Can you hear a difference? In this video, I've invited my friend Blake Miller to join us in taking the TubeScreamer Test. We want to find out if he can hear the differences between various Tube Screamers, including the TS9 and TS808, in a blind test. But equally important, we challenge you to test your own ears right alongside us. Today, we're going deep into the world of Tube Screamers and clones to make an important point: not all pedals are created equal, and sometimes, the hype and marketing can lead you down the wrong path. Join us for an exciting blind test where we put several Tube Screamer pedals head-to-head, and the question is, can you truly distinguish between them? Our intended audience includes guitar pedal enthusiasts and guitarists aged 30-50, particularly those who have a passion for classic rock, modern rock, and country music. Our starting point is the iconic TS9, and from there, we'll compare it to a Maxon OD808, TS7, TS808, Joyo Vintage, and an old Full Drive II - all dialed in with identical settings to emphasize their similarities. While we explore these pedals, we'll dive into the nuances that arise due to component tolerances and variations in parts. Is it all in your head, or can you genuinely hear these distinctions? I firmly believe that the joy of playing music is a personal experience, and if a particular Tube Screamer pedal makes you happy and fuels your inspiration, that's what truly matters. Whether you're on a budget or treating yourself to a classic like the TS-808, your connection to your gear is the heart of your creativity. Join the conversation, share your thoughts on which Tube Screamer you think nailed the 808 tone, or if you could even tell them apart! Is the TS-808 worth the investment, or are the other pedals close enough? Let us know in the comments below, and make sure to hit that subscribe button if you like this video and want to see more. ______ *Attention Guitar Gear lovers and DIY Pedal Fanatics!!* For years I’ve had many folks ask me to make dedicated courses on some of these topics that I dive into here on youtube, but have been wanting me to go into way more detail. I’m proud to announce that we now have two guitar pedal courses available that are deep dive on all of those pedal questions you’ve been wondering, and we are ALSO taking pre-enrollments for a huge “How to design overdrive and distortion pedal circuits” course for beginners and intermediates who are wanting to learn all about the electronics side of guitar pedals.* All of these courses are ABSOLUTELY RISK FREE - 100% money back guarantee within 30 days of your purchase. If you don’t love the courses, I’ll refund you, no questions asked. If the thrill of building and tweaking your own equipment ignites your passion, you’ll love it. Swing by my other website, www.guitarpedalcourse.com _______ Results: 1- joyo, 2- ts9, 3-ts7, 4-maxon od808, 5-ts808, 6-fulldrive _____ *Note: There's a fake account impersonating me. Common sense applies here... if it says anything about telegram, or a comment saying you won something that seems too good to be true, or even just look at the user name - it should be pretty easy to spot the fake account. Reporting it may help, but google has been less than receptive on doing anything about it.*
Do you think some pedals win in the tolerance lotto of part selection? I know with computer processors, there is a binning process where the best chips are sold at a premium, and bad performers get made into cheaper products.
My 808 cost $20,000 but it was worth it because the seller told me it was haunted by SRVs actual ghost. I can totally hear it and you’ll never convince me otherwise. Really takes me Squier strat to the next level.
Feel the same about my Original Klon Pedal. Had to take out equity from the house to buy it but man…it just makes my squier sing through my Fender Frontman amp!
2, 5 have best grit and dirt. Dude with the glasses, get your ears checked. TS9 has more scoop in mid range over the TS808… it is a hearable difference in tonality… TS7 is the tube screamer I prefer. They all still have similar qualities.. I think the route to go would be what many do which is tube screamer stacking, having multiple tube screamers on the same chain.
I love the fact that guys like you and Josh from JHS give a honest,unbiased opinion about equipment that is at a lower price point than yours. You are correct about inspiration over price. I used to work in a fishing tackle store and tell customers the same thing except it was about fishing. I’d tell them the fish could care less about what you paid for your tackle because it’s really about your experience and what feel comfortable spending for it. I couldn’t tell the difference by the way.😂
@@FranktheCrankNY I agree about fishing tackle but as far as sound is concerned it’s really about how sensitive your ears are. Alan Holdsworth could tell the difference between a felt or metal dust cover on a speaker. My ears aren’t that sensitive but that’s why there are different manufacturers. I can tell the difference with acoustic instruments though.
@@JefferyHagen I believe a good amp is as important as your guitar, both are an instrument with their own voicings. What is in between is important also. It helps achieve your own style. Everyone should have an acoustic to play without power. I would go as far as say every band should have the talent to play 100% unplugged. I play guitar every day and I fish every morning between April and October. The fishing referense got my attention my friend.
"we hear with our eyes" A comment I made on a tik tok video where a guy blind-a/b'd a les paul w/an sg. 90% of the comments were wrong about which was which. Love it!
I made such a test myself a few years ago using a loop pedal. I was indeed surprised that I could not tell a difference between TS9, TS7, Bad Monkey, Joyo and a DIY Pedal.
5:19 I love this statement: “…different tones makes you play differently.” It’s psychological for sure, but I play way better when I have a juicy brown sounding tone. It gives me a rush I suppose which allows me to play better in turn.
Thank you for the Emeril Lagasse cookware shout-out, I've had a set for about 15 years and couldn't be happier. Also, i rock a TS mini, and it definitely scratches my TS itch
I felt that #2 and #5 had slight tonal differences and clarities at mid and high frequencies that the others didn't have. I found these two extremely similar, with a slight preference for #2 out of them all. The others were somewhat muddy at the same frequencies. Just a slight bit more punchy, bright, and grainy.
I've always wanted a TS9 that cleans up better but keeps the mid-range character to boost other pedals and my full drive 2 does that and I've never known that while owning this pedal for 10 years. Thanks Brian.
This was Fun. I would love to see a video using a tube screamer circuit, showing how much drift a design(or component) can handle before the sound is distinctly altered (good or bad).
I think a point that also needs to be made along with the one about the cumulative tolerance drift of individual components is that while yes, that cumulative difference in component tolerance will make one pedal sound slightly different from another even if it’s the same model and circuit, it’s probably such a minute difference that it could effectively be negated by slight tweaks of the tone pot on one or the other and then they’ll sound the same. because a pot after all is a variable resistor. I love tone chasing as much as the next guy but if I’m being honest with myself I tend to just dial things in to sound a certain way that is pleasing to me and it’s mostly “the same” each time, more or less. My “ballpark” ideal tone if you will. If anything this proves that those late 90s early 2000s Ibanez tone lok pedals didn’t deserve nearly the amount of hate they got back then
Is drift that same as a saggy battery? My 78 DS1 loves to be starved... Discovered it by accident, having to either ditch my Early AD-9, or the DD-3, or try a used battery in the bottom of the bag. Barely visible led, sounded? omg FUCKYES@!!! Never looked back Figure a vid on how different chipsets behave undervolted, and where they all are particularly happy would be awesome
I've always used my TS9 to boost my big muff but I've owned a full drive 2 for almost 10 years and never thought to use that instead of the TS9. I just compared A and B on my board it's pretty much identical in vintage mode you're so right thank you so much for this video. Now I use my full drive 2 instead of my TS9 and get a boost and other options the TS9 does not have while still having the TS9 character.
