5 knobs. Also the range of the knobs isn't exactly lineair. Most of the boosting happens after the 3 'o clock position, instead of the 12 'o clock hi noon.

Also, the controls are a bit interactive; instead of boosting treble (Attack), you could cut a little bass (Punch) and mid (Edge).

VERRRRY GOOD! I have a Hughes & Kettner Tubefactor (pretty much THE best overdrive distortion in the world- and believe me- I've tried A LOT ) and for certain things the SM9 smokes the TF!
For a metal-pedal, it has a rather smooth/creamy sound (ofcourse with the mid above 4), and will only sound thin if you totally cut the bass.

My only quibbles are that the Attack could use a bit more bite in the max setting, and that the Punch should be tuned a bit lower. Now you get a bit of "wwwooommmphhh" if you put it on 10.
Still, seeing that it's 1/4th of the price of the Tubefactor, I say a Straight A+!

With a Strat it sounds a bit more brittle, but people that buy a pedal with the word "Metal" on it shouldn't be playing Strats in the first place! :-p With the gain on 3/4 it sounds awesome for older Priest stuff and will even do a convincing Gary Moore-tone. Dime the Drive and you'll get more towards Pantera/Metallica/Anthrax.

The casing and its innards are all very sturdy. The only weaker part of the 9 series is the switch. Sometimes you need to step more than 1 time on it to activate the pedal. Mine still works fine, but I have a '82 FL-9 Flanger that sometimes has hick-ups.

E-mailed them once about a manual, never got a reply.
Also their spare parts are expensive! I paid like ?15 for a tremolo arm. They do make good stuff though.

I play in a heavy/speed/thrash band and also in a funk/soul/disco-coverband. I have a lot of good (vintage) pedals and a couple of different guitars (Ibanez S540FM TTS, Fender '68 RI Strat w/US Texas Specials, GrassRoots Horizon with SD'59ers).
I've been playing for almost 11 years now.

If it were stolen, I'd find the person who stole it and take it back and position a DOD Trash Master in their rectal opening! That'll teach 'em! ;-)

I love the smooth tone. It's almost the opposite of a Boss Metalzone. It's like a bluesy rock version of a metalpedal, while still having more than enough gain to cop a decent Pantera-tone.

It's far better than a vintage MXR Distortion + (too thin sounding) and a Boss MT-2 (one-trick pony).

I wish it had more treble-range and a lower-tuned bass-knob. Also a bit more max level wouldn't hurt either.
It sure helps me make music; like a previous reviewer said "makes you play Motley Crue's "Live Wire" ;-)

It rocks! \m/ ROCK! \m/

If you can find one for less than $75 in great shape, buy it directly! I've seen at least 3 go on Ebay for $130-150!

Very simple. 5 knobs which give it a great feel and sound . Great.

I use a Fender Highway 1 Strat with a DOD 440 Envelope Filter, a 4800 customized Small Stone Phaser, and an Ibanez DL10 Delay. The pedal is not very noisy and it works great with other pedals. It is a very heavy, deep ditortion and works great with my Peavey 40 watt Envoy 112.

Totally reliable. The thing is a tank and is totally durable.

Never needed customer support. Bought this pedal off Ebay .

I have been playing rock for 5 years and this is a fantastic distortion pedal. I was also considering the Marshall Shredmaster, but settled for the SM-9. It is a great pedal and an awesome pickup for just straight rock. Awesome pedal. Definitley pick up one if you can get one.

The SM-9 is a superb pedal that trumps most others I have played. It is very easy to use and allows for freedom to find your personal sound with its copious setting controls.

I play my SM-9 through a fender tele and gibson les paul using a music man RP 112 (what a great amp)!. The pedal is not noisy and really crunchs nicely around 3 O'Clock position.

A friend gave my pedal to me some 10 years ago although the pedal is from the 80's. I am not sure if the switches are inherently bad or if they regress with age, but my switch is unreliable, so a quick stomp on the pedal at a pivotal point in your rock star career could leave you high and dry. But over all it is built like a tank and is a quality asset to any set-up.

