I'm 57 and I've never owned a Tube Screamer!

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GearGasms

GearGasms

Doctor Love
The Ibanez Tube Screamer may very well be the best selling pedal of all time, or at least it is among overdrive pedals. Every guitar player either has one on their board or used to.
Except me. I can't explain it or ever offer up a good excuse for living so long and somehow still never owning a TS. It's untoward. It's maybe a little embarassing.
So I finally got one! Why should you care? I'm not sure - maybe you shouldn't or maybe you're curious to see what someone with no experience thinks he can do with a Tube Screamer. In other words, an idiot.
Have a mediocre weekend everyone!
alan
 
I think a Tube Screamer sounds terrible into a clean amp, personally.

I love my TS808, and would never think of getting rid of it. I rarely think it's the best boost for an amp (except maybe with Peavey 5150's). 90% of the time, I think there is a better boost for the occasion. But it is the one boost to compare all others to. And it's rare that I don't find it at the very least usable.

I personally like my TS808 better than the OD808 I used to have. I always thought the TS sounded more like a Tube Screamer should (middier and more compressed). But honestly, it's splitting hairs. Most Tube Screamers tend to do the same job, just with subtle feel/EQ differences.

I tend to like the SD-1 better nowadays. Not always, but most of the time, yeah. That's another classic boost to try.
 
my screamer that wayne built me is amazing. just does everything great. My favorite boost ever. and i LOVE that paul your playing.... :love:
 
I've never owned one, but my favorite sound is fuzz, so don't see how a TS would do much for me on that front.
 
I’ve been through a bunch - I absolutely love the TS-Mini. Allegedly more 808 flavored than TS9 flavored. But sounds fantastic in front of any tight rhythm/crunch tone.
 
I have the version 2 of the Fulltone Fulldrive and it does the TS thing remarkably well. Also have the TS-Mini which is cool.
 
I'm mega TS-obsessed myself, LOL.

Always wanted to try the OD820.

My hidden-gem Tube Screamer is the TC Mocambo. Not sure what the circuit is like, but to me, it sorta does like what the OD808 does in the sense that it still sounds like a Tube Screamer, just slightly less honky and compressed than my TS808.

But yeah, the MXR GT-OD is also nice. Kinda like an in-between SD-1/TS808 sound in GT-OD mode, and a straight-up very slightly tweaked SD-1 in ZW mode.
 
Greazygeo said:
TS-5 is my favorite one. But in reality, all od’s sound the same. Level up drive off and tone in he middle anyything works.
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Not really, IME. Really different values between some. An SD-1 which is a very straight-forward TS derivative with the gain on 0 has less gain than a TS808. With the Level cranked, it has less oputput than a TS808. So in reality, it boosts less at these settings. Plus the Tone knob really has a different value as well, so it's brighter at these settings. So even if you drop lots of gain on top, it sounds pretty different than a TS808 even though the circuit is basically the same, just with some component value differences.
 
Rex Rocker said:
Not really, IME. Really different values between some. An SD-1 which is a very straight-forward TS derivative with the gain on 0 has less gain than a TS808. With the Level cranked, it has less oputput than a TS808. So in reality, it boosts less at these settings. Plus the Tone knob really has a different value as well, so it's brighter at these settings. So even if you drop lots of gain on top, it sounds pretty different than a TS808 even though the circuit is basically the same, just with some component value differences.
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IMG_0384.jpeg

Lined em up…recorded them. Literally very little difference in them. Setting them up level up, drive down and tone in the center, grab one. Not gonna make any difference in front of a distorted amp.
Even the much maligned Dist+, using it with an eq to cut some low end, pretty much identical to the Micro Amp…all the others, not enough difference to worry about.
I have others too, may try recording them.

Sure there is a feel difference, tone not so much.
In front of a clean amp, different story.

Can you set them to sound different, sure. But the typical level up, drive down…gonna sound pretty identical.
 
Greazygeo said:
Lined em up…recorded them. Literally very little difference in them. Setting them up level up, drive down and tone in the center, grab one. Not gonna make any difference in front of a distorted amp.
Even the much maligned Dist+, using it with an eq to cut some low end, pretty much identical to the Micro Amp…all the others, not enough difference to worry about.
I have others too, may try recording them.

Sure there is a feel difference, tone not so much.
In front of a clean amp, different story.

Can you set them to sound different, sure. But the typical level up, drive down…gonna sound pretty identical.
Click to expand...
I have a few as well. Didn't take all with me once I moved, but right now, I've got an Archer (Klon), a Wylde OD (SD-1), a TS808, a Duncan 805, and a TC Spark (not the mini).

You're right. Recorded, they tend to even out. But with the gain set to 0 and the level set to 10, there is a VERY big difference between them all just in levels of gain and how hard they push the distortion. The Archer with the gain at 0 is completely clean, and the output is like 10 times as much as any other. Not exaggerating. The Spark is pretty much unity gain at this setting, which I actually found surprising. The TS808 is about unity gain as well, but it's much dirtier in the gain department. The Wylde is cleaner, but not clean. But the output is lower than the TS. So if you AB'd them all, the first thing you'd notice is a change in how much distortion you have with the Archer being the standount here.

EQ-wise, the difference between all become a bit more subtle once you start recording. But I still would definitely choose one over the other, depending on what tone I go for. There is just no way to get the voicing of the attack from the Klon out of a Tube Screamer, for example.

If you're comparing a TS5 and a TS9, then yeah, the difference is subtle. Very subtle. But I am the kind of jackass that obsesses over those details. But I agree. To someone else, there might be no difference at all between these. But if you can't hear the difference between a Klon and TS808, then you're either not used to high-gain tones, or not interested in those differences at all.