Is it the maxon? 😂. I swear I didn't know, right hand on the Bible swear. So funny because in real life I have always thought that my Maxon 808 is just a little better than a standard TS9 or any other TS iteration for that matter.
the point you make about the culmination of all the individual components having very slight differences making a 1:1 comparison a bit off is def something i only really understood after i started building pedals myself. i think the green ringer is always a great example of how different one can sound next to another! i’ve built a couple and i kinda like just throwing in the resistors without measuring to exact values like that circuit kinda relies on to see how it comes out. rollin those pedal dice
I've owned 3 TS9 over the last 40 years . A couple of years back, I grabbed a Joyo Vintage just for fun and loved it .Just changed the yellow knobs to black. Yeah, was not keen on those yellow knobs .😂
There is definitely a slight difference, but not enough to prefer one over another. I just don’t like most TS style pedals. They all have that nasal quality. I prefer pedals with a fuller/wider dynamic I guess. (ie, Protein, OCD, Hot Cake, KoT, Tumnus Deluxe, etc)
My cheap Amazon Basics Tube Screamer got me back into playing electric guitar when they first came out. I had put my guitar away for years and no no desire to really go there again. 4 years later and I have accumlated a whole host of pedals that range from $50 to $200 and I now know what sounds I am chasing. Future pedals will probably be better quality ones as I know what I need now for my style of playing. The cheaper pedlas have occasionally failed probaly due to quality control during production, but they at least got me to know what sounds are out there.
What I can say I noticed to me is the 9 series either Ibanez or Maxon is it has a little more top end sizzle than an 808 when the drive is maxed out but both sound good and both have their place with certain amps and certain sounds a person is trying to achieve.. Tone is subjective because it’s all about creativity .. I’ve seen some odd pairings with setups and you wouldn’t think they would sound good but end up sounding incredible
OK here’s a guy that has never owned a Tube Screamer, and played thru one no more than a couple hours. Yep your right, distortion is distortion and equalization is the key to all distortions. Built one back in the early 80’s, and it worked just fine. A band member in the 80’s had a TS, with a Vox amp with selectable 4 ohm speaker. Sounded distorted for sure, but not usable for gigs. So, agree and play and use what your ear tells you is the real key. Rock On regardless. Always move forward.
Another great video. We do suffer from ear fatigue after a few minutes on tests like this. That being said, they all sounded cool to me! Videos like this bring me joy because I’m a pedal nerd . The real question should have been which Tube Screamer green is the best.
I used to have an TS808 (which is very expensive here in Brazil). Then I bought the Joyo Vintage Overdrive just to try it, because it was cheap. Ended up selling the TS808. They sounded the same to me, but the joyo actually felt a little better (maybe due to component tolerances, maybe because cheaper is better to me). It was about 15 years ago. I still use the same joyo.
I have the 808 and fulldrive. Didn't know they were the same circuit. I can hear a difference between them but not alot. However, they stack great. Thanks for the vid! I love this kind of stuff
The Fulldrive 2 Mosfet is a bit modded yes, different diodes for the clipping options and there are the flatter EQ options on the switch. But on vintage mode it's super close to an average TS, still different clipping diodes.
I listened on my desktop monitors. I heard 4&6 as well even with YT compression, I’d wager it was even more evident in room and certainly playing feel. I have A/B’d various screamer pedals whilst using a looper pedal to get consistent playing attack and hearing repeated consistent phrases. I still own an older Maxon OD808 with through hole components ( sounds better than newer smd pedal, I AB’d these same as well) I also have a TS mini, I’d suggest adding one of those to the next shootout.
I think also that when you take into account all the small differences from pedal to Pedal to guitar cable to amplifiers to guitar to guitar strings it adds up to something bigger in the end.
1) I heard a difference. 2) I could not tell which was which. 3) Typically, though, over the years, i have preferred the 808 over a TS9, based on comparison clips by other testers/players. 4) I am coming to recognize that 'comparisons' meant to illustrate there are *no* differences-between pedals, body woods, etc.-tend to be done with Telecasters. Not sure if that's coincidence or not, but i tend to believe that there's something 'equalizing' about Telecasters and perhaps especially when coupled with this type of mid-gain overdrive sound. It homogenizes tone. 5) My use of a Tube Screamer would be with a Strat, in positions 4 and 5, with a Fender amp, and maybe that's where more variances are perceptible. 6) I've had a few TS pedals, from the Behringer T0800, which sounded 'exactly' like the Tamura Mod 40th Anniversary Maxon, to an Ibanez 808 (current), a Kingtone Duellist v2, and now a Wampler Moxie. I think the best were the Kingtone and the Moxie. But how much i liked them depended very much on which amp/amp profile with which i used them. Either way, i think the premise/thesis of this test was _invalid_ in a way. Asking whether "the average person" could tell the difference is irrelevant.re we talking about average *player* or *listener/audience?* People who obsess about TS variants probably wouldn't consider themselves to have average ears or levels of discernment. And the "golden ears" disparagement typically sounds like insecurity. Why wouldn't we expect that different people have different levels of acuity with hearing? We see people with eyeglasses, we know people have different tasting sensitivities, different preferences and sensitivities to smell.... And even when many musicians spend so much time in front of loud amps, they all want to believe they have the same ears. As well, people are sensitive to different things. I, for example, tend to get amp modeler vs real amp comparisons right. I discern between OD pedals well. But, i have almost zero reconciliation of matters like compression. *We. Are. All. Different.*
Had a ts808 and sold it, it made my sound seem boxier, I've been using a fulldrive 2 for a few years now and couldn't be happier with it...guess I got one with a magic circuit!
There were differences but to me it feels like most of it was the playing. Anyway all the pedals sound so close I wouldn't care which one I'd play. It's great that this kind of comparisons exist. Good job! Thanks!
I’ve been playing for about 10 years. In the first five years, I bought and sold dozens of pedals chasing “tone.” Once I started playing live, my entire perspective changed and I quit buying new pedals because the tone was really the pickups and amp. I think the better a player gets, the more they understand tone in a bedroom vs tone in a mix on a stage. Two different worlds.
4 and 6 I thought sounded a bit brighter, but otherwise I couldn’t tell much. When I use my TS mini, I’m always running it into another gain stage to boost and shape the 2nd pedal. Great video as always!
I wholehearitdly love tubescreamers, but they're the most interchangeable pedals out there. As in: it doesn't matter if you get an original 808 or take a Joyo or whatever. They really, really do sound exactly the same. Imo what a lot of people perceive as a difference between multiple TS-clones is really just variances in the pots.
Super subtle. I thought I liked one of them, then the next one sounded almost identical. If one was a tiny bit brighter I thought I liked it. At the end of the day all of these would get you that classic mid humped tone. Put in front of a slightly gained amp and it wouldn’t matter at all. Just go with what you like the look of or what makes you feel good. Thanks Brian!
