Tube Screamer TS808

The Tube Screamer became the most cloned and modified overdrive ever. Its mid-hump EQ let guitar solos cut through mixes, and its smooth clipping made it the perfect “amp pusher.” Stevie Ray Vaughan turned it into legend, but its influence extends far beyond Texas blues. The Maxon OD-808 (the “original” manufacturer), Boss SD-1, JHS Bonsai, EarthQuaker Devices Plumes, and literally hundreds of boutique “TS-style” pedals are direct descendants. The “Tube Screamer circuit” became the lingua franca of overdrives.