Maxon AD999

You couldn't ask for an easier to operate or more dynamic delay pedal. 3 knobs: delay time, feedback, and [wet] volume. 1 input jack and 2 output jacks (one wet and one dry - I would have preferred stereo, but perhaps this is useful for some?). The pedal also met 2 important requirement for me: 1) it does not take too much pedalboard real estate like most other delay pedals that sound anywhere close to as good as this and 2) the knobs are large enough and spaced apart far enough so that one can manually adjust on the fly without having to bend over (IMO this is the major advantage of analog delay pedals to digital - I don't prefer saving and selecting settings in submenus to simply being able to tweak a knob with my foot in real time). No manual is needed. The only thing slightly negative (constructive?) that I can say is that on the second one I owned, the left (delay time) knob pot was a bit too sensitive and most of the action was in a very small portion of the knobs full rotation (like a Crybaby). I have since gotten used to it and manage just fine.

It sounds better than any delay pedal I've ever used. I have used the Line 6 [green] delay modeler, EH Memory Man, EH Memory Man Deluxe, Roland Space Echo, and the Ibanez purple delay pedal. Because it is analog, there is not a couple millisecond delay before the the effect starts. That drove me crazy with the Line 6, which I now only really dig for the loop sampler function. Some may well prefer the tone of the EH Analog Man pedals. I can say that the Maxon is a more transparent delay, where the EH seriously colors the tone (for better or worse). My giving this pedal a "10" in sound quality is because I don't want my delay pedal to color the tone, I just want the best delay to the tone already going into it.

I always had this pedal in a pedalboard case and generally take very good care of my gear. It did break after about 15 months of considerable use. To be honest, this pedal can do things that no other delay pedal I've dealt with can do, but some of them take some finesse and practice getting the timing and foot knob turning skills correct. It is possible that I was a bit hard on the pedal trying to execute difficult things. My supposition is that if I was trying to do the basic things that were the only thing possible on, for example. the Ibanez delay pedal, it may never have broken.

I sent the pedal to Godlyke and talked with Kevin. He was always courteous and often exceedingly prompt in response. Unfortunately, the pedal crapped out again shortly after it returned. I sent it back and I was told that the real problem was now seen, but it wasn't something that was easily (or quickly) resolved. They decided, with 3 months left on the 3 year warranty that the pedal comes with (which, by the way, I never sent the warranty card in - I just sent a photocopy of the original receipt with the pedal when I sent it to them for repair and got no bureaocratic bull****), to send me a brand new pedal. You simply cannot ask for better customer service than that.

I play almost everything, but largely needed this pedal for playing reggae and heavy dub. As I said, it is the best pedal on the market as far as I know. If it were stolen, I would holler at the (Musician's Union) insurance folks and have them buy me another one immediately. I play a number of guitars (mainly an Epiphone Dot, an RKS swamp ash, an Epiphone 56 goldtop copy, and a Tele w/ Bardens. The signal path is Boss TU-2 tuner > 4MS Tremulous Lune > Boss Super Overdrive > Austone Electronics Fuzz Nutz > Crybaby Wah > Durham Electronics Sex Drive > Maxon AD999 > Dunlop Phase 90. My amp choice is usually either a Music Man RD30 or a Mesa Boogie Mark IV. Granted (in my not always so humble opinion), I do some things with this pedal that I haven't seen anybody else pull off, but I do attribute the possibility of that to the great design of this pedal. I can end this review by saying that it has become expected for me to finish a set and have people flock to the front of the stage to see what kind of pedal this is. I realize that this sounds made up, but in fact it is true.