Over the years, Maxon has created a number of different distortion pedals. Some are vintage and can no longer easily be found, while others are reissues of these famous pedals with a few modern innovations. Maxon distortion pedals include the D&S Distortion Sustainer, the SD-9 Sonic Distortion, and the DS-830 Distortion Master. This last pedal is the one Maxon considered to be their ultimate distortion pedal. It was created after years of research and after building a number of other distortion devices.
The DS-830 provides tons of gain, but at the same time, it makes certain you don’t lose your guitar’s tone. Maxon created a special dual control tone circuit that uses a transistor as a simulated inductor. This makes the circuit smaller and quieter than those that use actual inductor coils. It also allows you to find tune the pedal so you can get tight, punchy bottom without making your tone muddy. This is the distortion if you want incredible power without losing any of your guitar’s tone.
The “black sheep” of the 9-Series, the Sonic Distortion offers the best characteristics of transistor and op-amp circuits in one compact unit. The SD9’s unique Low Boost/Hi Boost Tone control offers more low-end beef than other pedals, while it’s Distortion and Output controls can provide up to 55 dB of gain boost. At low gain settings the SD9 functions perfectly as a full-frequency overdrive. Higher gain settings turn the SD9 into a hand-held monster; providing gut-wrenching grind and singing sustain that will make a clean amp dirty and a dirty amp downright evil.
Originally released in 1979, the Maxon OD808 was one of the first tube-amp overdrive simulators to hit the market. Its smooth, creamy crunch tone caught on quickly, and helped to launch a long line of predecessors as well as imitators. Today, the OD808 design is without a doubt the most used, most imitated and most lauded overdrive circuit of all time. The reason for this is simple - tone - the OD808 provides the natural, mild overdrive of a tube amp without sacrificing your guitar's original tone. In addition, it can be used as a clean booster to provide increased gain without compromising the sound of your amplifier. The secret behind the legendary "808 tone" lies in the amplifier section of its circuit. Rather than having an amplifier stage followed by a clipping stage, the Maxon OD808 uses a signal-distorting diode (Panasonic #MA150) that is located in the amplifier stage's negative feedback loop (which also contains the JRC4558 IC chip). Therefore, the Maxon OD808 distorts signal in the amplifier circuit itself which yields a smoother, milder, more natural sounding distortion than a separate clipping stage. This is also the reason that the IC type used in the circuit has such a large impact on the unit's tone. It should be noted that the Reissue Series OD808 uses different output resistors than the original version. After the unit's initial release it was discovered to have a high susceptibility to noise due to static electricity buildup. To improve performance, the positions of the output resistors on the reissue OD808 were reversed and their values increased in order to reduce noise levels. This circuit change has no audible affect on the sound of the unit, save for reducing the noise levels. Whether it's used as an overdrive or a booster, the Maxon OD808 is the closest you can get to the classic sounds of 1970's rock guitar in a compact effect pedal.
A tricked-out version of the ROD880, the ROD881 Real Overdrive Distortion offers even more tone shaping power than its older cousin. In addition to the sounds and controls of the ROD880, the ROD881 features a switchable Distortion mode that adds a secondary gain stage into the signal path for even more extreme drive settings. The ROD881 also features a Footswitchable Boost function that allows for quick changes between solos and rhythms. When combined with the various Drive settings on your amplifier, these features create a multitude of easily accessible tone settings at the touch of your foot. Powered by one hand-selected 12AX7WXT preamp tube, the ROD881’s Gain and Master Volume controls provide a wide variety of overdrive tones, from clean boost all the way to searing, saturated sag. Bass, Treble, and Mid Boost controls with extended operation ranges offer a limitless array of tonal options, from the classic “808” tone to extremely beefy low end chunk. All of the ROD881’s sounds are kept clean and noise-free via the rear mounted, switchable Noise Reduction circuitry with variable Threshold control and a 1:2 noise reduction ratio. Powered via a standard 9-volt DC adaptor that allows easy integration into your pedalboard or rack setup, the ROD881 offers the maximum amount of options for the distortion connoisseur.
The RTD800 features independent Overdrive and Distortion circuits combined with a dual triode tube to offer a massive array of saturated tones, from traditional tube overdrive through full-on gated metal distortion. No other tube overdrive pedal offers this degree of versatility in a single package. The selectable Overdrive and Distortion modes are configured as follows: The Overdrive circuit features two stages of clipping - a bi-directional clipping diode in the feedback loop of the op-amp and then a single-diode in the second stage for asymmetrical clipping. The Distortion circuit also features two clipping stages, but configured differently - a bi-directional clipping diode in feedback of op-amp for stage 1, and then a 2nd stage with a passive bi-directional clipping circuit. Unlike other tube overdrive pedals, the RTD800 places the tube AFTER the OD/Distortion circuits, making it the best tube overdrive pedal to recreate an authentic tube-amp tone. Gain and Master Controls allow the user to dial the amount of distortion and output level. The three Tone controls are completely independent with no frequency overlap, allowing for an unprecedented degree of tonal options. Everything is kept clean and tight via the variable VCA Noise Reduction circuit, which features an LED status indicator and On/Off switch. In addition, the RTD800 features a Foot switchable Boost function that can be varied between 3-9 dB via an internal trim pot. Like all Maxon products, the RTD800 features True Mechanical Bypass switching using a 3PDT switch. The RTD800 comes complete with the Maxon AC2009 9-Volt power supply, an auto sensing digital power supply that can be used anywhere in the world. When you require an unparalleled variety of REAL-tube tones, only the Maxon RTD800 will do.
Over the years, Maxon has created a number of different distortion pedals. Some are vintage and can no longer easily be found, while others are reissues of these famous pedals with a few modern innovations. Maxon distortion pedals include the D&S Distortion Sustainer, the SD-9 Sonic Distortion, and the DS-830 Distortion Master. This last pedal is the one Maxon considered to be their ultimate distortion pedal. It was created after years of research and after building a number of other distortion devices.
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