Too outdated to have any support...however it has made it this far.

This is a great pedal. Everyone that has heard the SM-9 always comments on the sound being a unique balance between spacey blues tones to absoulute metal terror. I like it!!

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.

It's got 5 knobs, and the three EQ knobs take some time to get used to. It's not any obnoxious amount of time, but definitely more than your usual level/tone/distortion type setup that you see on a lot of pedals. On the bright side, there are nearly infinite possibilities when it comes to tone shaping.

Oh my God, this pedal is without a doubt the best distortion pedal I've owned (And I've owned many). Sounds really solid in my pedalboard (Crybaby->Dynacomp->SM9->DOD FX50B->Boss CH-1->Boss DD-3)
sounds good with both my solid state and tube amps. the tone I get when i use both the SM-9 and The FX-50B (an underrated pedal by the way) is absolutely astounding, great high gain madness.

Ibanez 9 series pedals have a rep for lousy footswitches. No major problems yet though. Just stomp with a little force and you're all good

It's a Vintage pedal.... yeah right

I tend to buy lots of distortions/overdrives, and keep the ones I like (usually I keep 3-5) while selling the rest. This pedal is one of my keepers for sure. It has a nice character and strong tone. I've lacked a good high gain distortion for a long time, and i think that I've finally found the one I'm going with. If it was stolen, I'd have to try to pick up another one.

Otherwise known as the "Super Metal" from the Ibanez "9" series. A pretty simple pedal even though it has five knobs. It's very similar in theory to my Boss MT-2 Metal Zone.

The sound is good. It sounds like a hot-rodded Marshall JCM-800 amp; think AC/DC, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden. Not as fuzzy as many distortions so it is easier to get the clarity to hear all of the notes. It pretty much stays within this realm of sound. I think my MT-2 Metal Zone has more "personalities" and varieties of sound, but I like what this pedal does.

The Ibanez "9" series is built fairly well. Sometimes the swtiches go, and this is missing the battery door as many seem to.

It's vintage man, no support here.

Ya can't go wrong with any of the old Ibanez pedals. Distortion/overdrive pedals are very abundant and each has it's own personality, so TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. I like to have a few different distortion pedals because of this fact.

Level and drive (gain) are easy to manipulate. Haven't figured out exactly how the attack, punch, and the other EQ knob work. Basically leaving them at noon and cutting my mids on the amp's EQ until I can take some time and sit down and really tweak the thing.

I am using this into a 1970s Bassman silverface 50w head into a Marshall 4x12 with 25w reissue greenbacks. Great sound....1970s-1980s hard rock at higher (i.e. 3 o'clock) gain settings, more like a TS-9 at lower gain settings. Much better sounding than a BOSS DS-1, perhaps the most popular pedal with similar amount and quality of gain. The DS-1 has a very transistory quality to it (the Metal Zone even more so)....imagine that kind of DS-1 gain with a TubeScreamer TS-9's circuitry...glassy and transparent. It really lets the quality of your guitar, pickups, and amp shine through. I am using this with Hamers (set neck mahogany, Seymour Duncan Jeff Beck and '59) and a pedal board with Ibanez Loop Selector, BOSS EQ, BOSS Acoustic Simulator, BOSS CE-2 chorus, BOSS BF-2 Flanger, BOSS TR-2 tremolo, BOSS DD-3 digital delay, MXR Phase 90, Univibe, DanEco Echopedal for reverb, and Dunlop Wah. I use a BOSS SD-1 in front of the SM-9 for a slight gain and slight solo boost. This rig allows me to cop any 1970s/1980s hard rock tone, specifically anything Alex Liefson did from 1974-1981. Most accurate description of its distortion at higher settings quality is "You Got Another Thing Coming" by Priest or early RATT stuff. These Ibanez 9 series pedals are great.

Just got it appears solid.

