TS-808 - do they actually *sell* for this price?

robinbowes

I've got one of these, in better condition. Do they actually sell for that sort of price?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311174335554

R.

RaymondLin

An reissue hand wired is like £300...

I won't pay that much but obviously some people do.

spacecadet

I hope so cause I'm just about to put mine up. Actually for a bit more but it is mint, with box etc and even has the r logo. Early 80's ones typically go for about 3-400 quid.

fretmeister

a SOLD listings search has one that went for £635 and another at £350 ish.

So it seems there are enough idiots out there to say 'yes'

robinbowes

...ponders whether or not to cash it in ... Could buy a nice guitar with that sort of money... And my self-built clone sounds pretty much identical!

R.

Heartfeltdawn

robinbowes said:

...ponders whether or not to cash it in ... Could buy a nice guitar with that sort of money... And my self-built clone sounds pretty much identical!

R.

Yes. Sell it. You'll make a load of cash, your clone fills the gap sonically, and you'd have a new guitar. Win win win win win. 

mike_l

Those sorts of monies are precisely why I don't have an Ibanez Tubescremer.

I have just about evreything else though........

richardhomer

To be fair, they are offering free shipping....

RaymondLin

richardhomer;432750" said:

To be fair, they are offering free shipping....

Unless that is delivered by a supermodel I'll pass.

Dave_Mc

Heartfeltdawn said:

robinbowes said:

...ponders whether or not to cash it in ... Could buy a nice guitar with that sort of money... And my self-built clone sounds pretty much identical!

R.

Yes. Sell it. You'll make a load of cash, your clone fills the gap sonically, and you'd have a new guitar. Win win win win win. 

Well the only way you might not win is if the price continues to rise. )

Other than that, agreed.

Professor_SourTone

Many years ago, Phil Harris came round and bought some stuff from me, including one of these. I think he paid 60 quid, which was the going rate at the time. It "did what it said on the tin", but lets face it, its a boring green box with a no-mystery circuit inside it. I wish I hadn't sold him the early Orange half stack though.

Unless you're a hardcore Ibanez collector, in which case you "have" to have one, I don't see the point. I'd rather buy a really nice boutique clone that does a few more things as well (and could easily be worth more in the future, if the company folds).

Branshen

There is no reason for the price to stop rising. They are only going to get rarer as time goes by. Even a reissue has not affected the value of the original unit. Maybe you should make it a family heirloom. 

impmann

Sorry but bollocks - these sold in their 1000s. There are 1000s still around therefore they aren't rare.
As has been mentioned, you can get clones of the circuit that sound identical.
Anyone who believes in there being any 'mojo' in one of these clearly believes in fairies. It was a mass produced pedal with a mass produced IC based circuit on a pcb.
Very very very very silly. I will *never* understand the BS surrounding Tubescreamers.

allicio

Sell it, buy one of these and pocket the change!

Voxman

impmann;432903" said:

Sorry but bollocks - these sold in their 1000s. There are 1000s still around therefore they aren't rare.
As has been mentioned, you can get clones of the circuit that sound identical.
Anyone who believes in there being any 'mojo' in one of these clearly believes in fairies. It was a mass produced pedal with a mass produced IC based circuit on a pcb.
Very very very very silly. I will *never* understand the BS surrounding Tubescreamers.

Big plus one! Nonsensical prices that's only for collectors and diehard purists with more money than sense. I've played an original and you know what? There aren't just boutique clones but there are even cheap versions using the same mystical chip that you could put side by side with an original and struggle to tell the difference. No question that it was a unique pedal in its day but its nonsense that the originals are some kind of golden tone challis that give a tone unavailable from anything else - its perpetuated to justify these prices and simply isn't deserved.

And there are some complete myths re ts808 mojo. The classic one is Stevie Ray Vaughan's tone from two ts808's. Sure, he started with a couple of the ts808's but he also then went on to use ts9's ...and he still sounded like SRV!

