Maxon AD-900 Analog Delay

There is no GOOD sound in it. Very easy to find a mediocre one.

Sound is very generic and not particularly quiet. Using in the effects loop with a Rivera Suprema amp. Guitars mainly Tom Anderson Classic, Fender Custom Shop Strat, Hamer Special. The Dan Echo at a third of the price is a much more realistic and pleasant sounding analog type delay.

Probably dependable. There aren't any moving parts.

Eric Johnson type Rock. The usual assortment of Hendrix , Gary Moore, Satriani etc. Been playing 40yrs(started very young). I have a few delays,Lexicon , Rocktron, Roland, Dan Echo. This is the Worst. Terrible value for the money.

simple intuitive layout. every setting sounds cool. like with any effect all you have to do is come up with the right setting to apply to the right guitar part.

sound quality is superb. you can't hear when you kick it in or out. perfectly seamless. very quiet. definitely warms up your tone, but in a great way. very different type of delay than a digital delay, and has it's own application. IMHO this pedal is hands down the best analog delay out there.

construction is top notch. i also use a maxon PT999 phaser which is also flawlessly built. never had a problem for a couple of years now.

analog delay in general sound sweet to me. but this maxon pedal just sounds great and is a notch above the others out there. i also own a digital delay for variation and for a wholely different effect. the pedal has ample amounts of memory or whatever you want to call it. which gives you that amazing spaced out sounds. but it really can cover the spectrum from slapback to spacey incredibly well. very toneful. if you gotz the cash and you luvz the sound of analog delay -- this be the one for you.

Very easy to use. Just as easy as any other delay I've used.

Absolutely the best Delay I have ever used! Period. I've owned a ton of Ibanez, Maxon, etc. High end, low end you name it and after selling one of the original 2 chip models, I purchased a newer 4 chip model. It is the same beatiful organic deep delay I remembered. The AD 80, which I used in between the AD 900 is great, especially if you don't have an extra $100 laying around but the AD 900 IS IT!

Should last, like all the other Maxon stuff I have owned.

Never dealt with them so I can't say either way?

If you want the most organic, longest delays possible get one. If your on a budget, get a Dan-Echo. In between get a AD 80.

Easy to get a good sound, a little harder to get a particular sound that you are looking for. I guess you just need to play with it for a while and get used to it. As simple as any other delay pedal. Sometimes it's hard to hear exactly what's changing when adjusting the knobs without turning the delay level way up first, then turning down to the level you want. This is what I like about it though, it's kind of organic that way...

I use a SG copy with Barden Humbuckers into various effects into a Marshall DSL100 (I only use the clean "plexi" channel). I use this in line and haven't tried it through the effects loop since it sounds so good in line and I don't want to run 2 extra wires to my pedalboard for 1 effect. This thing sounds so clean (for analog) and natural. It is definitly fat. You can get almost a reverb sound from it if you adjust it right. I have a tube reverb on the amp and this pedal sounds just as good (a little different, but just as fat). This pedal is very transparant with your tone. It doesn't mess with it. You can't hear this pedal turn on like some pedals, it kinda blends right in. I love it!

It seems tough, I just got it though so who knows... Definitly not cheap feeling. I trust it will hold up and I don't have a backup since I don't use a delay all the time. I could finish a gig without it.

Never dealt with them, they make awesome products though...

I play psychedelic jazz, blues, rock, bluegrass. If you want a fat delay, this one is great. I wouldn't go as far as saying that Digital Delays suck. They have a time and place for them and there is a time and place for this delay. There are some nice effects you can't get with this delay that you can with a Digital Delay, and of course, vice versa. I personally prefer the analog for most of my applications, and I don't think I'll ever buy another delay unless I lose this one or it breaks. This pedal is definitly over-priced, but I have this habit of buying what I feel sounds best no matter the price (within reason). Also, I hardly ever will use more than 300ms with this, so if your shopping around, you may want to get an AD80 which is usually a little more than half the price of this bad boy and will sound very close to the same (if your input is not too hot!) I must give it an 8 for the price.

The thing is easy to use. The last knob is the most important - Delay Level. I set this so the subsequent echos are softer than the initial note/s and fade out so there is no anoying overlap. Very Nice.

