Features
An SD-9 is sort of like a TS-9 with more hair, they have a thicker, more saturated distortion sound which is great for leads or thick rhythm. Ibanez made these at the same time as the original TS9 (early 80s) and now Maxon is making them. The early SD9 pedals with a single circuit board like a TS9 (just wires running to the pots) sometimes oscillate (whistle) at high knob settings. The later original SD9 with a seperate circuit board on the pots did not have this problem. The new Maxon SD9 uses the later style board though it just has wires going to the pots, it does not oscillate. If you turn all 3 knobs up all the way there may be a little noise but the sound is best with the tone knob set fairly low so I don't think this is a problem. After our mod, you can turn up the tone knob and still get a great sound, without harshness or noise.
 Scott Henderson had been using our modified SD9 for a while so we got a lot of requests for them. We can finally fulfill these requests with these new Maxon pedals. The Maxon pedal has a TRUE BYPASS switch also, so there is no buffering or change in tone when the pedal is off. Maxon pedals are made by the company that made the original Ibanez pedals so they are the real deal. You can see Scott's TS9/808/silver on the left, and the SD9 mod on the right (which he or his wife have partially painted orange, which is more of a distortion pedal color!). Thanks to (c) Prosound communications Inc (who distributes our pedals in Japan) for the picture.
Our new SD9/Super mod takes the fine sounding SD9 and makes it smoother, warmer, and clearer, while retaining all the gain and cool tones of the sonic distortion. It does not make it sound like a tube screamer. The SILVER mod is not really needed on the SD9, as it's not meant to be a transparent pedal like an overdrive. So we recommend the SUPER mod instead for the best tone without spending money on the expensive silver parts which make little difference on a distortion pedal. The new Maxon SD-9/Super pedal is $165. This mod will totally change the stock sound as you turn the tone knob up, making the whole range useable. Also our mod kills any remnants of high frequency noise or oscillation if you crank the knobs. See my SD-9 page for more info on our revoicing.
Mid Range mod
The SD9 has quite a scooped midrange, especially stock when you turn the tone knob up any amount. After our super mod the lows are a little better but but it's still scooped in the mids. In 2007 we came up with a mod with the help of local guitar phenom Roger Filgate who loves the SD9/super but needed more mids to cut through with the band live.
We can now add a midrange trim pot on the Maxon SD9 board as there is plenty of room. It is marked at the stock value and we set and mark it at what we feel is a nice setting with a slight mid boost. I like best it with the tone knob down low with the mid at our marked setting, no more scooped 90's LA sound, just a nice classic rock distortion tone. The trim pot will not fit on the original Ibanez SD9 pedals as there is no room on the board. This is a $15 option.
For either the Maxon or Ibanez sd9, we can add a small external MID pot under the volume or dist pot. The modform has the MIDRANGE mod available internally or externally, along with our super mod or standalone (if you already have the super mod). This is a $25 option on a new pedal.
Here is a picture of the external Mid Mod.
|
