Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini Reviews

It is a real TubeScreamer

I am proud of vintage gear just like the next guy. For example, I really love my Marshall Guv'nor from the 80s, not only because it sounds great, but also for its historical value. I would have nothing against a vintage TS9 or TS808, I would probably love them if I had one. However, I do not believe that new gear can never match the magical tones of vintage gear. My view on it is... it depends! While there are many reissues of legendary gear whose quality is questionable, that is not always the case. The key is: try for yourself and check how it sounds. That's what I did with this TS Mini. I really believe that it sounds just like a TubeScreamer is supposed to sound. Its build quality is super solid. And its size is super pedalboard friendly. You get a real TubeScreamer for a very good price. What is not to like?

Tube screamer mini

For me it sounds more like a ts808 than a ts9, so its a good thing. Perfect price and very good quality. Only problem are the small knobs, it?s impossible to see their settings. Easy solution with some white paint and a toothpick.

It's a tube screamer

I like this little TS. Sometimes it's difficult to see the smaller potmeters but it has a very good sound. Cheap and small.

Awesome

Built like a tank, very versatile OD. Can go from light crunch to full and compressed. The size is great for space saving and its also kind on the wallet. 10/10

Cheapest tube screamer

Okay you don't have a space for battery but other than that it's Tube Screamer that sounds epic and does'nt take that lot of space. I have a power distributor for all my pedals so the lack of battery isn't a problem for me. Really happy with it.

Classic tone

I have a regular TS-9 (no special mods or reissues) and like it for boost and pushing the amp. Amazingly, to me this mini version sounds even better. These Ibanez mini pedals are totally awesome; built solidly and sound great. If they make more I will buy them.

The pedal that makes your OD or Distortion awesome!

I use my Ibanez TS Mini always before a drive, i'm currently using a zvex Mastotron, TC electronic Dark Matter and the OD of a fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The TS mini alone isn't my cup of tea, i like more agressive drives but using the Ts mini with very little drive before another pedal makes every riff sound a lot better.

The knobs have a nice feel and the footswitch is well built. It's tiny so you can fit it anywhere on your pedalboard.

The only con i need to point out it's the the smaller knobs don't have white indicator to tell you what's your current setting. A white marker solves this but Ibanez should make them already with the markings on every knob.

Price: Smaller, cheaper but awesome nonetheless compared to it's bigger brothers.

Great TS pedal

Simplt a great TS pedal, sounds as you would expect , does what it is meant to exactly as it should, its just small. Good value well worth a look , sounds identical to my ears to the larger versions

Perfect for boosting

I am using this pedal as a boost with my amps OD channel to give some extra balls for heavy rock and metal. Gives more attack, sustain and some compression to get that tight rock sound.

Reason why I gave "only" 4 stars for sound, is that it eats a bit of my amps natural low end. Don't get me wrong, it still sounds killer.

Using it with Koch studiotone combo.

Great compact pedal

I did a lot of research before buying this Ibanez TS, considering there are many variations of different prices. The audio comparisons made it clear to me that there's not a distinguishable difference between the Mini and the regular-sized version.

I bought it and oh boy I love it so far! I cannot imagine using any other distortion currently. It is rich and versatile (from minimum to lots of distortion) and most importantly "clean": you can strum a chord and all the notes are audible.

My style is alternative rock and this pedal gives me a nice Mastodon-like tone.

a great version of it's old brother

I use this pedal for tight metal rythm or for old school rock tones. It is very easy to dial in a good tone and it can help you get that over the top overdrive from your crunch channel or clean up the unwanted bass frequences in your overdrive channel making a great tight rythm sound for metal. No problems with the quality.

Exactly what was needed

A gem of a buy, tube screamer tone but in a smaller footprint to not take up as much space on my pedalboard.

This is great to pair with other overdrive pedals before or after. Even turn the gain knob all the way off and use it with a high gain pedal to add more definition to palm mutes for heavier genres of music.

Ibanez TS Mini Review

Everyone should get one! Great for smooth distortions and even better if you want to use it as a overdrive/boost pedal to kick in your main lead sound.

