Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 Settings Guide
The most influential overdrive pedal ever made. Used as both a drive source and a clean boost into tube amps.
The best Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 settings start with: Drive at 3/10, Tone at 5/10, Level at 6/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Blues: Drive 3/10, Tone 6/10, Level 6/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Drive | 3/10 | Boost → Grit |
| Tone | 5/10 | Dark → Bright |
| Level | 6/10 | Silent → Loud |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Low drive pushing a tube amp into natural breakup. This is the SRV approach.
Drive at 0, Level past unity. Pushes the amp harder without adding pedal grit.
Moderate drive as the primary gain source. Keep Tone at 5 to avoid thinness.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
SRV used the TS as a clean boost — Drive at 0, Level high. The amp provided all the grit.
Low drive into a clean Fender. The TS pushes the amp into natural tube saturation.
Higher drive for sustained lead tone. The mid-push of the TS is essential to Santana's vocal character.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The TS cuts low frequencies even at Drive 0 — this is a feature, not a bug. It tightens up the amp's low end.
- As a clean boost (Drive 0, Level high), it transforms any tube amp into a more responsive, articulate instrument.
- Stacking two Tube Screamers produces a distinctive compressed, mid-heavy lead tone (Stevie Ray Vaughan "Texas Flood" approach).
- The Tone control is subtle — most players leave it between 4 and 6.
FAQ
Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9: Drive at 3/10, Tone at 5/10, Level at 6/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Blues: Drive 3/10, Tone 6/10, Level 6/10. Low drive pushing a tube amp into natural breakup. This is the SRV approach.
For Clean Boost: Drive 0/10, Tone 6/10, Level 8/10. Drive at 0, Level past unity. Pushes the amp harder without adding pedal grit.
Drive: Amount of clipping. Used as a clean boost: Drive at 0. Used as overdrive: Drive at 5-7. (Boost to Grit). Tone: High-frequency content. The TS cuts bass — Tone above 5 restores some high-end. (Dark to Bright). Level: Output volume. As a clean boost: Level above unity (past 12 o'clock). As OD: match unity. (Silent to Loud)
The TS cuts low frequencies even at Drive 0 — this is a feature, not a bug. It tightens up the amp's low end. As a clean boost (Drive 0, Level high), it transforms any tube amp into a more responsive, articulate instrument. Stacking two Tube Screamers produces a distinctive compressed, mid-heavy lead tone (Stevie Ray Vaughan "Texas Flood" approach). The Tone control is subtle — most players leave it between 4 and 6.
Stevie Ray Vaughan settings: Drive 0/10, Tone 6/10, Level 7/10. SRV used the TS as a clean boost — Drive at 0, Level high. The amp provided all the grit.