My realization after spending thousands and thousands of dollars flipping gear for years is if no one could tell the difference in a noisy bar (with bottles clanging etc) than it's probably not "THAT" important. Your ability to actually play will matter more.
Yeah, too many people chasing "tone" need to spend more time practicing. But then, if you're playing in that dive bar where nobody can hear the difference between a cheap pedal and the boutique pedal, will they care about your chops? Probably not. Nobody cares if you spent 6 years learning Cliffs of Dover, but they will dance for 20 minutes to the Takin' Care of Business riff.
@@TheMasonator777 exactly. I know people in the audience aren’t dissecting the nuances of my tone. But when it’s doing what I want it to, I play much better.
@@rogpoll9691 I take it as the highest compliment when I get a spontaneous positive comment on my sound from a non-musician. That’s the goal. It happens about once a year, but when it does I know something is right.
An "All controls at noon" comparison is always flawed due to the industry-standard 5% tolerance of components. The same is true for an "at max" comparison. For example, a 100k pot can be anywhere between 95k - 105K. Expand this variance to every component in the pedal and you can have widely different results even in pedals from the same production run. This is true for any analog audio circuit.
Drift is irrelevant here and those ones are probably 15% tolerance. A 5% pot may cost more than that pedal but those cheap 15% ones are probably 1% on value. Drift happens when shit gets worn and/or damaged. 5% components are like perfect on the button out of the box, like as good as 1% although don't hold up as long. Those pedals are 9v and 18v on circuit doubtfully but a possibility. They are using cheap ass capacitors on the amazon one for sure and knock off op amps. That is probably the difference in sound, circuit may be the same, probably is the same or similar enough.
JHS did a good thorough video on this line of pedals. They serve a purpose, and sound great. 🤷🏻♂️ A $200 pedal guy isn't buying these, and not every kid has $1000 to build a pedal board. Don't set the knobs in the same place and expect them to sound the same. You can't even do that with 2 of the same pedal. Manufacturing tolerance, man! 😆
They absolutely serve a purpose. When I was a kid a behringer amp and Danelectro pedals allowed me to be able to have an amp and pedals lol. Now these things are even cheaper again. More people picking up instruments means more great music and a bigger market to sell instruments to, so more options for the rest of us
I love how I can tell he is actually testing it for the first time. He is genuinely confused with what he hears in the studio. This does mean I'd trust his ears on this video as well as the RUclips audio I hear
The Amazon was brighter, but that could easily be part tolerance. Depending on how you might use it to boost, what genre... the brighter might actually be better.
Excellent review on you part, but let’s face it, the “tube screamer” circuit has been copied by pretty much everybody. Keep an eye out for wal-marts “great value” drive pedal. 😂
Ha and then opens the MIND control and doorways for the Parasites and demons to come through and alter the cymatical frequencies to keep u under there spell so everything sounds good lol
I think that there's enough tolerance in electronics that you could take two of the same model tube screamers with knobs on the same position, and they'll sound a little different.
@@KaiDown that's why they make trim pots. The higher cost pedals all use them so they can set them up at the factory, during test usually. As your components age and derate in your unit, you also get to lengthen the life of your device by using the trim pots to keep the operation correctly working in the desired signal ranges.
@@KaiDown if you can get your other components close enough and cheap enough, there is a possibility it's actually cheaper in manufacturing to drop parts of sort/test for a slight parts cost increase if it removes a LOT of manual process which costs you TIME because, again, nobody cares about human life when $$ are involved.
they have a pile of random pots and they sort them manually with DMM and human misery since life is cheap you don't have to pay much for the end product but then again it seems you rarely get a good product or a consistently good one. Good as in built well enough it actually works and doesn't destroy anything or eat itself when you fire it up.
More like the Tube Screamer tone potentiometer has a linear taper and the Amazon has a logarithmic taper. It underscores the ignorance of the reviewer.
This is insane, it's way more respectful of the amp's tone compared to the ibanez.. and that's basically what you're looking for in a tubescreamer.. and way less noise!
@@thejovialpanda Don't know too much about guitars, but I'd say even 700 is "low" mid-range, at best. I know mountain bikes, and to me, $1500 bike is "mid-range"...might be same for guitars. 3000-6000 is higher end.
The Ibanez one has slightly more body, but honestly they're both sounding very similar at this point (only halfway through the video). I think with the Tone knob and also an EQ you could match the Drive pedal almost exactly to the Tube Screamer.
I think the Amazon one sounded more transparent which makes it more brash and brittle... the Ibanez has more warmth from a more pronounced mid boost... better sweep from the tone control too. But for the money it’s not a bad overdrive... i imagine its usable. Be good to hear them compared in a mix
Ibanez had noticeably more low end even on my phone speakers. But buy the ibanez one even if it sucks unless you want to have only a couple companies making and selling everything you can buy within the next couple decades. Look at what china does with prices: they make substandard gear by reverse engineering quality products, build them out of cheap materials with slave labor and sell ithem at a loss to destroy markets. Amazon does the exact same thing.
The brightness might be specific to your pedal. Pots and electronics in general, especially cheap electronic components can vary dramatically from unit to unit.
This is just a rebranded KOKKO overdrive that has been around for a few years already. Its a good beginner OD, but there's so many other budget friendly options out there.
I have to admit I wanted the TS mini to be a clear winner (because I have one) but have to say the Amazon sounded close and for one third the price its better value.
It would be interesting to reduce the treble on the Amazon basics pedal to match the mini tube screamer. It would then be little discernible differences in my opinion. The treble sweep full clockwise or counterclockwise makes for an interesting comparison but little difference to most people who would use the pedal for normal gigging situations. However good video review.
The Ibanez seems to hit the low-mids, while the Amazon seems to hit the high-mids harder. I'm guessing the tone pot on the Amazon is a linear rather than audio taper pot.
"Low priced/cost" and "cheap" somehow became interchangeable to mean the same thing the last 50 years. Cheap, to me means, low cost junk, that's me. I realize others are dfrnt and that's ok
It looks like the first board you pulled is an interface board, just the on/off switch and the jacks. When it's on, it routes the input to the second board that applies the effect, which then passes it back to the first board for output. That's what the pins and header (the plastic block with two rows of holes) between the two boards are for. The two boards may not have been made by the same manufacturer, so take a look at the second board too! It's probably designed like this so the interface boards can be manufactured identically for all the pedals in the product line up, and they just swap out the effect circuit for different products. Disclaimer: this is an educated guess.
behringer copy is less noisy, is more quiet even than the ibanez, and that is because they use SMD components, SMD is proven to have better floor noise, despise guitarrist hate of smd components.
@@ot4kon Thanks for explaining! So you're saying most guitarists are traditionalists and don't like new things, even if they're actually better than old things. I'm not like that myself. For example, my future pedal boards will be built around digital multi-effects processors. I have no interest in putting together separate pedals to make a pedal board. BOSS, NUX, and other manufacturers have come so far with physical modeling that I see no compelling reason to go analog now. I can have the best of both the analog and digital worlds in one device, create different pedal boards and save them as presets, download other people's pedal boards as presets, etc. I'm a career mathematician and computer scientist, so I believe in these technologies since I understand how they work. Even if physical models not 100% as good as the real thing yet, it's only a matter of time before they are. Physical modeling is the future of effects, and the future is now. :)
The Ibanez pedal has the characteristic tube screamer mid-bump that makes it sound a tad warmer, and in defense of the Amazon pedal, one could say it sounds a bit more transparent. Other than that, which is a noteworthy difference, each of the two pedals perform an adequate overdrive function. Undetermined build quality, longevity, and dependability, including the market ethics of an evil empire, are additional considerations.
@@SchwartzerAdler I knew that would be a contentious statement/position, and open to political and economic interpretation. Being on the left however, I support it. Cheers~
If you know how Amazonbasics work, they outsourced the production just like Kirkland does with Costco. Amazon ordered X number of pedals from Nux and had them stick their brand on it. Amazon can be evil but in this case they just had someone, the original maker in this case, make a batch with their name.
I have a kokko overdrive ( exactly the same at this with a different brand) and it makes for almost exactly stevie ray Vaughans tone out of a goodsell mark 4 using the pedal at a clean boost
None of the drunks I play for would ever notice the difference. They all look cheap when you take them apart and realize they all are the same circuit just put together by another factory across the street in (u no where).
