Ibanez AD-9
Allow me to introduce to you the OTHER collectable Ibanez pedal. Hailing from the same production line as the infamous TS9 Tube Screamer, the Ibanez AD9 Analog Delay is one of the unsung heroes of tone merchants the world over, but this baby is definitely a late bloomer. |  |
| Time Machine
In the early 80's the old tape machine delay units such as the Roland Space Echo and the Watkins Copy Cat had met their match. Companies such as BOSS and Electro Harmonix released different versions of the analog delay pedal. It was now possible to get delay without the need of the huge tape machines. The delay pedal was a HUGE hit. They were so easy to use and much more reliable than the cumbersome and fragile tape machines. Life was good, but guitarists started asking for more. They wanted longer delays than was possible with these units. Although the quality of the effect is wonderful and warm, the Ibanez AD9 has less than half a second of delay time on hand, so the race was on to come up with a delay pedal that was small but capable of delivering long trailing delays reminiscent of the now antiquated tape machines. Then it happened - the birth of the 'Digital Delay'. Suddenly it was possible to have these huge delay times with all the convenience of a small stomper. Almost over night the analog delay was obsolete and you couldn't give them away. In the late 80's you could pick up an AD9 analog delay with a couple of packets of strings. Almost every major effects manufacturer stopped making the analog units and concentrated solely on the digital models.
Awakenings
There's a great movie with Robin Williams about a group of patients who'd been in a coma for 40 years, and then one day after some experimental medication they all wake up. That's what I reckon happened some time in the early 90's. Someone found an old AD9 analog delay unit in the back of their cupboard. They'd obviously forgot to throw it out and they've missed the bin men for this week, ah well, lets have a play and see just how bad this old thing is. (Enter scene from 'Awakenings' here). The tone they had somehow misplaced years earlier had miraculously appeared, and almost overnight, the demand for the analog delay was back, and indeed remains to this day.
In Use
The AD9 is without doubt, my favourite delay for slap back, country style effect. For me it's either this, or a tape machine. It's so easy to use and the delay itself never gets in the way of your original tone, which is the main complaint of the digital units. No matter how extreme your settings, you can't sound processed or thin.
How much should I pay?
In this condition, which is heavily gigged you can get them for around £75. There are reissues available but for my money the original with the Maxon circuit board has the Modjo.
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