W8ST ARTS
New member
Hey folks — figured it was time I actually start posting builds instead of just lurking and asking questions.
This is Trauma Screener, a Tube Screamer–derived overdrive. It’s a pretty straightforward TS-style layout — no crazy mods, no switches — just a clean, intentional build focused on articulation and how it hits an already dirty amp. I’ve been building pedals for about a year now, mostly working from PCBs and learning as I go, and this one felt like a good place to start sharing work.
Component-wise, nothing exotic — just sensible choices:
- film caps where it matters
- decent electrolytics
- 2N3904s in a sane hFE range
- voiced to stay tight and present rather than overly saturated
The name Trauma Screener is intentional — it’s a play on Troma, Tube Screamer, and the experience of institutional intake. That first moment where you wake up in a strange place and immediately get asked to expose trauma and history. Clinical, uncomfortable, and surreal. It felt fitting for a pedal designed to pull things out of an amp rather than smooth them over.
Controls are labeled:
- MANIC (gain)
- B8S LINE (tone / baseline — the 8 is intentional)
- XPOSE (volume)
I do have another build in progress (DED W8) where I’m expanding on this platform with switchable clipping, but Trauma Screener is intentionally simple — a baseline, reference point, and something I wanted to get right before complicating it.
Not here to flex — still learning, still asking questions — just wanted to start contributing instead of staying quiet.
Appreciate any feedback, critique, or “you could’ve done this better” notes.
— W8ST
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