Jacques Stompboxes Tubeblower

Very easy to use. Level & Drive are self explanitory and Low & High are basic EQ/Tone settings. Simple.

Fantastic. This things has more fat tones and hormonics and overtones than other distortions I have used or heard, including the Ibanez Tubescreamer and Vox Valvetone. It has so much extra power and really makes my Fender HotRod Deluxe sound better than it really is. It has way better sounds than any other similarly priced pedal and I reckon it could give those really expensive boutique effects a run for their money too.

Solid, like a house brick. Very sturdy design and feel. The knobs even feel welded on. Quality of the highest order. I would rely on this at a gig without any worries.

N/A

A very good investment. I use a fender strat, fender hotrod deluxe and nobels tremolo TR-X. That's it. The Tube Blower is all I need to play blues, rock and a bit of pop. If it did break or get stolen I would certainly buy another.

Again a follow-up...
It turned out my unit had a problem with the bypass circuitry, hence the drop-outs which made the pedal useless as a booster for me.
My new one works perfectly, no drops, only holy tone.
So now it's back at its place, before my amp or sansamp (original, incredible box even after all these years) and I couldn't be happier.
The Nobels I used instead is now retiring, the jacques sounds better in bypass mode, and has no noise while being healthy in booster mode.
Guess what: I paid my Nobels 4times less...

an overdrive, like many others, common four knobs...

hand made es335 (humbackers) on marshall jtm60
second just to the ts808 vintage, it's a tube screamer, and it screams, even if now i use it just as a boost with a little bit of dirt...

why a minijack for the adaptor and not a boss-like?

you are rich -> you buy an old ts808 or an handmade one like so many on the market
you are a moneywaster -> you buy a ts9 and you modify it
you are intelligent -> you buy it

Very easy. 4 knobs: Bass, treble, gain, output. The only thing I miss is a stombox you can open from the upper side to change the batery...
So only 9 !

I use it with different Bassguitars and a Line6 guitar. I'm a Bassman. I got two amps: Trace eliot and Ashdown.
Well lets say it like that: For my taste the best sounding Bass overdrive I ever played. Tubescreamersound and more! More bass! More gain! More dynamic interaction. Before I tried and played: TS5, TS7, Guvenor, EBS Multidrive, Ibanez Phat Head, Sansamp. All these pedals don't sing! The tube blower does AND is agressive!

Have it now for 3 weeks. Had one gig with it. Looks reliable. 3 years warranty.

Never dealt with them!

I make music for 28 years (piano) and startet palying bass and guitar 19 years ago. Played in several unsuccesful Bands. Had alltogether around 80 gigs. So much for me. Play from Funk to Punk...
its just gooooood Sounding. I tried it with guitar....even BETTTTTER sounding. I'm so glad i found this Pedal. My search is over now!

Very easy to get a good sound - just use your ears. It comes with a small manual, but it's not necessary. All the knobs actually do something so you can dial in the tones you want.

The sound quality is excellent. It is very quiet for an OD/Dist. unit especially at high gain levels. I play a Zero aluminum body double cutaway ( think double cut Les Paul shape) with 2 P 90's into the Tubeblower, a Barber Direct Drive, Vox Wah, Jaques Meistersinger, and MXR Analog Delay. It works well with all the other pedals. This chain goes into a DR Z Maz 18. I don't really try to get anybody else's sound per se, but I find I can get a good range of sounds out of this pedal because of it's wide range. This pedal is modeled on the TS 808, but has a much wider range of distortion - from light boost to as much as you need before entering metal territory. It has much more tonal range than the TS 808,( not just the midrange punch) so it's more versatile. If you like that sound but with a whole lot more bottom end and gain, this is the one. One of the best things about this pedal is that while it compresses, it doesn't round off the front end of the note like so many pedals do. This thing articulates well, and has solid attack. I'd rate it a 10 because of it's clarity and tone

I've only had it for 3 weeks so I don't know about reliability other than what others have said. The box is well made and is pretty heavy for it's size.

Don't know about customer support regarding repairs or warranty, but Jaques was very helpful and quick in responding when I had questions prior to purchasing the pedal. Can't rate ir yet but I'll update it in 6 months

