Green Giant: History of the Tube Screamer

ChrisMusic

I found this article interesting, so I thought I would share it.

Launched in 1979 when SS amps were taking over, to try to regain some of that overdriven "tube sound".  Ironically now considered good for driving a tube amp.  Even more ironic as valve amps seem to rule the guitar world nowadays.  (note I have used "tube" as it is a Tube Screamer, instead of valve) Interestingly it has 7 JFETs as well as the chip (IC).

Any other TS stories out there?   i.e. when did you lose your TS virginity?

Any other good articles?

http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Green_Giant_History_of_the_Tube_Screamer

ThePrettyDamned

Oh, the legendary old chips that are key to the tone...

I really don't know how much of that is true but it's made me want to try a boss od 1.

ICBM

ThePrettyDamned said:

Oh, the legendary old chips that are key to the tone...

I really don't know how much of that is true

Very little.

The chip makes a small difference to the tone, mostly when the drive control is nearer full up. It doesn't make *no* difference, although if you're a player who uses the TS as a clean(ish) boost, it's pretty close to it.

There are good electronics reasons for this, because the chip is operated in a negative feedback configuration where the drive control varies the feedback - less drive, more NFB. The more NFB, the less the characteristics of the amplifying device (whether it's a chip or anything else) tend to matter… that's really the point of it usually! (In conventional circuits which aren't designed to cause distortion.) The tone stage also has a lot of NFB.

That said, if your TS has a non-JRC4558D chip (Ibanez used several different ones over the years), then in my opinion it is worth putting one in. I salvage old 80s ones out of dead hi-fi gear etc exactly for this purpose - they're pretty common. It makes a difference which varies between an easily noticeable sonic improvement, down to just a nice bit of mojo, for five minutes' work - but I've never heard one sound worse with it.

crunchman

There is definitely a difference between a JRC 4558D and the op-amp used in the TS9 reissue.  It made a significant difference to my TS9 reissue when I replaced the chip.

I'm not sure if there is a significant difference between a new manufacture version of the 4558D and the old ones - there may be a bit of snake oil around that.  The new ones sound fine to my ears.  I've got one in my TS9 and in a homebrew pedal as well.

For my homebrew I did buy some different op-amps and a socket so I could switch them easily but I put the 4558 in first and I loved the sound and didn't bother trying the others.

p90fool

I just sold my TS808 to a dealer on Sunday for £225. It was very battered but functional, with no box, serial number or manual, so I was happy enough.

He'll probably sell it abroad for double that but I don't really care. I probably missed the boat price-wise, I think they peaked a few years ago. Because of its silly value and pocket size I'd stopped gigging it anyway, I've been using £38 TS-7s for a few years now and they're fine.

JRC 4558D chips are six quid for a tube of ten FWIW, so it's worth chucking one in for a mojo boost.

Branshen

A bad monkey was my first ever guitar pedal. I used it with an acoustic guitar and a bass amp but was disappointed because it didn't make me sound like David gilmour from the meltdown concert (specifically coming back to life).

Sold it before ever using it properly with an electric guitar. I'll get another bad monkey one day. I'm sure of it.

Gagaryn

p90fool said:

JRC 4558D chips are six quid for a tube of ten FWIW, so it's worth chucking one in for a mojo boost.

But only the NOS chips have the mojo. :-)

EdGrip

That's really interesting! A couple of surprises already: That the TS is only 7 years older than I am, as for such a lauded thing, I would have expected it to overlap more with the "golden era" of valve amps - and that the Boss OD-1, with it's asymmetrical clipping, came first, and that the TS' symmetrical clipping were a patent dodge. I had always assumed that the TS came first and that the Boss was an improvement on the concept.