Ibanez

A classic Overdrive gets refined for the 21st century. The Nutube Tubescreamer is basically a standard TS808 with inverted colors and the addition of the tiny, vacuum Nutube. It sounds organic and amp-like, offering exceptional dynamics. Like you'd expect it from a Tubescreamer, it tightens up the bottom end with a pleasant amount of compression. Besides the initial set of controls they've added a Mix knob to go from clean (CL) to overdrive (OD).  This is a well though-out addition to the pedal since most players use the Tubescreamer either as a Clean or as a Solo boost. This Mix knob enables you to further shape the character of the pedal to your specific use.The NTS has relay true-bypass switching, is all-analog and can be powered with 9 volt battery or 9-18 volts power supply where 18 volts deliver more headroom and gain.Follow your instincts and listen for yourself in the TonePedia Player!

6 String Aerial View of Paradise There’s some speculation over what RG stands for on Ibanez’s guitars, on the RG1121PB we’d suggest “Really Good” because … well, it is. As part of their premium range Ibanez have gone the extra mile to provide amazing looking, playing and sounding instruments while still at a fairly decent price point. Lets face it, we’ve all seen guitars with a lot less spec going for a lot lot more. So let's look at the spec. First up we have to discuss the appearance which is striking without being garish, a poplar burl top in ocean blue with a sandy white centre instantly reminds us of a paradise island. Why isn’t this a standard in all guitar ranges, it simply makes people smile. The contrasting Ebony fretboard leads up to the blue colour matched headstock. Flipping the guitar over we find an 11 (yes ELEVEN) piece neck! Comprising a mixture of Maple, walnut and purpleheart woods, simply stunning! Featuring two passive DiMarzio pickups, a wizard profile neck, gold plated hardware including the jumbo frets, the choice of with or without trem and even Gotoh locking tuners this guitar is made for people who want to look good and play great. Not a guitar for the conservative play but if you want to show off in style (or beach shorts and sunglasses) then this is for you! 

Are original run of Tubescreamers still the best? There are a few things in life which can divide friends and families. Politics, religion and yes ... Tube screamer chips.So if you're reading this you most likely know what the tube screamer is but to be safe, it's a low gain overdrive pedal which rolls off some low end and has a very specific mid frequency bump. Using our demo turn the gain down low, set the tone at noon and switch the pedal on and off to hear this fairly change fairly clearly.Throughout the years the Tubescreamer has gone through many many changes, six main models 808, TS-9, TS-10, TS-7 and the TS-5 and most of these had model variations such as the TS-9DX Turbo TubeScreamer for example. From these the TS-808, TS-9 and more recently the TS-10 have become the mainstays on many guitars boards however the internal designs of the TS-808 and in TS-9 are what causes discussion. It simply comes down to the components used, the OPamp chip sets used in pedals aren't made FOR pedals in fact they're used in many products throughout the world. eventually new chip sets come along which does the job better for the majority of products so they are discontinued or made in such small quantities that they become prohibitively expensive. Companies change the chips for something close and people often prefer the original sound of the original chip set. This means the early Tubescreamers with certain chips are coveted, rare and can be fairly expensive. Fear not though Tonepedia user as we have gone ahead and sourced some of the rarest pedals on earth including many Tubescreamers with different Chip sets for you to try such as the quintessential JRC4558D and JRC2043DD chips found in the crossover from 808's to TS-9 in the early 1980's. The JRC4558D is THE holy grail for most TS-9 fans who claim it has a slightly more pronounced mid range and causes the clipping have just the right amount of edge.The JRC2043DD is claimed to give a little slight lower mid to bass push and a very slight notch in the low treble regions.We also have a Malaysian chip 4558P TS-808 for you to compare with other tubescreamers including modern 808's. This chip is claimed to have a softer touch and causes an overall lower sounding pedal.For the sake of balance, there are many who claim components other than the opamp chips cause some of these artifacts and now YOU TOO can become an"expert" on the tones of tubescreamers by comparing them all here. So enjoy and let us know what your think. 

