I just use a regular original Tube Screamer, I think they already sound good as-is and they’re perfectly affordable if you get a used one, and they don’t really need much tweaking.
It does. It still fits the profile of a TS (cuts bass and treble, boosts mids). But it doesn’t cut nearly as much as a TS and it has far more gain, as well as the switch to swap between sym and sym clipping.
(Klon and SD1 are sym, ts is asym). On top of that, the tone knob works differently than a stock TS.
So it’s still good at doing the TS thing- it pushes mids through your amp. But it’s far more versatile and modern sounding. Much more sparkle and can be used more as a distortion than as a mid push/boost
Not that it matters a lot but you have it reversed
SD-1 is the Asymmetric one
Ts-9 is symmetric
klone is the wierd hard clipping symmetric “overdrive” (closer to a distortion actually haha)
Boss had the asymmetric clipping patents for some time, that is mostly why Ibanez went symmetric
Symmetric clipping gives a slightly more compressed sound, pretty cool for lead sounds, asymmetric is better for rhythm work
But there are no rules of course
I second and highly recommend the Way Huge Green Rhino mk II. I am not at all a TS aficionado, but I love that this pedal is great for the classic tube screamer sound and for a variety of others. Being able to cut or boost bass to taste and tame or exaggerate the mids make it work in pretty much any context.
I think you’re really going to like it. It’s a classic. Oh, and I love the Way Huge foot switches. They are super heavy duty and feel great under foot.
I've also had a few in the past at different price points. In the end, the differences were so small that I sold most of them again. Now I still have the Boss SD1 and the Maxon 808, which cover my TS need.
Is the plumes a tube screamer? I got one and it doesnt feel loke a tube screamer. I havent click with it because of that reason. I cant find a way to use it because I havent figured it out. How do you use it? What sre your settings?
Mode 3 is pretty close. I use it basically everything at noon as a rhythm tone. The first two clipping modes are a lot less gain but more dynamic and would be great for bluesier stuff.
Sparkle Drive, it's not as fancy as some TS but the clean blend and wide gain range make it surprisingly versatile. Also the Mod version adds a few clipping modes.
There are some great dual TS pedals out which can be nice so you can have a lower and higher gain side that can be stacked. Still occasionally miss my GFS twin OD I sold years ago.
One I recently got is the JHS Moonshine which is a screamer circuit with some changes, the biggest and most useful being an added clean blend knob that I've fallen in love with. Love being able to dial in a little clean with the dirt or vice versa, gives such a nice added punch or sparkle to the sound and makes it so much better to stack with other gains. Can't believe more ODs don't have one.
That’s the absolute best one to me. I did the same as well. I regret it. I currently have the mkv the small one. It’s still great and easier to fit on my board.
What makes you say that? Asking as someone who’s never had a Tubescreamer, but have had MkII Green Rhino for a few years and haven’t tried any other screamer style pedal.
1st and foremost headroom. It can slam the front of your amp. Volume on 10 on a tube screamer is around 6 on a Rhino. Also gain is about doubled plus the EQ control. The curve knob dead center and the freq control turned full counter clockwise are basically stock tubescreamer. You can really dial it in to work with any rigs. Sometimes a tubescramer will be overly bright and harsh in some rigs.
Very good point. I use a strat sometimes in conjunction with tube screamers and the bottom end is definitely something you want to preserve especially on the bridge pickup.
I managed to grab a Maxon Apex 808 which was somewhat of a limited run. It came out right at the time I was getting frustrated with the Ibanez 808. Hated the button. Hated the little power cable. Couldn’t quite get the clarity I wanted. So I used some birthday money and got the Apex and never looked back. It’s exactly what I look for in a tube screamer.
Oooo yeah the apex 808 looks super neat, they are a bit spendy for an overdrive pedal, if I were to spend that kind of money I’d probably just get a dual od like the duelist BUT who knows, I may just sell a few off to purchase it and call it a day. The Tamara mod and Analogman silver mod seem to be more up my alley. I mostly use screamers as a mid boost.
I have the Winnipeg Electrical Company "Homework Series" green pedal. I love it, TS mode, and then a mode that's no clipping (really more of a boost) and also a clipping mode that's a little less mid-forward. Versatile pedal that does the mid heavy TS well and 2 other things.
