Modded Tube Screamers : Do they deserve the hype?

[Harry Hughes]

I'll often go on many different guitar forums and hear about how many people have spent x amount of money getting their pedal modded and then raving on about how great it is.
Then people go on to say about how it "robs less bass" it's "more transparent" or whatever other magical things they have to say about it.
To me that just doesn't makes sense.
You buy the Tube Screamer for the fact that it's not a transparent pedal, the fact that it removes highs and lows from the signal to tighten the tone and to smooth the highs, surely?
I mean, if you wanted a pedal that didn't cut lows, wouldn't you have bought something else in the first place?

I just tend to think a lot of people are really wasting money on all these fancy mods (especially the fact some people get them spent off to some guy, pay 70-100 bucks or however much it is to have it done when it costs about 2 bucks in parts to have done it yourself).

Why not grab a TS-7 and be done with it? I'm sure, at least for the kind of high gain music we all love here at the Sneap forum, a completely stock TS-7 or TS-9 (if you prefer the housing for it) will get the job done better, arguably even more so than many of these modded pedals and with less expense to boot.

 

[colonel kurtz]

honestly, i don't think a lot of the guys who use TS's even know what they're using them for, or what the point of putting them in front of an amp really is

i see a LOT of blues guys using modded TS's, pretty much all of which are middle-aged dudes who probably have lots of cash to afford mods, and i'm pretty sure they only fuck with them because SRV or whoever would rock them...so they get the pedal, plug it in, go "WTF?", and then pay some other guy a bunch of $$ to fuck with it and make it sound less like a TS

 

[Ermz]

It's all just anecdotal BS. The differences between TS models and mods are minor at best, and they certainly aren't going to turn a mediocre tone into a good one. It's already well established that if someone wants to hear a positive difference, their brain is going to tell them it's there.

The amount of money people spend on insignificant items like stompboxes rather than things which actually matter (guitar lessons, new strings, cabs, acoustic treatment etc.) is perplexing, but highly representative of the wider musician mentality as a whole.

 

[colonel kurtz]

FWIW, i do wish my TS7 had a more transparent bypass

the tone from that thing is awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwful when it's plugged in and turned off

 

[BLUElightCory]

It's all just anecdotal BS. The differences between TS models and mods are minor at best, and they certainly aren't going to turn a mediocre tone into a good one. It's already well established that if someone wants to hear a positive difference, their brain is going to tell them it's there.

The amount of money people spend on insignificant items like stompboxes rather than things which actually matter (guitar lessons, new strings, cabs, acoustic treatment etc.) is perplexing, but highly representative of the wider musician mentality as a whole.

This is a great post.

 

[JBroll]

That's what the gigantic TS FAQ in Production Tips was for - I've put up descriptions of what some of the mods do, what differs between the 7, 808, and 9, and I'll be reorganizing them eventually because it's just absurdly long and should not be read beginning-to-end.

Jeff

 

[stargazer7]

It's all just anecdotal BS. The differences between TS models and mods are minor at best, and they certainly aren't going to turn a mediocre tone into a good one. It's already well established that if someone wants to hear a positive difference, their brain is going to tell them it's there.

The amount of money people spend on insignificant items like stompboxes rather than things which actually matter (guitar lessons, new strings, cabs, acoustic treatment etc.) is perplexing, but highly representative of the wider musician mentality as a whole.

Straight up.

 

[Wisheraser]

That's what the gigantic TS FAQ in Production Tips was for - I've put up descriptions of what some of the mods do, what differs between the 7, 808, and 9, and I'll be reorganizing them eventually because it's just absurdly long and should not be read beginning-to-end.

Jeff

Thanks for that thread by the way. That's the main thing that inspired me to avoid the hype and just get a TS7. One of these days I'll throw that TI opamp that you recommended in there to see if I notice any improvement, but for now I'm more than satisfied with it.

 

[ttrentt]

I have modded and not 808 boosts. No diff when using as a boost. When using as standalone blues distortion, modded makes a .5% difference.

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/equipment/547317-shootout-ts7-vs-ts9-vs-808-vs-mt2.html

 

[DasReich]

I've got an ultra rare four pot twin chip st9 super tubescreamer, got it over 20 years ago. i've used it virtually every day since then.

At the time there wasn't anything like the hype attached to them like there is today, it seems to me a lot of music gear becomes trendy then every man and his dog wants one. Like orange amps for example, 20 years ago you couldn't give the fuckers away, now they are uber cool.

I did actually find another st9 to compare, there were extremely subtle differences, but so slight it was almost unnoticable. But I do love the tubescreamer, the best invention since the wheel imo.

 

[korpse pop]

The guys who use boutique TS pedals usually play them thru an clean amp. Then it makes a lot more difference compared to using one as a boost/tightener to a high gain amp.

 

[JBroll]

If that difference existed, clean sounds might help...