Smallest Official Tube Screamer Available The Tube Screamer is one of the (if not THE) most famous pedals on the planet. Even as a new player finds their way through the basic information of guitars, amps and strings, somewhere in the distance can be heard the chants on TS-9, TS-808, TOOBSCWEEMA and as the wind blows these sounds even closer we wonder what it could possibly be.The mini tube screamer makes the initial experience of meeting this pedal for the first time much easier as the price and size are both much easier to swallow.Yes, this does exactly what a full-fledge tube screamer should do and many players feel it does it better than the current TS-9. Only you can decide and how lucky are because TonePedia has more Tube Screamer demos that anyone else and you can compare them all. If you think they all sound the same then you may be correct, but some would argue to listen just a little closer. 

small CHORUS Chorus is such an important part of modern music history, as the defining effect of two very different genres it's no surprise that Ibanez has made some great examples over the years.The Chorus mini is their latest approach to this great sparkly sound and they've done it in a tiny approachable manner yet don't be afraid that the tones won't hold up. Compare this against any other chorus pedal on TonePedia and you'll find it's more than capable of 80's rock and 90'd grunge (plus a lot more)!

Super Metal MiniThe Super Metal Mini from Ibanez is a distortion designed to recreate the metal tones of the SM9 Super Metal.Ibanez has been making pedals since the 70s and the mini range replicates many of them. This new release is in the same vein as many 80's distortions but it has a lot more gain than many found back then.Super StyleThe Super Metal mini seems to work best suited for classic rock and 80's metal however it would work very well for pushing an amp into modern metal tones. This is because of the powerful EQ section and powerful gain section. Stacking the Super Metal mini with a tube screamer can also produce powerful tones.The Ibanez mini pedal range all have the same stepped enclosure making them similar to 8 series but much smaller.Mini MetalThe Super Metal Mini is capable of more than just metal, thanks to these features it offers much more:Drive - Lots of gain on tap allowing you to get those distorted tones or something more subtlePunch - This low bass control is super powerful and is as great at taking away bass as it is in providing it.Attack - The tuned treble provides the perfect sizzle matched with the gainEdge - This interesting control balances the punch and attack for greater fine tunningVolume has plenty of boost ability for driving your tube ampContemporary Classic miniThis classic circuit is a forgotten gem from the 80s, we really wouldn't be surprised to hear it on upcoming rock and metal albums once it becomes rediscovered. Where this shines greatest is in its unique voice thanks to the powerful tone sculpting capabilities.

An all-time classic. There's no doubt about it, the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer is one of the, if not the most popular guitar overdrive out there. Guitar players such as Stevie Ray Vaughan used it as the TS9 really let's the sound and feel of the guitarist come through. It is one of the most copied pedals and was used as a basic circuit for many later pedals.Plugging it in makes you feel as if you went back in time. It sounds like old favourite records. This mid boost is really prominent and perfect for rock and blues as it cuts through the mix, yet keeping your initial guitar tone right there.The Tube Screamer went through many variations. It started in the late 70's as the TS-808 Overdrive Pro, then in early 80's the first TS9 was produced and some more variations came after. Nevertheless, the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer remains the original - a must have!

