Ibanez TS-808 Reissue

hard to find the sweet spot, however there are only 3 knobs

amazing sound. i am currently running the ts through a gibson les paul standard and a fender deluxe. i thought i had all hte tone i needed, then i came accross this little baby. i am a blues man, so i didn't need tonnes of gain from it.(hint-use only a little bit of overdrive), it boosted my mids and gave me even mor singing sustain. as another person said, pay no attention to the punk rockers or death metal men about how it does'nt give enough punch. this pedal is ment to sound like an overdriven tube amp not some boss or digi-tech. if you want that duane allman or jimmy page sound , this is a must.

Fairly straightforward - overdrive, tone, and level (of distortion against original signal). Takes a bit of fiddling, but it's all pretty intuitive.

The manual was pretty basic, but functional. OK, you know in advance what you're getting, and it surprised me that there wasn't any gushing prose about the "legendary chip" or any of that. But no "suggested settings" or anything, so I'd say that Ibanez could have been a bit more helpful, but you'd need to be retarded not to work out your way around the controls.

I use a Les Paul Standard and US Tele into a Boogie Single Rectifier Solo head. Specifically, I wanted a fuzz box to drive the Fender-y clean channel, especially for the Tele, as an alternative to the Rectifier sound on the dirty channel, and also to balance the difference in volumes between the two guitars.

Does the job brilliantly, at all levels of distortion. The only control that needs watching is the tone, which can add a little fizz at the high end.

I was very impressed that there wasn't any setting where the fuzz turned into a jar full of wasps - all settings are useable, even at the full turn of the overdrive knob.

Personally I like to keep the overdrive fairy low, but boost the level/gain - I always liked the MXR Micro Amps for that, but I needed a bit more distortion. However, it sounds so natural that even at higher levels of distortion it wasn't putting out an obviously processed sound.

Out of interest I tried it on the dirty channel, and it made very little difference to the sound, but then it's distorted already, and that wasn't what I got it for. It could be used as a solo boost, but the amp's already got one of those, so it seems unlikely.

For the clean channel, it added a very solid, natural sounding distortion. Thick, and loads of sustain. It also reatains the sounds of the amp and guitars - I have no doubt that it would sound different with a strat through, say, a Marshall.

I didn't really have a particular artist in mind - I mainly play old punk stuff with my gigging band, and it offers a more vintage, '70's sound than the dirty channel, though I use both. But for my own enjoyment, I play a lot mare varied stuff, and having the choice of sounds is a great idea. It's like it's added another dirty channel to the amp.

only just got it. Seems to be solid enough, and I'd be gutted if it gave up at a gig. i won't score this one, just because I haven't gigged with it yet, but I don;t have any concerns.

Got it second hand on Ebay. Not had to deal with Ibanez, so i won;t score this one either

Does exactly what I got it for - very classy overdrive, pushing the clean channel on my valve amp. To add it to either a tranny amp, or the dirty channel seems like a waste of time, since that doesn't seem to be what it's for, although it can be used as a level/solo boost if the distortion knob is turned right down.

I've had previous fuzz boxes, but never really got a sound I liked from them, and for the last few years I'd been using a SansAmp G2 going into an old Marshall Super Lead MkII - doing a Boogie Rectifier impression. After an upgrade to a Boogie, that all seemed surplus to requirements.

My considered alternative was to be an eq pedal - an excellent way to get distortion out of a valve amp (boost most of the sliders), and one that can be tailored to get the sound you want. that might come back as an idea if I decide I want some other basic sounds. Plus those MXR Kerry Kings look really cool...

I went for the TS-808 because I wanted to drive the amp without colouring the tone too much - I didn;t want anything as generic sounding as an HM2, or a one trick pony like a Big Muff (great, but just the one sound). A friend always used one when we played in a band together at the end of the '80's - his is probably worth a fortune now - and I always loved his sound.

I know these pedals have a huge reputation, and i wouldn't want to disagree with that, but I do think it needs to be put into context. Plus i can't honestly rate whether they compare to the originals. Although my mate used to have one, his set up was completely different (strat into Marshall Super Lead), so I couldn't tell you whether my new pedal compared with his.

