Tube Screamer

[deadguise]

I've read in another post about the TS9 and TS808. I have a Boss Blues Driver which I'm not too thrilled about and I'm thinking of replacing it. What's the difference between the TS9 and TS808 besides the price?

[squire758]

i have a boss blues driver too and i hate it. i totally thought that pedal would be so much better. i want a couple tubescreamers but yo gotta get em from the analogman website so its already modded and shit. a friend of mine has two of them and man are they sweet, youd be better off just buying the modded one outright and youll see where every dollar went

[shakedown_04092]

Well, I agree with both of you - that Boss pedal is j-u-n-k junk; I've played it.

Obviously as you read in the other thread, I highly recommend the TS's. The difference between the TS9 & the TS808 (from analogman's website):

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In early 2004 Ibanez finally reissued the TS-808 pedal due to popular demand. This pedal uses the new 2002+ TS9 reissue board, made by Ibanez, not the older, slightly better quality MAXON board like the original TS808 and pre-2002 TS9. It does have the correct JRC4558D op amp and output resistors, so it sounds good, pretty close to our CLASSIC TS9/808 mod.

http://www.analogman.com/ts9.htm#ts808

I just got one of each to have a little bit more of a difference; the TS808 has a little more hair on it's balls to it - that is to say, a little more distortion sound. I can't really recommend one over the other - I love them both - I guess it depends on what you're going for. I use my TS9 more than the TS808 because I have the distortion set lower on the TS9, and I use it for both lead & rhythm. I rarely ever use the TS808 for rhythm....just that searing sustaining distortion lead sound that I love, fwiw. If you like the tone of Trey, SRV, or Hendrix, having at least one in your chain is a must.

I highly reccomend getting them modded by Analogman, though. You don't need to purchase them from him, however - you can purchase one & mail it in for a mod, which is what I did. Not sure if this'll save you any money or time....

Best thing to do is email Mike & ask him yourself, if you have questions about them. I've found him to be extremely helpful, and very responsive, even to an amateur like me. Treated me great, and answered some questions I had about them, which I really appreciate and I thought went a long way towards my own personal satisfaction of the purchase.

Again, I've also heard really good things about Keeley's modded TS's, but have yet to try them or hear them in person.

Good luck either way!

[deadguise]

Thanks for the info. So I figure I'll get the TS9 for my Twin Reverb rig (I play mostly Dead stuff now). My Cyber Twin already gets cool distortion and there are times when I won't use both.

[tigerstrat]

Stu, the guy who currently plays in "JGB" w/Melvin Seals uses a BD-2 and he makes his sound fantastic, through a Twin Custom 15. Then again it could be the Keeley-modded BD! or modded by any number of techs I suppose. I should have asked him when I had his ear, so to speak.

[deadguise]

He's the reason I bought one since he had one in his rig. I also go through a twin custom but I have active pickups on my guitar. I'm kinda of picky with distortion, I need (want) something "creamier" or sweeter.

[jackaroe1276]

I have the TS808. I actually keep the distortion level down to about 10 o'clock on the dial with the level at 1 o'clock. I have a Mosfet Fulltone fulldrive that I only use the overdrive switch for with it set at about 8 o'clock with the level at 1 o'clock as well. I'll kick the TS808 on if I want that extra level of distortion. At club levels the 2 together will give a very nice saturation, especially with my compression on. If I only want a slightly dirty overdrive for rhthym or a lightly crunchy lead I will only use the Fulldrive. I agree the ts808 is not a pedal that works well for light rhythm distortion at gigging levels. It is a pedal that is dependant on being teamed with another pedal, but so is the ts9 IMO.

[Crazy 9.5 Fingers]

Analog man silver mod Ts-9.

Buttah, baby, jus buttah!!

[jahozer]

I have the silver, and I absolutely love it. The tone knob makes it very diverse. Hi tone gives a high glassy distortion, and low gives it the old brown sound of the 808. Can be very subtle or very crunchy. It also smooths out some digital effects, if like me, you have some digital and some analog pedals. Mike at analog man is a really nice guy, and will reply almost immediately to any questions. I also had him mod my DD-5 for a foot pedal control.

You know, he mods Blues drivers so they sound like tube screamers. Check it out, since you already have the BD.

[kenneybonz]

lots of great input.. so is the favorite choice the tube screamer with the reissue board? it looks like that is on sale now at sam ash...

[XxRouninxX]

if you like the TS sound, check this out

http://www.analogman.com/kingtone.htm

they also have modded Tubescreamers at analogman

[deadguise]

I finally got an Analogman TS-9 and it's sweet!

[BOUKINATOR]

haha .. I've got the best of both worlds.. the Blues Driver AND the TS9

although I'm less impressed with the Blues Driver for soloing it does add a nice grungy effect for rhythm... I leave it on all the time at a low dist level and then kick in the TS9 for solos and sustain

[tigerstrat]

What's the difference between the TS9 and TS808 besides the price?

Two output resistors is the only difference between 9 and 808.

Last night, I modded my Boss SD-1 with a partial 808 mod, except:

a) I kept the JRC4558DD op-amp; I tried an RC4558P and my headroom disappeared! Glad I didn't wreck the original chip and was able to re-install.

b) I didn't change any diodes and kept the asymmetrical clipping.

So basically I just changed two caps and two resistors!

This pedal has become WAY more bass-responsive, more transparent, and a bump in headroom. TASTY. Tonight I'm giving it it's first real tryout with a band rehearsal.

[Django]

Though deadguise's situation is already remedied I will throw this out for others.
I have a TS9 that I've owned 20 years or thereabouts, I bought it used for 25 bucks! It isn't a real old one, it has the silver label on the bottom. This talk of modding is a newer development, never knew mine needed anything to sound as great as it does. So if the idea of sending your pedal away to mod makes you hesitate, just get a TS9 and use the hell out of it!