From reading the comments it seemed most people liked the modern chip. I actually liked the vintage one. Can't explain it, just a personal preference, I guess. Thanks for the comparison!
Thanks for the excellent comparison! I just modded a modern, taiwanese SD-1 with a vintage JRC4558DD I had lying around and it sounds very good: more open with less "boxy" frequencies, just a little better\better dynamics than before, and it costed me next to nothing... :)
great video! the vintage sounded SLIGHTLY smoother and creamier (which is what i love about these pedals compared to other "spiky" sounding overdrives), but there wasn't a lot in it. perhaps turning the tone knob down a hair on the modern may have resulted in the same sound
The vintage chip smooths out transients and doesn't have the dynamics of the newer chip. The vintage chip has a more open vowel like sound to it. The new chip has better definition, extended range, and more attack. Thank you for posting. I love them both!
Hi. I wonder could you compare waveforms on the DAW to see if there are any differences? you could place the TS in a auxiliary channel and use the exact same audio sample to play through each TS chip. then line up the resulting waveforms up in the edit window and compare them.....
Since my last post I have acquired 17 Ibanez Tube Screamers ranging from 1981 to 2017, tried them with transistor amps and tube amps, Les Paul and Strat, and I have to say by far my 1982 with the JRC4558d chip is the best, opposite to what was on this post lol its clearer yet warmer somehow compared to my newer ones, even had a mid 90s with a JRC chip, I guess its not just the chip, age, other different components etc. The next best ones are the 90s reissues, especially the early 93-94. Obviously this is only my opinion, but sold few of the others and selling a few more. Is the pedal worth 5 times more, obviously not, unless you can afford it, the early 90s ones are fairly close, especially since they had TA chip same as some 83 and 84 TS9 pedals, and at a 1/4 of price and add a vintage chip for extra $30 probably worth it more. Remember the 80s and 90s pedals were built by Maxon, new ones built by Ibanez. Anyway my opinion only. And dont get me wrong the new TS9s are fine.
The modern chip has more fizzy distortion coining through on the top end, the vintage is warmer with less fizzy top end. I have two original 808s, original ts9, and modern ts9. Crank up the Fender amp a bit and the 808s are more open, less distortion. Both t:s9 have more distortion, and top end, with the reissue having the most top end distortion. Stacking 2 808s is golden.
Wow, I would have thought the vintage one would be clearer, it is warmer for sure. I have a new reissue and I have an early Maxon built reissue with the TA chip, I recon my early reissue is much better, was gonna trace a vintage chip for it but now hmmmm. Have an 808 reissue for the warmer stuff though :-)
I like the vintage better. Modern one sounds a bit more sterile to my ears. It sounds muffled, maybe more compressed, and has less of the guitar's regular tone coming through. The vintage definitely has a bit more character.
why not record the licks and riffs just once and then copy them meaning having clones of the parts? :D I could miss having some screaming lead licks in there. About the differences ... not worth paying for, but guitarists are a superstitious cute bunch! :D
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From reading the comments it seemed most people liked the modern chip. I actually liked the vintage one. Can't explain it, just a personal preference, I guess. Thanks for the comparison!
Thanks for the excellent comparison! I just modded a modern, taiwanese SD-1 with a vintage JRC4558DD I had lying around and it sounds very good: more open with less "boxy" frequencies, just a little better\better dynamics than before, and it costed me next to nothing... :)
Like the older one better The modern is nice I have one But just purchased the 45th anniversary We'll see Thanks for a great demo
great video! the vintage sounded SLIGHTLY smoother and creamier (which is what i love about these pedals compared to other "spiky" sounding overdrives), but there wasn't a lot in it. perhaps turning the tone knob down a hair on the modern may have resulted in the same sound
Great A B test. Thanks for this.
best video style ive seen, thanks
Seems the vintage is a bit darker with less articulation. I like the modern more myself, you can always cut highs but it's hard to add them :)
Awesome I just checked the chips I’ve got on mine 4558D JRC 2210 and realised I have a 1982 TS9 I got from a garage sale 20 years ago
The vintage chip smooths out transients and doesn't have the dynamics of the newer chip. The vintage chip has a more open vowel like sound to it. The new chip has better definition, extended range, and more attack.
Thank you for posting. I love them both!
I'm glad that I subscribed :3 that is one interesting video
Hi. I wonder could you compare waveforms on the DAW to see if there are any differences? you could place the TS in a auxiliary channel and use the exact same audio sample to play through each TS chip. then line up the resulting waveforms up in the edit window and compare them.....
Thank you.
Since my last post I have acquired 17 Ibanez Tube Screamers ranging from 1981 to 2017, tried them with transistor amps and tube amps, Les Paul and Strat, and I have to say by far my 1982 with the JRC4558d chip is the best, opposite to what was on this post lol its clearer yet warmer somehow compared to my newer ones, even had a mid 90s with a JRC chip, I guess its not just the chip, age, other different components etc. The next best ones are the 90s reissues, especially the early 93-94. Obviously this is only my opinion, but sold few of the others and selling a few more. Is the pedal worth 5 times more, obviously not, unless you can afford it, the early 90s ones are fairly close, especially since they had TA chip same as some 83 and 84 TS9 pedals, and at a 1/4 of price and add a vintage chip for extra $30 probably worth it more. Remember the 80s and 90s pedals were built by Maxon, new ones built by Ibanez. Anyway my opinion only. And dont get me wrong the new TS9s are fine.
The vintage has that distinguishable TS honk.
Both are a bit mid range annoying reason I like stacking the TS with another drive and an EQ.
It does sound different!
By the way, what a coincidence, I'm making one DIY TS808 right now!
The new JRC4558 sounds a lot better to my ears..
The modern chip has more fizzy distortion coining through on the top end, the vintage is warmer with less fizzy top end. I have two original 808s, original ts9, and modern ts9. Crank up the Fender amp a bit and the 808s are more open, less distortion. Both t:s9 have more distortion, and top end, with the reissue having the most top end distortion. Stacking 2 808s is golden.
Modern seems cleaner to me. nice video. more objective than opinionated. Do you consider the 6 second auditory memory?
I have tried to keep the clips quite close together for this reason.
Paul Graham. Keep up the good work.
I like the old one better. It produces a smoother sound with less pick attack.
Not enough of a difference for me to feel the need for the vintage chip. Thanks for the no-nonsense comparison.
man, super useful!
I liked the mid range on the older chip.
Nice
I bet you could hear the difference in a loud bar!
Wow, I would have thought the vintage one would be clearer, it is warmer for sure. I have a new reissue and I have an early Maxon built reissue with the TA chip, I recon my early reissue is much better, was gonna trace a vintage chip for it but now hmmmm. Have an 808 reissue for the warmer stuff though :-)
IMO vintage is warmer a not as harsh as the newer chip. I’d like to see the difference between the 2043DD and the 4548D...
I like the vintage better. Modern one sounds a bit more sterile to my ears. It sounds muffled, maybe more compressed, and has less of the guitar's regular tone coming through. The vintage definitely has a bit more character.
Nice comparison vintage chip is more musical
why not record the licks and riffs just once and then copy them meaning having clones of the parts? :D
I could miss having some screaming lead licks in there.
About the differences ... not worth paying for, but guitarists are a superstitious cute bunch! :D
The vintage has more bass and the new has a more focus overdrive
first, also i feel like i hear a difference no idea if im imagining it tho