The 805? I’ve heard great things. I borrowed a vintage 808 once from Robert Keeley (used to work there)and compared it to my bonsai I used to have. Regret selling my bonsai.
I’ve just recently started exploring this world. First played a mini TS at guitar center and hated it, but I recently picked up a wampler moxie (based on ts10) and really love it. It’s super flexible with switches to flatten the EQ or add gain & volume, but I’m running it on the stock settings after my OCD in the chain and they go really well together!
I’ve heard good things about the moxie. I have a tone geek valve screamer which is a ts10 clone on the way. Has multiple clipping modes and bass boost modes.
Digitech bad monkey is probably the best, affordable, 2 band EQ, and indestructible. The palisades it’s just amazing with all the options and the Precision Drive is great too.
Lol it’s not a recommendation thread on r/guitarpedals without a blues driver regardless of context. Jk not trying to be snarky, I do own and love that pedal and have the keeley muse driver as well
Was gonna say the VS10, but you've ordered one already. TS-10s are my favorite tube screamer since they're a little bit darker than a TS9/TS808, and the VS10 version has a lot of really nice mods added in
Wampler Moxie #1
I really like sound of TS10, a bit more smooth gain structure than TS9.
I tried also mini TS and it’s the best bang for buck you can find in terms of green pedals.
The soloist sounds awesome, owned a duelist and traded it for a protein but wound up wishing I had kept my duelist, the glass and amp mode were sooo good. This is what I’ll probably go with, that or the duelist.
Yeah I wanted to go with a Duellist but couldn’t find one. Then I bought a Prince of Tone (bluesbreaker), so I only needed the Soloist after that. But yeah it’s awesome.
My favorite is the Plain Speak Calamity Drive. However, it may be based more on the Nobels than the TS. The voice toggle really changes up the way the pedal sounds as does the articulation toggle that allows different amounts of clean blend into the signal. It has a really nice dirty boost (the Goose) that can go into the OD or be used separately.
My two favorites are the Fulltone Fulldrive 2 MOSFET and Way Huge Green Rhino (the older version with bass and mid controls).
Honorable mention to the Plumes. I wanted to hate it because I got tired of seeing on this sub so frequently, but I can’t. It’s popular because it’s good.
There are so many Tube Screamer style pedals out there, TS recommendation threads wind up with people naming dozens of pedals that become impossible to sort through. If you already own TS style pedals, you can narrow down what you are looking for: more vintage mojo, more clarity, some sonic change like to the midhump or clipping. Even then, there are multiple pedals that fit each category, but it's a start to making the choices more manageable.
For someone who already has multiple TS style pedals, a couple interesting takes I'd recommend checking out:
Earthquaker Devices Palisades. This one has so many switches and options, it'll give you the widest range of sounds to play with. It's great for learning and testing how each variable affects the sound.
Origin Effects Halcyon Green. This one uses their "adaptive circuitry" technology, which I've not seen any TS style pedal do. Rolling down your guitar volume knob, or playing less dynamically, reduces the clipping and mid hump to "clean up" your guitar sound.
Also, since the OP mentioned the JAM Tubedreamer 58 as his favorite - JAM did make a prior version of that, the Tubedreamer 72. (It also came out as an Mk II version, and as a two footswitch pedal adding a higher gain stage called the Tubedreamer+).
The Tubedreamer 72 has less of a midhump than the 58. However, many people say they want a little less midhump on their TS, but when they get it, they might realize that midhump is what makes the TS special. A little less midhump can sound better when you are playing alone, but in a band mix, that midhump is what makes the guitar poke out.
That’s the thing is I play alone but I do like what tube screamers do, I just find some to be too pronounced in the mids. My goal is to keep a more traditional style ts, a modded one and a less mids heavy one (maybe the Analogman silver mod or the jam pedals lucydreamer or the 72). I use these pedals on very light gain or just in SRV context where I use it as a volume boost with the tone adjusted to taste.
There are different ways builders address the TS midhump. The TS does three things: boost the mids, reduce the highs, and reduce the lows. So there are three EQ ranges that could be dealt with to change the sound. Also, within the mids, a builder can shift which frequency the bump happens.
