Vaughn Mods TS9-808 Trimod

Note -- My model is the "Deluxe Dual Channel"; basically a two channel version of the Trimod pedal reviewed here. It is fairly starightforward once you familiarize yourself with the sounds. My only complaint is the volume and drive knobs for the two channels are
marked by indentations that are impossible to see on a dark stage. However, with two channels, I just set the volumes before the gig and never adjust them. Once I figured the pedal out I found myself only occasionally bending over on stage to flip a toggle switch.

I play a deluxe strat and '52 reisuue tele into a mesa 50 rectoverb combo. Effects are Vox wah > trimod TS-9 > Dunlop Univibe > TC Electronics SCF > Carl Martin Delayla.
I have gigged with some version of Ibanez tube screamer for the last 15 years. At different times I've played through a TS-9, TS-10 and TS-5. I've never used an original TS-808 so I don't have a frame of reference on that. On the Vaughn pedal the original 808 sound is achieved by setting the first toggle in the central position and the "compression" toggle in the first postion. Played with a strat this is the best approximation of the SRV sound I've achieved. It's suprisingly noise-free, warm and gutsy, and makes the unmodded TS-9 sound raspy and brittle by comparison. There is a slight volume drop in the modded pedal which is easy to compensate for by simply turning the pedal volume up. At low drive settings it makes clean strat settings sound full and beautiful, especially in the quack pickup postions. Also, with the drive set low, it really allows my other effects to sing, especially the univibe. This combo lets me dial in a swampy, churning "Cold Shot" sound.
The other setting I love is with the first toggle at position one (3 db bass boost), second toggle at postion 3 ("light compression")
and the drive cranked. This yields the best all-purpose strat lead tone I've ever had, especially on the bridge pickup, where it screams like a cranked P-90 but retains a strat's vocal expressiveness. I don't use the "clean boost" function with my current rig, but it is fun to play with at home with small amps. The 6db bass boost is the raunchiest setting. With my amp it reminds me of early 70's Martin Barre.
The two channels give this pedal a lot of flexibility and I find myself clicking between lead sounds a lot during solos.
This pedal is really designed for strat players and the sounds it produces are mostly in the blues, classic rock vein. My band has a pretty diverse setlist and in addition to copping, SRV, Allmans, Stones, Petty and Skynyrd sounds, this pedal does a good job with
Sabbath, 3 doors down, and other heavier sounds. At a recent gig the pedal broke down (see below) and I had to use a backup unmodded TS-9
and was shocked by how brittle and high-endy it now seemed in comparison. The 808 mod really "browns"-out the sound.

I gigged with it for 10 months straight before it gave out 2 weeks ago and turned into a bypass pedal.

Vaughn's warranty is 30 days on parts, 1 year on labor, and no warranty on original Ibanez parts. I emailed Vaughn about my pedal problem on a Sunday the day after it died at a gig. He had me mail it two him on Monday and it was repaired the day he received it and mailed out the next day. I got it on a Saturday in time for that night's gig. I was charged $20 plus shipping. Part of the problem was original Ibanez connections the other was a faulty bass eq switch.
Vaughn was friendly and accessible, returned my emails promptly and made me feel like my pedal was his top priority. It was a LOT less hassle than dealing with a company and DEFINITELY worth the $20 as the pedal now an essential part of my setup.

Great pedal. Would rate it a 10 if not for the one malfunction.
I've played guitar for 30 years and gigged in a band for 20. I would definitely replace this pedal if lost/stolen and am thinking of getting another TS-9 modded as a backup.
The deluxe dual channel trimode is perfect if you are what I am: a strat player who loves the SRV blues sound, but plays in a situation
requiring a variety of classic rock-type tones.
I play a lot of slide (open-G on the tele, standard tuning on the strat) and use low drive settings on the pedal for nice fat sexy tones.
One minor quibble -- with all this stuff packed into the origianl TS-9
box, foot-switching can be a little tricky, unless, like me, you have small feet and wear narrow-toed boots. But anyone sending this pedal off knows that Vaughn isn't re-builiding the box -- it's gonna be the same size.