Not a knock against you. I agree with you to an extent, and I know I obsess about the subtle difference between al Ibanez TS models. But I'd be very surprised if you can't hear the difference between a Klon and TS808 even in a full mix with lots of gain from amps dropped on top.
 
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Rex Rocker said:
I have a few as well. Didn't take all with me once I moved, but right now, I've got an Archer (Klon), a Wylde OD (SD-1), a TS808, a Duncan 805, and a TC Spark (not the mini).

You're right. Recorded, they tend to even out. But with the gain set to 0 and the level set to 10, there is a VERY big difference between them all just in levels of gain and how hard they push the distortion. The Archer with the gain at 0 is completely clean, and the output is like 10 times as much as any other. Not exaggerating. The Spark is pretty much unity gain at this setting, which I actually found surprising. The TS808 is about unity gain as well, but it's much dirtier in the gain department. The Wylde is cleaner, but not clean. But the output is lower than the TS. So if you AB'd them all, the first thing you'd notice is a change in how much distortion you have with the Archer being the standount here.

EQ-wise, the difference between all become a bit more subtle once you start recording. But I still would definitely choose one over the other, depending on what tone I go for. There is just no way to get the voicing of the attack from the Klon out of a Tube Screamer, for example.

If you're comparing a TS5 and a TS9, then yeah, the difference is subtle. Very subtle. But I am the kind of jackass that obsesses over those details. But I agree. To someone else, there might be no difference at all between these. But if you can't hear the difference between a Klon and TS808, then you're either not used to high-gain tones, or not interested in those differences at all.

Not a knock against you. I agree with you to an extent, and I know I obsess about the subtle difference between al Ibanez TS models. But I'd be very surprised if you can't hear the difference between a Klon and TS808 even in a full mix with lots of gain from amps dropped on top.
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No knock taken, its all good.

A Klon I have no experience with, so can’t comment to those. Should try one one of these days.
Difference in output levels, sure. But a minor tweak to the level evens that out if needed.
The one that really surprised me was the Rat. Been using this 1981 pedal as a typical distortion, but for my test, set it up like a typical OD asa boost setting. Sounded very much like the others.

I am more of a mid gain player nowadays. Back in the day was a Metal Livewire loaded parts guitar into sd1 into modded old Superlead slaved rig. Not many ways to go back then.
 
Greazygeo said:
No knock taken, its all good.

A Klon I have no experience with, so can’t comment to those. Should try one one of these days.
Difference in output levels, sure. But a minor tweak to the level evens that out if needed.
The one that really surprised me was the Rat. Been using this 1981 pedal as a typical distortion, but for my test, set it up like a typical OD asa boost setting. Sounded very much like the others.

I am more of a mid gain player nowadays. Back in the day was a Metal Livewire loaded parts guitar into sd1 into modded old Superlead slaved rig. Not many ways to go back then.
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It's funny becuase the Klon, even though it's vastly different circuit, is still a mid-boosted OD with a clean/distorted blend like a TS. And even clean, you can get them to sound more or less close. I think the JHS video where they compare a Klon to a Bad Monkey proves that. But distorted, they have a completely different voicing to the attack, even when dialed close. With some amps, the Klon sounds almost like a sledgehammer. With others, it just sounds kinda fuzzy and overly fat.
 
Greazygeo said:
View attachment 204679
Lined em up…recorded them. Literally very little difference in them. Setting them up level up, drive down and tone in the center, grab one. Not gonna make any difference in front of a distorted amp.
Even the much maligned Dist+, using it with an eq to cut some low end, pretty much identical to the Micro Amp…all the others, not enough difference to worry about.
I have others too, may try recording them.

Sure there is a feel difference, tone not so much.
In front of a clean amp, different story.

Can you set them to sound different, sure. But the typical level up, drive down…gonna sound pretty identical.
Click to expand...
i hear a huge difference between my sd1 (maybe 85 mij) and my ts808hw. for one thing, the ts is quiet as fuck. But also, the sd1 has the sweetest sound when kicked on. This was in front of a wizard and all i was playing was high gain.
 
I'm 40 and I've owned a few. Right now I got a Maxon od808 version, which is closer to a TS-9 apparently. I just use it to give crunchy amps a little gain push or tighten up the low end a bit. I've owned a couple SD-1's as well and they're cool too, but I find you gotta add a bit of the drive with an SD-1 I when boosting cause they don't have much push to them.
 
On the other hand, a Tube Screamer was the first pedal I bought. Thought I could be SRV with my Blues Jr. I was not. Sold it and haven’t owned a TS in the 25yrs since. ?
 
50+ not a TS fan. I’ve had a sparkle Drive for a long time but it’s the clean blend that keeps that pedal around. Without it, I don’t care for it.
 
GearGasms said:
The Ibanez Tube Screamer may very well be the best selling pedal of all time, or at least it is among overdrive pedals. Every guitar player either has one on their board or used to.
Except me. I can't explain it or ever offer up a good excuse for living so long and somehow still never owning a TS. It's untoward. It's maybe a little embarassing.
So I finally got one! Why should you care? I'm not sure - maybe you shouldn't or maybe you're curious to see what someone with no experience thinks he can do with a Tube Screamer. In other words, an idiot.
Have a mediocre weekend everyone!
alan
Click to expand...

Maybe a little embarrassing? Bro! That strange and uncomfortable feeling you’ve experienced for the past decade or so is known as the mighty shame spiral. Perhaps with this acquisition, you can now finally join the rest of us in the world of rational thinking and behavior. Get it together bro!
 
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