I would give it a 10 but trying to figure out the EQ knobs (which are active) leads me to give it a 9. Previously the best distortion pedal I had found was the Marshall shredmaster....I like this better. A little more organic. The Shredmaster and other pedals with mid-scoop function are cool I think by using simpler distortion pedals and dealing with the EQ at the amp (specifcally, a good old single channel, clean tube amp with passive EQ circuitry) is the way to go. Think about that set-up, as well as old analog (tape) recording technology. How many classic albums were recorded direct with Dual Rectifiers/Rocktron/JCM 900s, ADAT or digital stuff????

It has 5 knobs, so it can be a bit scary at 1st, but it's still easy to find a good tone somehow:) I myself like 5 knobs...I'm by no means a "Tweak-Freak", but I do like having mroe options to find a bitchin tone, which this one delivers very well!
I got this used, so it didn't have a manual. The switch sometimes develops an attitude, but all of em do. 9 b/c it takes a few stomps to get it on/off.

Guitars: Charvel, Gibson
Amps: Fender Silverface Twin-Reverb
FX: Chain goes like this: Rockman Wah, TS-9, CS-9, SM-9.
It's a nice dirt box!! Especially when I got the Ts-9 pre-driving it. I turnt he TS-9 all the way up, adn put hte SM-9's gain at about 2'oclock. This delivers a nice tone!!!! The effect is nice!
One gripe I have about it is that all the tone controls are "Active", meaning if you turn them down, it lowers the overall volume of the unit. So you have to leave them all at about 1/2way or more, b/c it'll take your volume if you don't. But I leave em all about 1 or 2o'clock, so it's all good:)
It's definitey a good all-around dirtbox, it can get some good useable tones...I can nail the "Talk Dirty To Me" tone(Poison) w/ the Charvel's humbucker and this little guy. I can get a good Ozzy tone too.With this and the CS-9, *BOOM*, there's Zak Wylde (No more tears) tone!!!! Nice! The overall tone is kinda "Churny", so to speak. A nice thing about it is that it lets the guitar and amp tone go through, not a pedal tone. Another nice touch by Ibanez:)You could probably coax some Tubescreamer tones outta this, but I haven't tried yet. I already have one, so oh well.:)
Overall, like the name implies, it get's a good "Super Metal" tone, whatever your idea of "Super Metal" may be. Of course, it works good for glam rock, 80's metal,and also any 90's metal. Also does a nice job getting a Led Zep tone at a little lower gain setting.
The 3 tone controls are kinda confusing sometimes....some say that they're pre-treble, post treble, and midrange boost or something? I can't realy tell, but I like to tweak them just to see what happens. I really like the flexibility you can get w/ it.
Since it's not some $4500 botique pedal(Why people pay so much for them is beyond me), I can't give it a "10".. but for the price, it's value is incredible!!!!!!

LOL, a little iron tank!!!
The only gripe I have is the frickin switch. I read that Analog Man does replacemnt swritches, but I dont really feel like sending it away:)
7 for the switch.

Ibanez would give me the finger if I needed info ont this. But, it's like a 15 year old pedal, so I guess I can't really bitch. They habven't pissed me off yet, so...

This pedal is great, and the tone is great for the $$$ you actaully pay!!! Beats a Boss right outta the water!!!!!!!!! Get one if you can find it. Also, the cool sparkly blue paint job is cool looking:)

Some are afraid of a pedal with five knobs -- to me, it allows me to find My tone in a pedal if is there at all. This pedal is as capable of sounding bad as it is good, if you set the knobs just wrong!

I had a Boss Metal Zone (MT-2). I've recently ridded myself of it because it doesn't sing. The Ibanez SM-9 sings like a canary, and unlike the MT-2, it lets the guitar's and amp's sound come through instead of burying it behind a honky-midrange wall of distortion.

I have owned other Ibanez 9 series pedals and have never had a problem. Plus, whoever previously owned my SM-9 must have stored it neatly packed for many years only to pull it out once in a while and polish it with a diaper -- perfect condition. Since nothing is infalable...

If you find one of these, buy it! It seems that you can acquire them relatively cheap (as little as $10???).