Maxon AD-900 Analog Delay

Time, Repeat, Level.

About as basic as an analog delay gets. The sweet spots on the Repeat knob for oscillation is very easy to find. Trim pots on the inside (I wouldnt recommend tweaking them much, if even at all. I did a little fine tuning to the decay of my signal for a bit of customization).

The best delay I've ever heard/played/owned. The tail of the echo is very smooth: the short repeats are clear and the longer they go on the more they turn into fading memories that massage themselves into your subconscious. A brilliant experience for any listener or musician.

I've never encountered an issue, and surprisingly it reacts very consistently with the change up of different amplifiers, guitars, and sound levels. I can always trust this amplifier to do what I say, like a well trained German shepherd.

n/a

Out of all of the pedals I've owned over the years (Klon, Matchless, Mutron, other Maxon, Ibanez, Fulltone etc etc) this is literally the only one that I kept. I sold all of my pedals off, even custom built ones. This one made it through debt, school, bands, girlfriends, jobs. I'll take this one to my grave.

Like falling off a log.

This is the two chip MN 3005 unit, which was a deliberate choice. I went looking for a clone for the Boss DM-2, (my favorite, which also has the MN 3005 chip) but with longer delay time. In my opinion, this is the unit. After much A/Bing the two, I sold my Boss DM-2. The Boss features 300ms of delay time; the Maxon has between 500 and 600ms. Sonically, they are incredibly similar (at least with my rig). I use two vintage Gretsches, one with Filtertrons and one with DeArmonds. I run them through a '63 Fender Bassman.

Seems very solid; no worries.

Maxon does answer questions on website quickly and thoroughly, although this thing is out of production, and out of warranty.

I bought this unit out of Japan on Ebay, fully intending to send it to Analogman for true bypass, and that is just what I did. It runs at 12 volts (more headroom), but I run a Voodoo lab PedalPower 2 Plus, so you only need to flip a switch to adjust for this. It is positive center on the power input jack, but you can get a tiny adapter for your power supply. It is larger than your average pedal, but I don't mind this. Supposedly, this cuts down on "cross talk," resulting in a quieter pedal. In my opinion, this is THE old school dark repeat delay pedal. It is exactly what I was looking for. Yes, I have A/Bed against the AD 999. They are VERY similar, with the 999 obviously winning out in the longer delay category. Tonally speaking, I think the 900 is better in the tone of the repeats, but I'd hate to have to live off the difference. I find it quite musical, and it does the analog delay thing better than any other (and I've tried quite a few).

as easy as it gets... typical 3 knob operation..time.mix..repeats

Recently ordered a used ad900 after buying a "true bypass" boutique delay..from one of the myriad of pedal builders claiming to have this art down..It was noisy...adding an airy hiss to my signal..And boosted the highend...and the overall volume...while sounding flappy and harsh...Simply not musical...
After all the glowing reviews on the ad900...and A killer price...I couldnt refuse..
Whether through my clubman 35...Dr. Z kt45...Orange Rockerverb..or the fender amps...it soesnt matter...Absolutely no tone coloration at all...Absolutely no noise all at...Warm fat..haunting echoes...
Simply perfect...I'm starting to question the true bypass craze...When some of them are clearly coloring your tone...And there's no loud pop either...
I can get all the sounds I need....

just got it...but it's used...and works perfectly...
I've never had issue with any maxon pedal..so..

never needed em

tested against many others....They are all going up for sale....
The only complaint is: 12v vs 9v.... Needs a seperate adapter with certain power supply units...

As everyone says, three knobs and no surprises there.

Dark. Degrades. It's analog. You won't get chimey sounds out of this nor well-defined high-gain palm mutes. It's a very warm, musical sound that will make your lead and solo tones a mile deep. For rhythm work I just use a few quiet repeats to fatten things up, the decaying repeats provide a lovely rich grumble to support any higher-register voice leading in the chords.I use it exclusively in the FX loop of my Mesa Rectifier Preamp into a Mesa 20/20 power amp and a pair of Avatar 1x12 cabs. My main axe is a super-versatile Yamaha Image Custom.

A really upper-mid-heavy, snarly higher-gain tone really cuts through the repeats, sometimes to the point you barely hear them anymore. Conversely, a big fat dark tone will make for very muddy sounds as the repeats decay. These are the limits-- however, they can make for versatile effects once you figure them out.

