Old or New Tube Screamers

Yeah, all that matters is the 4558 op-amp. If you don't know what that is, don't worry about it. If you want to spend $100, get the TS-9 with the four modes on it. If you want the exact same TS-9 for $40, get the TS-7 (part-for-part identical, with a second mode that fattens the bass and adds distortion and output). There's no reason to buy an 808 or 808 clone, as they're incredibly expensive and if you look for about thirty seconds on Google you can find the two (2!) parts you need to change to make one of the aforementioned TS-9s into an 808. It cracks me up every time I see reviews (especially on HC) that say it's 'not as good as the TS-9' - exactly the same circuit, you'll get just as much variance between TS-9s as you will between a 7 and 9, so save the money and get the 7.

Jeff
 
Maxon pretty much started out attached at the hip with Ibanez effect pedals, licensed in the 70s to make the things for Japan, and they've just recently been percieved as being a different entity (and for no good reason) - they take the exact same circuits, occasionally add a switch that's been on DIY stompbox forums for years, and charge two or three times as much for them (absurd given that these things cost the manufactures about as much as a steak dinner). BBE also just put out a bunch of new pedals - among them copies of the Rangemaster, the Fuzz Face, and the same FET boosts everyone has been making since the first solid state amps - that do pretty much the same thing. 90% of the 'boutique' effect builders take schematics off the internet, change a thing or two, put together $15 worth of parts, and sell it for ten times as much. It pays to look at schematics and diagrams to see how far apart things really are before making a commitment to expense boxes.

The original Tube Screamer was the 808. Shortly afterwards, the TS9 was put out, and it was a whole 10 cents of difference away from the 808. The only problematic TS pedals were from years back when they decided they weren't going to use 4558s anymore, but they learned from that mistake. The TS5 and TS10 were put out in the 80s and 90s, and while they were pieces of junk as far as manufacturing (and occasionally with part reliability), the most common of them were very similar to original circuits. Now we have the $40 TS-7, which is the same as all of the 'original' and 'reissue' TS-9s - I've played every one of these, and I have not found a single difference between that and other Ibanez TS-9s. As far as Maxon goes, I said before that you can look on google for the two resistors (which cost you about a quarter from Radio Shack, and take three minutes with a soldering iron) that need to be switched out for original TS-808 specs, and another few searches will find you all of the mods that Maxon does to their pedals, so don't spend more money than you have to - this 'holy grail' nonsense and the brand-name adherence will cost you a lot of money, and will only drive other pedal prices through the roof in the future if these manufacturers keep under the impression that people will disregard cheaper products just because they're cheaper.

Jeff
 
JBroll said:
Maxon pretty much started out attached at the hip with Ibanez effect pedals, licensed in the 70s to make the things for Japan, and they've just recently been percieved as being a different entity (and for no good reason) - they take the exact same circuits, occasionally add a switch that's been on DIY stompbox forums for years, and charge two or three times as much for them (absurd given that these things cost the manufactures about as much as a steak dinner). BBE also just put out a bunch of new pedals - among them copies of the Rangemaster, the Fuzz Face, and the same FET boosts everyone has been making since the first solid state amps - that do pretty much the same thing. 90% of the 'boutique' effect builders take schematics off the internet, change a thing or two, put together $15 worth of parts, and sell it for ten times as much. It pays to look at schematics and diagrams to see how far apart things really are before making a commitment to expense boxes.

The original Tube Screamer was the 808. Shortly afterwards, the TS9 was put out, and it was a whole 10 cents of difference away from the 808. The only problematic TS pedals were from years back when they decided they weren't going to use 4558s anymore, but they learned from that mistake. The TS5 and TS10 were put out in the 80s and 90s, and while they were pieces of junk as far as manufacturing (and occasionally with part reliability), the most common of them were very similar to original circuits. Now we have the $40 TS-7, which is the same as all of the 'original' and 'reissue' TS-9s - I've played every one of these, and I have not found a single difference between that and other Ibanez TS-9s. As far as Maxon goes, I said before that you can look on google for the two resistors (which cost you about a quarter from Radio Shack, and take three minutes with a soldering iron) that need to be switched out for original TS-808 specs, and another few searches will find you all of the mods that Maxon does to their pedals, so don't spend more money than you have to - this 'holy grail' nonsense and the brand-name adherence will cost you a lot of money, and will only drive other pedal prices through the roof in the future if these manufacturers keep under the impression that people will disregard cheaper products just because they're cheaper.

Jeff
Click to expand...

That's all very true. Good post. My guitarist and I are actually going to start making some of our own pedals at some point for fun.

That being said, the Maxon OD 820 really is the best thing on the market IMO. If you don't want to mess around with electronics, it's your best bet.
 
it's not either/or... get both... and a od808... and a sd-1

they're all different and usable
 
I use a TS7 but never compeared it to another OD
I changed some caps to filter caps... and tried different values... but stock values gave me the tightest sound...

I changed to 808 specification... still not sure about this...
 
