Whats actually in a Bass Tube Screamer TS9B?

jnryjd · #1 01-08-2013, 09:18 PM

Hi gang!

So I've been searching the web and threads here and for the life of me I cant find out what's in the TS9B.

Basically I love the sound of the old 808 Tube Screamer with the magic JRC4558D chip with my Les Paul and my little tube amp ( I play guitar as well as bass but mostly bass) and I figure if I can get something that can give me that sweet sound through my bass rig I'll be pretty keen to do it. But, is the TS9B just another overdrive pedal or does it have some of that same chip magic as its predecessor? Or is that chip a bit useless with bass?

I have a great rig. I have a Musicman Stingray5 that I play though a Markbass LMIII and a Schroeder 1212L cab and it's spectacular for funk and blues but occasionally I like to have a nice growl in the tone that doesnt get lost in the mix. I use an EHX Bass Big Muff Pi and a Sansamp BDDI Programmable for heavier stuff and they're both great but Im looking for something in between that has a nice little growl to it without sounding... um... ****?

Anyone got knowledge or an opinion?

jamestown94west · #2 01-08-2013, 09:21 PM

Have you tried a stock ts9 thru your bass rig yet? I would start there.

rr5025 · #3 01-08-2013, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnryjd

Hi gang!

So I've been searching the web and threads here and for the life of me I cant find out what's in the TS9B.

Basically I love the sound of the old 808 Tube Screamer with the magic JRC4558D chip with my Les Paul and my little tube amp ( I play guitar as well as bass but mostly bass) and I figure if I can get something that can give me that sweet sound through my bass rig I'll be pretty keen to do it. But, is the TS9B just another overdrive pedal or does it have some of that same chip magic as its predecessor? Or is that chip a bit useless with bass?

I have a great rig. I have a Musicman Stingray5 that I play though a Markbass LMIII and a Schroeder 1212L cab and it's spectacular for funk and blues but occasionally I like to have a nice growl in the tone that doesnt get lost in the mix. I use an EHX Bass Big Muff Pi and a Sansamp BDDI Programmable for heavier stuff and they're both great but Im looking for something in between that has a nice little growl to it without sounding... um... ****?

Anyone got knowledge or an opinion?

Why not try your TS with your bass?

jnryjd · #4 01-08-2013, 09:28 PM

Yeah I gave it a go but there's a significant loss of consistency and bottom end. The TS9DX isn't too bad but still not awesome for bass :-). The frustrating part is I cant find a TS9B in a shop to try it out...

jamestown94west · #5 01-08-2013, 10:35 PM

I find that the amp youre using makes a big difference in how well a ts9 works for bass. It sounds great on my practice amp, and thru my large venue rig, but on my small venue combo amp it doesn't sound as good.

Laurent · #6 01-09-2013, 07:39 AM

I tried the TS9B twice and hatted it both times.
The pedal just sounded plain bad and killed a lot of the bottom frequencies.

If you are looking for a pedal with a tube screamer type tones there are many other good options: Hematoma, Pork Loin, Green Rhino, Fulltone Bass Drive...
All these will sound far better than the TS9B, IMHO.

hennessybass · #7 01-09-2013, 07:56 AM

I've been looking at Tube Screamers... seems the TS9B gets really bad reviews on there, and the TS9 or 808 seem to suck low end. I would guess they sound pretty good at low volume, but loose it a hire volume like Laurent experienced.

I decided to build my own TS!! I ordered a kit from B.Y.O.C, and plan to make some mods to it along the way. It is pretty much a straight up clone of the TS808. The C2 cap in the thing is pretty much a high-pass filter. So you can change the value of that one cap and let more low end through.

The value of the normal cap is .047uF - which has a cut off frequency at 720hz. I think I ordered a .47uF cap, which should let me pass signal down to 72hz.

Not sure when I will get the kit, but I'll let you know how it turns out, if it turns out.

jamestown94west · #8 01-09-2013, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurent

I tried the TS9B twice and hatted it both times.
The pedal just sounded plain bad and killed a lot of the bottom frequencies.