Would I replace it? Yes, no question.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but with a caveat that it probably depends on your set up and what you're looking for - a nice warm valve amp that needs a bit of extra bite - absolutely the right pedal. If you don't have the right amp, or want a different sound, then it might not be the pedal for you.

For me it's exactly the pedal I was after.

Just like many other overdrive pedals, features three knobs to adjust the sound, with this pedal you get a overdrive knob to set the amount of gain, tone knob to adjust the sharpness and level knob to adjust the volume level of the pedal.

This is the best overdrive pedal I ever used. Before I brought this, I used to use a Boss SD-1 and an MXR ZW 44, but I never really liked the tone I get from these pedals. I always wanted Paul Gilbert's tone. I used those overdrive pedal as a booster for my Laney TT50 combo, but never quite achieve that smoothness and sustain for soloing. However, this problem was solved when I got the TS 808, its such a versatile overdrive pedal. When pluged into a clean amplifier, produces a classic overdrive tone, like SRV great for classic rock and blues playing, absolutely smooth. Then, when used as a booster for valve amplifiers, this is where the pedal shines, smoothness and sustain. I play instrumental rock and shred guitar, main influence are Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Using the TS 808 and my Laney TT50 and also my Ibanez Jem7vwh, I basically nailed Paul Gilbert's tone. I don't have to spend time and money searching for another booster pedal ever again.

Had it for a month and still working fine, the only complain I have is basically it drains batteries real quick, and I don't like it how you need the provided conversion cord to connect to AC adapters.

never called

If your looking for a booster pedal, than this is defintely the one you want, or anybody out there searching for a smooth but yet agressive tone for soloing than get yourself one of these babies, defintely worth your money.

Like the last guy said, three knobs. Pretty simple

I'm using a Deluxe American Fat Strat with a Fender Twin amp. I have been using TS9's because that's all that was available until this came out. I even had a TS9 sent to analogman to get the silver option. We'll I've been playing guitar for 27 years and I'm here to tell you, this box is the sound I havn't been able to get any other way until now. Basically this peddle takes my strat's clean sound, boosts the mids, and add compression and overdrive. The reason I think the sound is so useful is because it retains the strat's attack in the final sound so you can really play with heart and it comes through like you intended. The TS9 is useful for a boost before this pedal for songs that need more heavy overdrive.

Don't know yet. Haven't had it break yet.

Haven't worked with Ibanez yet.

I play blues and Jazz. I love the TS-808 reissue. I'm probably going to buy another one before long. If all I had was one pedal, I could play with this one.

3 knobs, thats it....

10 different people will tell you it sounds 10 different ways, Hey, you either like it or not....

This isnt even an issue is it?

Never dealt with them.

ALL these type of pedals add a little compression, and maybe color the sound just a tad....thats what the're supposed to do. (no complaints)..... When it comes right down to it, theres only ONE pedal made today that does NOTHING more than bring out your particular guitar and amps natural tone, (sorry Mr Keeley), and to boot, there is NO bad setting you can set it to! You want opinions? Ask Jeff Beck, Page, Frampton, Walsh, Clapton, Buddy Guy, Albert Cummings,(and the list is growing so fast, the poor bastard cant keep up!) Now, combine the TS-808 with a "KLON CENTAUR" (about $344.00), and just try to make an excuse!!!

Super easy to use, as stated in all the posts before mine, 3 knobs- drive (gain), tone, and level

I have to use this space to bitch a bit- after reading several reviews, I must say that i'm SICK of these young punks talking about how this pedal doesn't have good tone because they couldn't get their favorite phony screamo bands sound with it. IT'S MEANT TO SOUND LIKE A NATURAL OVERDRIVE, PROBABLY A SOUND YOU WOULDN'T KNOW IF YOU GOT SMASHED IN THE TEETH WITH IT! Anyway, listen to 'Last Dance with Mary Jane' by Tom Petty to get an idea of what this pedal sounds like alone, ran into a clean channel amp. It's obviously awesome for what it's really meant- as a boost on your dirty channel. It gives me TONS of sustain, a great attack- truthfully with this pedal I was able to get rid of my compression/sustainer. It's that good.

No complaints, seems solid.

Never had to deal with them.

