The Official Green Overdrive Thread
- Thread starter Aceman
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Gearjoneser
Gear Ho
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
I've owned a lot of OD pedals over the years, and many just to have "definitive classics" so I can gauge everything else off of them.
First of all, when people say "tube screamer variants" they're automatically talking about something that is no longer a Tube Screamer circuit. Anytime you change components in a classic circuit, it ceases to be that circuit.
I guess "variant" is a fair way to describe a modified version of an original, but in reality it becomes another pedal, for better or worse. For example....when you gain one thing, you lose another, such as a bigger bottom end may pull away some of the flutey mids that the original had. More gain may equal a thinner sound with more compression, and visa versa.
Some of the TS inspired pedals I've had were Fulltone FDII orange #14, and one pedal I kick myself for selling.
I also had an early blue FDII and the cream Custom Shop version. I still think the first and second revision of the orange FDII was one of the best TS type pedals I've ever heard.
HBE Power Screamer.....another really fat and dynamic TS. T Rex Alberta, another nice one. Then, onto the T Rex Moller, a dual mode, which had more control over the clean/dist mix, as well as a neutral clean boost button, but the TS side just didn't sound open enough....kinda flat.
The Way Huge Green Rhino may technically be a variant, but it sounds like a completely different circuit to me.
It's got fat bloated lows, has big low mid emphasis, and buttery highs......a great pedal, but doesn't have the high mid character of a real TS. My newest pedal is a variant of the Green Rhino....the WH Overrated Special.
It's sort of a bolder punchier and open sounding Green Rhino, making it yet another pedal altogether. Love it though.
In the end, I decided that I like Tube Screamers for single coils going into Fender amps. For humbuckers into Marshalls, I stick with pedals that are MXR Classic OD/Boss SD-1 types. My new Overrated Special is killer into Marshalls, as is my Barber LTD. I no longer plug any Tube Screamer into gainy Marshalls.....clean Fenders only.
Overall, after owning an original TS-9, original TS808, and reissue TS808.....plus all the above, I decided that I wanted one true Ibanez Tube Screamer for when I want that EXACT sound, and as a reference point to all those variants that claim to be better. I got my hands on a TS808HW, the one with an actual PtoP turret board inside and mil-spec components and soldering. It's essentially a TS808 with maximum headroom and openness in it's sound. It's actually something that's easier to feel than to hear, just as with many quality made items.
Original orange Fulldrive 2 (no pullup comp cut, no switches) Why did I sell it???
I've owned a lot of OD pedals over the years, and many just to have "definitive classics" so I can gauge everything else off of them.
First of all, when people say "tube screamer variants" they're automatically talking about something that is no longer a Tube Screamer circuit. Anytime you change components in a classic circuit, it ceases to be that circuit.
I guess "variant" is a fair way to describe a modified version of an original, but in reality it becomes another pedal, for better or worse. For example....when you gain one thing, you lose another, such as a bigger bottom end may pull away some of the flutey mids that the original had. More gain may equal a thinner sound with more compression, and visa versa.
Some of the TS inspired pedals I've had were Fulltone FDII orange #14, and one pedal I kick myself for selling.
I also had an early blue FDII and the cream Custom Shop version. I still think the first and second revision of the orange FDII was one of the best TS type pedals I've ever heard.
HBE Power Screamer.....another really fat and dynamic TS. T Rex Alberta, another nice one. Then, onto the T Rex Moller, a dual mode, which had more control over the clean/dist mix, as well as a neutral clean boost button, but the TS side just didn't sound open enough....kinda flat.
The Way Huge Green Rhino may technically be a variant, but it sounds like a completely different circuit to me.
It's got fat bloated lows, has big low mid emphasis, and buttery highs......a great pedal, but doesn't have the high mid character of a real TS. My newest pedal is a variant of the Green Rhino....the WH Overrated Special.
It's sort of a bolder punchier and open sounding Green Rhino, making it yet another pedal altogether. Love it though.
In the end, I decided that I like Tube Screamers for single coils going into Fender amps. For humbuckers into Marshalls, I stick with pedals that are MXR Classic OD/Boss SD-1 types. My new Overrated Special is killer into Marshalls, as is my Barber LTD. I no longer plug any Tube Screamer into gainy Marshalls.....clean Fenders only.