Dave_Mc

Branshen said:

There is no reason for the price to stop rising.

If guitar falls out of fashion it might. Even a really bad recession can affect values (I think the prices of the really sought after 50 and 60s Gibsons and Fenders dropped during the credit crunch).

I agree on the rarity thing, and it's unlikely the price will drop much- but you never know.

shuikit

This has got me wondering.. So old 70/80s toys like Star Wars figures have gone up in value, one of the main reasons being adults who now have lots of money now but had no money as a kid to buy them so now they have lots of money and just have to own one. So then, presumably the prices will go back down once all the people who fit into this category dry up, there's no 'next generation' of buyer for them.

I wonder if a similar thing can be said for the type of person who wants to spend a lot of money on a ts808..?

robinbowes

impmann said:

Sorry but bollocks - these sold in their 1000s. There are 1000s still around therefore they aren't rare.
As has been mentioned, you can get clones of the circuit that sound identical.
Anyone who believes in there being any 'mojo' in one of these clearly believes in fairies. It was a mass produced pedal with a mass produced IC based circuit on a pcb.
Very very very very silly. I will *never* understand the BS surrounding Tubescreamers.

It may be bollocks, it may be BS, but that doesn't mean people won't pay for the "real thing". It's how capitalism works - people will give money for something they want.

R.

p90fool

I got £225 for mine earlier this year - it was in perfect working order, but was battered, with no box or bottom label. I could've got a lot more if I could be arsed with international shipping, and the dealer who bought it no doubt did exactly that.

I was happy though, it cost me a week's giro (£16) in 1981, and had become useless to me simply because you can't leave one on top of your amp in a boozer any more because of the price.

I bought a couple of TS7s for when I need that sound, and they're honestly very close.

impmann

robinbowes;433209" said:

impmann said:

Sorry but bollocks - these sold in their 1000s. There are 1000s still around therefore they aren't rare.

As has been mentioned, you can get clones of the circuit that sound identical.

Anyone who believes in there being any 'mojo' in one of these clearly believes in fairies. It was a mass produced pedal with a mass produced IC based circuit on a pcb.

Very very very very silly. I will *never* understand the BS surrounding Tubescreamers.





It may be bollocks, it may be BS, but that doesn't mean people won't pay for the "real thing". It's how capitalism works - people will give money for something they want.

R.

I understand Capitalism - but it's bollocks that these are rare, it's bollocks that these sound appreciably different to a sub £100 clone (including the reissues) and it's bollocks that they should go *up* in value.

All of this bollocks is generated by myths perpetuated by guitar mags and dumb ass forums (not this one). There is a big vested interest in maintaining this status quo, as a lot of folks have invested frankly stupid money in stuff like this - and get highly protective of their investment, even if it's based on false prophecies... Oh and we're back to Capitalism again.

Circles like this exist where money is involved...

ICBM

allicio said:

Sell it, buy one of these and pocket the price of a pretty decent guitar!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YfoJzac3L._SY300_.jpg

Even if you want a proper TS-808 with the buffered switching and it to look right, a reissue is only stupid money rather than completely insane.

Voxman said:

And there are some complete myths re ts808 mojo. The classic one is Stevie Ray Vaughan's tone from two ts808's. Sure, he started with a couple of the ts808's but he also then went on to use ts9's ...and he still sounded like SRV!

And a TS-10 at least at some point, there are photos.

Although the TS-10 is slightly different, there is no practical difference between the TS-808 and TS-9 - two resistors in the output section, which don't affect the tone. I had a TS-9 (original) which I fitted with a switch to swap it to the 808 values and it made no difference whatever. It's true that individual TS-808s and TS-9s don't always sound the same, but that will be due to component tolerances, so two 808s or two 9s can sound just as different.

The price of these is not really any more ludicrous than '59 Les Pauls selling for fifty times what a perfect modern replica does though, so if there are people willing to pay it because they believe in the mojo, take their money...