Maxon OSD9 | Golden Age of Gear Ep. 30

This week on the Golden Age of Gear, Joey and Derek go down the rabbit hole with a vintage sleeper: the Maxon OSD9 Overdrive Soft Distortion.

Fresh from the same Toronto trip that turned up the legendary MXR Blue Box, Joey picked up this oddball overdrive after years of eyeing it in the case at Capsule Music. At first glance, the OSD9 looks a lot like a typical green box Tube Screamer—but it’s definitely something different. Joey and Derek talk about how this pedal compares to the SD9 Sonic Distortion, why it’s more mid-focused, and how it cleans up like a fuzz face if you dial it in just right.

Joey also dives into how session legends like Mike Landau and Steve Lukather inspired him to dig deeper into these quirky, vintage drives and why sometimes a pedal that sounds terrible in one context ends up being magic in another. Along the way, they swap stories about the golden era of Tube Screamers, the search for the perfect overdrive, and whether any of it really matters once you start playing.

If you’ve ever wondered why old Maxon and Ibanez pedals have such a cult following—or you just love seeing gear nerds pick apart the details—this episode is for you.

What’s your favorite underrated overdrive? Let us know in the comments!