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TS-9 or BS-9?

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mrguitar

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I finished my first DIY pedal and I’m pretty happy w/ how it turned out.

I wasn’t happy w/ the case that GGG provided. It was hand drilled and holes were not centered. My OCD (not the pedal) wouldn’t allow me to slap this in the pedal board, so I purchased a 1290 case from here. This case is quite a bit smaller than the original, and it took a lot of time to cram everything in there. It’s worth it for the small form factor though. Real estate on my pedal board is expensive. The painted case, cool knobs, and a blinding, blue LED were $15 + shipping. I couldn’t believe how cheap that was and they shipped it that morning. I asked them if they can paint it “Tube Screamer green” and I love the color. It’s a little darker and less “sea-sick” than the original. The switch on the left will select between clippers. Left is asymmetric diodes, center is none, and right is two 5mm red LEDs. The switch on the right is a fat boost. The pedal sounds great too. It’s based on the Landgraff LDO specs. I’m planning on borrowing a buddies and comparing them. (my suspicion is the LDO will sound better)

Every pedal needs a name right? Since this is based on the TS-9, I figured BS-9 would be appropriate. BS of course stands for “Ben Screamer.”

;)

Comments

6 responses to “TS-9 or BS-9?”

  1. Jonatan Wagner Avatar
    Jonatan Wagner

    Great looking pedal!
    Did you use the GGG´s PCB, did it fit the enclosure?
    Thanks!

  2. mrguitar Avatar
    mrguitar

    Thanks. Yes I did use the GGG PCB board and it does fit the case. …….but just barely. You will need to insulate the bottom plate of the case as well as cut the wires as short as possible to make it work. I can send you pictures if you like.
    Cheers,

  3. Jonatan Wagner Avatar
    Jonatan Wagner

    Yes, i would love some pictures! Actually i never built a pedal before. I want to build one because its cheaper than building an amp (did a tweed super and got addicted to diy!). Cant really spend much money right now cause im getting married.
    Sorry for the bad english… i´m brazilian.

  4. mrguitar Avatar
    mrguitar

    https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1445590/www/pics/20121121_203535-1.jpg
    You can see my poor man’s insulation is a business card. :/

    https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1445590/www/pics/20121121_203613.jpg
    This one shows how the board fits into the case.

    I definitely recommend doing the landgraff mod. It sounds quite a bit better than the TS-808 or AMS mods. Cheers and good luck!

  5. Jonatan Wagner Avatar
    Jonatan Wagner

    Thanks for the pics!
    I was thinking wether to do this mod or not. Do you think its also better than the ts-808 for very low gain od?

  6. mrguitar Avatar
    mrguitar

    I built my second GGG tube screamer to the 808 spec and I did *not* like it at all. It really surprised me because I love the 808 sound. At the time I was looking for a lower gain type pedal and I went with the AMZ mod, but it’s still just OK – not great. I’ll be honest I almost never use that pedal. If you’re looking for a great low gain sound check out the Barber LTD SE (very different from the regular LTD). I can’t stress how great these things are. If you want to stick with a DIY pedal I’d recommend the GGG Blues Breaker. I love the sound of these pedals. In fact, of the 5x pedals I made the BB is the only one that’s still on my pedal board and I use it a lot. It’s a little noisy and there’s not a lot of bass, but it’s such a cool sound that it doesn’t matter. Also placing the BB in front of the LTD is a great lead sound. :)

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