Maxon is the brand name used by the Nisshin Onpa company of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

for its line of

effects pedal An effects unit, effects processor, 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 el ...

s designed for

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

History

Nisshin Onpa started mid-1960s as a producer of components and OEM products for guitar companies. First building guitar pickups for the Greco-brand

electric guitars Electric Guitars were an English band formed early in 1980 by Neil Davenport (vocals, lyrics) and Richard Hall (bass, vocals) who were both studying English at Bristol University. The band soon increased to a five-man line-up, with Andy Sander ...

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 Prefecture, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki was one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United Stat ...

. 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. After splitting from Ibanez, Maxon continued manufacturing pedals under the "Maxon" brand, bringing them into North America via Godlyke Distributing, Inc. 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 (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

and Greco 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 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

* {{Commons category multi, Maxon, Maxon guitar effects 1965 establishments in Japan Guitar pickup manufacturers Guitar effects manufacturing companies