Ibanez 40th Anniversary Tube Screamer

The Ibanez 40th Anniversary Tube Screamer is a limited-edition version of the classic Ibanez Tube Screamer overdrive pedal, released by Ibanez in 2019 to mark four decades of the TS808¹. Under the hood it is the pedal players already know: the same JRC4558D op-amp chip, the same fully analog circuit, and the same three-knob layout as the standard production model². What sets it apart is the finish, a Ruby Red Sparkle paint job that Premier Guitar reported was the first ever Tube Screamer offered in that color¹.

A second anniversary model followed: the 40th Anniversary TS9 Tube Screamer, a limited run in a metallic red finish released in 2022, made in Japan³. Gearnews described it as pretty much exactly the same pedal as the regular TS9, just in a different color with a 40th Anniversary label³.

A standard Tube Screamer in Ruby Red Sparkle

The TS808 40th Anniversary Edition was announced for Winter NAMM 2019. Guitar World described it as a limited edition version of the pedal in a sparkling Ruby Red finish, celebrating the TS808 hitting its 40th anniversary that year⁵. Delicious Audio called it a dazzling Ruby Red finish, released with all the elements that made the 808 so beloved⁴.

The finish is the whole story here. Gearnews was blunt about it:

Gearnews also suggested the Ruby Red edition may well become a collector's item in the future². For a player deciding between this and the standard pedal, the choice comes down to whether the finish and the limited-run status matter, because the sound is the same.

The 2022 40th Anniversary TS9 repeated the formula in metallic red. Gearnews noted it runs from either a battery or a standard power supply, and that it will not be around forever, as it is a limited run of the hallowed overdrive³.

Circuit: JRC4558D chip, fully analog

The anniversary editions carry the standard Tube Screamer circuit. Gearnews reported that the 40th Anniversary Tube Screamer has the exact same circuit players know and trust, with the JRC4558D IC chip and full analog signal path of the standard production pedal². Premier Guitar's announcement likewise listed the JRC4558D IC chip and full analog circuitry among the edition's features¹.

The JRC4558D is the op-amp most associated with the Tube Screamer's character. Aion FX notes the original TS-808 was released with JRC4558D chips, though some units carried the RC4558P instead⁷. TONEHOME's TS9 reference lists JRC4558D chips in the silver label issues with serial numbers in the 3xxxxx and 4xxxxx ranges⁸. On That Pedal Show, the presenters described the 808 as essentially the original, using the JRC 4558D chip⁹.

Analog Man, which offers Tube Screamer modifications, notes that any TS9, original or reissue, can be modified to 100% TS-808 specs using the original type JRC4558D IC chip, which underlines how closely the two circuits are related¹⁰.

Controls and power

Both anniversary models keep the three-knob layout of their respective standard pedals.

Guitar World described the TS808 edition's familiar three-knob Overdrive/Tone/Level layout alongside its fully analog circuitry⁵. Gearnews listed Drive, Tone and Level controls for the 40th Anniversary TS9³.

Anniversary editions of the Tube Screamer

The 40th Anniversary models sit in a longer line of anniversary Tube Screamers. Guitar Pedal X reviewed what it called 10 Years of Anniversary Tube Screamers, covering Ibanez's 35th, 40th, and 45th Anniversary Edition Pro TS808 Tube Screamers, all using Overdrive, Tone, and Level or Balance controls⁶. According to that review, they all seem to have been priced in and around $199 originally⁶.

The TS9 itself has a long history behind these editions: TONEHOME lists the original TS9 as produced from 1982 to 1984, and later re-issued⁸.

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