which od pedal

[BigB]

i'm not saying having a different chip (which some of the ts9s had, i think) makes no difference, as i had a biyang ts-alike which had swappable chips, and they made a noticeable difference. I'm saying more what you're saying in the second paragraph, which is that, assuming the same chips, i wouldn't worry about it. :)

My own TS9 ('81) doesn't have the "correct" chip (cr@p, I shouldn't say it, now I won't be able to resell it for 300+€ to a corksniffer xD), and there are no more difference between it and a reissue than between 2 reissues - they all basically sound like a TS9. I've A/B tested my TS9 with the TS9 version of the Custom Screamer and while there were more differences (the Custom Screamer sounded way better to me - more opened and organic) they still both had the TS9 character. Then I rewired the Custom Screamer in TS808 mode and the difference was (to me) much more obvious.

Especially when you consider the differences in price between the 9 and the 808- or maybe more importantly, between them and the cheap clones, which ironically often use the "right" chip.

Yeps. The TS (9, 808 or whatever) is a dirt simple and well known circuit, there's NO "special mojo" to be found in the old ones as far as I'm concerned and a clone with better quality componants will sound, well, better. Sorry for stating the obvious :mrgreen:

[dave_mc]

^ yeah. :)

it is questionable if in reality the difference is as noticeable as the people who write reviews like 'the JRC4558 lacks the subtle distortion swirl of the TL072 la la la ...... I

yeah, that's kinda what i'm saying.

I'm not saying for a second that there's not some good and bad gear out there, because obviously there is.

But when you're at the point where you're saying "Pedal A sucks because it has two different resistors in a part of the circuit which shouldn't really affect much" maybe you're not seeing the wood for the trees, kind of thing.

I dunno, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they do make such a big difference. But I'm sceptical. :lol:

[Toe-Knee]

^ yeah. :)

it is questionable if in reality the difference is as noticeable as the people who write reviews like 'the JRC4558 lacks the subtle distortion swirl of the TL072 la la la ...... I

yeah, that's kinda what i'm saying.

I'm not saying for a second that there's not some good and bad gear out there, because obviously there is.

But when you're at the point where you're saying "Pedal A sucks because it has two different resistors in a part of the circuit which shouldn't really affect much" maybe you're not seeing the wood for the trees, kind of thing.

I dunno, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they do make such a big difference. But I'm sceptical. :lol:

In the majority of the ts9s its actually also cheaper caps & cheaper IC's also.

[Sexual Chocolate]

Most of the pedals talked about are just slightly modded Tubescreamer clones made from components that cost pennies each. The prices of some of them are shocking  :(

OP, if you're still reading, you didn't mention what kind of amp you are using. Have you tried using a clean boost to try and coax the sound you're looking for from your amp? You can get some tight tones like that. Try an overdrive pedal with the gain low and the level up high. I use a BOSS EQ pedal to boost the level and kick my ENGL in the nuts and it works a treat.

Cheers!

[dave_mc]

In the majority of the ts9s its actually also cheaper caps & cheaper IC's also.

maybe that's true, i dunno

but i'd still wonder at the suggested "fix" being to get an 808. i mean as i said, there are cheap clones which use the "right" chips. and maybe decent caps too. I mean an 808 is going for £150+, and as bigB said, it's a pretty simple well-known circuit which has been copied ad infinitum.