I play anything from the Beatles to Slayer, and everything in between. Rock, Blues, Metal, Prog, and so on. Sounds great with my LP Standard through a Mesa Rectoverb.

No review here, just some pratical advice.
The legendary TubeScreamer tone does not come from the pedal alone. It need's a Tube Amp after it. SRV's tone wasn't this pedal into a clean amp. It's basically a glorified preamp booster. On it's own, the Tube Screamer isn't a great sounding pedal. But when used as a lead boost it's great. The Boss OD-1 does about the same thing. SRV used the TS-808 and Steve Vai used the OD-1(Eat m Smile). Compare for yourself.

Setting the Tube Screamer up is easy. Turn up the level control all the way(preamp boost). Make sure your tube amp is set to your rhythm tone. Turn the Gain control to where you can hear the difference, same with the Tone control. 12 O'clock should do as a starting point. Remember that the more gain you add at the peddle, the more noise the amp will amplify.

Unless you shoot it with a gun. no worries

Great, as long as you understand what your buying

Three controls - Overdrive, Level and Tone. I found it simple to dial in useable sounds, but to get it sounding really great took a bit more tweaking on both amp and Pedal (as is the case with any effect) The Manual is not much cop, but you dont really need it.

I play a PRS Santana Se through the TS-808 into a Marshall DSL401. I thought the tone from my amp couldn't be much better, but this pedal proved me wrong. Setting the amp to a light distorted tone and kicking the tubescreamer in with the level control fairly high produces an awesome rock tone with bags of sustain. Meanwhile setting the amps clean channel on the verge of break up and throwing the tubescreamer into the mix with the tone control low gives a fantastic blues tone. I find that this pedal really brings out the harmonics in your tone without sounding harsh of artificial (and its virtually noiseless except at very high distortion/volume levels)

Its built like a tank, and i've had no problems with it, ive had it for 3 months, and played everyday and i'm still on my first 9 volt battery.

Never had to deal with them

Overall i think this is an excellent Overdrive pedal which can help any blues/rock guitarist in their quest for ultimate tone. It is much more versitile than you may think, and is NOT just a SRV soundalike pedal. It may be slightly overpriced, probably as a result of its reputation but in my opinio its worth every penny, and if you are a prospective buyer, then look for one secondhand, you could grab a real bargin with this beast.

Pretty Simple. Three knobs; Tone, gain and volume. Plug in and rip.

Excellent. Best OD I have used (though I usually prefer amp OD). I a/b'd it with a Maxon 808 and let me tell you, the Ibanez blew it away! No contest. The Ibanez was more responsive, warmer, lusher, had more flavorful harmonics, and was much BIGGER sounding. Made the Maxon sound like cheap dry crap in comparison. A fantanstic overdrive. Stacked on amp OD or on clean it delivers!

Don't know, but would imagine so. I just demoed it in a music store.

No idea.

I play whatever I write, which ranges from indie rock, to funk, blues, hardcore, rock, fusion, jazz, classical, folk etc.
I have been playing for 15 yrs. I run a 70's strat with a Pearly Gates in the bridge and an Alnico Pro in the neck through a modded 5150 head into a modded (for 4 ohms) 5150 cab. The 4 ohm cab mod makes the sound more "in your face" and raw and also a little louder. My amp is the best sounding 5150 I have heard. I am looking into getting a OD pedal because the amp on lower gain settings (2-3), though very toneful and raw, fantastic for rythm, does not provide articulate response to hammer-ons and pull offs so I want a good silicon OD to stack on it, as I'm tired of picking everything. Hence the a/b ing of 808's.

Simple to use, three knobs -- Overdrive, Tone, Level. Does not have a true-bypass switch, but neither did the original.

This pedal has a WAY HUGE MID-HUMP, but personally I really like that voicing. Basic SRV-tone right out of the box. It's a bit noisy when played in series with other pedals -- needs better quality caps, resistors, and buffer circuitry -- but that's one of the reasons why Analog Mike and Robert Keeley are in business.

I've had it about six-months, and no problems so far.

I really like the massive mid-hump, but I wish Ibanez made it with true-bypass from the factory. I run it in series with a Keeley modded MT-2 (eq'd for british hi-gain), and it seriously kicks a** !!