The Ibanez NTS Tube Screamer is an overdrive pedal that puts a Korg Nutube, a small tube element, inside the familiar Tube Screamer formula. Ibanez announced it at NAMM in January 2018, working with Korg on the Nutube-equipped design, and positioned it as a way of adding tube-like character to the overdrive1. Delicious Audio described it as using "Korg's NuTube technology to add a new dimension of tube-like tone"2.
What the Nutube does
The Nutube is Korg's tube technology, and the NTS, also called the NuTube Screamer, is built around it. Ibanez's aim, as reported at the announcement, was to bring tube-like tone to the overdrive in a pedal format2. The NTS sits in the wider Tube Screamer family alongside pedals such as the Ibanez TS808, the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer and the Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini, and is covered in more detail on its own page at the Ibanez NTS Nu Tube Screamer.
Power and switching
The NTS runs on either a 9V battery or a 9 to 18V power supply, a wider supply range than most compact overdrives accept1. Its switching is relay true bypass, meaning a relay carries the signal when the pedal is off1.
The 9 to 18V supply range means the NTS can run at higher voltages than pedals limited to 9V, but a 9V battery is also supported, so it can be used without a supply at all1.
Release and price
MusicRadar reported the announcement in January 2018 and gave an expected availability of the end of that month, with a UK price of £2391. No US dollar price was given at announcement.
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Questions
What is the Nutube in the Ibanez NTS Tube Screamer?
The Nutube is a tube technology from Korg, the company behind the Vox amplification brand, that Ibanez used in the NTS to add what Delicious Audio described as a new dimension of tube-like tone. It is a small, low-voltage tube element built into the pedal's circuit, developed jointly with Korg for this overdrive.
Is the Ibanez NTS true bypass?
Yes. MusicRadar's NAMM 2018 report lists relay true bypass switching among the NTS Tube Screamer's features, so the pedal takes itself out of the signal path when off.
What voltage can the Ibanez NTS run on?
The NTS can be powered by a 9V battery or a 9 to 18V power supply, according to MusicRadar's report on the pedal. That 9 to 18V range gives players headroom to run it at a higher supply voltage than most compact overdrives accept.
When was the Ibanez NTS Tube Screamer released?
Ibanez announced the NTS at NAMM in January 2018, and MusicRadar reported at the time that the pedal should be available by the end of January 2018, with a UK price of £239.
Sources (2)
- NAMM 2018: Ibanez unveils Korg Nutube-equipped NTS Tube Screamer overdrive pedal, MusicRadar, 2018-01-03
- Ibanez Announces The NTS Nu Tube Screamer, Delicious Audio, 2018-01-02