Overall, after owning an original TS-9, original TS808, and reissue TS808.....plus all the above, I decided that I wanted one true Ibanez Tube Screamer for when I want that EXACT sound, and as a reference point to all those variants that claim to be better. I got my hands on a TS808HW, the one with an actual PtoP turret board inside and mil-spec components and soldering. It's essentially a TS808 with maximum headroom and openness in it's sound. It's actually something that's easier to feel than to hear, just as with many quality made items.
Original orange Fulldrive 2 (no pullup comp cut, no switches) Why did I sell it???
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Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
Gearjoneser
Gear Ho
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
My user name was actually a nickname given to me by other musicians. LOL
My user name was actually a nickname given to me by other musicians. LOL
Gearjoneser
Gear Ho
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
Put them in an A/B test, and you'll see they're nothing like each other, even though the GR is supposed to be a TS variant.
That's the one point I want to make in this thread. If it's not the exact Ibanez TS, you don't have a Tube Screamer. You have another pedal. I've heard enough pedals to know this is a fact.
Put them in an A/B test, and you'll see they're nothing like each other, even though the GR is supposed to be a TS variant.
That's the one point I want to make in this thread. If it's not the exact Ibanez TS, you don't have a Tube Screamer. You have another pedal. I've heard enough pedals to know this is a fact.
Nostalgic Distortion
New member
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
View attachment 71280
I've got a TS9, but someone stuck it in this amp & I can't figure out how to get it out??? I keep pulling & pulling but nothing! Maybe I should try spitting on it first??? Lol!!! The TSA's are great amps, I absolutely love mine and I'll run it into the ground before I'd sell it but the actual Tube Screamer circuit inside kinda sucks??? It's nothing like any of the pedals IMHO.....
The only other Green Machine I've got is my Maxon 808 and its been the only one I've ever needed. I've got a dozen or so different Klon type O.D.'s & that's the kind of O.D. I typically gravitate towards but when I do need a little TS flavor that's what I grab & like its was mentioned before it's normally when I'm running S.C.'s into one of my Fenders or the TSA15 which is actually quite Fender-esq in nature? Actually if it had reverb onboard I bet nobody could tell the difference between it & a Blackface. I run a Polara through the loop set with the level around 4 & always on, on the spring setting its quite easy to fool yourself....
View attachment 71280
I've got a TS9, but someone stuck it in this amp & I can't figure out how to get it out??? I keep pulling & pulling but nothing! Maybe I should try spitting on it first??? Lol!!! The TSA's are great amps, I absolutely love mine and I'll run it into the ground before I'd sell it but the actual Tube Screamer circuit inside kinda sucks??? It's nothing like any of the pedals IMHO.....
The only other Green Machine I've got is my Maxon 808 and its been the only one I've ever needed. I've got a dozen or so different Klon type O.D.'s & that's the kind of O.D. I typically gravitate towards but when I do need a little TS flavor that's what I grab & like its was mentioned before it's normally when I'm running S.C.'s into one of my Fenders or the TSA15 which is actually quite Fender-esq in nature? Actually if it had reverb onboard I bet nobody could tell the difference between it & a Blackface. I run a Polara through the loop set with the level around 4 & always on, on the spring setting its quite easy to fool yourself....
Nacho8807
New member
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
I have a reissue TS808 from about 2006 or so. It was one of my first pedals, and it's definitely the one that's stuck around the longest, and been used the most. In fact, a while ago I was trying to get away from it and use something else, but when I came back to it I wondered what made me ever take it off my board in the first place. It doesn't get too gainy at the max drive setting, or too clean at the minimum, which can be a good or bad thing depending on your tastes. The low end isn't completely cut out like some other TS types do it seems, so if you want super tight bass for the chugs and the djent, something else might be a little better.
I have used the MXR Zakk Wylde OD as well (which I think is basically a modded SD-1, which itself is a variant on the TS circuit). It was a great pedal, and would be my number 2 choice. It has a very large gain range, and is perfectly tuned IMO for being a boost before a dirty amp for metal. The bass stays tight, and the mids aren't pushed too hard. You can run it very clean or make it clip really hard, and give even a moderately driven amp a really chunky, aggressive distortion.
I also have a Boss SD-1 with a C6 mod or something like that, and it's ok. The mids are more pushed than the MXR, and has less gain on tap. It has more bass cut than the TS808, but the overall tone just isn't as pleasing. It's like overdrive for the sake of overdrive.
That's my TS experience.
