July 20, 2024 History of the Tube Screamer
The Tube Screamer is a guitar effect pedal that has been in constant production under one name or another for nearly half a century. It is, quite simply, the most popular guitar pedal in history, and there’s a very good chance that no one has ever attended a rock show in their life where a Tube Screamer wasn’t getting at least some usage. It’s a modern classic, a bit of gear that holds its own with some of the most famous bits of music equipment in history, with a cult following that hasn’t gone anywhere in over four full decades—a truly iconic piece of gear that remains.
In this history, however, we’re going to focus less on the history of Ibanez (the company that created the Tube Screamer) and more on the Tube Screamer as a piece of gear that developed from nothing more than the minds and hands of a few people, none of whom necessarily knew the massive impact on music a pedal they made by hand in a Stompbox workshop would end up having. This is the history of the pedal. This is the history of the pedal’s development, its players, and its growth into the icon that it is today.
Development and Evolution
The first Ibanez guitar pedals were replicas of popular Electro-Harmonix designs. The TS-808 was advertised in its first year as having “the warm, even bottom of a tube amp,” an indication of its design intent as an “overdrive” rather than a “distortion” pedal. It is also reported that the TS-808, the OD-855 Overdrive, and the OD-855 Overdrive-II all contained the same circuitry, aside from the slight modifications made to the OD-855 Overdrive starting in 1981. The TS-808’s 200mA Maxon-branded potentiometers were replaced by 100mA pots in the 1981 TS-808, as were those in the TS-106 and the first version of the TS-808HW. The TS-808 changed from an IC-based design to using transistors for gain from the late 1982 to 1984 TS-808. The ICs used were JRC4558 (TI), TA75558P (Toshiba), and a few RC4558P (RCA). Two outputs common to rare versions were a JRC2043DD (TI), plus either a JRC2068DD (TI), JRC4559 (TI), or a JRC4558P (RCA). When Ibanez began producing Maxon pedals as the original equipment manufacturer in 1980, the original 200mA Maxon-branded pots found in the earliest TS-808s were replaced by Ibanez with 100mA types in the TS-808 and the TS-9 until Maxon began using a 25mA sealed linear Re’an pot mid-1980.
The TS-808 has also been referred to as the Ibanez Videocam, the Maxon OD-808 as the Maxon Videocam, and both pedals have also been reported to carry the Ibanez image. Logo compatibility has been reported on earlier and later versions of both the TS-808 and the OD-808. Some made-for-export Orville versions made for the Japanese market had a different serial number format and were housed in a plastic enclosure, had compatible logos, and was, for all intents and purposes, the TS-808. There were a number of other early and significant Tube Screamer variations (e.g., the OD-851 Overdrive, the ST-9 Super Tube Screamer). Despite the similarity of their names, the HM-202 Heavy Metal is not Tube Screamer-related. The HM-202 has been confused with/associated with the OD-202 Overdrive in more than one listing. The TS-808 has been modified multiple times over the years, including crossover and reissue designs as well as various “signature” editions.
Impact and Influence
The Tube Screamer has had an incredible impact on the world of guitar playing and musicians who seek to find their sound. The clarity, punch, and brilliant distortion make this pedal very popular among guitarists everywhere. The pedal has been used by a number of modern guitar gods who have defined a generation of guitar playing, like Eddie Van Halen, Alex Lifeson, and countless others. Guitarists who are newer to the pedal claim that the reason they bought the Tube Screamer was because of Maroon 5 lead guitarist, James Valentine. This pedal has a heritage that dates back to 1979 and has helped to shape generations of guitarists.
The Tube Screamer has made an impact on various popular genres such as pop, rock, and metal. Guitarists who use the pedal claim that there is something about the Tube Screamer that just feels and sounds right, producing just the right level of distortion and unique compression. It is just gritty enough to make playing sound difficult but remains open and inspiring. The Tube Screamer has the ability to make this classic rock distortion have a saturated clean sound. This pedal just has a tone that feels good. The pedal’s circuit and the popular performers who use the pedal today have really raised the price of a Tube Screamer by about $150. It still lives on as a pedal that will defrag your guitar sounds to a T. It still remains a most popular effect. Because of the Tube Screamer, Ted Greene Jr. was not forgotten. He further developed the beloved circuit.
Notable Tube Screamer Models and Variations
Many models and variations of the Tube Screamer have been produced. A boxed center negative 9-volt powered TS is the format that the original Ibanez TS-808 pedals were sold in. Later pedals were available as a center positive voltage input design, commonly using 12v input. TS-9s were offered in a variety of different configurations with differing production runs for each, some in limited releases. Quite a few variations have been made over the years, with the designs ranging from the familiar TS-808 tone, retaining the status of the vintage original, to completely redesigned effects with different and unique features.
The TS-808 and TS-9 have seen various circuit and component changes over the years resulting in a couple of tonally different units, even ones dated to the same year of production. TS-808 Tube Screamers can feature non-original parts as a result of decades of part swapping and industrial necessity rather than by design, resulting in several possible slight variations. In particular, the op-amp used in the most successful versions of the TS-808, the JRC4558D, is constantly the subject of intense skepticism regarding counterfeit models. Visual differences between an original design and reissue Tube Screamers may vary from year to year with several Tube Screamer versions having physical appearance differences due to form factor reengineering, chip availability, and other cosmetic changes. With model changes corresponding to a vastly different array of tone shaping options, they all have the same basic inherent soft limiter hard clipping overdrive function with the same general range of sound results. All vintage TS’s are constructed with capacitors and resistors inside that date to the time of assembly. They are generally not digitally reconfigurable or adjustable other than using newer component values in a manual recap.
What’s Next?
Over the years, the Tube Screamer has become something much larger than just another 1980s-vintage guitar pedal. Its continued popularity put simplicity into a crowded product market and changed the dialogue around effects pedals as a whole. Owned by countless guitarists, the Tube Screamer name has become an iconic symbol of musical creativity, transcending the limitations preconceived by its humble circuit design. Apart from basic changes in build quality and available options, there have been no alterations or new innovations from the original design released.
Following the effects boom and commercialization of kits at the turn of the millennium, it has become very popular to modify and tailor the Tube Screamer to suit a player’s individual needs. There have been countless hybrids, Frankensteins, and boutique spins made by companies such as MXR, Klon, Visual Sound, or JHS Pedals to bear out this point. However, it is assumed that the future path of the Tube Screamer or its innovative use is internal, with digital interface, MIDI and wireless integrations becoming a key part of guitar. The music scene has diversified, and the Tube Screamer has been replaced as old standards with time other configurations. The sound of the pedals should also gradually evolve. The effect will maintain its place in history and will remain an important homage to its original creators.
