finally came out—about how it was made
in the same factory as the original. “It was
even built by the same middle-aged ladies.
It was a dead, nuts-on copy,” he says. Even
the manual was identical—dated 1981, for
authenticity. More than 5,000 sold within
weeks of the release, and Ibanez estimates it
has sold 10,000– 12,000 TS9 reissues each
year over the last decade.
With the success of the TS9 reissue, the
TS9DX seemed like a no-brainer. According
to Lomas, the company watched, a glint of
envy in its eye, as Dunlop multi-load wah
“[The introduction of the TS9] was not
a magical moment by any stretch of the
imagination. The public didn’t give a rat’s
ass—not for the longest time.” —Former
Ibanez product manager John Lomas
pedals flew off the shelves. Hoshino felt it
needed a Tube Screamer with different modes
for output and distortion, and it seemed the
only thing to do was to get in on the action.
So, in 1998, Lomas designed the DX for
players who craved more volume, distortion, and low end. In addition to the
Drive, Tone, and Level knobs that had
already become Tube Screamer staples,
he added a fourth knob with four mode
positions: TS9, +, Hot, and Turbo, each
one adding low end and increasing volume
to some degree. The circuit is exactly the
same as that of the original TS9, but the
mode switch changes certain components’
parameters via clipping diodes and tone
capacitors. The + mode is grittier than the
original TS9, whereas Hot yields a crunchier tone with boosted mids, and Turbo, the
most powerful of the four modes, projects
a thicker, more modern sound.
“I wanted to come up with something that would be as true to the Tube
Screamer tonality as possible, so that at
least in one position it would be a classic
Tube Screamer,” says Lomas. “That’s where
I came up with the concept of varying the
clippers. I didn’t want any digital simulation because, in my mind, it just wouldn’t
be a Tube Screamer then.”
A Legacy of Mids
In the past decade, the Tube Screamer has
continued to evolve with new editions
such as the TS7 Tone-Lok, the TS808
reissue, the TS9B (reviewed on p. 240)—
the first Tube Screamer for bass—and the
2010 introduction of the Tube Screamer
amp—an ultra-portable, low-wattage
amp (available in head and combo versions) that incorporates a selectable Tube
Screamer circuit in its preamp. So far,
15-watt head and combo models are
available, although models with varying
wattages are rumored to be in the works.
Despite the Tube Screamer’s many
variations, Ibanez electronics merchandiser Frank Facciolo says its legendary
sound is rooted in its characteristic midrange presence. Lomas agrees. “It’s still
one of the best things to overdrive any
tube amplifier with,” he says. “It just does
magical things to tubes.”
