Thinking of getting a TS9 Tube Screamer..

  • Thread starter Thread starter ZoSo58LP
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ZoSo58LP

ZoSo58LP

rock guy
any thoughts? i know, i shouldn't be spending money since i don't have a job, and my internship is unpaid....*coughbullshitcough* haha but i've still got some money saved and 100 bucks isn't too bad. i'm just looking for something to color my tone up a tad! i love how my DSL100 sounds, but i always love messing with it. i figure it might sound pretty good recording wise as well, as i'm still STILL trying to get a good sound out of recording this damn thing with an Sm57 and an e609. so any thoughts on the TS9? the demos i've seen make it out to be pretty cool!
 
I don't have a TS9--but I do have a couple other manufacturers versions of it. And even though I've got a couple of great sounding amps, I still love the variations I get by either pushing the high gain channels with a little extra from a pedal, or by overdriving the clean channels with said pedal. It's great for recording multiple takes--just enough different sound/texture to really build up the sound.
 
Get a decent used one from ebay and install the Allums mod kit on it, total should be no more than $100 bucks, and it will improve the sound quite a bit. But the TS9 is probably one of the best sounding stock pedals also. It doesn't need modding nearly as bad as a BD2 would..... and Allums BD2 Stacked mod is really nice too.
 
yeah, i've been checking out the TS9 and i'm seeing rave reviews for it. people really seem to love it, especially on a Marshall, to bring out some nice bluesey/rock tones. apparently it sounds great on the clean channel, and clean crunch, and really shines as a boost on the red 'distortion' channel. i'm really considering it!
 
If you wanna save yourself some cash, I find the Boss SD1 functions perfectly as something of a 'poor man's tube-screamer' :) I have both. There isn't a $100 difference tone wise, though the Boss probably is a bit grittier/less smooth.

P.S, stick with the internship! I was that soldier and good comes come from them!
 
hey telepaul, thanks for the suggestion! i'm looking into the SD1 and it seems like it sounds pretty much alike...one guy on youtube even said he's got two TS9's, modded, and he STILL keeps the SD1 in his chain because he likes the tone better! hmm why's it so much cheaper? is there THAT big of a difference? is this an analog, or a digital pedal? i'm not too informed about that, but all i know is i've got a one year old boss OC3 octave and i know it's digital, and i also went out and bought a used early 2000's boss OC2 because i know it's analog...and the OC2 keeps my tone, whereas the OC3 completley colors it due to all its digitally nuances lol
 
Hey ZoSo.
I was in your position a little while ago. I was looking to buy a pedal for a boost to increase palm muting definition on my mesa dual rec. I tried out a pedal that was pure boost, the boss sd1, the ts9, a bbe sonic maximizer, and a maxon808 (another version of the tubescreamer.)

Here was my results from my tests from worst sounding to best sounding:

1. BBE sonic maximizer: Wow this thing just sounds terrible. Maybe I dialed it in wrong but it just SCREAMED digital. Made everything harsh and woofy.

2. Boss sd1: Digital sounding, turned my mesa into a pod.

3. Pure boost pedal: Meh just turned up the volume, didn't really change the tone much.

4. Ts9: Good sound overall but a "little something" was off about it.

5. Maxon808: Wow this one was easily the best VERY organic and responsive. One thing I love about my boogie was how well it responds to my playing and that "little something" that was missing in the TS9 was there in the Maxon. The TS9 just does not feel quite as responsive and human and when compared with the maxon sounds slightly digital and somewhat "chrrrrushhyy" sounding.

Anyway so I obviously recommend the Maxon. The only downside is its like 50 bucks more than the TS9. I would recommend going to guitar center, buying both, and then seeing if you can hear a difference and go with the one you like. Hope that helps.
 
ZoSo58LP said:
hey telepaul, thanks for the suggestion! i'm looking into the SD1 and it seems like it sounds pretty much alike...one guy on youtube even said he's got two TS9's, modded, and he STILL keeps the SD1 in his chain because he likes the tone better! hmm why's it so much cheaper? is there THAT big of a difference? is this an analog, or a digital pedal? i'm not too informed about that, but all i know is i've got a one year old boss OC3 octave and i know it's digital, and i also went out and bought a used early 2000's boss OC2 because i know it's analog...and the OC2 keeps my tone, whereas the OC3 completley colors it due to all its digitally nuances lol
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I don't believe it's digital - I'm not sure of the point behind 'digitising' something like a basic OD, where the circuit is so simple to begin with. I wouldn't agree that it's digital sounding either, quite the opposite IMO. I use both the SD1 and TS9 as boosts, not for heavy OD duties - I set the level to full and the gain to minimal and use them to push small valve combos - Epi Valve Junior, Vox AC4TV, Marshall Class 5 etc. The TS9 is probably a little more 'organic' sounding, but maybe that's because it's a little more mid-range centric to my ears.
 
