Ibanez TS-9 Tubescreamer - Keeley Modded Franken Screamer

I was lucky enough to find one of these. Keeley had a limited run of these pedals. This pedal contains both the "Mod Plus" and "Baked Mod" in one pedal. You can switch back and forth between the two with the toggle switch. The only other Keeley Mod to offer this is the TS9DX 4X12 Flex Mod. I've also owned that pedal, and lets just say it doesn't hold a candle to this pedal. Again, a rehash of what is offered with these 2 mods.

Mod Plus

1. They replace the T9 circuit with the TI RC4558P, this is the same circuit that was in the old vintage TS-808's. I believe the 808 sales for more than double the price of a tube screamer, and even more for a vintage one. So the fact your getting the vintage circuit in here at the price is a steal. Not to mention it sounds like the same circuit is in the stock 808's as is in the TS-9. So why are you paying double again?

2. They replace the old saggy red LED with a bright blind you blue LED.

3. They change the "IC" Apparently better than the "JRC" No idea what that means :)

4. Change the output resistors from carbon comp to metal film which make the circuit less noisy. Also offers a more consistent sound from pedal to pedal.

5. They increase the bass response which is a typical complaint on any stock Tubes Screamer.

6. They improved the bypass circuitry so it sounds better when bypassed. This obviously refers to those they don't modify for true bypass.

7. Improved the tone circuitry a bit taking a page from the "Sparkle Drive" again don't know what this means.

8. They made the cleans cleaner and gave it 2 X the gain.

Baked Mod - In addition to the above minus step 8.

1. Use of high quality sockets with gold inserts.

2. The drive circuit is further pushed by lowering the resistance a notch.

3. All metal film resistors and capacitors. (Makes the pedal less noisy)

4. Raise in one resister to affect the impedance a slight bit. (Up from 510k to 610k)

5. Change of input transistor to MPSA18 for lower noise.

6. Drive range shifted from 0 - 10 on a stock TS-9 to 4 - 14. (More dirty)

This in and of itself makes this the absolute best Tube Screamer to own. You can have your clean and dirty OD all in one box. But, they went even further with this one.

Say it with me kids...extra features...

1. True bypass switching.

2. They added a BOOST circuit. The normal footswitch, rather than being dead now acts as the switch for boosting the volume.

3. They added a knob on the side to control the amount of volume boost. Yessir, you can control how much boost you get! The boost adds some second order harmonic distortion which makes it sing to!

4. They also added an LED which allows you to tell if the boost is on or off. Like you needed an LED to tell you that!

5. They modified the pedal to run at 18V internally giving it greater dynamics and better character. You can still run it off the standard 9V adapter or battery.

Just absolutely pure magic to this sucker. You really need to play it to truely appreciated it. I've owned every Keeley Mod for the TS-9. This one by far exceeds all of them. Unfortunatley you'll probably never get your hands on one.
http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=1754