Maxon SD-9 Sonic Distortion

Easy but not in a TS9 way becuse it has a variete of distorsion degree.Initially I compared to a Maxo DSII and much prefered the openness of the DSII. but when sued with the band I found the extra bite was welcome and this was indeed closer to the more distorted TS( I had always wanted for many times. But for me it ment setting the distorsion low at say 9 oclock. Experiement with it and it mayu suit you greatly.

OK suprise after finding the right settings the pedal opened up and let the tone of my strat out but still had more grit than my TS9. I used through a VoxAC30 and a Marshall 30 (two 10's). At a low distorsion setting it had TS9 midrange bump but added a tad more low mid and some dirt. Much better for classic rock rythem htan the TS9. As far as fuzz of heavier modern tones it is not a fuzz tone and never sounds like a heavy metal (thank god) tone. But still is best in the classic rock tone from zztop to cream.

yep

Well thsi may be premature becuse I only tried at once a/b against my Maxon D& S II and once in a rehearsal. But I then decided I was gonna keep it. The TBS may be a bit bogus but it is better than others that claim to be TBS (true bypass). So do not always believe waht the manufactures say as tone sucking comes in more ways than just volume loss. Well 30years and tones of the best gear tell me thi is a keeeper.

This pedal is worth all the hype people give it. You can get a load of different distortions out of it. The tone knob is the key. Many many different colours can be achevied with the tone knob

If you can think of any different type of distortion( not overdrive), chances are, you can probably match this. I am currently using my 1985 G&L Invader superstrat with my 1983 Peavey MX 130 watt tube hybrid amp. I use it in coordination with the Menatone Fish Factory. If anyone knows what pedal that is, it is AMAZING!!!!!!! I use the blue on the fish factory as a boost for the sm-9. I Honestly do think this could be one of the best distortion overdrive duos of all time. If I could rate this thing 1,000,000 I would. I am really into everything from Stevie Ray Vaughan( Fish Factory sound) to Umphrey's Mcgee( SD-9) The one that I have has true bypass circuitry and upgraded technology from the originals, yet still retains the classic SD-9 sound. I think it has the jrc 4558d op amp chip in it so they still stick with the best guts. At first, I ran the SD-9 before my fish factory and It sounded like hell. I couldn't get the decibels out of it. And I was very dissapointed having spent $133.00 on it and having them boast about how it can raise your guitar signal a max of 42 db. But I switched it around and use the Fish Factory Red side as a boost and this pedal has BALLS!!!!! Boost before distortion id strongly recomended.

I am pretty sure I could depend on it. It is a 9 series maxon pedal. And I would gig without it if needed because the fish factory is amazing.

Never dealt ith customer support. I don't intend on either. I don't need an upgrade. This thing already comes stacked. Like a Cadillac

I play in a band called Colfax, We are from Minnesota. www.myspace.com/colfaxmusic Bear with the recordings, They are not our best stuff as it was a while back but keep checking the website soon because right now we are professionaly recording with my buddys pro tools rig. We play everything from rock to funk to reggae to everything, and we add a fair amount of improvisation to our songs. Kind of in the same alley as Umphrey's Mcgee. But Not nearly as awesome as I am just being honest. Not yet at least. I Have been playing now for 17 years. I just recently made a wood pedal board to house all my pedals. I have about $1000.00 invested into my pedalboard. Too many pedals to mention but if you would like to see pictures email me and I will send You pictures of my pedalboard. I came to a point where I didn't like the sound I was getting from procesors so I started buying individual pedals to customize my sound. I can creat lots of experimental sounds with my pedals. I would recommend it to anyone looking to push the creative boundaries of music

It just don't get any easier to use, than this. I own the most current version. Tone control, Level control, Distortion control. Works like a dream. Sometimes the best things come in little packages.

I use it for distortion, with a Fender hot rod deluxe, that I had a vintage celestion 30 speaker, and SED tubes, installed in. The amp set on clean, and the sd-9 takes care of the rest. I looked at alot, of other pedals, all the while thinking there would be something, better, more exspensive, maybe even more complicated, but in the end, The sd-9 just held it's own, very natural, very clear, almost to good to be true. I am particularly happy with the tones and sounds, when using my Fender Powerhouse Deluxe strat. Alot of pedals will sound okay with humbuckers, but the true test of a pedals integrity is, how it sounds with single coil pick ups. Many different tones can be dialed up with this sd-9. WOW!

Have you ever looked inside the battery compartment on any of these maxon pedals???? These guys invented all the Ibanez pedals also you have come to love. Go to Maxon f/x .com, and learn some history. They make the most rock solid pedals I have ever seen. The case thickness, when you look inside, is just, amazing. You won't need a back-up. Anolog-man, tells you on his web-site, that the maxon sd-9 comes with true by-pass, so the price is right in line, when you look at all the factors. DEPENDABLE AS HELL.

