The Truth About Tube Screamers

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

As a standalone unit, I'm pretty much in the camp of "they suck". I've never liked most stompers as the whole source of gain....

However, an already cranked NMV or 800, goosed with a TS9 or SD-1 (level full,gain about 9 oclock, tone to taste), IMO is a great lead sound...to my ears the SD1 is a little crunchier and does not have as much high mids as the TS.. the TS9 is a bit more compressed...and it's almost like a Duncan JB with the extra high mids...it really cuts through nice for a solo, but the bottom end is def hacked off...the SD1 is a little bit fatter cos it seems to retain more low mids, though it too thins things out a bit

I had one of the TS10s I guess? the late 80s green version...as well as a reissue TS9 when they firts arrived... They both sounded pretty much the same to me...

The old late 80s Ibanez Disortion Charger (not the Metal Charger) was also a good box...

My whole prob with Ibanez peds has always been reliability...the switch always dies

Sounds just like you mimicked what I wrote earlier about the pedals Jeff? :laugh2:

Yes the SD1 is crunchy and tight and the TS series has a mid spike,is smoother,has less gain,and is compressed at high drive settings.....Lacks enough lowend balls when stomped on also..

 

[tone4days]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

Anyone here besides me get to play the new, unreleased, Duncan SFX-03? Quite yummy.

was alot of fun to play it at UGD ... can't wait to see them on the streets .. curious as to how they'll be priced .. especially compared to what one can score a V twin for ... and the new womanizer / demonizer by Damage Control that were reviewed in the GP issue with EJ on the cover ...

good times for gear junkies like us!!

t4d

 

[ErikH]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

They are very similar....Notice the tone stack set resistor values and that the TS has that 51pf cap across the diodes(Smoothing cap)....The difference in the way both pedals clip is something we not only hear but feel also....The SD1 also has a .01 cap in the circuit that the TS9 lacks in the early stages of the pedal's gain....

The Valvetone schematic is in fact identical though....

The tone stack, diodes and the diode smoothing cap stick out to me right away. I have to look close from beginning to end to see the other differences.

Making a clone yourself isn't all that hard at all either, if you know what you're doing. I did one last month on the breadboard using a dual IC. No tone control or gain control though. That's all preset but they can be added if you want it.

 

[ErikH]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

Just how many TS's are there? TS5, TS7, TS9, TS808 are the ones from Ibanez. Then, Maxon has the "original" TS808, right? I'm sure that there are more.

There's also the TS10, the Soundtanks, and everything Maxon did. Actually, Maxon makes the Ibanez line. Maxon's being the higher quality. Then there's the bazillion and one clones out there.

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

When I started playing out a lot, I used distortion pedals as a way to give my sound a swift kick in the nuts. I think I started on Boss pedals (I think it was a DS-1) and went through as many different pedals I could get my hands on. I don't think I truly appreciated how bad all these pedals were until it was time to record- from the Chandler Tube Driver to the Tube Screamer they ate up what was there and put out what they wanted to put out. I was using a Gibson Falcon combo amp- and it needed a little goosing for the sound I wanted. No pedal I found gave the good goosing- and still retained the character of that amp.

Since then, I've learned to appreciate what the pedals actually do, rather than to expect a pedal to do what it claims to do.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

Skarekrough, are you getting what you wanted? :laugh2:

For the most part, yeah.

Analogmans page regarding Tube Screamers helped me out alot.

The problem with it is that it talks alot about them in a manner than can be hard to discern alot of the other TS pedals in the mix.

I'm thinking I may try and put a chart together with the TS pedals. The concept is for it to act as a quick reference in a manner of telling them apart quickly for the uninitiated as well as being more roundly farmiliar with the intracicies of them and what folks typically change them to and for what reasons.

Tons of great info here though....

 

[Mincer]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

I'm curious that there's only one mention of the TS-7 here. Out of the box, it was pretty awful - thin sounding, psycho bees, etc. - and the "Hot" switch just made it worse.

John was nice enough to tweak the little beastie, and we both got a nice surprise: pretty close to "traditional" 808 tone in standard mode and the "Hot" switch adds more gain with nice character of its own. The basic box is pretty solid.

Just wondering why so few people seem to tweak these...