Tolerance. They both have a tolerance value. Put two tube screamers of the exact same model next to each other and they will do the same thing. As goes for two Amazon basics pedals.
Thank you potentiometers have an acceptable tolerance even if you bought two of the same pedal they would sound different set to the same levels. Could be the tone pots are quite off compared to each other . Another question is why did he not use a looper to get the same track going though the pedals vs possible infallible playing each time. There is always variables people blast it.
Akshully, the point is just that: to compare them. There would only be no point in comparing them at the same settings if you KNEW they would sound the same. It's also a good starting point to then adjust from and try to get similar results.
I really don't see people whipping out multi-meters and doing resistance checks to match on stage at 2am at a some dive bar. 12's and 3's are close enough settings. Both pedals behaved consistently across the range the pots were swept.
Nu-x has become my current favourite budget brand. Their Tape Core Deluxe unit (emulating the Roland Space Echo) is ridiculously good, as is the Roctary pedal (a Leslie Speaker emulator) -- insanely good for the price. The only thing wrong with Nu-x is that their instruction manuals are in Chinglish -- very vague, over-complicated and confusing. You'd think they'd at least hire a western English speaker to make the instructions clear. Having said that, we've never lived in a better time to enjoy quality effects pedals for a cheap price. Gear snobs can enjoy themselves all they like turning their noses up at this stuff, but if you have no prejudice and just want to make music, get into it and buy yourself some inexpensive gear that ultimately sounds pretty damn good.
Just got a Nu X Plexi Crunch as my first distortion pedal, and as a guitar noob, it's a lot of fun to play around with. I'll definitely be looking to them for future effects pedals.
Yeah, behringer has a copy of just about every pedal ever and while it may not last quite as long as the original, for on average 100$ less than the original I’d say it’s definitely worth it.
The difference to me, other than build quality, is simply part tolerance. Potentiometers almost always have a 20% drift in either direction, so it's possible the value is off on the Amazonbasics drive.
For sure. I guess that's easy to overlook when most people a/b originals and clones at the same settings, and then base their opinion on that. Those people should go into a store and try 2 or 3 examples of the same exact pedal. Paying attention to the differences between them can be a little eye opening at least.
@@brendenpavao2071 Exactly. Unless the pedal is completely digital, tolerance is going to shift the sound a bit, though it is usually something you can deal with by using some slightly different settings. The only category of pedal where part tolerance dramatically changes from pedal to pedal are the really simple 2 and 3 transistor fuzz circuits, like Fuzz Faces.
I though so too, but after hearing the whole range of the tone pot, it's clear the amanux doesn't cut bass and doesn't boost the 700hz area nearly as much. I thought it was very obvious in the djent boosting part where the amanux didn't do a good job at being a tube screamer : flabby bass that should be tight and a mid clarity
@@escalator9734 I think I disagree. To me, in all of the examples, the bass content is not so significantly different that one ruins a guitar in the mix over the other. Sure, there is slightly more flub to the Amazon, but it's not like it wouldn't be within the margin of error, either. Now, onto the 700Hz point, the tone pot is not a 700Hz boost on a tubescreamer, and never has been. Instead, think of it more as a Q adjustment on the Low Pass filter, where at full treble you have the least reduction, and at full bass you have the most reduction. With this in mind, at Full Treble the 700Hz hump should be at it's least apparent, while the hump should be most apparent between 9 o'clock and 2 o'clock. Roughly. So, really, it's like I said. I don't think any of these differences are outside of the parts tolerances of certain components, and I don't hear anything considerably different either into a clean amp or under distortion that makes me change my mind either in headphones, monitors, and especially not in ear buds or laptop speakers.
The Amazon pedal is a little brighter with the controls set the same. Because of tolerances in parts you should never just set the controls to noon and exact the same sound. Tweak them to sound the same.
I tried out all the Tube Screamers for an hour when I was buying one, and the small one wasn't as nice sounding as the larger ones, but the best sounding one was the original Maxon OD808, and it's less expensive than the Ibanez variants. (Maxon made the Ibanez Tube screamers by the way.)
Lol, sounds like you're suffering from "hearing with your eyes", and it's probably FAR more likely that THINK the expensive ones sound the best, that's what it SOUNDS like to me, anyway... But if you ACTUALLY wanna see what you REALLY think, you could just LISTEN with your eyes closed... You might be surprised, lol...
@@ck2music712 Looks like you're suffering from not reading my post carefully. "but the best sounding one was the original Maxon OD808, and it's less expensive than the Ibanez variants". I listen with my ears pretty good really, and I didn't get the most expensive TS. I got the Maxon.
@@ChadWork1 so, you're sayin that an ORIGINAL Maxon OD808 would be less expensive that a current Ibanez Tube Screamer? Honestly, it doesn't matter much either way... I'm just a budget guy, and I can't stand how most people just ASSUME that because somethin COSTS more that it just HAS to be better... Same situation with people sayin that some bottom rung, Mexican Fender is OBVIOUSLY better than a top of the line, Classic Vibe Squier, just cause one's a Fender and one's a Squier... But even though I KNOW the CV is gonna be MILES better, NO ONE ever believes that, and at this point, I KNOW that I'm NEVER gonna be able to change those Corksniffer's mind or opinion... But I started REALLY thinkin about it, and hell, if I had paid TWICE as much for a guitar that was about HALF as good, I'd probably WANT to like the expensive one too, lol...
@@ck2music712 I'm saying the Maxon OD808 was the original, and they still make it the same way, I suppose an antique OD808 would be more expensive. The one I bought was cheaper than the Ibanez Tube screamers and sounded better to my ear. That being said, I can't stand tube screamers any more. Not into the mid EQ hump.
I love how he played "Dream Chaser" from F-Zero X for the bridge lead. At first I thought it sounded coincidentally similar but then he played more notes and it was obvious.
@@Ben86511 it doesn't what now it absolutely comes with a hump. it is a camel. the bass is cut and mids are boosted. it is a dromedary pedal, like every tubescreamer in existence.
Yes, I agree with you. I also prefer the Amazon drive. It's a cleaner, crisper sound. The Ibanez pedal is darker on top with more of a mid-range boost, which is less usable for me.
Those are all Chinese rebranded pedals. I have an "kokko" mini overdrive pedal and it's exactly the same as that one, same as "nux", same as "joyo"... But the thing is they all get the job done. For that price range, you just can't beat it. Maybe the price difference will reflect it self over time in it's lifespan... But it all comes down to personal preference. I myself love digitech distortion pedals for their digital sound color and "metal master" is one of the heaviest I have tried (I also have mxr fullbore metal, line 6 uber metal, digitech death metal, boss metalzone, boss metalcore), although that same digital sound is why most people don't like them
Actually, the original TubeScreamer circuit is very simple and there are a lot of clones cheapper with exactly the same sound (I mean, exactly, same frequency response). The deal is there are lot of overdrives based on the TS with some modifications so the sound change and thats why most people like different "tubescreamers". Anyone (with electronics knowledge) can make the original TS by Ibanez as the parts are very easy to found because they are very common.
There is an internal "mode" switch that allows the user to select whether the on/off switch functions as a "true bypass". Check out JHS's review - he explains how to use it. ruclips.net/video/9o7g-74cip4/видео.html
I have the Amazon and just got a plumes. Amazon is good but it sounds flatter. Plumes or the tube screamer keeps it clean and notes or chords are crisp. Amazon sounds hollow or thin, flat.
The TS has that obvious mid bump, so the Amazon sounds more scooped in comparison. That's a win in my book (I hate that TS mid boost). I just ordered the Kokko from Amazon for $22 CAD. Seriously, this is the best time to be a musician, gear is dirt cheap! Cheers!
Pedals seem to be more plentiful than ever at my local shops but all of the guitars and amps have shot straight up in price since this cov stuff started, also almost all of the pedals in the cases are absolute trash. They only have so many because everyone has been selling off their garbage. Plugins have been crazy cheap since 2019 though and they're getting way better everyday.
@@arbyscurlyfries9490 Inflation has affected everything. I actually sold the Kokko used for a HIGHER PRICE than what I paid for it new. But that's not the pedal manufacturers' fault, we can only blame our stupid politicians for that.
