The Ibanez Hand-Wired Tube Screamer, known as the TS808HW, is a limited version of the classic Tube Screamer overdrive from Ibanez. Analog Man describes it as "the highest-end Tube Screamer ever made", built to reach the boutique market1.
What it does
The TS808HW is an overdrive pedal in the Tube Screamer family, but its build departs from the standard model in several ways:
- Hand-wired construction: it is hand soldered onto a strip board with no circuit board1
- True bypass: unlike the buffered bypass of the original Tube Screamer circuit1
- Select JRC4558D chip: the op-amp long associated with the Tube Screamer sound, in a "select" grade1
- King Of Tone clipping diodes: Analog Man notes the pedal uses the same clipping diodes as its own King Of Tone, "which makes them a little louder and less compressed"1
"I noticed they used our King Of Tone clipping diodes, which makes them a little louder and less compressed."
For a player, the practical differences come down to the bypass switching and the clipping character: the diode choice gives a slightly louder, less compressed drive than a stock TS808, in the words of Analog Man's own assessment1.
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Questions
What is the difference between the TS808HW and a regular Tube Screamer?
The TS808HW is hand soldered onto a strip board with no printed circuit board, where a standard Tube Screamer uses a circuit board. It also has true bypass, a select JRC4558D chip, and clipping diodes that Analog Man identifies as the same type used in its King Of Tone, which makes it a little louder and less compressed.
Does the Ibanez TS808HW have true bypass?
Yes. Analog Man's page on the pedal states that the TS808HW units have true bypass, unlike the buffered bypass of the original Tube Screamer design, and that they come in a distinctive box.
Sources (1)
- Ibanez TS9 and TS808 Tube Screamers, Maxon OD9 and similar effects pedals and mods, Analog Man (analogman.com), 2022
