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I need opinions on the Ibanez/Maxon SD-9 Sonic Distortion


bikehorn

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I'm adding colours to my dirt palette. So far I have a black Ross R50 distortion with an OPA2134 in it(instead of stock Sharp RC4558), a Dano Fab distortion and a clone of a germanium Tonebender with a low gain "fuzz face" mode. I like them all, but they all only do specific jobs. I need a raw, metallic sounding late 70's punk kind of dirtbox - like Rezillos territory. I googled and came up with this description of the SD-9.

 

The Tube Screamer's bigger, meaner, drunken cousin, who bursts into the house causing an argument, which upsets everyone, and makes the children cry.

 

Is this accurate? If so I think I want one of these just based on that. What can these pedals do? TS9 and beyond? What does beyond sound like?

 

gem016.jpg

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It's sort of like a dist+ (your ross) with a big muff tone circuit. I like them a lot but the tone circuit loses all the low end if you turn up the tone knob, so most people leave the tone knob down. Or they can be modded to make the tone circuit better and also a midrange knob can be added to get rid of the scooped mids if desired. See my SD9 page for some frequency plots showing what happens when you use the tone knob on the stock pedal. Have fun!

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Actually Mike your site is the original reason I got interested in the SD-9 to begin with! :) Scooped midrange is not something I usually go for...in fact I am the complete opposite and set my EQ pedal for a heavy midrange hump when I use it. The EQ makes a good little distortion pedal all on its own. Maybe I'll try to find one in a store somewhere and try it...but I haven't seen one anywhere around here. There's a few clips on YouTube but I didn't find them too useful.

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  • 4 months later...
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I just got the Ibanez version yesterday and I really like it so far. The mid "scoop" isn't really bad or overly pronounced at all imo...I'm using it mainly with an EL-84-based amp so it really compliments it well. I had a TS-9 before and it was alright but pretty meh, but the SD-9 has tons of range, lots of gain, and it's got tons of bite without being nasal like the TS-whatevers.

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I've got an old ibanez sd-9 and it sounds (to me) kind of like a dist+ merged with a rat. It does have pretty scooped mids and you have to crank the level knob to get unity volume (see dist+). I haven't used it much lately because it tends to get lost in the mix. I'd really like to send it to Analogman for his mods (as well as a dod 250). I do really like the overall sound of the pedal, just a few minor flaws that can be remedied

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The Sonic Distortion Started as the Ibanez OD II in 1972 & lasted into the 9-series as the OD-855. The first Ibanez Overdrive was based on one of the early Big Muff Pis. IDK if MXR or Ibanez released the idea first, but the original OD II, Dist + & DOD 250 Grey Box are very similar, sonically.

 

The SD-9 was a tamer, kinder Overdrive II. Ibanez wanted to tame the SD9 down, with lower output & less gain.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I tried it and didn't like it. It seemed like it didn't do much. It distorted the sound some. But it wasn't that interesting. And it didn't seem to add any sustain. Maybe the one that was sent to me was a dud. Not sure.

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I have an original 9 series. I like keeping the distortion low and using it with a single coil neck pickup. IMO, the Reverend Drivetrain sounds similar to it. I don't really like the TS-9, but I do like the SD-9. Less mid-hump and more grit.

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I really would like to get an SD-9 Sonic Distortion Pedal. I am just curious if there is any actual difference besides the name on the casing between the Ibanez version and the Maxon version. Has anyone played both and can compare? Thanks.

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