Ibanez TS-808.. my search is over for now..

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Kapo_Polenton

Kapo_Polenton

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Who am I kidding.. of course I'll try more because that's what we do.. that said, for the time being, this is the willy wonka golden ticket for me. After all the overdrives I have tried, I finally got my hands on a good ol fashioned TS-808 and it has the mojo. What it has that the SD-1, GT-OD's, bad monkeys, mad professors or KoKo's don't have ? I find it is subtle. Where overdrives tend to sit on top of your tone, I find the 808 circuit fits almost under it. I know this may make little sense to some of you but it adds just enough without overpowering the tone and changing it. You can sit there flicking it on and off and it just gives you more of a good thing. Furthermore the highs... love the highs. They don't seem to bleed or get harsh as they might with other screamer variants or overdrives. There is a slight compression to my ears which helps soften or fatten the highs a bit while you still keep a tight low end. I honestly feel this pedal has the right amount of compression and tightness without altering your base tone.

Are these 808 variants sometimes overpriced? Yes. But that said, there definitely is a difference between this pedal and my bad monkey (which i also love). It's all in the highs and subtleties. I don't think i'll be checking out any of the "better" more gained out or more bass heavy or more EQ'd versions of this design. The classic works fantastic with Marshall based amps and I'd imagine it is a boss with anything high gain that needs tightening. I almost want to pick up a second pedal this thing is so good to my ears. Haven't said that in years and wish i had tried this out sooner. No wonder it is on countless 80's records pushing the front end.

This is the ibanez TS-808, how is the maxon by comparison? My next step is going to be to mod my SD-1 to 808 specs with one of those Monte Allums kits. We'll see how it compares. I don't really have a need for the BOSS coloration moving forward I don't think.
 
Any chance you have experience with BB+?
That has been my OD for awhile now & curious how it compares
 
I have the TS808 now. Use to have the Maxon 808. Side by side there might be a slight difference.
 
I have the t-s808 overdrive pro reissue.
I like it I did try it next to the 9 and liked it better.
I know it's not the holy grail original but I like it.
Jim
 
Is a great pedal. I switched to a Maxon 808 after a side by side. Just sounded better with my gear and for what I was looking for.
 
crankyrayhanky":k3217asy said:
Any chance you have experience with BB+?
That has been my OD for awhile now & curious how it compares
Click to expand...

Yup I do actually.. had that one for a while as well. To me the BB+ was good but it added too much of everything. I only used the gain at not even 1/4 of the way up as after that it came on way too quick. The xotic stuff for me adds something to the sound which I don't like. you definitely notice it on top of the tone and it is dependent on whether or not you like it. I also felt this with the RC booster and moved it along. The BB+ compressed a bit more as the gain came up which I also didn't like that much rythmically.It's tough to find the balance between what you like to play rythm with and what you like to play lead with. This one pleases me on both ends.
 
I had both and I kept the Maxon. The Maxon has a bit more clarity and is tighter. They are both great for what they do, and most people probably won't notice much of a difference between the two.
 
DAMIAN The MAN":5rgvy1wy said:
Click to expand...

How did this one fly under the radar? Great idea... interested in whether or not that boost gels nicely with the 808 or if it is gonna sound too fat or too bright... Great idea to be able to get a three channel amp setup : crunch, boosted rythm, soaring lead.
 
crankyrayhanky":ll4blv3w said:
Any chance you have experience with BB+?
That has been my OD for awhile now & curious how it compares
Click to expand...


Mine too. It's warm and adds gain or crunch without overly colorizing your sound.
 
Love the handwired TS808 I just got. Found it for quite a bit cheaper than retail.
 
I'm a fan of the TS808 but liked the Cusak Screamer even better. I saw Lynch using one and it sounded great so I gave one a shot. It's real close to the 808 but not so much mid hump which was exactly what I was looking for. They're definately worth checking out.
 
I really preferred the Maxon 808 to the TS 808 for my setup it had more clarity and less low end cutoff than the TS. My SRB 808 sent my Maxon 808 packing after A/B'ing them.

The SRB just had more clarity to it and more options, not that the Maxon didn't sound great the SRB was just superior to it. It has a nice three way switch Stock OD808 mode, Clean Boost mode and SD-1 mode, which is nice because the SD-1 mode works best into my Rivera amps versus my Marshalls. Plus it has a bass boost switch if you need it.

