You want a great tube overdrive pedal. You're in luck because the Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 comes punching out of the box. This green hornet still provides the crunch many of your favorite artists desire, including The Edge, Billy Joe Armstrong (bless his soul - hope he returns to the scene soon), Steve Vai, Chad Kroeger, and of course, the man who brought the pedal it's immense fame, Stevie Ray Vaughan. After 30+ years of rockin' and rollin', this tube overdrive review explains why the Tube Screamer still has game.
To be upfront, the Tube Screamer is a pedal that is on the lighter "crunch" side. The beauty lies with it's ability to allow a guitarist's true sound to come through. That's a problem if you don't dig your clean tone because then you ain't gonna dig the TS9. But seriously, what guitarist isn't obsessed with their own sound? Also, because it was first designed to push your clean tube amp, many guitarists find it's a great addition to any amp they use.
Let's get into some specs. There shouldn't be any head-scratching with the Tube Screamer because it's based upon simplicity. You can tell by it's weight that this pedal is built to last. The working parts include the chrome footswitch, one input and output, and only three knobs: 1. Drive 2. Tone 3. Level. Default settings are 12 0'clock. Turn counter-clockwise for less effect, turn clockwise for more.
To control how much your clean signal is affected by crunch, turn the Drive knob either left or right. Default is 12 o'clock and will give you a real bluesy distortion. Crank it left, at it's lowest setting, you'll get more of a straight-line crunch without the roundness of the 12 o'clock setting. Also, the sustain is shorter the further left you turn the Drive knob. If you want mostly crunch with a medium-length sustain turn to the right of 12 o'clock. This will give you a George Thorogood guitar sound.
Changing the high and low frequencies is done with the Tone Knob. Farther to the left = higher frequencies. Farther to the right = lower frequencies. Dial in your sound by adjusting the positions on both the Drive and Tone knobs.
Your volume control is handled by the "level" knob. It doesn't effect the level of your normal signal, but does give you that "gain" element when you stomp the pedal "on". This is most effective when you need to jump above the rest of the band during a solo.
There you have it. You should be able to jump right in and create a great sound with your new Tube Screamer!
I've also written a detailed review of the Boss Loop Station if you're in the market for combining overdrive with the flexibility of a one-man band. The possibilities with both the Tube Screamer and the Loop Station are limitless!
Cheers and see you at the next jam!
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