Maxon Effects Pedals
Encyclopedia
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for its line of effects pedals designed for guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. The unrelated Maxon Corporation is a major global supplier of industrial heating equipmenthttp://www.maxoncorp.com/.
History
Maxon (Nisshin Onpa) started out in the mid 1960s as a guitar pickup manufacturer. In 1969 they also became an effects pedal manufacturer, primarily as a producer of OEMOEM
OEM means the original manufacturer of a component for a product, which may be resold by another company.OEM may also refer to:-Computing:* OEM font, or OEM-US, the original character set of the IBM PC, circa 1981...
products for other companies. During that time Nisshin Onpa was responsible for building a fuzz/wah pedal that was very popular, being marketed under a multitude of trade names including Ibanez
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
. During the 1970s Ibanez became one of the company's main OEM customers. Nisshin Onpa designed and manufactured the now legendary TS-808 and TS9 Tube Screamers for Ibanez, and many other models, including the FL9 Flanger, CS9 Chorus, and AD9 Analog Delay. Nisshin Onpa also marketed its pedals under its own Maxon name during this time. When Nisshin Onpa and Ibanez parted ways in 2002, Nisshin Onpa began to more aggressively market its own line of Maxon pedals. Repositioning itself as a manufacturer of high-end mass-produced effects, Maxon expanded its line of analog pedals, using rare NOS components and classic circuit designs that are to this day highly respected and sought after.
Maxon continues to expand its product line. Although they produced digital delays and reverbs during the 1980s and '90s, they now concentrate mostly on "hard-to-find elsewhere" vintage type effects such as analog delays, analog choruses and flangers, and classic overdrive and distortion units. Most of the old Ibanez Nine Series is available in Maxon form these days, but the Maxon pedals now include true-bypass switching and circuitry equal to or in many cases superior to the Ibanez originals. The company prides itself on a reputation of quality over quantity.
Maxon's big break came when they began building the Ibanez Tube Screamer
Ibanez Tube Screamer
The Ibanez Tube Screamer is a guitar overdrive pedal, made by Ibanez. The pedal has a characteristic mid-boosted tone popular with blues players...
s. Ibanez Tube Screamers were built by Maxon from 1974 until 2002. If you take the cover off any Ibanez TS-808 or TS9, and other Ibanez pedals from this period, the Maxon name will appear on the circuit board. These Maxon manufactured Ibanez pedals became famous through users such as Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Rory Gallagher
Rory Gallagher
William Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...
, Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
and Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Robert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....
, amongst many other famous users. Ibanez still make these classic pedals but using different circuitry, thus losing some of the classic Tube Screamer tone, hence the Maxon models are so sought after. Maxon still makes these pedals today under their own company name (called the OD-808 and OD-9 as oppose to TS). However, supply of these pedals is very short and because of this, the Maxon pedals using the original Tube Screamer circuitry are little known and often overlooked. Currently, Maxon manufacture around 23 effects pedals for guitars.
Pickups
Nisshin Onpa has manufactured pickups for AriaAria (guitar company)
Aria is a Japanese manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars and basses.- History :Aria was formed in Japan in 1953 by Shiro Arai as Arai and Company. They began retailing acoustic guitars in 1960, although the company didn't actually start manufacturing their own until 1964. Aria arranged for...
, Ibanez
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
and Greco
Greco guitars
Greco are a brand of electric guitars produced by Kanda Shokai 神田商会. Kanda Shokai is a musical instrument wholesaler mostly known for being part of Fender Japan.-History:...
guitars. The Ibanez "Super 70" and "Super 58" pickups and also the Greco "UD", "U-1000", "U-2000", "PU-x" and "Dry Z" pickups were made by Nisshin Onpa.
Pickup Serial Numbers
Ibanez and Greco Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) pickup serial number format consisting of 5 numbers up to and including 1977.Ibanez Super 70 pickups have the same serial number format.
