Brooo, I literally recommended that exact live version of that song to my Econ teacher the other day, I think the guitar work on that song and vocals are amazing, but the little speech he gives midway, man, I think everyone needs to hear it
I could write a book on my life with tube screamers. I couldn’t begin to count how many I’ve had. I started my life as a professional guitarist just as it entered the market. I sold a plexi marshall and had just bought my first hiwatt when my friend insisted i try his pedal. I did not use pedals as i knew the amp sounded best on its own. Then enter the TS808 between my les paul and the hiwatt custom 50… the hand of god anointed my tone. Not only did it sound great instantly but it had a tone knob. Its competition was the MXR distortion plus and the boss yellow OD. Neither had tone knobs. TS could be run backwards with vol full and drive off like a master volume. The other pedals shut off. They all would create squealing feedback too. The TS had a tone knob that sounded great anyway you set it. It was a miracle. Within a year or two everyone had one. When SRV entered the picture I wasn’t at all surprised he was using it too. Must be close to 45 years ago now and i still have one i use when ever i play a strat. I went thru more than a dozen boutique ODs starting in the 90s. All that has really changed is that i have a klone instead of a klon now. Klon is a better choice for tweed amps or lowatts. TS 808 followed by a klon. Ive never really tried to copy SRVs sound until lately. Our host here does a remarkable job of emulating the maestro.
Rene did tell me himself that he let John have one of Stevie's TS10s to play. He said he wouldn't give it to him just let him use it as long as he wanted. He also said ever since that happened, the price of these pedals went outrageous. Both Stevie and John liked these much better than the TS9 or 808.
I've owned 3 of these over my lifetime, bought the first 2 brand new, first one got stolen about a month after I got it, bought a second one, had it a couple years and truthfully in the mid 80's it was pretty lacking for heavy rock. Add into it that I was very inexperienced with my gear, therefore I got rid of it. Got a 3rd one in trade with some other stuff and over the last 25 years I have no clue where it has made its way to. I'm kinda regretting not keeping the one I bought when it came out, simply because nowadays I'm seeing many ways I'd like to give it a go. I think I bought mine brand new for $65. Rock on man, that's a great find
Yup, and videos like this. It's pretty much how it goes. Nothing really special under the hood, and I'm sure if SRV was around today, he wouldn't be using it still with all of the better, cheaper options.
Yep, I'm a Tubescreamer nut and never understood the premium for the TS10, especially considering its built cheaper than a TS9 or 808. Honestly, a TS is a TS no matter which way you cut it. I'd actually bet that 90% of people couldn't tell the difference between a TS808/9/10 and a $20 Behringer TO800... And the other 10% might like the Behringer more.
Sco yea tell me about it. I bought mine for a hundred bucks in 2003. Now they’re why 400 plus. Every single pedal I love John Mayer has made into rare commodities in the last few years lol. It’s kind of annoying tbh
I you're one of the players who thinks that "stomp-box" means you need to land on it with your size 11 out of a Pete Townsend jump, then it may not hold up. But, for 'normal' human use there are even clones of this pedal that are useable and durable enough to make sense.
Watching your video just reminded me I had one broken somewhere +20 years in a box...so I looked it up, and just one tip of solder on the 9v dc pcb(it was just a little cracked solder point, and probably my younger self didn't figured that out..) just fixed it! so happy now with this pedal!
I used that same exact pedal for years. Always consistent no issues. Bought it new when I was around 13 years old. Awesome for that extra boost and sustain for leads. Sounds great soloing with neck pickup on Strat. Disappeared over the years. Good friend of mine recently gave me the Maxon version. Awesome. My fav pedal.
I'm from Germany and I have one, bought it in the 80's, it looks brand new, but something is broken inside. I bought it together with the Ibanez CR5, crunchy rhythm, a great pedal, too.
I’ve had my TS10 since ‘87 - S/N 026540. I’ll even use it on my bass pedalboard on occasion. I also have an Ibanez SUPER TUBE from the same era (which is also a killer box) that I picked up not long after the TS10. Love these pedals!
Interesting. Mine is 459618, but these can’t be numbered sequentially, right? I mean there’s no way they made anything close to half a million of them. That just doesn’t seem possible to me.
Just want to add the you are one of my favorite Strat players! Its very rare to find this much soul in such a younger player and you belong right up there w all the greats that have come before you, lookin forward to hearing you express yourself every day brother!!!
My dad's screamer wasnt quite that old but it was the original look of what we think a tube screamer looks like "80's". It was dented from him stomping on it with adrenaline flowing but sounded amazing. When they came out with the reissue I put them side by side and it seemed like 2 different pedals. If they get it right the first time why cant they do it again. Also thanks again for the vids its helped a lot during this time that I cant play.
Yea they short out if you gig a lot. Longest I had one last was 2 years. I can repair them though. Tbh I just tell people to get a bonsai it’s the same chip
Its usually just a simple wire or Soldering issue. Also if you accidentally plug in the wrong power supply it will fry it but it can be fixed fairly easily.
To think he would have turned 66 today. Happy Birthday Stevie, you are so dearly missed. Tone and touch on the TS10 was awesome Matt...haven't seen one of those in quite a while!!
I purchased mine new in high school. Loved it. I just sold it 2 yrs ago, (30 yrs later) to pay for some other pedals I wanted. I really regret selling it. Never had a problem with mine.
That definitely sounds fantastic, my TS9 is only a few years old, so it's still just a baby. Someday though, I hope to have a completely vintage board.
Love the TS10. I have a 9 that's been on my live board for years but I record with the 10 and use it around the house . The 10 is a touch brighter and gets gainer quicker but it's pretty close to the 9. I'm happy with both. NO issues with the build so far and I've used it quite a bit for 3 or four years. Agree that it's a super cool vintage pedal.
What strings do you use on your strat? Got a nice thick tone pedal sounds nice too. If their affordable I may look into one so I can put away my original ts808 and klon short tail horsie.ive also thought about looking into the maxon brand 808 clones.
Great video, Matthew. You might want to look into the JHS Bonsai. It's apparently 9 tube screamer type pedals in one, modelled after actual original tube screamers JHS had when making it. I think you might like this one
Hi Matt, I love your channel - you’ve been blessed with that guitar magic mate. I’ve owned a TS10 since the early 90’s and it is still on my board. I have a great techie that has worked on my gear over the years - according to him the TS10 has the same components as it’s predecessors, until they were made in Taiwan. I own a large collection of amps, from 100w Marshall, Mesa Boogie to Fender classics and this pedal always does what it says on the tin! Cheers from the UK
Sounds great man. I used a ts9 for years back in the 90s. I was between bands for a couple years so I used the time to woodshed and deep dive study of srv, Jimi, and the various kings. I was of the evh and 80s hair band variety of players. It really improved my overall playing, and after 96 I've been working most weekends since playing guitar and bass. My old pedalboard was just a boss tuner, an ibanez ts9, a crybaby wah, all straight into a peavy 50wt classic tube head and an ampeg 4/12 cab with celestion greenbacks. Everything through the front of the amp, "the amp was set at just to the point of breakup." I have a 94 american standard strat, and an 84 jackson dinky with reverse headstock. It was the best tone I ever had, and I got lots of compliments from the pub patrons wherever we played. These days I'm playing bass and I've also paired down my board to include, a boss tuner, mxr compressor, mxr filter, and a 3 channel sansamp. Into an ampeg svt7pro, a fender 4/10 cab & fender 1/15 cab...it's thunderous. Happy jamming brother!
original TS10 owner here. love it. Always have. yes the switch can be funky, like ANY pedal. A little maintenance with some Caig Deoxit and you are good to go.
