I got my old Ibanez SD 9 Sonic Distortion out earlier..

KevS

I was using a guitar with a Dimarzio Mo Joe through it a wee while ago and it sounds good,
although like many other older pedals it can get foggy on chords,even power chords...


It's an odd beast,it has a softness about the grain of the Distortion..
You can play thirds in chords till the distortion dial is well over half way..


The only thing it has in common with the Tubescreamer is the Slight Laziness you can sometimes get..
My TS808 reissue has that,it was one of the first reissues..I have a TS 5 that sounds even Lazier..
Some Distortion pedals can sound like a large Angry Hornet,a huge one that can produce bass in their Buzz..
The SD9 I have doesn't sound too angry..

It sounds warmer than the Boss DS1,It sounds fuller and softer than the Rat and DS1..
It has some Fuzz Qualities,but like a soft Fuzz..
As I said about the volume control and thirds,not possible with most fuzz pedals with your guitar volume on full..
It still doesn't totally fatten the mids like a proper overdrive pedal..
It is a bit softer than the MXR distortion plus too..I think the Distortion plus sounds better than the Rat and DS1..
My Taste only..
Although the softness in the SD9 softness could be aged components,,we are talking nearly 40 years old..
An MXR Distortion Plus with a Tone Control wouldn't be a distortion plus I guess..
I do like the Distortion Plus sound though..

Has anybody any idea is the Sonic Distortion based on another pedal..
I heard earlier Ibanez Distortions were basically a Big Muff.
The SD9 doesn't sound like one of those..

ICBM

The softness comes from a fairly large-value cap across the clipping diodes.

As far as I know it isn’t based on any previous pedal. It does have some general similarities to the Rat and the DS-1, in terms of being and IC gain stage driving clipping diodes to ground, followed by a passive tone stage, but it’s substantially different from both.

Nice pedal, another one I had back in the mists of time and sold for next to nothing...

viz

I’ve got a Keeley one which is modded to overcome some of that laziness but it’s still a little bit, I don’t know, saggy or bloomy or something. 

impmann

I found it to be an excellent rhythm sound - not for modern percussive metal but for big sounding rock sounds - mainly into a clean amp.

The big issue with them was always the switching  - I’ve had three of them and none of them switched off fully, If you were using a clean sound there was a ghost of a drive sound in the background. After a bit of chatting with “those who know” apparently a lot of them do it... so it’s great in a loop but not much good otherwise.

In terms of sound, I’d describe it as a RAT with a soft attack. Although that attack can be pretty abrasive if you want it to be.

Im not a Tubescreamer fan, but really enjoyed the SD9. 

ICBM

impmann said:

The big issue with them was always the switching  - I’ve had three of them and none of them switched off fully, If you were using a clean sound there was a ghost of a drive sound in the background. After a bit of chatting with “those who know” apparently a lot of them do it... so it’s great in a loop but not much good otherwise.

Yes, same problem as the Boss SD-1 and to some extent the Tube Screamer - they all don’t mute the distortion section when bypassed, and some of it leaks into the bypass buffer via the power supply. How much seems to vary from one example to another.

I can’t remember if running it after a buffered pedal cures it, like the SD-1.

KevS

Yep mine has the Ghost effect..It shows up on some amps more than others.. 

I've found it better for rhythm too..There is something a little more Lo Fi about it than many Distortions..
I like that..

It reminds me of those recorded on a shoestring early 80s Second Wave Punk Records when you turn the distortion up.
That big wall of  trebly distortion sound,but not too icepick on the treble....The perfect Buzzsaw Pedal..
..I used mine into a clean amp live..
At Volume it seems to become a bit more articulate and less lazy..
I find it warmer than a Rat..
I am a Tubescreamer Fan,,I find the SD9 very different though..

There isn't enough substance in the Mid for legato etc..
A bit of a case of going from a perfectly dialed in sizzling rhythm to a thinninsh Plinking Sound..lol..
Like Many Distortion Pedals unless you have the distortion really high I guess..
Why I tend to do for overdrives quite often..
A Graphic with a Bump around 800 Hz in front of it may fix that though..
Or a Tubescreamer in front..lol..Not perfect,but they fill out that area..
Yeah I seem to remember my Maxon OD9 making weird noise in conjunction with the SD9 when switching..
It bleeped or something strange..lol..It was about 10 years ago..So I can't remember exactly..

stratman3142

I've got a Maxon SD9. I believe Scott Henderson is a fan of the Maxon version.