I'm using a 1970 ES335 and a Carvin DC 200 into a Hughs & Kettner Tube edition 20 watt amp. I use use different pedals at different time; Big Muff, MRX Envelope filter, Fultone Distortion Plus and Fat Boost, Maxon compression, Boss GT-6, etc. I found that the delay cause the distortion chanel of the amp to sound weird and broken up so I decided to try putting it through the effects loop and man, is sounds SWEET!! Warm, rich, and Phat. Like honey. It does tend to take the volume down just slightly and evens out the notes a bit (a little compression?) when it's on, but overall, definitely worth the money. I don't know what I would have done, though, without a effects loop. So keep that in mind.

It seems quite sturdy and too expensive to have a back up so I'll use a Boss RV-3 if it goes down - but there's NO comparison between the two. I only hope the latter never gets used.

I hope I never have to find out.

Running through the effects loop I don't think anything could sound better. Too bad they are sooo expensive because everyone should be able to use one if they're into delay.

3 knobs and a quiet switch, no problem. Manual is as useful as you would imagine, covering all their reissue pedals in one go.

I don't think it is true bypass but I cannot hear any loss of tone when it is off but in line. In use it is very satisfying. Lovely natural sounding repeats, gradually decaying and turning brown like falling Autumn leaves, as opposed to the cryogenically frozen stabs of digital sound I've heard too much.
It also self-oscillates at extreme settings which I personally like, but if you don't you needn't go that far.
I don't want to do the whole gear thing, but it's last after the usual suspects and before a Marshall JTM 30 and it gives no problems.
Artists? Well,when I first used it, Gilmour came to mind.

Seems pretty tough, knobs are semi-protected by the shape of the pedal. Have only had it a few months though.
Even if I could afford a backup, I think I'd be ok without, but then for me it is not as integral a thing as say, a good overdrive, which does have a backup.

No exp.

Play rock, trippy stuff, alternative, classical (goes real nice with a classical guitar), fits in fine. Probably not good for Frippy stuff but then I guess you need much longer delay times for that.
I think I'd buy it again, couldn't find anything similar that I liked.
I don't really like the wall wart, but I don't know if putting the transformer in the case would make it noisy.
I would love to know what the trim-pots do inside, because I'd kind of like to mess around with them.
Oh yes, it helps me make music. This is a Good Pedal.

Easy as 123, there are many awesome sounds to be discovered in this little gem. Manual is typically bogus, I can't imagine never needing to refer to it as this pedal is like peanuts to figure out. I'd also like to address the guy who says this pedal sounds muddy. Let me tell you something, if this pedal sounds muddy than it's definitely your setup (amp and subsequent effects) that's causing the muddiness, not this pedal. Perhaps your Dr. Z amp is the culprit, that's not to say it's a bad amp. On the contrary, Z's are superior sounding tone monsters! However, you really need to crank them to get cookin' at low volumes the amp may sound muddy in it's self. So please try a few different arrangements with this pedal before slandering it's worthiness as a sweet sounding toneful analog delay. One thing that should be noted in general: if your tone is weak to begin with, no pedal can save it. In the case of analog delays your bad tone just gets repeated and well, you do the math. Also the nature of analog delays is that they shave a bit of the highs of each progressive repeat. EQ settings on the amp and your guitar will make noticeable changes to your tone also, experiment a little!

Now, here's the deal: the ad-900 sounds phenomenal as analog delays go. I've had (or still have) quite a few analog/sim delays (DM2's, MoogerFooger MF104,Way Huge Aqua-PuSSy,Dan Echo,Line 6 Dl4, AD80 ) the ad-900 has easily made it way to the top of this list. great sounding delay, very lush,round fat and warm. this pedal is tighed in first place with my MF104 but has a more shimmering tone to it...the MF104 is darker but still wonderful. My WH aqua-P is also still a favorite of mine but the delay time is too short for some uses. I find that the ad-900 sound quality matches (if not exceeds) the top analog delays in my arsenal, giving 600ms of delay to boot...the MF104 gives 800ms but again it's tone is of a much different flavor and as such the ad-900 has found a niche to fill and will stay with me always:-) I use this pedal with some distortions, choruses and phasers, needless to say, all boutique grade stuff. a Fulltone clyde wah works wonders with this delay,oh and my favorite combination for overdrive is the ad900 after an SIB vari Drive or Fulltone FD2. I use various amps (Fender Super reverb, Vibro-King, 59 Bassman RI, Tweed Champ, Mesa Mark 4, Bogner Shiva Head/ matched 1 x12 cab and Matchless DC-30 1x12 combo) and the ad900 works it's magic with each amp with unique characteristics. I fine the 6L6 based amps sound airey and the EL84 (class A) to make the dalay sound a little darker and tight (but not muddy). anyway, this is an extremely versatile pedal and great sounding too.

