Modified Ibanez TS-9DX Turbo Tube Screamer

An interesting pedal, that is a bit different from any other Tube Screamer (even though it is built to look like it has been time-warped here from the '80s). Ibanez did actually, at the time, market a "Super Tube Screamer", and it is easy to mistake for this one. ST-9 had a variable midboost, while the current TS-9DX has a mode selector knob instead. If you do come across an ST-9 at the fleamarket or a garage sale - buy it! It is very rare, and is therefore worth a lot of cash. But enough about that one - you came here to find out what I can do to improve your TS-9DX Turbo Tube Screamer, didn't you?

The modification

I start out by giving the entire pedal a once-over, to see that everything works properly. On some pedals, the soldering joints on the adapter jack needs strenghtening (it has been known to work itself loose), so I do that on all the pedals, just to be safe.
I install an IC socket and replace the op-amp with either a JRC4558D or an RC4558P. Both were common in the TS-808, and they sound just about the same. Possibly, the RC4558P is a little raunchier. I prefer the JRC chip myself, and it is the "default" choice, unless we agree on something else. The IC socket makes it easy to experiment later with different op-amps, should you want to.
The output stage is then modified to TS-808 specs.
The red LED is replaced with a superbright yellow item - naturally.
If your pedal is from the first batch ever made, I'll also modify the gain pot slightly, to give you more gain to play with. From the second batch (January 1999) onwards, Hoshino - who builds these pedals for Ibanez - did this mod themselves.
Then I start modifying the four modes. The list below shows how I perceive the four modes, before and after the modifications.

mode	Standard TS-9DX	StinkFoot TS-9DX
TS9	Just like a standard TS-9, but possibly with less gain available.	StinkFoot Stage 1 TS-9 - more bass, less midrange. Gain is the same as in the stock pedal mode.
+	Big increase in bass response, much more volume and less gain.	StinkFoot Stage 2 TS-9, with twice the gain of a Stage 1 pedal. Stock clipping section (high compression).
HOT	Even more bass, more volume and even less gain.	StinkFoot Stage 2 TS-9, but with assymetric clipping, for a clearer, less compressed sound. Slight increase in output volume as well.
TURBO	Extreme amounts of bass and volume, with almost no overdrive at all.	Clean boost mode. The bass response is the same as the previous two modes, but this time without the overdrive and compression. Use this setting to give your solos a big push.

As you can see, the idea is to get a much more even response over the four modes, with less drastic changes. As an illustration, in the stock pedal's "Turbo" mode, the capacitor that controls the amount of bass is fourty times larger than in the "TS-9" mode. That is way too big a difference to make the pedal useful, in my opinion. In the modified pedal, the same capacitor is only four times as large, which is well enough. This means that you can actually turn the "mode" switch while you're playing, without having to worry about blowing up your amp... I also make the "Turbo" setting into a clean boost mode, which comes in handy sometimes. Your signal will still get the TS-9 treatment, only without the overdrive/compression and with lots of volume available - perfect for overpowering unsuspecting amplifiers!

This modification entails rather large changes - aside from the usual TS-9 to TS-808 modifications, the alterations of the different modes are done separately, and takes some time to do. This of course means that the price is higher than a standard 808 conversion, but the end result is well worth the trouble!

Price:

400 SEK / 37 EUR

True bypass: 250 SEK / 23 EUR
The new switch is mounted through the faceplate, right above the regular switch. At the same time, the signal path is rerouted around all electronic gubbins associated with the electronic switching, for an even clearer and more distinct sound.

Prices do not include shipping.