The TS Hits Its Stride
1982-1984
Model: TS9
Series: 9 Series
Knob Configuration: Overdrive, Tone, Level
Notes: Same basic configuration as
TS808 but with a bigger footswitch
and 9V AC operation.
Country of Origin: Japan |
Despite the popularity and Holy Grail
status attained by the original TS808, the
Tube Screamer wasn’t left alone—and
plenty of pedal lovers are glad. Perhaps the
most popular of all Tube Screamers, the
TS9 replaced the TS808 in 1982 with the
introduction of the 9 Series. The TS9 was
slightly brighter and a little less smooth
sounding than the 808. The two were
almost identical internally, apart from the
TS9’s expanded output. The footswitch got
bigger, too. Nine Series pedals had a footswitch
that took up approximately a third
of the pedal—a move clearly intended to
compete with the easy-to-stomp design of
Boss pedals. However, one drawback of the
new Tube Screamer, according to Lomas,
was that TS9s were built with a somewhat
random sourcing of parts—basically whatever
was readily available at the time of
manufacture. This resulted in TS9s that
varied widely in tone from batch to batch.
“[The introduction of the TS9] was
not a magical moment by any stretch of
the imagination,” Lomas says. “The public
didn’t give a rat’s ass—not for the longest
time. It caught on much later. I would say
guys really started talking about it in the
late ’80s, and by 1990 it was really starting
to roll along.” Since there was little demand
for the TS9 when it came out, it was out of
production by 1985. Ibanez then released
a new series of stompboxes, the Master
Series, without a Tube Screamer in the
lineup. Instead, it included the Super Tube
STL—a 4-knob affair with a Tube Screamer
circuit and a 2-band EQ. According to
“Analog Mike” Piera—a noted stompbox
expert whose company, Analog Man, began
modifying Tube Screamers to original specs
in the mid 1990s—the STL was similar
to the rare (and very valuable) European
ST-9 Super Tube Screamer that was never
released in the US.
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1984
Model: ST9
Series: 9 Series
Knob Configuration: Overdrive, Mid Boost, Tone, Level
Notes: Mid Boost control added.
Breifly available in Europe but not
in the US. Extremely rare.
Country of Origin: Japan |
1985
Model: STL Super Tube
Series: Master/L
Knob Configuration: Overdrive, Level, Bite, Bright
Notes: Not officially a Tube
screamer, but uses a Tube
Screamer circuit with a 2-band EQ.
Country of Origin: Japan |