Jeff

 

[Kazrog]

My Keeley-modded TS808 reissue sounds better than my other tube screamers (Maxon OD808 and OD820.) I've also had a TS9.

The best value for the money is the Maxon OD808, which I use live. However, the Keeley-modded TS808 always gets the pick in the studio. It lets a much fuller sound through, while still offering the tightness that we like.

Would you guys be interested in clips?

 

[JBroll]

The most noticeable effect of the Keeley mod is extra bass and gain.

Jeff

 

[amarshism]

I use a bbe green screamer. It sounded better and brighter with my mesa than the maxon sounded. I think realistically once you've settled on your amp, guitar, and od, you should work on your technique before buying into finnicky mods which rly are only noticeable by people with the ears and chops to notice these small differences. A lot of people in bands have always come up to me to ask about my tone after shows and are amazed to see I run a ns2, tu2 and a green screamer into the Mesa. No mods anywhere, no sonic maximisers, no rack eq or comp, just od and amp and a great right hand. They then play my rig, don't get the sound, and then blame the gear. These are the same people who pay out the ass for tube biases, od mods, 18v mods, and heaps of rack gear, still don't get the sound, but still can never be assed to practice. To some extent, tone can be purchased, but rly it has to be earned through good, tight playing.

My 2c

 

[Wolfeman]

This reminds me of a huge epic thread on some other forum once. This one dude sold modded TS for like $300 and they were all the rage. Respectable musicains were saying how much it sounded better than a stock TS blah blah blah. The guy even potted them in epoxy so no one could 'steal' his 'epic' design.

Well some dude managed to remove the epoxy from the underside of the board and got all the values and drew up a schematic.

Guess what, it was a standard 808 with a few mods that cost all of $1.00

 

[Kazrog]

The most noticeable effect of the Keeley mod is extra bass and gain.

Jeff

That's one way of looking at it. Another way is to say that the Keeley has tighter bass response, rather than cheating by eliminating a lot of the bass response altogether. The Keeley is definitely more full sounding, but it still tightens up the sound as you'd expect. That's why it's my go-to pedal.

It's also cool to have the extra gain, in case you're using an amp that's undergained, you can really push it over the top and get a "tasteful" tube amp to go brutal. Useful also in situations where you're reamping a guitarist with weak picking attack - the more you distribute the gain staging, the more the illusion of proper picking attack is possible. It's a situation I've had to deal with a couple of times. WTF is up with guitarists who pick super light when playing metal anyway??

 

[amarshism]

They're pussies

 

[MaxStatic]

Back in like '02 I got this CD from a band called Killswi.... Ok, Ok. At any rate I thought to myself "how the hell do they make a guitar sound like that?" Found some interview where they talked about using an 808 at about the same time I started learning about the whole TS as a boost for high gain tightness stuff.

Also converted to EMGs at about the same time. Then for the longest time I was a Maxon OD9 user, mostly because of the true bypass. This is odd as I never turn the thing off....period...ever. Even when I play clean stuff it's on.

Keep in mind these suckers cost like $150 new but I got mine for under $100 used on the bay. I ended up buying a second one not to long ago for like $110 on the bay so I could have setups at different locals.

Now the Maxons collect dust. They have been replaced with a hand wired custom 808 circuit pedal. I know what you are thinking, f'ing snobbery right? Wrong, this new one cost less brand new delivered to my door than either Maxon used and is only a few dollars more than a Ibanez TS-9.

Made by a guy that goes by Dude, Gearmanndude to be specific. He's upfront with it, it's a slightly modded 808 for just a little extra clarity. It's not the most refined, polished product I've ever seen and to be honest I think the holes for the knobs were drilled a C hair off center BUT it was hand wired/soldered by a guy that is pretty cool and doesn't charge an arm and a leg for them. It has character out of the box.

As a overdrive it is very evident when I compare with my TS9DX, my Maxon OD9s, and a buddy's TS-9. It's warmer, clearer, not as nasal grainy and just smoother overall.

As a boost....not much different. Just a hint, which could be completely in my mind although I did run a test with someone else working the pedals and I chose the GMD pedal 3 out of 5 against the Maxon.

At any rate, I have no affiliation with the guy but have had really good results with his pedals so check him out if you are looking at a TS9 or Maxon OD. He calls them the Luther Drive after Cash's guitar player and he can make them any color you want.

He has a bunch of YT vids too, one of which where he shows where he makes the pedals. He sounds a little like Jack Black, but it's not. He's cool and answered all my questions/shipped out real quick.

Take it for what it's worth, I'm a new guy and none of you know shit about me, and I have no way of recording a quality clip(working on it) at this time soooo....




For reference the amps I've tested these/used with are as follows:
Boogie 3chan Dual Rec
Boogie Rectoverb combo
Peavey 6505+
Marshall TSL
Line6 HD147(I know I know)
Blackstar HT-5C

Typical guitar is an LTD Eclipse with EMG's or a Fernandes Monterey with Duncans