built like a tank

heard good things

The guy who sold this thing to me was pissing the blues, he sold it for the money and swore that when he had to re-group his financial sitcuation he'll try an hunt down another one as soon as humanly possible... But I will treat this pedal like an adopted child and protect it from any harm. I almost bought this pedal at full pop, and it would have been worth it, but was able to save some $ buying it used from a starving musician (like me). Overall, this bitch got soul!

three knobs and a silent switch-on and off. it's a 12v pedal so there is a wall wart that's needed to operate, i don't care.

i've looped this pedal into an (optional) efx of a 2x12 Dr.Z Prescription combo, there's also a fulltone deja vibe2 in the loop right before the AD900. This setup works nicely! other pedals which sit in front of the amp are Fulltone Clyde Wah (Awsome), Menatone Top Boost in a Can, FT Fulldrive 2 and a PE Throb Trem! works great with my overdrive pedals and the Throb trem, creates amazing fat smooth throbs that cannot be described, very mistical sounding stuff. my leads get fattened up to perfection with this pedal, it's never cold or thin sounding. Just warm fat tone! I used to have a DD5 and Akai Head Rush but the AD900 smokes them all! I can't beleive that all this time was wasted using digital crap sounding delays, even though the Akai is supposed to give the analog sound it just doesn't compare to the AD900, you really have to try one for yourself to hear the difference. I haven't tried the Way Huge Analog delay and I don't even care too, the AD900 satisfies my urning for Analog delay in perfect harmony with my setup. No doubt, this pedal smokes.

Built well. i checked the inside and was blown away on how immaculate things are routed, there are many ton pots that can be adjusted and i noticed 4 chips in mine (MN3008 I think?). I've seen 20 year old boss analog delay pedals that are still working pefectly, i don't see any reason this pedal won't stand the test of time also...but time can only tell. i should buy a backup because i can't immagine life without the AD900 but i can't afford another one now:(

no idea?

i've been using delays in my setups for over two decades now and have never come accross anything like this pedal. The delays are always warm and the way delayed sounds tapper off is just wonderfull IMO. these pedal look Way Cool too! overall the AD900 has a very cool vibe and never disappoints. costs allot but does it's job exceptionally well with utter silence (when not in use) and provides upto 600ms of delay time, excellant!

three knobs, no bad sounds, will occilate at higher settings (cool). The 12v pos tip is a pain but my pedal power works with it fine.

I use this with a couple of Don Grosh Guitars then into 535Q>OD820>Supatrem>eball mono volume>AD900>amp switcher> amp (%13). This pedal doesn't change my tone when it is on or off. It is fat and lush and warm. It stomps the other analog delays that I have owned (AD9, Ibanez AD80, DM3). It doesn't sound like Digital or even a digital model of an analog delay. It is the real deal. Those looking for crisp and sharp delays buy a dl4 or a dd5. This pedal makes me sound better.

I like this pedal. I have been through enough delays to know that I will keep this one a long time.

If you can't figure this out than you have serious issues. Sweet spots ar plenty. The manual is simple and very breif, who needs one anyway?? Mine has a 4 chip Panasonic MN3008 configuration.

I use this pedal at home ,mostly, and my setup consists of a few quitars (Fender strats/tele's and a Gibson LP) other pedal used are: Fulltone Clyde, FT Fulldrive, Analogman Clone Clone, Z-VEX OOH-WAH and the Maxon at the end of this chain...just before a Bogner 2/12 Shiva Combo. This is a great setup, it has cost me a lot of dough but well worth it. The AD900 is a classic sounding analog delay, evrything I've been looking for is here in this pedal. Slap back settings are very nice all the way up to 600ms of the fat round analog delay this baby can produce.

seems to built well...we'll see.

haven't had to deal with them

Costs allot but sounds heavenly. If it were lost or stolen, I'd be working my ass off to find another one, then to pay it off. there's nothing like this pedal, it just sound gorgeous:)