no video just experience behind it.

i was at a friends house practicing for the KOB,
i was connected to my boss bluesdriver bd2 and dimebagdarrel wah plugged in to my friends marshall jvm 410 halfstack 100watts.
so i sounded good (so i thought). i messed w/ level and gain and tone off of the bd2, got diff variations of sound and tone.
then i plugged in the tubescreamer and my friends dunlop original crybaby.
and let me tell you, instant change in tone. i got from clean to srv to gritty rock and roll tones. all settings exceeded the bd2.

now i knew the tubescreamer was a better pedal, however compared to the bd2 , NIGHT and DAY.
for those looking for a pedal. ts9 or ts808 is the way togo (though i have 0 esperience w/ts808)

Good to know. I tried a VOX Saturator the other day. I took it back after about 2 hours of playing with it. Two main complaints are 1. it doesn't change the sound of my amp enough. I can turn up the volume of my guitar to get the same effect. 2. While bypassed it made my guitar sound filtered. That is probably my biggest complaint.

Does the Tube Screamer make your guitar sound different when it's clicked off? I've heard of true bypass pedals. I guess that's what I need in a pedal. My guitar and amp combo sound too good together alone.

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-Kirk

GUITARS
'12 Sonoran Acoustic - black (dated 10/31/12)
'13 Standard Strat
AMP
Vox ac4c1-bl
PEDALS
Compressor
Big Muff
Vox Stomplab 1G
Carbon Copy Delay

actually i never clicked it off,i used the guitars volume to increase distortion.

A lot of people will say that the BD-2 is a decent pedal and that it can only be made to shine with the Keeley mod. I can't say for certain as I've never played a modded BD-2, but I can confirm your impression of mediocrity. I've never liked it. It sounded sterile and rather unimpressive to my ears. As far as Boss pedals go, I would recommend the Super Overdrive SD-1. A much better (and rather unique) sounding box.

Tubescreamers are good, and while I think they're outrageously priced, I'd seriously consider getting one. So many great players have used them that it's sort of strange not seeing one on a board. The only reason I haven't got one is the price -- better deals can be had, I think. But you're right, the TS-9 is a superior pedal to the BD-2 in virtually every regard.

If you're looking for some wicked sounding overdrive that does not sound like a generic Boss or even a TS, you ought to look at a Way Huge Pork Loin. My girlfriend gave me one for my birthday, and I adore it. They're expensive, yes, but you definitely get one hell of a pedal.

Also: a great way to get the most out of an OD pedal is to leave the drive control low and crank the volume way up. This tends to let your guitar shine through more easily, as well as providing more amp distortion as the hotter input drives the preamp.

I have an 80's TS 808. I have never found a boost pedal I like even close to as much as it. My opinion of course, but even the expensive boutique pedals don't sound as good to me. Most are based on that circuit anyway.

IMO the new ones don't sound exactly the same. They seem a bit thin to me. probably due to changes in manufacturing materials.

But I still like the new TS's more than most other boosts.

I find I really like the TS with my strat and a tube amp. It really doesn't seem to sound as good on any of my other guitars. Most of them are humbuckers so I wonder if that is why.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

You may want to try the Danelectro Cool Cat pedals. They are true bypass and priced right. Great sounds out of them. I use the Cool Cat Drive and Distortion pedals and also have the Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde. With the J & H you get a Distortion and overdrive in one pedal and can get a very wide range of tones out of it. I have also just discovered the Mod-Tone line of pedals. I just added the Mod-Tone Aqua Chorus and have had quite a few comments from listeners that it sounds very nice, which is my opinion as well. The Mod-tone stuff has quite a few demos on their website and on you tube and they are priced nicely as well. Some of them are true bypass and some have a buffered circuit that is supposed to help keep the tone from getting sucked out. I used to use Boss and Ibanez pedals but have found that they need mods to get the real good tones out of them. Keely and Analogman are probably the best places to get them modded for you. If you can use a soldering iron you can get mod kits from Monte Allums. I've used their mods for myself and many friends with great results.

The Keeley mod really makes any pedal come alive--I have an Ibanez TS-10 tube screamer (the kind favored by SRV and Gary Moore, though that doesn't necessarily cut ice with me) and a BD2, both of which were modified by Robert Keeley-The legendary Boss "fizz" is taken out, and better components are used--really nice guy and efficient company, too. I agree that the SD-1 is a nice pedal which I am considering. The modded BD-2 is a good pedal if you only use one, as it has a lot of versatility. Having said that, I prefer the sound of the TS, even though it is kind of a one-trick pony-but one hell of a trick (kind of the way I feel about Les Pauls).

A good, cheap alternative to the TS pedals is the Digitech Bad Monkey. I loved my monkey. Then I was afflicted by that disease that causes one to trade away known things they like just for the newness of something else. Invariably followed by a deep sense of regret within months, invariably followed by doing the same thing all over again. But I digress.

The Digitech Screamin' Blues is decent as well, but the Bad Monkey is about as close to a TS808 as I've seen for under 100.

I have a keeley modded Blues Driver, i bought it that way so i don't know what a standard one sounds like, can't say I have ever been impressed, just sounds artificial no matter what dials i turn or switches i flick.On the other hand I recently bought a butler audio tube driver (with the bias option, well worth the extra), plugged that into my new bassman 59 LTD and I was giggling like a school girl, never heard anything so sweet.

bluesdog88

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Regards

bluesdog88

Its all a matter of preference. IMO the Tube Screamer is an overhyped and overpriced pedal for what it is. I bought into the hype and had to get a Keeley modded TS-9. I had one for a while and I found it really thinned my sound out, and then I bought a Digitech Bad monkey and found it to be more ballsy and gritty for a third of the price. The TS-9 promptly went to ebay. I think the lack of a Bass response control really kills the TS-9. For the price I paid for mine I could have gotten a used OCD or fulldrive. The whole point is you should shop around and try everything, and not buy into blanket statements like Pedal A is better than Pedal B. Everybody's ears are different, so what sound good to one person may sound like trash to you

Well thanks for the information. I have never heard either pedal, but I would like to make an observation here. You are comparing two products that have a great price difference between the two, in fact the Ibanez TS is just under double the price of the Boss BD2 which makes for an unfair comparison IMO. It is like comparing a Blues Junior to a HotRod Deville and asking which one sounds better?

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Fender Highway One HSS Stratocaster '09
Modified Fender Champ600
Honer Special20 Harmonica

The Tweed Blues Junior?

Absolutely, turn master to 4, volume to 10, all the warmth needed for great blues.
JW

what location will you be at? I'll be at Columbus on the 20th.

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http://www.twitter.com/CAE_Music

I have a TS 9 and used to have a BD-2 pedal.At the time i liked the BD, but realised it colored my tone too much.I much prefer the pedal as a boost to push the tubes over the top than the kind of tone i was getting with the BD.Just my taste.