Ibanez TS-808 Reissue

3 knobs ez. This is a follow-up to my review a couple of weeks ago.

I've had my Keeley $50 mod back for a week now...and WOW. A lot of other people are giving the stock Ibanez TS-808 reissue a 10 or other high scores...but as mentioned...I thought it sucked.

I've been playing 35 years and mostly run a EJ Strat thru a variety of nice amps. As mentioned...I never owned the original TS808...so I'm no expert on the sound.

There must be a real so many competent ppl are modding even the reissue TS808. I am absolutely in luv with the Keeley modded TS808.
I got the $50 mod. As much as I luv Keeley's stuff...I may also get an AnalogMan TS808 reissue mod as well.

Again...$50 for the mod. The reissue itself cost $169.

Yup...in my one humble opinion....the stock reissue was awful sounding...esp compared to after having a competent person mod it.

Now...it will never be out of my effects chain...and I am a minimalist.

This is a pretty straight forward unit to use. There is a enough room on the knobs to tweak a bit but this a fairly singular usage pedal on it's own. But that isn't the beauty of it. It's how it fits with the rest of your rig.

My main setup is a US Neck-Through Mahogany Jackson Soloist with EMG's into a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier and Mesa 4x12. And occasionally a 535Q Dunlop Wah. I don't particular like pedals I find that they suck the tone out of a good amp. I had a pedal phase when I was first starting guitar and doing the grunge thing. I've owned Boss OD-2, DS-1, MetalZone, and this pedal is not in the same category as those. Through a good setup those pedals sound cheap and processed. It seems almost like sacriledge to run those through good amp. If you want a high distortion sound get the amp that already has that potential.

This pedal is mid driven (like the guitar signal itself), warm, and low gain. This pedal fills out your tone and adds slight gain to it. It does not produce your distortion unless you are looking for some old blues sound. I was convinced that I would never want a distortion pedal again after comparing those crap boxes to the pure tone of my Mesa. Actually I made that decision before that when I used play a Marshall DSL100.

Anyway the Mesa sounds absolute huge and crushing in Modern Channel 3. But especially noticeable with leads it was missing that front end grit that Marshalls have. Even at high gain it was clear and defined. Awesome for chugging rythmns but just missing something. Something that could be partially gained back by running it with the Rectifier Tubes but then the overall tone loses power. Finally with the TS-808 to my surprise I found that missing piece. Just a bit of gain out front to push and distort those high mids that I scoop out of my tone on the amp. The end result is absolutely crushing.

I wish I had the chance to try the original I can only imagine what it sounded like. I'm giving it a 9 because although it does what it does amazingly I'm sure there are better similar units out there.

I'm sure it's pretty sturdy. Probably dependable. There are original units still around and imagine these reissues are built similarly. But I'm not mean to pedals.. I actually hide this behind my amp left on all the time. I'd gig without a backup cause it isn't essential to my tone just that added flavour. I'm sure in standard live setup people are are barely gonna tell the difference.

Who knows? I've luckily never had to deal with customer support for any of my gear. I've played several hundred shows and toured and I've come to depend on my gear or fix it myself.

My primary music style is punk hardcore and metalcore. So not quite as much over the top saturation as some death metal, but definately more than classic metal or hardrock. The TS-808 feels like that piece I was missing. Gives back that EL34 crunch without losing very much 6L6 clarity while making my guitar tone sound more saturated at the same time. And I'm only running both my amp and pedal gain around 1 o'clock. Lots more room to crank it.

I wrote this review largely to these kids(not that I should call them that I'm not really much older than them) who are complaining about it's lack of distortion for their Nu-Metal when their favourite artists like Mick Thompson from Slipknot uses it, or even going further back Kirk Hammet from Metallica. Or perhaps maybe more modern their favourite Metalcore and Screamo bands. They complain they can't get their tone out of this pedal and are pushing it through a fender frontman or running it with a Metalzone. This pedal is not a replacement for a good amp distortion. It's one of the most natural sounding boosts you will find.

Only two downsides. One, is whether or not the price is worth it. Considering it costs a fraction of what everything else in my rig does it's not a big deal if it can provide what I need. Second, it isn't true bypass and it definitely sucks tone when it's off. Luckily I run it on all the time. If it was stolen I don't see why I wouldn't pick up another one. This is the first effect I feel comfortable running with my mesa all the time. My wah and G Major mainly come out for studio work as I hate how much the tone is taken from the amp the added complication live. The TS-808 can also give a little practice amp that extra punch. All around useful little box.

Ez is not the problem.