TelePaul said:
I don't believe it's digital - I'm not sure of the point behind 'digitising' something like a basic OD, where the circuit is so simple to begin with. I wouldn't agree that it's digital sounding either, quite the opposite IMO. I use both the SD1 and TS9 as boosts, not for heavy OD duties - I set the level to full and the gain to minimal and use them to push small valve combos - Epi Valve Junior, Vox AC4TV, Marshall Class 5 etc. The TS9 is probably a little more 'organic' sounding, but maybe that's because it's a little more mid-range centric to my ears.
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I don't think it's digital either.There seems to be an assumption that if something is inexpensive it's digital.
 
soundchaser59 said:
Get a decent used one from ebay and install the Allums mod kit on it, total should be no more than $100 bucks, and it will improve the sound quite a bit. But the TS9 is probably one of the best sounding stock pedals also. It doesn't need modding nearly as bad as a BD2 would..... and Allums BD2 Stacked mod is really nice too.
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After reading this and looking at Allums site, I'd go for a Boss SD-1 ($40.00 +/-) and one of his mod kits to make it sound better ($20.00 - $24.00 + shipping). I still have both my SD-1 and TS9 reissue. These are both very useful.
 
I've never been in love with Tube Screamers. I dunno, they always sounded kind of harsh and dry to me.

I do like my Fulltone OCD, which has a little character and sounds really good in front of just about anything. I also have an old Boss overdrive pedal that gives some nice, creamy, Marshallesque sounds. But there are a zillion boost / overdrive / distortion boxes out there so it really just comes down to personal preference.
 
I have a TS9 and I absolutely love it. I'd recommend it in a heartbeat to just about anybody. I dial my amp into a clean-ish crunch where it's clean if I pick normally/soft and it will beak up if I strum hard. The TS9 just LOVES this kind of a channel. I tend to leave the level knob at 12:00 and use the drive knob to dial in either the "rock and roll crunch" at 12:00 or the "hard rock" tone at 3:00.

I find myself turning the tone knob down below 12:00, just because I've started to gain a love for less high-end at every stage of my tone. It sounds a bit flat when recorded, though, I'm finding. But I'll keep experimenting with my EQ pedal, which I placed right after the TS9 in my chain. I find that it really lets me dial in a specific type of distortion from the TS9 by filtering what comes out of it.
 
Zaphod B said:
I've never been in love with Tube Screamers. I dunno, they always sounded kind of harsh and dry to me.

I do like my Fulltone OCD, which has a little character and sounds really good in front of just about anything. I also have an old Boss overdrive pedal that gives some nice, creamy, Marshallesque sounds. But there are a zillion boost / overdrive / distortion boxes out there so it really just comes down to personal preference.
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I was thinking of suggesting that, but he's on a budget.
The OCD is a very, very nice sounding pedal.
 
hey guys, thanks for the great input!

i actually ran out and got the SD-1, only because I was like, what the hell it's $40. lol. i like it! when i use my JCM on the distortion channel, i set the gain on the JCM to like, 7-8, and then the level on the SD to 12:00, and put the drive at like 9:00, with the tone between 10-12:00, and it gets a NICE creamy luscious distorted sound, especially when mixed with my OC2 for some fun octave riffing, especially with palm muting! i think it's a great pedal. just don't blast the drive or else you'll have noise/feedback city! lol
 
ZoSo58LP said:
hey guys, thanks for the great input!

i actually ran out and got the SD-1, only because I was like, what the hell it's $40. lol. i like it! when i use my JCM on the distortion channel, i set the gain on the JCM to like, 7-8, and then the level on the SD to 12:00, and put the drive at like 9:00, with the tone between 10-12:00, and it gets a NICE creamy luscious distorted sound, especially when mixed with my OC2 for some fun octave riffing, especially with palm muting! i think it's a great pedal. just don't blast the drive or else you'll have noise/feedback city! lol
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Try it with the Level set to full and the Gain set at like 7 o'clock with mild compression on a clean channel and, preferably, a neck single coil. Blues rock central.
 
ZoSo58LP said:
it gets a NICE creamy luscious distorted sound
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I've never heard an SD-1 described that way before. Harsh, nasty, raspy, and buzzy maybe, but never creamy or luscious. You could have bought a TS7 tubescreamer which sounds much better than the SD-1 for the same price.
 
hmm, maybe my describing was wrong...i never was good at describing tones with adjectives....and i never understood what creamy meant, really lol.....

the tone is..uh...juicy? hahaha....like, i love when you palm mute, and theres that nice midrange chugga sound, ala jerry cantrell live? it's hard to describe...but using this bad boy in front of the gain on the JCM kind of does that. i blasted the JCM today, put it at like 5-6 (headache/deafness ensued after lol) and despite the nasty feedback from the pedal, it sounded pretty sweet. it gives me the upper end register i need when i use my OC2 pedal and palm mute riffs, ala cky style, to make the octaves sound nice and clear, rather than all mushymashy that the amp distortion makes them out to be. in general, it's a nice little boost, and for 40 bucks i don't think i really went wrong...

tele, i'll have to try that! i just broke the D on my damn strat, ugh..i'll have to slap on some new bullets and give it a shot. the distortion does sound awesome on the clean channel of the amp, too!
 
ocnor said:
I've never heard an SD-1 described that way before. Harsh, nasty, raspy, and buzzy maybe, but never creamy or luscious. You could have bought a TS7 tubescreamer which sounds much better than the SD-1 for the same price.
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My old Boss pedal is an OD-2, AKA a Turbo Overdrive. I think it is very similar to the SD-1, but it has a "boost" setting for even more saturation.

Anyhow, you can get the thing to bite but if you roll off the high end with the tone knob you can get some really fat, smooth sounds out of it.
 
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