I can definitely tell there's a difference but I'm biased because I'm looking for it, they're all very close I can't tell which is which tho, just that they're different The cooking example is perfect. If you're using the same type of pan, the end result is probably very similar but the cooking experience might be different and that's a valid reason to have different pans of the same type
They are all super close. My first pedal in 1982 was aTS-9. Still using that circuit now. Most ODs sound similar to a TS-9. At least the ones I like do.
It’s all about seeing which pedal is preferable due to minor preference in a recording mix. The unmixed raw sound has little to no major factor and can be based on ones preference of the feel of a certain feedback from the pedal. But for metal, TS808 circuits or similar all the way.
Pedal 1 was the sound I like the most. Not sure what it was, but that one specially hit the perfect frequency range to my ears and added a nice characteristic to it. Curious which one that wa
Pedal #3 was the most distinctive at full setting. Some are noticeably more or less "nasal" (mid bump). The winner is the most customizable. Let's not forget price and durability. Mixed in with a band, in a live performance setting, tweaking is always necessary at sound check. Any go-to pedal needs a backup.
And this is why i have joyo vintage drive, an Ibanez TS mini, a joy0 maximum drive (fulltone clone), a jeckyl and Hyde visual sound (aka truetone), and a GFS greenie... but literally they can all get the job done!
There was only one pedal that sounded clear enough different to me. I think it was whatever pedal 2 was through the full lineup? Just that one to me sounded like more noticeable gain. Maybe it was turned up a little more. Tone wise, gain structure wise, all for the most part, identical. I've played live for 30 years in my area for reference to my experience hearing it.
Off topic. Hi Brian. We all know how much "marshallous" is the Superplextortion. Have you ever thought about doubled the SuperPlextortion? The Dual SuperPlextortion. It would be one of the best pedals around.
My present favourite is a $50 screamer pedal from eBay with a toggle switch between ts8 and ts9 , joyo vintage is good but a little noisy in conjunction with other pedals
The last pedal I bought for my main board was a Ibanez Tubescreamer mini to drive my Alchemy Audio modded Big Muff pedal and my Rat pedal. I found the magic of using the Tubescreamer to goose those pedals and to be honest I did not want to by a Boutique Tubescreamer clone (the Rat and Muff already are modded and that is more than enough). I could have cheaped out and got a budget pedal but I have everything from Standard pedals, to Elevated pedals (production pedals with more bells and whistles than a Standard), tontye Alchemy Audio modded pedals, to a few Boutique pedals. I do like the Budget pedals but for my Budget boards and not my main board. I am definitely happy wity how it all turned out. I am also happy that it did not have a huge milliamp draw where two of my pedals needed wall warts because the milliamp draw was more than the power bricks I have under the board. So good times.
When you open an overdrive up there's really not a lot of parts in them. The biggest ticket items are going to be the box itself and the switch. Still $17 assembled is a great deal.
I have authentic vintage JRC4558 ICs and they sound better to me in overdrive distortion circuits than other op amps do. I'm not the type that normally goes in for electronic voodoo either. But there's something about those original JRC ICs. I haven't tried out the reissues yet. Maybe they're as good?
I sensed that your friend could dig into a riff differently on a couple of those, but honestly found the differences smaller than he expected. Identifying which is which seems even harder. Great test.
When I realized my “Marshall” G10mk2 is just a tube screamer variant plus a 10w power chip I stopped wanting a new amp and started saving up for a used 12” speaker to drive with it.
When I was working music retail I put together a board with a TS9, an 808, a Maxxon, a used Bad Monkey and a mxr gt-od. I had customers AND employees sit facing the other wal and I switched between the pedals. Not that they sounded identical, but nobody could tell me which was which.
Overdrive and clipped distortion is all pretty much the same thing. There's only so much you can do with any of that. But the Klon Centaur is a different circuit.
@@mikelundquist4596 I certainly cannot justify what an original Klon costs just to use one. They've transcended merely being guitar effects at this point. It was a well executed passion project. Just from a creative electronics standpoint I have to respect it.
I'm loving how UA-camrs like you, Jim Lill, Glenn Fricker at Spectre Sound, etc are destroying these long standing myths around guitars! I def could not hear any significant differences, andI bet any sonic variances that do exist between the pedals you compared would disappear in a mix. Cheers!
Same here. I actually notice some small differences running 3 different tube screamers into the blue channel of a 5153. Mostly just how gained up they are diming the level. Always come back to a bad monkey for this for some reason. Never cared for using it any other way.
Any difference I heard was probably pot taper tolerance on the tone control (the flakiest of all tolerances). Even if they sound slightly brighter or darker, you could move that knob a hair and get the same tone as any of the other ones. Add an EQ pedal and you could make it sound like almost any other normal overdrive topology.
I have an 808 but it has been modded (don't remember the mod though). I does have a sweeter, more mellow, more glassy OD. I also a new mini 808 that sounds nice, but different than my vintage when compared side by side. Honestly though, my favorite OD pedal is one I found on Ebay for about $15 brand new. It is a Biyang XD-01 with a germaniun chip. It comes with 2 but I don't remember what the other one is...😢 But I generally don't use the drive on an OD pedal. I use them more as a boost into the front of my Fender tube amps. If I'm just playing on the couch, I'll use the drive from a screamer into a solid state amp. In answer to your question though, the pedals in the video a extremely similar with very slight "flavor" variations. Most layman would never know... Really enjoy getting to pick your brain through these videos! 😊😊😊
Noticeable difference on the top end on a few of them. The joyo vintage overdrive is really muddy. It goes from mud to ice pick with nowhere in between.
Several years ago I bought a TS808 and A/B’d it against my TS9. They sounded exactly the same. At first I was disappointed, but then I realized how much money I was saving by returning the TS808. No regrets! 😎
40+ years of guitar playing/giging I went to buy “new tube screamers”. I bought an 808, sounded great, added a TS9 to the chain, sounds great, I find no difference between them🤷🏻. I like what you say Brian - if it gives you the warm and fuzzy, use it!
Fulldrive 2s are a serious bargain TS, considering how much you can tweak it. It costs equal to or less than Ibanez, and has true bypass, 18v, different modes (I have the most extensive MOSFET version), so you can use it as regular Tube Screamer, or you can tweak away from the original sound if you so desire. I love mine, and I love I got it for ca. 80 USD!
Full Drive pedals are no longer bargains since they are no longer being made, at least I don’t think they are produced any longer. Prices have climbed considerably I believe.
@@artprince9163Aaahhh, must be very recently the prices went up, there seemed to be plenty still going around for ca. 100 euro. I guess the pedals are good after all, despite the maker making cancel-ly statements which led him to being banned from shops, and being known for certain kind of style of customer service...... xD
Great video! I have the Joyo and also a TS10 and the EHX East River Drive. Tonally I can make them all sound identical to my ears. The only difference would be in the levels - e.g. gain set at noon on each pedal may produce slight variations from pedal to pedal.
It's so good watching Mr. Wamplers videos from time to time. Entertaining and informative with your personal twist. Thank you Mr. Wampler. Btw. I own a Bad Monkey, wich, we all know, can sound like any overdrive. I never got along with TS pedals.