Maybe the two modes mentioned are True Bypass and Buffer Bypass - When I look at the info on the Horseman, I read this: "Push and hold the footswitch and power-up the pedal; the LED indicator will show which bypass mode is activated; RED - True Bypass / GREEN - Buffer Bypass." - Looked like a Red LED only, so either it's going to light/blink differently, or this is just a holdover from a different model.
They both sounded relatively indiscernible. Amazon instructions were that they disclaimed professional use. Which is pretty standard, but has to be expressly said for some people. Imagine the product failing on stage or in the studio and Amazon being sued for that ? So yeah, they aren't going to guarantee stage & studio. For 1/3 the price, the Amazon is tempting. Looks like the same pedal countless others have contracted to have made. This comparison with Ibanez is necessary to determine whether the clone has the same tone. I thought the Amazon became "more articulate" in the last 10% of the knob turn. They have to be different enough to avoid the dreaded lawsuits for copycat accusations. I think the Amazon Basic won the day hear/here, you can buy 3 of them for the Ibanez price, so an Amazon failing would suck, but really isn't deal breaker if you buy a backup, which is what the Amazon is priced at. It all comes down to whether you want an Amazon primary & backup TS pedal vs an Ibanez in terms of cost. The advantage swings to the Amazon pedal(s), you can do a stereo dual amp setup at 2/3 less cost than what equivalent Ibanez Tubescreamer (TS) OD pedal(s). It all depends upon what you're doing with them. Just me, but I don't think there's any real appreciable difference in quality or reliability of either unit. Tone is subjective. If you have to have Ibanez brand & tone, that's for the consumer to determine for themselves. From this video and I would think the tear down will also confirm it, the Amazon pedal is a worthy alternative to the original TS.
And while I preferred the Ibanez for tone, I prefer the larger 2 knobs of the AmazonBasics to the micro knobs on the Ibanez. What would I do on Amazon with both pedals available, maybe I go look and see whether there's an AmazonBasics alternative TS that is the same pedal. Only because an AmazonBasics labelled TS is like going to Wal-Mart's website and picking between the AmazonBasics and Wal-Mart's Mainstay brand TS guitar pedal in Navy Blue with a Gold asterisk on it. Just kidding about the Wal-Mart Mainstay guitar pedal brand that doesn't exist, YET. The Amazon TS, looks like a NUX, that looks like a Donner, that looks like reverse knob pattern Mosky, that looks like every other $ 20-30 pedal. Anyway, Bozos is getting ahead of himself here and unless he can limit the number of copy cats on Amazon, he may chase/force customers to go over to eBay to get that NUX TS clone ? I think that the only advantage is Amazon will then be able to beat eBay sellers with next day delivery, perhaps save a consumer a dollar or two on price. But that next day delivery, you'll have to be paying for the Prime account just the same. With eBay, Amazon & Wal-Mart, many of the source vendors have accounts with all three and also Reverb.
The NUX circuit board, this is the same concept as the Harley Benton & Joyo partnership where some pedals Joyo makes are branded as Thomann Harley Benton pedals. For example, these are Joyo pedals made for Thomann & rebadged as Harley Benton. m.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_britsh_truetone.htm?o=17&search=1604055142
The term "not for commercial use" means "Don't expect it to work when you start playing the solo to comfortably numb in front of 40,000 people. They will be disappointed and so will you". It's CYA for them so when you flop at your show, you won't sue them because everyone wanted their tickets refunded.
Yup, the cheaper sounds more "open" and low mids heavy while the classic ts sounds more compressed and mid focused around the 1/2k mark, which is the classic tubescreamer curve so it's not surprising. Im using akgs 701 mk2.
Tube screamers are supposed to fill in the scooped EQ of a single coil. The Ibanez does that with a fuller sound in the upper mids, the Amazon pedal doesn't. That simple.
All the old Joyo, Rowin and just about any other brands that are cranking out clones on Amazon look the same. It was a matter of time before Amazon put their name on a line.
The Ibanez pedal sounds slightly better than the Amazon one. Whether it's worth spending 3 times the price for slightly better is up to the buyer. 😂😂😂😂
My opinion exactly. Ibanez still sounds better, but is it 3 full times better? Idk. This is where it gets into how much one values signature tone. And incremental levels of quality for significant amounts of price. Personally I'm not playing with an AmazonBasics in my rig lmao I'd rather get an actual fucking branded overdrive lol i would even prefer Digitech to this
@@mathprodigy Seriously. I've wondered who buys these garbage $35 mini pedals made overseas but I guess they're out there. If it's what you can afford I don't know that but more often than not especially on a video like this we all put real time and resources into this and why use this bullshit lol
They don't much different. With a HB pickup the Ibanez sounds darker. That means about the only difference in the circuit would be the Amazon version has higher impedance input buffer. And to be fair, the original Boss OD-2 is essentially identical as a circuit - IDENTICAL - to the TS9. The effect of the crazy TONE pot is caused because they DID NOT USE a W-Taper. W-taper pots are specially designed for EQ and are more expensive - and THAT's why Amazon can make the pedal silly cheap like other Amazon basics stuff..
Lots of rebrands. In mini pedals - Kokko, Amoon, Rowin, Donner, FSN, Aroma [yep - Aroma...] & other brands are also rebranded Nux. In standard size - Lots of crossover between Caline, Gokko & others
Set to noon: tube screamer sounds… like a tube screamer! A little fizzy. The Amazon one sounds… like a generic OD with no character. Literally overdrives the amp. Level(volume) cranked up: Ibanez retains the signature fizzyness while having more volume. The Amazon one however, while it did do the job of making the volume louder, the… tone changed. Like.. the tone got a little more aggressive? Like… it sounds like it has more gain too even the gain is not touched. And it gets a little boost in the low frequencies I think… sounds a bit more bass heavy than the TS With gain cranked up: Amazon’s one gets a liiitle mushy. Not that noticeable but… enough to be noticeable IF you’re looking for differences. The TS still had the clarity. This is my theory
Both are simple operational amplifier circuits. Easy to reproduce. The pedals that are difficult to copy and are uniquely different utilize logic synthesis and digital signal processing in their pedals.
To my ear the TS was a bit more compressed and "tubey", but I've never been a fan of the TS overdrive sound. I liked the AB better, more open, more top end. Liked it better boosting the ENGL as well.
That Amazon pedal has one big thing over the Ibanez, you can see the positions of all three knobs. Also, with that Amazon tone, that big change in the last 3 o'clock to 5 o'clock position, that's not a 20 percent parts tolerance, it's something bigger that went wrong, like a 500k pot instead of 100k, or linear instead of audio taper. I can guess they ran out of the "correct" value pot and substituted what they could get rather than stop production.
Nu-X make some decent products at low prices, and they've had a TubeScreamer clone for ages. I imagine this is the same circuit re-engineered for a smaller form factor pedal. Ironically, they'll sell far more units with the Amazon name on the product, even if they're basically identical to the old Nu-X pedal in sound. The real TubeScreamer sounds better, though. It has that more of that characteristic mid-lift, a little more bass, and the top end is less shrill. If money is a problem, the Amazon pedal is okay, but I'd rather save for a second-hand ibanez, or look for another budget pedal that gets closer to the Ibanez sound. For my ear, the Amazon pedal doesn't do quite enough.
@@enheduanna6 I actually own an earlier Nu-X Tubescreamer copy (around 2013), and it was a well-made affordable pedal, though not the real thing (which I have now). I bought it on Amazon UK, and it cost £23. That earlier pedal is likely the same circuit as this. It's quite a smart move by Amazon, if they want to get into this market, and by Nu-X, if they can no longer sell these older models at comparably low prices under their own name. I believe Nu-X have been trying to move up-market.
@@innocentoctave do we know nux is even aware or in on this? Wouldn't be surprised at all if Amazon just bought a bunch and recoated the enclosures. They're trying to do what they've done to other industries and take a loss on the product because they can afford it until they starve out the smaller companies that can't.
@@enheduanna6 I would be really, really surprised if Amazon had done that (nothing to stop you asking Nu-X themselves, of course). I imagine it would be a breach of commercial law, and it would be so much easier to reach a business agreement - particularly if Nu-X had a large inventory of older pedals they wanted to get rid of. Nu-X may well want to get out of the low end market, because the pressure on prices is relentless, to the point that you can't really succeed except by compromising quality, particularly if you want to offer new designs rather than clones. Amazon, on the other hand get a small range of tried and tested pedals to offer as Amazon basics. Whether Nu-X are manufacturing new pedals for them, or Amazon just bought out Nu-X's old inventory, I don't know. But if it's the latter, don't be surprised if they turn out to be a time-limited offer from Amazon, and they disappear when initial stocks run out. In general, Amazon are a rebadger and reboxer, not a designer or manufacturer.