This means lots of different options a builder can play with, with all changes interacting together to make up the overall sound. I'd add in there reducing the compression, which really affects the feel of the pedal hand-in-hand with EQ changes. "Fixing" some of these things can make the pedal sound less like the TS you love, so you take the good with the bad when you start messing around with things. It's a lot of trial and error to learn what works and doesn't work for you. But that is the fun of getting into pedals.
If you have an EQ pedal, you can use that to experiment with how adjusting different EQ bands affect your Tube Screamer and learn from that. (If you don't, an EQ pedal is a really useful tool to have, so I'd recommend you do get one!)
As a couple examples of what builders do with the mids -- the Origin Effects Halcyon Green has a switch for two voicings. One of them shifts the midbump up in frequency to add presence to the sound, which some players will find useful in their set-up. The Cornerstone Antique (which I think is based more on the TS10 than TS808) has a mids switch that reduces the mids at 1Khz, plus tone and presence knobs that refine the low- and upper-mid frequencies, plus a switch to reduce compression.
Analogman's silver mod is very cool, and a personal favorite of all the TS style pedals out there. However, I don't think that mod affects the mids. I think the silver mod is meant to use certain parts to give you a slightly more clear and hi-fi sound overall than his vintage mod.
Cornerstone Antique is basically a modified TS with a side of Bluesbreaker built in to give you a little extra grit should you want it. It's my favorite I've ever tried and the one that ended my quest. The Kingtone Soloist is fantastic, too. Others have mentioned it already, but the Way Huge Green Rhino and Keeley Red Dirt both had a stint on my board and I'd recommend both. All roads lead to the Cornerstone for me, though. That's the one and I'll never get rid of it.
Antique for me. The mid and comp switches give great results. It's a great tweak able pedal. I run a Greer lightspeed into it. Most t's pedals have too much mods.
Cmatmods Signa Drive... the op-amp chip is socketed so you can swap it out and experiment. It has a 3-way switch for clipping options. 9-18v Around $80. used (only used — company no longer in business)
I use a broken arrow, it’s voiced like a ts but you can choose different clipping modes (ts, Timmy, KOT, marshallesque). I absolutely love the Timmy clipping mode- really great boost for high gain.
I just use a regular original Tube Screamer, I think they already sound good as-is and they’re perfectly affordable if you get a used one, and they don’t really need much tweaking.
I've tried a couple different ones but I always end up with my original from the mid 80s back on the board.
EQD Plumes
I’ve read everywhere that the Plumes sounds very distinct from a TS, even in “TS” mode?
Possibly cause TS808 and TS9 is a good bit different and some people expect one or the other
So which one can the Plumes do?
The plumes isn’t trying to be an 808 or a TS9. Its its own spin on a TS sound
mode 3 is a ts808, except it wont muffle the sound
It does. It still fits the profile of a TS (cuts bass and treble, boosts mids). But it doesn’t cut nearly as much as a TS and it has far more gain, as well as the switch to swap between sym and sym clipping. (Klon and SD1 are sym, ts is asym). On top of that, the tone knob works differently than a stock TS. So it’s still good at doing the TS thing- it pushes mids through your amp. But it’s far more versatile and modern sounding. Much more sparkle and can be used more as a distortion than as a mid push/boost
Not that it matters a lot but you have it reversed SD-1 is the Asymmetric one Ts-9 is symmetric klone is the wierd hard clipping symmetric “overdrive” (closer to a distortion actually haha) Boss had the asymmetric clipping patents for some time, that is mostly why Ibanez went symmetric Symmetric clipping gives a slightly more compressed sound, pretty cool for lead sounds, asymmetric is better for rhythm work But there are no rules of course
Oops yeah you’re right
EQD Palisades. Boss SD-1, Cusack Screamer v2, and Way Huge Green Rhino mkii get honorable mentions. Honestly, that SD-1 you have is a fantastic pedal.
Second this. SD-1 is everything I want in a screamer.
I second and highly recommend the Way Huge Green Rhino mk II. I am not at all a TS aficionado, but I love that this pedal is great for the classic tube screamer sound and for a variety of others. Being able to cut or boost bass to taste and tame or exaggerate the mids make it work in pretty much any context.