Chip

P.S. Thanks again to John for this pedal & the DS-1

I never tweaked mine, because I never got that sound from it. Maybe it is my setup, but I love the way this pedal sounds. I would never describe it as thin. As to why they arent popular- well, SRV didn't use it.
Its all marketing- people will gladly pay 2-3 times the cost of a TS7 for an 808.

 

[Guitar Toad]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

Is the TS5 just something cheap to compete with the Danoelectro FAB's?

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

Is the TS5 just something cheap to compete with the Danoelectro FAB's?

Nope.....It's the identical circuit to the TS9 but made in Taiwan with cheaper components and 1/8 watt resistors in a plastic housing....Not a bad sounding pedal and it came out in between the 1983 Original TS9 and the reissue TS9s of 1993...It's only real problem is a crappy switch,but the pedal has the TS tone otherwise..

 

[Curly]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

Analogmans page regarding Tube Screamers helped me out alot.

The problem with it is that it talks alot about them in a manner than can be hard to discern alot of the other TS pedals in the mix.

I'm thinking I may try and put a chart together with the TS pedals. The concept is for it to act as a quick reference in a manner of telling them apart quickly for the uninitiated as well as being more roundly farmiliar with the intracicies of them and what folks typically change them to and for what reasons.

try checking Jacque's page at ts808.com for more info on the vintage pedals

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

try checking Jacque's page at ts808.com for more info on the vintage pedals

Curly....Have you wanked through that MK2 TB yet? You're killing me! LOL....Hope you're feeling better now also?:beerchug:

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

Stratdeluxer - Any idea where I could find a schematic on how to convert my TS-5 to true bypass (I know I'll have to change the box and add a DPDT stomp switch). Are there any tricks to eliminate the pop when switching?

 

[Bludave]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

So, in the past few years I've become slightly obsessed with Tube Screamers and the minor (but sometimes major) variations on them. They're legendary pedals but I tend to find alot of information about them is typically a little off, and often embellished or fudged for the sake of making a sale.

I'd like this thread to really cover the truths about them; what the real vintage Tube Screamers are, what the variations on the market consist of and their differences to the original, and also the slew of mods that can be done to them. Are the vintage ones really worth the dough? Are the reissues true to the originals, and if not what is it that makes them different? Is one of the "lesser" Tube Screamers an acceptable pedal out of the box or does it really require modding?

We've got some great experts on tap here at the SD forum, as well as alot of folks who know a little. I'm hoping we can put all of the information we have together and get some real positive references out of it.

I own 2 TS9's. One is a stock RI and I use this in a '68 Super Reverb. The other is a RI that Stratdeluxer97 modded for me and I use this in a '67 Deluxe Reverb. Both of these Tubescreamers are excellent...... a lot of it has to do with the AMp you are using them in. I use the modded TS9 in my Deluxe because the bottom is so much better than the unmodded version and a Deluxe can stand a little help in the bottom. With my Super Reverb I prefer the unmodded TS9 mainly because with 4 10" speakers the bottom is already pretty thick. What John stated in his post is correct the Stock TS9RI do not have as much gain as the modded one does and the bottom is thin by comparison. I have experimented with both of these pedals in a Marshall (I have a 900 combo) If I use it in the clean channel it works beautiful in the drive channel I felt it lacked a little, so I have elected to go in a different direction. Keep in mind a 900 has plenty of gain so I really don't need more. I like both of my tubescreamers, but I use them quite differently. The Modded TS9 I use to slightly icrease volume and add a little more sustain in my DR. In the Super the unmodded TS9RI I use more like a channel switch. The AMp is set for a real clean sound and I run the gain at about75% to give it a boost in vlome and some real balls. Johns mods are extremely good. I would recommend you speak with him about it. HIs modded pedal is a lot more ballsy than my stock pedal is. Th bottom is also much stronger, but in a very usable way. A stock TS9... in the right amp is an excellent OD pedal in its own way! Johns mods simply put make a good pedal a whole lot better!