The Green Meanie

This is the only Tube Screamer I've owned so far that actually IS a Tube Screamer, though I do also own a Maxon OD808, which is of course a TS808 with slightly different resistors and have also owned a Maxon OD820 Pro (Maxon for those 2-3 people who don't know being the company who originally made the Tube Screamer pedals for Ibanez), so SOME comparison is possible. The TS Mini has by and large the same desirable tone of the OD808, great clarity and warmth, though I find the sound of the TS Mini better with a little more gain coming from the pedal and less from the amp, while conversely the OD808 (and so I guess the TS808) and OD820 are better with more gain from the amp and less from the pedal. The TS Mini has more bite and sounds more snarly than the 808 and 820, which in turn sound somewhat smoother and warmer; nonetheless, the TS Mini is a great pedal, it's bonehead easy to operate and get a good sound, looks great and the price is unbelievable - and obviously GREAT for small or overfilled pedal boards. I docked it one star for features because the mini pot knobs for tone and level are hard to see and read at distances of more than a couple of feet, but other than that it's definitely an asset and I would recommend it to others - the search for the ultimate "Tubey-Screamy" pedal is basically endless but this is a mandatory stop along the way!

I bought this OD with the purpose of tightening the bottom end, just to discover that it's a Swiss army knife pedal, delivering from mild to heavy overdriven tones. As you may know the Ibanez TS are well known for their mid frequencies which also help cut in very well in the mix, so if you are looking for a FAT overdrive I advise to look elsewhere.

The only down side for me is that being the purpose of the smaller footprint to save in size, they should have put the 9v input on the side and not on the top, so if you are in need of saving space, please don't forget that, it might make a difference.

For me this is an always ON pedal, being used for both delivering a mild OD on the clean channel, and tightening the bottom end on the lead channel. If that's your purpose, look no further, here's your winner!

The perfect finishing touch

Brilliant pedal (for its price and size). My Marshall dsl40 is a decent amp with good gain but it needed some added overdrive to really sound like the beast it is.

The TS Mini does the job perfectly and seems to have not lost any of the qualities that makes its big brother so great. I've grown accustom to just having it on all the time and honestly can't imagine using the amp without it because it gives me that fuller, fattier sound needed for most hard rock like ACDC or Guns N Roses.

I guess if there was one downside it would be the lack of features (i.e. only two settings to adjust - Tone and Level) but for an overdrive pedal there's not much to play around with anyways once you've gotten the boost you need

Overall, great pedal and boost to my pedal board

Little beast

Great little pedal, big tone in small package.

I use it as overdrive for most songs that I play, but it can be used as a boost too, and a very nice one at that! Nice range of drive from really low (pretty much just boost) to medium-high. Tone knob covers anything you will ever want to play. If I could change one thing I would do something about 2 small knobs which are hard to navigate through when you're at the gig cause you can hardly see their position.

With my Fender American special strat and Vox Nightrain 15 and AC 30 it really shines!

This is one of the best drives i encountered, with Fulltone Fulldrive 2 maybe being the best.

Great pedal, great price, small size, you can't really expect much more!

Ibanez Mini TS (not so mini)

Well I had the originals TS9 from back in the day, this one is very, very, very close.

Very good in front of a clean amp or in the crunch channel.

A classic, at this price is a steal.

Delicious

That's what this pedal is to me - Delicious! It makes my amp sing, especially since I have a Marshall TSL 122. At first when I had it I was using it with a Fender Mustang II V2, which just added more gain to the already overly driven amp, but then by putting it with a simulated fuzz pedal on it I got some really awesome distortion tones.

I've tried out other overdrive pedals like the Zakk Wylde overdrive or the Boss OD-3, but neither of them quite achieve the same tone I come to expect from the Tubescreamer-Mini. The build quality is great, I love the metal on it, the size, the shape, the colour. I do not like the two mini knobs for level and tone, but they don't bother me. This pedal does it all for me and I am happy to use it!

This rocks!

This little tiny pedal gives you the full traditional screamer tone the you need for any genre. Works perfect as a booster on your OD. It has a lot of gain and really boosts up your mids. I love it!