Maxon AD-999

Just the 3 basic knobs, so it's as easy as it possibly could be. About the only thing I can think of is I wish it had some markings on the knob levels, particularly the delay time so I could more accurately return to a specific location. Very minor.

Top notch from what I can tell.
I use a Hamer Steve Stevens guitar into a Rivera Chubster amp.
I'll be honest , I've not owned other analog delays, but I have owned a Maestro tape echoplex and several digital delay pedals. Well, of course the echoplex was cool and sounded awesome except it had an awful hiss and was about as big as a small amp, so I sold it. I tried to use digital delays but could never find one that didn't make me cringe at the way it ruined my amp's tone on the repeats. This thing sounds awesome though, primarily because it does what its supposed to without changing the tone, when in use or when bypassed.
It does sometimes have an audible click when turned on or off sometimes but I only noticed when I'm at home, I've never noticed this during a gig.

Looks and feels sturdy enough that's all I know. Yes I'm afraid I don't have the money to buy or energy to carry around two of everything. If it broke I'd live through a gig or two without it then get it fixed or buy another one. I don't know of another delay pedal that could replace it, at least not in the same price range.

Don't know.

This is the first rating I have ever submitted , just because I like this pedal a lot. I have been playing for 30+ years, classic rock / hard rock mainly.
I wanted a good delay and I really wanted the ability for longer delays, i.e. 900 ms, so there weren't many choices. It has inspired my playing, just ask my wife - I keep disappearing into the music room, and my band likes it as well. I was long overdue for a good delay pedal, and I am very happy with this one. I give it a 9 only because of the very minor issues mentioned before.

The AD999 has traditional analogue delay controls of Delay Time (length of echo), Repeat (number of echoes) and Delay Level (volume of echo) and it's very easy to dial in the effect you desire. At 900ms its the longest analogue delay ever made as far as I know. Even the $600+ Moog is only 600ms I think.

Runs at the industry standard of 9v and isn't too big.

With the AD999 be sure it's the 900ms of delay time you want, because in my opinion the tone of the repeats is not superior to other analog delays I've tried. I used to have a 70s Ibanez/Maxon AD100 desktop delay, which is more or less an vintage Ibanez AD80 pedal in a box. Perhaps because this unit is running at a higher voltage, the repeats were thicker and more punchy compared to the AD999. As a percentage, maybe 15% better. That said, I'd always take the AD999 over the AD100 as it's a foot pedal, will run on 9v, is true bypass, and has 3 times the delay time of the latter unit. 15% better tone does not come close to outweighing these advantages. The AD999 is still a fine sounding unit, probably equal in quality to other lauded 9v delays like the Boss DM2/3 or Ibanez AD9. If you're only interested in slapback a higher voltage Ibanez AD80 might be a better bet. But keep in mind that the AD999 can do everything the AD80 can do, but not vice versa.

There's a bit of hiss in the repeats of the AD999, especially at longer delay times. This is probably a consequence of analogue delay being stretched out to 900ms, when the standard is 300ms. It's not overwhelming and is to all intents and purposes inaudible when playing, possibly unless you have the delay level maxed and you really let the repeats ring out, and even then in a band situation you could be sure no one would hear it.

This unit will self-oscillate. Crank the repeat knob and use the delay time to control the pitch of the oscillation.

It feels pretty solid. For the price these command I hope they're made well. Maxon have been in the business since the 70s (Ibanez effects of the 70s and 80s are just rebadged Maxon effects) and many of the units they made back then are still kicking.

I've had no contact personally, but I did read a complaint in the effects forum here that someone had contacted Godlyke, the US distributer, about a repair, and received a blatantly incorrect response that the AD999 is a Japan-only pedal illegally leaked into the US and invariably they will all blow up because they're made to run at 100v. He quoted $250 to repair having made no diagnosis about the problem at all. That they'll all burn out sooner or later is pure crap. They run at 9v - the input voltage doesn't matter, so long as it matches the adapter you're using. I think whoever answered the email was hoping the guy would just buy a brand new unit and line Godlyke's pockets further.

