I Scream, You Scream…

Coda

Coda

Well-known member
I’ve never played a Tubescreamer. I’ve never cared to, honestly. The SRV link always kept me away. Don’t get me wrong, I greatly respect STV as a player, but I’m just not a fan of the music, or anything about it, really. But I think it’s time I build one. Thing is, the only thing I know about Tubescreamers is that there are several flavors…

So what’s the deal with Tubescreamers? Pros and cons? Favorite versions/uses? Mods? Bueller?…
 
I may have a simplified opinion, but I see the bulk of opamp overdrives as either A: clipping after the opamp (a la DOD250), or B: clipping in the opamp feedback loop (a la Tubescreamer). Anything else is just tweaking the eq (which can have a delightful effect) or adding volume/boost (again, delightful).

If you like the clipping in the feedback loop sound, then there are a bunch of alternatives if you don't like the TS mid focus.

I like the Son of Screamer, a simplified TS. There's a nice layout of the Golden Pearl (which is the SoS by any other name) by @HamishR here which I really enjoyed:

Booster, OD, Fuzz, Distortion - Friedman Golden Pearl - Verified

Friedman Golden Pearl - Verified. Unverified layout of a new Friedman pedal, a medium gain od with a diode clip switch and a treble cut switch. Here is the schematic. *Edit* Updated the layout with...
guitar-fx-layouts.238.s1.nabble.com
 
szukalski said:
I may have a simplified opinion, but I see the bulk of opamp overdrives as either A: clipping after the opamp (a la DOD250), or B: clipping in the opamp feedback loop (a la Tubescreamer). Anything else is just tweaking the eq (which can have a delightful effect) or adding volume/boost (again, delightful).

If you like the clipping in the feedback loop sound, then there are a bunch of alternatives if you don't like the TS mid focus.

I like the Son of Screamer, a simplified TS. There's a nice layout of the Golden Pearl (which is the SoS by any other name) by @HamishR here which I really enjoyed:

Booster, OD, Fuzz, Distortion - Friedman Golden Pearl - Verified

Friedman Golden Pearl - Verified. Unverified layout of a new Friedman pedal, a medium gain od with a diode clip switch and a treble cut switch. Here is the schematic. *Edit* Updated the layout with...
guitar-fx-layouts.238.s1.nabble.com
Click to expand...
I heartily agree re the Son of Screamer circuit.
 
I use TS-style circuits to either push a dirty tube amp while cutting some low end to avoid flub with palm muting or to change the texture/tone of a rat with a clean amp. So pretty much the same thing both ways.

EDIT: I like the VFE TS circuits, the ppcb frost drive in particular. I also mainly use it with humbuckers.
 
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I never liked Tubescreamers. I hated the SRV association, and when I tried them with my Strats it just was instant blooze lawyer snoozefest tones. Anyway, I built an 808 last year just because I came up with a cool design, but I figured it would just be a display piece since I never really liked the sound. When I built it, since my main strat was out of commission, I tested it with my LP into my AC30, and I was instantly pretty shocked at how great it sounded. Thick, midrangey crunch– a completely different experience from the boring blooze tones I invariably got when using a Strat into a TS. Best thing I can think of to equate it to would be the laser-focused lead tones Adrian Fisher got on Sparks’ Kimono My House or Eric Stewart’s honky, almost oboe-like tones all over 10cc’s Deceptive Bends.

I’d say go for the classic 808 circuit for a meat & potatoes sort of bare bones unit, or the VFE Ice Scream for something more versatile (ppcb frost drive, or Madbean for the VFE licensed version if you prefer the mini-pot format)
 
I like the TS as an preamp with a strat into a Distortion pedal. The Aion Cirrus is similar to the Frost, a mixture of the Ibanez STL and the ST-9.
While experimenting with the diodes I found double pairs with a higher vf and pair of leds more pleasing.
 
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One of the best TS pedals in my collection is the Wampler Moxie. I've built a few different TS clones along with an EQD Plumes clone. They all have that TS thing going on with them. But I bought this one on a whim and I'm glad I did. While I like my TS clones, this one just feels more flexible. The Voice and Fat switches allow for what I feel are all the TS sounds you could really ask for. Just isn't a bad setting with this pedal.
 