I ply a variety of styles including blues, country, pop, rock, some standards some alternative,etc. I don't play metal. I finds this pedal to be versatile enough to cover any of this stuff when I need any shade of OD or distortion, but it does not do fuzz.The Fuseblower II, Battfuzz and a brand new pedal Jaques has out, do fuzz tones very well. I've been playing guitar for 35 years , and this is definitely one of the best OD/Distortion units I've heard. It crunches, it compresses, it boosts,it keeps it's edge at the front end of the note, and has great tone. I use this unit about 95% of the time for distortion. I use a Barber Direct Drive for a few things, but if I had to choose one or the other the Jaques would be the one for me. I have owned or tried out a bunch of OD/Dist. boxes including an MXR Zak Wylde Distortion, Boss Blues Driver, Boss DS1,Boss SD1, Mesa V Twin, Ibanez TS9, and several tube driven boxes, and like this the best. If lost or stolen I'd definitely get another one. One unusual thing about this pedal - It has sprung metal straps that the battery terminals press against, instead of clips. The disadvantage is that you must insert a small piece of cardboard between the bottom of the battery and the casing to keep good electrical contact. The advantage is that it's quicker to change the battery, and you don't have to worry about damaged wires or terminal clips. I highly recommend this pedal to anyone who wants a great analog OD/Distortion unit, and especially those who like the TS 808. This pedal is a great improvement to the TS 808 design, and does not have that midrange hump unless you want it.

Hmm... 4 knobs, with the labels......

This is what the whole review is all about, the sound quality. I've tried some high end pedals: Fulltone DP-1, Ibanez TS-808, TS-9, TS-9dx. I have also tried mid range, like all of the boss overdrives and distortions. This thing is great. The problem with the TS-808 for me is that it didn't have enough gain and the mids really popped out and it killed the rest of the EQ of the guitar. If you really want that type of sound, than go buy the TS-808 for $30 more. This thing is really transparent and lets the guitar come through. It has lots of gain on it which would probably be enough for hard rock. The EQ lets you dial in the TS-808 heavy on the mids sound, but it also will let you shape your own tone which works ou really well. I've pushed an old 59's era gibson 30 watt amp with it and the tubeblower is perfect for this as well. At home I use a Gibson Explorer 76 reissue through a Mesa dual rectifier head with a Marshall 1960A cabinet. I know it's kind of crazy to have a distortion pedal when I have a mesa, but this thing is that cool.

Heavy duty.

I emailed Jacque about a power supply question, he emailed me in less than 24 hours. He was really helpful. Great.

This thing is it. In fact, I'm probably going to buy more Jacque pedals. I kind of want to keep the brand on the low down because I want to be different, but these are too good to be true. This is a great distortion/overdrive pedal. Word to the wise, it won't get a nirvana fuzz level of distortion, but has more than any hard rock player will ever need. If you want more and more gain look at the fuseblower2 and the Bat fuzz. One of the best distortions (including amps) that I have ever heard.

With level,low,high and drive knobs its a breeze to set up and find "your" sound.
If anything there are too many "sweet spots" on this stomper to choose from !
A programmable one with memories please Jacques !!
A better manual would help, but its a "quirky typical Jacques" explanation thats fun to read !.

I've come back to guitar and bass recently, after years of pushing down plastic/Ivory keys ! and have been searching ( like everyone) for the best overdrive/distortion pedal out there.
I've had original vintage stompers: TS808, TS9, OD1,OD855 etc etc which have given some great results inbetween a '62 reissue strat and my Marshall JMP-1.
The "Tube blower" has the best of all these and a whole lot more!.
Think TS808 with more tone/gain and drive ! Amazing little pedal which will cover clean boost through blues ( SRV) to hard rock.
This is also one of the quietest pedals ever, preserving the guitars tone with no problems.

So far so good, its built like a tank and has a very solid heavy feel to it, so i dont forsee any problems.
One minus point deducted for the battery connection, which is a "push" connection on to two copper bands, which bend and will become loose over time.
Better than rewiring crappy PP3 connectors though !.

Jacques is a "top bloke" who will help you out and answer emails very quickly.
He is a total "gear nut" and very qualified to answer your questions, just check out his vintage collection !!! Awesome.

The Tube blower will make you want to play all the time, it has a wicked range of sounds and "blows" ( sorry!) the rest away by miles, i kid you not !.
DO NOT spend hundreds on "vintage" "noisey" "beat up" pedals which dont even come close to this little baby, just buy two or three of these, or Jacques other stompers instead.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PEDAL

That is a follow-up, one year after. Still wonderful little box, I found out it was also good after a sans-amp original, to spice and add bass to the tone. The battery consumption is very very low, and its dual 9v-plugs still so valuable to chain other effects(a sans amp original!), provided you have adapters or,better, a soldering iron...
What bothers me, though, is the sort of drop you have when switching the device on&off, it makes on-the-fly changes(when rythming and you solo just a phrase) unnatural and some of the sound is cut off. For this reason I don't use it as a booster anymore, but I'm no bluesman.
I use a nobels odr-1 which I prefer, it sounds as good if not better with no switching problems. That's all folks, thanks for reading

