Ibanez TK999 Tube King Overdrive

This is a great pedal!
Bought this used, (I think it's from the 90's)
Made in Japan,
gain, bass, middle, treble and master volume and built in gate.
and the eq is much more flexible than the original Tube Driver.
Comes with 9v adaptor,
plug it in and start tweaking!

Usually I use Duesenbeg 49'er and Marshall Jubilee 2555 with 1960 cab(Celestion vintge 30)

The pedal is not noisy at all,
it had a GE jan-5751 tube in it when I bought it,
but I had 12au7 lying around so I put it in.
With both tubes the great tube tone is there. No disturbng noise.
More musical than ts-808.
And with that 3 band eq you CAN get the EJ sound out of it especially with strat.
You don't need that nose gate at all.
My Marshall likes it.

Tube King is very sturdy built, the guts are built better than Chandler tube drive wich I once had.
And the tube has a tube cover!!!!
Only complaint is that power plug which can slip out...but that's the only structural problem

No dealing with the company here...

I play rock, with modern hard twist
I've played 24 years now and have ts-808 for amp boost, and Arion sfc-1 for clean sounds.My fuzz is Ibanez wau fuzz.
Some times I use 70's Small Stone and LocoBox chocker .
My delay is ibanez analog delay in the Marshall loop.
So Tune King is my solo sound/boost because you can tweak it o much.
I love heavy proge stuff and Eric Johnson so this is solution for all my needs.
The tube makes a difference!!!
Some one recomended that
12 volt supply works much better than 9V , can't find a proper 12v supply, but I not sure if that fries the pedal ...Any thoughts on this??
I tried Chandler Tube Driver, ts-808, ts-9 as solo boost...this is better!!!!!
All my pedals are old, so this is my newest pedal!!!
Great, great little pedal. Quite unknown, still.
If you find one get it! But I can only say this MIJ version, because I had not seen the TK999US one.

This pedal is just great in low or high gain application.

I have worked out the mods for True Bypass and detailed it thoroughly: http://www.sweetwoodguitars.com/TubeKingTrueBypassMod.cfm

Ping me if you have any other mods or comments.

Very solid build on this pedal.

very easy to operate.. same as maxon rod880..difference is maxon version mark mid booster instead of mid at tubeking.

bought 12 years ago..now i have both MIJ tubeking and maxon rod880.

STOCK tubeking tube was not chinese made tube..if my memory is right,,it was jan 5751 12ax7 tube made in usa.

i did not open maxon for switch tube.

i switched 12au7 tubeking for tubeking..tk999 with 12au7 tube is best overdrive dist pedal ever i used before

it sounds such as tube amp overdrive even small gain.

maxon rod 880 is little smother than stock tk999...

however 12au7 tubeking sound much close to tube amp overdrive than rod880..

not even one problem for 12 years

not tried yet

i have played guitar for 20 years..living for part time musician..

10 gigs per a months..every place has different amp..i could not carry amp head..so i did rely on tubeking for main overdrive.. NOW
i have rod880 for backup...however tubeking working still like champ.

even with any booster(duncan ,,ts-9,,,badmonkey)...it has incredible tone regardless any amp

Well, the pedal is simple to use. It didn't come with a Manual in the Box. This unit has not been upgraded...but boy I wish it was, it needs somethin!

I play through a Custom Shop fender Vibro-King. On a Clean note: I have never in my life heard such a disgusting sound in an Effects Pedal. I must have been "Tanked" when I bought this thing...or took anothers advise without checking first. The Sound through this pedal is Nasty, Gnarly, Fuzzy, Cold...an certainly not musical. I'll be happy to chunk this one in the Waste barrell...I sure wouldn't give it to anyone...Pollution needs to be kept in check!

The Led flashes in and out...I loose tone completely and suddenly.
No cable or tube problems...a pedal problem after giging with it a few times. This is a Piece of Crud!

I can't get Ibanez to do anything...They are disgusted with the pedal too...they stopped it's production because it wasn't a money maker for them...they lost their butts in attorney's fees. Gotta be honest...

Blues Rock Player 30+ years 6 Strats 1 Tele I wouldn't even trade this pedal to someone else...I wouldn't want to take advantage of another geetaaar player! This pedal is not Musical...it' simply put "NOise" That's about all I can Share on this particular product...Very Crappy!