With 900ms of analogue delay this pedal is unique in the marketplace at present. Even at US$340 new I think these pedals are priced fairly. People are going crazy paying AUD$300+ (US$230) for a vintage Boss DM-2 off of ebay that will only do 300ms of delay. Used, these units can be had for not much more than the Boss (or in my case, slightly cheaper) and they offer so much more. Another comparison: the EHX Deluxe Memory Man has recently had a price increase to around US$310, at it's huge, has sketchy build quality, needs its own power supply and only has 550ms of delay. Although not the best sounding analog delay I've had, the AD999 is overall the best analog delay I've owned. I doubt I'd buy a different delay again (I'd begrudgingly buy another if it were lost or stolen). It'd be great to be able to say the same thing about overdrives.

This is as easy as it gets to use, especially for a delay. I wont go into it in depth. There are no patches to worry bout. The manual is useless, as the pedal is so easy to use that instructions are not needed.

No batteries allowed, unless you wanna retrofit the chassis with a 9v clip and do a little wiring. Not me!

Gosh. This is the section that needs the most words. This unit is superior to any other delays that I have owned. I've been looking at three different choices for my delay needs: the AD999, the Moog Delay, and the EHX Deluxe Memory man.

I'm very choosy about what hardware goes onto my pedalboard, this played a big role in my decision to purchase the AD999. I have some rules:

1. must sound great
2. must be true bypass
3. must fit on my board,
4. must be 9V, and powerable with my 1-spot

The Maxon met all of my requirements.

This unit sounds great. Warm, clear, whatver you want to use. The delay tones are very nice and "musical". The repeats are just slightly darker than the original tone, but thats ok with me. My digital delay units created a thin sounding tone, but this is just as fat sounding as the original tone, if not more (r/t darkness). I do notice just a slight amnt. of hiss in the delay tone, but this is only with the delay volume turned to max and with an otherwise dead quiet room. The true bypass preserves tone when the unit is turned off. It 's larger than your typical boss/mxr sized pedal, but I managed to fit it on my board without having to sacrifice any valuable space.


There is a small "click" heard in the amp when the unit is switched on, but not enough to matter. I dont believe Ive ever heard a true bypass unit that doesnt do this just a little.

It seems sturdy enough. Id definatly use it without a backup. Its safe in my pedalboard, so no worries about any direct trauma anyway. I doubt I can drop it in the toilet, pee on it and flush, but Im sure its sturdy. Maxon has a great reputation.

I like the fact that the 9v power jack isnt soldered directly to the circuit board. This means that if for some reason a drunken bandmate steps on the 9v wire, the jack might short, but the board wont crack. I'm going to add an additional 9v supply jack to mine, on the side, for very personal, sexual reasons.

never needed support. Hopefully I never will.

I play everything from soft rock to country to black metal. This pedal is great for all styles. Ive been playing now for about 15 years. I own many pedals, but this is my choice for an analog delay. If it were stolen or lost Id use the satellite chip I install into all of my musical equipment to track the thief down and proceed to direct my flatus into his general direction.

It doesn't get any easier than this to operate. 3 Knobs Level/time and repeat respectably. Kick it on kick it off! Simple right???

My pedalboard is pretty elaborate and goes like this........

Signal from my Sennheiser G2 Evolution Wireless to a Peterson Strobostomp Tuner, Dunlop Zakk Wylde Wah, Dunlop Rotovibe,Custom Audio Electronics Clean Boost/Overdrive, MXR EVH Phase 90, MXR EVH Flanger into the front of the amp. The loop goes MXR 134a Stereo Chorus in mono then into the AD999 and return to the loop. It is all powered by a Dunlop DC Brick. Amp and cabinet are a Peavey JSX and Marshall 4/12 with Celestion Vintage 30's, guitars are a Peavey Wolfgang Special USA, ESP Eclipse II Standard Lawsuit Model, Music Man Custom Made Axis and now a new Gibson Les Paul Studio Premium Plus.

