How to use the Tube Screamer 

I've been playing 39 years and never have had this pedal. I have had variants of it cloned, but I use right now one of the best over many others I have had that happens to be a very cheap pedal by Caline called the Capt Silver which has a TS9 and TS808 option in it. Amazingly, doesn't change your tone and just boosts it and tightens the bottom flubby end. Now having said this. I just bought from zzounds the Ibanez Tube Screamer last night and it will be here in a few days. I can't wait to see how close they are and which one will I end up using on my board.

I like to set the Volume of the TS up all the way and set the gain off which gives your tone the full midrange punch the pedal can give plus maximizes the dynamics of your amp. I can use this setting in front of any amp gain stage (clean, breakup or full blown gain turned up) and still get the same effect. It’s extremely versatile. I never used it as a boost pedal but I do prefer to use it as a tone color pedal to sculpt my overall tone.

Very helpful. I bought one & returned it because I didn’t know how to use it. This demo was so helpful that I’m going to re-buy it!!

Not the first tubescreamer demo but definately the most interesting. Just the right balance of tech and playing. Thanks Eric. :D

I remember trying a tube screamer out when I was a kid in the 1980s, I ran it into a crapy solid state amp on the clean channel and it sounded like trash. It was probably 15 years later until I tried one again into a gained up tube amp for much better results.

Nice demo and explanation Eric. FYI to anyone reading this on a budget like me. A great clone to the original 808 in the Behringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive. They're only $19 at Sweetwater in the US. Behringer and Sweetwater have become partners so the Behringer products are even cheaper at Sweetwater. They're out of stock right now but it you order and pay now, they won't charge you until they ship it. I have one, and it's really great! Yes, it has the plastic housing but it is a very durable hard plastic that almost feels like metal. If you play at home and take care of your pedals like me, it should last you a long long time.

And cool on the Grolsch straplocks. I use them on all my guitars, no need to screw any new holes whatsoever. With Grolsch, your guitar ain't coming off ever. Plus, you get a couple of beers as a bonus!

What a talent to play the guitar and explain a classic pedal very well, greeting from Mexico.

Other than SRV, my favorite TS9/808 player has got to be Trey Anastasio... he has typically run two in series, one set to "full scream" and the other dialed in to give a slightly distorted boost. I believe he has also added a vintage Klon Centaur to his current rig as well.

I have the Behringer Vintage Tube Overdrive. It's my first and only Tube Screamer clone. It does the job!

I used to have an early 80s ts9. Loved that pedal! I used it for signal boost but also to add sustain. It would add sustain for days.

The ts9 is built like a brick shithouse and I kind of like it as a stand-alone drive, but when you put it in front of another drive or fuzz as a boost, it truly shows its colors and screams, in keeping with its namesake. It took me a while to figure that out.

Adrian Smith used a TS-9 into a four-hole 1987 Super Lead NMV on the Piece of Mind album, for example.

Great demo Eric! We've all heard of most of the uses for a TS9 and your demo clearly showed perfect examples! Awesome tone too!

Just snagged one of these. This is helpfull. Also I really dig the riffs you play during these demos! I'm also a lefty and love your collection.

Just got a TS9 yesterday! It’s wonderful! Great channel! Cheers from Sweden! 🤘

Great video, Eric. Thank you for the thorough analysis. Super helpful! 🤘

I like that eagle feather actually I know you said they aren't made anymore but man I'd like to search for one possibly lol .. I actually just bought the Ibanez ts9 screamer ts9dx about a month ago and wow it is worth the 119 bucks because it'll last forever and the way it shapes my tone when I'm expirimenting with my guitar / amp configurations is really fun and my tone is exactly what I like in my sound . I use vox amps ( 50 watt Cambridge/ 20 watt valvetronix)... Love em both..... I also use line 6 ( 60 watt catalyst/ and the spider 30 and 15 watt).... Love those also lol.... I also have that ol marshall mghdfx 100 watt Half stack I bought 20 years ago which sounds really heavy and just a classic take from good ol marshall.... I use Mitchell ms450's(from guitar center of course) ..... I have a couple Ibanez's ( rg series just around like the 300 dollar range)...... I have the Epiphone Les Paul traditional pro 4 as well ..... I swear just trying these different combinations with the Ibanez tube screamer has just got me completely immersed in my music like I've never been before👍🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🎸🎸🎸😝😝😝😝so if you don't possess that tube screamer pedal yet order one right now ASAP 🎉

You've really been on it lately, Eric! Another great video showing us the wonders of the pedal world. Thanks a lot for doing what you do!