I've been playing for many years...and have lots of great guitars and amps. I'm disappointed with this unit as it sounds muddy and wooly to me. I much prefer my Rat2 Keeley mod and my Keeley FuzzHead with their fuzz overdrive qualities. And I'd like to own a Pete Cornish effect some day. I'm sure I'm going to have Keeley mod this unit for me. I never owned the original TS808 so I can't say that I'm an expert on what this thing should sound like...I just know that I'd not thrilled with the sound. I just bought it new a month ago and have been "testing" it a lot.

I have older Ibanez pedals...they are well built.

Never had to deal with them.

I'm going to give this a 5. Again...I'm not an expert...but if I'm not mistaken...the TS808 re-issue...is not built like the original.

I wonder if Ibanez just decided to "sell out" and cash in. If that's true...what a disappointment. My unit will be modded.

um, easy?
yes. turn the knobs to make yourself happy.

ok, so i found an old used soundtank tubescreamer used at my local music store *look it up on google, they looked funny, kindda like a beetle* . i bought it because tubescreamers were supposed to be "THE" pedal. i loved that pedal, even though it was the cheapy one. still sounded good, i played it side by side with a ts9 in store. it had mere differences. so i bought. months later, on a whim, i ordered the ts808 online.
holy crap! ok, it's just flat out warm! smooth, has a nice response to your playing. they are not lying when they say cream.
i found the trick is to put a compressor in the front of your chain. i had the boss cs3 for a while, but i found it to be a little too noisy and thin. then i bought off of a friend an ibanez cp10 for just 10 bucks!!! wow, i liked it because it had a warmer tone. it leant itself to a more vintage tone, i fealt it was more of a musical styled compression, not as harsh or as noisy as the boss cs3. what the compressor does is opens up your sound, there's a fullness to the tone. kindda like busts the doors open. trust me, put a compressor in front of your ts808!
i also like how it seems like it has layers. set it to have a mild OD *between 9 oclock and 11 oclock* and set the tone roughly at 12 oclock and strum once, listen to how the guitar comes through with a nice bite while it also seems like it's also chilling out in the background. you'll love the way your guitar rings out.

throw it at someone's head and be ready to take them to the hospital.

?? never had to call.

yes, this is THE pedal to have. it's for everyone, besides metal. i find that i leave it on most of the time. i use a mexi-strat with vintage noiseless PUs and a DeArmond SG copy. the dearmond likes this pedal. the sound is thick. the ts808 even cheated on the dearmond with the strat. this pedal is a WHORE for tone.
like i said before, put a compressor in the front of your pedal chain. i then put in the ts808. see what it does in front of your other pedals. place it in front of a high gain pedal. i have it in front of a marshall gov'nor 2 and a danelectro daddy-o. it fills out those pedals. i also have at the end of the pedal chain a tube works blue tube, since my amp is a solid state. (laney gc-80a, don't knock me yet, it's a killer solid state!) the ts808 makes sweet audio love with tubes. try it out, warm up your tone, fall in love with the cream.

Very simple, three nobs I have one that isn't modified. Manuel is basic

It is what it is, the most famous one out there. It is a bit heavier and darker than the TS-9 but similar. If you don't have the bucks the TS-7 is very close and has more drive. These pedals are just so smooth and full. The bosses and digitechs just can't compete but if you like a trebly sound stick with boss pedals. I love this with my stratocaster and my 212 peavey chorus. It mellows out the the single coils nicely. I sound lik Trey Anastasio but with more bite. It sounds like the solo for Eric Claptain's "cocaine" I've can finally say I have settled down with one pedal after owning about 15 of them over the years. I also have a clean boost and when I use it it can get very heavy and super smooth. Not recommended for metal unless you have another overdrive before it. Looks cool, very retro.

Seems nice, don't know. Built in Japan which to be honest has higher standards then the USA.

don't know

I'd give it aaten but it is pricey and I honestly don't why it's more the the well built TS-9. It's a beatiful pedal and a week or two after cringing at the price you'll feel like you have a high quality piece of equipment for life. The resale is good too if you want to get rid of it.

Very easy to dial in a wide assortment of good sounds. The knobs have a nice range to choose from. There are lots of great tones to be had in this pedal.

The original TS 808s are legendary for a good reason - they offer some of the best overdrive sounds out there. If you can even find one for sale expect to pay a very steep price. Again, for good reason. The reissues are pretty close at a much more affordable price. This pedal works great as an overdrive or also as a boost. With a decent tube amp and a quality guitar this pedal can handle most situations.

