All user reviews for the Ibanez TS9 - Baked Mod - Modded by Keeley

The tubescreamer is easily the most iconic pedal out there, right next to the wah pedal. It's been used on pretty much every single recording you've ever heard in some way, and it's lent itself to giving some of the most amazing tones you've ever heard in your life. The tubescreamer, consequently, has gone through multiple changes throughout its lifespan, and not everybody likes these changes. This mod isn't an attempt at replicating the exact, old school sound that the tubescreamer had but to have a bit of a mix of new and old. The pedal looks exactly the same except for the true bypass that was drilled in the enclosure.

UTILIZATION

This pedal's toughness is thanks to Ibanez. They made this enclosure, as well as the components inside of it. They're the ones who really deserve the praise for this portion, and I'm here to give it to them. This pedal is built like a tank, and it'll survive pretty much anything you can throw at it. I've seen these things beat to hell, and they still function without a hitch. The pedal has a true bypass switch drilled into it, and that's a huge plus, in my opinion. While the actual buffer on this pedal isn't too bad, true bypass is always a good thing. There's no need for anything besides true bypass in pedals today. Just keep in mind that you'll want some sort of buffer if you run a huge string of true bypass pedals.

SOUND QUALITY

The pedal is like a mix between new school and old school. On the one hand, you have that classic tubescreamer overdrive sound that works awesome for boosting amps. It is the iconic sound when you start boosting Marshalls or Fenders with this thing. However, the old tubescreamer can get a bit bright and mid heavy. Keeley helps thicken this pedal up with a few of his mods by replacing certain caps and giving this some more body. That helps give this some extra fatness, so you don't have to worry about being too bright or piercing when playing in front of the audience.

OVERALL OPINION

If you're looking for a great mix of old school and new school, this is the pedal you need to get. He has other tubescreamer mods that are a bit more versatile, but they're probably not needed for most people. This one pedal does most anything that anybody would want, and it delivers an awesome, tone-sucking free sound.

Hmmmm..let's see... All analog, improved bypass,chip, capacitors,filaments, etc. classic overdrive reissue pedal. Good old fashioned ingredients. Texas Instruments integrated circuit. A buncha other stuff I have no idea about.
Easy knob twisting...no editing software, rack mounting, etc... just a great clean boost and/or overdrive.

UTILIZATION

Easy, easy, easy. Twist the knobs. Find your tone. No manual required, but the controls do function a bit differently than a stock Ibanez unit. The range of gain is higher, the level has become more of a clean boost...but..um. Honestly, no manual required.

SOUND QUALITY

Great overdrive. I mostly use my amps distortion (Voodoo labs Preamp) with this to push it into molten territory. Adds searing harmonics and "hair" to the signal... On a clean channel, this does add grit...giving a tweed overdrive characteristic...in front of my rhythm channel..all the way from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Eddie Van Halen. Lead channel...well, VH to whatever. This pedal is a bit geared toward mid tones, but won't impact your tone negatively if you have dialed your amp into a scooped metal sound.
Using this with a Strat, Les Paul, Telecaster, and some other humbucker equipped guitars, this offers something different with each. My favorite combination is using this with my Strat.. I have a Dimarzio HS-3 stacked humbucker in the bridge for this guitar. You don't typically think of a Strat as a screaming guitar..but this setup rocks. It adds harmonic richness and sustain. I am not one to say "notes leap off the fretboard"... but.. this has sure made them more "jumpy" :b

This pedal, even with the mods adds some noise to my signal, but let's face it. It IS an overdrive pedal...it IS noise!

OVERALL OPINION

I've had this pedal for about 4 years. The honeymoon is DEFINITELY over.... and I still love it. Tried a few different pedals before this..this being the only Keeley modded pedal I tried (sight unseen). Mmmm..value, well, that is very subjective. You can get close to this tone without the mods...but let's face it...sometimes it is worth paying an extra 50 bucks to get an extra 7% of tone on an already good pedal...pushing it into an exceptional pedal...
As far as buying a distortion pedal again...I would definitely buy this again..although I may consider the Keeley DS-1 if my financial situation was restricted...it has less of a midrange thing going, and a bit smoother gain...less gritty, but that is more of a distortion pedal..as opposed to overdrive. Hmmm... I might have to go get one anyway!