mess around at the house to get a feel for it before you bring it on the gig. there's a lot of possibilities here now!

i should state right up front that i don't like distortion pedals. never have, never will. but, i'm a touring musician; i bring one amp on the road (66super reverb) and a spare blackface bassman for the bassist and myself (the super has a box that rewires the speakers from 2 to 8 ohms). every now and then you wind up in a room that's way too small to wind up a super and this is where vaughn's work shines, for me. so far i am only using the bass switch at the 6db position and the clean boost setting with the drive off, output at unity. with this setting the clean boost is still running thru the 808 chip and the tone control still functions; i can get a thicker clean tone that sings very nicely with no compression, turn it off and have my straight sound with no volume drop. gradually bringing up the drive reminds me of my tweed champ; this is very surprising and quite useful for some things. have'nt messed with the straight 808 and less compressed 808 sounds live, in the house they sound better than any thing else i've owned by far:(original pre u.s. expandora, fulltone full-drive, ts9, real tube od,chandler tube driver,boss od1). the nice thing about the 808 chip is that while is has that mid bump that they all have, it's a broader (wider "Q")boost than the others. with the bass switch you won't have to do nearly as much amp tweaking, only to have a totally wack tone when you turn it off. i just don't go for those od/ distortion box type of sounds; but it's reassuring to know that if i ever do have to wind things up i have some really stellar choices available, all in one pedal. for what i require the clean/6db setting is worth the cost of the mods by itself. a very natural useable pedal for guys like me that were raised with no master volumes.

the only thing he can't bulletproof is the switch,(and nobody else can, either) the achilles heel of any ts9. we'll see. vaughn's work however, seems very robust. so we're left with that switch. hmm...

very quick to respond, and very helpful. got it back in a very timely manner. i will contact him to see if he can change the bass switch to plus6/plus 9db instead of 3/6db. if he can't i can live with this.

excellent, and this is from a guy who despises od/ ditortion pedals. we'll have to see about that damn switch; so far so good. bravo vaughn!

EASY TO USE. PLAY AROUND WITH IT A LITTLE TO FIND OUT WERE YOU WANT TO BE FOR THAT PARTICULAR SONG EASY TO FIND A GOOD SOUND, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD SOUNDS COMING OUT YOU'LL FIND YOUR SELF WITH LOWER BACK PROBLEMS,SOLUTION ,A DOUBLE TRIMOD PEDAL

MY SET UP/ AS OF RECEIVING THE TRI MOD TS-9 IS VARIOUS STRATS AND TELES INTO TS-9 (TRI MOD) TS-9 INTO TWEED AND BLACKFACE FENDERS. ONLY REASON I'M GIVING IT A 9 IS BECAUSE I WISH HE WOULD MAKE A DOUBLE WITH PEDAL THOSE FEATURES

I'VE ONLY HAD IT FOUR A WEEK OR SO BUT DON'T FORESEE ANY PROBLEMS AND IF THERE WERE I'M SURE VAUGHN WOULD TROUBLESHOOT THE PROBLEM

EXCELLENT VAUGHN IS VERY RESPONSIVE TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE

BLUES,ROCK, COUNTRY,BLUESROCK. HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 23 YEARS.
IF IT WERE STOLEN I WOULD REPLACE IN A HEARTBEAT.
ITS A VERY VERSATILE UNIT,NOTHING BAD TO SAY ABOUT IT,ONLY WISH HE MADE A DOUBLE PEDAL,
THE PEDAL I ORIGINAL HAD WAS A MODDED BY AM IT SOUNDED LIKE MY ORIGINAL TS-9 NO BIG CHANGE THERE BUT WITH VAUGHNS MOD IT OPENED THE DOOR TO DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES LETS JUST SAY ITS NO LONGER A ONE TRICK PONY

Vaughn does excellent work; his mods are straight-forward and easy to use. There is some awkwardness in bending over and making changes
on the switches during a gig (and you probably don't want to do this
during a song), but this is a minor hassle in light of the flexibility
and versatility you are now getting out of one effect pedal. He
provides a type of instructional one-page "manual" that communicates
the different features very well. From that point on, it's between
you, your instrument, your amp, your pedal, and your ear.

