With some many different manufacturers trying get exclusive placement on your pedal board, often times some models can be almost interchangeable between brands.  Although many will have their prefered brand, for the average hobbyist, there are many choices of pedals to get a similar sound.

Two pedals often compared for their similar effect is the Boss Blues Driver and the Ibanez Tube Screamer.  In our recently profile of Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, we mentionned he used the Ibanez Tube Screamer.  However, in a discussion on the Ten Club Community forums, it is mentioned that he uses both the Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS-9) and the Boss Blues Driver (BD-2).

Personally, I use a Boss Blues Driver BD-2, which I picked up (I believe) after taking a peak at The Superfriendz’ frontman Matt Murphy‘s pedal board (or so I recall).  Don’t let the name fool you, although it works well for playing blues, this pedal

So which one is better?  You’ll find a lot of modern rock bands that have 60’s and 70’s influences gravitate more towards the Tube Screamer (TS-9 and TS-808), although mostly since it seems more classic.  You’ll find these on rigs for artists such as Mike McCready and Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, Trey Anastasio of Phish.  So if you’re liking at getting a similar rig, this is usually the one to choose.  However, if price is the name of the game, the Blues Driver is mariginally less expensive than the TS-9.