Review of the Ibanez Tube Screamer by The Man in the Jar Features of the...
Review of the Ibanez Tube Screamer by The Man in the Jar
Features of the Ibanez Tube Screamer
Construction - This is a very solid lump of metal, albeit in a rather disturbing snot-green colour. Access to the battery is on the bottom of the case via a clip-out trapdoor affair.
Ins and Outs - Very simply one jack for the input and one jack for the output.
Power - One 9 volt battery or an adapter (not supplied).
Controls - The three quite chunky knobs are Level, Tone and Overdrive. The unit is switched on by a solid metal footswitch.
Sound of the Ibanez Tube Screamer
With overdrive at minimum there's a subtle undercurrent of grit. Take it up to halfway and the Screamer delivers a lovely classic rock tone with nice tube-like sensitivity. This just gets thicker and lovelier as you turn the dial through to 3/4. Full on gives you maximum Cream.
Overall Impressions of the Ibanez Tube Screamer
I hope that younger players haven't been spoilt by the "farmyard-in-a-matchbox" multi-effect-digital wonders of the age in which they live. I really hope that they still have time to appreciate the simplicity of single pedals that do a single job and do it really, really well. Stick a Tube Screamer between a Les Paul and a Marshall and you are treading the path of many a guitar immortal, which might be a more severe test than deciphering the instruction manual on your latest digital doo-dad.
Buy the Ibanez Tube Screamer