Awesome video, man.

Great demo Eric!!! I’ve heard of most of those uses for the tube screamer, from you and Jason before, I believe. This demo however was very much more detailed, which I thought was really cool. Great job!!!🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

Great video. Love this how to use pedals effectively!

Great video. I've had Gearmanndude's Luther Drive for years now, I believe it's a take on the 808. I've had my eye on the EQD Plumes recently though, and the Doomscreamer sounds awesome!

That riff at 7:52 is stellar 🎉 thank you for sharing 🎉 hope you are well God loves you deeply shalom 🤗🐼❤️✝️💐 Philippians 4:8

An absolute pleasure to see such a detailed video on this circuit! With all respect paid to its reputation, the ts circuits were a bit tame for my liking. I much prefer blues breaker clones and k clones. Most of the time, I stack a Pantheon into a Hoof. Molten gain stages! Keep on, Eric! 🤘🤘🤘 thanks so much for all you do!!!

My favorite was James Hetfield using the TS9 on Ride the Lightning.

Thank you for this video Eric! I wish I had a video like this growing up. We all read guitar world and read an interview with a famous guitarist like Brain Welch and they say that it’s key to their sound. Me as a kid thought that’s how you got that super heavy sound like Korn. They never explained how it was as used. So, I get one and think what is this? Why is there no gain!? 😂 having this explained to me back then would have been amazing. The Tubescreamer is a classic for a reason! I have a Maxon OD808 and it’s fantastic. Did you know that Maxon manufactured the original Ibanez Tubescreamers. They also had license to produce the same pedals under the Maxon brand. Neat bit of pedal history. 🤘🖤🔥

You forgot to stack the second tube screamer 😂 awesome demo man

Sweet guitar

wow, I’ve got another TS clone, cheap one but highly rated the Behringer Vintage Tube Overdrive(TO800).

Erik Rutan uses a maxon 808 into his mesa boogie and jcm 800 and that's essentially Florida death metal same with Rob Barrett and Pat O'Brian from Cannibal Corpse

I’m pretty sure that the TS has a parallel signal path. Clean combined with dirt.

I like how you play but for some reason TS always sound too fuzzy, bright and cheap for me on the heavier styles i like to play - almost like the first Crate amp I'd ever play through. And I'm starting to think separating out full pre-amp EQ from the drive doesn't make sense. I'm about the pull the trigger on getting a Mark Lettieri pedal. But i do like your playing and riffs - will continue to check out your content, thanks!

Nice video! For some reason I still haven't used one but it keeps screaming at me to give it a try.

Great vid Do you know the Santana patch on this pedal?

I found out this metal can do BRUTAL SLAM DEATHMETAL. I put metal zone into amp then connect the tube screamer to the metal zone and guitar to tube screamer TRY IT

i love how at 9:15 your shirt says emo)))

Nice review 👏👏👏 How would you compare the TS versus the Boss Blues Driver? I’m in between these two for my next purchase. Cheers!

Hey man great vid What would be the settings for smooth Santana? Thanks

Is it me or does that SG just sound good without any pedal fx?

Eric, have you ever used the Marshall Bluesbreaker II pedal (1990s reissue in silver metal), and, if so, what did you think of it? Can you really get a Clapton 1966 tone out of it, or not? Or does it very much depend on the amp you're driving it with? I own a TS7 with the boost (hot) switch, have used it a bit, not tons though.

Cool, does 9:00 work with solid state amps too?

is this pedal not compatible with a fender amp? because mine isn’t working for some reason

Hey, How did you achieve that clean tone at 6:19? What amp/settings?

Are you left handed or is it just the camera flipping your image

Hi Eric! Do you think Gary Moore used a TS9?

Could this work decently with a solid state amp? Say a orange crush 60?

Around 2 to 3 minutes that sounded like a sped up version of "Reckoner."

Wow, all these years using a Tubescreamer without really understanding it!

The tube screamer sounds a little like you would finally put some new strings with a thinner string gauge on your muddy guitar.

first time i heard someone make this pedal sound bad

The digitech sounded better than the tube screamer. IMO