Are original run of Tubescreamers still the best? There are a few things in life which can divide friends and families. Politics, religion and yes ... Tube screamer chips.So if you're reading this you most likely know what the tube screamer is but to be safe, it's a low gain overdrive pedal which rolls off some low end and has a very specific mid frequency bump. Using our demo turn the gain down low, set the tone at noon and switch the pedal on and off to hear this fairly change fairly clearly.Throughout the years the Tubescreamer has gone through many many changes, six main models 808, TS-9, TS-10, TS-7 and the TS-5 and most of these had model variations such as the TS-9DX Turbo TubeScreamer for example. From these the TS-808, TS-9 and more recently the TS-10 have become the mainstays on many guitars boards however the internal designs of the TS-808 and in TS-9 are what causes discussion. It simply comes down to the components used, the OPamp chip sets used in pedals aren't made FOR pedals in fact they're used in many products throughout the world. eventually new chip sets come along which does the job better for the majority of products so they are discontinued or made in such small quantities that they become prohibitively expensive. Companies change the chips for something close and people often prefer the original sound of the original chip set. This means the early Tubescreamers with certain chips are coveted, rare and can be fairly expensive. Fear not though Tonepedia user as we have gone ahead and sourced some of the rarest pedals on earth including many Tubescreamers with different Chip sets for you to try such as the quintessential JRC4558D and JRC2043DD chips found in the crossover from 808's to TS-9 in the early 1980's. The JRC4558D is THE holy grail for most TS-9 fans who claim it has a slightly more pronounced mid range and causes the clipping have just the right amount of edge.The JRC2043DD is claimed to give a little slight lower mid to bass push and a very slight notch in the low treble regions.We also have a Malaysian chip 4558P TS-808 for you to compare with other tubescreamers including modern 808's. This chip is claimed to have a softer touch and causes an overall lower sounding pedal.For the sake of balance, there are many who claim components other than the opamp chips cause some of these artifacts and now YOU TOO can become an"expert" on the tones of tubescreamers by comparing them all here. So enjoy and let us know what your think. 

Not just rare, you could call this blue! The TS-808 established itself back in the late 70's and since then the tube screamer has become one of the (if not THE) most popular pedals of all time. Many people claim to be experts about what makes the early tubescreamers authentic and better than those which came later. There is a simple truth, the original designs had a multitude of component changes during their runs because on the scale of things the number of chipsets Ibanez and Maxon were using was tiny compared to the major electronics manufacturers and therefore they took what was on offer/available at the time. The original designs called for a 4558 chip but didn't specifically state which 4558!Most commonly the JRC4558D is regarded as THE tubescreamer chip, these chips were seen in other pedals of course including certain Boss pedals. A chip which gets us nerds pretty excited is the TL4558P ... can you feel the mojo .. . .This chip has been well regarded by those who have been lucky enough experience it, they are super rare and therefore also super expensive. It's worth noting that legendary pedal builder Analogman uses these chips in his tuberscreamer mods (when he can get them), its suggested they're a little bit cleaner and more open sounding. It's up to you to decide so here we've tonecaptured one of the rarest tubescreamers ever, let us know what you think! 

What Is and What Was  Briefly, before the TS-9s and TS-808s we are familiar with, came a prelude. Since these now cost thousands of whichever currency you use, they are not an everyday item so at a glimpse, you'd be forgiven for mistaking this as an early 80s 808 but look a little closer and the differences are fairly striking. The first and most obvious difference is the overall width, yes that's right ... the 808 narrow is, well narrower than the standard 808 ... who would've thought! There is however much more, for example, the battery compartment is only accessible via removing the back of the enclosure (like an MXR pedal) whereas later models have a plastic-covered hatch. The DC input is on the side next to the input jack and the volume knob on many is labelled "Balance".Internally there were slight differences of the circuit including two 1458 chips used as an early basic dual op-amp, others use the sort after (yet more common) 4558 type chips. Interestingly some had the Malaysian Texas Instruments RC4558P chip instead of the normal Japanese JRC4558 chip. We'd like to acknowledge the Analogman & Tonehome websites for filling in some of the gaps on this ultra-rare pedal! Compare the TS808 Narrow to other vintage TS808s and TS9s we have tonecaptured to see which tubescreamer fan you really are!

PROverdrive The TS808DX was released in 2014 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the original Tubescreamer. Whats great about this pedal is the boost circuit can be placed pre or post in order to give the player a volume boost in post for lead work or in pre it will push more signal into the Tubescreamer circuit which pushes overdrive into the realm of distortion. The Tubescreamer circuit even uses the iconic JRC4558D chip seen in the early pedals.The boost side of the pedal can be used independently allowing you to boost other pedals in your chain or simply to provide a clean boost.  

Phasers Set To TinyThink about analog phasers and you'll likely think about MXR and if not then BOSS but back in the 70s Ibanez released the Phase Tone which was a great pedal in its own right. There's clearly some of that heritage in this fantastic little pedal from the Japanese giant that is Ibanez. This mini pedal is super simple to use yet it offers more flexibility in tones than something like a Phase 90 for example. 

