Tube Screamer by Ibanez
The Ibanez Tube Screamer is an overdrive pedal. The most popular use of a tube screamer is to push a tube amp to make it overdrive more. The pedal has a characteristic mid-boosted tone popular with blues players. The legendary Tube Screamer has been used by several guitarists to create their signature sound, and is one of the most popular and most copied overdrive pedals.
When used with a tube amplifier the Tube Screamer increases the gain of the input signal, overloading the preamp and further distorting the signal. When used with a cranked master-volume type tube amplifier, this can result in much higher volumes than before the pedal is engaged if the preamp is not already turned up fairly high. Provided the preamp gain is already turned up, the Tube Screamer will saturate the signal, creating a thickly overdriven tone.
The pedal has an overdrive knob, a tone knob, and a level knob. The drive knob controls the level of distortion, the tone knob adjusts the amount of treble in the sound, and the level knob controls the output volume of the pedal. The pedal can be used on a solid-state amp to try to mimic the sound of a vintage tube amp, although many guitarists prefer to use it to push a tube amp's pre-amp into an overdriven state. The classic Tube Screamer sound includes a mid-hump, which means that the circuit accentuates frequencies between the bass and treble ranges (mid-frequencies). Many guitarists prefer this sort of equalization, as it helps to keep their sound from getting lost in the overall mix of the band.
Several variants of this pedal exist. The early incarnations of the TS-808 and TS9 are the most sought after by collectors. Other variants, including the TS10, TS7, and TS5 are less collectible and vary in their reproduction of the original circuit. The TS-9 and TS-808 pedals have been reissued, and according to the company, feature the same circuitry, electronics and design components that helped to shape the famous Tube Screamer sound. Some musicians have a technician perform modifications to the unit to change the sound to their liking. Also, Maxon, who produced the original Tube Screamer pedals for the Ibanez brand in the 1970's and 80's, produce their own version of the Tube Screamer. In addition, many of the most highly-regarded overdrive pedals, both mass-manufactured and boutique, owe their heritage to the Tube Screamer circuit.