Tube Screamer

The original Tube Screamer was the Ibanez TS-808. It uses the JRC4558 op amp chip made by Texas Instruments in Japan This chip was used throughout production however not consistently. Some variants used different op amps and some were inferior. Some TS-808's used the RC4558P chip from Malaysia. This is a popular chip with the DIY crowd but the difference is very slight. The JRC chip actually sounds like an authentic Tube Screamer, the classic sound. The RC sound is a variant.

Do not waste your money by investing in NOS JRC chips. There is no difference between the originals and the current JRC4558D. You can also find a NJM4558 which is the same chip. Changing the JRC to NJM reflects the name change of the company who makes these chips.

What makes the tube screamer sound so good? Ever notice, when playing through a tube screamer, that you can sort of hear your clean guitar mixed in with the overdriven signal? This is actually what the TS-808 is doing electronically. This feature is also responsible for the Tube Screamers lack of muddiness, and its ability to preserve the true tone of your guitars pickups lending to its responsiveness. These are the hallmarks of what makes the TS-808 so special.

A lot of guys talk about changing various cap values to do things like changing the eq curve or gain structure. Although various successful TS 808 mods do exist, they usually do not involve changing cap values. This simply takes away that classic tube screamer sound that has made the pedal so successful in the first place. Players who actually gig with a TS-808 report that cap substitution mods usually make the pedal muddy and totally changes how the tube screamer interacts with the amp. Again, this goes back to why the Tube Screamer is so popular in the first place.

BYOC makes an awesome TS 808 clone called 'The Screamer'. It sounds incredible. I'll put this pedal against any of the boutique TS 808 clones out there and probably win. I can't say I have heard anything sound better than the BYOC Screamer. It is identical to the TS 808 but the components are higher quality. This is doubly true for the reissued TS-808 which are very cheaply made. The BYOC kit is $99.

Analogman is the absolute authority on Tube Screamers. If he contradicts anything I have said here then go with what he said! Check out his Tube Screamer resources and mods.

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