2004-Present
Model: Ts808 reissue
series: n/a
Knob Configuration:
overdrive, Tone, Level
notes: faithful reproduction
of the original Ts808.
Country of Origin: Japan
2008-Present
Model: Ts808h W
series: n/a
Knob Configuration: overdrive,
Tone, Level
notes: handwired version of the
Ts808. first Ts to feature true-bypass
switching. Very limited production.
Country of Origin: Japan
2011
Model: Ts9B
series: 9 series
Knob Configuration: Drive,
Level, Bass, Treble, Mix
notes: first Tube screamer
designed for bassists. features
a 2-band eQ and a Mix control.
Country of Origin: Japan
eliminated the vexatious chirp that older
Tube Screamers sometimes emitted when all
the controls were turned up. However, these
alterations affected the burgeoning star’s
signature tone, and the TS10 wasn’t as well
received as Hoshino hoped. Thanks to blues
and blues-rock mavens like SRV, many
players were getting hooked on the tones of
TS808 and TS9 Tube Screamers.
Piera says that, until the recent use of
TS10s by players such as John Mayer,
TS10s had remained undesirable. “I still
hate them,” he says, calling it a “disposable”
pedal. “They used cheap, proprietary parts—
jacks, switches, and pots that often break and
can’t be replaced, because the sturdy parts
used in handmade, handwired pedals like
the TS9 won’t fit. They have circuit boards
that have all these parts mounted on them
that break off, just so they could make pedals
cheaply with machine soldering.”
Lomas explains how the economy
affected the quality of manufacturing dur-
ing those years. “When I first joined the
company,” says Lomas, “back around ’ 83
or ’ 84, it was, like, 260 yen to the dollar.
Today, it’s around 77 or 78. Back around
’ 85, the yen started a turnaround and was
coming down to about 150, 160—and
they [Hoshino] were crapping their pants.
They used to be able to take anything that
was made in Japan and throw it out on the
US market and make money because it was
good quality and the exchange rate was
very favorable for the yen. Then, suddenly,
they had to start worrying about making
things cost effectively.”
When Ibanez launched its Soundtank
effects line in 1991, the new TS5 Tube
Screamer’s design goal was to capture the
sound of the older, vintage units at cheaper
costs by using streamlined manufacturing
techniques. The TS5 was not handwired
like the TS9 and TS808, and it was even-
tually sold in a high-impact plastic case,
rather than the original metal casing. The
TS5’s circuit is comparable to the TS9, but
it was made by Taiwan-based manufacturer
Daphon rather than Nisshin, and it fea-
tured smaller, cheaper components.
Rebirth of a Classic
Perhaps the resurrection of the TS9 was
inevitable, but Lomas contributed to its
legacy first by insisting on the 1992 reissue of the TS9, and then by developing
the TS9DX Turbo Tube Screamer. He says
when he took over product development in
1990, he immediately started pushing for a
TS9 reissue. Used TS9s were selling in stores
for well over $250, when Ibanez itself was
selling used units to dealers for five bucks.
Lomas says management was wary. Nisshin
wanted to move toward digital technology
and had no interest in going “backward” to
the old analog products—which is some-
what ironic, Lomas notes, considering that
Nisshin is producing many of the older ana-
log effects now. “At the time,” he says, “they
thought we were crazy.”
But money often talks when words
fall short. After prolonged browbeating,
Nisshin started to see the dollar signs that
had convinced Lomas, and they authorized
the reissue. Lomas recalls how he and his
colleagues spent weeks buying every origi-
nal TS9 they could get their hands on in
order to ensure that the pending reissue
was an exact replica. As they cracked open
and examined the pedals, they found that
almost every one had a Toshiba TA75558
IC chip rather than the JRC chip common-
ly found in TS808s. “Since 90, 95 percent
of TS9s had that chip,” says Lomas, “that’s
what we decided to put back in it.” He
recalls with a hint of nostalgia the way the
company boasted about the reissue when it
