Ibanez Review: TS-9

History:

Purchase: I got this pedal as a birthday gift from a fan of my band. I forget the store, but I believe they run for like $99.

What I Like About This Ibanez TS-9: I love this pedal. I had been wanting one for quite a while as I am a huge SRV fan myself. There is no mystery, this thing did for SRV what the Fuzzface did for Hendrix. Hands down an invaluable addition to my blues rig and one that all blues cats should have. The distortion is just enough to give some great bite, given you have a good amp behind you. I play an american strat through some distortion pedals (including this one) to a tuner and a wah-wah, to a fender deville 2x12. Good stuff.

What I Do NOT Like About The Ibanez TS-9: The only thing I don't like is the distortion is somewhat limited. By that meaning, the gain only goes up so far. I wanted to go from a classic blues number to a much harder rock tune (distortion-wise) and found that I needed to get another distortion pedal for that alone.

Ibanez TS-9 Quality Rating: Everything else - build, quality, construction, looks, knobs, even that damn "sea-sick green" paintjob is fantastic. Very reliable, gigged for over a year without backup.

Review Summary: This thing really boosted my sound. Fender amps are fantastic for cleans and bluesy grit, but lack that Marshall authority, or that Mesa brutality. But for blues, the Ibanez TS-9 is the real deal.

Rating of this Ibanez product: 5

This Ibanez TS-9 Guitar Effects Review Submitted By: Mark

Review Date: 2003-11-28