Never needed any repair help. Can't see needing any, but I did call. They were very nice to me and honest. CAN YOU TOUCH THAT! CAN YOU TOUCH THAT!!!!!

The sd-9 is simple to use. PERIOD! I own more gear than most will ever know, but I make smart choices, and don't like wasting time. The most important thing for the pursuit of your playing satisfaction, and reaching any amount of contentment, lies in your ability to, use what works, even if the thing is an ugly, glow in the dark , sea-green. HA~ HA~, If it were lost or stolen, I would feel like a friend was gone. I would need time to grieve, and then, according to DR.PHIL, I would need to get right back to another sd-9. I don't find the everlasting where/with/all, that makes me do cart-wheels, just because I own it, but I definitely, am overcome with a happy, satisfied warmth, over the sd-9's abilities, to give me great, tones. DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO. I DID!!!!!!!!!!

distortion and tone setting are hot! manual is good but this varies from amp to amp. 3 nobs that have subtle change when turned slightly so procede slowly when adjusting!

Godin HB and mex tele -pedalboard to traynor valve 40 . I put the sd9 after my volume pedal and compressor(bosscs3)3rd pedal in chain this thing stands out dynamically on its own.I find in my setup it can be bright so tone usually between 2-3. Distortion varies from guitar or song situation use this pedal to beef up leads or slightly fuzz up overdrive from amp ie :revolution by the beatles dis set around 2-4. Single coil seems to deliver tube screamer well ,turning up distortion level can produce fuzz from 6oclock on.... I find this pedal takes my amp sound some place else especially when used in clean channel. Also fattens up my big muff when used in conjunction. Pink floyd to Godspeed you black emperor! this pedal compliments overdrive or using with other pedals it's harmonically rich for bringing out subtle nuances from your guitbox without mucking up the tone. Quiet as they come...

Owned it 3 months and seems durable switch seems strong .Gigged about every other weekend no probs so far..

I play in a band that ranges from pop to experimental so from tube screamer transparency to big muff fluffy the sd-9 lays somewhere in between which helps a tone junkie like myself get closer to the glail! Plus the super blue light has me convinced that the millenium group is watching me when I have the pedal on... great tone Maxon this is who you are!

its a 3 knob distortion pedal... c'mon...

im using this with an Acoustic 270 head, home built Eminence 4x12 cab, and an Ibanez RG420(set neck, aluminum pick guard, and seymour duncan LiveWire Metal pickups, http://photobucket.com/albums/v621/GODLYKE/RG420/ ).

its not too noisey. the distortion itself is a bit grainy. its kool tho... i use it to boost a Zoom Tri Metal distortion pedal. its not a metal by itself... not at all, but when using it to drive something else, i love it.

its never died o me and i dont think it will... built like a tank. i believe this have an upgraded switch since the old Ibanez pedals were out so i dont think that will go any time soon. i wont rate it because its a bit too soon to tell.

i dunno...

i love it! im using it to replace my Morley Delux Distortion, which is a good pedal too. if it was lost or stolen... well, it WAS stolen. my brother and his friend found out who stole it tho and now i have it back. we couldnt get in touch with the fucker that took it for about a week, they all thought he put himself in a witness protection program or something, hahah! but ya... good pedal, get one.

Well, this is a distortion pedal pedal that I use as an overdrive pedal to boost the front end of a tube amp. I've used it with a few amplifiers, but I'll get to that later. I'm not really a pedal type of person as I love to just plug straight into the amp and whale away. This was a little tough to set up and fine tune it. Like I said earlier, I'm not a pedal person. Other than that, it has 3 controls. You just have to find what works best for you.

Here are the amplifiers that I've used this pedal with:

VHT Ultra-Lead
Marshall JCM 800 2204
Naylor Superdrive 60

I leave the tone knob pretty low at about 9:00 or maybe just a hair above that. After that, everything starts sounding fake. I set the Level to Max so I can hit the front end of the amplifier harder. Then I vary the Distortion levels from all the way off to about 8:30, but not more than that. I'm mainly using this like an Overdrive pedal. It works well enough for me though.

The tone, while using it this way, is like a lot of the other reviews state. It is very natural and doesn't color up anything. I find that it doesn't compress any of these amplifiers and the meat is still there. I don't recall there being any added noise either.

I think it's pretty stout.

Never had to deal with them, but a fellow on the Harmony-Central Amp forum sells them. I could always give him a shout and he could put me in contact with the right people. I'm not really all that worried about this thing going to crap.