As you can see, all my pedals are analog and for good reason. Compared to their digital counterparts they are much warmer and much fatter sounding and believe me I have tried everything. Every delay I have ever tried sounded thin and frail in comparison to the AD999. It's quiet, it cuts through the mix well and sounds superb. One quick note, it does give a volume boost when kicked on but just a hair. Best delay I have ever owned period.

Had it for 2 years now. It has over 175 gigs on it and about 100 rehearsals. It has seen all the elements of weather and the stage and works the same as it did since day 1.

Never had to call them!!

What can I say about such a stellar delay. Yeah it might cost 300 bucks new but you know something, I think of all the money I wasted on all my rack gear and all these other delay pedals and the amount I spent adds up to ten times the cost of the AD999.

This delay pedal is really in a league of its own. You won't know until you find one and give it a try.

Thanks Maxon and Godlyke Distribution.

You can be certain this one is easy. I'm a dope with complicated pedals, and pretty new to delay. Took a few sessions, and a few different amps to dial it in. Ant that was that. No tutorial needed.

Here's how good it is. I haven't played without it once since I got it. And i am not even all that enthusiastic about pedals. It's just perfect. No noise, nothing you don't want. It's on all the time, so no idea of the true bypass even works! Very warm, natural sounding. I use it for ambiance, not repeats. Sort of long delay time. Lush and fat tone. So far, with a strat and tele. Every amp I have loves this pedal. It's expecially good in front of a good reverb. Heard delay for years and appreciated it. Kept hearing Ry Cooder Mambo Sinuendo, and the delay-soaked sounds of the cuban guitarist he collaborated with. That's what got me to buy it. Now I'm wondering why I waited so long.

Built like a tank. Solid feel, rubber mount on the bottom so it won't scratch stuff up. If feel predicts reliability, this unit will last forever.

Don't know yet. Hope I don't have to find out.

40 years with guitars and amps, lots of blues, bottleneck, roots, space jazz, I'll try anything. This pedal fits so well with my sound. Old dogs can learn new tricks. It's probably no surprise. I already love other time-based effects -- reverb and magnatone vibrato -- so this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Like all really good equipment, it helps not by solving problems, but by creating tonal opportunities. Too much money, but I haven't thought once about the cost since buying it. Great pedal!

It's a delay - so the controls are really simple... pedal on/off switch, and volume/mix/delay length feedback controls..

Excellent sound.. I compared the sound against mainly digital units only though I must admit (Lexicon MPX550, TC Electronics G-Major, DD-3).
Very very musical sound.
My setup is the following:
Fender Strat w/ Kinman avn pups/Gibson Les Paul studio -> Dynacomp -> Tube screamer -> Fuzzface -> Ad-999 -> Marshall DSL-401 (the amp is about to replaced by a twin reverb).
As stated the sound is very musical and quite clean - the 900 ms of delay is fantastic. It gets very close to the sound I am after - that of Gilmours early and mid 70's period. I really still want to try a tape echo though ...

Never had a problem with it and realistically i am far less likely to wory about this than if I had a tape echo - they require maintainence where as this maxon just keeps going ...

Never used ...

I play sorta metal inspired prog rock.. and this pedal is excellent for that... so much better for what I want than a digital delay.
I've only been playing a couple of years but thankfully have had the chance to play with a bit of kit in that time.. and this is quite excellent for what it is...

It sounds great. It's not quite as smooth as my rack-mount Ibanez AD202, though, which sounds equally "organic."

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

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.

Another big problem I had with the AD-900 was that repeats were accompanied by a slight high-pitched ringing. I?ve heard this kind of artifact come from a few of different pedals before, including the Electro-Harmonix Holier Grail. I find it extremely annoying. If you?re always playing at modest volume levels, it might not get to you, but if you crank your amp at all, it very well may. The AD-999 did not ring in this way.

