Sonic green

It's one of those days when I just have to hear something in action, otherwise, I would not be at peace. Maybe.

But anyway, I nearly placed an order for this one a second time, forgetting I actually own it & it's misplaced inside one of the guitar cases. Ibanez is not about the Tube Screamer exclusively but the Tube Screamer is the most regurgitated pedal ever, even by the manufacturer. This one here isn't a TS per se, it's a modified version manifesting more gain & mids. Before the turn of the century, there was an SD9 in production but this version has a midrange spike to it.

The reason I wanted to hear it in action is a simple one; I wish to compare its drive & frequency performance against my Archer. It's obviously the wrong thing to do as this SD9M has more midrange but not more treble. The overall tone in question differed rather markedly. Coming from an Ibanez brand of drive, especially one which is TS related, there is this brand of smoothness unlike what other pedals would manifest. Knowing this presence, I attempted to polish a brash-sounding Marshall JCM800 which quite frankly, was not the right reference for the job. The SD9M made the aforementioned Marshall's midrange more pronounced, not excessive, just a little more outgoing & the smooth-ing effect wasn't convincing. It's a different story if one cascades a mild drive pedal into it, it's able to push things in a particular direction which does magnify smoothness to a certain degree. All in all, the SD9M is a worthy pedal to own.

Ibanez: SD9M (mine)

I just had to grab this pedal at yesterday's Swee Lee (BB showroom) sale. He he...

Ibanez: SD9M

This is a fresh member of Ibanez's 9-series pedal which is available @ Swee Lee (List: $240). I had the opportunity to have a go at it yesterday while I was in store.

The SD9 isn't a fresh offering, it had been on the shelves in 2009 but was discontinued shortly thereafter. The original version did not feature the GAIN/ MIDS flick switches, in fact, it was a strict Tube Screamer reincarnation with an in-built mod circuitry which had no tweak options. This 2012, you have the options to kick in more gain/ midrange as the labels imply.

In its 'regular' mode, the SD9M does recreate the Tube Screamer resemblance but what I heard had most of the cream restrained. With more gain activated, the SD9M ceased to be a mild-mannered unit, sounding like a hard-edge distortion instead. Bear in mind that this pedal doesn't give you more of the Tube Screamer voicing unlike its TS9DX (Turbo Tube Screamer) sibling but it's quite a transformation from Doc Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk (ok, so the pedal sports a green, Hulk hue... *grin*). The mids offering is a little tricky because it actually takes over the tone knob sweep character which otherwise is your normal tone knob. Upon activation, any application of the tone knob past 12 o'clock would manifest lots of midrange. It's great for those solos of yours but in rhythm mode, the excess nasal honk is more quirky than exotic. However, the SD9M is a great inclusion in the Series 9 family as it offers a differentiated tone in light of the TS9DX & JD9.