you know, i'm the kind of guy that sees lot's of gushy reviews like those for this box, and tries to be the stick in the mud. but this pedal really is all it's chopped up to be. i do really out there screwy electronic music but i play guitar a lot along with my machines and gizmos. i have to say that i half ass a lot guitar gear stuff, for instance i play it through my solid state keyboard amp (by default really, cause electronics lose too much of their frequencies through guit amps). however, i'd come to accept that my cheap danelectro plywood crap guit would always sound a little unsatisfying through my keyboard amp (flat as heck souding, no life). i've been putting it through a 12ax7 tube preamp to broaden it's twang, give it a little fuzz. it went from being a flat dead sound to being an "ok" somewhat noisey mushy warm fuzz. not terribly invigorating though. then i read about this pedal, decided to splurge on the money and get it, sell my preamp.
damn! it is all they say. really opened up my guitar sound, now it sounds like i'm playing through a tube guitar amp. actually better, cause my friend has a big fender tube combo, which is more abrasive and less inspiring than the sound of my shit guitar going into a TB into a keyboard amp!
i don't do blues! i hate SRV (r.i.p., though). i don't like very much classic rock. this pedal just makes a guitar sound beautiful. no genres attached to it. it's transparent, yet what it does to the sound is very APPARENT.
great great great. i hear jacques is a real nut too. even better.
i haven't been this excited about my guitar sound since i had a MIJ strat years ago w/ a seymour duncan hot rails pickup in the bridge post. THAT sounded brilliant. that thing got stolen (degenerate lowlifes, s.o.b.s). i got more into electronics, and started playing less guitar, certainly due in part to the fact that my guitars and amps just didn't sound good anymore. i'm not rich, and i put all my money into non guit related gear.
now because of this one pedal, i'm playing guitar constantly. good sounding guit tone is magical. just wonderful.
merci, jacques.

lets see, how easy is it to get a good sound.. hmm the minute i opened the box i took it out and maxed all the knobs and level at noon ..
put my Keeley comp both knobs set at noon and then my keeley java boost tone at 9 o'clock level at noon and toggle in the mid position , plugged into a mij jaguar , mij jazzmaster , mim strat, gibson sg, epiphone dot,
and the sound was amazing !! Yes Very Easy to use !!

I have been through the following pedals in search of the right overdrive. Pro co Rat (vintage and turbo) big muff pi (russian & usa)
Dod 250 preamp , F.A.T. multi scream, Boss DS-1 , Boss Metal zone, Jekyll and hyde (moded and stock versions) Nelsound apex fuzz, Frantone hepcat,
Mr. ED distortion, Sobbat Fuzz breaker,Ts-9 DX,marshall drivemaster,rocktron rampage etc etc .. so as you can see i have tried almost everything this year. I can honestly say that after thousands of dollars and countless hours of tweaking pedals that gave me everything from a crappy sound to uncontrolable feedback to a sound close enough to be content , I have finally found my overdrive pedal. Im plugged into 2 very good amps a Bad Cat cubII and a Top Hat club both class A hand made amps priced up the ying yang. I have a mixture of Keeley,analogman,guyatone,digitech on my pedalboard and believe me im very critical when it comes to what is placed on my pedalboard. The jaques tube blower is the most natural sounding overdrive i have encountered that has the right ammount of gain/boost/clarity and bottom end while lacking in just about nothing. I would not recomend this pedal for someone in search of Heavy metal mayhem but maybe best suited for someone in the blues , hard rock vein. I dont know how this amp reacts with other pedals out there but i know it works well with my setup. not alot of noise out of this pedal. I cant say anything about it sounding like a vintage 808 because i never owned one.. i do know this pedal is what i have been hearing in my head and I suggest you try it out !

I have had one issue and one issue only with this pedal. When i first got it the battery seemed to fit really loose inside the compartment, nothing a piece of cardboard via matchbox couldnt fix. other then that the pedals
footswitch is smooth and the construction is very sturdy. dont think it would brake down. might want to use an adapter or power supply, I love this pedal so its rating goes from 10 to a 9 since i didnt have to send it back to fix it.

email em , I think the tech guy has nothing to do but answer emails all day. very quick to respond \m/ (`o`) \m/ ROCK OUT EMAIL GUY

I have been Playing about 3 years. and all 3 years i have been with the same band. I have been through about 15 amps almost 70 pedals -20 guitars
and have finally found my sound. Im into the alot of styless but stick to what i grew up listening to, everything from the Pixes/nirvana to radiohead/the stone roses the jesus and mary chain. new order, the smiths,anything box-depeche mode.. new wave to post grunge / alternative. I have no real guitar idols because i believe great sound is acheieved as a band and everyone in a band plays there own part in making up a good sound. I am very anal about gear from the guitar to the cables to the amp. I try not to copy the sounds of hendrix clapton or SRV because its not who I am .. Find your voice and be true to your music. thanks all for taking the time to read my review