The AD-999 will take a standard 9-volt AC adapter while the AD-900 needs a 12-volt adapter. I have a rather large pedalboard, and I power all of my pedals with daisy-chained AC adapters. It is nice that the AD-999 will run on the same adapter as all of my other pedals. Also, I don?t know if accidentally using a 9-volt adapter with the AD-900 would fry it, but the possibility does concern me. Supposedly, the AD-900 will deal with higher output pickups before distorting due to its 12-volt power supply. The AD-999 didn?t have any trouble dealing with the DH-1 humbucker on my Strat or the ?57 Classic Plus on my DeArmond, though.

Neither pedal adds any background noise to speak of. The repeats from both pedals contain a good bit of noise, though, and the noise increases with delay time. The AD-999 has the benefit of providing 900 ms of delay vs. the 600 ms of the AD-900, but be aware that the repeats when the delay time is above 600 ms are really quite noisy. Some people might not mind this at all, but rather think of it as part of the charm of analog delays. Noisy repeats aren?t what I like about analog delays, though. The ?natural?, ?organic? roll-off is what I really dig.

So there are my perhaps-not-so-humble opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of the AD-900 and AD-999. For my purposes, I?m willing to sacrifice the slightly sweeter first repeat of the AD-900 for all of the advantages of the AD-999. Seeing as this ?sweetness? will probably only be noticeable to most people at higher delay times anyway, my guess is that most people would prefer the AD-999, at least if ?rare pedal mojo? isn?t a factor.

Lastly, this might be blasphemy, but if you are unsure about spending a ton of money on the AD-900 or AD-999, check out the Boss DD-20. The analog delay simulation that it has is really quite good. It?s not right on the money, but it?s reasonably close to the real thing, and it has all sorts of other features (23 seconds of delay, ?sound-on-sound?, tape delay simulation, etc.), and it?s at least a $100 less than the Maxons. This is coming from someone who is generally NOT a fan of Boss pedals. The DD-20 will not self-oscillate or do the spaceship tone-change bit, though (BOO!!!). I think the Guyatone TDX Tube Echo analog/tape delay simulator might do those things, and I?d like to try one out, based on the fact that the little Guyatone MD3 rocks for a digital delay.

As told before, 3 knobs, very simple operation. No real need for a manual, but the included manual is nice to go over, if only to get an idea of what else Maxon has to offer in the Vintage series. I think I might look into the PH350 (Rotary Phaser).

The inclusion of an AC Adapter is a great touch! Why don't more people do this?

I've been using Danelectro Delay/Echos for years! The Danecho being one of my favorites over the more common DD2, DD3, and DD6 pedals by Boss. I was happy with my tone with the Danecho (and later the Reel-Echo) but wanted something more for studio use.

After playing around with many different pedals including the Maxon AD9, Ibanez AD9, MXR Analoge Delay, SIB Mr. Echo, Boss DM-2, and the Line 6 DL4 I eventually ended up with the large pink AD999.

While the DM-2 and MXR Analoge Delay were both very lush sounding, the AD999 took the cake! The MXR's problem was that it has a hard-wired AC. While for the studio this wouldn't be a problem, and the unit I had was having problems with cascading even when turned off (it was the bigger green unit with three knobs). The DM-2 was tossed aside due to there being a strange low end overtone in what was being produced.

The AD999 is warm, versatile, extreemly silent when bypassed, and mine does not suffer from the 'poping' that other people seem to be complaining about! If I keep the level up to max I seem to get a bit of breakup in my amp, but thats why you can turn it down! :)

So far it seems pretty durable. I've only used it for studio work in the last two months. Live I'm still using my Reel-Echo for the time being, but it will probably soon be retired like my Danecho and let the AD999 reach the stage.

Gets a no rating becuase I really havn't given it a chance to fail or abused it yet!

I've delt with Maxon before on their OD820. Amazing service!

When poping the back open there appears to be a bunch of small trim switches. Playing with these seems to change tones a bit, but they seem to need equal fine adjustment. I've tuned them back to factory as I've been unhappy with any modifications to tone.

This is definatly the best delay for the money in my opinion, and worth nearly every penny. For the price it does not do a lot, but what it does it is very excelent at!

