Back to the Beginning - Revisiting the Tone Geek Valve Screamer

The first guitar pedal I built (that worked - I'd attempted a Ceriatone Centura as my first build, but debugging that took a while!) was a Tone Geek Valve Screamer. It was probably a bit ambitious for an early build, but I've always been sort of a dive in with both feet kind of guy. I used the Tayda recommended BOM for the pedal, and it even came with a faceplate for the enclosure. As this original build pretty much took up permanent residence on my pedal board, I figured much like the BMP it was high time to develop a true "Steggo" version of the pedal.

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!

The Official Steggo Klon Clone - The Kloned Centrosaurus!

In my teaser post a few weeks ago, one of the pedals I indicated was coming soon was a Klon Centaur clone. I've done several of these through the years, but I ultimately settled on the Tone Geek Mini-Taur as the base for the "official" Steggo clone of the Klon. I promised that it would have a fun dino-themed enclosure as well, and I think that I've managed to deliver (with some serious help)!

Tone Geek Mini-Taur - Early Silver Configuration (Warning: Graphic Klontent)

I've built several Klon clones at this point, including several Mini-Taur boards from The Tone Geek - most recently a fairly early configuration one for my personal use. As I mentioned in my teaser post a few days ago, one of the upcoming production pedals was going to be a Klon Centaur clone, but I wanted to finalize the part load out and configuration so I could buy in bulk. I had one last Mini-Taur board and faceplate lying around, so I decided to build one last one up with the faceplate before moving to the new enclosure (and hitting up Ryan for some boards sans faceplates!). 

You Can Call Me Jan, or You Can Call Me Ray... Cloning the Vemuram Jan Ray Overdrive!

This build sort of picks up where I left off last time with my Vemuram TSV808 build, I now turn to the Vemuram Jan Ray. This is another Tube Screamer variant, and while expensive (at least $375), it is still in production. According to the Vemuram site:

"The Jan Ray was designed to recreate the punchy clear tone of the Blackface Fender amps from the 60's. So-called the 'Fender Magic 6' sound. An easy to handle overdrive keeping the characteristics of the guitar with great sustain without any unnatural compression. 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."

There are a few clones of this pedal out there, and it is better known than the TSV808, but for this build I'm also using one of the brand new Tone Geek boards - the Black Triangle project. 

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.

Way Huge Aqua Puss Mk I AP2 Clone

Out of production pedals have started to reach fairly dizzying heights in terms of price. The Klon Centaur is well-known for high prices, but when you think of expensive pedals, something like the Way Huge Aqua Puss may not come immediately to mind. After all, you can buy a current production Aqua Puss for about $150 brand new. However, the one that is available today is the Mark III, and it sounds different than its earlier incarnations. One of the most prized versions of the pedal is the Mark I AP2 that uses the MN3005 BBD chip, and you can currently get an original on Reverb for $4250. Fortunately the Tone Geek has a PCB clone of the original for a far more reasonable price - as long as you can find all of the parts!

A New Klon - In a Convenient Travel Size - Redux!

This isn't my first Klon build. This isn't even my first Tone Geek Mini-taur build. However, as I ended up selling my Tone Geek BFK (The Klone Wars) to my guitar teacher - and that was the only one I'd built with carbon resistors - I figured I needed a replacement (never mind I have at least two other functional Klon clones). I'd also ordered the parts in case my aforementioned guitar teacher needed something in a 125B form factor rather than the full-size Klon / Ceriatone. Since I have sort of a "mid tier" part and "high-end" part build, I tried to get as close to the early Klon configuration as I could for this one. One of these days I need to do a tone shoot out...

A Tale of Two Mini-Taurs - Klon Clones in a Convenient Travel Size

As much fun as I had building my first functional Klon Centaur clone, it has one major drawback - it's bleedin' huge! Don't get me wrong, I really love the aesthetics of the enclosure - especially with the very tongue-in-cheek theme on that particular one - but it isn't the most practical pedal to be carting about unless you're going with a very limited board as it takes up the space of at least two 125B-sized pedals - if not a bit more. Shortly after releasing the BFK full-sized board, The Tone Geek released the "Mini-taur" - a faithful 1:1 signal recreation of the original Klon Centaur suitable for use with a 125B enclosure. I'd had so much fun building the full-sized pedal, I decided to not only take the plunge with the "mini," but use the opportunity to build one for a friend as well.