Maxon OD-9 Blackdrive

The Maxon OD-9 Blackdrive is a limited-edition overdrive pedal from Maxon, a black-finish version of the company's OD-9 made available exclusively for the European market¹. It came out of a cooperation between Maxon and Filling Distribution¹. Inside the black enclosure it is an analog overdrive built around the NJM (JRC) 4558D op amp, the same op amp featured in the current production OD-9².

The pedal came out of a cooperation between Maxon and Filling Distribution, and it proved popular enough that Maxon followed it in April 2022 with another European limited edition, the OD-9 Creamdrive¹³.

The controls

The Blackdrive keeps the three-knob layout of the OD-9 family. Gearnews summed up the front panel at launch: "The basic controls of Tone, Drive, and Level are all you really need from a good overdrive circuit"¹.

On the standard OD-9, Maxon's distributor page describes the Overdrive and Output Level controls as adjusting the intensity of overdrive and output volume⁴. A 2004 Zap Guitar review of the OD-9, republished by Maxon, noted that "The OD-9 also offers slightly more overdrive than its predecessor," the TS-808⁵. Power comes from a 9V DC center-negative supply drawing 7mA².

How it differs from a standard OD-9

Electronically, the Blackdrive is the OD-9. RockBoard's product page for the pedal states it plainly: "this is THE original OD-9 (TS-9) circuit, yet with the addition of true bypass switching"². Even the printed circuit board is unchanged, described as "the same one that Maxon's been using for the past 30+ years, complete with empty slots where parts" for the FET switching were left out².

What sets the Blackdrive apart is the finish and the market: a black-finish version of the OD-9 produced through a cooperation between Maxon and Filling Distribution and sold only in Europe, priced at £129 (~€153, $178)²⁶. For players comparing the two, the circuit is the same analog overdrive with the NJM (JRC) 4558D op amp found in the current production OD-9².

History: a limited European OD-9

The OD-9 itself dates to 2002, when Maxon and Ibanez parted ways and Maxon released the OD-9, nearly identical in appearance to the Ibanez TS-9⁷². Its circuit lineage goes back further: the OD808, which RockBoard calls "the first overdrive circuit of its kind," with the OD-9 cementing that sound². TONEHOME's take on the family is blunt: "the Maxon OD9 is just another Tube Screamer"⁸.

The bypass story evolved over time. Early OD-9s used a DPDT switch with a normal bypass; Analog Man reports that "In about 2004 they changed to an actual 4PDT true bypass switch," with later units using a 4PDT switch for true bypass and LED switching⁹¹⁰. The Blackdrive carries the true bypass arrangement.

The Blackdrive itself was announced on 26 October 2021, priced at £129 (~€153, $178) and available exclusively to European customers⁶. Gearnews reported the release the next day as a limited edition of 250 units in silk matt black, "exclusively for the European market," the result of the cooperation between Maxon and Filling Distribution¹.

The run's reception prompted a sequel. Guitar World reported that "The offering proved to be so popular that the firm has now introduced another limited-edition" version, the Creamdrive, in April 2022³. Like the Blackdrive, the Creamdrive was a European exclusive with true bypass switching and the familiar Drive, Tone and Level controls, in a cream finish³.

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