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TS808 DESCRIPTION |
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"The Holy Grail of Tubescreamers" is Back! Over the years there have been enough overdrive pedals made by one company or another to fill a telephone directory, but a few stand out from the crowd. The most sought after of these is the Ibanez TS808 Tubescreamer. Used by artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, this box is capable of producing some of the most convincing tube-like tones available from transistor technology, and for that reason the collectors love them. However, there is a problem: Real TS808s are only slightly less rare than rocking-horse feed and will set you back hundreds of dollars in the vintage marts. Since boutique stompbox makers were using the TS808 Tubescreamer as a model for their ultimate tone box, it only made sense for Ibanez to come up with a reissue, but, as is always the case, there was a problem. To get the sound of the original TS808s Ibanez needs the famous warm tones of the JRC4558 chip used in most of the original TS808s. Ibanez can't use just any currently manufactured JRC4558. In over two decades since the original TS808's were made, the manufacturer has made improvements in consistency, electrical characteristics and fidelity of the JRC4558. Unfortunately, those aren't necessarily "improvements" when your goal is vintage distortion. However, Ibanez discovered that they can pick out a small quantity from current lots of JRC4558 chips that match the vintage TS808 spec. In order to do this, they have to measure them one-by-one to find those with the desired characteristics. This careful and labor intensive selection process limits the production of the TS808 and increases its cost (as does its famous old square footswitch, which had to be completely recreated in order to make for an accurate reissue). The reissue of the TS9 in 1993 and the reissue of the TS808 in 2004 mean that players don't have to plunk down the vast quantities of cash that the originals have been known to fetch. For collectors who are also players, the reissues mean that they don't have the tough choice of either subjecting their beloved original Tube Screamers to the dangers of contemporary gigging or leaving those great tones at home. The TS808 is a limited production reissue, so if you don't want to wait another twenty years before it comes back, IF it ever comes back, you'd better get yours now!
 Tell a Friend About the TS808! Print This PageSee Also: Overdrive Pedals |
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