Alternatives to TS-9

[tgs]

I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on alternatives to the TS-9. I use it very often before the amp like many of you too also use as far as I know, and also for bass before my Sansamp. I would like to try some other pedals as well though to have some alternatives.
Any tips? Perhaps some Boss pedal? I'm looking to buy some new stuff anyway so all tips are welcome!!

 

[Razorjack]

The Boss DS-1 and the Morley Zakk Wylde Overdrive are good options for driving the front end of an amp.

 

[sorceron]

yea i like the zakk wylde overdrive.

 

[Hopkins-WitchfinderGeneral]

there is the 808 too, but then that is a tubescreamer so i should probably shut up.

 

[EtherForBreakfast]

AC and RC Booster from Xotic effects.

 

[JeffTD]

I dig my SD-1, but am going to upgrade it to an OD808 or 820 from Maxon.

 

[marcust]

yep the ZW overdrive is pretty good but i like the screamer (a bit) better
tastes you know ...

 

[sorceron]

yea i like my 808 much better as well. its an original as well./

 

[Benny H]

As far as just boosting and tightening the sound goes, what do you guys think of just using EQ pedals with adjustable level?

I never really got a sound I liked from amp sims (podxt & zoomgm200) without my Ibanez 7 band EQ in front. What I generally do is cut some bass, it always seems that either the 100 or 200 down will get rid of some mud(7string at Bb keep in mind). Sometimes I don't like the what 400 does to the distortion..varies between models. And I always push 800 + 1.6 up quite a bit, which aids the 'djent' as we say in Meshuggah fanboy land.

So basically I'm streamlining the signal a bit, to make the distortion stage effect the tone more to my liking. It seems to me by the descriptions(Andys tones for eg), that the application of a TS is basically there to do that too, with the option of adding a some gain.

Am I right, wrong ..missing anything?

EDIT: I know EQ pedals can be noisey, but aside from that..

 

[sorceron]

while we are on the topic, what settings do you guys like to dial in on the tube screamer when used in front of a high gain amp such as a 5150?

 

[JeffTD]

Something like tone at 3-5, drive at 1-4, and level at 7-8 works best for me.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Am I right, wrong ..missing anything?

It compresses things in a nice way, not just eq, and therefore adds some sustain...

 

[jani78]

I'm using modded Boss SD-1. It has more lows than "normal" SD-1 and TS-9.

 

[Seizure.]

how much does the ts90 differ from the 808? and is it woth buying?

 

[EtherForBreakfast]

In a nutshell - The 808 was designed/intended for tube amps as those were the norm when the 808 came out. The TS9 was intended for solid state amps because when it was released solid state amps were more oft used. This is not a set in stone rule, but it's the basic gist of it. It is very easy to mod a TS9 to an 808. It's 2 output resistors and the opamp - 5 minute process and $3 in parts.

Of all the current production pedals, I think the Maxon OD808 is tops. I use mine as a clean boost, drive all the way down, level all the way up. Just hits the amp harder, tightens the bass, adds a bit more oopmh and sharpens things. Perfect to push a "not quite there" gain into the right stages.

Some people think its silly to be running a nice valve head, and then hit the front with diode clipping... To those people I say such my schwanz.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

In the chain, you guys place the pedal in front of the amp, not in the effects loop, correct? Any difference there?

 

[silverwulf]

Definitely...I would NOT recommend using an overdrive pedal in an effects loop.

While we're talking about OD pedals, what is everyone's opinions on the difference in the Maxon models: OD-808, OD-9, and OD-820?

I know that the 820 and OD-9 feature true bypass, not the OD-808...and supposedly the OD-808 is just like the older TS-808 circuit, including the JRC4558D chip. However, these newer chips have been proported to be a little less smooth and a little more edgy than the older ones. Also to note, a few buds who have opened up the OD-808 said that circuit (despite their claim) and output resistors actually matches the TS-9, only with the JRC4558D chip in place of the tone sucking Toshiba chip that Ibanez now uses.

The most interesting thing here is that the OD-9 actually seems pretty damn close to the TS-808, and utlizes the same output resistors as the original TS-808. Quite interesting that the OD-9, supposedly modeled after the TS-9 appears more like an original TS-808 at times where as the OD-808, supposedly modeled after the TS-808, ends up appearing more like a TS-9/TS-10 at times (with both Maxon models employing the JRC4558D chip instead, of course) .

I'm interested to hear the opinions of the everyone on these 3 pedals if you have them and have used them. Andy, you've been using the OD-820 for a while haven't you...how do you like it it comparison to the other OD pedals you've used?

 

[Razorjack]

I found the OD-808 to be an awesome pedal, I used it side by side with an original NOS TS-808 and personally preffered the OD-808 (the fact that the NOS TS-808 was $1000 and the OD-808 was $100 had nothing to do with that either!!)

 

[marcust]

while we are on the topic, what settings do you guys like to dial in on the tube screamer when used in front of a high gain amp such as a 5150?

i use these settings :
drive 3/4
tone 7/8
level 7/8
sounds good (to me) this way ...

 

[Daunt]

Has anyone used ProCo RAT for boosting? At least in PODxt it works well.