If you are looking for a pedal with a tube screamer type tones there are many other good options: Hematoma, Pork Loin, Green Rhino, Fulltone Bass Drive...
All these will sound far better than the TS9B, IMHO.

The pork loin, green rhino, and bass drive suggestions are right on the money. Those are excellent pedals.

jnryjd · #9 01-09-2013, 04:27 PM

Righto!
The fact that I cant find anything good about the TS9B online is making me shy away... The Pork Loin and the Green Rhino sound like a good direction to follow so cheers for that y'all!

Snakeman1066 · #10 01-09-2013, 08:07 PM

Also a very good Choice I have one and love it!

bertbassplayer · #11 01-09-2013, 09:44 PM

Check out a Keeley Modded Blues Driver BD-2, works great for bass.

hennessybass · #12 01-10-2013, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertbassplayer

Check out a Keeley Modded Blues Driver BD-2, works great for bass.

Interested!! My guitar player swears the Blues Driver is way better than a tube screamer. Seems like a lot of the mods they make to the BD are similar to what the do with the TS... increase bass response, increase the range of gain +/-.

Very cool. I might be looking into this!

jnryjd · #13 01-10-2013, 07:53 PM

I've even seen a modded Joyo Vintage Overdrive which is a pretty faithful clone of the original 808 Tube Screamer for $95 (AUD) which could be cool..

I spent some time playing with my EHX Bass Big Muff Pi and found a pretty cool driving sound but it would be nice to have something that had more dynamics when attached harder etc...

jnryjd · #14 01-10-2013, 07:57 PM

attacked harder... damn brain

BawanaRik · #15 01-12-2013, 01:04 AM

Hematoma. I like it

jpTron · #16 01-12-2013, 09:15 AM

Mod one if you can. I have a ts7 that was modded to let more low end through so it's the perfect balance for me.

jnryjd · #17 01-29-2013, 05:55 PM

I really like the mid punch of the Tube Screamer that I hear on Youtube etc and my Markbass LMiii and Schroeder 1212L cab are pretty mid-heavy so I've found some pedals really do hit the "suck" button when used with this rig. Even my Sansamp BDDI Programmable sounds like a steaming turd which is annoying cos I fkn LOVE the Sansamp :-)

I realize an active bass and a solid state amp ain't the best set up for a warm tubey overdrive but thats not what Im looking for anyway. Im trying to get a nice punchy fart from the strings when i dig into them without too much mud so a responsive pedal like the TS9B and Xotic BB Bass Preamp would be cool. Even the Catalinbread SFT would be good I suppose but so far, even in direct contrast to reviews I've read, Im leaning more and more towards the TS9B...

This is what I have rcvd from Ibanez:
This TS9B has 2 JRC4558 ICs, so yes. It does use the JRC chip.

This is encouraging. You can also get them modded for True Bypass apparently...

Charley Umbria · #18 01-29-2013, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnryjd

Im leaning more and more towards the TS9B...

This is what I have rcvd from Ibanez:
This TS9B has 2 JRC4558 ICs, so yes. It does use the JRC chip.

This is encouraging. You can also get them modded for True Bypass apparently...

I had my TS9DX modded by Jack DeVille with one of their click-less true-bypass systems. It works flawlessly, and keeps the stock look of your pedal (no giant stomp switch sticking out of the case).

testing1two · #19 01-29-2013, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charley Umbria

I had my TS9DX modded by Jack DeVille with one of their click-less true-bypass systems. It works flawlessly, and keeps the stock look of your pedal (no giant stomp switch sticking out of the case).

A puzzling thing about Jack DeVille: every single product on the website is "temporarily unavailable."

sevdog · #20 01-29-2013, 08:41 PM

People can knock the TS9B all they want. I own one and it works great for what I want it to do. I don't really understand how anyone could say it sucks bottom end, I actually have to keep the bass knob turned down fairly low to get the overdrive to really come through...I own soma much more expensive distortion, overdrive and fuzz pedals, and the TS9B holds it's place on my board.

...So, to answer your original question, I don't know if that same chip with "magic" is in there but it's got some magic fer sher.