Lots to consider. My gut instinct was to go with the OG: TS808. I’m not sure if I’ll breadboard it yet…I may save that for later. My plan is to, eventually, is to build a 2-in-1, so I can have a Trey Anastasio-type pedal…one side is less, one is more. I don’t even own a strat, so I’m not too conserved about sounding like I have a law degree…

The Behringer is tempting, but I haven’t built a pedal since October, and am hoping this TS project will motivate me…
 
Bricksnbeatles said:
I never liked Tubescreamers. I hated the SRV association, and when I tried them with my Strats it just was instant blooze lawyer snoozefest tones. Anyway, I built an 808 last year just because I came up with a cool design, but I figured it would just be a display piece since I never really liked the sound. When I built it, since my main strat was out of commission, I tested it with my LP into my AC30, and I was instantly pretty shocked at how great it sounded. Thick, midrangey crunch– a completely different experience from the boring blooze tones I invariably got when using a Strat into a TS. Best thing I can think of to equate it to would be the laser-focused lead tones Adrian Fisher got on Sparks’ Kimono My House or Eric Stewart’s honky, almost oboe-like tones all over 10cc’s Deceptive Bends.

I’d say go for the classic 808 circuit for a meat & potatoes sort of bare bones unit, or the VFE Ice Scream for something more versatile (ppcb frost drive, or Madbean for the VFE licensed version if you prefer the mini-pot format)
Click to expand...
Throw a T.S. in front of a harmonic tremolo and enjoy the toanz.
 
Digitech bad monkey is the best tubescreamer type pedal I've found. The extra bass eq knob gives to miles of usage.
 
I thought the same thing about the Klon but when I finally got around to it, it exceeded my expectations.

And the screamer is on so many boards it should've shaken its SRV association by now.
 
Coda said:
I’ve never played a Tubescreamer. I’ve never cared to, honestly. The SRV link always kept me away. Don’t get me wrong, I greatly respect STV as a player, but I’m just not a fan of the music, or anything about it, really. But I think it’s time I build one. Thing is, the only thing I know about Tubescreamers is that there are several flavors…

So what’s the deal with Tubescreamers? Pros and cons? Favorite versions/uses? Mods? Bueller?…
Click to expand...
SRV?

mate, these things are the perfect circuit for goosing high gain amps (although OD808 is superior to TS808, imo)

- cuts/tightens the low end, enhances mids in just the right way, barely cuts any highs.

everything improves. palm mutes sound crisp and articulate, the enhanced mid push creates even more pleasant overdrive harmonics, thereby increasing overdrive saturation without getting any unpleasant blocking distortion or flub, and the tone control allows you to set the high end exactly how you need it for the rig.

pick any modern metal track in the last 20 years or so and you'll probably find some form of an 808 was involved.
 
Maybe in some people's signal-chain it works, and maybe in others it doesn't. Real-vanilla icecream vs coffee-liqueur gelato vs Grapefruit sorbet
— tastes differ. Besides...


TS-808 can't be that great of a circuit, given the number of attempts to improve it, YATSir, that's firshir.

Besides, I thought the SRV association had long given way to John Mayer, much as the old gen passes on its faults and afflictions to the new gen.
 
Very good overview in the TS market!
I found the Way Huge Overrated Green Rhino Mk IV usefull for my peferred sound. The 500 Hz pot makes the sound much more transparent (if you take it a little back) while the 100 Hz dial gives some more bass back if needed.
 
Update: I breadboarded the TS808. It was ok, but I definitely didn’t see the hype. It was too thin sounding for me. I remedied that with a cap switch, and it really opened up the circuit. Compared to my klone, the 808 has more gain, is a bit more “live” sounding, and provides this creamy mid-range tone that seems to be 3D. The Klone, of course, sounds more natural (transparent). I’ll play around a bit with the diodes today. So far, I like it…
 
Coda said:
Update: I breadboarded the TS808. It was ok, but I definitely didn’t see the hype. It was too thin sounding for me. I remedied that with a cap switch, and it really opened up the circuit. Compared to my klone, the 808 has more gain, is a bit more “live” sounding, and provides this creamy mid-range tone that seems to be 3D. The Klone, of course, sounds more natural (transparent). I’ll play around a bit with the diodes today. So far, I like it…
Click to expand...
The best standalone TS I've had is the Madbean green bean. It has the three clipping options I think sound best: si, led and MOSFET. I changed from stock asymmetrical si to Asymmetrical and left the others alone. The bass pot I modified to be like in the effectslayouts break action TS side. The bass pot is key imo to getting the best response for each guitar and amp combo. All the way down is stock. I used a c taper pot for better response on the higher bass settings. Most yats like the lightspeed have more bass here and to me that's the biggest change in sound and I can dial that in with the pot. Screenshot_20230218-083721.png
 
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