I found a Ts9 Analogman 808/brown mod on craigslist for 115. I have a cheap older ts9 right now but obviously am going for the Trey thing. I'm a little concerned about getting it cause the brown mod has more gain compared to the silver so it seems like it would be better in the second position. But why bother spending that much if its not on all the time. Is this pedal worth it?
I am going to send in a Maxon od9 to Analogman soon for the 808/brown mod. I am not really interested in the silver mod, partly because of the way his webpage describes it. When you read about the true vintage mod he talks shit about the "other guys" who add more/less overdrive and add more bass (to remove the midrange hump) to the pedal and change the sound from what the original ts-9 and 808s sound like. But then he goes on to say the the silver mod is for those who want more clarity and less of the midrange hump. So more clarity can be achieved by using a little less gain and pushing a little more volume, no? And he also increases the signal of the bass to remove the midrange hump? Sound familiar to what he just talked shit about?
I have an old Keeley pedal that I think sounds pretty good (basically the same description of the silver pedal), but I can never get as good as a tone out of it as I can from any of my vintage ts-9s (I think they are all '82s). Hence why I want to send in my Maxon od9 (also is true bypass) and see if his true vintage (808/brown) mod more faithfully replicates the vintage ts9s I have.
Oh and the other reason I don't want to try the Silver mod? Because ever since Trey started using Analogman's mods (silver), I have never liked his tone as much. Yes it is very clear and up front, and he gets some nice overtones and all, and still some great sustain, but not like he used to get back in the glory days of which I am a much bigger fan of his tone. I remember reading an interview with Paul L or Brian B. or somebody about how Trey has a crateful of those old tubescreamers, and I've seen vids and pics of his gear from those old days and he always had ts9s and sometimes even a ts10, and I gotta imagine they were all made in the 80s and that he could easily afford to stock a bunch. I'll also add that the best I've ever done to faithfully replicate Trey's tone has been while using 2 of my original tube screamers.
So I'm not typing this long ass "window into my fucked up mind of reasoning and manifestation" to deter you from getting the silver mod, but just to get you to realize that you can achieve Trey's tone really well without the silver mod and spending an extra $30. If Trey's tone of today is what you want, you might need the silver mod, but if you prefer his tone of the 90's or feel like you can live with that era of his tone, then just get the vintage mod, as I'd imagine it does do what it says it does.
I forgot to answer your real question in here. Is the Analogman ts9 (808/brown mod) worth $115 used? I would say yes. You will hear a big difference between a reissue ts-9 and an original ts-9 or 808 for that matter. If his mod is anything close to the sound of the real vintage ts9s and 808's I'd say its worth it. Besides, you can get a used ts-9 for about $70 on Ebay and then still have to send the pedal to Analogman, pay, $45 for the same mod and add an extra $10 for shipping, so I'd say its a good deal, and you'll probably be happy with how it sounds.
I'm interested in what other Strangedesigners think about the comparison of "silver" to the "true vintage" mod? Has anyone done a side by side comparison of the two?
I guess I should mention that the seller says the pedal is 10 years old. Doesnt really sound worth it anymore ???
808/brown mod. 2 resistors changed and change the opamp. do it yourself for less than 15 bucks.
Those resistors bring down the "plate" voltage right? (not that there are plates in a pedal). You just get more gain and less headroom and rolls of some highs. I think I got the opposite when i put 12 volts on my Silver. So if you could have a "sag" potentiometer installed on a screamer, you could play with headroom and brownness. Might be fun.
(I'm sure the opamp helps achieve this as well).
Quote from: IamWILSON on October 07, 2011, 01:04:55 AM
I am going to send in a Maxon od9 to Analogman soon for the 808/brown mod. I am not really interested in the silver mod, partly because of the way his webpage describes it. ........................ If Trey's tone of today is what you want, you might need the silver mod, but if you prefer his tone of the 90's or feel like you can live with that era of his tone, then just get the vintage mod, as I'd imagine it does do what it says it does.
Wilson at first i was going to tell you that I prefer the 3.0 tone as my favorite and to forget about the old brown tone. But I popped on "A Live One" just to make sure I wasn't to biased. Now that I'm enjoying the 30 minute Tweezer from that album, I'm seeing why you really like that tone too. I like both for different reasons. The brown gets nice and crunchy/muddy/squeaky and that actually sounds pretty cool. I've just been saturated with 3.0 tunes lately. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Sorry if I sounded like I was ranting AM. Anyway, funny enough, that I'm tempted to order the silver mod instead and really get to see what it's all about. Maybe use the silver mod for my lead/overdrive tone and keep the '82 ts9 for the always on, lightly pushed od tone.
Indecisiveness is my enemy!