Maxon JET Driver

There are three knobs, no patches and I did not receive a manual. The footswitch on the Maxon JD-01 Jet Driver is more reliable than the previous "9" Series (of which the TS-9 Tube Screamer is a member). It's a Boss style switch, although the rubber/plastic/rubbery plastic they used sometimes cracks with age on the surface, I have owned a few of these "01" pedals and it doesn't seem to crack all the way through. This is the one that says "personality" instead of "tone", which is high-cut/high-boost.

Used with Gibson Les Paul (DiMarzios on board: Super Distortion and PAF Pro) and various other Maxon/Ibanez pedals. The effect is not weak at all, in fact, it pretty much always sounds the same: grainy, heavy distortion (like a Boss DS-1 with a hint of the Boss XT-2's mid-hollowness). Good for thrash/speed metal rhythm. The gain knob controls sustain, essentially, unless you turn it all the way down. Let me say that the sustain is massive, on par with a Boss HM-3. This is not a Tube Screamer. Fantastic for neck soloing, gives that fat throbbing sound. Level goes a bit above unity, and personality seems to either boost the highs ("sharp") or cut the highs ("wide"). It is a pretty mid-scooped sound no matter what you do.

This is the "01" series version of the older OD-801 Distortion and Sustainer. I believe it uses transistor clipping and not op-amp clipping; as per the Maxon reissue. It's a fuzzy tone, very grainy distortion, the best thing about it would be the neck soloing potential. You can take a flat, dull sounding amp and put this pedal on it, and boom: instant Guess Who "American Woman" tone. The treble will get very sharp. The "01" series was not released in the USA, but they are considered collectable.

It's more than 20 years old; this one has a scratchy gain pot. Switch and power work great. I ordered it from Japan, it survived the trip overseas via EMS.

Kevin at Godlyke (Maxon's USA distributor) is a great guy.

I play 80's rock and metal, and 90s/00s punk and pop, and no, this doesn't hold a candle to my SM9 Super Metal for that purpose. I would not buy one again, but I had to try it. There are two things this pedal is good for: instant "American Woman" neck tone, and perhaps speed/thrash metal rhythm. The sustain is really massive, and it does live up to its name. Two-hand tapping and harmonics are really easy with the gain up.

Exactly two things would need to happen for this to be useful to me: 1. It would need a blend control for the depth of the effect, and 2. It would need a midrange control instead of high-cut/high/boost and naturally scooped mids.

The Maxon JD-01 Jet Driver is a cool pedal, great name and package, shiny metallic and cool looking footswitch. It has come through the years largely intact, and retains its collector value. Ultimately, it's not a sound that I need in my arsenal. But I'm glad I gave it a shot.

This is a very simple overdrive/distortion pedal. Bought it used so no manual. Three knobs...GAIN, LEVEL, And PERSONALITY!? The personality knob goes from wide to sharp. Seems to sound best towards the wide end of the spectrum. Essentially the personality knob is a tone control. Moving towards sharp it begins to get a little ice picky but if you keep this knob down you got some good fat tones.

This is a damn good pedal. They are very rare as they were only produced for the japan market. The gain you can get out of this pedal is pretty insane. More gain than a DS-1. You can also get a classic rock type sound. It is a bit noisy at the high gain stages but what pedal isn't? This pedal does not suck the tone out of your guitar but gives harmonically rich distortion.

Maxon is pretty reliable Stuff. Never gig without some sort of backup.

I emailed the U.S. disatributor about this pedal. Friendly enough.

A great pedal if you can find one. Also not your un of the mill pedal that everyone has...for that alone I give it high marks. But the sound is damn good.