The Warm Audio Tube Squealer is a three-mode, soft-clipping overdrive pedal that recreates three versions of the Ibanez Tube Screamer circuit in a single box: the original 808, the TS9 and the TS101. Warm Audio describes it as a "Tube Amp-Driving Overdrive Pedal" that "faithfully recreates not one, not two, but three of the most famous flavors of the most played overdrive pedal of all time"1. It is fully analog, built around JRC4558 op-amps in the tone stage across all three modes, with the TS9 mode using a JRC4580 in its drive stage2.
The original 808, TS9 and TS10 circuits were famously used by players including Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, Slash and John Frusciante, and the traditional Tube Screamer sound has been used by Kirk Hammett to boost heavily driven amps for decades13. The Tube Squealer carries an MSRP of $1491, which Guitar Pedal X noted is "just $5 more than for the single-mode Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pro"4.
Three Tube Screamer circuits in one pedal
The Tube Screamer family is built on an op-amp circuit with diode clipping, a basic design that became popular as a "perfect amp" style overdrive, and the Tube Squealer follows that lineage as a soft-clipping design7. What sets it apart from a standard Screamer clone is that it holds three distinct signal paths, one for each of the 808, TS9 and TS10 settings, rather than one circuit with a voicing tweak1.
The controls
The control panel carries Drive, Level, Mix, Tone, Voice and Pickups controls4, laid out as knobs plus two switches:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Drive | Sets the amount of overdrive |
| Level | Sets the output volume |
| Tone | Shapes the high end |
| Mix | Blends clean and driven signal5 |
| Mode switch | Selects TS808 (top), TS10 (middle) or TS9 (bottom)3 |
| Pickup Voicing switch | Single-coil or humbucker midrange voicing5 |
| Bypass Mode switch | Selects true or buffered bypass3 |
The Mix knob is the biggest departure from a stock Tube Screamer. It blends in your clean signal, which Delicious Audio described as adding "clarity and punch"8, and Guitar.com noted it can be completely switched off with a click so it behaves like a standard Screamer when you want that9. Premier Guitar's reviewer went further:
"The wet-dry mix control may be the most valuable feature on the Tube Squealer. It opens up a lot of fine tuning possibilities."
The rear panel holds the bypass mode slider, choosing between true and buffered operation93.
The 808, TS9 and TS10 modes
Each mode follows the character of its original circuit:
- 808: Warm Audio says it "delivers the earliest version of the circuit with breakup and grit"1. MusicRadar's reviewer compared it side by side with a 40th Anniversary Ibanez TS808 and found "an identical mid-hump with a low and high-end roll off, boosting frequencies around the 700Hz mark"3.
- TS9: Warm Audio describes "that added drive and compressed tone that dominated the 80s and beyond"1. MusicRadar found its tone "a tad brighter" than the 808 mode3, and it uses a JRC4580 in the drive stage where the other modes do not2.
- TS10: Warm Audio says it "revives a previously underrated circuit known for buttery smooth tones that add that famed 'sparkle' to any rig"1. Circuit-wise it adds an extra resistor to the TS9-style path2, and Guitar.com noted the original TS10 is appreciated for its upgraded buffer and clean boost voice9.
The pickup voicing switch
The Pickup Voicing mini toggle has two positions, single-coil and humbucker5. Warm Audio says it is designed to "change the mid-range emphasis to suit humbuckers"3. In numbers: the single-coil position keeps the original voicing with its midrange emphasis at 88Hz, while the humbucker setting shifts the midrange hump up to around 2kHz93. Guitar.com called the pickup switch "a useful addition"9.
What reviewers said
Guitar.com's review summed up the pedal as a "great sounding and faithful recreation of three classic TS sounds," while opening with the fair question "Do we really need another Tube Screamer pedal?"9 On the individual modes, the same reviewer found "the TS9 personality (my favourite of the Screamer iterations) is absolutely spot on," and felt the TS10, "while not wildly different to the other voices, is a nice to have"9. MusicRadar's reviewer heard the TS10 as "closer in tone to the 808 but with a little more gain"3.
In Guitar World's demo video, Alex Maier focused on the midrange character that Tube Screamer circuits are known for11:
"The honk is good, man, because the honk can help you cut through the mix."
Availability and price
The Tube Squealer is available exclusively at Guitar Center in the US and authorized retailers worldwide12, with Guitar Pedal X also reporting it available from the Warm Audio webstore4. It carries an MSRP of $1491, with UK street pricing reported at £1392. An earlier Gearnews listing from July 2025 showed $139.00 / £129.00, so street prices have moved since launch13.
Videos
Warm Audio
Warm Audio
Warm Audio
Questions
Is the Warm Audio Tube Squealer true bypass?
It can be. A Bypass Mode switch on the rear panel lets you choose either true bypass or buffered bypass, so you can set it to suit the rest of your pedalboard. The buffered option follows the Tube Screamer tradition of keeping a buffer in the signal path when the pedal is off.
What does the pickup voicing switch do?
The mini toggle shifts the pedal's midrange emphasis to match your pickups. In the single-coil position it keeps the original voicing with its midrange emphasis lower in the band; flipped to the humbucker setting it moves the midrange hump up to around 2kHz so humbuckers sit better with the pedal's character.
What power supply does the Tube Squealer need?
It runs on 9V DC with a center-negative plug, drawing about 12mA in standard operation. Guitar World lists it as accepting 9V or 18V, with 25mA in its boosted mode. No power supply is included in the box, so you need to supply your own.
Is the Tube Squealer only sold at Guitar Center?
In the US it is sold exclusively through Guitar Center. Players outside the US can buy it from authorized Warm Audio retailers, and Guitar Pedal X also reported it available from the Warm Audio webstore. It carries an MSRP of $149.
Sources (13)
- Warm Audio Tube Squealer, Warm Audio
- “Taking the mid-gain, tube-amp-driving concept even further”: Warm Audio channels the greatest hits of classic overdrive with the regal Throne Of Tone dual-drive and the 3-in-1 Tone Squealer, MusicRadar, 2025-10-08
- “Just another Tube Screamer clone, or something more?”: Warm Audio Tube Squealer review, MusicRadar, 2025-11-18
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2025-10-10
- Tube Squealer by Warm Audio, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- Warm Audio Tube Squealer overdrive pedal review, Guitar World, 2025-10-31
- NUX Tube Man MKII Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2017-12-12
- Warm Audio Tube Squealer Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2025-12-04
- Warm Audio WA-TS Tube Squealer review: more than meets the eye, Guitar.com, 2025-12-10
- Warm Audio Tube Squealer Review, Premier Guitar, 2026-02-08
- Warm Audio Tube Squealer and Throne of Tone: deep dive and demo, Guitar World, 2025-12-08
- Warm Audio unveils the Tube Squealer and Throne of Tone, Guitar.com, 2025-10-10
- The Big Tubescreamer Shootout: 22 Originals and Clones Head-to-Head, www.gearnews.com, 2026-07-08
