Ibanez TS9B Bass Tube Screamerchat_bubble_outlineFrom real comments

A bass-tailored Tube Screamer with genuinely mixed reception among players. Commenters note the TS9B naturally carries more low end than the standard TS9 even before touching the EQ knobs. But that extra low end comes at a cost: several say it loses the mid growl that makes the TS9 cut through a mix, with one player flatly calling it 'a dud' after an A/B test and recommending the regular TS9 with low end added elsewhere instead.

Some players find real value in its tone shaping and pairing options. One user runs it into a SansAmp and gets a huge, fat tone effect. Another describes the pedal as having present midrange and drive that isn't invasive, useful when routed through a loop to manage signal loss. A third found it good for adding subtle warmth at the start of their signal chain, moving from subtle to more overdriven settings as needed.

Others call it barely functional or a step down from the standard TS9. One owner says the pedal 'barely does anything' and heard no difference when bypassed, with only slight, undesirable distortion at max settings. Another compares it unfavorably to a bass-modded TS clone that kept the tone without cutting bass, while others say to get a blend pedal with the regular TS9 instead, or simply weren't happy with it at all, preferring the MXR M89 Bass Overdrive.