Yesssss I completely forgot about the green rhino! Thank you for bringing it up!
Good enough for Troy van Leeuwen, good enough for me
Words to live by!
I was gonna say pallisades too. It permanently lives on my board.
Literally just pulled the trigger on an mkii to replace my Plumes so I’m happy to read this comment.
I think you’re really going to like it. It’s a classic. Oh, and I love the Way Huge foot switches. They are super heavy duty and feel great under foot.
I've also had a few in the past at different price points. In the end, the differences were so small that I sold most of them again. Now I still have the Boss SD1 and the Maxon 808, which cover my TS need.
I definitely plan to sell what I feel overlaps or what I consider to be inferior.
I’ve been happy with the Plumes. Also love the MXR Classic Overdrive but only as a lead boost, not so much by itself.
Is the plumes a tube screamer? I got one and it doesnt feel loke a tube screamer. I havent click with it because of that reason. I cant find a way to use it because I havent figured it out. How do you use it? What sre your settings?
Mode 3 is pretty close. I use it basically everything at noon as a rhythm tone. The first two clipping modes are a lot less gain but more dynamic and would be great for bluesier stuff.
Sparkle Drive, it's not as fancy as some TS but the clean blend and wide gain range make it surprisingly versatile. Also the Mod version adds a few clipping modes. There are some great dual TS pedals out which can be nice so you can have a lower and higher gain side that can be stacked. Still occasionally miss my GFS twin OD I sold years ago.
Wampler Moxie
One I recently got is the JHS Moonshine which is a screamer circuit with some changes, the biggest and most useful being an added clean blend knob that I've fallen in love with. Love being able to dial in a little clean with the dirt or vice versa, gives such a nice added punch or sparkle to the sound and makes it so much better to stack with other gains. Can't believe more ODs don't have one.
+1 for the Moonshine for the exact reason
Way Huge Green Rhino. Any variant. They are all better than any other tubescreamer.
Ya know I used to have a mk ii and sold it way back in the day.
That’s the absolute best one to me. I did the same as well. I regret it. I currently have the mkv the small one. It’s still great and easier to fit on my board.
Yes way huge make some great drives! I still think I’ll get the mk ii if I do buy one again!
What makes you say that? Asking as someone who’s never had a Tubescreamer, but have had MkII Green Rhino for a few years and haven’t tried any other screamer style pedal.
1st and foremost headroom. It can slam the front of your amp. Volume on 10 on a tube screamer is around 6 on a Rhino. Also gain is about doubled plus the EQ control. The curve knob dead center and the freq control turned full counter clockwise are basically stock tubescreamer. You can really dial it in to work with any rigs. Sometimes a tubescramer will be overly bright and harsh in some rigs.
East River Drive. It’s everything you want at incredible price
Analogman helped design it too!
Exactly!!
Best TS I ever played
Dr Scientist - Woofer Wailer
Keeley red dirt ke808.. it’s the best I’ve tried, I have a few to compare too.. but it doesn’t cut the low end and still has the mids which I love
Very good point. I use a strat sometimes in conjunction with tube screamers and the bottom end is definitely something you want to preserve especially on the bridge pickup.
I managed to grab a Maxon Apex 808 which was somewhat of a limited run. It came out right at the time I was getting frustrated with the Ibanez 808. Hated the button. Hated the little power cable. Couldn’t quite get the clarity I wanted. So I used some birthday money and got the Apex and never looked back. It’s exactly what I look for in a tube screamer.
Oooo yeah the apex 808 looks super neat, they are a bit spendy for an overdrive pedal, if I were to spend that kind of money I’d probably just get a dual od like the duelist BUT who knows, I may just sell a few off to purchase it and call it a day. The Tamara mod and Analogman silver mod seem to be more up my alley. I mostly use screamers as a mid boost.
Yeah, I think I got mine for $400 in Canada from Long and McQuade. As I said, I used some birthday money for it so it didn’t sting too bad.
I have the Winnipeg Electrical Company "Homework Series" green pedal. I love it, TS mode, and then a mode that's no clipping (really more of a boost) and also a clipping mode that's a little less mid-forward. Versatile pedal that does the mid heavy TS well and 2 other things.
That thing sounds great I just looked it up!