It really does have its own sound-- it's virtually an instrument unto itself. This can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it.

I don't notice any tone suckage, though my preamp's fx loop does not do 100 per cent wet mix so that may be why.

I generally play post-heavy (Sigur Ros down through Mogwai to Isis, Pelican, and some stoner stuff.)

So far it's dependable, I've jammed with it a fair bit. It seems solid.

No opinion.

It's definitely a limited effect for the price and compared to digital boxes; you have to be wanting to make this part of your sound. I've got a pretty big gear budget, so I would probably buy another if it wandered away, or maybe I'd look into the AD-999.

If you use a lot of delay and can only justify one delay unit, this probably isn't it unless you're an analog cultist like me. I'm very happy with it but I can see where a lot of people wouldn't be.

Simplicity. Three knobs, Delay Time, Repeat and Delay Level.
There is one but you don't need it.

Perfect smooth analog delay. The quality of each echo deteriates just like a tape loop.
Unlike my BOSS DD3 the delay is very musical and in no way harsh even if you did in to your guitar.
I use it with a Two Rock Jet, in-line.

Very high build quality. Should last for years.

Don't know.

I play blues and use the MAXON for a slap back echo a la Robben Ford.
It really fattens up the tone and give a spacious sound.
Best delay I have tried so far. I was going to invest in a Fulltone tape echo but I am very happy with this unit and it is maintenace free. Only problem is it is a bit pricey, but this is probably due to the custom chips which are used.
Great pedal.

No markings around knobs to reset favorite settings. Otherwise easy.

Analog delay. Thats what it sounds like. Analog delay. Nice though. Repeats degrade nicely and noise slowly becomes prominent on longer delays. Thick but spacial.

Ive got a strat - 59 tweed princeton - strobostomp - ts9 original (but with the "bad chip" hahahaha) -tonebone british - ad900- catalinbread semaphore

PS Yep- sucks tone. Sorry. Use it in the loop. Notice- still a 10 rating. Just sounds great. Have analog man mod it for REAL TRUE BYPASS. That was some Maxon BS!!!!

Bought it from Japan. 2 chip version. I didn't even look at the ad999- headroom is VERY important people!!! Bottom line- I love it!

Tank. Bigger than it needs to be though. Great quiet switch. I have NO worries!

dont know.

The reviews here are for the most part right on- great sounding but a touch "pink floyd-ish". Dark and degrading. YES slight ringing overtone at times. BUT all of it is very musical. I didn't chance it and got the 2 chip Japanese version- MAINLY because Japanese companies LOVE to keep the quality a little higher at home. It may not sound different than the 4 chip but I wouldn't be suprised if it did!!! It makes me VERY suspicious when the Maxon website addresses this issue so better safe than sorry. Bottom line- Worth every penny.

So easy 3 knobs

Dont believe any negatives this is the best delay out there ..100%

Not caved in yet

Never used them

This is the business , I would say it is in a class of its own , if a Fulltone TTE or a WEM Valve copycat could transform into a box this size , I would choose them , but as they cannot this is the only choice for me , and I am the tone master , I would notice the difference if you changed you strings 10 minutes ago ,and 20 minutes ago !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm taking a point off for the AD-900 needing its own adapter.

There is a slight metallic ring accompanying the original note and repeats in some cases. Overall, the pedal sounds great, but it is not as "smooth" as my rack-mount Ibanez AD202, which sounds equally "organic."

I AB'd the AD-900 and AD-999 for two hours. See the details in the "Ovarall Rating" section.

It seems that a lot has been written about how the Maxon AD-900 is far superior to the Maxon AD-999. Well, I just had to hear for myself. I bought one of each, and I AB?d them for about two hours. I set them up with a multi-loop true bypass box so that I could switch between pedals almost instantaneously.

First let me say that both the AD-900 and AD-999 sound great. I used to have an Ibanez AD9 reissue, and that pedal isn?t even in the same ballpark as the Maxons as far as tone goes. Of course the AD9 was a lot cheaper. Anyway, although both of the Maxons sound great, I do still prefer the sound of my vintage Ibanez AD202 rack-mount unit to both of them. Of course, pedals are a hell of a lot more convenient than my rack-mount unit, so I won?t compare the Maxons to it. I will note, however, that the Maxons both have longer delay times than the AD202 and other vintage rack-mount analog delays, so even if you don?t mind using rack units, you might still want to check out the AD-900 and AD-999.

