Pedal DIY'ers....

[duhvoodooman]

If you like futzing around with your effects pedals--either building your own or modding commercial pedals--here's a cool website to check out:

The Tone Pad​

They have a number of DIY projects listed, either scratch builds or mods of existing pedals. There's a great "photo essay" on how to convert an Ibanez TS-9 to the original TS-808 specs. I'm going to be doing that for my buddy Dave here at work. I'm hoping that when he cranks up the modified pedal, he will be so immersed in waves of sonic rapture that he'll present me with one of his 10 LP's in a fit of righteous gratitude!! Yeah, I know--I've been sniffing too many solder fumes....

 

[M29]

Thanks for the link and info duhvoodooman, awesome site with amplifier stuff too. I am gathering info now to build a Champ amp.

Hmm...solder fumes...I will have to give that a try...

M29

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Thanks for the link DVM. More for the Cub Scouts! ;-)

But really, I am bookmarking it. I went out the the Shack and bought some soldering stuff so I could fix the power supply on my Monkey, and hope to do the typical mods on my DS-1 after ski season ends.

P.S. Maybe your buddy will, after seeing your work, dump his TS-9 in favor of the ZYS! Probably less effort for one of the LPs if he just likes your work on the TS-9.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Maybe your buddy will, after seeing your work, dump his TS-9 in favor of the ZYS!

Not likely! He almost never uses the TS-9, 'cuz he does most of his playing through a cranked Mesa Boogie amp and he's already got distortion out the ying-yang. In fact, he had the TS-9 on his pedalboard, but it wasn't even hooked up. Just a green paperweight! But I told him I could do the TS-808 conversion for a couple of bucks worth of parts, so he said to go for it. He's curious to hear the difference in tone--and so am I!

 

[stingx]

That site is just too cool. Thanks for the link.

 

[marnold]

But I told him I could do the TS-808 conversion for a couple of bucks worth of parts, so he said to go for it. He's curious to hear the difference in tone--and so am I!

I love the fact that there is fundamentally NO cost difference between the TS-808 and the TS-9, but still Ibanez/Maxon charges almost twice as much. Basically you're paying for the fact that Stevie's name is so predominately associated with it.

 

[duhvoodooman]

I love the fact that there is fundamentally NO cost difference between the TS-808 and the TS-9, but still Ibanez/Maxon charges almost twice as much. Basically you're paying for the fact that Stevie's name is so predominately associated with it.

That's the fact, Jack! I made the switch on my friend's TS-9 tonight. Two resistors and an opamp--total parts cost about 50 cents! The toughest part was desoldering the old opamp and soldering in a DIP-8 socket, so Dave can switch opamps whenever he wants (not that he will). I put in a JRC4558D, the original "spec" opamp for the TS-808. Sounds smoother and significantly more articulate now. Definite improvement, to my ears.

 

[NPauly]

I love the fact that there is fundamentally NO cost difference between the TS-808 and the TS-9, but still Ibanez/Maxon charges almost twice as much. Basically you're paying for the fact that Stevie's name is so predominately associated with it.

And the really ironic thing is that Stevie Ray Vaughn is often quoted as not caring which Ibanez Tubescreamer model he was using as long as it was a Tubescreamer. Apparently he would just buy and use whatever the current model was at the time that he needed a new one. The 808 craze and the myth that Stevie preferred it to all the other models was created by the current boutique pedal trend.

I'm not saying that the 808 circuit doesn't sound the and play the best. I'm sure that many boutique pedal makers, who are much more knowledgeable on the subject than I am, have spent way too many hours comparing the various models. But I do firmly believe that when you consider the myriad of factors that can influence tone this is a small issue when compared to other areas.