Great video man. The ibanez does sound better, just not sure if 3x the price as much better. But i think I'd still rather save for it than plunge on a rebranded cash grab . Imo Amazon should just stick to redistributing actual great music gear... not jumping into the foray of branding it. Because I'm sorry but i don't want an all AmazonBasics rig, nor do i really want it in my rig at all lol
The TS Mini has noticeably more low end which nicely balances its overall tone. The Amazon Basics Overdrive sounds almost identical to the TS Mini but lacks the low end. I prefer the sound of the TS Mini, but perhaps it could be arrived at on the AB Overdrive by turning down its tone control a bit? Or if you're adventurous, a simple mod of the R/C values. :)
"We saw in a youtube video that you was using the Amazon Basics Overdrive Pedal in your recording. You're recording and the rights to the song are now property of Amazon Records, cease and desist peasant"
To my ears, the Amazon Drive sounds a hair brighter but compressed. The Ibanez is a hair more mid-rangey but more open. They're not identical but perfectly okay for a "close enough" tone. If you're okay with "close enough", the Amazon sounds fine to me.
I actually kinda liked it on the leads. I'm wondering if using the real one for rhythm to keep it lower, cleaner and chunky, while using the amazon one for leads to make it cut would be a good combination for contrast.
I love the Tube coloring that lacks on solid state clean channels but I never understood why its called a screamer when those $10 electro harmonics muff fuzz yhat had at least twice the overdrive
pedals are disgustingly overpriced and need some good competition. most gear is overpriced. guitars i think are reasonably priced especially boutique builds.
There is also the "snob" value... is a Klon Centaur REALLY worth the vastly inflated prices that they go for? In my opinion, no. A friend of mine who i used to play in a band with, had an original "non Centaur" version (??) which he bought pretty cheaply many years ago. Did it sound good? Yes. But so do many other pedals. And in a blind experiment, i bet people could distinguish a DIFFERENCE with that, compared to others, component tolerances being what they are. But 100 times better at the price? Nope. Likewise these two. They sound different, but if we weren't told (or shown) what they actually are, I'll bet most people would be happy with either. Funny how people are caught up in the "magic" properties of brand names, when most of these pedals are in fact a bunch of cheap components, slung to gether in a case. Go and research the circuit schematics for various pedals, and you will see how similar they are. Except for the magic Unicorn Tears added to the "boutique" versions!
The Ibanez sounds more "vintage" ish but also more "spongy" perhaps a bit muddy, but warmer. The Amazon sounds more present and actually more clear. The TS has the distinct fuzzy slightly mushy sound. It sounds like it's zero load tone pot on full open. Kinda whack. With the TS you can still hear a bit of the clean tone coming through.
Great guitar, great amp and great player mean that the boost pedal is not overly significant. I'm a career working guitarist. NICE playing. Very nice, sir.
There seemed to be a bit more clarity from the Amazon pedal. As in more of the clean signal was making its way through than with the Ibanez. As such I would go for the Amazon pedal mostly based on the price.
Get the pedal here: amzn.to/2ITGPIg
Don't see it listed now 2 weeks later....lol
That's the compressor
@@AlexusDelphi It goes to the compressor because like he said it’s not listed because it sold out. I was looking forward to buying one.
"Alexa please add more drive."
Thatd be some next level
"I can't do that."
the sad part is it is probably coming
"Alexa, add more audio blur"
Alexa Stomp in the vein of the classic Yamaha Magic Stomp
My realization after spending thousands and thousands of dollars flipping gear for years is if no one could tell the difference in a noisy bar (with bottles clanging etc) than it's probably not "THAT" important. Your ability to actually play will matter more.
Yeah, too many people chasing "tone" need to spend more time practicing.
But then, if you're playing in that dive bar where nobody can hear the difference between a cheap pedal and the boutique pedal, will they care about your chops? Probably not. Nobody cares if you spent 6 years learning Cliffs of Dover, but they will dance for 20 minutes to the Takin' Care of Business riff.
@@MartinMCade and of course it matters if you're in the recording studio and "N-th degree" stuff makes a difference.
All true, but your sound can inspire you, or it can do the opposite. That can translate to better performances, if you are doing the work.
@@TheMasonator777 exactly. I know people in the audience aren’t dissecting the nuances of my tone. But when it’s doing what I want it to, I play much better.
@@rogpoll9691 I take it as the highest compliment when I get a spontaneous positive comment on my sound from a non-musician. That’s the goal. It happens about once a year, but when it does I know something is right.
An "All controls at noon" comparison is always flawed due to the industry-standard 5% tolerance of components. The same is true for an "at max" comparison. For example, a 100k pot can be anywhere between 95k - 105K. Expand this variance to every component in the pedal and you can have widely different results even in pedals from the same production run. This is true for any analog audio circuit.
Not to mention the "A/B" tube comparisons on youtube, where they don't even attempt to normalize EQ or gain or any other variable, even by ear.
Well said. No such thing as identical analogue.
Drift is irrelevant here and those ones are probably 15% tolerance. A 5% pot may cost more than that pedal but those cheap 15% ones are probably 1% on value. Drift happens when shit gets worn and/or damaged. 5% components are like perfect on the button out of the box, like as good as 1% although don't hold up as long. Those pedals are 9v and 18v on circuit doubtfully but a possibility. They are using cheap ass capacitors on the amazon one for sure and knock off op amps. That is probably the difference in sound, circuit may be the same, probably is the same or similar enough.
Especially with low QC and small smp
What else do you do though.
JHS did a good thorough video on this line of pedals. They serve a purpose, and sound great. 🤷🏻♂️ A $200 pedal guy isn't buying these, and not every kid has $1000 to build a pedal board. Don't set the knobs in the same place and expect them to sound the same. You can't even do that with 2 of the same pedal. Manufacturing tolerance, man! 😆
They absolutely serve a purpose. When I was a kid a behringer amp and Danelectro pedals allowed me to be able to have an amp and pedals lol. Now these things are even cheaper again. More people picking up instruments means more great music and a bigger market to sell instruments to, so more options for the rest of us
I wish people would use a loop switcher when doing pedal comparisons.
Improvisational exsperimerntal apprentissage tono semplice Kinder felsenrollen
looping what's that??????????????????
Yep Especially if pedals aren't true bypass
JHS does this to get a real comparisons.
@@AMPProf are you stupid??
...I also noticed the "real" tube-screamer was "noisier"...
It seems to be straight up higher output so that may make it appear noisier but the signal to noise ratio is probably the same
I love how I can tell he is actually testing it for the first time. He is genuinely confused with what he hears in the studio. This does mean I'd trust his ears on this video as well as the RUclips audio I hear
It would be awesome if that was an Amazon Basics Strat.
Me: *googles amazon basics strat*
Internet: MARCH 30, 2020; AMAZON COMPLETES PURCHASE OF GLARRY USA TRADEMARK
5 more likes and this will happen. The power of 69 demands it
The Amazon was brighter, but that could easily be part tolerance. Depending on how you might use it to boost, what genre... the brighter might actually be better.
Excellent review on you part, but let’s face it, the “tube screamer” circuit has been copied by pretty much everybody. Keep an eye out for wal-marts “great value” drive pedal. 😂
Can't wait for No Name brand pedals to be a thing. All in the same generic yellow case.
@@MattPacey lol
Bic pedals.
Walmart sells all the Mini Mooer pedals at good prices.
@@brooklynboy1000 just pokin fun at the generic brands 🤣
It probably has a WiFi chip in the pedal that sends all audio to Amazon.... built in echo? Lol!
just shout commands through a throat mic to alexa to run your pedals and mix
Alexa, turn my overdrive on..!
Alexa, switch pedal to off
Ha and then opens the MIND control and doorways for the Parasites and demons to come through and alter the cymatical frequencies to keep u under there spell so everything sounds good lol
😂 lolz Go figure, Amazon is stealing all your ideas and intellectual property. Better copyright before even using!!!
