jaybals

Hey people,

I've grown a bit out of love with my Keeley BD-2 Blues Driver, and want to replace it with a new, mild overdrive for those creamy bluesy lead tones. This all came from trying out my bandmate's Tubescreamer, which sounds amazing with my new(ish) Cornell Romany (and just about every other amp i've ever tried it on)

The thing is, neither of us have any idea exactly WHAT kind of tubescreamer circuit is inside! He bought it a few years ago from some odd ebay company who basically took what appears to be a genuine vintage tubescreamer shell, and loaded it with a new circuit.
At a guess, it's probably some replica TS-808 circuit, i can try any get photos of the inners tomorrow at our jamming sesh.
(i will hereby refer to it as the TS? as i am lazy!)

Now on to the matter of tone and what i'm going for.
The thing with this TS?, even on full it's only a very light bit of drive, unlike my Keeley, which is very crunchy, good for rhythm, but not those smooth, bluesy, Vaughnabe tones i dream of.
It's also very transparent and smooth, once its on the tone doesn't change much, it just gets more sustain, and pushes through the mix more (as best i can tell in our small band sessions). Basically works on full gain, 0 tones for a bluesy boost, that still sounds clear and not one bit muddy, driving my already dirty amp.
And stacks up beautifully with my assortment of Fuzz pedals.
Does this sound like the tell tale sounds of any old tubescreamer?

I'm handy with a soldering iron, so i can always buy a TS-9 and mod is to clone his.
And of course, there's always arguments over whether a TS-9 sounds any different from a TS-808, or a Maxon etc. Would i be happy with basically anything i try if going for this sound?

I'm pretty busy with work and the like at the moment, so i'm unlikely to be able to get out to any of the half decent local guitar shops, otherwise i'd try his TS? side by side with a range of other drives.
I'm also aiming to not spend much, so second hand around the London area is my goal!

Skip to the end...

To draw a long rambling thread to a close:
any Transparent, smooth, light overdrive recommendations to push a gritty amp.
Do i just buy + mod an banez or maxon tubescreamer?

Gear: several guitars (in my sig) in to a Cornell Romany 10W Champ style amp. Needs to play nice with my assortment of fuzz pedals too.
If anyone knows where one is being sold off/traded, help me hunt them down!

PS. I already know a Klon is probably what i really want, but budgets people :P

Edit: i always make my threads to long...

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Fender Jazzmaster | Hutchins Regal

Cornell Romany Plus | Blackstar HT5

ihartfood

Timmy.

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My Rig
Like Telecasters?

jaybals

damn, another rare dream?

Although a clone isn't out of the question...

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Fender Jazzmaster | Hutchins Regal

Cornell Romany Plus | Blackstar HT5

sg4ever

Lovepedal OD11, Barber LTD SR? It's hard to say. That hardly sounds like a typical tubescreamer.

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Fender MiM Tele
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Vox AC15C1
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Robbgnarly

You want blues, get a JTM45 you don't even need a pedal it is that good

Or get a Klon KTR

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DeadlyIllness

If you want blues, get a vintage tube amp and turn the volume up until it can't get any louder.

jimbob78

I have a G2D Creamtone. it's like a MUCH better tubescreamer (I owned an 808 reissue and a TS9). For a transparent boost, get a Klon clone either from eBay or http://www.rawkworks.com/. He calls his Klone the ''Light OD''. I have one and it is amazing. Works out about £120 shipped, and worth every penny.

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trashedlostfdup

talk to greeny23 (tim), he did a great job on my timmy clone. if you think shipping is prohibitive i spent like $11 on two pedals from australia to the south US.

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R45VT

Shit. $11 dollars is nothing... You can pay more than that in the US.

I'll have to hit him up one of these days when it is time for a new pedal.

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trashedlostfdup

yea i was surprised, took almost two weeks though, but no complaining.

i am going to get some other stuff, but i forsee a few new toyroom clones and probably (real) sigma drive.

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jaybals

Thanks for all the recomendations, I'll try and get some gutshots at my next jam to see if you guys can identify it!

To those saying new amp, i have NO problem with my amp, it's a boutique, 10 watt, 6L6 driven, champ/deluxe clone, and i LOVE it's tone. The built in attenuater (or some sort of power cut system) lets me get plenty of dirt for my needs and sounds amazing, it's just i want a smooth, bluesy boost to add a bit of smooth sustain.

It's not so much a matter of the postage costs, more the import tax that can really bite me in the arse, although thats mainly from america, is import tax bad from Australia?

I might be able to get a good bit of cash for my Keeley, i have all the paperwork and whatnot. Maybe i should just make myself find the time to get down to a guitar shop and do some comparisons.
Or grab/make a cheap Klon clone...
Or Timmy clone...

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Fender Jazzmaster | Hutchins Regal

Cornell Romany Plus | Blackstar HT5

jaybals

Hey guys, just had a chance to dive inside my Mate's tubescreamer, and it appears to be... A TUBESCREAMER! who woulda funk it?

It does however have 'maxon' written on the PCB, and a 4558 chip, i took a picture



Does this look to be a recent 'maxon' reissue in an old tubescreamer case? or s it a pre-maxon vs ibanez feud model?

Apology for the blurry picture...

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Fender Jazzmaster | Hutchins Regal

Cornell Romany Plus | Blackstar HT5

Lemoninfluence

I googled the chip and the board type and got this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-1...S:B:SHOP:GB:101

"It has the JRC 4558D chip on a MP-D01201B Maxon KU board ."

looks like it's one of the good ones.



EDIT: nevermind, some of the pics didn't load first time. The chip might be different. Don't know what the 3130 on your friend's one or the 1102 on the vintage one signifies.

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Dave_Mc

i could be wrong, but i imagine it's the same. it's only really the EU where you don't get hit with duty and VAT (VAT is already charged within the EU), as far as i'm aware.

i agree with what sg4ever said- your description doesn't really sound like a ts, lol. that's not to say it's not a ts and that we're just describing things different ways, of course.

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jaybals

Yeh, maybe that is the case, looking inside, it's definitely a Tubescreamer, any tell on what kind? It appears to be a Maxon-era ibanez, as it says maxon, but still has all the extra circuitry, presumably for the buffer?
and with a 4558 chip and all.

So maybe a pre-2002 TS-9 modded with a reissue 4558 chip?
Any tubescreamer experts out there who can give me an opinion? haha



I'm leaning towards a Maxon OD9 (for the 4558 chip and lack of the infamous buffer which people seem to dislike!?) or bog standard TS-9, then mod?

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Fender Jazzmaster | Hutchins Regal

Cornell Romany Plus | Blackstar HT5

Dave_Mc

i honestly have no idea. as you say, it's probably (don't quote me on that) a tubescreamer.

there are loads of tubescreamer clones. including pretty cheap ones from the likes of joyo. that's not to say you should necessarily cheap out if you don't have to... but at the same time there's no point in paying £150+ for a ts808 either if you think the cheap ones sound as good.

if you can, go to a music shop and try a bunch. though you'd really need to try them with your amp, which might be awkward.

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jaybals

Yeh, its not exactly a amp every shop around here will have haha. That said, i'm sure if i can try them out with a Fender Deluxe Reverb and a Champ or something, that might let me cover the main bases

Or i can wing it on a Maxon/Ibanez off ebay

Knew i shoulda bought that modded TS-7 i saw... bare cheap, but no one bought it...

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Fender Jazzmaster | Hutchins Regal

Cornell Romany Plus | Blackstar HT5