Best tubescreamer?

Reverend

The bad monkey sounds amazing into a 2203. In fact it sounded heavier that a Maxon 808 when we compared them in sound check 

monquixote

I wouldn't bother getting spendy on a unicorn tears boutique one.

An ibanez mini will do the job as well as anything.

If you want a few options the red dirt mini has a few tweaks and the badass od has a bass control which is handy for dialing it in.

NorthernStomps

Having used the Hudson sidecar, id say you would be doing yourself a massive favour by getting one 

TTBZ

Anything, they all sound the bloody same. Not a criticism because it's a useful sound. For something a bit different the Hardwire CM2 is great, bass and treble controls give you a bit more variation in tone. However I sold mine as I found I was basically setting it to sound the same as a normal tubescreamer anyway, which I already have.

dilbert

I have a Kokko overdrive on my mini board and and Bad Monkey on a full size version. They both do everything you expect of a green machine and the Kokko at <£14 is the bargain of the century.  

impmann

ICBM said:

EricTheWeary said:

I know when we’ve got into this before there have been multiple pictures of SRV’s settings which show it both ways. 

He had a bunch of guitars and a bunch of amps so I dare say he did whatever worked on the night. There’s a Guitarworld article that suggest he used a TS with the gain up through his Dumble because that was a very clean sounding amp. 

I think that’s likely. Despite the legend that’s grown up around his sound and gear, I think he didn’t really care that much - his sound was from him, not his gear. He would have just set things to how he wanted at the time. That’s clear when it seems that when he needed to replace a Tube Screamer, he just bought whatever the current model was. I just think it’s funny that the ‘accepted wisdom’ is that you should use your TS as a boost rather than an overdrive, because he did... when there’s evidence to the contrary. (At least sometimes.)

The other point is that actually all Tube Screamers sound the same . Obviously not quite, but I would defy anyone to say what exact model, or even which of any of the hundreds of near-copies, is being used if they hear one in a band mix.

This. In spades.

Seriously, an industry has grown up around the Tubescreamer and you can trace most of the BS back to folks trying to ‘nail’ the SRV sound. The problem here is only SRV sounded like that - not because of his gear but because of his phrasing, attack and vibrato. Sadly this is missing from all the wannabes that have followed.

As for the pedal - tbh, any mid-humped overdrive will sound the same. As ICBM alluded earlier, the circuit dictates that the device used (the mythical-ho ho- JRC one) is not important as to origin. Differences in sound are more likely due to component drift - or in some cases, and I mean this with all due respect, those ‘subtle’ differences are mainly heard by the player *only*. Does that make it any less important? Well, that depends on how far down the rabbit hole you are...

If you want a Tubescreamer, buy one. If you want more gain, go for the Super Tubescreamer.  Or shove a boost before it.

If you want to spend an inordinate amount of money to own something boutique and “better” so you can bore people to death on forums about it... it’s that rabbit hole over there... right next to the Big Muff rabbit hole.

57Deluxe

Strangely it seems the Ibanez TS Mini sounds fantastic - better than the standard... I don't have one but am impressed all the same.

Voxman

Many years back I was in a store (DV247 in Barnet I think?) trying out a load of tube screamer pedals - ts808, ts9, and various clones they had Inc a bad monkey.  The manager then suggested I try out the one he used..a dirt cheap Behringer TO800 that cost £17, but that used the same op amps and diodes as the Ibanez.  It was blindingly good, slightly quieter than the ts808 but with better tonal range and a bit more balls than the ts808 and so I bought it, and it's stayed on my pedal board ever since. Yes it has a plastic case, but it's a tough little bugger, and has a surprisingly decent footswitch.  Trust me, you could do a lot worse!

ICBM

Voxman said:

Many years back I was in a store (DV247 in Barnet I think?) trying out a load of tube screamer pedals - ts808, ts9, and various clones they had Inc a bad monkey.  The manager then suggested I try out the one he used..a dirt cheap Behringer TO800 that cost £17, but that used the same op amps and diodes as the Ibanez.  It was blindingly good, slightly quieter than the ts808 but with better tonal range and a bit more balls than the ts808 and so I bought it, and it's stayed on my pedal board ever since. Yes it has a plastic case, but it's a tough little bugger, and has a surprisingly decent footswitch.  Trust me, you could do a lot worse!