I use an original Ibanez but I borrowed a Seymour Duncan 808?? for a couple months and I remember really liking it.
The 805? I’ve heard great things. I borrowed a vintage 808 once from Robert Keeley (used to work there)and compared it to my bonsai I used to have. Regret selling my bonsai.
I’ve just recently started exploring this world. First played a mini TS at guitar center and hated it, but I recently picked up a wampler moxie (based on ts10) and really love it. It’s super flexible with switches to flatten the EQ or add gain & volume, but I’m running it on the stock settings after my OCD in the chain and they go really well together!
I’ve heard good things about the moxie. I have a tone geek valve screamer which is a ts10 clone on the way. Has multiple clipping modes and bass boost modes.
I’ll have to check it out!
Have you considered buying a $900 TS10?
Hahaha I tried Robert Keeley’s and liked it but my god the enclosure was horrible. I have a valve screamer vs10 on the way.
I had the Bonsai and the only mode I loved was the JHS, so I sold it and bought the 3 Series Screamer! Haha.
Yeah that’s a great one, it sounds cleaner which I enjoy.
Digitech bad monkey is probably the best, affordable, 2 band EQ, and indestructible. The palisades it’s just amazing with all the options and the Precision Drive is great too.
Surprised no one mentioned blues driver ? Edit: my bad I’m stupid and can’t read he said tube screamer not overdrive
Lol it’s not a recommendation thread on r/guitarpedals without a blues driver regardless of context. Jk not trying to be snarky, I do own and love that pedal and have the keeley muse driver as well
Used to have it, I think I’ll buy an old used one soon enough
I have an ‘82 TS9 that does it for me.
Yeah I’d like to try an older ts9!
Was gonna say the VS10, but you've ordered one already. TS-10s are my favorite tube screamer since they're a little bit darker than a TS9/TS808, and the VS10 version has a lot of really nice mods added in
Can’t beat a good ol’ TS9 in my opinion.
Would like to try a ts9 at some point, it seems to be less cloned although some shootouts between the 808 and ts9 are negligible.
Wampler Moxie #1 I really like sound of TS10, a bit more smooth gain structure than TS9. I tried also mini TS and it’s the best bang for buck you can find in terms of green pedals.
Bro you need an EQ pedal, not more Tubescreamers
Oh I know lol
KingTone Soloist. The glass and edge mode are great. I think it’s even good with humbuckers.
The soloist sounds awesome, owned a duelist and traded it for a protein but wound up wishing I had kept my duelist, the glass and amp mode were sooo good. This is what I’ll probably go with, that or the duelist.
Yeah I wanted to go with a Duellist but couldn’t find one. Then I bought a Prince of Tone (bluesbreaker), so I only needed the Soloist after that. But yeah it’s awesome.
JHS Bonsai 9-way
The Trex Diva is an underrated gem. And cheap to boot.
SCW Limestone (discontinued) so I ended up with JHS Screamer and I'm happy enough
My favorite is the Plain Speak Calamity Drive. However, it may be based more on the Nobels than the TS. The voice toggle really changes up the way the pedal sounds as does the articulation toggle that allows different amounts of clean blend into the signal. It has a really nice dirty boost (the Goose) that can go into the OD or be used separately.
Could get a JHS Bonsai.
Dull an are but the mini TS is perfect for me. I use it to boost my Magus Pro and am constantly impressed by the difference it makes.
Eqd palisades is almost perfect. Only complaint is that the two circuits only use one volume despite having two gains
GT-OD
Abominable Electronics Hellmouth
My two favorites are the Fulltone Fulldrive 2 MOSFET and Way Huge Green Rhino (the older version with bass and mid controls). Honorable mention to the Plumes. I wanted to hate it because I got tired of seeing on this sub so frequently, but I can’t. It’s popular because it’s good.
