tube screamer

[robert]

I don't really know a whole lot about amps, so I was wondering if you can use a tube screamer pedal with a non tube amp..I have a Crate amp with a fuse in the back and wanted to know if a tube screamer would still work with it, or if it matters at all.

[bofatron sofasaurus]

sure you can. probably make it sound a lot better too. what kind of TS is it? http://shredlikehell.com

[robert]

I don't have one, I was just wondering cause my friend had one and it made his guitar sound really good...he has a fender telecaster and i play a stratocaster..but he was playing through a marshall...and I liked the sound he was getting so I was gonna get one, but just wanted to know if it was compatible with my kind of amp...

[bofatron sofasaurus]

You ought to hear a vintage TS-808 tube screamer through a cranked JCM120 -- crushing rhythm mayhem. And with a good tube amp + compressor you can get some seriously fluid leads with incredible violin-like sustain. http://shredlikehell.com

[gibson_emg]

The reason you liked his tone so much is because he was playing through a Marshall, not because of the tube screamer. The Marshall made it sound great, and the tube screamer made it sound awesome. A tube screamer is just a pedal, it doesn't matter what the hell your playing. Just because it is called a tube screamer doesnt mean it has to have tubes, it just sends an electrical signal, nothing more.

zak

[Elmo45]

The Tube Screamers do sound better boosting a Tube amp though. But they can do some good to a solid state amp.
I would check out the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver too.