Alchemy Audio is a small company based out of Chicago, and the majority of their work stems from performing great upgrades to some of the most famous guitar effects pedals ever created, such as the ProCo Rat, Electro-Harmonix Soul Food, a slew of Boss pedals and, of course, the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer. As most of you know, this pedal is a classic overdrive, used by countless artists since its release in 1982. A good pedal on it’s own, this mod from Alchemy Audio gives it the nice, simple upgrade to make it that much better.

They start with a major upgrade of the interior components, creating a richer, deeper, more defined sound overall. Striving to re-create the vintage specs from the early, now sought-after and ridiculously expensive models, Alchemy adds in the 4558 opamp chip, which is similar to the chip from those classic units. They also increase the amount of available gain, shape the EQ a bit and change out the lower quality circuit components for higher grade materials. You can also customize your new(ish) TS9 with your choice of color for the 3 control knobs, and you’ll get a new brilliant bright white on/off LED upgrade as well!

Alchemy also builds what they call a “Dead Bat”™, which is a small voltage box designed to let you control how much juice is going to any particular pedal, thus simulating the effect of a dying battery (when we used to use batteries, remember?). With the TS9 mod, they add this function right into the pedal itself, and you control it with a newly-installed knob on the right side. This is a sensitive control, so you need to adjust this knob in small increments, but it provides a fun and sort of nostalgic effect to this great Tube Screamer, harkening back to the ’80’s and the classic TS9 fading power sound.

Overall, this mod makes a great pedal sound greater. The tone seems warmer, the EQ isn’t as harsh and mid-y and the “Dead Bat“™ brings back some great sounds of yesteryear. While the older models are high-priced and sought-after by pedal purists, the newer reissues just don’t have the same tone and power that those originals did. With this mod from Alchemy Audio, you can get that classic sound you’ve been looking for, plus a couple of nifty upgrades, without having to empty your bank account.

Submitted by Mike B, Website