Is the tube screamer still relevant?

I never could stand TS pedals and I think they make good amps sound cheap. But I'm in the minority on this.

 

Wouldn't of made it through the eighties with out it.
Was about the fanciest gear I could afford then though.




Jury is out on if still relevant now.

 

I bought a TS as my first guitar pedal because that was the dogma, and I didn't like it. I generally have to play at apartment levels, and using a TS by itself to make the dirt sounds lousy IMHO, it needs to go into an amp that's already running a bit hot. Then it seems to have a cool alchemy going on where its drive blends with that of the amp to make that sound that we're all (too) familiar with, the mid-humped drive. I say too familiar with because that sound's been a bit overdone IMHO. Also, since I never could get my amp this hot because evictions are bad, trying to use the TS as the source of the drive made the amp sound cheap and buzzy to me. I moved it on and put the money towards a SolidgoldFX Zeta Drive, which I'm a lot happier with. I can get useful drive at low volumes with it.

 

It's still in production, there's dozens of clones and "inspired-by“ devices out there, and many people still swear by it.

Yes, it's still relevant.

But the same thing could be said of pears (the fruit), which I personally hate, so it may be as simple as personal taste.

I personally like Tube Screamers. I currently own two (TS9RI and TS808RI) and an "inspired-by" variant (MXR M66 Classic Overdrive)...but if it doesn't work for you, that's OK.

 

I never liked it, favoring the SD-1 instead, but I don't even like that anymore. Pretty much every OD became irrelevant when I discovered the BB Preamp.

 

Define "relevant".

 

I had up to three TS variants on my board at one time. I really liked them and swore by them, but once I bought a used Tech 21 Sansamp pedal, I realized that the evolution of pedals had moved on. I sold off all of my TS variants and never going back. I have three boutique amp emulation pedals now and could not be happier with them.

 

It's still relevant to me.
Problem is, I'm not too sure I'm relevant.

 

I don't think it's a necessary thing to have. Use the OD you like, and bump your mids with an EQ or twist of the amp knob.

 

I'm increasingly convinced that the Tubescreamer is our last great hope.

In music, there's almost nothing that ties people together anymore. No albums that everyone knows. No gear everyone is familiar with. The points of reference are disappearing. If everyone just got a Tubescreamer (instead of one of the hundreds if not thousands of clones) - we'd all have a point of reference.

"Oh, it's like a Tubescreamer - but with a little less bass rolloff"
"Oh, it's like a Tubescreamer with more gain"
"Oh, it's like a Tubescreamer but without the mid-hump"

If nobody knew what a Tubescreamer sounded like - we'd be stuck with "Haunting mids, with a light oakey finish"

 

20:00 I found this funny...John likes the cheap tank version of the tubescreamer
Go figure....

 

it would be interesting if everyone posting could state their usage of the pedal.

IMO - the TS is very relevant on a stage. If I don't have one, I miss it! Nothing cuts through like a TS.... nothing!
But if you are looking for great "low volume" tones in a bedroom forget it... that is not it's intent.

Just my opinion...

 

I have had a TS variant on my board (the same one) for about ten years...but it has bass and treble knobs. Having said that, I think any decent overdrive pedal with at least a 2-knob EQ section could cover that territory in the right hands. But a boost with EQ knobs or an EQ pedal might also work, depending on how they're used.

So, yeah, the TS is still relevant, but there are many substitutes to be found.

 

I much prefer Klonish pedals.

 

Are guitar forums still relevant?

 

I'm sure there's other ways to accomplish what a TS does. But if you have the one you bought back in '80s, why not use it when you need the TS thing?

 

Chaoman and Lee andertons kinda discussed cthis in their last video .

Apparently a ton of people are returning to the classic TS9 TS808 and maxon variebts because the markets now way oversaturated with TS clones