Ibanez makes some high quality stuff so this pedal should last a long time. How many of the original issue TS 808s are still in service ?

How many great recordings featured the original issue TS808s ? Now you can get a very close version of those pedals at a much more reasonable price. Some will argue that they don't sound exactly the same, but that's why they are called 'reissues.' Besides, not every one of the originals sounded perfect either, and after years of use the newer version is probably more reliable too. A good investment you won't regret.

extremly easy to use, only 3 knobs

Well this little box sounds great. I use a clapton strat>vox clyde McCoy wah>ts808> Fender Blues Deluxe reissue. Almos every setting sounds good on this unless you put the tone all the way up. Alsolutly no noise. It sounds great with my wah pedal. It's very warm. best pedal ever.

Well the constiction is good. After having it for a few months the overdrive knob started spinning in circles. I gonna get it replaced. Must have been a lemon

Very, very easy to use. As others said just 3 knobs which are easy to operate

This is a personal thing. It depends a great deal on your amp. I have had wonderful results from my TS808 hooked up to a Fender DeVille 4X10 and a standard 15 year old strat. I don't think you can ever get exactly the same tone as the SRVs or Rory Gallaghers, Claptons etc. You need to develop your own unique sound by working on your technique and skills which is ulimately more important than any effects unit. However this box will add to your sound hugely if used correctly.Don't crank all the controls to max and hope for the best. You have to experiment and develop your tonal ear. I have tried many boss, vox etc units and none seem to have the understated warmth of this ts808 unit. On the clean channel it gives a kind of Lynard Skynard Alabama type raw rock overdrive whilst on the drive it can produce a very warm yet driving Danny Gatton/Robben Ford country rock sound with compression coming from intelligent use of the level control. I would urge you to also experiment with the guitar volume and tone controlls for best effect as these can dramatically colour your tone. No annoying hums or squeaks from this unit. It works beautifully. A very nice piece of kit which you need to understand fully to get the best results from.

Very robust. No shortcomings here.

Haven't had to deal with Ibanez.

I used to be a purist until I discovered the ts808 nowI would not be without it. I keep it swithched on and on top of my amp for easy access for tone controls. This is great for rock and country which I play mainly. Not for metal heads that's for sure. Far too clever and understated for that!!

The TS-808 has three knobs: Overdrive, Tone and Gain. That's really all you need. Just set the knobs where you want them and go.

This is truly a phenomenal tone box. Yeah, you can pump up your volume lots with this box. But I tend to use it as a tone shaper to give me a grittier sound when I need it. The TS-808 responds very well to your guitar's volume and how you attack your strings. You can get a nice bright twang at lower volumes and light attack. Pump up your volume knob on your guitar and you get a creamy smooth overdriven distortion that doesn't muddy your tone. That's so important because some boxes I've tried tend to flatten out my tone when attacked hard. Not a problem with this box.

All that said, I didn't give the box a 10 in this category because the tone knob has very little effect on the overall sound unless you set it to the extremes. But that's okay because I do a lot of my tone control on my guitars anyway, so I just leave the tone control in the middle position.

I gig with the box and use it in my home studio. I'm pretty careful with all my stuff, but gigging takes its toll as you jostle things around transporting your gear. Haven't had a problem with anything breaking on the TS-808. A lot of this has to do with its heavy-duty construction - it's a very heavy box considering that it's a standard size stomp box!

Haven't had to contact them yet! (Fingers crossed)

I play a variety of musical styles from neo-classical to hard-driving classic and blues rock to contemporary Christian music, and set up right for a particular style, this box delivers what I need, no matter the style I'm playing. That's why I call it a tone shaper more than just a simple overdrive box. It'll scream when you need it, but at low volume applications it really brightens up your tone and makes your sound oh so much warmer. I play an ES-335 and a Strat with Tex Mex pickups through it, going into a re-tubed and modded Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and I just love how it sounds with either of these guitars!

To be honest, I've also got a couple of solid state amps: A Roland Cube 60 and a Line 6 Flextone III. The TS-808 sounds pretty good with the Cube 60 in the clean channel, but it does very little to enhance the sound with the Flextone or the boosted/COSM channel of the Cube. Both of these are modeling amps, so they have their circuitry set up to mimick specific kinds of amp settings, especially in the case of the Flextone III where you can set up compression, reverb, overdrive and the like, so putting a box like this in front of it, tends to just dirty the sound. I use these amps for their strengths: The Cube 60 is actually a great amp for acoustic guitar (I also put a tube pre in front of it to warm up the tone a bit), and you just can't beat the Flextone for its versatility in the studio when you want a particular guitar sound.