The only difference I found going down the TS rabbit hole was doing exact control placement, fo instances everything set to 12 o'clock there maybe noticeably different, but tweek the controlls a little and like having twins. On the other end ill run the 808 when fealing nostalgic, my vib changes and so does the playing. So play what makes you want to play and set your gear where it sounds good to you and forget about the pictures of where an artist has there's set, or atleast only use it as a reference then tweeeek away.
I clicked on a rig preset in Guitar Rig 7 and thought, wow this distortion sounds great, then I looked at the rack and there was a Tube Screamer going through a Marshal. I don't know how "realistic" it sounded, I don't own either pieces of gear to compare it to, but it sure sounded good to me and that's all that matters at the end of the day.
I made this test myself one day. I got about 8 different TS. My conclusion is that most of them have very smalls EQ differences, but by tweaking your amp settings or tone pot of the TS you can get the exact same sound. BUT I could hear a Big différence in the feel of my playing with the Maxon. It feels that it does not compress exactly the same than the other ones. It feels the attack of the compression is a little longer and it results in the sensation of preserving the "kick" of the mediator hitting the string, in the low mid range. But it's very a small différence. I noticed also that the ts10 sounds kinda different and that the Elektron mid drive mode (in their analog drive pédal) sounds exactly the same of the ts10, couldn't tell the différence.
I just saw a freakish vision of the future - a Gen A video... it's a relief to get back to the safe world of effects pedals. I thought the fourth one was a little spongy like my TS9. 2 and 3 were identical and the rest were just the same. I used to have a similar green pedal to the Joyo. On some settings it was exactly like the TS9, on others not so much. I think we have to remember that non-musician will have roughly the discernment "cool" and "heavy" or "too noisy" - we get too obsessive about these things.
They all sounded pretty much the same to me. Assuming the circuits are generally similar, I'd be really interested to hear differences in background noise, hiss, raised noise floor etc. So a comparison in which the guitar wasn't being played, but the pedals' noise levels at different gain settings were recorded would appeal to me.
This point will be obvious to many, but when you hear a new pedal being demo'd on YT and it's "based on such-and-such a circuit" and it sounds GREAT, it's not just the pedal you're hearing, it's the amp (& guitar). So when you hear a Klone that sounds much better than YOUR Klone, it's probably not the pedal making the difference but other things in the signal chain. Get that new Klone home and it will sound rather like the one you already own.
I have a j Mascis signature big muff. I paid a little more for the paint job (it’s the same circuit as the reissue rams head), but I am 100% ok with that. I’m a Mascis fan, and I think it’s cool.
As a fan of cheap pedals, I wonder if a bigger difference would be heard at different settings like lower gain, or different tone knob settings. In other words, do some of them have more variety within the pedal than others.
All extremely similar. It's kind of like the argument that big pedals sound better than the mini versions of the same pedal. I'm sure there are cases that the circuits were changed between versions and they sound different but mostly not. I'm just as happy with the Tumnus mini as I would be with a Centaur. Happier actually because I didn't empty my bank account to buy it!
I always thought a tube screamer was a tube screamer when I owned the Joyo for many years. When I purchased my first TS9, I heard and felt a complete difference immediately. To my ears the TS9 sounded more natural and the Joyo sounded more cheap electronics. I think the feel of how the guitar and the pedal interact together with the amp is important for the whole sound, and mine interacted better with the TS9 than the Joyo. I also agree with playing what inspires you, that will for sure cause you to make better music
I was given a Demonfx Tubescreamer (Green) TS808/TS9 Overdrive/Distortion Pedal and to be honest, it has been on my board over my original TS808. It's really good. Was shocked. Still shocked.
Not really, But I didn’t have my headphones on either. I’m so glad you did this blind test. Several pedals are disappointing unless you run them through EQ anyway.
Here are my guesses: 1. TS7 2. Full Drive II 3. TS808 4. TS9 5. Maxon OD808 6. Joyo Vintage *I swap TS9 with TS808 in this list because I guess it wrong at the early TS9 Vs TS808 comparation. You're awesome. All the sounds are in the same Tube Screamer Family. Doesn't shock if TS9 will be huge after this just because of this video. My mind totally changed about TS9 forever.
yeah distilled water is water with all the minerals and stuff boiled out and left in the bottom of the pot... It is the minerals that make the flavor. Distilled water is great for car cooling systems.. not so much for taste
The only pedal I could hear a difference with was pedal 1, and that’s because there’s a slight high end that’s missing from the rest. I guessed that was the Joyo just because cheaper gear tends to have exaggerated high end. At least that’s my experience with microphones, I’m not a guitar pedal expert. I couldn’t tell a difference between the rest.
I feel there is some difference when compared that closely with the same guitar but I believe the difference when mixed in with everything else would be negligible with the possible exception of guitar stacking / doubling in a recording, I could see that amplifying the differences to a more noticeable level. It's also possible that those minor differences could be accentuated differently with major tone changes via amp or guitar. That said I'll just stick with my TS9.
Can you hear a difference?
In this video, I've invited my friend Blake Miller to join us in taking the TubeScreamer Test. We want to find out if he can hear the differences between various Tube Screamers, including the TS9 and TS808, in a blind test. But equally important, we challenge you to test your own ears right alongside us.
Today, we're going deep into the world of Tube Screamers and clones to make an important point: not all pedals are created equal, and sometimes, the hype and marketing can lead you down the wrong path.
Join us for an exciting blind test where we put several Tube Screamer pedals head-to-head, and the question is, can you truly distinguish between them? Our intended audience includes guitar pedal enthusiasts and guitarists aged 30-50, particularly those who have a passion for classic rock, modern rock, and country music.
Our starting point is the iconic TS9, and from there, we'll compare it to a Maxon OD808, TS7, TS808, Joyo Vintage, and an old Full Drive II - all dialed in with identical settings to emphasize their similarities.
While we explore these pedals, we'll dive into the nuances that arise due to component tolerances and variations in parts. Is it all in your head, or can you genuinely hear these distinctions?
I firmly believe that the joy of playing music is a personal experience, and if a particular Tube Screamer pedal makes you happy and fuels your inspiration, that's what truly matters. Whether you're on a budget or treating yourself to a classic like the TS-808, your connection to your gear is the heart of your creativity.
Join the conversation, share your thoughts on which Tube Screamer you think nailed the 808 tone, or if you could even tell them apart! Is the TS-808 worth the investment, or are the other pedals close enough? Let us know in the comments below, and make sure to hit that subscribe button if you like this video and want to see more.
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*Attention Guitar Gear lovers and DIY Pedal Fanatics!!*
For years I’ve had many folks ask me to make dedicated courses on some of these topics that I dive into here on youtube, but have been wanting me to go into way more detail.
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Results: 1- joyo, 2- ts9, 3-ts7, 4-maxon od808, 5-ts808, 6-fulldrive
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*Note: There's a fake account impersonating me. Common sense applies here... if it says anything about telegram, or a comment saying you won something that seems too good to be true, or even just look at the user name - it should be pretty easy to spot the fake account. Reporting it may help, but google has been less than receptive on doing anything about it.*
2 and 5 sounded a tad brighter to me. Negligible difference.
