Ts9 Clones | Boutique Tube Screamers (When Will They Stop?)

TS9 Tube Screamer

I always thought the Tube Screamer was a useful pedal. But I can see why people get turned off by them. Well, partially. Granted some people are annoyed with the mid hump trait of the Tube Screamer, but really, that's rock and roll.

I bet I'm not the only one that is starting to get annoyed by the consistent rehashing of the same basic effect. Does everyone and their mother need to make a Ts9 clone, with wider dynamics, put it in a funny looking box, and sell it on the internet? Seriously...we already have all of these:

Aren't These Tube Screamers Enough?

So maybe this is a rant. But, it's a deserved rant. It deserves to be mentioned and discussed. Where is the innovation these days? I don't need 5 Tube Screamers on my pedal board. But I would like a simple whammy effect that just ramps my pitch up or down an octave...and that's all it does. But, no one makes that. What "sound" have you had in your head, which no boutique pedal builder is currently making? Or have you no sounds in your head but the mid hump of a Ts9?

I'm glad there's companies out there like Pigtronix, Electro-Harmonix, Chicago Iron, Effector 13, Mid-Fi electronics, Moog and such. Notice that all of these companies don't make a Tube Screamer. They're either pushing the envelope, re-surfacing classic odd-ball effects, or at least re-hashing (maybe improving) their own designs. On a personal note, I don't think I can handle any more distorted feedback noisemakers. Wilco and and other bands have already done a great job with them.

Who is going to push the envelope further? We, the creative minds, need you.