The Official Green Overdrive Thread

Aceman

Aceman

I am your doctor of love!
You know, there are so many TS-9 and and TS-9 variant questions, I thought we should start a thread dedicated to it. A "one-stop" of all things greenish OD pedal.

So let's jump in! Tell us all about your Green Pedal preferences. And let's be sure to include ALL the flavors; I want someone to be able to stop here and hear about the TS808, TS9, original and various reissues, the TS(DX Turbo, The Green Screamer, The Green Rhino, Maxon Organic Overdrive, the Keeley mods, The Joyo Vintage Overdrive, The TS7 Tone Lok, The Bad Monkey, the Maxon OD808, The TS9 Mini, The Mooer Green Mile, and every other TS9-esque thing you can think of!

I'll start it. But jump in here and tell us what you play, what you have played, what you dig, and what you don't - and why!

I have a TS9. It's a reissue, and for my non-discriminating ears, as good as any TS9 I've ever played. Never did the 808 thing. I love to push my Fender Pro Jr. with this pedal. Just a great classic sound! I use the TS9 as a dirt box, a boost, or both as part of larger rigs sometimes. The mid boost is excellent for that to me!

I have played the Tone Lok TS7 - and for me, it might as well be a TS9. Bonus, if you need a little more gain it has a hot switch! very cool.

My go-to TS9 style, however, is…

The Stamps Drive-O-Matic. Two TS9's in a box! You get Two Drive levels, one slightly hotter than the other, A Presence switch (sort of a tone-but-no tone option) and a output level. Plus - there is a loose/tight switch that does exactly what it says. Very organic, very flexible, very tasty. Highly under appreciated IMO.
 
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Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

I have a TS9 too, use it as a clean boost on my overdrive sound, tightens up the sound and gives a bit of a mid-boost and compression. A tad noisy but is a good little pedal to have in my setup.

Curious to try the Maxon OD808 and hear the difference, alot of American metalcore bands use it i.e Killswitch and makes their attack more punchy on the strings.

I knew someone who had a Digitech Bad Monkey too but they sold it before I could ask to borrow it!! Cool they have a bass control knob to control the low end.
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

If I had my life to live over, I'd get a TS9DX. I think that has pretty much all the mods people really want in a TS9

By the way guys - post some great vids if you know them!
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

Great idea, Ace. I'll add the Soundtank TS-5 - I've had mine since new in the mid-90s - great tone, though the plastic case/switch is pretty flimsy - someday, I'll get around to putting it in a different enclosure...


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Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

I'm embarrassed to say I've never owned a real Tube Screamer. I have a desire to get one, as it's an industry standard. Even though most overdrives are modded Tube Screamers, the flaws in the original are part of the charm. Maybe Mini... :D

Good link on Tube Screamer differences:
http://www.analogman.com/tshist.htm
http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Green_Giant_History_of_the_Tube_Screamer


Regarding the circuit and not the brand...
That being said, my main overdrive is a FullDrive 2, which is essentially a true bypassed, modded TS-808/TS9. The Flat Mids option helps dial in the pedal for more mid-heavy amps, and "clean boost" which is just lifted clipping diodes so the op-Amp still clips. MOSFETs for a different clipping option.

The other one I have is a Wampler Clarksdale. TS-808 circuit, 2 clipping options and Bass & Mid controls. Really versatile for dialing in. Also, the treble control is the regular TS Tone control, rather than a true treble control.
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

I've been wanting a Clarksdale. From the videos I've seen, it looks like it's right up my alley.

I had a Fulldrive 2 for about a week. Couldn't seem to beat it into submission.

I've got a Bad Monkey that I kind of like, though it's hard to remember what it's good on and what it's not because the switch has been broken for so long and I haven't had the time to fix it, plus I'm really bad at soldering.

I have a Maxon OSD9 (Overdrive Soft Distortion). Meh. Maybe I just haven't played with it enough. I have ADD and I get impatient.

I also have have a TS7 that was modded by Analogman that I probably paid way too much for. It doesn't say Tone Lok, but it is one. Don't really care that much for it. Again, probably a lack of patience on my part. I was kinda talked into it by someone who told me how incredible they were. I really should sell it.

I don't know why I don't just get an Ibanez 808 and just get it over with.
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

I've got an MXR Classic OD and an MXR Custom Badass Modified OD. I tend to use the Classic in the Zakk Wyle mode, which is more SD-1 than TS. I go back and forth on the CBAM OD. It's kind of a Green Rhino-lite pedal. It's got the 100Hz knob, and a switch to take out the mid bump. There are times I really like it, but recently it's been sitting on my shelf not being used.

When my old band recorded our debut album, I borrowed a 70's TS808 to use as a lead boost. I enjoyed it a lot, great sound. Not enough to spend that kind of money on one though.

I've thought about the Fulldrive and the Clarksdale a lot. I'm also a big fan of the Paisley Drive, which I believe is slightly based on a TS. Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

I've never owned a TS9 or any of the incarnations claiming to be "the real thing". That said, I think it's a great circuit that I need to get into my life.

