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Just won a Maxon AD9 for $190!!

rememberduane

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rememberduane Newbie

rememberduane

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Whooooo!

 

These things are $300 new! It's in minty condition! Check it out:

 

ad9_comp.jpg

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=018&item=280005476667&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

 

Yesss!

 

Now I'm going to check it out and possibly get it analogman-ized for only 35 bucks :). Then it will be the analogman mod ad9 for 225 -- $110 bucks off the price of a new one, and still considerably less than even a used one! :eek::D

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rememberduane Newbie

rememberduane

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Originally posted by loofery

HC reviews:


maxon:


ibanez:


average sound quality rating:

Maxon: 8.2

Ibanez: 9.1


sage pwned duane.

 

 

Spending the higher dollar leaves a lot to be expected. I have played both, prefer the Maxon. I prefer the Maxon AD9 to pretty much any other analog delay, because I don't use long drawn out delay. If I did, I'd prefer the Maxon AD900. Just preference, and this is a killer deal for a pedal that does THE tone for me. My only issue is a volume decrease, which the analogman mod takes care of. It's all about getting THE tone you hear in your head, and you have to pick and choose what you drop your coin on. Delay and compressor are two things that have to be bar none the best to me. That's why I'm searching for a bicomp right now.

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AngelofHop Newbie

AngelofHop

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The AD-9 and AD-900 have a basically similar sound. The 900 sounds better, is more organic with longer delay time. It has a bigger footprint and isn't true-bypass.

The AD-9 sounds great but in comparison, slightly inferior to me or a little bright/dark maybe metallic. This is pretty subjective and dependent on your setup. If you run it at a higher voltage is sounds better. Similar sound to my old DM-2. The AD-9 has a small footprint and true-bypass with a shorter delay time.

 

Q) What is the difference between the AD80, AD-9, and AD900?

 

A) The AD80 and AD-9 have very similar circuits, but differ in much the same way that the OD808 and OD-9 do (different chassis style, different switching type). Due to its larger chassis the AD-9's components are more spread out on the PC board, which leads to less component cross-talk and more quiet operation. The AD-9 tends to be a little brighter sounding than the AD80, which is primarily due to fewer components in the switching circuit (again, the AD80 uses FET and the AD-9 uses TBS w/a 4PDT) and a less sophisticated filtering circuit in the AD80. Besides these slight differences, you'd be hard pressed to tell the two apart sonically.

 

With 600 milliseconds delay time, the AD900 is a more advanced unit than either the AD80 or AD-9. Instead on one Panasonic MN3205, the AD900 features four Panasonic MN3008 high-voltage BBD's. The AD900 runs off a special 12-volt adaptor which gives it more headroom and less chance of overdriving the input with hot pickups. Sonically, some people feel the AD900 is slightly darker than either the AD80 or AD-9. However, in our experience we've found it to be very similar in tone to its smaller cousins, save for the extended delay time.

 

 

 

Q) What is the difference between the two-IC and the four-IC versions of the AD900?

 

A) There is a lot of hype on the Internet lately stating that the two-IC version is preferred over the four-IC version, so let's go over the history. Originally the AD900 featured two Panasonic MN3005 BBD IC's (300 mS delay time each) connected in series to achieve its 600 mS delay time.

 

However, when Panasonic discontinued these BBD's Maxon switched over to four Panasonic MN3008 BBD IC's (150 mS delay time each) connected in series to achieve the 600 mS delay time. This changeover occurred prior to our marketing of the AD900 in the USA, so no two IC versions were ever sold in this country.

 

More importantly, there is no difference between the sound quality of the two-IC and four-IC versions: the delay times of the IC's are the same and they sound identical despite the fact that there are twice as many. Besides the aesthetic appeal of having a rare effect unit, the two-IC version offers no advantage sonically or otherwise over the four-IC version.

 

 

 

Q) What is the difference between the AD900 and the new AD999?

 

A) The AD900 Vintage Series Analog Delay was discontinued in 2003. In short, the unit had become too expensive to manufacture, and the high-voltage BBD's used in the circuit were becoming increasingly harder to find. Meanwhile, Maxon had located a source of current production low-voltage BBD's and decided to design a new Analog Delay around them _ the result is the AD999. The AD999 was designed to address many of the complaints and shortcomings associated with the AD900. While the AD900 ran at 12-volts and required a special power adaptor, the AD999 runs at 9_volts, allowing easier integration into your pedalboard. The AD999 features 900 milliseconds of delay, a full 300 mS longer than the AD900's 600 mS maximum. In addition, the AD999 features stereo (wet/dry) outputs while the AD900 only had a single output (wet/dry mix). Lastly, the AD999 features mechanical true bypass switching on both outputs, while the AD900 featured mechanical non-true bypass w/buffered in/out.

 

Sonically, the AD999 is slightly darker than the AD900, which is due to the additional BBD's required for its extended delay time. However, this difference will mainly be noticed in longer delay settings, and at shorter delay times the units are quite similar. Overall, the AD999 is a superior unit from a features standpoint, and is already gaining praise and popularity for its rich, thick analog delay textures.

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Jarick Newbie

Jarick

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Nice grab Duane! :thu:

 

I would say that NEARLY all those issues they describe in the difference b/w the Maxon and Ibanez are the result of that chip. Normally, IC's aren't as much as they're cracked up to be, but for delays, they are pretty important. Especially with the analog ones. Plus, trying to get longer delay times degrades the sound quality quite a bit with most chips.

 

Someday, someone will have to make a sweet IC that provides 500ms for analog delays... :)

 

Anyways, I'm still going for the BYOC digital delay...at 1/3 the price, I'll bite.

 

:p

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rememberduane Newbie

rememberduane

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Originally posted by Bucketboy

Haha, that loss made me go out and buy DL-4 and I'm loving it. Funny how fate works.

 

 

Good to hear man! Like I said before, it's all about finding "that" tone, no matter what the cost or what anyone else says. I just saw a DL-4 go for $125 on The Gear Page.. did you happen to get that?

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