I bought this to put in front of my distorted amp so I'd get a better feel out of it. I read a lot of reviews that said this is a good idea if you play metal and people rave about it for other styles as well. When I tried it at the store I wasn't able to really crank the volume so I couldn't really get a good sense of how well it would work. I play a Laney VH100 and when I tried it in front of my amp I was fairly disappointed. This pedal really lacks headroom and it sounds like it is compressing the signal too much. I like the mid-range voicing it has but it takes all the punch out of my distorted tones and doesn't really add enough character to the sound to be worth using. It also has a lot more drive than I wanted so even when the drive knob is all the way down, it's still a bit too driven to really give me a "pushed" clean unless using low output pickups. Overall it isn't a bad pedal but it is probably better at the styles it was originally made for. For a good metal tone there are likely better options.

I have had one of these since before someone decided to make it an expensive re-issue. It is OK, but there is another "Tube Screamer/Overdrive WHATEVER" It uses the JRC4558D chip, but is about 30 bucks cheaper, and sounds more rich and bubbly. It is like comparing a Pontiac to a Cadillac. Sorry but the Maxon is a better pedal. I keep everything working or not, and have all kinds of stuff, including Clyde McCoy wahs, and Univibes to solid state Blackfingers, and Thomas wahs, Maestro Tape Delays (4 models) etc. etc. There are so many versions of this, and I am unsure who was first.

I got this pedal a year ago. It is always on, no matter what i am playing unless im playing clean. it gives a great tube sound to a solid state amp. you cant be a guitarist with out this!

Just to all people who think the TS808 is "better" than the ts9, you are wrong. They both use the exact same circuit, Ibanez just put this one in different housing and made bit more expensive. If you want the Holy Grail of overdrive, get this one modded by Robert Keeley.

... which was the first pedal I ever bought. Remember: No pedal can be used for every sound. The Tube Screamer gives you a very light, realistic distortion, as opposed to a thick, wall-of-metal crunch. Every guitarist should have a Tube Screamer.