I have a reissue TS808 from about 2006 or so. It was one of my first pedals, and it's definitely the one that's stuck around the longest, and been used the most. In fact, a while ago I was trying to get away from it and use something else, but when I came back to it I wondered what made me ever take it off my board in the first place. It doesn't get too gainy at the max drive setting, or too clean at the minimum, which can be a good or bad thing depending on your tastes. The low end isn't completely cut out like some other TS types do it seems, so if you want super tight bass for the chugs and the djent, something else might be a little better.
I have used the MXR Zakk Wylde OD as well (which I think is basically a modded SD-1, which itself is a variant on the TS circuit). It was a great pedal, and would be my number 2 choice. It has a very large gain range, and is perfectly tuned IMO for being a boost before a dirty amp for metal. The bass stays tight, and the mids aren't pushed too hard. You can run it very clean or make it clip really hard, and give even a moderately driven amp a really chunky, aggressive distortion.
I also have a Boss SD-1 with a C6 mod or something like that, and it's ok. The mids are more pushed than the MXR, and has less gain on tap. It has more bass cut than the TS808, but the overall tone just isn't as pleasing. It's like overdrive for the sake of overdrive.
That's my TS experience.
ThisDyingSoul76
New member
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
I like TS-808 based circuit of the older Visual Sound pedals, especially the V2 series version found in duplicate in the Double Trouble, the Jeckyl side of the V2 version of the Jeckyl and Hyde or the OD side of the V2 Route 66 (which can be found as a standalone version called the Route 808).
It's got a bass boost, a ton more output than the original (and most 808 clones) and I just like the mid bump of it. The newer Truetone versions of the above mentioned pedals have a different circuit but the TS style mid bump can still be dialled in from what the guys at the company have told me.
I like TS-808 based circuit of the older Visual Sound pedals, especially the V2 series version found in duplicate in the Double Trouble, the Jeckyl side of the V2 version of the Jeckyl and Hyde or the OD side of the V2 Route 66 (which can be found as a standalone version called the Route 808).
It's got a bass boost, a ton more output than the original (and most 808 clones) and I just like the mid bump of it. The newer Truetone versions of the above mentioned pedals have a different circuit but the TS style mid bump can still be dialled in from what the guys at the company have told me.
hydro
Prayin' to Cheeses
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
Analog man silver mod TS-9
Used mostly as a boost.
I have a King of Tone on my main board. I love that pedal but there's a "something" that the modded TS-9 has that it doesn't have. To the point that I may go back to the TS-9.... The TS-9 is just a little bit angrier...
Analog man silver mod TS-9
Used mostly as a boost.
I have a King of Tone on my main board. I love that pedal but there's a "something" that the modded TS-9 has that it doesn't have. To the point that I may go back to the TS-9.... The TS-9 is just a little bit angrier...
vegetablejoe
New member
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
TSA in black tolex! That's nice! Mine is in white; and it got dirty really quickly.
TSA in black tolex! That's nice! Mine is in white; and it got dirty really quickly.
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
My experience with Tubescreamers consists mainly of the Jekyll side of the Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde V2 pedal, which is a TS808 replica. I've also borrowed a good friend's Ibanez reissue TS808 as well for about 6 months.
I know many love the Tubescreamer sound, but as a stand alone pedal, I hated it. No matter how much I tweaked it, it just sounded like it had too much of the clean amp mixed into it, and the words "soft", "undefined", and "mushy" come to mind. Maybe that sound just isn't for me, I'm not sure.
As a boost, however, it did the job extremely well, whether for a dirty amp or another pedal. It sounded particularly awesome in series with the Hyde side of the pedal or with my Marshall breaking up.
My experience with Tubescreamers consists mainly of the Jekyll side of the Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde V2 pedal, which is a TS808 replica. I've also borrowed a good friend's Ibanez reissue TS808 as well for about 6 months.
I know many love the Tubescreamer sound, but as a stand alone pedal, I hated it. No matter how much I tweaked it, it just sounded like it had too much of the clean amp mixed into it, and the words "soft", "undefined", and "mushy" come to mind. Maybe that sound just isn't for me, I'm not sure.
As a boost, however, it did the job extremely well, whether for a dirty amp or another pedal. It sounded particularly awesome in series with the Hyde side of the pedal or with my Marshall breaking up.
