ts-9 & ts808 reissue component questions

[dubs]

I have had a look inside somes reissue ts9s and a ts808 and found the following:
- Ts9 reissue had a maxon maunfactured board & TA7555BP chip
- ts808 reissue had a ibanez manufactured board & JRC4558D chip

- Are ts9 reissues still have boards made by maxon and now use jrc4558d chips? If they are now made by ibanez, at what point the changeover?
I think it strange to reissue a pedal and not have the "right" chip that everyone carries on about.

[TheBigMan]

The 9 series was manufactured by Maxon for Ibanez, and the schematic calls for a 4558 type opamp, not a JRC4558D as many people seem to think.  The JRC, RC4558P, JRC2043, TA75558P and a few others all featured through the TS-9 production run.

Maxon and Ibanez parted ways in 2002 (IIRC) and Maxon now market their own 9 series worldwide, with the TS-9 renamed the OD-9.  Ibanez TS-9s and the TS-808 RI are manufactured by Hoshino I believe, although the boards are now stamped Ibanez.

In terms of "right" any 4558 type opamp will do, but some are better suited to this purpose than others.  Check out R.G.'s Technology of the Tube Screamer article at GEO for more on this.

[dubs]

Thanks yeah I understand the whole op amp thing, I just thought using the JRC chip ibanez would use this as marketing selling point.
So what year were the reissues started - 2000? so these maxon board ts9 reissues were pre 2002 then..

[TheBigMan]

TS-9 RIs started in '93 or so.

[cd]

The JRC chip is a selling point in their 808 RI.  The 75558 was used in most 9s (according to Ibanez) so that's what they used in the RI.

Aside from internet savvy pedalgeeks (like us), does the average guitarist who remembers the puke green case give a flying f**k about a chip?  Doubt it.

[Fret Wire]

Ibanez could have easily put the JRC4558 in the TS-9's, but that would diminish their 808 reissue sales. The TS-9/808 mod was increasing in popularity the last couple of years, to the point many non-diy types heard of it. Ibanez probably made the decision to reissue the 808 a couple of years before they announced it, and as a result, decided not to touch the TS-9.

The JRC mojo hype is pretty strong. I hear it all the time from non-diy types. If they read some ads before they buy, they ask about the chip and SRV and so on.

Good for us though. Used TS-9's are cheaper now. So now, someone sells their TS, gets less for it, then kicks in more cash for a reissue. All when they could have gotten the same sound out of their TS for about 50 cents in parts. I guess it all feeds the DIY food chain.