Ibanez TS9 30th Anniversary

[audiohatemchine]

Originally Posted by artdecade

^ Maxon (Japan) made the TS-9 reissue through 2002.

I've had it a month. Brand new.

[artdecade]

As long as the chip is right, who cares who made it, yeah?

[audiohatemchine]

Hey. Cool. Mine does have the right chip in it.

[JoeNeri]

Shiny green.

St Patrick's Day.

Coincidence ... I think not.

Don't have a TS but my beer was made in Ireland. No chips, though.

Not a TS fan but I do like beer.

[audiohatemchine]

^^^^

10/10

[Chiogtr4x]

Originally Posted by JoeNeri

Shiny green.

St Patrick's Day.

Coincidence ... I think not.

Don't have a TS but my beer was made in Ireland. No chips, though.

Not a TS fan but I do like beer.

Attachment 119346

I'm gonna have some Bailey's and play with GFS "Fake Rat" which I could paint green...

Happy St. Patty's Day!

[zombiwoof]

Originally Posted by artdecade

As long as the chip is right, who cares who made it, yeah?

Well, according to Analog Man, the boards and components on the TS-9's since they dumped Maxon are not of the same quality. I recently bought the new JD-9 Jet Driver, and it is made in China, as I believe the rest of the current 9 series is. That's why I find it odd that they had this anniversary pedal made in Japan. I would guess it is made by Maxon if it is really made in Japan, I don't think Ibanez has ever had their own pedal manufacturing facility in Japan. Does it say "Maxon" on the other side of the battery door, or "Ibanez"?. If it says Maxon, that would confirm it was made at the Maxon plant (but if it says Ibanez, that doesn't mean it wasn't made by Maxon, though).

The full story about the history of the TS-808/TS-9/TS-10 is on Analog Man's site, it's quite interesting and explains the various chip and circuit changes over the years. I have an early Maxon-made TS-9 reissue, with the infamous TA chip, I've always meant to put in a 4558 but never got around to it as I've accumulated so many other OD pedals that knocked the TS-9 off my board.

Al

[beep.click]

I've never played through a Tube Screamer before today, but I was trying stuff at GC and they had this new anniversary model so I thought, why not? Really, really, liked the sound -- but they didn't have one in stock. So I tried the NON-anniversary version, thinking it must be the same thing, except for the finish.

WRONG. This anniversary edition is head and shoulders better; now, based on what I'm reading here, I'm sure it's that chip.

It's so nice to turn something on and it just SOUNDS RIGHT.

[Chiogtr4x]

Originally Posted by beep.click

I've never played through a Tube Screamer before today, but I was trying stuff at GC and they had this new anniversary model so I thought, why not? Really, really, liked the sound-- but they didn't have one in stock. So I tried the NON-anniversary version, thinking it must be the same thing, except for the finish.

WRONG. This anniversary edition is head and shoulders better; now, based on what I'm reading here, I'm sure it's that chip.

It's so nice to turn something on and it just SOUNDS RIGHT.

So are you saying you tried out a "demo" (not for sale) 30th Anniv. TS-9 at GC as well as the stock TS-9? (at the same visit)

[Syclone879]

I bought the 30th anniv. last night! (#454)

It's sounds fantastic! I am using it in conjunction with a custom-built pedal that is similar to the Fulltone Full Drive. It's the first time I've ever used two overdrive's together and it sounds ridiculously beautiful!

[AllroyPA]

Well the old JRC chips are not made anymore, so there are still advantages to the old/vintage ones.
This is the good stuff:

[chrisr0712]

Still trying to figure out what is different from the regular TS9 reissue.
Admittedly...I love how they look. So are you saying the JRC chip is vintage or new production. Same component values...just better quality?
Tried one at the store the other day and sounded exceptional!

[zombiwoof]

Originally Posted by AllroyPA

Well the old JRC chips are not made anymore, so there are still advantages to the old/vintage ones.
This is the good stuff:

The JRC chips are still made, the company just changed names, and the new chips say NJM 4558 on them. From what I've read, there is no difference in the quality of the chips, it's just "mojo" stuff.

Al

[Chiogtr4x]

Originally Posted by chrisr0712

Still trying to figure out what is different from the regular TS9 reissue.
Admittedly...I love how they look. So are you saying the JRC chip is vintage or new production. Same component values...just better quality?
Tried one at the store the other day and sounded exceptional!

A stock TS-9 apparently does NOT have the a 4558D chip period. So its not about sound quality of new vs. NOS 4558- more about using a 4558 vs. another OP amp

edit: Believe a stock Ibanez TS-808 uses the 4558 but NOT the TS-9. Don't understand why, as the Chinese made $50 "TS" pedals (my Biyang, and possibly the Joyo OD), so why can't an off the shelf $99 TS-9?

[telerocker1988]

Stock TS-9 reissues have the dreaded TA7558 opamp.... Not near as good sounding as the JRC4558D in the 30th anniversary.