But for live performance, I'll stick with a tube amp any day. I don't play real large venues, so the Hot Rod works great for my purpose - it is a basic amp that gives me a wonderfully clean, basic sound from which I can use as a foundation for shaping my tone with my effect pedals. The TS-808 sits near the front of my signal chain, right behind my compressor which, by the way creates a very interesting combination, but that's for another discussion...

3-knobs, if you can read this you'll be fine. I should say it is IMpossible not to get good tone out of it. Only a one to two knob booster could be simpler

Very easy to get the sounds of many various guitarists simply because this IS the unit they used. The TS808 drove more guitars in recording studios and live stage settings than any other single OD unit. It doesn't imitate their OD pedals, it IS their pedal in many cases. Whether it was a TS9/808 chip, Maxon 808 or the Ibanez TS808, they are the same and offer the same tone beca. Just make sure your taste in tone matches those artists and you'll be OK. Who are they, Stevie Ray Vaughn for one.
Its drive tone sports a very obvious mid-range hump - this is its signature characteristic and although I love it, it's easy to imagine plenty of folks out there who won't find it their cup of tea. There's a noticeable but not catastrophic loss of bottom end when the unit is engaged but the bottom end loss is about par for most overdrives as bottom end loss seems to come with the territory. It's worth mentioning that if bottom end is key, the you should check out a Digitech Bad Monkey for $40(best "Bang for the buck" overdrive out there!) or a Boss OD-3 for under a hundred.
The TS808 Re-issue and the less expensive TS9 are near twins of each other. The Ibanez website states the TS808 being a tad "warmer", while the TS9 is a bit "clearer". Well, I own both and no two words could better describe their very subtle differences. One is not better than the other at all despite the price difference - tonally, they are like very near identical twins. Anyone preparing to plunk down $170+ for this unit should certainly research the TS9 re-issue first for almost $80 less. I tested both side by side in the store and it took a while to discern the tonal difference but once detecting it couldn't decide if I liked apples or oranges better(was more like Brazilian oranges vs. Florida Oranges.. very similar). Anyway, I couldn't decide on one unique quality over the other and I got both.. nice strategy Ibanez, it worked! I'm digressing into the TS9 /TS808 debate a good deal becuase many reading these reviews are considering one or the other. Quite honestly, a TS9 is a better deal as it's just as good, a mere half degree less warm, a hair clearer and nearly half the price. Well, back to the TS808 though....
The TS808 is THE overdrive for the "less is more" crowd. I would imagine those that prefer single coils rather than humbuckers will gravitate toward the TS808 / TS9 tone while the humbucker crowd would appreciate the option of a bit more drive offered by other OD's on the market.
The debate regarding whether a tube amp is required with the pedal for it to work may concern some who have a solid state amp. There's much to be said here but I'll try to sum it up as I've got both types of amps and can tell you first hand what the deal is. For one, I'll tell you that it's no opinion that tube tone is superior to solid state. SS has many strengths and this includes tone. It simply takes second place to tube tone which must be heard to understand really. (If a Porche loses to a Ferrari it doesn't mean the Porshe was slow...) Will it work with a ss(solid state) amp. Yes, and it sounds nice. What you get is the pure tone of the TS808's overdrive. Again, this is a good thing. TS808 through a tube amp? Well, the tonal mojo magic only happens here because of the way the TS808 reacts with the tubes. The sum of these two properties gives you something completely different that's missed with an SS amp. A bit like hydrogen when mixed with oxygen gives you this thing called water - quite different from either gas. And I'm not knocking SS, the TS808 is itself solid state in fact. Food for thought..
Bluntly: to modify a TS808 is to take away from it. You can't make the real thing more real by changing it. The TS808 got a loyal following based on what it is regardless of what a tinkerer / tech will tell you. To forget this is foolish. And another blunt fact, the re-issue TS808 is EXACTLY the same (materials & TONE!) as the original. Don't get $$$uckered!

Heaviest little green brick I ever held. Till further notice it gets a ten...

The fact I never needed them almost warrants a ten. But I really couldn't say.. Web site has a helpful description that was quite honest and accurate as far as tonal descriptions go.

It gets a nine only because the TS9, while tonally a hair different, will satisfy my TS808 needs fro close to half the price. Having both though I find I play through the 808 more... I'd say the TS808 to my ear is about 14 cents better than the TS9, not $80.. so you tell me what I think is better, I'm on the fence weighing the economic factors in. If you win the Powerball lottery or are robbing a music store... I guess I'd say go for the TS808,.. and RUN!