I suddenly don’t like my Tubescreamer anymore

marcflores

marcflores

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I bought my TS9 second hand at a pawn shop. It was in great shape, and for a year I loved it. I was playing a strat and used a Fender patch on my Boss Katana. Then I got an actual DRRI and sounded even better.

Now I’ve got a Vox AC15 and am playing a Reverend Eastsider T (a Tele, basically), and I can’t get it dialed in right to sound how I want. I’ve tried tweaking the drive, tone, my amp settings, etc. It just sounds different, which I guess is to be expected with a new amp and guitar.

Does anyone have any recommendations for an overdrive that doesn’t have too much gain that might go well with my T-style guitar and Vox amp knowing that’s I loved the TS9 with Strat/Fender amp combos? I know there are a million pedals out there. Curious where’s a good place to start.
 
marcflores

marcflores

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LeicaBoss said:
Is your issue that you feel the tube screamer lacks top end clarity? Or something else?
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Yep, this is a bigness part of it. I feel like a lot of top end clarity is gone now with the Vox. I love the Vox, but when I turn on the pedal it becomes a sound I don’t like.
 
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beninma

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I would try turning the tone knob up beyond noon on the TS if you haven't already.

I don't have a Vox but my Orange amp has a mid-hump that can interact badly with certain overdrives. I have an OD808 and it works a lot better with tone > 12 o'clock as it changes how the mids are emphasized to be a bit more treble oriented.

Klon is hit or miss for me, those have a honky mid-hump IMO too. Maybe try the Timmy.

Not an OD but Big Muffs like mid-humpy amps.
 
schmee

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Funny how these things happen isn't it?
I suggest the Tube Screamer TS9 DX. It has 4 settings, but on the Turbo setting it adds in lows and is not near so middy as most TS's, or OD's for that matter. I use mine with gain at 1-2, mostly near off, but it sounds great as you dial up the gain too. It's the "fullest" sounding OD I've tried and been using them for about 15 years now.
It gets you right into clean grit; ala SRV set low. and more gnarly set higher. Good tone adjustment too.
I cant stand a TS808 screamer.

The Barber Gain Changer isnt too bad and is natural sounding set low. But not as full as the TS9DX.
 
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beninma

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Jvin has some good points, make sure you're dialing it in correctly, that Pete Thorn video in particular is full of excellent advice.

While again it is a different amp.. I have played some Vox amps and I love them.. I think there is a little commonality with Orange & Vox in that they have a fairly bright overdriven tone. Some amps can sound bright when clean and then distort to a darker tone as far as what I hear. I don't associate Vox with that.

Only reason I mention this is I find the Tube Screamer if used *with gain* is a sound that is a less bright overdrive than my amp's natural driven sound. It is my expectation that a Vox would behave the same way.

I use my OD808/TS one of two ways and am happy with it both ways:

- Clean channel: Gain is up on the pedal & volume is only a very slight boost - this results in a darker overdrive/crunch sound than my amp would normally make. If it's on the edge of breakup the cleaner sounds stay bright but as it goes into overdrive it is not as bright as the amp. It's a more mellow driven sound.

- Dirty channel: Gain is down (1/4 or less?) and Volume is significantly higher than with clean channel. This results in a higher gain sound that sounds more transparent to the way the amp would sound. Yes it tightens up the bass frequencies in a good way, but it sounds much more like the amp. (Note I can actually use it with say 1/2 gain + volume as well.. it's semi-unique among ODs IMO in that more gain on the pedal doesn't sound bad on a driven amp)

The common thing with both setups with my amp is either way I'd set it up I would still prefer to have the tone knob on the pedal set beyond 12 o'clock. (About 1 o'clock is where I have it)

I'd make sure you're experimenting both ways with both channels (normal/top boost?).
 
srvbluezz

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Mexitele Blues said:
When I had my AC15 my Tumnus (Klon circuit) sounded miles better through it than my TS-9. The mid-hump is much less pronounced and the clipping seems less aggressive, both of which complemented the AC15's natural character.
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I got the tumnus too...it was between that and the jhs morning glory. I decided to go with the mythical overdrive. As mentioned above the klon isn't truly transparent like a timmy, but if you use it as a clean boost with the drive at 9 or lower it will be transparent.
 
Mrbob135

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E5RSY said:
Didn't VS make a double pedal with one side an Open Road?
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They make the VS/XO. One side is definitely a TS variant with a clean mix knob. The other side is a more neutral drive with three different levels of bass cut, but there is some disagreement on it being an open road (nobels) variant. 11 gauge is probably most qualified to answer that question. All I know is that whatever it is, it sounds good to me through my amp, which has some similarities to the Vox.
 
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beninma

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srvbluezz said:
I got the tumnus too...it was between that and the jhs morning glory. I decided to go with the mythical overdrive. As mentioned above the klon isn't truly transparent like a timmy, but if you use it as a clean boost with the drive at 9 or lower it will be transparent.
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This is one thing I don't quite get about the Klon popularity. If you're just using it as a boost it sure seems like an awfully expensive solution.

I have a Tumnus Deluxe.. it can sound good as a boost. But so can lots of other cheaper stuff I've owned. And the Tumnus & Tumnus Deluxe are expensive pedals but still very cheap compared to a real Klon.

What I like about the TS is it actually can sound good with pedal drive + amp drive. But that is just my guitar/amp combo, I freely accept other guitar/amp combos would work that way with the Klon.

I need to plug my Tumnus in again. I periodically plug it in instead of the OD808 and usually yank it again in less than an hour.
 
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