Maxon

One of Maxon's most esoteric models, the SD-9 has gained a huge cult following since its initial release in the early 1980s. The SD-9 has long been prized for its ability to provide an immense range of distorted tones, from punchy overdrive to blistering fuzz, all with full-frequency response and minimal tonal coloration.

The secret to the SD-9's versatility lies in its minimal component configuration. The circuit itself is deceptively simple, but it's this simplicity that leads to the SD-9's transparent operation. With fewer components to load down your guitar's tone, more "sonic information" is passed to the output, yielding a more authentic reproduction of your guitar sound. But don't let its simplicity fool you the SD-9 can provide a whopping 42 dB of gain, more than enough to provide a healthy solo boost or to slam the front end of your amp into submission.

Anther notable feature of the SD-9 is its tone control. While most other overdrives and distortions feature hi boost/hi cut tone circuits, the SD-9 tone control uses a low range boost/cut circuit for added bottom end. In addition, the SD-9's tone circuit features the JRC4558 IC chip, generally regarded as sonically superior to other op amp models. The combination of these two elements creates a pedal with more low-end punch than other distortions.