I've owned a TS7, and I think it's pretty close to a TS9 RI. The hot switch is nice, crossing the pedal over into distortion territory. Too bad about that footswitch, though.

I've played TS9 reissues, and for whatever it's worth, that's what I've come to accept as the baseline sound of a Tubescreamer. I haven't spent much time with a TS9DX, but I remember thinking that if I were going to spend more than the price of a TS9 reissue, I'd rather spend a little more and get the TS808 RI, which had a smooth sweetness that I really liked.

Now that so many of the dirt pedals available have their design origins in the Tubescreamer, I really don't know where to start. I suppose I could limit my options to Ibanez products, but I might be missing out on some really great choices.

Update: I just bought a Maxon OD-9. Love it. It looks just like a TS9, was made in Japan, has true bypass, and sounds just a little different.

It sounds bigger and rawer yet sweeter and more bell-like. I love how it jumps out when you pick hard then hammer on; it was the only one of the three that never sounded harsh or uncomposed when I did that. It cleans up really well with the guitar volume, still sounding sweet and thick -- a "better than clean" clean. Even at max gain, it's warm and round and brings something that none of my other pedals really do.
 
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Working for an Ibanez dealer, I've tried my fair share of Tubescreamers!

I personally own a 35th Anniversary TS808. Although it uses an ever so slightly different input circuit, it sounds pretty much identical to a standard 808 reissue. I find the 808 smoother than the TS-9. I've had 2 TS-9's and found them adequate, but not quite what I was looking for. I do really love the 808, though.

The new TS808DX with the built in boost is pretty sweet. It's kinda pricey, but it sounds stellar, and it's a great grab-and-go for simple rig.

The TS-9 Mini is fantastic. It's $20 cheaper than the TS-9, and sounds almost identical, and it has true-bypass.

One very overlooked pedal in the Tubescreamer range is the JD-9 Jet Driver. It's got a bit more gain and a mid-control knob. I'm not sure how similar the circuit actually is to the TS-9, but you can certainly get tubescreamer tones, and the used prices are pretty fantastic!

Great non-Ibanez Tubescreamer pedals I have enjoyed:
Duncan 805 (Really killer if you're looking for the 808 sound with a 3 band eq)
Digitech Bad Monkey
Onner Carbon-X (Brazillian company, TS-9 tones)
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

I have a TS-7, best $20 I've ever spent. I also have a GFS Twin Boost, which is an 808 and a TS-9 in the same pedal.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

Honorable mention goes to the Nobels ODR-1 for being a green overdrive pedal (and having almost nothing in common apart from that with a tube screamer).
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

I have a Way Huge Green Rhino. Not a fan of the sound, myself. It is probably my least-used effect pedal...
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

Never knew that's what the Jet driver is Screamer with a mid knob….that's COOL!
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

Ome on guys - bring the non-Ibanez screamer love. I know a bunch of you have them.
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

I've tried a number of tubescreamers and clones over the years, and kept on turning-over - selling and buying - for curiosity's sake. Not that I have a discriminating ear; just wanted to see what was different between a plain-jane TS and clones.

Currently have the following, and have finally decided to whittle these down within the next 3 months to a pair I want to keep:

- Arion Tubulator: very low gain, plastic casing, weak pots
- MI Effects Super Blues Pro: swiss knife of tubescreamers; offers too many options including a slight fuzz
- Ibanez TS Mini: small footprint is great
- VS Route 808: offers more gain than a standard 808; plus a bass boost; oversized casing
- VS VS-XO: more tweakable than the Route 808; including a clean boost/blend; added bass boost settings; and 3 clipping options, the middle one of which sounds like the Route 808

I'm wishing I had one with a mids eq knob like the SD 805, but I think it's about time I choose and settle down with 1-2 of the above. Probably the VS-XO because of its flexibility, and the TS Mini because of its size.

I've gone thru some others: TS 808 RI, Maxon OD-808, Boss SD-1, MI Audio Blues Pro, Bad Monkey, FD2 Mosfet 10th Anniversary, TS-5, MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe, Mooer Green Mile, Joyo Vintage Od, BYOC OD-2. In all honesty and to my hearing, one would be as good as the other in a band mix. Only the FD2's uncompressed and FM settings stood out as anything above the norm.
 
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I hate to sound like a broken record because I have been droning on about this pedal. I get a great Tube Screamer sound with my Dirt Clod. This is the first time I have used anything that mimics a green box and it is pretty cool. It is great for a bit of bump on the JCM 2000 CLASSIC channel. However, I do like the option to switch over to a diode to ground cuircut when I want more grind out of my gain. The TS sound wouldn't be my first choice but it is nice to have it as an option.
 
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread

I have a TS7, and a Bad Monkey (I plug the amp into the mixer output). But my favorite is the 805. It has more gain range than the typical TS pedal, with 3 band active EQ. It solves the 'missing' bass problem and 'too many mids' issues with normal TS-type pedals.
 
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