Edit: I use a Plumes, cuz I think it looks kool.
Nop
Do you think some pedals win in the tolerance lotto of part selection?
I know with computer processors, there is a binning process where the best chips are sold at a premium, and bad performers get made into cheaper products.
I thought there were a little "more" in the first one, I also liked 3 and 6. But especially no 1.
2 and 5 sounded less dynamic with less bass too
My 808 cost $20,000 but it was worth it because the seller told me it was haunted by SRVs actual ghost. I can totally hear it and you’ll never convince me otherwise. Really takes me Squier strat to the next level.
Feel the same about my Original Klon Pedal. Had to take out equity from the house to buy it but man…it just makes my squier sing through my Fender Frontman amp!
SRV’s ghost haunting a tube screamer is so fitting. Either that , a Strat, or a Lesly Cabinet
2, 5 have best grit and dirt. Dude with the glasses, get your ears checked. TS9 has more scoop in mid range over the TS808… it is a hearable difference in tonality… TS7 is the tube screamer I prefer. They all still have similar qualities.. I think the route to go would be what many do which is tube screamer stacking, having multiple tube screamers on the same chain.
I love the fact that guys like you and Josh from JHS give a honest,unbiased opinion about equipment that is at a lower price point than yours. You are correct about inspiration over price. I used to work in a fishing tackle store and tell customers the same thing except it was about fishing. I’d tell them the fish could care less about what you paid for your tackle because it’s really about your experience and what feel comfortable spending for it. I couldn’t tell the difference by the way.😂
Josh Scott is the cult leader who porks your wife, gets her pregnant and claims its gods divinity. Brian is just the best.
I collect pedals and tackle. I can tell a repala from a knockoff and a musictronics mutron III from a knockoff.
@@FranktheCrankNY I agree about fishing tackle but as far as sound is concerned it’s really about how sensitive your ears are. Alan Holdsworth could tell the difference between a felt or metal dust cover on a speaker. My ears aren’t that sensitive but that’s why there are different manufacturers. I can tell the difference with acoustic instruments though.
@@JefferyHagen I believe a good amp is as important as your guitar, both are an instrument with their own voicings. What is in between is important also. It helps achieve your own style. Everyone should have an acoustic to play without power. I would go as far as say every band should have the talent to play 100% unplugged. I play guitar every day and I fish every morning between April and October. The fishing referense got my attention my friend.
"we hear with our eyes"
A comment I made on a tik tok video where a guy blind-a/b'd a les paul w/an sg. 90% of the comments were wrong about which was which. Love it!
I made such a test myself a few years ago using a loop pedal. I was indeed surprised that I could not tell a difference between TS9, TS7, Bad Monkey, Joyo and a DIY Pedal.
I did it too a long time ago. I thought i just can't hear the difference but now I think it's just marketing bs.
Joyo is much noisy...in headphones ))
5:19 I love this statement: “…different tones makes you play differently.” It’s psychological for sure, but I play way better when I have a juicy brown sounding tone. It gives me a rush I suppose which allows me to play better in turn.
Thank you for the Emeril Lagasse cookware shout-out, I've had a set for about 15 years and couldn't be happier. Also, i rock a TS mini, and it definitely scratches my TS itch
I felt that #2 and #5 had slight tonal differences and clarities at mid and high frequencies that the others didn't have. I found these two extremely similar, with a slight preference for #2 out of them all. The others were somewhat muddy at the same frequencies. Just a slight bit more punchy, bright, and grainy.
That’s exactly what I heard!
Same opinion here!!!
Yup 2,5, then 4 for me
I've always wanted a TS9 that cleans up better but keeps the mid-range character to boost other pedals and my full drive 2 does that and I've never known that while owning this pedal for 10 years. Thanks Brian.
Voodoo labs sparkle drive mod is the way to go. The ability to blend the od signal and the clean gives it way more flexablity and tonal options
I always liked the sparkle drive.
This was Fun. I would love to see a video using a tube screamer circuit, showing how much drift a design(or component) can handle before the sound is distinctly altered (good or bad).
Is drift like an old battery? and voltage specs certain chips enjoy ? Or not? My 79 DS1 Loves 7 to 7.5 vdc
coming up shortly :)
@@ChrisMichaelsChicagonot power voltage but components like resistors and capacitors.
I think a point that also needs to be made along with the one about the cumulative tolerance drift of individual components is that while yes, that cumulative difference in component tolerance will make one pedal sound slightly different from another even if it’s the same model and circuit, it’s probably such a minute difference that it could effectively be negated by slight tweaks of the tone pot on one or the other and then they’ll sound the same. because a pot after all is a variable resistor. I love tone chasing as much as the next guy but if I’m being honest with myself I tend to just dial things in to sound a certain way that is pleasing to me and it’s mostly “the same” each time, more or less. My “ballpark” ideal tone if you will. If anything this proves that those late 90s early 2000s Ibanez tone lok pedals didn’t deserve nearly the amount of hate they got back then
Is drift that same as a saggy battery? My 78 DS1 loves to be starved... Discovered it by accident, having to either ditch my Early AD-9, or the DD-3, or try a used battery in the bottom of the bag. Barely visible led, sounded? omg FUCKYES@!!! Never looked back Figure a vid on how different chipsets behave undervolted, and where they all are particularly happy would be awesome
I've always used my TS9 to boost my big muff but I've owned a full drive 2 for almost 10 years and never thought to use that instead of the TS9. I just compared A and B on my board it's pretty much identical in vintage mode you're so right thank you so much for this video. Now I use my full drive 2 instead of my TS9 and get a boost and other options the TS9 does not have while still having the TS9 character.
Pedal 4 is the only one that sounded a bit different than the others to me upon first run through. Has really good note clarity
Is it the maxon? 😂. I swear I didn't know, right hand on the Bible swear. So funny because in real life I have always thought that my Maxon 808 is just a little better than a standard TS9 or any other TS iteration for that matter.
Results are in the pinned comment 😊
the point you make about the culmination of all the individual components having very slight differences making a 1:1 comparison a bit off is def something i only really understood after i started building pedals myself. i think the green ringer is always a great example of how different one can sound next to another! i’ve built a couple and i kinda like just throwing in the resistors without measuring to exact values like that circuit kinda relies on to see how it comes out. rollin those pedal dice
I've owned 3 TS9 over the last 40 years . A couple of years back, I grabbed a Joyo Vintage just for fun and loved it .Just changed the yellow knobs to black. Yeah, was not keen on those yellow knobs .😂
There is definitely a slight difference, but not enough to prefer one over another. I just don’t like most TS style pedals. They all have that nasal quality. I prefer pedals with a fuller/wider dynamic I guess. (ie, Protein, OCD, Hot Cake, KoT, Tumnus Deluxe, etc)
Brian you are a LEGEND. This was a Joy to watch and Listen too, Now I need to go out and buy a Klon. 🤣😂
Brian can fix you up with a Wampler Tumnus mini or Tumnus deluxe. They’re great pedals that have that much desired sound.
