Which Distortion Pedal?

[Lifehouse]

If you're willing to pay for a Maxon TS, might want to take alook at the offerings from Keeley and Analogman.

 

[thor666]

ya... and on top of that, you might just want to get a cheap SD1 or TS7 and get WMUM or some other local source to mod it. simple. SD1 if i'm not wrong - the circuit is not 100% similar. TS7 is extremely close and easy to get to a TS808 after modding. But both work the same if u're not too fuzzy about the exact tone.

 

[Lifehouse]

If you're going the modded path, make sure the pedals are true bypass modded.

 

[Mr_X]

Oh i see, i thought the maxon is a copy and hence selling cheaper. Pardon my ignorance. never dealt with pedals before.

if i were to use a booster, ts-9, ts-7, sd-1 all should make it sound the same wouldn't it? or will there be a huge different?

 

[thor666]

Oh i see, i thought the maxon is a copy and hence selling cheaper. Pardon my ignorance. never dealt with pedals before.

if i were to use a booster, ts-9, ts-7, sd-1 all should make it sound the same wouldn't it? or will there be a huge different?

actually imo, yes there is a difference. that's the reason why some people are willing to pay hundreds for a ts9/808 over another.

as a reference:

Ibanez -
TS9: Mild overdrive
TS808: This is the one people usually go for. Lots of gain but still under the distortion level. usually comes with different types of 4558 chips depending on year/batch made.
TS9DX: The newer ones do not come with a JRC4558 chip. They sound cleaner, and the DX stuff makes it sound like a jump in volume more than saturation.
TS10: Another version of tubescreamer. I do not know that much. Less coveted.
TS5: Yet another version. One of the least coveted.
TS7: Ibanez's latest offering of the tubescreamer.
MS10: One of the less heard of "tubescreamers". Comes with 4 JRC4558 chips 8O Grab one if u see one.

Maxon -
OD9: Never tried before.

VS -
American Route 66: Nice, but imo not tubescreamer. It's a different territory altogether

Boss -
SD1: Almost the same design as TS9 except for asymmetrical clipping rather than symmetrical clipping. The link below suggests that SD1 suits humbucking guitars well.

http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/ampovdrv.htm

I guess which pedal to choose depends on what u're looking for in a booster.

Ok. enuff said. out.

 

[p00n]

If you're going the modded path, make sure the pedals are true bypass modded.

but with the original casing, it wouldn't be good to have it true bypasses since modifications would have to be done to the casing, so it isnt really worth it. thats what i heard from a local modder when i asked if it could be true bypassed. so perhaps getting a looper would be better.

 

[Lifehouse]

My votes still go for true bypass. There are so many mods for TB from Keeley and Analogman and they don't seem to have a problem putting true bypass for the standard casing. Also, such pedals hold their value better than a stock one. People normally use looper inconjunction with vintage efxs so using it for a standard TB doesn't really seem worthwhile.

As for drive booster, I highly reccomend the Fulltone OCD. If you can, ask MrMisse to give you a demo. The articulation of the pickings are really accented. I feel it even makes a SS amp come alive.