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by Chiogtr4x

edit: answered my own question, the $99 TS-9 has TA7558 chip

I know this thread is slightly old, but I thought I'd chime in on this chip, and its implementation in the TS9.

The TA7558 was in SOME older TS9's. Ibanez/Maxon actually used a few different chips over the years, but that one is singled out as being "bad."

So, not all TS9's have the TA7558, the current production ones TTBOMK should have a 4558 since you can get any cheap clone (or even the TS7 for that matter) with a 4558 in it. No biggie there.

If someone is scared off from buying a used TS9 for this reason, many of them have already had just the chip swapped. The switches go bad or need cleaning, so I guess that's a good time for someone to swap the chip, which is only 40 cents (Ibanez only chose it because it's CHEAP). And some of those 9's got the "brown mod" (conversion to 100% 808-spec) as well, since it's just 2 resistors.

You can't even get the 7558 any longer, so I don't imagine Ibanez would have some kind of "secret stash" of them, either. Apparently, Toshiba never came up with a non-SMT version that was RoHS.

And - I think the 4558 vs. 7558 thing is another case of psychoacoustics, IMO. Why? The circuits are identical in the chip. Don't take my word for it, though. I've included two images of the actual circuit that is integrated in the chip. You don't need to know electronics to compare the two and see that they are identical.

Again, JMO, but I think the "7558 bad chip thing" has its roots more in being an advertising angle for getting the chip replaced. IMO.

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by zombiwoof

The JRC chips are still made, the company just changed names, and the new chips say NJM 4558 on them. From what I've read, there is no difference in the quality of the chips, it's just "mojo" stuff.

That is exactly right. The 4558 is an integrated circuit. To get that designation, it must be the same, no matter who made it, or where, or when.

There are no "vintage 4558's that sound different" - that is simply horse pucky of the highest degree.

If the pedal sounds different and there is a 4558 in it, it is due to something else. In most cases with the TS, it almost always comes down to the output resistors, but the old 808's also had different clipping diodes. Those are things that will affect the sound.

These are not my opinion - these are facts. You cannot use the same verbatim circuit and get a crappy sound from one and a "grail tone" from the other. There has to be a circuit difference, as in component differences. I think these myths will prevail to the end of time, though.

[chrisgblues]

Originally Posted by zombiwoof

From what I've read, there is no difference in the quality of the chips, it's just "mojo" stuff.

^THIS^

Also you can have two completely identical pedals with the SAME chip, and still hear a difference? Why? Tolerance, that's why. Caps, resistors, diodes, whatever....they all have slight variances in each batch that is made by the manufacturer. Those slight variances can add up with the sum total of parts to create different amounts of EQ, Clamping, and Level.

The 4558 chip debate is really getting old...IC's are nothing special unless you get into some actual different designs like LM308 like they use in the RAT's (and even that is debatable to the extent of the effect). The IC's just happen to be one of the only things on the CB with a visible part number on them which makes it easy to identify to noobs, hence the folklore that has built up around them.

Just plug in a pedal and decide if you like it or not...it's REALLY that simple.

JMHO. YMMV.

[Chiogtr4x]

^^^ "Just plug in a pedal and decide if you like it or not...it's REALLY that simple."

You have hit the nail on the head!- ignore the hype, and follow your ears...

[11 Gauge]

Originally Posted by chrisgblues

The IC's just happen to be one of the only things on the CB with a visible part number on them which makes it easy to identify to noobs, hence the folklore that has built up around them.

Yeah, what a wonderful marketing upshot for pedal companies.

The ironic part is how consistent op amps sound, and even different types can typically sound very similar. Why? They all do basically the same thing, especially at 9VDC. And if it is a standard op amp design with clipping diodes, the diodes will typically mask much of any "unique" distortion character that an op amp has.

The SUPER ironic part is that transistors have number/letter designations on them as well, but they are hard to read, and many of them sound drastically different, or have different gains. Take any one of these "amp sim" pedals and replace the J201 transistors with 2n4548's and give it a listen (they may not even function without a rebias, depending on the circuit!). Or take a silicon Fuzz Face and replace a pair of transistors with a "gain of 600" to a pair with a "gain of 115."

...99% of the reason that the "operational amplifier" was created was because it is consistent and linear. Distortion or clipping was not ever a part of its design, ever. It was actually designed to provide a large amplitude gain and have the "positive and negative" portions of the audio signal "match" in amplitude. So part of what sounds bad with an op amp is when it does distort, because the two "portions" of the signal no longer match. The amplifier starts "slewing" or "latching up."

And that is the reason for the clipping diodes - they prevent or limit the op amp from slewing/latching up. So oftentimes, you are "hearing the diodes." If it is the case where someone got the bright idea to shove a $5 Burr Brown chip in a pedal, you are almost certainly only "hearing the diodes," because those hi-fi chips are specifically designed to not distort under conditions which normal chips do. So that is almost funny - take the overdrive out, and then put it back in!