My cheap Amazon Basics Tube Screamer got me back into playing electric guitar when they first came out. I had put my guitar away for years and no no desire to really go there again. 4 years later and I have accumlated a whole host of pedals that range from $50 to $200 and I now know what sounds I am chasing. Future pedals will probably be better quality ones as I know what I need now for my style of playing. The cheaper pedlas have occasionally failed probaly due to quality control during production, but they at least got me to know what sounds are out there.
On a super compressed medium like UA-cam, no, it’s virtually impossible to differentiate! 🤷🏻♂️
I have the JoYo it sounds great to me! So I’m sticking with it until it craps out 👏🏼
What I can say I noticed to me is the 9 series either Ibanez or Maxon is it has a little more top end sizzle than an 808 when the drive is maxed out but both sound good and both have their place with certain amps and certain sounds a person is trying to achieve.. Tone is subjective because it’s all about creativity .. I’ve seen some odd pairings with setups and you wouldn’t think they would sound good but end up sounding incredible
I’m reminded of George Costanza in the car dealership. “THEY’RE ALL TWIX!”
Thanks for reminding me I need to go and buy some distilled water. Completely slipped my mind
So when do we find out which was which? Thanks
Results: 1- joyo, 2- ts9, 3-ts7, 4-maxon od808, 5-ts808, 6-fulldrive (it was in the first, pinned comment)
I did hear some diffensence in the midrange and saturation but all sounded great.
OK here’s a guy that has never owned a Tube Screamer, and played thru one no more than a couple hours. Yep your right, distortion is distortion and equalization is the key to all distortions. Built one back in the early 80’s, and it worked just fine. A band member in the 80’s had a TS, with a Vox amp with selectable 4 ohm speaker. Sounded distorted for sure, but not usable for gigs. So, agree and play and use what your ear tells you is the real key. Rock On regardless. Always move forward.
Another great video. We do suffer from ear fatigue after a few minutes on tests like this. That being said, they all sounded cool to me! Videos like this bring me joy because I’m a pedal nerd . The real question should have been which Tube Screamer green is the best.
I used to have an TS808 (which is very expensive here in Brazil). Then I bought the Joyo Vintage Overdrive just to try it, because it was cheap. Ended up selling the TS808. They sounded the same to me, but the joyo actually felt a little better (maybe due to component tolerances, maybe because cheaper is better to me). It was about 15 years ago. I still use the same joyo.
I have the 808 and fulldrive. Didn't know they were the same circuit. I can hear a difference between them but not alot. However, they stack great. Thanks for the vid! I love this kind of stuff
The Fulldrive 2 Mosfet is a bit modded yes, different diodes for the clipping options and there are the flatter EQ options on the switch. But on vintage mode it's super close to an average TS, still different clipping diodes.
I listened on my desktop monitors. I heard 4&6 as well even with YT compression, I’d wager it was even more evident in room and certainly playing feel.
I have A/B’d various screamer pedals whilst using a looper pedal to get consistent playing attack and hearing repeated consistent phrases.
I still own an older Maxon OD808 with through hole components ( sounds better than newer smd pedal, I AB’d these same as well)
I also have a TS mini, I’d suggest adding one of those to the next shootout.
I think also that when you take into account all the small differences from pedal to Pedal to guitar cable to amplifiers to guitar to guitar strings it adds up to something bigger in the end.
1) I heard a difference. 2) I could not tell which was which. 3) Typically, though, over the years, i have preferred the 808 over a TS9, based on comparison clips by other testers/players. 4) I am coming to recognize that 'comparisons' meant to illustrate there are *no* differences-between pedals, body woods, etc.-tend to be done with Telecasters. Not sure if that's coincidence or not, but i tend to believe that there's something 'equalizing' about Telecasters and perhaps especially when coupled with this type of mid-gain overdrive sound. It homogenizes tone. 5) My use of a Tube Screamer would be with a Strat, in positions 4 and 5, with a Fender amp, and maybe that's where more variances are perceptible. 6) I've had a few TS pedals, from the Behringer T0800, which sounded 'exactly' like the Tamura Mod 40th Anniversary Maxon, to an Ibanez 808 (current), a Kingtone Duellist v2, and now a Wampler Moxie. I think the best were the Kingtone and the Moxie. But how much i liked them depended very much on which amp/amp profile with which i used them.
Either way, i think the premise/thesis of this test was _invalid_ in a way. Asking whether "the average person" could tell the difference is irrelevant.re we talking about average *player* or *listener/audience?* People who obsess about TS variants probably wouldn't consider themselves to have average ears or levels of discernment. And the "golden ears" disparagement typically sounds like insecurity. Why wouldn't we expect that different people have different levels of acuity with hearing? We see people with eyeglasses, we know people have different tasting sensitivities, different preferences and sensitivities to smell.... And even when many musicians spend so much time in front of loud amps, they all want to believe they have the same ears. As well, people are sensitive to different things. I, for example, tend to get amp modeler vs real amp comparisons right. I discern between OD pedals well. But, i have almost zero reconciliation of matters like compression. *We. Are. All. Different.*
Had a ts808 and sold it, it made my sound seem boxier, I've been using a fulldrive 2 for a few years now and couldn't be happier with it...guess I got one with a magic circuit!
There were differences but to me it feels like most of it was the playing. Anyway all the pedals sound so close I wouldn't care which one I'd play. It's great that this kind of comparisons exist. Good job! Thanks!
I’ve been playing for about 10 years. In the first five years, I bought and sold dozens of pedals chasing “tone.” Once I started playing live, my entire perspective changed and I quit buying new pedals because the tone was really the pickups and amp. I think the better a player gets, the more they understand tone in a bedroom vs tone in a mix on a stage. Two different worlds.
4 and 6 I thought sounded a bit brighter, but otherwise I couldn’t tell much. When I use my TS mini, I’m always running it into another gain stage to boost and shape the 2nd pedal. Great video as always!
I wholehearitdly love tubescreamers, but they're the most interchangeable pedals out there. As in: it doesn't matter if you get an original 808 or take a Joyo or whatever. They really, really do sound exactly the same. Imo what a lot of people perceive as a difference between multiple TS-clones is really just variances in the pots.
Haha I thought 2 and 5 sounded brighter.
Super subtle. I thought I liked one of them, then the next one sounded almost identical. If one was a tiny bit brighter I thought I liked it. At the end of the day all of these would get you that classic mid humped tone. Put in front of a slightly gained amp and it wouldn’t matter at all. Just go with what you like the look of or what makes you feel good. Thanks Brian!
I can definitely tell there's a difference but I'm biased because I'm looking for it, they're all very close
I can't tell which is which tho, just that they're different
The cooking example is perfect. If you're using the same type of pan, the end result is probably very similar but the cooking experience might be different and that's a valid reason to have different pans of the same type
They are all super close. My first pedal in 1982 was aTS-9. Still using that circuit now. Most ODs sound similar to a TS-9. At least the ones I like do.
Great video! But, wich one is wich?
