Tag: guitar pedal kit

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Super BS Chorus!

As always the BS stands for Ben Screamer ;)

I started building a BYOC Chorus back in November, and when I was finished, it didn’t work. I spent a lot of time going over the all the solder joints and checking the components w/ my multi-meter. I couldn’t track down the problem. A good buddy of mine, who actually knows what he’s doing, spent some time w/ me a couple weeks ago combing over the circuit. It turns out that one run to the depth pot had come loose and the trim pot was turned all the way down. Now that it functions, this pedal sounds pretty good. It’s a worthy replacement to my old T.C. Electronics pedal that I lugged around for 11 years and never used. I did such a bad job painting this kit the first go-around that I felt compelled to re-do it. The LED is white and pulses to match the rate knob. I also added a switch to change from chorus to vibrato mode; which sounds terrible – but it was available so I has to install it.

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The New BS-808

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I was so pleased w/ my BS-9 that it really wanted another one with more of a vintage vibe. When the kit went on sale, I couldn’t resist. I first built this to the original 808 specs, but it didn’t sound very good. I then added the AMZ mods and the OPA3134 opp amp and now I like it quite a lot. I also doubled up on the symmetric clipping; There are 4x 1N914 diodes like my Barber LTD. It definitely gets that “Wayne Krantz” sound. I don’t think I’m 100% finished. The bass boost is either not enough bass or too much bass – so I still need to play w/ the CAPs I’m switching between. This pedal also has a little bit too much in the mids for my taste, but it still sounds great and I really enjoy using it. Since I don’t care much for the LED clippers I’m going to be experimenting w/ MOSFETs in the near future. More to come.

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My homebrewed Tube Screamer

What’s in the box

I received my ITS8 kit promptly in the mail and spent a a good part of Saturday putting it together. This video was a great refresher for soldering. I spent the most time trying to get the wiring nice and neat. It’s not perfect, but I think it’s pretty good for my first build. I used the pedal at church on Sunday and it’s sounds awesome.

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DIY Pedals?

I’m huge fan of DIY (do it yourself) projects. I don’t necessarily have the best track record for completing and sticking with them (like the radiant barrier in my attic), but I still enjoy getting my hands dirty on all types of DIY projects. One successful endeavour was my Warmoth Tele which I put together and love playing it. Anyway, a couple weeks ago i stumbled across a web site www.buildyourownclone.com and was fascinated by what they sell. They have all kinds of DIY pedal kits that are clones of famous vintage pedals. They use top notch parts, have great, detailed instructions, and offer a lot of the popular “mods” for these pedals. To be honest I was really sold by the mods and the price. They also have an excellent forum w/ tons of great info.

After digging around it didn’t take long for me to find their competitor, www.generalguitargadgets.com. Their site is a total mess, but the price is right! I ended up purchasing a tube screamer kit form these guys for the following reasons:

  • The case has the input jacks on the top instead of the sides. (all pedals should IMO)
  • For $8 you get the parts to do the Landgraff mods ($400 for a real Landgraff!)
  • The kit was $30 bucks cheaper ($74 shipped).

…more to come.

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The Tubescreamer, An American Classic

I’m not sure what it is about the Ibanez Tube Screamer that has fascinated guitarist from it’s conception in the late 70s. Guitarists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Trey Anastasio, Scott Henderon, (and thousands more) have all sworn by some variation of these pedals. These iconic seasick-green pedals, or one of the many clones, can be found in just about every guitarists’ rig. If you play the guitar this is a must have! Continue reading “The Tubescreamer, An American Classic”