Knowing Behringer it will probably be a dead-on copy of either the TS-808 or TS-9 circuit, and any difference will be down to component variation.

I've got a SF300 Super Fuzz - it's indistinguishable from my Boss FZ-2 which it's an exact circuit copy of. It was £24 new, so I could buy five of them for what the FZ-2 typically sells for now...

Wazmeister

You know, I’ve never deliberately owned or bought a TS... but fancy that Duellist sound, but at a cheap price point.

I’m gonna use my Amazon Prime to try a few;

- TS Mini (£61)
- Beringher TO 800 (£17 !!)
- Joyo Vintage Overdrive (£32)

I’ll let you know how they fair against each other.

Grocer_Jack

Wazmeister said:

You know, I’ve never deliberately owned or bought a TS... but fancy that Duellist sound, but at a cheap price point.

I’m gonna use my Amazon Prime to try a few;

- TS Mini (£61)
- Beringher TO 800 (£17 !!)
- Joyo Vintage Overdrive (£32)

I’ll let you know how they fair against each other.

I'm not really a huge Tubescreamer fan but I recently got a TS- mini for £35, which I thought was too good to pass on. It's actually great - sounds a bit crisper and well-defined that an old TS-9  I used to have. Maybe a lower mid-hump? 

Headphones

Wazmeister said:

You know, I’ve never deliberately owned or bought a TS... but fancy that Duellist sound, but at a cheap price point.

I’m gonna use my Amazon Prime to try a few;

- TS Mini (£61)
- Beringher TO 800 (£17 !!)
- Joyo Vintage Overdrive (£32)

I’ll let you know how they fair against each other.

I bought the Behringer some time ago - just about the best pedal I've ever used for immitating a shower.  The hiss really was that bad, on or off.

Voxman

Headphones said:

Wazmeister said:

You know, I’ve never deliberately owned or bought a TS... but fancy that Duellist sound, but at a cheap price point.

I’m gonna use my Amazon Prime to try a few;

- TS Mini (£61)
- Beringher TO 800 (£17 !!)
- Joyo Vintage Overdrive (£32)

I’ll let you know how they fair against each other.

I bought the Behringer some time ago - just about the best pedal I've ever used for immitating a shower.  The hiss really was that bad, on or off.

Lol! You must have had a duff one. My To800 is brilliant and quieter than my mates Ibanez ts808. I can assure you, if it didnt sound good it wouldnt stay on my pedalboard.

Headphones

It's brilliant for playing ELO's "blue vinyl" songs...

robinbowes

Maynehead said:

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.

Point of information - the Soul Food is a Klon-style pedal, not a Tubescreamer.

R.

JMP220478

 Way Huge Green Rhino - all the TS characteristics but with low end dialin ..
As an alternative and somewhat more modern, try the precision drive, TS + gate + low-end contour + headroom !  If you need tidy up your flubby hi gain sound it really shines

Th4fonz

That new vemuram collab with ibanez on a tubescreamer sounded great in the josh smith little clip.  but that price ouch......

Octafish

Th4fonz said:

That new vemuram collab with ibanez on a tubescreamer sounded great in the josh smith little clip.  but that price ouch......

Can't find a price, how much? Considering the hysterical prices Vemuran charge for a Timmy clone I'm expecting something eye watermng for an official Tube Screamer clone  

EricTheWeary

Th4fonz said:

That new vemuram collab with ibanez on a tubescreamer sounded great in the josh smith little clip.  but that price ouch...

I've yet to see a price - go on then, I'm sitting down. 

I did see a bit of that clip and he sounded very SRV with thet Vemuram TS in but that's having the technique and knowing the music so well. Sit me down with £1000s of the correct gear I still wouldn't sound anything like him. 

paulnb57

Hudson Sidecar....