I have now owned several of the ts-9 reissues, and have had one of
them modded by the 'analog man.' I have also used a ts-5 modded by
analog man. I had been reading of Vaughn's work, and was not pleased
with the tone I was getting from the ts-9 the AM had modded (this
is not to cut his work: his work on my ts-5 was stellar, and my review
of that pedal can be read in the ts-5 reviews. But the ts-9 mod
was weak and sounded nothing like the ts-5 for reasons unknown to me.
I suspect the reissue pedals vary greatly). So I got another ts-9
reissue and shipped it off to Vaughn to try it out. I use it with
my modified strat, equipped with three p90 pickups. The Vaughn
pedal immediately influenced by overall sound in a dynamic way. The
sound is warm, fat, and gutsy, keeping the tonal spectrum of the
p90s. Moreover, it is not noisy -- at least, in comparison with
other pedals I have had (for example, the Jeckyll & Hyde I have
has more noise than this). I play primarily thru a early 70s Fender
Deluxe Reverb, and as the night wears on, the mids increase and the
treble sinks, so I have to be careful about muddying out. But
the Vaughn mod really keeps a great tonal quality overall.

Because of the rig I use, and the gigs we play, I really don't pump
up the bass EQ that much, nor do I use the second position on the
second switch that much to get the more pure overdrive effect. It's
too much, and Vaughn cautions about that. Typically, I use the
808 setting (and since I have never used a true 808, I can't tell you
if this it the true tone) for most songs. However, cutting the bass EQ
in at the first position gives me a very nice Vox-y type sound
that I would get from the Vox Valvetone pedal I had (until it
was stolen from my truck along with the rest of my effects outta
my truck while I was at a Braves game in Atlanta! more about this
later...). I don't use this tone much, but I want it to mix things
up on occasion and this mod achieves that for me. When I use
that first bass position and the overdrive position in the second
switch I almost achieve a humbucker sound that I never had before. It
really sings along, but again it often too much for the clubs we play.
In sum, I love the different tones I get from this pedal, and find
it has improved my tone wonderfully.

I also have a Boss CE-2 chorus (also stolen, since replaced), and
an old Ibanez DDL Delay. The chorus sounds great with the Vaughn;
I think I have some more tweaking to do with the delay to get what I
want out of it. NOTE: I have also recently been playing around
with a new Jeckyll & Hyde pedal, and accidentally kicked in my
Vaughn (in 808 mode) on top of the Jeckyll.....*huge grin here*
<That> was impressive.....but again, I can't get chased outta the
club, if you take my meaning. Will experiment more with this.
Incidentally, in my rig the Vaughn/TS 9 goes first, then the
J&H, a Boss EQ (also replaced and used sparingly), the delay, and
the chorus, in that order.

Overall, excellent sound. I cannot ascertain if it is a true
808 sound due to my own lack of experience, but I know I like
the sounds and tones I get from it.

So far so good. Vaughn gives a limited time warranty, but I have
experienced no problem. I keep it in the pedalboard case velcroed
down and I don't want it bouncing around; I don't want to run the risk
of knocking one of those switches off. I wouldn't hestitate
to contact Vaughn for any help.

Like another person here, I had to contact Vaughn and ask for help
right after I shipped him the pedal. My effects case was stolen
(and there is a special place in hell for cats who rip off
working musicians who have to keep the day job)on a Sunday right after
a gig the previous night. I had to play the upcoming weekend. It was
sheer happenstance that I took this ts-9 out of my case and mailed it
to Vaughn the Saturday prior to the crime. I emailed him Sunday night
and explained my situation. He said he would try to get it to me ASAP;
he kept me informed of the progress. I got it Friday afternoon and
was using at Smokey Joe's Cafe and Bar that night. Exclusively. It
was the only pedal I had. It was killer; I missed nothing in tone and
had all the flexibility I wanted and needed. I was impressed and
I appreciate him tremendously for coming through for me in such a big
way.