I actually liked the Amazon Drive over the Ibanez. The ibanez to me sounded muffled and the amazon was definitely more clearer.
I liked the Amazon pedal for the strat/overdrive tones, but preferred the Tubescreamer for the high gain, it was a bit smoother and less harsh
I think that there's enough tolerance in electronics that you could take two of the same model tube screamers with knobs on the same position, and they'll sound a little different.
Yup, found this out from the JHS channel recently. Pot tolerances are all over the place, so you've got to compare pedals by ear and not by eye.
proper circuit design and making sure you're qualifying all the lots from your component vendors and you shouldn't hear that variation at all.
@@KaiDown that's why they make trim pots. The higher cost pedals all use them so they can set them up at the factory, during test usually. As your components age and derate in your unit, you also get to lengthen the life of your device by using the trim pots to keep the operation correctly working in the desired signal ranges.
@@KaiDown if you can get your other components close enough and cheap enough, there is a possibility it's actually cheaper in manufacturing to drop parts of sort/test for a slight parts cost increase if it removes a LOT of manual process which costs you TIME because, again, nobody cares about human life when $$ are involved.
That's a great point and one that was often overlooked during the tone wood debate.
There's a hiss with the Ibanez, and it sound slightly muddier
Probably just the difference tolerance values on the pots
I would guess that those pots are so cheap you don't get a tolerance with them ha haha
they have a pile of random pots and they sort them manually with DMM and human misery since life is cheap you don't have to pay much for the end product but then again it seems you rarely get a good product or a consistently good one. Good as in built well enough it actually works and doesn't destroy anything or eat itself when you fire it up.
Yup, the ‘everything at noon’ thing annoys the hell out of me
More like the Tube Screamer tone potentiometer has a linear taper and the Amazon has a logarithmic taper. It underscores the ignorance of the reviewer.
This is insane, it's way more respectful of the amp's tone compared to the ibanez.. and that's basically what you're looking for in a tubescreamer.. and way less noise!
The TS has a more compressed sound. And it sounds like some of the highs have been rolled off--more midrange.
When someone starts off by saying that a $700 guitar is "pretty cheap," I can't take anything else they say seriously.
It certainly isn't expensive, but I'd say " cheap" is less than 300.
@@EvilBonsai I agree. Below $300 you're taking a gamble because they are "cheap". $700, to me, is solidly mid-range.
@@thejovialpanda Don't know too much about guitars, but I'd say even 700 is "low" mid-range, at best. I know mountain bikes, and to me, $1500 bike is "mid-range"...might be same for guitars. 3000-6000 is higher end.
@@thejovialpandaI paid 70 bucks for a 70s tele clone, set it up and repaired some electronics and it’s probably the best sounding guitar I have
Sadly, $700 is considered “affordable” for guitars these days
Behringer makes a decent $20 knock off of the Tube Screamer. Bezos has enough money.
The Ibanez one has slightly more body, but honestly they're both sounding very similar at this point (only halfway through the video). I think with the Tone knob and also an EQ you could match the Drive pedal almost exactly to the Tube Screamer.
Ibanez have more good quality frequencies.
I think the Amazon one sounded more transparent which makes it more brash and brittle... the Ibanez has more warmth from a more pronounced mid boost... better sweep from the tone control too.
But for the money it’s not a bad overdrive... i imagine its usable. Be good to hear them compared in a mix
You mean the Nux one.
No one seems to notice how noisy the Ibanez is !
Its noisy but it sounds fuller in my opinion!
Yeah the nux/amazon pedal was definitely thinner.
Ibanez had noticeably more low end even on my phone speakers. But buy the ibanez one even if it sucks unless you want to have only a couple companies making and selling everything you can buy within the next couple decades.
Look at what china does with prices: they make substandard gear by reverse engineering quality products, build them out of cheap materials with slave labor and sell ithem at a loss to destroy markets. Amazon does the exact same thing.
Is that not a good thing? Maybe this cheap pedal is not for you I guess?
@@geraldhenrickson7472 no its not a good thing for a company to use slave labor to bring you cheap products, wtf is wrong with people
You want a lot of high end for lower tuned guitars to get more clarity and whatnot. I think the Amazon pedal wins.
IKEA made one of these...but you had to assemble it yourself.
The TÅB SKREEMR
Yeah,... I built one,it fell over and squashed my girlfriends St. Bernard
@@holyjaguar lol
@@holyjaguar You didn’t use the supplied wall anchor either?
@@HansBaumeister lol
The brightness might be specific to your pedal. Pots and electronics in general, especially cheap electronic components can vary dramatically from unit to unit.
This is just a rebranded KOKKO overdrive that has been around for a few years already. Its a good beginner OD, but there's so many other budget friendly options out there.
Name a couple
@@briangarcia8384 NUX OD-3, EHX East River Drive, Joyo Vintage OD, Digitech Bad Monkey, Behringer TO800
@@rossw73 at this point everyone is splitting hairs. Buy what you want. Enjoy.
I have to admit I wanted the TS mini to be a clear winner (because I have one) but have to say the Amazon sounded close and for one third the price its better value.
Little differences solo’d are less important than in a mix. Sometimes what sounds “worse” solo’d actually sounds better in a mix
It would be interesting to reduce the treble on the Amazon basics pedal to match the mini tube screamer. It would then be little discernible differences in my opinion. The treble sweep full clockwise or counterclockwise makes for an interesting comparison but little difference to most people who would use the pedal for normal gigging situations. However good video review.
Exactly what I was thinking
I was thinking the same
The Ibanez seems to hit the low-mids, while the Amazon seems to hit the high-mids harder. I'm guessing the tone pot on the Amazon is a linear rather than audio taper pot.
The MIM isn’t “cheap”, it’s less expensive. Two different things.
I mean if you wanna split hairs about it
it's "cheap" if you mainly buy $2000 + Kiesel and Balaguer guitars :P
@@treyxaviermusic I do.
@@satinrules nah. It’s still $1000.
"Low priced/cost" and "cheap" somehow became interchangeable to mean the same thing the last 50 years.
Cheap, to me means, low cost junk, that's me. I realize others are dfrnt and that's ok
It looks like the first board you pulled is an interface board, just the on/off switch and the jacks. When it's on, it routes the input to the second board that applies the effect, which then passes it back to the first board for output. That's what the pins and header (the plastic block with two rows of holes) between the two boards are for. The two boards may not have been made by the same manufacturer, so take a look at the second board too! It's probably designed like this so the interface boards can be manufactured identically for all the pedals in the product line up, and they just swap out the effect circuit for different products. Disclaimer: this is an educated guess.
I’ll stick to my Behringer TO800 for my cheap overdrive needs, but the Basics pedal isn’t half bad
behringer copy is less noisy, is more quiet even than the ibanez, and that is because they use SMD components, SMD is proven to have better floor noise, despise guitarrist hate of smd components.
@@ot4kon Good to know! I have the Behringer TO800 too. Why do guitarists hate SMD?
@@fred.chapman because is not trough hole and is was not used back in the day. ABX blind tests are the terror of the golden ears.
@@ot4kon Thanks for explaining! So you're saying most guitarists are traditionalists and don't like new things, even if they're actually better than old things. I'm not like that myself.
For example, my future pedal boards will be built around digital multi-effects processors. I have no interest in putting together separate pedals to make a pedal board. BOSS, NUX, and other manufacturers have come so far with physical modeling that I see no compelling reason to go analog now. I can have the best of both the analog and digital worlds in one device, create different pedal boards and save them as presets, download other people's pedal boards as presets, etc.
I'm a career mathematician and computer scientist, so I believe in these technologies since I understand how they work. Even if physical models not 100% as good as the real thing yet, it's only a matter of time before they are. Physical modeling is the future of effects, and the future is now. :)
@@fred.chapman yes
The Ibanez has more bottom end oomph and clarity to my ears but that could just be down to setting.
The Ibanez pedal has the characteristic tube screamer mid-bump that makes it sound a tad warmer, and in defense of the Amazon pedal, one could say it sounds a bit more transparent. Other than that, which is a noteworthy difference, each of the two pedals perform an adequate overdrive function. Undetermined build quality, longevity, and dependability, including the market ethics of an evil empire, are additional considerations.
Evil Empire might be a bit harsh.
It's Amazon, not the Third Reich. Or Disney.
