Ibanez’s fabled TS9 Tube Screamer overdrive pedal is famed for two things: its celebrated tones and its bright green pedal housing.
Well, to celebrate the TS9’s 40th anniversary, the Japanese brand has done away with the instantly recognizable green and has instead decked out its popular pedal in a Ruby Red finish.
Aside from the new colorway – and the 40th anniversary tag on the footswitch – it’s the same old TS9 Tube Screamer, meaning it boasts the same overdrive circuit and features identical controls for Drive, Tone and Level.
Red has been something of a go-to color for Ibanez, which also opted for an eye-catching Ruby Red colorway to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the TS808 – another classic Tube Screamer that was also designed by Maxon’s Susumu Tamura.
It was the now-coveted TS808 that preceded the TS9, which was eventually released by Ibanez in 1982 – both were eternalized by blues guitar icon Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Ibanez’s regular green TS9 has remained popular ever since – so popular, in fact, that Reverb reported it was the eleventh best-selling effects pedal of 2021.
The Ruby Red Ibanez TS940TH is available to preorder now for $179.
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Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
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