Maxon AD-999 Analog Delay

Maxon

Just when you thought you'd have to go digital, Maxon unveils the new AD999 Analog Delay. The newest member of the highly touted Maxon Vintage Series, the AD999 is the most ambitious and practical analog delay pedal to come along in ­ well, ever!

A few years back the hopes of analog lovers the world over were dashed when Panasonic/Matsushita closed their BBD production line for good. Immediately the price of all types of analog bucket brigade IC's went through the roof, and many larger companies started buying up existing stock and hoarding it for the future. But Maxon is a tough company to hold down, and instead of making the switch to digital as so many other small manufacturers were forced to do, they took a very different approach to solving this problem.

With their vast knowledge of analog technology and their extensive network of contacts in the electronics industry, Maxon was able to source a completely different manufacturer of analog BBD's. After critical examination and testing of this company's product offerings, it was finally determined that these components were worthy to carry the Maxon brand name, and thus the AD999 was born!

Not a company to rest on its laurels, the AD-999 Analog Delay was created after careful examination of other analog delay units (including the AD900) in an effort to improve upon them. Each AD999 comes loaded with 8 ­ yes, 8 ­ Maxon MC4107D BBD's for a total of 900 milliseconds of pure, rich, organic analog tone. Like past Maxon analogs, the AD999's controls have been kept to a minimum to free the unit from unwanted noise and complex operation. Standard Delay Time, Delay Level, and Feedback controls provide a simple user interface and a wide variety of delay effects. To improve the unit's versatility, Wet/Dry outputs were added to allow for panning of the delay effect between two amplifiers or channels.

The AD999's tone is pure analog heaven ­ rich, round and three dimensional, the AD999 is much more akin to the tone of vintage tape echo units than either the AD900 or AD­9. In comparison to other Maxon delay units, the AD999's fat, vintage tone is closest to the now­defunct AD80, but with the added benefit of triple the delay time, yielding many medium to long delay effects that the AD80 simply cannot reproduce.

AD999 switching is handled by a Fujisoku 4PDT mechanical switch for transparent, noise-free true bypass operation. Lastly, the AD999 has been designed to run off 9 volts DC for easier integration into players' pedalboards. An internal, replaceable fuse protects the circuit from voltage spikes as well as the accidental use of incorrect adaptors.

When you're ready for the ultimate analog experience, the Maxon AD999 is the only serious choice in an otherwise digital world!

• Pedal Of The Day