Quality analog delay for the small board. The Ibanez AD Mini / Analog Delay Mini pedal delivers quality analog delay tone in a small unit which will fit onto almost every pedalboard on earth - yes, even if it's really cramped.The Ibanez AD Mini offers a delay time range from 20ms to 600ms. Dial it to a short delay time to get slapback delay, or to a longer time to get that space delay sound. The signal path is 100% analog, and true-bypass switching completely takes the effect out of your guitar's signal path when disengaged.Fiddling with the blend and feedback knobs on stage can be tricky, due to their size, but the most important knob, the time knob, is a standard sized one which is comfortable to tweak around.To sum it up, the Ibanez AD Mini / Analog Delay Mini is small, neat and a great addition to your low-in-space pedal board.

The Ibanez Talman TM302 is a perfect starter's guitar and more! Getting around with the TM302 is pretty much a straight forward thing. Double cutaway Alder body, 2 passive custom vintage single coil pickups and a standard 3-way switch will get you all that you need. Thanks to the comfortable neck shape and classic, no hassle 3-way pickup configuration, we found the Ibanez TM302 a great candidate for those who make their way into the guitar world and want to start/move playing the electric guitar. It's not a heavy guitar, but has the right weight, so playing using a strap is quite nice actually and the medium fret size makes it easy to fiddle around with string bending and more complex chords.Sound wise it's more than we hoped for, check out the demos.

Unbelievable Value Is Understating It RG's are undoubtedly as much a staple of the guitar world as strats and les pauls, serving players from beginner level all the way to virtuoso’s who in turn inspire whole new generations of players. Like all good guitar companies Ibanez have continually updated the RG specs to accommodate growing payers needs and the world around us. The RG421HPAM features many of these upgrades.The body is Nyatoh, used as a responsible alternative to traditional mahogany yet almost indistinguishable in appearance and tone. The top is Ash wood grain which looks simply amazing, that grain pops out in such a pleasing way. Another high end addition to this guitar is a roasted maple neck which many pro-players are adopting today due to the ease of playing and tactful feel, this comes in a wizard 3 neck shape tuned for fast playing. The 24 fret fingerboard adorning this beautiful neck is also Maple which blends in a pleasing way with the Ash top and gives a little snap to the tone. Down to the hardware, we have two DiMarzio’s, an Air Norton™ in the neck and The Tone Zone® in the bridge position. Both pickups can be coil tapped via a switch on the front body giving 6 possible pickup configurations, enough for even the most demanding of players.Sound wise you will hear elements of classic Gibsons and Fenders but the combination is something new which Ibanez have crafted. Considering a guitar like this will excel at anything from jazz to shred metal and everything in between it's very safe to say guitarists have the world at their fingertips in today's market.

TS-808 ... where everything began. These days, we guitarists have an unprecedented variety of effect pedals to choose from - basically every unit you can image is somewhere out there. But still you can spot this bright green pedal on so many pedalboards wherever you look and that is for a really good reason!The legendary Ibanez TS-808 is around since the late 70's and has become, thanks to the characteristic midrange presence and the way it interacts with a tube amp's preamp, a favorite of so many guitar players around the globe. While preserving the characteristics of the guitar and amp, it adds sustain, edge, harmonic liveliness and a tightness to the bottom end that guitarists like Stevie Ray Vaughan desired from the first moment on.The current TS-808 is faithful reproduction of the original with the same JRC4558D IC chip and an analog circuitry.

SRV 808 The eternal debate rages on through time, space and internet forums ..."Which is the best Tubescreamer?""Do they all sound the same?""But XYZ uses this one so it must be the best!?""My uncle Louix has used his since 1789 and swears by it"The level headed among us will comment that its all subjective, the engineers among us will take put them on oscilloscopes to fine test the differences. The TS-808 with the JRC4558D was released as part of the Ibanez 800 Series which has many great pedals in the range. Often considered as the quintessential Tubescreamer and used (among others) by SRV could this really be the holy grail?We say put this up against the other Tubecreamers on TonePedia and decide for yourself as what worked for SRV may not work for you. 