Vasshu the humanoid typhoon
Unseen
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
Had everything from TS-808, TS-9, TS-10..and a few others....time passes...
Made one or two variations myself.
Have a Hardwire CM-2 now....it is for sale though.
Had everything from TS-808, TS-9, TS-10..and a few others....time passes...
Made one or two variations myself.
Have a Hardwire CM-2 now....it is for sale though.
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
I wanted a good old TS9 but could not buy one at the time.
But then, I saw a Joyo Vintage (or Harley Benton, actually) and was tempted to buy it immediately !
And in the process of trying out different things, I found my favorite: Donner Blues Drive...!
So much transparency and flexibility. And it does exactly what I was actually looking for. Not the best in the world, but what I needed.
I wanted a good old TS9 but could not buy one at the time.
But then, I saw a Joyo Vintage (or Harley Benton, actually) and was tempted to buy it immediately !
And in the process of trying out different things, I found my favorite: Donner Blues Drive...!
So much transparency and flexibility. And it does exactly what I was actually looking for. Not the best in the world, but what I needed.
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ThisDyingSoul76
New member
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
"My experience with Tubescreamers consists mainly of the Jekyll side of the Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde V2 pedal, which is a TS808 replica. I've also borrowed a good friend's Ibanez reissue TS808 as well for about 6 months.
I know many love the Tubescreamer sound, but as a stand alone pedal, I hated it. No matter how much I tweaked it, it just sounded like it had too much of the clean amp mixed into it, and the words "soft", "undefined", and "mushy" come to mind. Maybe that sound just isn't for me, I'm not sure.
As a boost, however, it did the job extremely well, whether for a dirty amp or another pedal. It sounded particularly awesome in series with the Hyde side of the pedal or with my Marshall breaking up."
Very true... Most people usually use it as a boost or at least blend the TS dirt with something else. I like the TS's gain sound for solos as a standalone pedal but find myself typically using it as a boost. I have the Visual Sound Double Trouble, which is the same OD circuit in the Jeckyl and Hyde x2. I set the right side as a boost and the left side with moderate gain and the volume just over unity. I rarely use them together but when I do the boost is driving the other 808 circuit hard. Supposedly this is his SRV used his TS's during the phase where he was using 2 of them.
"My experience with Tubescreamers consists mainly of the Jekyll side of the Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde V2 pedal, which is a TS808 replica. I've also borrowed a good friend's Ibanez reissue TS808 as well for about 6 months.
I know many love the Tubescreamer sound, but as a stand alone pedal, I hated it. No matter how much I tweaked it, it just sounded like it had too much of the clean amp mixed into it, and the words "soft", "undefined", and "mushy" come to mind. Maybe that sound just isn't for me, I'm not sure.
As a boost, however, it did the job extremely well, whether for a dirty amp or another pedal. It sounded particularly awesome in series with the Hyde side of the pedal or with my Marshall breaking up."
Very true... Most people usually use it as a boost or at least blend the TS dirt with something else. I like the TS's gain sound for solos as a standalone pedal but find myself typically using it as a boost. I have the Visual Sound Double Trouble, which is the same OD circuit in the Jeckyl and Hyde x2. I set the right side as a boost and the left side with moderate gain and the volume just over unity. I rarely use them together but when I do the boost is driving the other 808 circuit hard. Supposedly this is his SRV used his TS's during the phase where he was using 2 of them.
L
Little Pigbacon
Guest
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
I reckon maybe I'll git me one of them Toobs Creamers. This weekend!
I reckon maybe I'll git me one of them Toobs Creamers. This weekend!
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
I had a TS-5 too, but the switch was funky. Also, A Hardwire Overdrive as well, but it didn't sound significantly different than the others I had (maybe a bit more open). I built a BYOC Overdrive II as well, but the clipping is more aggressive, almost like a distortion pedal.
I had a TS-5 too, but the switch was funky. Also, A Hardwire Overdrive as well, but it didn't sound significantly different than the others I had (maybe a bit more open). I built a BYOC Overdrive II as well, but the clipping is more aggressive, almost like a distortion pedal.
L
Little Pigbacon
Guest
Re: The Official Green Overdrive Thread
I played some tube screamers tonight. I didn't completely make up my mind, and I'm planning to go play them all again.
Would it be weird if I liked the TS9?
I played some tube screamers tonight. I didn't completely make up my mind, and I'm planning to go play them all again.
Would it be weird if I liked the TS9?
