JHS 3 Series Screamer
Same but different.
£105 at amazon.co.uk | £93 at guitarguitar.co.uk
Upon first glance, the JHS Screamer compares very favourably to the Ibanez TS9, which it is based on. The Screamer is cheaper (£99 vs £119), made in the USA, and comes with 2 different clipping options via the toggle switch. Unlike the Ibanez TS9, however, the JHS Screamer uses surface-mount components and cannot be powered with a battery. This significantly lowers production costs. So it seems that comparing the Screamer to the Ibanez TS MINI would be more appropriate. Both use surface mount components and cannot be powered with a battery. Now the price is significantly in Ibanez’s favour at £55 vs £99! We will cover why none of this really matters later on.
The JHS Screamer is based on a very popular mod by Josh Scott, called the Strong Mod. The Strong Mod swaps the original JRC4558D op-amp for one with asymmetrical clipping. This produces a more sharp and aggressive-sounding overdrive. It makes the pedal more viable as a standalone source of gain into a clean amplifier. Interestingly, most of the world-famous overdrive pedals (Analogman King of Tone, Klon Centaur, the original Tube Screamer TS808, as well as the TS9) actually use symmetrical clipping. This produces a smoother overdrive sound that players prefer to push tube amplifiers on the edge of breakup. Luckily, JHS added a toggle switch, so you can switch between the two clipping modes. I prefer the symmetrical (-) sound when pushing an amp on the edge of breakup, while using asymmetrical (+) clipping with a cleaner amp.
Another big improvement to the sound is the overall volume and clean headroom. The pedal is much louder, even at low gain, which lets you use it as somewhat of a clean boost, while still adding the signature Tube Screamer mid boost. This adds a completely new use case to the already very versatile pedal.
Finally, the equaliser curve and the responsiveness of the tone knob have been changed quite noticeably. The original TS9 sounds very nasal with the tone maxed out and completely muddy anywhere below 10 o’clock. The JHS Screamer indeed has a more pleasing frequency response, where all positions of the tone knob are usable. All Tube Screamer iterations have a very particular frequency response curve, where the mids are boosted, while the higher frequencies are significantly cut, producing that Stevie Ray Vaughan sound. This is the most common complaint against a TS9 – it ‘muddies’ the tone, especially on humbucker-equipped guitars. Well, the JHS Screamer brings some of the high frequencies back in, which is the main reason for its popularity. It still sounds very much like a Tube Screamer, just a bit more full.
Overall, I would not say that the JHS Screamer necessarily sounds any better than the Ibanez TS9 or TS808. The Tube Screamer is the most popular pedal of all time and for good reason. It tends to bring out the best in tube amps and lets Strat and Tele players fit into a band mix. The JHS Screamer still accomplishes that goal, while sounding a bit more modern, especially with the asymmetrical clipping turned on. Furthermore, I would say that the JHS Screamer will sound better than the TS9 most of the time when playing outside of a band environment.
The build quality of the JHS Screamer is very impressive. It may use machine assembly and soldering to bring down the costs, but no expense has been spared when it comes to components and the quality of the assembly. The footswitch is very sturdy, the knobs are smooth, yet firm. I would take this to a gig over a hand-wired TS808, especially because of the better footswitch design. Additionally, JHS have extremely good customer support, so I would expect the same high quality from their ‘3 Series’, as I would from their more colourful pedals.
Bottom Line
The JHS Screamer is a very versatile take on a Tube Screamer. You get a more modern, yet still very much ‘green’ overdrive, despite what the enclosure will have you believe. It compares favourably to the more expensive Japan-made reissues by Ibanez, while offering enough extra features to consider it over the much cheaper Ibanez TS Mini. Before buying a JHS Screamer, just make sure that the original Tube Screamer wasn’t already exactly what you wanted!