Maxon is the brand name used by the Nisshin Onpa company of Japan for its line of

effects pedal An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...

s designed for

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

and bass.

History

Nisshin Onpa started mid-1960s as a producer of components and

OEM An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

products for guitar companies. First building

guitar pickups A pickup is a transducer that captures or senses mechanical vibrations produced by musical instruments, particularly stringed instruments such as the electric guitar, and converts these to an electrical signal that is amplified using an instru ...

for the Greco-brand

electric guitars An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

produced by Kanda Shokai, Nisshin Onpa in 1969 also became an effects pedal manufacturer. They created a fuzz-wah pedal that was very popular, and marketed under multiple trade names including

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...

. During the 1970s, Ibanez became one of the company's main OEM customers. Nisshin Onpa designed and manufactured the popular TS-808/TS808 and TS9 Tube Screamers for Ibanez from 1974 until 2002, and many other devices including the FL9 Flanger, CS9 Chorus, and AD9 Analog Delay. Nisshin Onpa also marketed its pedals under its own Maxon brand during this time. When Nisshin Onpa and Ibanez parted ways in 2002, Nisshin Onpa began to more aggressively market its own line, expanding its line of analog pedals. Maxon now concentrates on vintage-type effects such as analog delays, analog choruses and flangers, and overdrive and distortion units. Most of the old Ibanez Nine Series is available in Maxon form, but the pedals include improved circuitry such as true-bypass switching. Currently, Maxon manufactures around 23 effects pedals for guitars. Nisshin Onpa has manufactured pickups for

Aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

and

Greco Greco may refer to: People * Greco (surname), a list of people with this surname * a masculine variant of Greca (given name), an Italian feminine given name * Greco Mafia clan, one of the most influential Mafia clans in Sicily and Calabria Wine ...

guitars. The Ibanez "Super 70" and "Super 58" pickups and also the Greco "UD", "U-1000", "U-2000", "PU-x" and "Dry Z" pickups were made by Nisshin Onpa. Ibanez "Super 70" and Greco "U-1000" pickups had an

alnico Alnico is a family of iron alloys which in addition to iron are composed primarily of aluminium (Al), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co), hence the acronym ''al-ni-co''. They also include copper, and sometimes titanium. Alnico alloys are ferromagnetic, ...

VIII magnet. Greco "U-2000" and "PU-x" pickups had an alnico V magnet. Ibanez "Super 58" and Greco "Dry-Z" pickups had an alnico III magnet. Ibanez "Super 80" pickups had a ceramic magnet. In all of these, DC resistance is approximately 7.5-8.0 kiloohms. On its website, Maxon claims several firsts in the effects pedal industry: the first realistic tube amp overdrive, the first compact analogue delay, the first programmable effect, and the first multi effect unit.

References

Maxon USA website
*''Guitarist'' magazine, Issue 273, February 2006, p. 122-127 {{Commons category multi, Maxon, Maxon guitar effects Products introduced in 1965 1965 establishments in Japan Music equipment manufacturers Guitar effects manufacturing companies