Dave da Dude Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 Ibanez site re: the newest reissue of the "Tubescreamer", However, to get the warm sound of the original TS808s, Ibanez can't use just any currently manufactured JRC4558. In over two decades since the original TS808's were made, the manufacturer has made improvements in consistency, electrical characteristics and fidelity of the JRC4558. Unfortunately, those aren't necessarily "improvements" when your goal is vintage distortion. (And don't let anyone tell you that a "chip is a chip is a chip." Chips vary from country to country, factory to factory and even foundry to foundry within a factory.) The result is that present-day chips are different than those of the "good old days." However, we discovered that we can pick out a small quantity from current lots of JRC4558 chips that match our vintage TS808 spec, if we measure them one-by-one to find those with the desired characteristics. This careful and labor intensive selection process limits the production of the TS808 and increases its cost (as does its famous old square footswitch, which had to be completely recreated in order to make for an accurate reissue). I saw the ad in the latest GP and just HAD to look. The ad also had a CH9 Chorus Reissue Limited Production and one other. The TS808 is the only one that they show on the site. So .... Has anyone tried one? Is it any good? Or is it just more marketing hype? Oh yeah, price? Musician's Friend has it for $170. Dave Gotta' geetar... got the amp. There must be SOMEthing else I... "need". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revolead Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 I'm not sure any of this is worth it when you can buy a good Keeley or Analog Man pedal for like 50 bucks less that basically does the same thing. Shut up and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teahead Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 The Keeley mods are excellent for the Tubescreamers. Believe it or not Dave, the same day the TS808 RI was released, Keeley was selling modified units on his site! Analog Mike wasn't far behind either. The 808RI still causes the same loss of low end, that appears to be a huge mid-range boost, as the TS9. If you're thinking about getting one, I urge you to try out a Keeley or Analogman moded pedal. The difference between the TS pedals he mods and the stock ones is night and day. They're not much more expensive than the price you have got. The 808 RI with mod are $199 and the "standard" TS9 pedal, modified to 808 specs, is just $159. I assure you, the $159 will blow the standard 808 out of the water. If you really want the vintage look, the $199 808 is just the same. Check out Keeleys TS. Check out Analogmans TS. Best of luck, dave! Tea. Pedal Clips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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