9 x Green Means Scream!

It was somewhat fortuitous that EQD chose the right colourway to appear in this roundup - it's previous Tube Screamer style overdrives - the Palisades and Dunes are both very monochromatic, and actually voiced quite differently to this particular iteration. Key controls are the same in terms of Level | Tone | Gain, but we have a 3-way clipping toggle-switch - Symmetrical LED Clipping | No Clipping | Asymmetrical Silicon Diode Clipping. So the last option gets you more into Boss DS-1 territory really. The Plumes has been deliberately priced at a very affordable $99 which through current rubbish exchange rates equated weirdly to £105 imperial credits. It's certainly a decent enough proposition, while many view it as one too many option in an already extremely crowded marketplace, and where EQD already has the Palisades and Dunes fort his category.

This is currently in extremely short supply particularly on this side of the pond, but remains my favourite all-rounder specifically Tube Screamer -style overdrive to date. You get 7 controls here, 4 knobs - Drive | Tone | Level | Body, and 3 toggle-switches - Clipping (Red LED / Mosfet), Flat/Mid-Hump and Boosted Presence / Higher frequencies. Furthermore you get a really handy independent boost, albeit you cannot switch the order on that - that would possibly be my only change here. This is a singularly powerful Tube Screamer-style overdrive, while the Tube Screamer mode on the Jackson Audio Broken Arrow is also excellent - but that is one of several flavours - and his City V2 is dedicated to TS808 tones and more. For an all-rounder Tube Screamer in compact enclosure I know of no more capable variety than this specific pedal - whose tone-shaping options propel it far beyond its humble origins.

Still for many the original and best version of this mid-humped overdrive style - blisteringly good for juicing up an already cranked tube amp - which is probably still the default mode of use here. While I've always used this type of pedal more as a low-to-mid-gain overdrive. I actually have Mini variety in my collection, but have a number of other varieties which I personally prefer to the Ibanez originals. You can say that Helen of Troy was the face that launched a 1000 ships, while the TS808 is the pedal which launched a 1000 clones. It can be revealing for many in any case to return back to the source every now and again.

While the TS808 and TS9 circuits are nigh identical in make-up, there are though adherents to both schools - with Rob Chapman for instance infinitely preferring the TS9 variety with its near indistinguishable differences. As with many things guitar - as much to do with touch and feel as actual tone no doubt. I like both TS808 and TS9 varieties but prefer the JHS and Keeley modded versions of each, and have other TS-style overdrives I also prefer to the originals.

This 9 mode Multi-Screamer is actually relatively simple to navigate - you have just the 3 classic dials - Volume | Drive | Tone, and then a separate rotary switch for each of the modes:

1. Boss OD-1
2. Ibanez TS-808
3. Ibanez TS-9
4. Ibanez MSL Metal Screamer
5. Ibanez TS-10
6. Exar OD-1
7. Ibanez TS-7 (+Mode)
8. Ibanez Keeley Modded TS-808
9. Ibanez JHS Modded TS-9

My 3 favourite modes here are nothing to do with the originals weirdly - but they are what I like - the Exar, Keeley and JHS variations! I did a recent article on 40th Anniversary 808 Drive Pedals - where I feel that the JHS Bonsai is actually the most suitable candidate for that - seeing as it gives you a whole potted history of those 40 years of iterations. Every Tube Screamer fan should have one of these - just so they can compare and contrast the different modes. I would still have liked a 3-band EQ on here, or at least a Mids control - as I feel that you can likely get better individual flavours outside of this unit, but nothing has the breadth of coverage that you get here for a relatively modest outlay all considered.

There are so many TS808 clones out there that it is easy to overlook one or two or four score or more. This particular pedal has frequently fallen under my radar - with it's simple 3-knob approach of Volume | Drive | Body. The Body control here is quite a clever control as it allows you to get quite far away from the typical Tube Screamer profile which many love, but almost equal numbers dislike. So this is really intended as a sort of Tube Screamer for those who want an Overdrive in that territory, but might not be wholly won over by the TS808's signature frequency profile. The Body knob cleverly adjusts low-mid content as well as treble. Many swear by this pedal, while I would always typically go for something a touch more feature-rich.

Maxon famously OEM'd the original Ibanez TS808 pedals under licence, and these are supposedly those circuits in their least changed format and for half the outlay of the current equivalent Ibanez. It really is the same circuit even though the dials are labelled somewhat differently as Drive | Balance | Tone. It depends how much original authenticity matters to you and of course whether you want your 808 style drive to look like the original. Here the colour and price are certainly right, while I quite understand that the looks might not be to everyone's satisfaction.

Another rather over-looked TS808 derivative, but delivered with MXR's usual quality and efficiency. The standard 3 controls = Output | Tone | Gain and not much else. For £5 more purists should probably rather look up the Maxon - but this is certainly one of the more cost-effective options in this category.