 

[rhmcfarland]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

Like others, I never found the tubescreamer to be that great of a sound. I got frustrated trying to dial it in. I'm a tube amp kinda guy, and when I came across the BSM trebleboosters, and later the Lovepedal lineup, I never looked back. It would be interesting, however, to check out the Maxon OD820, which I think runs at 18vdc.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

try checking Jacque's page at ts808.com for more info on the vintage pedals

God as my witness I tried to follow where that guy was going with things and couldn't for the life of me get there....

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

I own 2 TS9's. One is a stock RI and I use this in a '68 Super Reverb. The other is a RI that Stratdeluxer97 modded for me and I use this in a '67 Deluxe Reverb. Both of these Tubescreamers are excellent...... a lot of it has to do with the AMp you are using them in. I use the modded TS9 in my Deluxe because the bottom is so much better than the unmodded version and a Deluxe can stand a little help in the bottom. With my Super Reverb I prefer the unmodded TS9 mainly because with 4 10" speakers the bottom is already pretty thick. What John stated in his post is correct the Stock TS9RI do not have as much gain as the modded one does and the bottom is thin by comparison. I have experimented with both of these pedals in a Marshall (I have a 900 combo) If I use it in the clean channel it works beautiful in the drive channel I felt it lacked a little, so I have elected to go in a different direction. Keep in mind a 900 has plenty of gain so I really don't need more. I like both of my tubescreamers, but I use them quite differently. The Modded TS9 I use to slightly icrease volume and add a little more sustain in my DR. In the Super the unmodded TS9RI I use more like a channel switch. The AMp is set for a real clean sound and I run the gain at about75% to give it a boost in vlome and some real balls. Johns mods are extremely good. I would recommend you speak with him about it. HIs modded pedal is a lot more ballsy than my stock pedal is. Th bottom is also much stronger, but in a very usable way. A stock TS9... in the right amp is an excellent OD pedal in its own way! Johns mods simply put make a good pedal a whole lot better!

Hello Dave.....Great post as always and always appreciate the comments regarding the mods....Thanks again buddy.:beerchug:

 

[neosadist]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

So, in the past few years I've become slightly obsessed with Tube Screamers and the minor (but sometimes major) variations on them. They're legendary pedals but I tend to find alot of information about them is typically a little off, and often embellished or fudged for the sake of making a sale. I'd like this thread to really cover the truths about them; what the real vintage Tube Screamers are, what the variations on the market consist of and their differences to the original, and also the slew of mods that can be done to them. Are the vintage ones really worth the dough? Are the reissues true to the originals, and if not what is it that makes them different? Is one of the "lesser" Tube Screamers an acceptable pedal out of the box or does it really require modding? We've got some great experts on tap here at the SD forum, as well as alot of folks who know a little. I'm hoping we can put all of the information we have together and get some real positive references out of it.

My rhythm player has one and uses it. To me, they're just another tube-based overdrive pedal. To me, the way to find out what a pedal is about is to take it apart and find the electrical schematics. But hey, have fun.

 

[Curly]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

It would be interesting, however, to check out the Maxon OD820, which I think runs at 18vdc.

The OD 820 is very nice, IMO. It's hand built, a little more transparent than other TSs, and yes, it runs at 18 volts. I guess it's kind of an ultimate Tubescreamer.

God as my witness I tried to follow where that guy was going with things and couldn't for the life of me get there....

maybe it's the French syntax ?

anyway, his site is fairly full of TS info, and I think he did a decent job of differentiating the different chips

I read his site one day and realized the used TS9 I'd bought was actually an original '83.

For a reasonably priced TS that doesn't really need a mod, I like the Maxon OD808. It's nice and small and light, too - good for the pedal board.

 

[JeffB]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

Sounds just like you mimicked what I wrote earlier about the pedals Jeff? :laugh2:

Yes the SD1 is crunchy and tight and the TS series has a mid spike,is smoother,has less gain,and is compressed at high drive settings.....Lacks enough lowend balls when stomped on also..

I m often guilty of not reading an entire thread before posting, and in this case it was no different....it was pretty much a carbon copy of what you said, sorry about that :laugh2:

 

[Grandor]

Re: The Truth About Tube Screamers

I have a Spina SD-1. It is the key ingredient to my tone (and I've had lots of complements from people from guitarists to bassists to sound guys).

The spina SD-1 is smooth and complements the dual rectifier's orange channel with the gain on about 11:30 veeery nicely.