There are probably a lot of great pedals out on the market that may do what this thing does, but I'm not a pedal person. I'll see how this thing works into the equation once I get the Soldano Hot Mod in my JCM 800, but I'm pretty sure it will start collecting dust again. Overall, it does what it's supposed to do when I need it to do what it does. It's natural sounding, but it can get out of hand if I start experimenting with it. It's not a 10 in my book, but I'm a tube nut.

at the risk of looking like one of these kids who gets their first pedal from their doting gramma as a bar mitzvah gift & then logs on to harmony central & gives the $25 piece o' junk 10's across the board, i'm gonna gush here. the distortion & tone knobs can be yanked this way & that w/out regard for human life & limb; i didn't hear one peep outta my amp that i woulda kicked out of bed. every sound in this thing is totally useable. the level knob is just there to give you the option of having more of a good thing.

set-up when using the sd-9: 1976 gibson s-1 w/lindy fralin p-90s > maxon sd-9 > ayan smooth & slim > dr. z mini z (5-watter w/8 inch speaker). sound quality? how about "wow"? you want more description? okay. uh, i think i've finally figured out how to get the sound of my favorite players when i was a kid growing up in the 70s (truly THE decade of the guitar solo, by the way). those players being ace frehley & roger fisher (of heart). thing is, those guys used les pauls & 50 or 100 watt marshalls. i, personally, can't afford a les paul & don't have the luxury of cranking out lear jet-type decibel levels when i wanna play. problem is finally solved... the s-1 was re-strung w/a set of 10s rather than 9s, the sd-9 is providing the drive & grit, the smooth & slim is tightening up any looseness on the bottom two strings, & the dr. z is like having the best of both the fender & marshall worlds when set at about 10:30 on the volume pot (right at the beginning of so-called "breakup"). really, it's hard to stop playing. i'm sure the neighbors are thoroughly sick of it. 's a pity they can't recognize THE TONE OF THE GODS when they hesr it.

it's a maxon. some people don't like the switches. whatever. i got no problem.

i buy stuff on-line from pedalgeek.com & i buy stuff in person from truetone music in santa monica. both establishments have been a big help to me in finding the gear i want at prices that are cool to get the sounds i hear in my head.

i now own four of the six pedals in maxon's "9" series. i state this not to seem like a braggart or to induce drooling, but rather to give the reader a true indication of how i feel about the entire maxon line. if you are looking for "frills", look elsewhere. (electro harmonix fills this niche rather nicely, i believe.) the maxon pedals (which also include their "reissue" & "vintage" series) are dead quiet, interact awesomely w/each other, & produce the classic sounds of the effects-pedal revolution ca. mid-60s to late-70s w/out the unreliability (& outrageous price tags!) of vintage units. kudos to ya, maxon.

This pedal is very easy to use; there are only three knobs. It's all analog, so there are no patches. The manual is adequate. My unit has never been upgraded and I do not know the firmware revision number. It is, however, the newer version that is True Bypass. I am assigning an 8 to this category because although it is easy to get good sounds out of the unit, you must keep the settings fairly low.

I am using this with a Schecter C1+ (2003 version, stock HB-102 pickups.) The effect is only noisy when you crank it. I run it into my all-tube Crate VFX5112 50-watt class A/B combo. This unit was exactly what I was looking for, it's got a raspy, warm sound like a Boos SD-1 but much clearer and full-frequency. It's very organic sounding. I use it to add some edge to the built-in amp gain. The crate's gain is smooth and this adds a slight jagged edge to the sound, very good for punk and alt-rock. It sounds good through the clean channel, too, but I use this as a boost. I originally ordered the Maxon OD-9, but I returned that because I didn't want to sound like Stevie Ray Vaughn, what with my humbuckers and metal tunes and all. The SD-9 can get a good Ramones or Clash sound, and it's brilliant for AC/DC. It has none of the annoying mid-range boost you get with any variant of the Tube Screamer family. I give this a 9, but bear in mind that the SD-9 is not a metalcore distortion, it's kind of out-there. This will not please everyone, and don't get it if you expect a wide range of different tones. If you want something different (I don't want to say 'unique', 'cause, hey, they make thousands of them....) think about this, but check out the sound samples or try it in person. It may not be for you.

I keep this unit in a box on my shelf; I don't tour. It looks very sturdy, but I refuse to comment at this time since I've only had it for a few months.

I've sent mail to GODLYKE, who are Maxon's US distributor. They also run the Maxon website. They were very courteous and helpful.

