“ MIKE PIERA On The Trail Of Tone
THE ANALOG MAN FOUNDER AND ALL-ROUND PEDAL GURU EXPLAINS WHY THE TUBE SCREAMER WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE EARLY DAYS OF BOUTIQUE PEDAL BUILDING AND MODDING
Istarted out selling vintage guitars and effects in Japan. In the 90s, a lot of effects were constructed poorly, and the sound wasn’t very good, so people were looking to vintage effects to get the best sound. Analog Man started out by modifying Tube Screamers using TS-808 specs with parts that I got when I was over in Japan. Before the internet you couldn’t just go online and find parts – you had to go and actually search them out. Ultimately, I was able to find those parts in Japan and start modding Tube Screamers properly.
“Tube Screamers have been popular for quite some time and they were one of the most popular pedals when I got into the business. I was able to buy them pretty cheap back in the 90s before people realised how valuable they were getting, but then even the pawnshops caught on! There were no reissues available back then, so the TS9s were pretty valuable, too.
“The Tube Screamer was a fairly unique design, although I do believe the Boss OD-1 Over Drive came out before it [in 1977] and it’s a very similar circuit. The Tube Screamer gives you a nice boost and a nice warm midrange, which works especially well in Fender amps. They have a good amount of compression and they also tighten up a lot of amps. A lot of amps, especially when they’re loud, will have excessive low-end and it really doesn’t sound good with a band – a Tube Screamer will tighten up that low-end really nicely, so it sits well in the mix.
“A lot of people think that they want a pedal with a lot of bottom-end, and when you’re playing on your own at home at low volume that might sound okay, but when you start getting the amp louder and you’re playing in a band situation, it’s probably not something that you want.” www.buyanalogman.com