The original D&S carried a listed price of £153.00 GBP on Godlyke's product page as of October 2026. The Maxon D&S II is listed separately at the same figure14.
The controls
The maker's listing describes three controls, Distortion, Tone and Balance, which provide a wide variety of distortion effects from subtle overdrive to extreme fuzz1. Guitar Player's review, however, described the panel as Output, Tone and Distortion controls, on a pedal finished in what the magazine called an Army-approved green3. The two accounts agree on three knobs covering level, tone and the amount of distortion; the naming differs between the reissue reviewed in 2000 and the current listing.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Distortion | Sets the amount of distortion, from subtle overdrive to extreme fuzz1 |
| Tone | Shapes the pedal's frequency response1 |
| Balance | Level control, balancing the effected signal against your clean tone1 |
What reviewers said
Guitar Player's Darrin Fox described the pedal's character in detail: "The D&S' corpulent midrange imbibes solos with a pronounced singing quality"3. In other words, the reviewer found a fat midrange that suits soloing and plenty of low-end weight, in a package designed to sound tube-like while being all-transistor32.
D&S and D&S II, and the editions in between
The D&S II is Maxon's later Distortion Sustainer pedal, with Distortion, Tone and Balance knobs giving the user complete control over the distortion effect4. Godlyke listed both pedals at £153.00 GBP as of October 202614.
The D&S design has a longer history than either current listing suggests. Kit Rae's history of Big Muff-style pedals documents the OD-801 era of the design: a second edition from around 1977 included an LED, changed the SUSTAIN control to DISTORTION and added a DC power jack5. A third edition sounded similar to the earlier D&S pedals but with more bottom end5. The fourth-edition reissue, according to Rae, sounds similar to the early editions but with less bottom end, and overall the reissue sounds thinner; its graphics and knobs mix elements of the first and second editions5.
| Edition | What changed |
|---|---|
| Second edition, circa 1977 | LED added, SUSTAIN renamed DISTORTION, DC power jack added5 |
| Third edition | Similar to earlier D&S pedals, with more bottom end5 |
| Fourth edition reissue | Thinner than earlier editions, less bottom end, mixed graphics and knobs5 |
For players comparing the D&S with other Maxon dirt pedals, the Maxon SD-9 Sonic Distortion and the Maxon SSD-9 Super Sonic Distortion sit in the same family of Maxon distortion designs, and the site's Distortion Pedals page places the D&S among its alternatives.
Videos
Fuzzville
Coolpapabear
Richie Moscola
Questions
Is the Maxon D&S an all-transistor pedal?
Yes. Writing in Guitar World in April 2000, Dominic Hilton described the D&S Distortion & Sustainer as employing an all-transistor circuit to stack up the dirt. That design is aimed at high-gain distortion and long sustain rather than the soft clipping of an op-amp overdrive, and it is part of why the pedal is described as a distortion and sustainer rather than a straight distortion box.
What is the difference between the Maxon D&S and the D&S II?
Both are Maxon distortion and sustainer pedals with Distortion, Tone and Balance knobs, and both have been listed by Godlyke Distributing at the same price. The D&S II is the later version of the design, sold as the Maxon D&S II Distortion Sustainer, while the original D&S carries the longer-standing Distortion & Sustainer name and the reissue history described on this page.
Is the Maxon D&S still in production?
The D&S II remains listed separately. Kit Rae's history of the design also documents several earlier editions and reissues, so which version you encounter depends on when it was made.
How much does the Maxon D&S cost?
Godlyke Distributing listed both the original D&S and the D&S II at £153.00 GBP as of October 2026. When Guitar Player reviewed the pedal in May 2000, it carried a US list price of $189. No current US dollar price is available.
Sources (5)
- DISTORTION AND SUSTAINER (D&S), Godlyke Distributing, Inc.
- Maxon Reissue Series Effects Pedals Review, Guitar World Magazine (republished on maxonfx.com / Godlyke, Inc.), 2000-04
- Maxon Reissue Series Effects Review, Guitar Player Magazine, 2000-05
- DISTORTION AND SUSTAINER II (D&S II), Godlyke Distributing, Inc.
- The Big Muff History, www.kitrae.net, 2017-01