 I preferred to use mine on a low gain setting for a nice glassy crunch.

Sassafras

Isn't the Vertex Dynamic Distortion an SD9 clone, but Mr Vertex, being an unparalleled electronics genius, has probably fixed the bypass bleed through issue.

KevS

stratman3142 said:

I've got a Maxon SD9. I believe Scott Henderson is a fan of the Maxon version.

 I preferred to use mine on a low gain setting for a nice glassy crunch.

I'm playing with it again..I am using a HSS Player Strat Today..
I think the Bridge HB is ore of a PAF Style output..
I'm on the Bridge have the Distortion on 0 and the Level on 10,tone a bit after 11 O'clock....
There is of course some Distortion coming through..
I hit a G chord and immediately had the urge to play Honky Tonk Women..
It has that Keef pushed amp thing going on..
Maybe a touch more gain than that sound,so taking the volume control on the guitar back a touch..

KevS

Sassafras said:

Isn't the Vertex Dynamic Distortion an SD9 clone, but Mr Vertex, being an unparalleled electronics genius, has probably fixed the bypass bleed through issue.

Interesting,I will have a look..

KevS

ICBM said:

impmann said:

The big issue with them was always the switching  - I’ve had three of them and none of them switched off fully, If you were using a clean sound there was a ghost of a drive sound in the background. After a bit of chatting with “those who know” apparently a lot of them do it... so it’s great in a loop but not much good otherwise.

Yes, same problem as the Boss SD-1 and to some extent the Tube Screamer - they all don’t mute the distortion section when bypassed, and some of it leaks into the bypass buffer via the power supply. How much seems to vary from one example to another.

I can’t remember if running it after a buffered pedal cures it, like the SD-1.

I've thought for a long time,I must get that fixed..Now I know it is just part of the pedal..I did use it in a Boss LS 2 line selector loop in a sort of A / B Crunch Lead System..I've not noticed the Same fault with my TS or SD1..The SD 1 is an early black bottom Taiwan one..The TS a reissue..

ICBM

Sassafras said:

Isn't the Vertex Dynamic Distortion an SD9 clone, but Mr Vertex, being an unparalleled electronics genius, has probably fixed the bypass bleed through issue.

To be fair to him, just crudely true-bypassing it does fix it.

KevS said:

I've not noticed the Same fault with my TS or SD1..The SD 1 is an early black bottom Taiwan one..The TS a reissue..

They vary - and the SD-9 will be the worst since it has more gain than the other two. It's also dependent on how you set them - more distortion, more bleed-through.

I've had different SD-1s with it almost inaudible, and so loud it was almost like running a clean and dirty amp at the same time.

KevS

ICBM said:

Sassafras said:

Isn't the Vertex Dynamic Distortion an SD9 clone, but Mr Vertex, being an unparalleled electronics genius, has probably fixed the bypass bleed through issue.

To be fair to him, just crudely true-bypassing it does fix it.

KevS said:

I've not noticed the Same fault with my TS or SD1..The SD 1 is an early black bottom Taiwan one..The TS a reissue..

They vary - and the SD-9 will be the worst since it has more gain than the other two. It's also dependent on how you set them - more distortion, more bleed-through.

I've had different SD-1s with it almost inaudible, and so loud it was almost like running a clean and dirty amp at the same time.

My older late 80s I think SD 1 sounds quite a bit better ,less Foggy than one I got as a back up a bit over 1o years ago..
I was lucky with both as far as sound bleed through when clean goes..The earlier SD1 was more for the use of a cliche transparent though..

Puddlesurfer

The SD-9 circuit rips. I stumbled across it trying a Way Huge Drive (the one with the Geisha) which is an improved SD-9 clone and sounds out-of-this-world BTW. Now I use a Maxon. For me, it has the best sonic qualities of the TS and RAT circuits - which have enjoyed some success I believe... Offers meaty drive, is present and cutting, smooth and can really give up the fuzzy goods with just the guitar volume. Everyone should try one at least once but roll down the tone on the stock version.