Spot on. I need em both now hahah
@@darthmorbous JHS Pedals RUclips channel did a video on “What You Need To Know About Overdrive Pedals” you may find useful. Cheers~
@@SchwartzerAdler I knew that would be a contentious statement/position, and open to political and economic interpretation. Being on the left however, I support it. Cheers~
Except both are made in China. So much for that evil empire theory. lol
"It's green, it does the thing" .... Fabuloius
Absolutely no surprise that Amazon slapped a new label on something and called it their own.
Amazon sell what is basically counterfeit shit all the time
Given that that's what basically every pedal company has been doing the last 10 years anyway, of course it's not surprising.
If you know how Amazonbasics work, they outsourced the production just like Kirkland does with Costco. Amazon ordered X number of pedals from Nux and had them stick their brand on it. Amazon can be evil but in this case they just had someone, the original maker in this case, make a batch with their name.
Basically the same thing the major guitar manufacturers have been doing for years - slapping their name on Cort (and others) guitars.
Nearly every brand item in the world is a produced by a different company and then relabelled
I have a kokko overdrive ( exactly the same at this with a different brand) and it makes for almost exactly stevie ray Vaughans tone out of a goodsell mark 4 using the pedal at a clean boost
None of the drunks I play for would ever notice the difference. They all look cheap when you take them apart and realize they all are the same circuit just put together by another factory across the street in (u no where).
There is no point in comparing two pedals setting them by a white marking on a knob. Maybe the pots have different values or different types.
Tolerance.
They both have a tolerance value. Put two tube screamers of the exact same model next to each other and they will do the same thing. As goes for two Amazon basics pedals.
Thank you potentiometers have an acceptable tolerance even if you bought two of the same pedal they would sound different set to the same levels. Could be the tone pots are quite off compared to each other . Another question is why did he not use a looper to get the same track going though the pedals vs possible infallible playing each time. There is always variables people blast it.
Akshully, the point is just that: to compare them. There would only be no point in comparing them at the same settings if you KNEW they would sound the same. It's also a good starting point to then adjust from and try to get similar results.
I really don't see people whipping out multi-meters and doing resistance checks to match on stage at 2am at a some dive bar. 12's and 3's are close enough settings. Both pedals behaved consistently across the range the pots were swept.
They both sound killer in there own way I might have to grab one
The moment I saw all the pedals lined up the first thing that came to me was "those are mfin' Kokko/NUX pedals".
Nu-x has become my current favourite budget brand. Their Tape Core Deluxe unit (emulating the Roland Space Echo) is ridiculously good, as is the Roctary pedal (a Leslie Speaker emulator) -- insanely good for the price. The only thing wrong with Nu-x is that their instruction manuals are in Chinglish -- very vague, over-complicated and confusing. You'd think they'd at least hire a western English speaker to make the instructions clear.
Having said that, we've never lived in a better time to enjoy quality effects pedals for a cheap price. Gear snobs can enjoy themselves all they like turning their noses up at this stuff, but if you have no prejudice and just want to make music, get into it and buy yourself some inexpensive gear that ultimately sounds pretty damn good.
Just got a Nu X Plexi Crunch as my first distortion pedal, and as a guitar noob, it's a lot of fun to play around with. I'll definitely be looking to them for future effects pedals.
Yeah, behringer has a copy of just about every pedal ever and while it may not last quite as long as the original, for on average 100$ less than the original I’d say it’s definitely worth it.
The difference to me, other than build quality, is simply part tolerance. Potentiometers almost always have a 20% drift in either direction, so it's possible the value is off on the Amazonbasics drive.
For sure. I guess that's easy to overlook when most people a/b originals and clones at the same settings, and then base their opinion on that. Those people should go into a store and try 2 or 3 examples of the same exact pedal. Paying attention to the differences between them can be a little eye opening at least.
@@brendenpavao2071 Exactly. Unless the pedal is completely digital, tolerance is going to shift the sound a bit, though it is usually something you can deal with by using some slightly different settings. The only category of pedal where part tolerance dramatically changes from pedal to pedal are the really simple 2 and 3 transistor fuzz circuits, like Fuzz Faces.
I though so too, but after hearing the whole range of the tone pot, it's clear the amanux doesn't cut bass and doesn't boost the 700hz area nearly as much.
I thought it was very obvious in the djent boosting part where the amanux didn't do a good job at being a tube screamer : flabby bass that should be tight and a mid clarity
@@escalator9734 I think I disagree. To me, in all of the examples, the bass content is not so significantly different that one ruins a guitar in the mix over the other. Sure, there is slightly more flub to the Amazon, but it's not like it wouldn't be within the margin of error, either.
Now, onto the 700Hz point, the tone pot is not a 700Hz boost on a tubescreamer, and never has been. Instead, think of it more as a Q adjustment on the Low Pass filter, where at full treble you have the least reduction, and at full bass you have the most reduction. With this in mind, at Full Treble the 700Hz hump should be at it's least apparent, while the hump should be most apparent between 9 o'clock and 2 o'clock. Roughly.
So, really, it's like I said. I don't think any of these differences are outside of the parts tolerances of certain components, and I don't hear anything considerably different either into a clean amp or under distortion that makes me change my mind either in headphones, monitors, and especially not in ear buds or laptop speakers.
POT. TOLERANCE. you can't compare any 2 pedals by setting them both to noon
yep, it all sounds exactly the same!
Thank you!!!
How else do you expect to achieve a baseline without any readout displaying voltages through the potentiometers?
@@MVTTE you are speaking my language XD exactly
The Amazon pedal is a little brighter with the controls set the same. Because of tolerances in parts you should never just set the controls to noon and exact the same sound. Tweak them to sound the same.
I tried out all the Tube Screamers for an hour when I was buying one, and the small one wasn't as nice sounding as the larger ones, but the best sounding one was the original Maxon OD808, and it's less expensive than the Ibanez variants. (Maxon made the Ibanez Tube screamers by the way.)
Lol, sounds like you're suffering from "hearing with your eyes", and it's probably FAR more likely that THINK the expensive ones sound the best, that's what it SOUNDS like to me, anyway... But if you ACTUALLY wanna see what you REALLY think, you could just LISTEN with your eyes closed... You might be surprised, lol...
@@ck2music712 Looks like you're suffering from not reading my post carefully. "but the best sounding one was the original Maxon OD808, and it's less expensive than the Ibanez variants". I listen with my ears pretty good really, and I didn't get the most expensive TS. I got the Maxon.
@@ChadWork1 so, you're sayin that an ORIGINAL Maxon OD808 would be less expensive that a current Ibanez Tube Screamer? Honestly, it doesn't matter much either way... I'm just a budget guy, and I can't stand how most people just ASSUME that because somethin COSTS more that it just HAS to be better... Same situation with people sayin that some bottom rung, Mexican Fender is OBVIOUSLY better than a top of the line, Classic Vibe Squier, just cause one's a Fender and one's a Squier... But even though I KNOW the CV is gonna be MILES better, NO ONE ever believes that, and at this point, I KNOW that I'm NEVER gonna be able to change those Corksniffer's mind or opinion... But I started REALLY thinkin about it, and hell, if I had paid TWICE as much for a guitar that was about HALF as good, I'd probably WANT to like the expensive one too, lol...
@@ck2music712 I'm saying the Maxon OD808 was the original, and they still make it the same way, I suppose an antique OD808 would be more expensive. The one I bought was cheaper than the Ibanez Tube screamers and sounded better to my ear. That being said, I can't stand tube screamers any more. Not into the mid EQ hump.
@@ck2music712 you're dumb as hell if you think the expensive ones are always gonna be good for any product
I love how he played "Dream Chaser" from F-Zero X for the bridge lead. At first I thought it sounded coincidentally similar but then he played more notes and it was obvious.
Best song ever, I did a complete cover of it with @toxicxeternity a while back
Yup.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I prefer the amazon drive sound. It's 'crispier'
The basic doesn't have that midrange bump that the Ibanez is known for. So yeah, it sounds clearer.
@Leo Trindade 🤔 even if the tones are shit they can still be compared. It was a good side by side demo.
@@Ben86511 it doesn't what now
it absolutely comes with a hump. it is a camel. the bass is cut and mids are boosted. it is a dromedary pedal, like every tubescreamer in existence.
