Gearank

Gearank Recommendation

The TS808 appeared on our recommended list for Overdrive Pedals as an Honorable Mention from January 2018 until February 2020.

Overview

The Ibanez TS808 is a re-issue of the original TS808, one of the most famed overdrives in history. The overdrive has been used (in at least one form or another, some of the musicians featured used another version of the pedal), by a huge amount of famous musicians. Its warm tone and pronounced mid-range hump has made the Ibanez TS the secret weapon of countless guitarists.

The most notable feature of this pedal is that it uses the same chip found on original Tube Screamers. Some musicians feel that the original chip was superior to those that came after it, citing it as having a warmer profile overall (every Tube Screamer has the same general tone, but there are slight variations between different incarnations of the pedal).

The main thing to know about this pedal, and all Tubescreamers and Tubescreamer clones, is that they do have a strong mid-range hump. They are not transparent overdrives in any way, shape, or form. They still have a really good sound, but they will definitely color your tone to a noticeable degree.

Specifications

• Controls: Overdrive, Tone, Level
• Analog
• Buffered Bypass
• 9-Volt Adapter/Battery
• Used By: Joe Bonamassa, Cliff Burton, Jerry Cantrell, Gary Clark Jr., The Edge, Noel Gallagher, Kim Gordon, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Demo