Keiffer - the SD-1 is about five components away from a TS, you could drill a few holes for a couple of DPDTs and have them all in one box, available at the flip of a switch or two. Buy three different pedals that do the same bloody thing? Talk about expensive, I bought my first electric guitar used (a Dean ML XT with FR) for less than those Maxon pedals, and I still use it one pickup change later.

The metalzone kicks ass if you change a few bits and pieces here and there - check out Robert Keeley's Twilight Zone mod, that thing slays...

Jeff
 
I'm totally familiar with these pedals. to imply they all do the same thing implies they all sound the same... they don't. I have all of them. It's never a waste to have tonal options... :rock: :rock: :rock:
 
JBroll said:
Maxon pretty much started out attached at the hip with Ibanez effect pedals, licensed in the 70s to make the things for Japan, and they've just recently been percieved as being a different entity (and for no good reason) - they take the exact same circuits, occasionally add a switch that's been on DIY stompbox forums for years, and charge two or three times as much for them (absurd given that these things cost the manufactures about as much as a steak dinner). BBE also just put out a bunch of new pedals - among them copies of the Rangemaster, the Fuzz Face, and the same FET boosts everyone has been making since the first solid state amps - that do pretty much the same thing. 90% of the 'boutique' effect builders take schematics off the internet, change a thing or two, put together $15 worth of parts, and sell it for ten times as much. It pays to look at schematics and diagrams to see how far apart things really are before making a commitment to expense boxes.

The original Tube Screamer was the 808. Shortly afterwards, the TS9 was put out, and it was a whole 10 cents of difference away from the 808. The only problematic TS pedals were from years back when they decided they weren't going to use 4558s anymore, but they learned from that mistake. The TS5 and TS10 were put out in the 80s and 90s, and while they were pieces of junk as far as manufacturing (and occasionally with part reliability), the most common of them were very similar to original circuits. Now we have the $40 TS-7, which is the same as all of the 'original' and 'reissue' TS-9s - I've played every one of these, and I have not found a single difference between that and other Ibanez TS-9s. As far as Maxon goes, I said before that you can look on google for the two resistors (which cost you about a quarter from Radio Shack, and take three minutes with a soldering iron) that need to be switched out for original TS-808 specs, and another few searches will find you all of the mods that Maxon does to their pedals, so don't spend more money than you have to - this 'holy grail' nonsense and the brand-name adherence will cost you a lot of money, and will only drive other pedal prices through the roof in the future if these manufacturers keep under the impression that people will disregard cheaper products just because they're cheaper.

Jeff
Click to expand...

Why aren't you buying a shit load of them on ebay, modding them and selling them :lol: !
 
my pedals with my amps (5150, Cobra, DR 3Ch, Fender Princeton Reverb)

TS-9 - Darker... excellent with bright amps like like my Princeton Reverb.

SD-1(modded) - bright crunchy, good with darker amps.

OD808 - sizzle the other two do not have. that high gain tone...
 
I didn't say they were identical - just so similar that you could just buy one, put in a few switches, and have all three for a small fraction of the price.

The difference between an 808 and the 9 is in two resistors in the output section. The biggest difference between the TS series and the SD-1 is that the SD-1 clips one side less than the other. The 808 is three times the price simply because the 808 is a legend and Ibanez can get away with it, and people will buy the more expensive one because 'it's the real deal, so they have to charge more for it' and nobody actually looks at schematics or circuit boards. You'll hear claims of craftsmanship and part quality, but most of these are mass-produced and I've found no difference in quality between any of them.

The reason I don't sell them on Ebay is that I'd be only one in thousands already doing so - look on EBay for the 808 mod kits and you'll find more people than would be worth counting doing this stuff; I see no reason to do more myself, between school and my own pedals I don't have time to spend doing stuff like that, and I have trouble seeing these people as being anything better than the musical equivalent of used car salesmen, not making money for doing anything innovative or special but for knowing just a little more than their customers and knowing that they can get away with this stuff because people just don't want to find this stuff out on their own. And no, there's no reason not to have variety, but when stompbox companies make as much money as they do just rebuilding pedals from thirty years ago, occasionally changing a bus fare's worth of parts, and selling the 'new and improved' pedals to the same person who bought the last three dozen rehashings of the same thing (all of which were overpriced in the first place), it just keeps telling these companies that they can keep redoing the same pedals over and over without changing anything at all *and* that people will buy the three-times-as-expensive pedal given a choice, so eventually the pedals that are reasonably priced will go away and it'll be inches from impossible for anything new to come out on the line. When pedals like the Tone Lok series (and, in the same way, Danelectro's great Fab series) don't sell, they go away. When they go away, nobody will have that option, and everyone will keep shoving more money into Maxon's pockets for cloning the same pedals as everyone else in the exact same way as everyone else, and every time another company comes along and, horror of all horrors, does something new at a decent price, this same 'I want to pay more!' mentality will destroy their chances. Tonal options? If the schematics for all of those pedals end up being one drawing and a few footnotes, and the pedals run you out $500, you could be getting a lot more 'tonal options' for the cash - and if nobody reads up on what they're buying, or spends the fifteen minutes required on a good DIY forum to find out how they can go about getting more options for much less money, then we'll just see the same rehashings of a decades-old circuit until the day we die.

Jeff
 
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