The most versatile, best Tube Screamer on the market.

People about Tube Screamer-type pedals:

• "They all sound the same"
• "It's basically all the same circuit"
• "They all do the same job"
• "My TS-9 has been on my board since 1912 and it still works so why should I care?"
• "There's only one setting: Gain at 0, Volume at 10, Tone around the middle"

Well forget everything you think you know about Tube Screamers because this one is very special. The pedal company backed by Metallica's Kirk Hammett created a TS-style pedal that offers tons of tone shaping options making it one of the most feature-packed TS pedal on the market. But enough with the catchphrases, here are my thoughts:

• Hardware-wise it's a perfect. Even more so if you can get your hands on one with the input/output connectors on top. My only gripe is the middle switch that is located right under the Tone knob is hard to reach with my large fingers when it's in up position.

• I tried many TS-style pedals; JHS Moonshine V2, Behringer TO800, Earthquaker Plumes, and the ultra-capable Source Audio LA Lady (which can do all sorts of dirt effects) and nothing sounds as good as the KHDK Ghoul Screamer. It makes my KSR Ceres roar for high gain, and can also do a very pleasant slightly overdriven tone before a clean channel. On a more personal note; the Ceres is VERY selective as to what overdrive/boost can make it sound better than it does out of the box, and the GS made it sound even better than before.

• The plethora of compression settings available through the 5 top-mounted switches is enough for hours upon hours of fiddling to dial in the perfect tone, but they also have enough effect on the signal so you can just flip them up and down and quickly find a good tone. In fact I found a very nice setting in under two minutes of plugging it.

• The best setting I found so far are completely different than the usual Gain-at-zero/Volume-at-10/Tone-to-taste. I found that volume at around 6-7, Gain at 3-4 and Tone on the darker side gives me a very satisfying tone on crunch as well as on higher gain. Seems to tighten and tame my Ceres distortion when needed.

• I rarely play on clean, as I play mostly hard rock/hardcore/metal but I instantly fell in love with the warmth the GS brings.

Oddly, I think they would have sold a lot more units if they made a more mainstream color scheme graphics. While it certainly excels at pushing a high gain amp it's just as good on a clean amp. I see many Youtubers use it as their main overdrive since it's so versatile and is so good with whatever amp you play it through.

I buy and sell a lot of stuff, but this one is definitely a keeper.

Such an intense sounding effects pedal crafted by the legend Kirk Hammett of Metallica

My friend Scott Ian from the band ANTHRAX sent me this pedal before the official wordwide release and I immediately plugged it in, and 5 hours later, I was so shocked and astonished about how badass this pedal is. 101/ recommended to anyone who plays metal, anyone who needs a really good overdrive / distortion pedal