When my gear was ripped off, I lost the Vox Valvetone, a ts-9 modded
by Analog Man, and a Super Overdrive modded by Sustain punch. This one
pedal covers all of those needs for me now. I am experimenting with
the J&H and it does have a similar tone at times, but I set it
differently and will have a review of it later (where it belongs).

In a recent gig I was compelled to restrict my choice of pedals: I
took this one. I used a different setting on each song and loved it.
Others commented to me on the warm, fat tone I was getting.

I am tempted to get another, but I have decided to keep this rig
and work with it, and resist the compulsion to acquire more gear.
It is an integral part of my sound now. I think others who make
the decision to go with this mod will have a similar reaction. I want
to reiterate that it sounds different analog man's work with the
ts-9 and the ts-5, and I cannot explain why (but then, I also maintain
that the ts-9 and ts-5 mods I had from the AM also sounded different
from each other). I love the work Vaughn has done and appreciate
the way he worked with me. I suppose it is tricky working with
people on the 'net like this at times, so I want to be sure to
emphasize his personable yet professional and prompt service. I
acknowledge that the mods seems pricey and one should weigh their
sense of adventure/lust for tone with other options that are out
there (e.g., for the price of the ts-9 reissue and this mod you could
get a Fulltone 2). But I am most pleased with my choice and the service
I received.

Has two, three way switches. First position has 3db bass boost, second is normal 808 eq., and third is 6 db bass boost. Second switch controls the drive voices.
First position is normal 808 voice, second is a clean boost, third is a less compressed, more natural sounding overdrive.
Comes with a small manual describing voices and gives some examples to try.

I play a Fender Standard in a 65 reissue twin. Even with gain turned up all the way, it is not very noisy.
The 808 sound is awesome. So much better than the TS9. With the bass boost on 6db, and drive all the way up, can get more of a Gibson sound. Add some delay, and you'll be sounding like David Gilmore. Turn the eq on normal, set drive down, turn up tone and now you've got that SRV sound.
The clean boost is great for Grateful Dead/Allman Brothers songs. The level is much louder than on the other two drive voices (need to use caution if you have your amp cranked). With the drive all the way down, it really gives a nice clean boost.
The third drive is dirtier than clean boost, but cleaner than 808. Has a nice vintage blues feel.
Only wish the levels were the same on the three so, can just switch over without having to adjust the levels as well (really only a noticable difference with the clean boost, and that can just be controlled by guitar vol - or just knock down level about 3 notches on pedal)

All parts are new, so I think it will last a while. Vaughn Cost has 30 day warantee.

Vaughn Cost seems to be a very friendly and dependable person. I sent him the pedal registered mail on a Monday, and told him it would be nice if I could have it back by that weekend (not really expecting it). He sent me an e-mail back saying he'd try. The pedal got to him on Wednesday, he finished the mods (which involves not only installing a new chip, but also drilling holes to install the switches) and sent it out on Thurs. It got to me that Saturday! Very impressed with his speed on getting it back to me

I play blues/rock and this pedal is perfect. I use it with my Vox wah and my Octave pedal and I'm sounding soooo much better now. If I lost the pedal I'd get another one in a heartbeat.
I really like the fact that not only do you have that classic 808 voice, but you have so many other sounds you can create (9 different sounds in all). The only downside is you have to have another overdrive pedal if you want to be able to footswitch between sounds (i.e Fulltone sound for rhythm, 808 sound for lead), but Vaughn didn't design the pedal for that in mind.
Basically, with this pedal you get the real 808 sound, a mock Klon Centaur and Fulltone Fulldrive all in one! Plus, with the extra eq voices, you can closely immitate many different sounds. Even if you mainly only want the 808 sound, you still have the option of choosing different ones.
I think the Tri-Mod is a great invention. Vaughn Cost is an electrical technician (30 yrs) and has done warranty work for Fender at the gold level for 6 yrs. His worksmanship is top-notch, and I think the pedal is a great thing for people who want the sound of many expensive pedals, but are too poor to afford them (like me).
You can email Vaughn Mods at vaughn@wpa.net.