The Most Confused Fuzz Of All TimeThe original OD-850 released in the 1970s was not an overdrive, it was more or less based on the Big Muff circuit which itself is more distortion than a fuzz in many players' minds. So here we have a drive pedal of some sort or another. The tones will get you all of those huge Big Muff style tones heard from bands such as The White Stripes, Smashing Pumpkins, Thin Lizzy and SOOOOOOO many more but where the Big Muffs are famously HUGE this is a tiny well-designed pedal from Ibanez so you know it'll stand up to being stomped on for years to come. 

FLangERIbanez famously made the Airplane flanger for Paul Gilbert which sounds both vintage pleasant and crazy all at once, this pedal though a lot more subdue clearly still has some of the same DNA as it sounds so great in a vintage flanging way.The size of the pedal makes it a great option for any player's board to offer anything from slow warping movements to fast seasick tones.

The Artcore Vintage AMV10A has sound and looks one can hardly expect to get at such price point. The demand for relic guitars is constantly growing, musicians want guitars that sound a look rock 'n' roll (and who can blame them). The thing is, good relic takes time and raises the price of the instrument. Ibanez has been innovative forever and came again to the rescue with the Artcore Vintage Series. The AMV10A comes in a beautiful, nicely relic'd tobacco burst low gloss finish and worn hardware which gives the guitar a well played guitar look. The sound is no different, the Ibanez AMV10A fits Jazz, Rock and just about any style you would like to play thanks to the fat sounding Custom Elite pickups. We also appreciate the Quik Change III tailpiece Ibanez equip the AMV10A with, as it is both good looking and makes string changing as easy as it gets.

Unbelievable Value Is Understating It The RG range has been around for a long time, serving players from beginner level all the way to virtuoso’s who in turn inspire whole new generations of players. Like all good guitar companies Ibanez have continually updated the RG specs to accommodate payers needs and the world around us. The RG421HPFM features many of these upgrades and also some woods traditionally found on more exotic guitars.The body is Nyatoh, used as a responsible alternative to traditional mahogany yet almost indistinguishable in appearance and tone. Featuring a full flame maple top, it’s clear no costs were cut to provide the warm yet cutting tones this combination excels at. Another high end addition to this guitar is a roasted maple neck which many pro-players are adopting today due to the ease of playing and tactful feel, this comes in a wizard 3 neck shape tuned for fast playing. The 24 fret fingerboard adorning this beautiful neck is Jatoba, another responsibly sourced wood this time from the rosewood family. Unlike other rosewood alternatives this example maintains the darker appearance of traditional rosewood helping the player feel more at home.Down to the hardware, we have two DiMarzio’s, an Air Norton™ in the neck and The Tone Zone® in the bridge position. Both pickups can be coil tapped via a switch on the front body giving 6 possible pickup configurations, enough for even the most demanding of players.All told a guitar like this could fetch a very high street value yet they retail at amazingly great value prices. Considering a guitar like this will excel at anything from jazz to shred metal and everything in between it's very safe to say guitarists have the world at their fingertips in today's market.

The Respectable Shredder Many of us growing up between the 80’s and 2000’s have played Ibanez guitars or something trying to be an ibanez at least. Yet as time has passed, our hair cuts have become shorter, our jeans have become trousers and our guitars have become tamer.  Yet something inside us still yearns to plug a super strat into a high gain amp and tear into the fretboard as if it had just offended our mothers. The AZ’s from Ibanez’s premium range offer us the best of both worlds, subtle colours with artfully interesting wood grains giving a nod to the world of flame tops yet staying tasteful. Staying on appearances, the roasted maple necks look great and yet are functional in their feel. The Seymour Duncan Hyperion pickups are powerful yet can be gentle and dynamic, they also feature coil tapping for single coil tones. In fact 10 different pickup combinations are possible via the switching.The floating trems and locking nuts we remember with mixed feelings have been replaced by a Gotoh trem and locking tuners to provide both whammy fun and tuning stability.All this together provides us with a guitar which jazz fusion players are flocking to, and if anyone needs a variety of tones, it’s them. So yes this will work great in the 70’s cover band but if you manage to convince the band to play some Pantera or Steve Vai then you have everything you need right here! 