Okay, so which pedal is better, the AD-900 or the AD-999? My conclusion is that neither pedal is better. The AD-900 is better in some ways, and the AD-999 is better in others. I will describe the advantages and disadvantages of each pedal below. In summary, however, the AD-999 seems to be the better choice overall for my purposes. That?s right? I AB?s them for two hours, and I?m keeping the AD-999. While the AD-900 may be better for some people?s purposes, I really think that it is a bit over-hyped. If you ask me, even the AD-999 is overpriced, and the AD-900 is drastically overpriced. In my opinion, I would say that most people who are thinking about getting one of these pedals should go with the AD-999 unless cost is really no object, in which case a fraction of guitarists might find the AD-900 to be a better suit their tastes. Of course, if you don?t mind incurring some transaction costs, AB them for yourself! Now on with the details?

News flash: The AD-900 sucks tone!!! I was really surprised how much sparkle the AD-900 cut out of my signal. It didn?t even matter if it was on or off. Don?t get me wrong; it didn?t drastically degrade my guitar?s tone. However, you?d think a pedal that costs this much would preserve a little bit more of your signal in its ?natural state.? I really didn?t believe it at first, so I even reversed the position of the two pedals to make sure that it wasn?t my bypass box that was messing things up. It wasn?t. The AD-900 dulled the tone of my Fat Strat running into my Traynor YCV40WR even when it was turned off. The AD-999 did NOT have this problem. The benefit of the AD-999?s true-bypass switching seems to be more than hype, and the AD-999 transparently passes through the dry signal when it is on, as well.

The biggest advantage of the AD-900 is in the tone of the very first repeat. It is very hard to explain. The first repeat from the AD-900 is just a little bit ?truer? to the played note than the first repeat from the AD-999. ?Warm? and ?dark? are pretty vague terms, and sometimes they seem to be used as synonyms when people talk about delay pedals, but to my ears, the first repeat from the AD-900 is slightly warmer and ?sweeter? than the one from the AD-999, which is darker. This difference, however, was not noticeable to me beyond the very first repeat. Also, the difference was only obvious when delay times got fairly long --- above three tenths of a second or so.

Close your eyes and use your ears. 3 knobs. - lots of good delay sounds

Fantastic!!! I also own the way huge aqua puss which is also a fantastic delay pedal. Its very hard to say which one is best. The ad900 is a strat and the aqau puss a les paul - both fantastic.
Mine is the rare 2 chip MN3005.
Mine is not noisy at all. I'm using it with diezel amps. Top sound!

no problems yet

no problems yet

Super delay pedal. I use to own the Ibanez ad80 which is also a great analog delay pedal. But since I bought this along with the aqua puss - i don't need any other delay pedals

three knobs to turn- very straight forward.

Sounds wonderful. I've run it in every possible position in my effects chain, including after
a sizable clean gain boost. It has terrific headroom. If you turn the delay time knob while
holding a note, it creates these wild pitch bending sounds. The other guitar player in my
band has one too, so we have taken to turning the other person's delay time knob in the
middle of a song. It's just too fun.

I use an egnater tol 100 combo- ad 900-keeley compressor-chicago iron octavian.
All the delays I've tried since buying the maxon come up considerably short. I tried
the lower priced maxons as well. In my experience, they weren't nearly as good as the
ad-900.

Tape echo has a great sound, but it costs more than the maxon, not to mention that
tape wear is inevitable and has moving parts that will eventually wear as well.

mine has been dropped, spilled on and stomped by my cruddy shoes. I even smashed one of
the knobs off (whoops). It still works perfectly.

It does have a unique 12v adaptor that could go, having fried several 9v adaptors by
plugging into a clubs dirty power. One night, a surge killed all of my adaptors except the
maxon. I prefer batteries for this reason, but the maxon hasn't let me down.

never needed em'

I hate to give out a bunch of perfect scores, but I really think this thing is at the top of the
heap. I guess if you're into really long delay times, you might search elsewhere, but that
wouldn't interest me. If it were stolen, I would surely look for it's purple-pink face with
only two knobs. Buy a new one? Don't ask- all these toys have already cost me more than
my car. (1989 camry)