Maxon VJR9 Vintage Jet Riser

The Maxon VJR-9 Vintage Jet Riser is a Maxon flanger pedal with a wider brief than most. Released in 2009, it produces flanger, phaser, chorus and tremolo sounds, plus a Jet feature that layers a jet-takeoff effect over the modulation¹. Maxon describes it as an updated version of the 1970s Jetlyzer, and says it "creates a Doppler jet effect so realistic you can almost feel the wind in your hair"². The maker's product page now lists it as sold out².

Despite its range, it is the size of a regular pedal rather than an oversized unit¹, and it uses true bypass switching².

Flanger, phaser and jet sounds from one pedal

The VJR-9 is what Pedal of the Day called a "flanger-ish pedal": its Sweep and Speed ranges are wide enough to cover flanging and phasing needs, and it does a pretty good chorus sound as well¹³. On top of the modulation there is the Jet feature, controlled by its own knob and switchable from an external foot switch jack, so you can tap the jet sound in as you wish¹.

The Jet knob controls the intensity of the effect, and it works hand in hand with the Width control³. Pedal of the Day found that adding the Jet function produces an array of sounds, from a subtle swooshing noise layered over the flange to full-on jet sounds¹.

Internally, Maxon says the VJR-9's voltage-doubling circuitry provides maximum headroom to eliminate input distortion².

The five knobs and the Jet switch jack

Five knobs shape the effect, and the external jack lets you switch the Jet sound on and off remotely¹.

Premier Guitar's reviewer, Jordan Wagner, noted one behavior worth knowing before buying: as the Sensitivity knob goes up, the effect starts to exhibit a strange "wash out" effect, as if the flanger circuit is distorting, and the highest settings can result in a garbled mess of white noise³. Whether that is a flaw or a feature depends on the sounds you are after.

A homage to the Ibanez Jetlyzer

Maxon says the VJR-9 was designed in homage to classic 70's distortion modulators such as the Flying Pan and Jetlyzer, both of which Maxon designed and built for Ibanez². Pedal of the Day identifies the specific ancestor: the VJR9 is based on the Jetlyzer JL-70 Phaser from the mid-70's¹.

The original Ibanez JL-70 Jetlyzer was part of Ibanez's Big Box series, and TONEHOME rates its collectibility as very high⁴, which helps explain why Maxon built a modern pedal around the idea rather than players hunting down originals.

The VJR-9 also connects to another Ibanez line. Premier Guitar described it as a hopped-up predecessor to the Ibanez FL9, the flanger that Ibanez originally commissioned Maxon to design³⁵. TONEHOME's page on the FL9 covers that original Ibanez pedal⁵, and Maxon sells its own reissue of the circuit as the Maxon FL-9 Flanger, an analog flanger pedal in the same Nine Series family⁶. Compared with the FL-9, the VJR-9 adds the Jet feature, the Sensitivity control and the external Jet switch jack on top of the basic flanger platform³.

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar reviewed the VJR-9 shortly after its release, giving it a rating of 4.5 out of 5³. The reviewer found it sounds awesome, with wide Sweep and Speed ranges, more than enough to cover flanging and phasing needs, and does a pretty good chorus sound¹.

Pedal of the Day's 2014 review was also positive, writing that "it sounds awesome, too," with wide Sweep and Speed ranges that are more than enough to cover flanging and phasing needs, plus a pretty good chorus sound¹.

The one caution in the coverage is that Sensitivity behavior at high settings, where the effect can wash out into white noise³. For players who stay in the lower ranges of that knob, both reviews point to a versatile modulation pedal with a distinctive jet sound.

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