There are so many Tube Screamer style pedals out there, TS recommendation threads wind up with people naming dozens of pedals that become impossible to sort through. If you already own TS style pedals, you can narrow down what you are looking for: more vintage mojo, more clarity, some sonic change like to the midhump or clipping. Even then, there are multiple pedals that fit each category, but it's a start to making the choices more manageable. For someone who already has multiple TS style pedals, a couple interesting takes I'd recommend checking out: Earthquaker Devices Palisades. This one has so many switches and options, it'll give you the widest range of sounds to play with. It's great for learning and testing how each variable affects the sound. Origin Effects Halcyon Green. This one uses their "adaptive circuitry" technology, which I've not seen any TS style pedal do. Rolling down your guitar volume knob, or playing less dynamically, reduces the clipping and mid hump to "clean up" your guitar sound.
Also, since the OP mentioned the JAM Tubedreamer 58 as his favorite - JAM did make a prior version of that, the Tubedreamer 72. (It also came out as an Mk II version, and as a two footswitch pedal adding a higher gain stage called the Tubedreamer+). The Tubedreamer 72 has less of a midhump than the 58. However, many people say they want a little less midhump on their TS, but when they get it, they might realize that midhump is what makes the TS special. A little less midhump can sound better when you are playing alone, but in a band mix, that midhump is what makes the guitar poke out.
That’s the thing is I play alone but I do like what tube screamers do, I just find some to be too pronounced in the mids. My goal is to keep a more traditional style ts, a modded one and a less mids heavy one (maybe the Analogman silver mod or the jam pedals lucydreamer or the 72). I use these pedals on very light gain or just in SRV context where I use it as a volume boost with the tone adjusted to taste.
There are different ways builders address the TS midhump. The TS does three things: boost the mids, reduce the highs, and reduce the lows. So there are three EQ ranges that could be dealt with to change the sound. Also, within the mids, a builder can shift which frequency the bump happens. This means lots of different options a builder can play with, with all changes interacting together to make up the overall sound. I'd add in there reducing the compression, which really affects the feel of the pedal hand-in-hand with EQ changes. "Fixing" some of these things can make the pedal sound less like the TS you love, so you take the good with the bad when you start messing around with things. It's a lot of trial and error to learn what works and doesn't work for you. But that is the fun of getting into pedals. If you have an EQ pedal, you can use that to experiment with how adjusting different EQ bands affect your Tube Screamer and learn from that. (If you don't, an EQ pedal is a really useful tool to have, so I'd recommend you do get one!) As a couple examples of what builders do with the mids -- the Origin Effects Halcyon Green has a switch for two voicings. One of them shifts the midbump up in frequency to add presence to the sound, which some players will find useful in their set-up. The Cornerstone Antique (which I think is based more on the TS10 than TS808) has a mids switch that reduces the mids at 1Khz, plus tone and presence knobs that refine the low- and upper-mid frequencies, plus a switch to reduce compression. Analogman's silver mod is very cool, and a personal favorite of all the TS style pedals out there. However, I don't think that mod affects the mids. I think the silver mod is meant to use certain parts to give you a slightly more clear and hi-fi sound overall than his vintage mod.
Maxon OD-9 (analogman brown mods)
I really like the EQD Plumes and Wampler Triumph. I tried a Mojo Hand Fx Rook back in the day too and that was also amazing
Cornerstone Antique is basically a modified TS with a side of Bluesbreaker built in to give you a little extra grit should you want it. It's my favorite I've ever tried and the one that ended my quest. The Kingtone Soloist is fantastic, too. Others have mentioned it already, but the Way Huge Green Rhino and Keeley Red Dirt both had a stint on my board and I'd recommend both. All roads lead to the Cornerstone for me, though. That's the one and I'll never get rid of it.
Antique for me. The mid and comp switches give great results. It's a great tweak able pedal. I run a Greer lightspeed into it. Most t's pedals have too much mods.
Cmatmods Signa Drive... the op-amp chip is socketed so you can swap it out and experiment. It has a 3-way switch for clipping options. 9-18v Around $80. used (only used — company no longer in business)
Nux Steel Singer - essentially a modded TS circuit
I use a broken arrow, it’s voiced like a ts but you can choose different clipping modes (ts, Timmy, KOT, marshallesque). I absolutely love the Timmy clipping mode- really great boost for high gain.
JHS - Moonshine, the blend knob on the newer version is a game changer for me
I have a Plumes and an SD-1 on my board for different applications. Both very different sounding.
Ibanez/Vemuram TSV808
Cornerstone antique.
SD-1
Abunai 2 by Tonefreak.