Best tubescreamer?

m1ck1970

Whats the best tubescreamer?
What's everybody using?
All opinions welcome  

munckee

I'm using a joyo vintage overdrive after watching endless comparison videos and not being able to tell the difference.  I find TSs change the sound a bit too much to use as a boost so I use a joyo sweet baby overdrive as a boost and both for more gain.  Total cost £33

fastonebaz

I've used  maxon od808 for years.  Love it 

Maynehead

I've not actually tried an Ibanez Tube Screamer, but I'm using an EHX Soul Food with the level up and drive down. It's got plenty of juice in the level control so you can get more boost than a regular TS, plus it doesn't attenuate your highs and lows as much as a TS.

I did have a Joyo Vintage Overdrive before that, but found it a bit harsh and raspy. The Soul Food is a bit more rounded in its tone.

relic245

m1ck1970 said:

Whats the best tubescreamer?

No such beast. 

A better question would be what is the best tubescreamer for you? It will depend on your guitar, your amp and the sounds you want to hear and how much you re willing to spend. 

At the moment you are likely to get answers to 2 different questions, probably neither are what you want. 
Instead of answering your question, people are likely to answer 1 of these 2 instead:

What tubescreamer are you using?
What tubescreame do you have for sale?

stickyfiddle

Ninevolt/Animal Surfing Bear for me. I’ve never actually tried a real Ibanez one but the SB sounds good and has a picture of a bear on it

Kebabkid

I use a Keeley modded TS-808. However, if you buy the JHS Bonsai, it's got various Tubescreamers in it, 9 to be precise, and costs roughly about the same price as the more high end, single ones.

OD-1 - 1977
An overall brighter and slightly higher gain mode that does not utilize the Tone knob. This mode also inverts signal just like the original and has asymmetrical clipping. The OD-1 is magical at boosting other drives or amps into singing saturation.

TS-808 - 1979
The classic low gain with that signature pronounced mid range.

TS-9 - 1982
Nearly identical to the TS-808 but with a slightly more pushed low-mid range.

MSL, Power or L Series - 1985
Though metal is in the name, this sound doesn’t quite inspire the modern metal djent we think of.  Still it has a higher gain sound with a more low end and an overall more gooey feel.

TS-10 - 1986
Made famous by John Mayer, this model is a slight upgrade from the TS9 for the late ’80s. Bluesy, crisp, more low end roll off and low gain.

Exar OD-1 1989
The EXAR is a Polish made TS-style pedal that has a slightly different drive character with a little more gain than the classic screamers as well as a slightly more transparent feel.

TS-7 (+mode) - 1999
The hot mode on this version gives you the highest gain sound in the Bonsai. More low end and dirt fill out the tone to have you shredding away.

Keeley Mod Plus - 2002
Robert Keeley’s classic mod tightens up the tone on the original giving you smoother mid range and high frequencies, and increased bass response.

JHS Strong Mod - 2008
Our own mod we’ve been doing since 2008 is much cleaner and overall more powerful. The mode has more pronounced higher and low end drop offs.

 Having said that, the Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini sounds really great and is just over £50

joeyowen

m1ck1970 said:

Whats the best tubescreamer?
What's everybody using?
All opinions welcome  

Bonsai by JHS does a lot of TS versions!

ICBM

TS-9. It has the classic TS sound and look but with a more reliable switch and a better power socket than the 808.

9s and 808s sound identical, other than the component tolerance/drift variance between individual examples - you can prove it with a switch to select the two different buffer resistor values if you want. (Assuming the chips are the same - there have been a couple of different ones in older TS-9s.)

prlgmnr

I like the Green Rhino because you can control the amount of low-end roll-off.

Jota

I'm using the one on my Boss MS-3.

Freaking love that. Almost bought a TS-9 a few days ago but I don't really need another TS.

p90fool

It depends on your amp. I owned a TS-808 from 1980 until a year or so ago and it was great with big non-MV Marshalls, but fell out of use when I started gigging with combos. 

If I want a TS tone now I just use a Bad Monkey. 

nick79

TS9 Mini. Does the job. 

spirit7

Hudson Sidecar.

stratman3142

I'm very happy with my Maxon OD9, but I haven't directly compared it to other Tubescreamers.

timbuk02

MI Effects Super Blues Pro for me. The clipping options and EQ give so much more than just the TS sound.

And means you can dial in most any guitar/amp - as this JustNick demo explains

duotone

Didn’t know that SRV used the TS-10 model.

https://youtu.be/OtS-2TP0AZs

ICBM

duotone said:

Didn’t know that SRV used the TS-10 model.

https://youtu.be/OtS-2TP0AZs

SRV used all three models. As far as I know he started with two 808s, then - presumably when one broke - an 808 and a 9, then finally a 9 and a 10, probably when the other 808 died.

“The good news is” they were able to get the original 808 switches remade... the bad news is they’re still shit. And all three models have circuit boards - in fact the 808 and 9 boards are identical.

The funny thing is the video shows a TS-9 at the start, and he’s holding one .

abw1989

I've got the EHX East River Drive. It's meant to have the same chip as one of the original Tubescreamers for extra original Tubescreamer-y-ness....

I got it because I wanted something TS-esque and this was a great sounding one for my amp at a very reasonable price. I use it with the gain almost rolled off and the volume cranked, with the tone around 11 o'clock.

Octafish

abw1989 said:

I've got the EHX East River Drive. It's meant to have the same chip as one of the original Tubescreamers for extra original Tubescreamer-y-ness....

I got it because I wanted something TS-esque and this was a great sounding one for my amp at a very reasonable price. I use it with the gain almost rolled off and the volume cranked, with the tone around 11 o'clock.

The East River Drive is a TS clone - so it's basically the same circuit. It uses the still readily available 4558 chip that most TSs, TS clones and many other pedals have and do use. As with these things there's a lot of mojo myth about the early 4558 chips, but I think most in the know (such as Analogman) argue there's no difference between original chips and currently produced ones. The TS circuit is far more important to the creating the TS sound than the 4558 chip.

DrCornelius

No-one mentioned the bad monkey yet ?