The little green box from hell . . .

[Nelskie]

For anyone into the guitar thing in the early 1980's, you know exactly what I'm talking about - - the Ibanez Tube Screamer. The quintessential metal rig was not complete without it. And yeah, if you've been on this forum for awhile, you've already heard more than one of my stories about how my all-original, all-vintage Ibanez Tube Screamer left me in a moment of financial crisis.

I still remember buying my pedal at my local guitar shop. I'd been scrounging and saving for weeks, cuz' I know this was one pedal I had to have. I'd tried my friend's TS-9 during a weekend jam session, and had all but left the rest of my six-stringed cohorts in a dusty cloud. Jaws had dropped. My licks on the Crue's Too Fast For Love had instantaneously burst into flames. VH's Aint' Talkin' 'Bout Love was pushed into core meltdown. It was the pedal. The next step . . . further . . . into sonic oblivion!

My Tube Screamer and I raged on from 1984 until the spring of '89, when I decided that I'd need some $$ to get set up following college graduation (excuse me, Einstein, but don't people usually get money for graduation?) And so, for the measly pittence of $30, I parted ways with my little green wonder. Although I would discover the wonderous world of the blues shortly thereafter, the loss of my TS-9 would follow me for many years to come.

Thanks to the acquisition of my new OD wunderkind pedal - the Tonebone Classic, I've finally been able to come to terms with that little lapse in judgement. But damn, that pedal just flat-out kicked a$$. And for the metal player that I was back in those days, it was a totally indispensable part of my rig. Yes, a solid-state Crate 2x12, with the TS-9 in front - man, what a fantastic piece of headache loud, ultra-rugged, road-worthy, hoist-those-keg-cups-up-high piece of gear that I will never ever forget. *sigh*

Pedals have come a long way since the early 80's. But few have sounded as good, or made as many trademark tones as the Ibanez Tube Screamer has. Yeah, there's a new TS-808 re-issue out now for $169 - - which I think is a pretty substantial piece of change for an OD pedal (esp. considering that the Bad Monkey is nearly its equal at $39!) And the TS-9 re-issue, I believe, is right around $99 - which ain't bad at all. I keep telling myself that I don't need yet another distortion pedal. But what the heck - it's sure a lot cheaper than therapy . . .?

[SuperSwede]

*sigh* I miss mine all the time.. the only music gear myth I really can confirm, those old TS-808 was something special. And so is the price these days, if you can find one.

[TS808]

I have a TS9 but also got one of the TS7's a few years ago...they are the ones that have the tone-lok on them or whatever...you set the dials and then you can press them down so they stay locked to where you set them.

Not a bad pedal and alot less than a TS9 (at $99) or the TS808 at $169. The Tone Lok pedal has a cool feature where you can flick a switch and get a heavier, more distorted TS9 sound. It's built like a tank too, pretty solid.

[Spudman***]

I still have my TS9 from 1976-77. I have removed the name plate and replaced it with a piece of duct tape. Makes it less desirable to thieves.

I got mine when I started using my Marshall JMP50 combo in 1976 (still have it). I didn't think the pedal had enough grit at the time. I kept it anyway and have used it constantly since I bought it, 30 years now. I put a Dyna Comp in front of it before replacing that with an Ibanez 9 series compressor. That took it to the stratosphere and beyond. Now it has the Analogman brown mod.

Monkey-ya. Tone driver-hell ya. TS9(with analogman mod)-sorry I can't print it here.

[TS808]

Another good pedal, in fact it's great, is the Boss OD-3. It has a little more grit than the TS-9 and has a bit of a fatter tone.

[Tone2TheBone]

Another good pedal, in fact it's great, is the Boss OD-3. It has a little more grit than the TS-9 and has a bit of a fatter tone.

The Boss OD-3. I tried one of those side by side with a couple of other OD pedals (the Monkey and the Blues Driver) and I really liked it. It did sound great and I might go looking for another one or trade my Blues Driver for one. I ended up getting the Monkey just cause..... But yeah that OD-3 was super! I had tried a garden variety Tube Screamer once. Bought it brand new and took it home and tried it. Didn't like it though. I thought all it added was midrange. A wall of midrange. I took it back the same day when I got the Monkey. +1 to those with magical sounding TSs though.

I got a question maybe one of you guys will know. Did Stevie Ray use 2 TSs? One for regular drive and the other for driving the other pedal into Voodoodom?

[duhvoodooman***]

I got a question maybe one of you guys will know. Did Stevie Ray use 2 TSs? One for regular drive and the other for driving the other pedal into Voodoodom?

According to THIS PAGE (last paragraph), yes. I've read that elsewhere, too.

[Spudman***]

I use multiple distortion pedals too. It's like having extra channels on your single channel amp.

[Cranium]

Does having 2 tubescreamers on at the same time give you anything?

[Spudman***]

Does having 2 tubescreamers on at the same time give you anything?

You bet! You can either push - tone down - or beef up or quiet down the first pedal by how you set the second one.

I use my Tube Screamer second after my DS1 to take advantage of the midrange and smoothness of the TS9 when I have the DS1 on. I also get a boost to the DS1 when I kick in the TS9.

[r_a_smith3530]

Yes, the TS-9 is a great pedal, especially when modded, but, as I found, it's not an especially good bass pedal. With a bass driving it, especially the active humbuckers in my G&L, it comes off as far too muddy sounding. For the bass, the Russian Big Muff actually sounds worlds better, which is the opposite when playing a six-string. The TS-9 does sound really sweet between my Reactor and Classic 50 though!

[Plank_Spanker]

I'm using the TS808 Reissue. It's a pretty smooth sounding juice box.

[Nelskie]

. . . And the TS-9 re-issue, I believe, is right around $99 - which ain't bad at all. I keep telling myself that I don't need yet another distortion pedal. But what the heck - it's sure a lot cheaper than therapy . . .?

Well, threw caution to the wind, and scored a *NEW* TS-9 off of Ebay. It came with the very desirable "Brown Mod", as popularized by pedal guru Analogman. What caught my eye on this pedal, however, was that the chip used for the mod was a NOS JRC-4558D - - the same chip used in the original TS-808's! That, and the guy who was selling them included (3) other chips along with the pedal. For $126 + shipping, I figured "what the heck".

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Ibanez-TS-9-...QQcmdZViewItem

Anyways - my pedal arrived over lunch hour, so I had a few minutes to plug in, and give it a whirl. All I can say is that running that in front of my Super Reverb is a borderline religious experience. Like Spudman has already mentioned, there are few superlatives that accurately describe how GOOD this pedal sounds, esp. one that has been modded to original TS-808 specs. It's mojo times a billion!!! As a matter of fact, I'm still feeling a little *woozy* after my brief, but wholly satisfying initial test run.

That being said, it'll be a cold day in hell before I let this one go!!

[Plank_Spanker]

As a matter of fact, I'm still feeling a little *woozy* after my brief, but wholly satisfying initial test run.

Deep breaths.....................................

I've had that feeling a time or two............