Another New Design - The Falcarius Overdrive - Modified TSV808 With 3-Band EQ

As I mentioned yesterday in my entry on the Kosmoceratops, I've moved from simply populating boards laid out by 3rd parties (either professionally or by request) to boards I've laid out myself. One of my all-time favorite pedals it the TSV808 (the Secret Spinosaurus in its dino version), so when I found that "Chuck Bones" of Celestial Engineering had worked with others on a modified version of that circuit with a 3-band equalizer, I knew I had to try laying one out myself.

Vemuram TSV808 - Now With a Dino Enclosure!!!

When I built the Tone Geek Above Top Secret clone of the Vemuram TSV808 a couple of months ago, I was incredibly impressed, not only with the pedal, but with how the full functionality of the pedal could be accessed from the front of the enclosure. I decided I needed to make a fun dinosaur version of the pedal as well, and once again I collaborated with my wife for some of the enclosure art! So without further ado!

Above Top Secret! Cloning the Vemuram TSV808

The Ibanez Tube Screamer is one of the most common and popular overdrive pedals out there. The pedal itself has gone through many iterations, perhaps not as many as the Big Muff Pi, but it has a long history. Analogman has a decent write up on the history of the tube screamer on his page, and there is another decent write-up at Premier Guitar. As with many pedals, earlier variants or boutique modifications are especially prized by players, and these often command a premium price. The Ibanez TSV808 Vemuram is one such pedal, and it is sadly now out of production. If you refer to the original Sweetwater page, it states:

"The TSV808 employs a refined version of the original Tube Screamer circuit: Instead of four stages like the Tube Screamer (buffer -> overdrive -> tone -> buffer), the TSV808 contains three stages (overdrive -> tone -> +7dB gain boost). The end result is an ultra-smooth drive that retains the Tube Screamer’s trademark mid bump; however, it opens it up with the full-range clarity of the Jan Ray."

The controls on the TSV808 Vemuram are also a bit different as well. The normal Drive, Tone, and Level knobs are there, but there are also trimmers for bass and saturation. The pedal also included internal dip switches that allowed you to toggle between smooth and asymmetric clipping. So in short, this was an amazing pedal. It wasn't cheap new, if I'm reading my Goggle wayback machine correctly, it original cost $449, and I'm not sure exactly when it went out of production. Currently prices on the open market are exceeding $2000, with $2400-$2500 price points showing up for nice examples.