If you're in the market for an 808 I highly recommend the SRB808 for the money. :thumbsup:

Lynch's best tones were with a TS808 into Aspen Pittmans 1973or 75 (I can't remember) Superlead! :rock:
 
harddriver":366vke3v said:
Lynch's best tones were with a TS808 into Aspen Pittmans 1973or 75 (I can't remember) Superlead! :rock:
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, what has he supposedly used that combo on ?
 
snowdog":zjaytpqt said:
harddriver":zjaytpqt said:
Lynch's best tones were with a TS808 into Aspen Pittmans 1973or 75 (I can't remember) Superlead! :rock:
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, what has he supposedly used that combo on ?
Click to expand...

As far as I know it's been common knowledge of Georges use of an 808 or SD1 from back in the Dokken days with his Randalls till today. But I did find this with a little googling.

This is from the old Lynch website from years ago. This is his studio rig for that cd:
"Sometimes you try things and it doesn't work. So you fall back and do things that you're more familiar with, which is just going straight-ahead balls-out," George said of the recording for the second Lynch Mob album. Simply titled, "Lynch Mob," George returned to a more simplistic approach to recording his guitar sound in 1992.

"I bought two 50-watt Marshall plexi's in Japan six months earlier. When they got delivered, they sounded great. That's what on the record. I didn't use anything but the plexi Marshalls and a Soldano, which are the obvious things to use."

Using the Marshall and Soldano setups in conjunction with each other in an A/B situation, "...the Marshall gave it that warm fluid tone and the Soldano had a little bit more of the bite and crunch. Together they sound real nice," George described. In the front end, he brought in his Ibanez Tube Scremaer TS-808 to goose the amp's input a little.

Other pedals present came out of what was known as "George's Toy Box." An assortment of pedals made their way onto the floor like the Sustainiac, a Boss GE-7 e.q. and a Vox chrometop wah pedal.

In summary, George's tone is consistent throughout the entire record. He would change his style of playing per each individual song, but refused to alter the gear in any form. "How many times have people gone into the studio, had something nice, changed it and gone for something different and never got it back? George recounts. Barriers were put up forming a little room in the corner of the studio where George positioned himself to record. "I had 17 guitars back there and all these pedals and this huge amount of stuff. Nobody wanted to go back there. I had cups and junk. I said, 'Do not clean this up.' (Producer) Keith Olsen was going nuts, saying, 'Just let them come in and clean it, George.' I said, 'No, that'll spoil it.'"

Along with the ESPs, and PRS guitars in the studio, a sitar and a G&L Comanche (which would also be included on "Sacred Groove") found their way into the mix of junk behind that barricade of George's. Also in the studio came a peculiar amp known as the Trainwreck, built by Ken Fisher of Colonia, NJ. This will also figure into George's "Sacred Groove" solo album.
 
snowdog":tm9giqbr said:
Cool, Thanks for the info.
Click to expand...

Here's some more interesting reading for you from the same source...

And here's the one from the touring rig for the same cd:
"On tour with George for the 1992 Lynch Mob tour was similar to what was in the studio. He had aquired two Marshall plexi amps from Japan just prior to the recording of the second Lynch Mob self-titled album. Seeking that sound but with a little more balls, the primary Marshall on this tour was a '72 Marshall Super Lead with the plexi faceplate. While other Marshall 100-watt heads (JCM 800s, and other early 70s Marshall Super Leads) were to accompany him, this was the primary one.

Also on board were two Soldano SLO 100-watt heads (one for backup). These were two of four made with a special depth knob and covered in snakeskin-printed tolex. These heads were the primary source of searing gain and shattering crunch.

The two amp setups had signals going to a new kind of speaker cabinet made by Genz Benz. Made in Phoenix, AZ, these cabinets were designed to deliver sound in a more forward projection via internal front-to-rear speaker baffles. Just as a backline wall of them were set up onstage, the actual functioning rig was at the far left-hand side of the stage.

Switching for the two amps was done via an A/B/Y footswitch that allowed George to go from either amp or to use both in conjunction with each other. As stated during the recording of the album, George used various distortion/overdrive pedals to juice up the input of the guitar to the amps. Again, the Tube Screamer, among others, would be there to provide a push into the amp inputs.

Just like the previous tour, the rack containing signal processing was on this tour. Keeping coloration to a minimum, most of the use of these items was simply to clarify the guitar tone. The Lexicon PCM 70 or the Roland SDE3000 were on hand for delay and chorus. To clear up the signal was a BBE Sonic Maximizer

And another source:
For Wicked, the SLO was used for mostly Rythyms, the Purple Aspen Pittman Marshall was used for leads.

For the 2nd Disk, I think Bogner stuff was used and modded Bogner stuff.
 
and that GE-10 and a form of a TS-808 is still on his board to this day when you look at his live pedalboards. Those seem to be the staple Soldano, Marshall, Friedman, or Randall.
 
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