In 1979 an engineer named Susumu Tamura at Nisshin Onpa, the company behind the Maxon brand, designed an overdrive called the OD808. He wanted something to compete with the Boss OD-1, but with the feel of a tube amp being pushed. Maxon couldn't export on its own, so the pedal went overseas under Hoshino's Ibanez brand. The name came at Sam Ash Music in Manhattan, where Sammy Ash said it sounded like a "screaming tube amp". Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Johnson made it famous, and it has been copied more than almost any pedal since.
The TS808
The TS808 is the original, with a small square metal on/off button. Analog Man says almost all of them sound great. Some 1979 pedals, mostly for markets outside the USA, came in a narrower box with a screw-off bottom plate, a knob labeled BALANCE instead of LEVEL and a different circuit. Ibanez reissued that narrow pedal as the 35th Anniversary TS-808 in 2014.
Tamura told Guitar Player that the earliest narrow-case pedals used a UA1458 chip. The circuit was then revised to use the RC4558, and from there the RC4558, the JRC NJM4558 and the Texas Instruments RC4558 all went in, depending on the production lot. Some early pedals carry an (R) next to the Ibanez logo, which some buyers seek out, though Analog Man says it makes no difference to the sound.
The TS9
From about 1981 to 1985 Ibanez repackaged its pedals as the 9 series. The TS9 is almost the same circuit as the TS808, but the on/off switch grew to fill about a third of the pedal, and the output section changed. That makes it a bit brighter and less smooth. The Edge, Gary Moore and Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith all leaned on the TS9.
Later original TS9s were built with whatever chips were on hand. Some got the JRC4558D the schematic calls for, others a Toshiba TA75558, and some the JRC2043DD that Analog Man says sounds bad.
How much the chip matters
Sellers make a lot of the chip, so it's worth knowing what the experts say. Analog Man found very little difference between the TS808's chips in A/B tests, though he says the JRC gives the strongest classic sound. Wikipedia goes further, noting that the clipping diodes, not the op-amp, dominate the sound. So a JRC chip is a nice thing to find, but the condition and the circuit version matter more. Don't let a chip story alone carry a listing.
Telling an original TS9 from a reissue
Ibanez brought the TS9 back in 1992 or 1993. Analog Man calls the reissue just about identical to the last originals, down to the Toshiba TA75558 chip and a manual dated 1981. These tells, all from Analog Man's history, help sort them out.
- Label. A black label means an early original from 1981 or 1982. Silver labels cover later originals and the reissues.
- Serial number. On a silver label, a serial starting with 3 or 4 points to an original. A serial starting with 1 on a silver label is a reissue. Starting with 2 means you'll need to look inside.
- CE mark. Every TS9 with a CE symbol on the back is a reissue from around June 1996 onward.
- Resistors and capacitors. Green-coated resistors appear only on originals. Capacitor codes give the year and week, so A8350 means the 50th week of 1983.
- Maker. Maxon stopped building the TS9 for Ibanez in late 2002, though Tamura remembers it as 2003. Later pedals have an Ibanez board and IBANEZ on the battery cover. Earlier ones show Maxon's printing on the board or battery lid.
The TS808 reissue and the hand-wired pedal
Ibanez reissued the TS808 in early 2004. It uses the post-2002 TS9 reissue board but has the JRC4558D chip and the 808 output resistors, so Analog Man rates it above the TS9 reissue. He thinks its green looks a little off next to an original. In 2008 Ibanez added the TS808HW, a hand-wired version and the first Tube Screamer with true bypass.
The TS9DX Turbo
The TS9DX arrived in late summer 1998 for players who wanted more volume and low end. A fourth knob picks one of four modes, labeled TS9, +, Hot and Turbo. Each step adds bass and volume, and the first position behaves like a normal TS9. Analog Man finds the top two modes too much, but he says the pedal is great on bass. Joan Jett has used one.
The ones to skip, and the Maxon route
The TS10 from 1986 used cheap jacks and pots mounted to the board that often break and can't be repaired properly, and the TS5 is a plastic pedal made in Taiwan with cheaper, smaller parts. Both carry the name, but neither is built like a TS808 or TS9.
Maxon still makes its own versions. The OD-9, released in 2002, is a TS9 circuit with the JRC4558D chip. The modern OD808 is a different story. Analog Man says it's actually a TS10 circuit, with the TS9 and TS10 output section, so don't buy it expecting a perfect TS808 copy.
Which one to buy
For the smoothest classic sound, buy a TS808, either an original or the 2004 reissue. For the brighter TS9 sound, a reissue gets you the same circuit as a late original, so pay for an original only if you've checked the label, serial and board. If you want more low end or plan to play bass, the TS9DX is the flexible choice. And if you want the TS9 circuit with the right chip at a working player's budget, look at the Maxon OD-9.
What to check in a listing
- Switch and box. Look at the photos. A small square button means a TS808, and a switch filling a third of the pedal means a TS9.
- Bottom label. Ask for a clear photo of the bottom. Check the label color, the serial number and whether there's a CE mark.
- Board and chip. Ask the seller to take off the bottom plate and photograph the board. Look for the chip marking, the board maker and the resistor color.
- Jacks and switch. Ask whether the pedal switches cleanly and the jacks hold a cable firmly. Analog Man says the late 2002 TS9 input jacks tended to jam.
- Mods. Ask whether it's been modded. Tube Screamers are among the most modified pedals there are, and a mod isn't original.
For more on swapped chips and modded pedals, read our vintage pedal red flags guide. You can also see every Ibanez and Maxon pedal we track.