The Colourful Shred MachineAt first Glance Ibanez's S671ALB looks similar to many of the company's new offerings. The classy blue variation, matched headstock H-S-H super strat. Dig a little deeper however and some key features start to pop out, that's an ebony fingerboard for instance, those are Fishman Fluence pickups with a second voicing accessible by the push pull pot, 5 ply binding around the body and a bound 5 piece neck. The list of specs goes on but it's fairly obvious this isn't the run of the mill RG, in fact this is an Axion Label series Ibanez. These are designed for the demanding metal player market but are so good most players will find something they love. Gone is the tone pot allowing the signal to go pickups > volume > output jack providing a stronger truer tone. Speaking of the output jack, this is situated on the top for ease of access.A combination of Gotoh locking tuners and fixed bridge makes this a great studio tool due to the tuning stability as well as giving superb resonance through the body. Metal players are all about ease of playing, when things get fast and complicated little things can have a big effect, so Ibanez have added luminescent side dot inlays and sub zero treated Jumbo frets (It would seem the mortal kombat team have found unexpected employment) It used to be the case that all super shred machines came in either black or garish finishes so it's great to see Ibanez making these lovely looking guitars which still allow the player to rip open the gates of valhalla. 

John who??? The eternal debate rages on through time, space and internet forums ... "Which is the best Tubescreamer?""Do they all sound the same?""But XYZ uses this one so it must be the best!?""My uncle Louix has used his since 1789 and swears by it"The level headed among us will comment that its all subjective, the engineers among us will take put them on oscilloscopes to fine test the differences. The TS-10 was released as part of the Ibanez 10 Series which has many great pedals in the range. This one was an almost identical recreation of the TS-9 in a different (and very cool) case.We say put this up against the other Tubecreamers on TonePedia and decide for yourself as what works for John Mayer may not work for you. 

Is it a bird, Is it a plane ...  No, its a SUPER TubeScreamer. These are and interesting and super rare version of the TS-9 which seems to have been sold only in Europe. Likeike a Tube Screamer in how it clips with that familiar fizzy yet soft tone but this time Ibanez added a Mid Boost control.Interestingly the mid control is set before the clipping stage of the pedal, what that means in real life is you can really push the gain harder with the mid control and whats more this pedal can jump out of the mix for lead playing like no other TubeScreamer before it. 

tReMoLo Ibanez has some very famous pedals in their line up but tremolo hasn't been one of them which has taken the world by storm and that's a shame because their previous early attempts at the effect were very good indeed. This tremolo isn't a replica of a vintage pedal but given the warm tones and ease of use, you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise. The size of the pedal makes it a great option for any player's board to offer anything from slow stylish movement to fast choppy "what the hell is happening" tones. 

Booster MiniThe Booster Mini from Ibanez is a Booster designed to recreate the BB9 Bottom Booster tones.Ibanez has been making pedals since the 70s and this is a recreation of their classic in a mini enclosure.Mini StyleThe booster seems to work best suited for pushing a tube amp into break up however it's very versatile. This is because of the clean push which could be used to maintain tone through pedal boards or give an acoustic signal a helping hand.This mini enclosure Ibanez uses a style inspired by Ibanez's classic 9 series and looks great!Bottom BoosterThe Booster Mini doesn't just provide a clean, thanks to these features it offers much more:Level - Provides plenty of push to drive your amp and presents a significant volume boost for lead tones.Treble - Add some sparkle to your tone or leave the pedal always on to reduce treble making your drummer happy.Bass - Adjust the boost so that when pushing your amp harder other frequencies can cut through better. Alternatively, push the bass on a high gain amp to head into doom territory.Vintage Chip, Modern BoostThe Booster mini uses a classic chip ( JRC 8820) tone purists love for a vintage tone. This boost is still extremely relevant today and will work well for all players looking for that little extra control over their rig.