Yes, I agree with you. I also prefer the Amazon drive. It's a cleaner, crisper sound. The Ibanez pedal is darker on top with more of a mid-range boost, which is less usable for me.
There goes any of my street cred...but I agree. Basic wins. It's less muddy.
Those are all Chinese rebranded pedals. I have an "kokko" mini overdrive pedal and it's exactly the same as that one, same as "nux", same as "joyo"... But the thing is they all get the job done. For that price range, you just can't beat it. Maybe the price difference will reflect it self over time in it's lifespan... But it all comes down to personal preference. I myself love digitech distortion pedals for their digital sound color and "metal master" is one of the heaviest I have tried (I also have mxr fullbore metal, line 6 uber metal, digitech death metal, boss metalzone, boss metalcore), although that same digital sound is why most people don't like them
Jeeze, once you brought the Vader out you threw down some sick riffs and leads my man
The hiss of these units is nearly as loud as his playing, can clearly hear the hiss even when listening with my cellphone.
What do you think Jeff Bezos has on his pedalboard?
Whatever he paid someone else to put on there for him. Let’s be honest Jeff Bezos is not a man who cares about quality just about appearance.
Bones of past employees that he has murdered in his distribution centers
2 Klons, 3 Metal Zones, and 15 Fuzz Pedals.
4 chorus and one compressor.
sex toys, for sure!
Actually, the original TubeScreamer circuit is very simple and there are a lot of clones cheapper with exactly the same sound (I mean, exactly, same frequency response). The deal is there are lot of overdrives based on the TS with some modifications so the sound change and thats why most people like different "tubescreamers". Anyone (with electronics knowledge) can make the original TS by Ibanez as the parts are very easy to found because they are very common.
There is an internal "mode" switch that allows the user to select whether the on/off switch functions as a "true bypass". Check out JHS's review - he explains how to use it. ruclips.net/video/9o7g-74cip4/видео.html
I have the Amazon and just got a plumes. Amazon is good but it sounds flatter. Plumes or the tube screamer keeps it clean and notes or chords are crisp. Amazon sounds hollow or thin, flat.
The TS has that obvious mid bump, so the Amazon sounds more scooped in comparison. That's a win in my book (I hate that TS mid boost). I just ordered the Kokko from Amazon for $22 CAD. Seriously, this is the best time to be a musician, gear is dirt cheap! Cheers!
Pedals seem to be more plentiful than ever at my local shops but all of the guitars and amps have shot straight up in price since this cov stuff started, also almost all of the pedals in the cases are absolute trash. They only have so many because everyone has been selling off their garbage. Plugins have been crazy cheap since 2019 though and they're getting way better everyday.
@@arbyscurlyfries9490 Inflation has affected everything. I actually sold the Kokko used for a HIGHER PRICE than what I paid for it new. But that's not the pedal manufacturers' fault, we can only blame our stupid politicians for that.
Maybe the two modes mentioned are True Bypass and Buffer Bypass - When I look at the info on the Horseman, I read this: "Push and hold the footswitch and power-up the pedal; the LED indicator will show which bypass mode is activated; RED - True Bypass / GREEN - Buffer Bypass." - Looked like a Red LED only, so either it's going to light/blink differently, or this is just a holdover from a different model.
Him: "There's something freaky going on in the top 10% of the tone control".
Me: My TS has always done that...
Your reviews are really easy to follow and very helpful. Good job mate.
They both sounded relatively indiscernible. Amazon instructions were that they disclaimed professional use. Which is pretty standard, but has to be expressly said for some people. Imagine the product failing on stage or in the studio and Amazon being sued for that ? So yeah, they aren't going to guarantee stage & studio. For 1/3 the price, the Amazon is tempting. Looks like the same pedal countless others have contracted to have made. This comparison with Ibanez is necessary to determine whether the clone has the same tone. I thought the Amazon became "more articulate" in the last 10% of the knob turn. They have to be different enough to avoid the dreaded lawsuits for copycat accusations. I think the Amazon Basic won the day hear/here, you can buy 3 of them for the Ibanez price, so an Amazon failing would suck, but really isn't deal breaker if you buy a backup, which is what the Amazon is priced at.
It all comes down to whether you want an Amazon primary & backup TS pedal vs an Ibanez in terms of cost. The advantage swings to the Amazon pedal(s), you can do a stereo dual amp setup at 2/3 less cost than what equivalent Ibanez Tubescreamer (TS) OD pedal(s). It all depends upon what you're doing with them. Just me, but I don't think there's any real appreciable difference in quality or reliability of either unit. Tone is subjective. If you have to have Ibanez brand & tone, that's for the consumer to determine for themselves. From this video and I would think the tear down will also confirm it, the Amazon pedal is a worthy alternative to the original TS.
And while I preferred the Ibanez for tone, I prefer the larger 2 knobs of the AmazonBasics to the micro knobs on the Ibanez. What would I do on Amazon with both pedals available, maybe I go look and see whether there's an AmazonBasics alternative TS that is the same pedal. Only because an AmazonBasics labelled TS is like going to Wal-Mart's website and picking between the AmazonBasics and Wal-Mart's Mainstay brand TS guitar pedal in Navy Blue with a Gold asterisk on it. Just kidding about the Wal-Mart Mainstay guitar pedal brand that doesn't exist, YET. The Amazon TS, looks like a NUX, that looks like a Donner, that looks like reverse knob pattern Mosky, that looks like every other $ 20-30 pedal. Anyway, Bozos is getting ahead of himself here and unless he can limit the number of copy cats on Amazon, he may chase/force customers to go over to eBay to get that NUX TS clone ? I think that the only advantage is Amazon will then be able to beat eBay sellers with next day delivery, perhaps save a consumer a dollar or two on price. But that next day delivery, you'll have to be paying for the Prime account just the same. With eBay, Amazon & Wal-Mart, many of the source vendors have accounts with all three and also Reverb.
The NUX circuit board, this is the same concept as the Harley Benton & Joyo partnership where some pedals Joyo makes are branded as Thomann Harley Benton pedals. For example, these are Joyo pedals made for Thomann & rebadged as Harley Benton.
m.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_britsh_truetone.htm?o=17&search=1604055142
The term "not for commercial use" means "Don't expect it to work when you start playing the solo to comfortably numb in front of 40,000 people. They will be disappointed and so will you". It's CYA for them so when you flop at your show, you won't sue them because everyone wanted their tickets refunded.
Yup, the cheaper sounds more "open" and low mids heavy while the classic ts sounds more compressed and mid focused around the 1/2k mark, which is the classic tubescreamer curve so it's not surprising. Im using akgs 701 mk2.
Tube screamers are supposed to fill in the scooped EQ of a single coil. The Ibanez does that with a fuller sound in the upper mids, the Amazon pedal doesn't. That simple.
I thought I heard some F-Zero-X sound track when you switched to that bridge pickup on the 7 string and had the tone at 2
You heard right. That's the lead from dream chaser right there.
All the old Joyo, Rowin and just about any other brands that are cranking out clones on Amazon look the same. It was a matter of time before Amazon put their name on a line.
The Ibanez pedal sounds slightly better than the Amazon one. Whether it's worth spending 3 times the price for slightly better is up to the buyer. 😂😂😂😂
Why sound better when you can get this w/ 2-day free shipping?!
@@bigsnacks913 that too
My opinion exactly. Ibanez still sounds better, but is it 3 full times better? Idk. This is where it gets into how much one values signature tone. And incremental levels of quality for significant amounts of price. Personally I'm not playing with an AmazonBasics in my rig lmao I'd rather get an actual fucking branded overdrive lol i would even prefer Digitech to this
@@mathprodigy Seriously. I've wondered who buys these garbage $35 mini pedals made overseas but I guess they're out there. If it's what you can afford I don't know that but more often than not especially on a video like this we all put real time and resources into this and why use this bullshit lol
These subtle differences make all the difference in a piece of music
They don't much different. With a HB pickup the Ibanez sounds darker. That means about the only difference in the circuit would be the Amazon version has higher impedance input buffer. And to be fair, the original Boss OD-2 is essentially identical as a circuit - IDENTICAL - to the TS9. The effect of the crazy TONE pot is caused because they DID NOT USE a W-Taper. W-taper pots are specially designed for EQ and are more expensive - and THAT's why Amazon can make the pedal silly cheap like other Amazon basics stuff..