Quite simple to operate, gain, bass, middle, treble and master volume. On/off and noise reduction.

Found it a bit disappointing, put it this way, I vastly prefer the sound and build quality of my Tech 21 Double Drive. Sound was a touch fizzy in comparison. Used a Squier Strat with humbuckers and a Musicman Albert Lee into a Fender Custom Vibrasonic.

I'm not convinced about the build quality. The knobs keep falling off and the PSU is flimsy.

Not dealt with them, bt it is an old bit of kit.

Overall, disappointed and I sold it. It was the 'Japanese' made one and was in fantastic condition. I'd heard lots of good things about them, I remembered when it first came out. Still, I have a great basic valve amp tone and I reconmmend the Double Drive as a better overdrive and distortion type pre-amp for a dirty sound.

Easy to use, Bass, Mid and treble tone controls, bypass switch works well as pedal does not color sound of guitar when distortion is off, tube is swappable and tube change is reccomended for different quality of distortion.

Pretty nasty sounding (in a bad way) overly bright, not very focused. Then I changed the tube! I quit using 12AX7's (various brands) and put in a Philips 5157 (don't use a Sovtek) and now this thing sounds great. The 5157 seems to make all the rest of the circuitry blend in well. I use a compressor after it if I want to really tighten up the sound. Great for rock, classic rock, alternative etc. but not Metal (old Metal perhaps). For old classic blues I felt it did not work well for that but it may in your rig or style you play.

This thing is really built well, seems like it would last a lifetime.

Never dealt with them

Great for rock, classic rock but not Metal.

Well, it's just an overdrive pedal:it has a equalizer, gain level and a master level.
the only problem is the inverted position of the input end the output thatcuold be annoying if tou hav many pedals.

It sounds bloody great! The sound it's always warm . You can set have both a warm blues overdrive or a very heavy distosion. There is also a noise reduction sistem, but i prefer to play with it turned off, because it's not so necessary.
It works great also at low volume.

I have been using this pedal for a year more or less and I never had any problems. It was also used!

It' my first analogic overdrive an I'm really happy to have it. I usully play blues and progressive rock and it works great! I think it's the ultimate overdrive pedal. I payed it a lot but i would pay for it again if someone stole it(and I'd also kill him in a very slow and painful way!).

This is an update to my earlier posting, which was a review of the Japanese TK999. Having used both the US and the Japanese version now for more than a couple of years each, I have this to say about my own perception of the sound differences:

Both versions do sound similar, they share the same circuit I believe (email me if you know different). I think the Jap versions use the JRC4550 chips and the US use the raspier one, I forget the actual part number.

When I played strictly blues, I preferred the Jap version, it is more in line with an "overdrive", to my ears it did not color or distort the sound as much. In addition, it cleaned up nicer than the US version.

Playing in a mostly rock band now, I actually prefer the US version for its durability and nastier sound. Recently the 12AX7 died and I tried about 8 or 10 different varieties of tube in it. WHOA!! I simply could not believe the difference, even 2 tubes from the same manafacturer did not sound the same. I settled on a 70's or 80's RCA that sounds VERY strong, I actually keep the master volume about 3 clicks lower than where it was with the stock tube. So PLEASE try out different tubes, this is a 9-volt pedal, you would be hard pressed to hurt yourself doing it since the 300+ volts you find in amps are not present here. The tube is run in "starvation" mode, meaning it's distorting because it is being fed too LITTLE voltage.

This is an update to my earlier posting, which was a review of the Japanese TK999. Having used both the US and the Japanese version now for more than a couple of years each, I have this to say about my own perception of the sound differences:

Both versions do sound similar, they share the same circuit I believe (email me if you know different). I think the Jap versions use the JRC4550 chips and the US use the raspier one, I forget the actual part number.

When I played strictly blues, I preferred the Jap version, it is more in line with an "overdrive", to my ears it did not color or distort the sound as much. In addition, it cleaned up nicer than the US version.

