Electric Guitar Review

I may be dating myself a bit here, but the classic TS808 Tube Screamer was one of the first distortion pedals I ever owned (that and a vintage Big Muff,) and I’m really happy to see that Ibanez has brought it back to life through this reissue… even if it is only in limited production.

While it’s not the cheapest overdrive pedal on the market, well, at least you won’t have to pay the exorbitant prices that original Tube Screamers have been getting on e-bay lately.

The TS808 Tube Screamer creates such warm tones and incredible sustain, that I venture to say that once you’ve played one of these you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it. While I’m a dyed-in-the-wool tube fanatic, the JRC4558 circuitry used in the Tube Screamer is about as close as you’ll come to real, overdriven tube tone without actually overdriving a tube.

And beyond it’s incredible tone — which can take you from raw, crunchy blues to absolutely creamy sustain — the TS808 is one of the sturdiest stomp-boxes you’re likely to find… it’s built like a freakin’ tank.

And hey, it’s even hand-wired… how often do you see that in a distortion pedal? The TS808 Vintage Tube Screamer is the real deal.