The Tube Screamer has a better low - mid and mid response.
That's what I would comment if I owned an IbaneZ
Lots of rebrands. In mini pedals - Kokko, Amoon, Rowin, Donner, FSN, Aroma [yep - Aroma...] & other brands are also rebranded Nux. In standard size - Lots of crossover between Caline, Gokko & others
Bro, they sound identical.
To me, the Ibanez has a warmer tone whereas the Amazon pedal is brighter. I prefer the warmer tone of the Ibanez.
Yes, and I think that's because it has more low end which balances out the sound nicely.
I like the Amazon pedal. A little work on the settings and maybe an EQ and you are golden.
Which of these is American?!
Set to noon: tube screamer sounds… like a tube screamer! A little fizzy. The Amazon one sounds… like a generic OD with no character. Literally overdrives the amp.
Level(volume) cranked up: Ibanez retains the signature fizzyness while having more volume. The Amazon one however, while it did do the job of making the volume louder, the… tone changed. Like.. the tone got a little more aggressive? Like… it sounds like it has more gain too even the gain is not touched. And it gets a little boost in the low frequencies I think… sounds a bit more bass heavy than the TS
With gain cranked up: Amazon’s one gets a liiitle mushy. Not that noticeable but… enough to be noticeable IF you’re looking for differences. The TS still had the clarity.
This is my theory
i found the amazon pedal sounds better🤣, espacially on the kiesel, way cleaner tone on fast picking
Tube driver it's not really used for metal its good for pushing a clean amp playing other forms of music.
Both are simple operational amplifier circuits. Easy to reproduce.
The pedals that are difficult to copy and are uniquely different utilize logic synthesis and digital signal processing in their pedals.
To my ear the TS was a bit more compressed and "tubey", but I've never been a fan of the TS overdrive sound. I liked the AB better, more open, more top end. Liked it better boosting the ENGL as well.
That Amazon pedal has one big thing over the Ibanez, you can see the positions of all three knobs. Also, with that Amazon tone, that big change in the last 3 o'clock to 5 o'clock position, that's not a 20 percent parts tolerance, it's something bigger that went wrong, like a 500k pot instead of 100k, or linear instead of audio taper. I can guess they ran out of the "correct" value pot and substituted what they could get rather than stop production.
Djent bezos 🤘
Nu-X make some decent products at low prices, and they've had a TubeScreamer clone for ages. I imagine this is the same circuit re-engineered for a smaller form factor pedal. Ironically, they'll sell far more units with the Amazon name on the product, even if they're basically identical to the old Nu-X pedal in sound.
The real TubeScreamer sounds better, though. It has that more of that characteristic mid-lift, a little more bass, and the top end is less shrill. If money is a problem, the Amazon pedal is okay, but I'd rather save for a second-hand ibanez, or look for another budget pedal that gets closer to the Ibanez sound. For my ear, the Amazon pedal doesn't do quite enough.
It's not even re-engineered, they straight up just repainted the enclosure of nux pedals and are selling them at half the price.
@@enheduanna6 I actually own an earlier Nu-X Tubescreamer copy (around 2013), and it was a well-made affordable pedal, though not the real thing (which I have now). I bought it on Amazon UK, and it cost £23. That earlier pedal is likely the same circuit as this. It's quite a smart move by Amazon, if they want to get into this market, and by Nu-X, if they can no longer sell these older models at comparably low prices under their own name. I believe Nu-X have been trying to move up-market.
@@innocentoctave do we know nux is even aware or in on this? Wouldn't be surprised at all if Amazon just bought a bunch and recoated the enclosures. They're trying to do what they've done to other industries and take a loss on the product because they can afford it until they starve out the smaller companies that can't.
@@enheduanna6 I would be really, really surprised if Amazon had done that (nothing to stop you asking Nu-X themselves, of course). I imagine it would be a breach of commercial law, and it would be so much easier to reach a business agreement - particularly if Nu-X had a large inventory of older pedals they wanted to get rid of. Nu-X may well want to get out of the low end market, because the pressure on prices is relentless, to the point that you can't really succeed except by compromising quality, particularly if you want to offer new designs rather than clones.
Amazon, on the other hand get a small range of tried and tested pedals to offer as Amazon basics. Whether Nu-X are manufacturing new pedals for them, or Amazon just bought out Nu-X's old inventory, I don't know. But if it's the latter, don't be surprised if they turn out to be a time-limited offer from Amazon, and they disappear when initial stocks run out. In general, Amazon are a rebadger and reboxer, not a designer or manufacturer.
Great video man. The ibanez does sound better, just not sure if 3x the price as much better. But i think I'd still rather save for it than plunge on a rebranded cash grab . Imo Amazon should just stick to redistributing actual great music gear... not jumping into the foray of branding it. Because I'm sorry but i don't want an all AmazonBasics rig, nor do i really want it in my rig at all lol
The TS Mini has noticeably more low end which nicely balances its overall tone. The Amazon Basics Overdrive sounds almost identical to the TS Mini but lacks the low end. I prefer the sound of the TS Mini, but perhaps it could be arrived at on the AB Overdrive by turning down its tone control a bit? Or if you're adventurous, a simple mod of the R/C values. :)
"We saw in a youtube video that you was using the Amazon Basics Overdrive Pedal in your recording. You're recording and the rights to the song are now property of Amazon Records, cease and desist peasant"
Hardly. All that meant is it won't stand up to commercial use. How do people not understand this?
To my ears, the Amazon Drive sounds a hair brighter but compressed. The Ibanez is a hair more mid-rangey but more open. They're not identical but perfectly okay for a "close enough" tone. If you're okay with "close enough", the Amazon sounds fine to me.
KOKKO...
I actually kinda liked it on the leads. I'm wondering if using the real one for rhythm to keep it lower, cleaner and chunky, while using the amazon one for leads to make it cut would be a good combination for contrast.
If you dial it around the upper 15% it reminded me of the Rangemaster a little bit, right when it came on.
The real Tube Screamer has a slightly darker sound.
No it doesnt
I LOVE these honest reviews
Verdict: it’s a cheap tube screamer clone, nothing special
+ - -GrifWithOneF
tube screamer --- is a cheap shit itself. (in a good way)
I love the Tube coloring that lacks on solid state clean channels but I never understood why its called a screamer when those $10 electro harmonics muff fuzz yhat had at least twice the overdrive
pedals are disgustingly overpriced and need some good competition. most gear is overpriced. guitars i think are reasonably priced especially boutique builds.
There is also the "snob" value... is a Klon Centaur REALLY worth the vastly inflated prices that they go for? In my opinion, no. A friend of mine who i used to play in a band with, had an original "non Centaur" version (??) which he bought pretty cheaply many years ago. Did it sound good? Yes. But so do many other pedals. And in a blind experiment, i bet people could distinguish a DIFFERENCE with that, compared to others, component tolerances being what they are. But 100 times better at the price? Nope.
Likewise these two. They sound different, but if we weren't told (or shown) what they actually are, I'll bet most people would be happy with either.
Funny how people are caught up in the "magic" properties of brand names, when most of these pedals are in fact a bunch of cheap components, slung to gether in a case. Go and research the circuit schematics for various pedals, and you will see how similar they are. Except for the magic Unicorn Tears added to the "boutique" versions!
PS. Both these pedals are definitely a bit noisy, and it sounds (on my studio monitors) like the Ibanez is a tad noisier than the Amazon.
The Ibanez sounds more "vintage" ish but also more "spongy" perhaps a bit muddy, but warmer. The Amazon sounds more present and actually more clear. The TS has the distinct fuzzy slightly mushy sound. It sounds like it's zero load tone pot on full open. Kinda whack. With the TS you can still hear a bit of the clean tone coming through.
A real amp solves it.
Great guitar, great amp and great player mean that the boost pedal is not overly significant. I'm a career working guitarist. NICE playing. Very nice, sir.
What’s more shocking is that anyone would actually be surprised to learn this is a rebranded MIC pedal. 🤷🏻♂️
There seemed to be a bit more clarity from the Amazon pedal. As in more of the clean signal was making its way through than with the Ibanez. As such I would go for the Amazon pedal mostly based on the price.
I hate to say this but the Amazon one was quieter and sounded crisper.
By 4:41 all I can tell is the amazon sounds little more rounded in terms of signal response, the Ibanez sounds more flat.