Playing in a mostly rock band now, I actually prefer the US version for its durability and nastier sound. Recently the 12AX7 died and I tried about 8 or 10 different varieties of tube in it. WHOA!! I simply could not believe the difference, even 2 tubes from the same manufacturer did not sound the same. I settled on a 70's or 80's RCA that sounds VERY strong, I actually keep the master volume about 3 clicks lower than where it was with the stock tube. So PLEASE try out different tubes, this is a 9-volt pedal, you would be hard pressed to hurt yourself doing it since the 300+ volts you find in amps are not present here. The tube is run in "starvation" mode, meaning it's distorting because it is being fed too LITTLE voltage.

So there is my 2 cents. I now also use an original 80's TS-9 with (also original) JRC4550 for my quieter blues stuff. I frequently step on both the TK999US and TS-9 for a sweet saturated sound that will sustain for days and then usually turn into feedback at exactly an octave higher.

I`m not sure if this pedal was made in the US or Japan since the small sticker on the back was torn off. It has all the Eq features you could ask for in a pedal with hi,bass,mid,gain,master. It`s like having another amp on top of the one your already using. The original Marshall Guv`nor had it`s Eq features setup like the Tube King but I think the King sounds much better. Of course it has a 12ax7 no name tube that I`m pretty darn sure was stock since the factory goop was still on it. Take out the 4 screws on the bottom of the pedal and you can change tubes in no time.

I`m using a Marshall JTM 45 head,2x12 cab and a Fender Strat w/ Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge , I don`t use the tube king with the neck pickup. I try to acheive a overdriven tone that`s heavy but still warm sounding like Edward Van Halen and Jake E Lee to name a few. With the stock 12ax7 tube it sound very good but a little harsh. I then tried the following 12ax7 tubes,JJ,Electro Harmonix,Ruby and it sound best with the JJ tube , the EH tube sounded awful and the Ruby wasn`t a big change over the stock tube. I then got a 12au7 tube from a local music shop and I`m not sure of the brand but it works best for me , it didn`t seem to mellow the distortion but it`s much more pleasing to the ears. I still prefer my ToneBone Hot British but the Tube King is in a close second.

I`ve only had it a few days but I couldn`t see it having any problems unless it was take out of the house and gigged with on a regular basis. I will most likley just be using this in my house jamming .

I would even think about getting in touch with Ibanez about this pedal. There`s plenty of people on the Seymour Duncan forums with plenty of answers.

I like to play hard rock `80s style music along with ZZ Top , Black Sabbath type rock and metal. I use a TS-5 Ibanez Tubescreamer for blues and softer stuff. I kind of put the Tube King up against my Tonebone Hot British and they`re both great pedals with the Tonebone edging out the Ibanez buy half a car length. I do wish the Tonebone had a mids pot like the Ibanez. If this pedal was lost or stolen I probably wouldn`t replace it with another unless I got a great deal. One last thing , OD/Distortion pedals with a preamp tube seem to work best for me when playing hard rock music. Other pedals(SD-1,MXR Wylde Overdrive ect..) have sounded good but I`ve always had to use a seperate Eq to get the most out solid state type pedals.

Nothing to figure out - other than occasionally mixing up the input/output jacks. They are on opposite sides of the pedal than every other pedal in the world.

Unbelievable tone. I use mostly with a G&L Legacy into a Hot Rod Deville with maybe 1 or 2 pedals in line. I'm always getting guitar players coming up to me after a show wondering what in the world I'm using to get this sound! I play all style of music with gain from clean to just below Dual Rectifier metal. This pedal does it all in spades (except for the "clean boost" - it doesn't clean up by itself - I just use the volume on my guitar to get the clean boost tones)

Great construction - no problem with knobs like I've read in reviews. I've owned it 6 years now. There have been 2 problems, though:
1. I had to replace the on/off switch after 3 years - it just stopped working
2. The power supply does not "lock" into the unit. It can get kicked off or pulled out VERY easily.

Hard to get help - I had to correspond with Tube Works for assistance, of which they were very helpful. I just had to jump through a lot of hoops to get service. It's worth it, though. I'd rather have to jump through hoops for this sound than get great sevice for a so-so sound.

Don't shoot me for giving it a 10! I have to give it the best rating I can, because having played multitudes of pedals in my 20+ years of playing, I have NEVER run across anything that can touch it. If another pedal comes along that one-ups it, I'd give it a 9. If they can fix that adaptor input issue, there would be no apparent flaw in this very special piece of gear. However, the pros outwiegh the one con so heavily, it deserves the best rating I can give. Plus, he's given me so much more....