01—EarthQuaker Devices
Plumes
The $99 Tube Screamer that beats most $200 Tube Screamers — the entry-level pro-tier overdrive.
The best value drive pedal in production. Three modes means you get three pedals for one price. Buy without hesitation.
02—On the bench
EarthQuaker's modern reinterpretation of the Tube Screamer — at $99, the cheapest serious drive pedal on the market in 2020. Plumes uses the TS-style mid-hump topology but adds a three-position clipping switch: symmetrical LED clipping (more transparent, more open low end), op-amp clipping (no clipping diodes — pure cleaner boost), and asymmetric silicon clipping (closest to a traditional TS9). The result is a Tube Screamer for people who didn't quite want a Tube Screamer — more headroom, less compression, and three distinct voices in one pedal. Lives on a lot of country, indie, and modern alt-rock boards as the go-to mid-priced overdrive. Punches well above its price tier.
- 01Mode 2 (op-amp, no diodes) is the clean-boost killer mode
- 02Mode 1 (LEDs) is less compressed than a stock TS9
- 03Mode 3 is the closest to a traditional Tube Screamer
- 04more headroom than any TS in this price range
- 05stacks well in front of an already-dirty amp
03—In the room
Where else this pedal lives.
- Daniel Donato
- Joey Landreth
- Andy Wood
- Ariel Posen
JHS Bonsai if you want nine TS variants; Plumes if you just want a great one.