Like I said under "Sound Quality", this is a non-mainstream pedal, good for punk and alt-rock, but NOT metal. I use this to supplement the distortion on my high-gain channel on my tube amp. Beware that minor adjustments to the controls (particularly 'tone') create broad changes. As you adjust the tone knob, the frequency spread gets very thin (in the higher ranges) you can get a sound like angry bees if you crank it all the way clockwise. Keep the tone around 11:00 and the drive around 12:00. I use this with the Maxon CS-9 Stereo Chorus Pro--that sounds awesome as well. I think Maxon has brought great products to market at reasonable prices (caveat emptor: "you get what you pay for" in Latin...which means that if you buy cheap gear, you get cheap quality.). You will pay more for Maxon that for Boss, but think about it--there's a reason for it! You're not getting suck in a box.

BTW, I've been meaning to submit a review on this for quite sometime. I had to do it now because of the guy below who typed using ALL CAPS. Don't write your reviews that way! They're hard to
read.

DEDUCING A TOLERABLE TO AWESOME SOUND FROM THIS PEDAL IS CHILDLIKE. ONE SHOULD HAVE VERY LITTLE TROUBLE TWEEKING THE KNOBS. THERE WAS A MANUAL THAT CAME WITH THE PEDAL, BUT LET YOUR EARS FORGE THE TONES YOU DESIRE. NO UP GRADES ON MY PARTICULAR UNIT , STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX , BRAND NEW!

I RUN A TRAYNOR 40 WATT ALL TUBE, MARSHALL 212 EXT. PEDALBOARD - SD-9,- MAXON 808 REISSUE, DELAY, NOISEGATE. ALL MY PEDALS ARE HIGH QUALITY UNITS, YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN. THE SD-9 , BASICALLY SOUNDS QUITE SIMILAR TO THE 808 , BUT WITH MORE GAIN. THE SD-9 IS AN ECONOMICAL WAY OF GETTING A LARGE MARSHALL SOUND. IF YOU PLAY STADIUMS GET A MARSHALL, OR TRIPLE RECTIFIER. I'VE NOTICED A HISS WHEN ENGAGED ON HYPER , HENCE THE NOISE GATE, BUT TOLERABLE, I'M JUST PICKY. MINE IS A GREAT SETUP FOR VENUES FROM 0- 2000 PEOPLE OR EVEN MORE. YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH THIS PEDAL VERY VERSATILE. FROM SLIGHT OVERDRIVE TO CLASSIC NATURALLY COMPRESSED DIST.

I GIG EXTENSIVELY NO TROUBLES YET, BUT HEY, IT'S JUST A MACHINE. I PREFER THE STOMP BUTTON ON THE 808 TO THE SD-9. GIGGING WITHOUT A BACK UP IS LIKE DRIVING THROUGH THE SAHARA , YOU'LL PROBABLY MAKE IT , BUT MAYBE NOT!!!!

NO NEED .

I'VE PLAYED ELECTRIC ALL OF 30 YEARS, I LKE SIMPLICITY IN A SYSTEM, IT SOUNDS AWESOME, VERSATILE, TROUBLE FREE.I COMPARED IT TO OTHER DIST. UNITS, BOSS, ETC. THIS UNIT SUITS MY MUSIC AND PLAYING STYLE. A BIT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN MANY OTHER UNITS, MORE NATURAL SOUNDING, ORGANIC. ALL TOGETHER A TRANSPARENT PEDAL , LETS MY AMP SOUND THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO. I'LL NEVER SELL IT. DON'T BE FOOLED BY PEDALS THAT HAVE A TUBE IN THEM, THEIR NOT NECESSARILY GOING TO SOUND BETTER, WHY PUT A PEDAL WITH A TUBE IN IT, AND STICK IT IN FRONT OF YOUR PREAMP WHICH ALREADY HAS TUBES THERE? THOSE PEDAL HAVE A DIFFERENT APPLICATION. BUT EFFECTS ARE SUBJECTIVE , PURCHASE WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR!

Three knobs set up like an Ibanez TS-9. A monkey could use this thing!

The best sounding distortion pedal I've ever owned! I also have a Boss DS-1 which is an excellent sounding pedal in its own right. However, I prefer the tone quality of the SD-9 over the DS-1. To me it sounds more natural. I use it along with a Maxon OD808 reissue (which I'm also crazy about). Sometimes I even use these two pedals together for an incredible blend of tone. Use this pedal as a stand alone overdrive through a clean amp or use it before a dirty sound like I do. Either way you'll get some really nice sounds. Even with the gain turned up all the way it isn't offensive. The only minor complaint I have with this pedal is that it's tone circuit is a tad on the bright side. I have to keep the tone level rolled all the way down.

Hasn't failed me yet!

If you're a metal-head this is not the pedal for you! However, for classic rock and blues tones it will serve you well. If you're looking for a good buzz box, check out a Maxon SD-9.