It’s all about seeing which pedal is preferable due to minor preference in a recording mix. The unmixed raw sound has little to no major factor and can be based on ones preference of the feel of a certain feedback from the pedal.
But for metal, TS808 circuits or similar all the way.
As usual, great video. Thanks!
Pedal 1 was the sound I like the most. Not sure what it was, but that one specially hit the perfect frequency range to my ears and added a nice characteristic to it. Curious which one that wa
It's on Brian's comment on the top.
Pedal #3 was the most distinctive at full setting. Some are noticeably more or less "nasal" (mid bump). The winner is the most customizable. Let's not forget price and durability. Mixed in with a band, in a live performance setting, tweaking is always necessary at sound check. Any go-to pedal needs a backup.
So subtle. They all rock! 🤘
And this is why i have joyo vintage drive, an Ibanez TS mini, a joy0 maximum drive (fulltone clone), a jeckyl and Hyde visual sound (aka truetone), and a GFS greenie... but literally they can all get the job done!
nevermind the tubescreamer in the Line 6 M5
There was only one pedal that sounded clear enough different to me. I think it was whatever pedal 2 was through the full lineup? Just that one to me sounded like more noticeable gain. Maybe it was turned up a little more. Tone wise, gain structure wise, all for the most part, identical. I've played live for 30 years in my area for reference to my experience hearing it.
If you like Tubescreamers, the JHS Bonsai is a steal. I like it a lot, but the J Rockett Dude does what I want out of an overdrive pedal.
Off topic.
Hi Brian. We all know how much "marshallous" is the Superplextortion. Have you ever thought about doubled the SuperPlextortion? The Dual SuperPlextortion. It would be one of the best pedals around.
My present favourite is a $50 screamer pedal from eBay with a toggle switch between ts8 and ts9 , joyo vintage is good but a little noisy in conjunction with other pedals
The last pedal I bought for my main board was a Ibanez Tubescreamer mini to drive my Alchemy Audio modded Big Muff pedal and my Rat pedal. I found the magic of using the Tubescreamer to goose those pedals and to be honest I did not want to by a Boutique Tubescreamer clone (the Rat and Muff already are modded and that is more than enough). I could have cheaped out and got a budget pedal but I have everything from Standard pedals, to Elevated pedals (production pedals with more bells and whistles than a Standard), tontye Alchemy Audio modded pedals, to a few Boutique pedals. I do like the Budget pedals but for my Budget boards and not my main board. I am definitely happy wity how it all turned out. I am also happy that it did not have a huge milliamp draw where two of my pedals needed wall warts because the milliamp draw was more than the power bricks I have under the board. So good times.
Interesting video. Would like to have seen the TS5 Soundtank TubeScreamer included in this comparison.
my first pedal was a Behringer TO800, and big shocker, it does the TubeScreamer thing...for $17
When you open an overdrive up there's really not a lot of parts in them. The biggest ticket items are going to be the box itself and the switch. Still $17 assembled is a great deal.
I have authentic vintage JRC4558 ICs and they sound better to me in overdrive distortion circuits than other op amps do. I'm not the type that normally goes in for electronic voodoo either. But there's something about those original JRC ICs. I haven't tried out the reissues yet. Maybe they're as good?
I sensed that your friend could dig into a riff differently on a couple of those, but honestly found the differences smaller than he expected. Identifying which is which seems even harder. Great test.
When I realized my “Marshall” G10mk2 is just a tube screamer variant plus a 10w power chip I stopped wanting a new amp and started saving up for a used 12” speaker to drive with it.
Points were made, lessons learned. Blake was a great sport. He really did look like a fly caught in a spider's web.
When I was working music retail I put together a board with a TS9, an 808, a Maxxon, a used Bad Monkey and a mxr gt-od. I had customers AND employees sit facing the other wal and I switched between the pedals. Not that they sounded identical, but nobody could tell me which was which.
Overdrive and clipped distortion is all pretty much the same thing. There's only so much you can do with any of that. But the Klon Centaur is a different circuit.
@@1pcfred for a klon clone, I'll take a $65 used ehx soul food. It's maybe not the best one, but works well for me.
@@mikelundquist4596 I certainly cannot justify what an original Klon costs just to use one. They've transcended merely being guitar effects at this point. It was a well executed passion project. Just from a creative electronics standpoint I have to respect it.
I'm loving how UA-camrs like you, Jim Lill, Glenn Fricker at Spectre Sound, etc are destroying these long standing myths around guitars! I def could not hear any significant differences, andI bet any sonic variances that do exist between the pedals you compared would disappear in a mix. Cheers!
After listening back numerous times-Iliked #1,#4,#6 the best,with #6 sounding 'clearer' to me
They all sound very close to me. Good thing to keep n mind.
You guys know each other!? I love Blake he is the coolest and a beast of a player
I’d love to see this same video in front of a 5150/ SLO for that modern metal/ metal core sound. Or all the HM2 sounds. Great videos as always.
Same here. I actually notice some small differences running 3 different tube screamers into the blue channel of a 5153. Mostly just how gained up they are diming the level. Always come back to a bad monkey for this for some reason. Never cared for using it any other way.
Any difference I heard was probably pot taper tolerance on the tone control (the flakiest of all tolerances). Even if they sound slightly brighter or darker, you could move that knob a hair and get the same tone as any of the other ones. Add an EQ pedal and you could make it sound like almost any other normal overdrive topology.
I have an 808 but it has been modded (don't remember the mod though). I does have a sweeter, more mellow, more glassy OD. I also a new mini 808 that sounds nice, but different than my vintage when compared side by side.
Honestly though, my favorite OD pedal is one I found on Ebay for about $15 brand new. It is a Biyang XD-01 with a germaniun chip. It comes with 2 but I don't remember what the other one is...😢
But I generally don't use the drive on an OD pedal. I use them more as a boost into the front of my Fender tube amps.
If I'm just playing on the couch, I'll use the drive from a screamer into a solid state amp.
In answer to your question though, the pedals in the video a extremely similar with very slight "flavor" variations. Most layman would never know...
Really enjoy getting to pick your brain through these videos! 😊😊😊
Noticeable difference on the top end on a few of them. The joyo vintage overdrive is really muddy. It goes from mud to ice pick with nowhere in between.
Several years ago I bought a TS808 and A/B’d it against my TS9. They sounded exactly the same. At first I was disappointed, but then I realized how much money I was saving by returning the TS808. No regrets! 😎
40+ years of guitar playing/giging I went to buy “new tube screamers”. I bought an 808, sounded great, added a TS9 to the chain, sounds great, I find no difference between them🤷🏻. I like what you say Brian - if it gives you the warm and fuzzy, use it!
I have the 808 and the TS9. I prefer the TS9 only because I like the switch better.
that's a totally valid reason.
Loved it! Thank you for sharing this with us! Its a great eye opener for sure!
Fulldrive 2s are a serious bargain TS, considering how much you can tweak it. It costs equal to or less than Ibanez, and has true bypass, 18v, different modes (I have the most extensive MOSFET version), so you can use it as regular Tube Screamer, or you can tweak away from the original sound if you so desire. I love mine, and I love I got it for ca. 80 USD!