For fun, set it up with the delay time and repeats around 12:00 and volume around 4:00. Then use with the Voodoolab Tremolo unit with every knob at 3:00. This is my favorite combination for tapping and subtle leads.

Three knobs, where should be a problem?

Play Tyler classic hollow, Gibson LP Custom from 72 and 65 Time Machine Strat. Amplyficated with a Fuchs OD 50 Combo. Pedalbord is equipped with voodo lab Power unity and Analog chorus and Okko (german custom made) Overdrive.

I tried out all the other delays (T Rex, Boss, Line 6,...). The AD 999 sets the sound mark all the others try to reach. It gives warmth and deep the digital stuff can't give you!

No boost or disturbing click remarkable.

In my opinion it is the best sounding delay pedal on actual market.

Looks reliable, the input jacks could be higher quality.

No Contact

I play since 30+ years Blues /Blues Rock. Cream, Free, Hendrix and SRV Stuff. I love the warmth and deep of it's sound and would buy one again if it where stolen.

Very easy to hook up and figure out - the owner's manual is decent (although it is all inclusive for a certain line of Maxons, that is, one manual covers a few different models).

Mesa Triple Rec, Mesa Roadking, '89 LP Custom, R59 Gibson LP, Gibson SG Supreme, Jackson USA KE2, Jackson USA RR1, ESP KH-2 Custom Shop, Beck Strat. I do NOT run my effects through the effects loops on either of these amps (many manufacturer's of higher-end analog & TBP effects would agree with this move; Maxon, personally suggested I NOT run the AD-999 thru the onboard effects loops). I fashioned a pedalboard myself and here is the order:

Guitar>Carl Martin Compressor/limiter>TS808 Reissue>Fulltone OCD>Fulltone FatBoost>Fulltone Deluxe Clyde McCoy Wah>AD-999>Boss Analog CE2 Chorus>MXR M-117>MXR Phase 100>Peterson Strobostomp>Amp. George L cabling throughout. High-end monster cabling for the guitar.

Sound: Beautiful, warm, and, at times, "dark" delay (not bright or shrill,...or sterile sounding like some digital delays may sound, 'course they're a different animal altogether). If you enjoy analog sounds there's no doubt you'll appreciate this pedal. Absolutely dead quiet (both at loud and soft volumes).

Issue: I noticed (at a constant pedal volume level setting) the delay was quieter (almost to the point of being inaudible...especially at lower amp volume settings) on the clean channel, and became slightly progressively louder as you switched to channels two, and then three - note, amp volume across all three channels being the same. I sent the pedal to Maxon and received absolutely first-rate service, with great response times,...although, unfortunately, they were unable to diagnose or replicate the problem as I was hearing it, and so returned the pedal after it passed their test process. I just have to crank the pedal volume up whenever I use the clean channel, and bring it back down for the OD channels.

Second issue. In the middle of a gig (250 person club), upon stepping on the switch to activate the delay, my complete guitar signal went dead (total silence) - stepping on the switch again brought it back to life and it worked for the rest of the evening, and ever since. Note, I'm very gentle with my gear, and am not sure what caused this "hang fire" - trons? I don't have a backup, but have had such good luck with this pedal (except for this "glitch") - I'm not too worried. I like a variety, and plan to pick up an H&K Replex in the not too distant future.

Outstanding. Respectful, and new their products enough to be able to communicate solely via email - they asked the right questions. Returned the pedal to me immediately thereafter.

I love the warm & natural sound of this pedal. I tried several options (Boss series, H&K, Ibanez, Fulltone, Line6, etc.) and wanted something that could "accent", but not overpower, my tone - I didn't need 15 different delay sounds...I just wanted a few really good tones, and the ability to vary the time.

I gig part-time, rehearsing every week, and so my rig gets moderate use. I've played for 26 years, and a variety of styles. You can use this pedal for a wide range of songs...'50's/60's rock, Country (this pedal with the compressor sounds fantastic), 70's hard rock, '80's metal (I use this and the Phase 100 to play "Eruption", and it works great)...just about everything. Very versatile, which is what I truly look for in a product.