Old School Tube Screamer Clone - The TS808

Along with the Big Muff Pi, the venerable Tube Screamer is one of the cornerstone effects pedals in the market. Both are available in a wide array of versions from the original manufacturer, and both have spawned a myriad of clones, modifications, and variants over the years. A couple of my favorite overdrive / boost pedals are Tube Screamer variants including the Tone Geek's version of the TS10 (my Velociraptor Screamer) and the Vemarum TSV808 (the Secret Spinosaurus). For this build, however, I'm going back to where it all started, the original TS808!

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!

Grab Bag Sale Update! Only 2 Pedals Left!

There are still a couple of pedals left in Steggo's second Grab Bag Sale. The Eggeaux Steggo G-2 has sold, but the Centurion and Meteor are still available (modeled by Kyle the Ankylosaurus below). In an effort to find these new pedals new homes, we've made a final markdown - $79 for one (your choice) or $149 for both!

Steggo's Second Grab Bag Sale!!!!

Steggo's first grab bag sale went so well, Dimetrius decided that it would be a good idea to run another one! So here to present the three pedals in this group is our founder Steggo and his younger sister Steggi, our resident electronics expert!

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.

Apocalypse Now - Aion's Meteor (Ibanez SD-9)

The 70s and 80s saw an explosion of pedals, especially distortion pedals, hitting the market. One of these was the Maxon / Ibanez SD-9 Sonic Distortion pedal. The circuit itself has quite a bit in common with the Boss DS-1 or MXR Distortion+. For this project I used the AionFX Meteor board - which like the Plasma board I recently built - is available in legacy (no bypass board) and new formats. I went with the most recent version of the board with the 3PDT bypass daughterboard. As with many classic pedals, this one doesn't appear to be in production anymore, though you can get used models for around $200.