Anyone who knows anything about overdrive knows that if you’re looking for the smoothest, fullest drive tones around, the legendary Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer is the pedal to beat. Well, hold on to your headstocks – there might just be a new top TS in town. Say hello to the Ibanez TS808 Tamura-Mod Tube Screamer, a limited-edition pedal that Guitar World’s Paul Riario calls the “ultimate” TS808 overdrive.
“It’s essentially a TS808 Tube Screamer, modded by the engineer, Susumu Tamura, who invented it,” Paul explains in the above demo video.
Before diving into the pedal’s features, Paul offers up a quick history lesson. “Looking to develop a competitive overdrive that could go head-to-head with the popular Boss OD-1, Mr. Tamura inadvertently created the Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer, undeniably the most copied, cloned and modified guitar effect of all time,” he says. “Of course, it’s known for its incredible organic warmth and tube-like response, and the 808 quickly became the go-to amp-pushing pedal for countless guitarists all over, most notably Stevie Ray Vaughan.”
To create the new Tamura-Mod TS808, Paul continues, “Mr. Tamura spent three years attempting to replicate what is considered the best-sounding Tube Screamer of all time. He analyzed hundreds of 808 variants and determined that the best-sounding units all featured a specific brand of IC, or integrated circuit, and that these IC’s were also from a specific production period, which Mr. Tamura has incorporated into his TS808 mod.”
The use of this “hen’s tooth” IC has a dramatic effect on the tonal characteristics of the TS808, generating a transparency, clarity and note-to-note separation “so uncanny that it makes other drives sound as if they are being played with a blanket over the speaker.”
The Tamura-Mod Tube Screamer also features hardware updates, including a high-quality mechanical plunger-type footswitch in place of the original’s fussy “chicklet” switch, as well as a new ultra-bright blue-white LED that signals when the effect is engaged. Each pedal is also hand-signed by Mr. Tamura.
As far as the sound? “Let’s just say the pedal really does imitate the pre- and power sections of a tube amp with remarkable accuracy for an overdrive,” Paul says.
To demonstrate how well it does this, Paul hooks his Fender Strat up to a Tamura-Mod TS808 and a stock TS808 so we can hear the different nuances between the two for ourselves. You can check it out in the video above.
Paul’s verdict? “To my ears, the Ibanez Tamura-Mod TS808 possesses the most authentic vintage Tube Screamer tone, with jaw dropping transparency, fullness and warmth. If you want the ultimate and best version of the venerable TS808 Tube Screamer, modded by the man who created it, look no further than the Tamura-mod TS808 Tube Screamer.”
To get your hands on the ultimate and best Tube Screamer for yourself, head over to Godlyke.com.
