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Post subject: Re: Building a pedal (eg - Tubescreamer) from scratch
Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 10:36 pm
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The board wires are all connected using minimal lengths and careful routing. The footswitch is wired for True By-Pass so when Off the guitar signal is hard wired from the Input Jack straight to the Output Jack, bypassing the circuit. I don't use batteries in my pedals so I didn't bother with a 9V battery clip.

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Snowy


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Post subject: Re: Building a pedal (eg - Tubescreamer) from scratch
Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:48 pm
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Here we are ready to button up!

I usually just put a piece double sided tape and foam rubber on the back of the board as an insulator before I button up, but they tend to not to move around at all once all the connections are made.

Of course before closing it up you need to test that it works! :idea:

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That's it really, a pedal built from Go to Whoa!


Snowy


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Post subject: Re: Building a pedal (eg - Tubescreamer) from scratch
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 6:23 am
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No457 Snowy wrote:
I did a bit of flamework on the enclosure today, I figured some Green Flames would be a nod to it's Tubescreamer heritage, as usual I went a little too far with the flames, it's a fine line and amazing how quickly flames become Seaweed! :lol:

Snowy, I think it looks just great.

As it happens, I know how that type of paintwork is done, but I bet there's some folks here who'd love to hear from you how you went about it, with details on what sort of paint you used and any masking and such. I can just sense one or two people out there thinking some flames like that might look nice on their guitars... :)

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Building a pedal (eg - Tubescreamer) from scratch
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 6:50 am
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Ceri wrote:
... Snowy, I think it looks just great.
+1
RRR wrote:
Beb sure and let us know how it sounds when your done.
+1

Thanks, Snowy!

Cheers!
BM

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Post subject: Re: Building a pedal (eg - Tubescreamer) from scratch
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 7:01 am
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Fantastic! Let us know how she sounds. Thanks again for sharing.

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Post subject: Re: Building a pedal (eg - Tubescreamer) from scratch
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 8:22 pm
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No457 Snowy wrote:
Thanks!

I did a bit of flamework on the enclosure today, I figured some Green Flames would be a nod to it's Tubescreamer heritage, as usual I went a little too far with the flames, it's a fine line and amazing how quickly flames become Seaweed! :lol:



Snowy

Not seaweed snowy, it looks like the Northern Lights!!! Big thumbs up.

I've done realistic flames before. The key to not washing them out is more colours. Some almost white, and some darker green would easily give the flames back their definition.

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Post subject: Re: Building a pedal (eg - Tubescreamer) from scratch
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2013 2:02 pm
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This was a brilliant build Snowy 8) Thanks very much for doing it and i bet it sounds great 8)

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Post subject: Re: Building a pedal (eg - Tubescreamer) from scratch
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2013 2:22 pm
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Excellent build thread Snowy, thankyou! How does it sound?

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Post subject: Re: Building a pedal (eg - Tubescreamer) from scratch
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2013 3:06 pm
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This is an excellent thread, thank you Snowy. I seem to be catching the DIY bug. And I too am looking forward to hearing the pedal.

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Post subject: Re: Building a pedal (eg - Tubescreamer) from scratch
Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 12:52 am
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Thanks Guys.

While I'm not set up to do any recordings at the moment I'll attempt to briefly describe the pedal, but giving reviews isn't really my strong point.

It does sound great, it is a well (thoughtfully) modified Tubescreamer. Because nearly everyone knows how a Tubescreamer sounds I can use that as a descriptive basis and I happen to have a nice sounding original (early 80's) TS-808 to compare it to. Overall this pedal is clearer sounding in all the switch positions and can get cleaner, and also dirtier than the TS-808.

Switch in centre position - This is a nice boost sound with just a slight hint of breakup at minimum Drive, it's "almost" clean and there's a lot less compression than the Tubescreamer has. This is also the loudest setting as there are no Diodes/LED's clipping/compressing the signal, it's way louder and more dynamic than the Tubescreamer and also retains "almost" as much Bass as the true-bypassed signal, a very slight mid-hump is apparent, nowhere near the Tubescreamer though. I think this setting has it's forte as a dynamic and potentially loud Boost to push the amp's front end, it sounds like "more of the amp" and not a pedal.

Switch in the Up position (LED's) - This is quite a gritty setting and sounds "Marshally" to me, it is still quite dynamic to the touch and not as compressed or smooth as the Tubescreamer, it has a little less Bass than the centre switch postion, but still more Bass than the Tubescreamer has, this also has the effect of making the Mids sound flatter than the Tubescreamer. It's a nice sounding overdrive and feels "bouncy" and responsive under the fingers, the dirt is there to dial in and the clarity is retained, again it melds nicely into the sound of my amp, I actually like this setting the best and it sits really nicely in a band mix when it's solo time.

Switch in the Down position (Silicon Diodes) - This is definitely a Hot-Rodded Tubescreamer sound, smooth, compressed, some Bass cut (still a bit more Bass than the 808), the mids are almost as prominent as the 808 but not quite there. It still gets cleaner at minimum drive and a lot dirtier at maximum drive (this is the result of the modded resistor changes in the circuit, aimed at achieving these results), in fact this setting has the most Drive and compression of all, but it obviously trades off dynamics to get there. This setting has the lowest volume of the 3 due to the effect of Silicon Diode clipping/compressing more, very typical of a Tubescreamer. The sounds of the 808 are in there and obtainable, but I thought the pedal still had more clarity then the vintage 808. While it's nice to have the extra drive on tap, I felt there was more benefit to running it lower and using more Level to hit the amp, just the way I like to use the Tubescreamer, I find as the Drive goes up higher the sound can get too compressed and loses it's "punch" in a band mix.

So yes I really like the sounds and I've used the pedal a few times already in a band setting, it's now velcro'd to my board! :wink:

The circuit I used here was a well known Boutique Tubescreamer variant and there's any number of those out there, but on that point I've got to say that this thread is really aimed at just helping people who want to have a go at building "a pedal" with the general steps on how I like to tackle it, not necessarily this particular pedal.

Well I hope I haven't bored people with all that but there it is. :roll:


Snowy


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