Full Drive pedals are no longer bargains since they are no longer being made, at least I don’t think they are produced any longer. Prices have climbed considerably I believe.
@@artprince9163 they just partnered up again and will be making more pedals
@@artprince9163Aaahhh, must be very recently the prices went up, there seemed to be plenty still going around for ca. 100 euro. I guess the pedals are good after all, despite the maker making cancel-ly statements which led him to being banned from shops, and being known for certain kind of style of customer service...... xD
Great video! I have the Joyo and also a TS10 and the EHX East River Drive. Tonally I can make them all sound identical to my ears. The only difference would be in the levels - e.g. gain set at noon on each pedal may produce slight variations from pedal to pedal.
It's so good watching Mr. Wamplers videos from time to time. Entertaining and informative with your personal twist. Thank you Mr. Wampler.
Btw. I own a Bad Monkey, wich, we all know, can sound like any overdrive.
I never got along with TS pedals.
The only difference I found going down the TS rabbit hole was doing exact control placement, fo instances everything set to 12 o'clock there maybe noticeably different, but tweek the controlls a little and like having twins. On the other end ill run the 808 when fealing nostalgic, my vib changes and so does the playing. So play what makes you want to play and set your gear where it sounds good to you and forget about the pictures of where an artist has there's set, or atleast only use it as a reference then tweeeek away.
Awesome video, in my room, at myamp they're sound all differnt, but in public, at the PA, it´s all the same overdrive... :)
I clicked on a rig preset in Guitar Rig 7 and thought, wow this distortion sounds great, then I looked at the rack and there was a Tube Screamer going through a Marshal. I don't know how "realistic" it sounded, I don't own either pieces of gear to compare it to, but it sure sounded good to me and that's all that matters at the end of the day.
I made this test myself one day. I got about 8 different TS. My conclusion is that most of them have very smalls EQ differences, but by tweaking your amp settings or tone pot of the TS you can get the exact same sound. BUT I could hear a Big différence in the feel of my playing with the Maxon. It feels that it does not compress exactly the same than the other ones. It feels the attack of the compression is a little longer and it results in the sensation of preserving the "kick" of the mediator hitting the string, in the low mid range. But it's very a small différence.
I noticed also that the ts10 sounds kinda different and that the Elektron mid drive mode (in their analog drive pédal) sounds exactly the same of the ts10, couldn't tell the différence.
I just saw a freakish vision of the future - a Gen A video... it's a relief to get back to the safe world of effects pedals. I thought the fourth one was a little spongy like my TS9. 2 and 3 were identical and the rest were just the same.
I used to have a similar green pedal to the Joyo. On some settings it was exactly like the TS9, on others not so much. I think we have to remember that non-musician will have roughly the discernment "cool" and "heavy" or "too noisy" - we get too obsessive about these things.
They all sounded pretty much the same to me. Assuming the circuits are generally similar, I'd be really interested to hear differences in background noise, hiss, raised noise floor etc. So a comparison in which the guitar wasn't being played, but the pedals' noise levels at different gain settings were recorded would appeal to me.
This point will be obvious to many, but when you hear a new pedal being demo'd on YT and it's "based on such-and-such a circuit" and it sounds GREAT, it's not just the pedal you're hearing, it's the amp (& guitar). So when you hear a Klone that sounds much better than YOUR Klone, it's probably not the pedal making the difference but other things in the signal chain. Get that new Klone home and it will sound rather like the one you already own.
1 & 3.....I liked on the first run.....
I have the joyo and I enjoyo it a lot.
They all sounded the same to me, but I chose pedal 3
I have a j Mascis signature big muff. I paid a little more for the paint job (it’s the same circuit as the reissue rams head), but I am 100% ok with that. I’m a Mascis fan, and I think it’s cool.
As a fan of cheap pedals, I wonder if a bigger difference would be heard at different settings like lower gain, or different tone knob settings. In other words, do some of them have more variety within the pedal than others.
All extremely similar. It's kind of like the argument that big pedals sound better than the mini versions of the same pedal. I'm sure there are cases that the circuits were changed between versions and they sound different but mostly not. I'm just as happy with the Tumnus mini as I would be with a Centaur. Happier actually because I didn't empty my bank account to buy it!
Listened to the 6 pedals. No idea which one is which at this point but I like the #3 pedal.
2 sounded slightly less mid pushed. 6 did as well but still had that honk. Which ones were which?
I have a bunch of TS type pedals and I agree they sound very similar. 🎸👍
I always thought a tube screamer was a tube screamer when I owned the Joyo for many years. When I purchased my first TS9, I heard and felt a complete difference immediately. To my ears the TS9 sounded more natural and the Joyo sounded more cheap electronics. I think the feel of how the guitar and the pedal interact together with the amp is important for the whole sound, and mine interacted better with the TS9 than the Joyo. I also agree with playing what inspires you, that will for sure cause you to make better music
I'm pretty happy with my Behringer green pedal.
I was given a Demonfx Tubescreamer (Green) TS808/TS9 Overdrive/Distortion Pedal and to be honest, it has been on my board over my original TS808. It's really good. Was shocked. Still shocked.
Not really,
But I didn’t have my headphones on either.
I’m so glad you did this blind test. Several pedals are disappointing unless you run them through EQ anyway.
Here are my guesses:
1. TS7
2. Full Drive II
3. TS808
4. TS9
5. Maxon OD808
6. Joyo Vintage
*I swap TS9 with TS808 in this list because I guess it wrong at the early TS9 Vs TS808 comparation.
You're awesome. All the sounds are in the same Tube Screamer Family.
Doesn't shock if TS9 will be huge after this just because of this video. My mind totally changed about TS9 forever.
Results are in the pinned comment 😊
I only disagree with one part sir. Spring water is tasty, and distilled water is flavorless.
Keep making this awesome content.
You have pure springs in the US? I thought everything is poisonous due to fracking 😂
yeah distilled water is water with all the minerals and stuff boiled out and left in the bottom of the pot...
It is the minerals that make the flavor.
Distilled water is great for car cooling systems.. not so much for taste
@@TedSchoenling You should not be drinking distilled water......
@@MatzeMaulwurf it all depends on the water source, and its location compared to the fracking.
It's all close enough but I'm looking for small those in as ounc CC lose enough to to
The only pedal I could hear a difference with was pedal 1, and that’s because there’s a slight high end that’s missing from the rest. I guessed that was the Joyo just because cheaper gear tends to have exaggerated high end. At least that’s my experience with microphones, I’m not a guitar pedal expert. I couldn’t tell a difference between the rest.
Pedal 2 was brighter than the rest imo, which all sounded the exact same to me through a phone speaker.
I feel there is some difference when compared that closely with the same guitar but I believe the difference when mixed in with everything else would be negligible with the possible exception of guitar stacking / doubling in a recording, I could see that amplifying the differences to a more noticeable level. It's also possible that those minor differences could be accentuated differently with major tone changes via amp or guitar. That said I'll just stick with my TS9.
I can hear some differences, but so far (I’m just shy of halfway through) it’s pretty subtle.