Price paid: $ 350
Purchased from: ZZ Sounds
Ease of Use: What can I say it has 3 knobs; OVERDRIVE, TONE, and LEVEL. Its very easy to get a nice creamy tone out of this guy. Just crank the TONE and Overdrive up and its set perfect! Its simple enough to use if you know how to use simple Overdrive pedal which this one is. The Overdrive knob is very dark and smooth, cranked all the way up and it starts to buzz, I like it @ 3 0 clock which gives a nice smooth but crunchy attack. The TONE knob is the richest Highs I have ever heard. Even when its turned all the way up its doesn't get that harsh muddy sound. I like it all the way up; my single note attacks are clear and smooth as well as my chords. The LEVEL knob is self explanitory, the louder it gets though the buzzier it gets with added boosters. The manual for this pedal is pretty lame though but its not lame enough to knock down any stars. It has your basic english, euro and asian instructions together like all Ibanez products, but its an Overdrive pedal, it shouldn't be hard to use! // 10
Sound: I compared this guy with a Fultone OCD, thinking that the Ibanez would be better and it was! While the OCD was bassy and harsh, I was used to the sound but the TS808hw was much smoother and darker. I run an American Fender Tele with a Electro-Harmonix LPB1 and a Little Big Muff with this guy and it sounds 10times better than my origanl tone with the OCD. It sounds like a heavier AC/DC album. Without the added boosters I get a nice Keith Richards crunch tone! I love this pedal sooo much. Its worth the arm and leg I sacrificed to get it! In room levels its just beautiful and cranked up for a gig and its just sooo gorgeous. I'm gettin' a chubby thinking about right now. I can't explain anymore, YouTube and sound bits sound great but in person its just so much better. With humbuckers I get a Metallica sound without tuning anything up. Sure it gets a buzzy feedback with added boosters but honestly its an overdrive, it should do that. // 10
Reliability & Durability: Made out of metal, can't beat that! I gig with this beast without any issues. I was a little worried at first to use this guy at a show because it was hanwired, but trucked on with no worries. I play everything from punk, metal, country/rockabilly to even Indie complaint rock and this this takes a beating. And if you're afraid its gonna get damaged because its handmade don't worry it comes with a big metal box to protect it. // 10
Impression: Over all if you want the best "overdrive" pedal than this is it. I play everything you can think of and it covers it all, from brutal death metal (with my added booster/gain of course) to jazz and the tone is right there for me. I've tried and own sooo many from Fulltone, Maxon, Wampler, Boss you name it I have it or owned it. Then with every dirtbox I owned I compared it and honestly, I got the tone I wanted right away with the handwire. It works great with added effects and boosters and sounds awesome with humbuckers and single coils. Honestly though for a pretty penny Ibanez should throw in a better manual with better specs and even some free stuff like a sticker or poster but over all it is worth every dollar. If this was stolen or got broken I would sell my wife for another one! that's how much I love this pedal! // 10
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