Totally missing the point, dude. He says that he thinks the TS-9 isn't working right, not asking how you like the tone. Most people on here say that a boosted amp sounds tighter, etc. etc., and he is saying he's NOT getting that with his setup and provided a clip WITHOUT the boost and then WITH IT. Obviously, if everything in his rig holds true to other people's opinions of OD pedals, the 2nd part should sound better than the first and it doesn't...you're just affirming a fact he already knows.
I don't use OD pedals, but I hear what you mean. It sounds like it's a tad darker and more spongy, but kinda like less gain.
To me, it sounds like you are starting with a tone that has too much gain as it is. I've always looked at boosting an amp is best achieved by using less gain on the amp and then boosting that up to the desired gain level with the OD pedal. Throw up a clip of a lower gain tone and then switch on the boost. Might be easier to daignose the problem hearing a cleaner tone to begin with and then seeing how the boost affects that. I'm apt to say that it's OK, just that since you are starting with a pretty high level of gain, the OD is just adding the sponginess and taking away the tight gainy sound. After all, once you get past a threshold, too much gain just smears the tone, IMO.
Also, what the term "tight" may mean different things to different people. Any time I've tried an OD pedal, it didn't tighten up the tone in a sense of making the attack faster and more articulate...Actually in some cases it most definitely did the opposite. I've slowly began to take the idea of "tightening" up a gainy tone by boosting means to bring the frequencies across the spectrum closer together, if that makes sense... as if the boost makes the tone more punchy and compact. At least, that's how I've began taking the term.
