New TS9 style pedal day + Family pics

Brian says they are all just the same, so all the pro players who prefer the Maxons, or prefer the 808 over the 9 are just fools who are buying into hype. OK well that is a great reason to keep adding more $20 clones of the same thing to the collection. Makes perfect sense!
 
Brian says the 808 and the 9 by Ibanez are the same. Many other screamers may be different, and I'm sure a number are. But a lot are not.

I have them so I can really sit and listen to them and make the call for myself. And usually, with a tweak of a knob here or there, I find they are.

Now - Obviously the Monkey is different...because it is. But most of the others...not so much, if at all.
 
I heard a difference consistent with the known design differences between the 808 and 9, namely the two resistor differences that result in more output on the 9, which hits amps differently and affects the mid response (he said pots are the only difference, but if he really were to prove that, he would need to A/B/C/D 2 stock 808s and 2 stock 9s where there's an 808 with more output than a 9 and an 808 and 9 that sound identical, and measure the installed pots to prove that alone was the difference. Keep in mind, pots are just resistors, so claiming pots make a difference but resistor differences in the circuit design do not make a difference is kind of odd to me, particularly since he stated that resistors have the tightest tolerance of all the components; so in my mind a design difference in resistors would be consistently different also.). He didn't get into the different op amps, recovery times and how that affects the sound, etc. One thing that is true, all the main boards are the same - it's the same circuit with barely a few components different. And the early Ibanez' were all Maxon boards. But I have to give it to him - he builds thousands and thousands of pedals for a living, so he's got that on me 7 days a week.
 
beaubrummels said:
I heard a difference consistent with the known design differences between the 808 and 9, namely the two resistor differences that result in more output on the 9, which hits amps differently and affects the mid response (he said pots are the only difference, but if he really were to prove that, he would need to A/B/C/D 2 stock 808s and 2 stock 9s where there's an 808 with more output than a 9 and an 808 and 9 that sound identical, and measure the installed pots to prove that alone was the difference. Keep in mind, pots are just resistors, so claiming pots make a difference but resistor differences in the circuit design do not make a difference is kind of odd to me, particularly since he stated that resistors have the tightest tolerance of all the components; so in my mind a design difference in resistors would be consistently different also.). He didn't get into the different op amps, recovery times and how that affects the sound, etc. One thing that is true, all the main boards are the same - it's the same circuit with barely a few components different. And the early Ibanez' were all Maxon boards. But I have to give it to him - he builds thousands and thousands of pedals for a living, so he's got that on me 7 days a week.
Click to expand...

+1

I ended up with a Maxon OD-9 over the OD-808 because I didn't think the latter had enough output. They're very similar, but definitely NOT the same.

If Brian makes incorrect statements in the video (I haven't watched it) it wouldn't be the first time. I remember a column that he wrote (for Premier Guitar I think) talking about the differences between the TS-9 and SD-1 circuits that was simply wrong as far as what particular components in the circuit do. I'm not sure if the "mistakes" were intentional or not, and I don't care. He knows how to make a great sounding pedal, and I'll continue to acquire and enjoy them as my G.A.S. dictates.
 
Brian always compares stuff in the context of his bluesy blues stuff using the pedal for the light dirt.
I'm a metal guy so for me it's all about what they do to an already distorted amp, and that is always with the pedal's gain off or down very low.

Anyways youtube shootouts do give somewhat of an idea of the sonic differences, but the feel/tightness/percussive nature of the lows gets a bit lost in translation.
It's easy to feel the difference between the current ts9 and the od9 when using them as boosters. The od808 vs ts9 is even easier to hear and feel the difference than with the two 9s.

I could care less about circuit design or part changes when it's so easy to tell the difference as the player.

In a band context of course it would be hard to hear any difference at all, and downright impossible to for the average listener.
The BB screamer would probably be as good as any in that context.

My whole point is not that any of them are bad, it's just that if you are going to build a collection of screamers then why leave out the original best versions in favor of some very cheaply made clones.
Some of Ace's screamers add their own tweaks which is really cool, I totally get that.
 
dystrust said:
+1

I ended up with a Maxon OD-9 over the OD-808 because I didn't think the latter had enough output. They're very similar, but definitely NOT the same.

If Brian makes incorrect statements in the video (I haven't watched it) it wouldn't be the first time. I remember a column that he wrote (for Premier Guitar I think) talking about the differences between the TS-9 and SD-1 circuits that was simply wrong as far as what particular components in the circuit do. I'm not sure if the "mistakes" were intentional or not, and I don't care. He knows how to make a great sounding pedal, and I'll continue to acquire and enjoy them as my G.A.S. dictates.
Click to expand...

My favorites are the od9, the od9pro+, and the st9pro+, but I do find something really "special" about the creamier and squishy nature of the od808, but I agree it needs a touch more output since it filters more lows away. I really like it as a solo enhancer.
 
Aceman said:
Brian says the 808 and the 9 by Ibanez are the same. Many other screamers may be different, and I'm sure a number are. But a lot are not.

I have them so I can really sit and listen to them and make the call for myself. And usually, with a tweak of a knob here or there, I find they are.

Now - Obviously the Monkey is different...because it is. But most of the others...not so much, if at all.
Click to expand...

I like the Monkey because of the 2 band EQ, and the mixer output, which is the one I use going into an amp. The 805 is another TS-like pedal, but with 3 band active EQ, which seems to help the 'too many mids, no bass' issue of most 1-tone-knob TS pedals.
 
Given my predilection for my modded MT-2, it might surprise some that I occasionally throw one of these three into the lineup, usually in front of my Duncan TT Mayhem.
7821d8cb7ee307723e8e31677e27bf0a.jpg
29b31732a81c87c23b435693e8f698ee.jpg
ea4536f8610e944ed9198ab8778b2572.jpg


Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
 
Mincer said:
I like the Monkey because of the 2 band EQ, and the mixer output, which is the one I use going into an amp. The 805 is another TS-like pedal, but with 3 band active EQ, which seems to help the 'too many mids, no bass' issue of most 1-tone-knob TS pedals.
Click to expand...

And it’s quiet.
 
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