- First number = Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) pickup code (1, 2, etc)
- Second number = Year (7=1977)
- Third number = Month (0=Jan ... 9=Oct then .=Nov, X=Dec)
- Fourth and Fifth number = Day of Month (01-31)
Ibanez and Greco Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) pickup serial number format consisting of 6 numbers from 1977 to 1982.
- First number = Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) pickup code (1, 2, etc)
- Second number = Year (9=1979)
- Third and Fourth number = Month (01=Jan ... 12=Dec)
- Fifth and sixth number = Day of Month (01-31)
Ibanez "Super 70" and Greco "U-1000" pickups had a alnico
Alnico
Alnico is an acronym referring to iron alloys which in addition to iron are composed primarily of aluminium , nickel and cobalt , hence al-ni-co, with the addition of copper, and sometimes titanium. Alnico alloys are ferromagnetic, with a high coercivity and are used to make permanent magnets...
VIII magnet. Greco "U-2000" and "PU-x" pickups had a alnico V magnet. Ibanez "Super 58" and Greco "Dry-Z" pickups had a alnico III magnet. Ibanez "Super 80" pickups had a ceramic magnet. All of the above pickups DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
resistance
Electrical resistance
The electrical resistance of an electrical element is the opposition to the passage of an electric current through that element; the inverse quantity is electrical conductance, the ease at which an electric current passes. Electrical resistance shares some conceptual parallels with the mechanical...
is approximately 7.5-8.0 kilohms.
Breakthroughs
On its website, Maxon claims several firsts in the effects pedal industry:the first realistic tube amp overdrive, the first compact analogue delay, the first programmable effect, and the first multi effect unit.
Reissue series
- D&S II Distortion/Sustainer
- PT999 Phase Tone
- CP101 Compressor
- D&S Distortion/Sustainer
- GE601 Graphic Equalizer
- OD808 Overdrive
Vintage series
- AD-999 Analog Delay
- AD-999 Pro Analog Delay (Tape Echo simulation)
- CS-550 Stereo Chorus
- DS-830 Distortion Master
- OD-820 Overdrive Pro
- PH-350 Rotary Phaser
Nine series
- AD-9 Pro Analog Delay (Tape Echo simulation)
- AF-9 Auto Filter
- CP-9 Pro+ Compressor
- CS-9 Stereo Chorus Pro
- FL-9 Flanger
- OD-9 Overdrive
- OD-9 Pro+ Overdrive
- OOD-9 Organic Overdrive
- OSD-9 Overdrive/Soft Distortion
- PT-9 Pro+ Phase Shifter
- SD-9 Sonic Distortion
- VOP-9 Vintage Overdrive Pro
- SM-9 Super Metal 9 distortion
Real Tube series
- RCP 660 Real Compressor
- ROD 880 Real Overdrive
- ROD 881 Real Overdrive/Distortion
Current famous users
Although Maxon pedals are often overlooked by guitarists for the Ibanez models, there are still artists using them. These include:- Peter BuckPeter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
of R.E.M. - Rusty CooleyRusty CooleyRusty Cooley is a guitarist from Houston, Texas known for his highly refined guitar technique.-Early life:Rusty received his first equipment on his fifteenth birthday. From that day on Cooley immersed himself in music, practicing upwards of 4 hours a day...
- Buddy GuyBuddy GuyGeorge "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
- Brownsound formerly of Sum 41Sum 41Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. The band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of members Deryck Whibley , Tom Thacker , Jason McCaslin and Steve Jocz .In 1999, the band signed an international record deal with Island Records...
- Marty FriedmanMarty Friedman (guitarist)Marty Friedman is a guitarist, well known for his tenure as the lead/rhythm guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth, which lasted almost a decade...
- Pearl JamPearl JamPearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
- Monster MagnetMonster MagnetMonster Magnet is an American stoner rock band. Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded by Dave Wyndorf , John McBain and Tim Cronin...
- Chris ChaneyChris ChaneyChris Chaney is a rock bass player who has performed with artists including Jane's Addiction, Alanis Morissette, Slash, and many others. He was the bass player in the third incarnation of Jane's Addiction and a member of Morissette's touring and recording band for seven years...
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