.....I always come back to the Tube Screamer.
Just recently built a Madbeans Green Bean (2014) and it's just heaven for me. I have a 90s reissue that I have used for many years as well.
I have used/built most of them (Fuzz Faces, Big Muffs, Benders, Rats, Klons, Overdrivers, etc.) and they all have their place, but there is just something magical about the TS to my ears.
I realize the majority of the forum loves fuzzes, and I know its apples and oranges but.....just had to get that off my chest. 8)
Same here; it's just gritty enough.
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I have never bonded with it. I like the Timmy more, but mostly because of the versatility of the tone controls. But I absolutely feel you. Sometimes you just want "that sound". For me it the sound of a Fender Pbass. I can totally see that a tubescreamer is definitely one of those iconic sounds.
Quote from: Matmosphere on March 09, 2021, 05:18:13 PM
I have never bonded with it. I like the Timmy more, but mostly because of the versatility of the tone controls. But I absolutely feel you. Sometimes you just want "that sound". For me it the sound of a Fender Pbass. I can totally see that a tubescreamer is definitely one of those iconic sounds.
funny you mention that. I have a Fender Jazz Bass but I really love that old, muted, Motown sound with the PBass. I can kind of get there with my JBass but it's not completely there.
I'm right there with you, Tube Screamer brother!
Though my holy quest to find the perfect overdrive pedal for my lead guitar setup will never be truly complete, I feel like the Tube Screamer or a variant of it got me 94% of the way there 12 years ago running an 808 into a Full-Drive. I still continue to try a bunch of other circuits since they're so fun to build and explore, but I always have at least one Tube Screamer on my pedal board. They're versatile, touch-sensitive, and when I really need to be heard, they cut through a band mix without being shrill or way too loud.
I'm collecting PCB's to build a bunch of the TS clones and evolutions so that I can eventually put them all on their own board and try to determine which variant is my favorite. So far, I can say that the 2019 Green Bean has really great clipping options and the PPCB Mini Drive sounds great as well. The BYOC 808 clone sounds just like my 808 re-issue. I built a PPCB Stockade and it's waaay overkill for me, but still super cool to have- I've thought about loaning it out to other TS advocates to determine which capacitors or diodes they might want in an upcoming clone. Will report back on the PPCB Greengage, Oasis, and Seyfoam when I build those. All of this may seem redundant but that last 6% is out there somewhere and I'm going to chase it until I lose my ears.
*I will mention that a couple Blues Breaker circuits and the Timmy are certainly contenders but I built them during this lockdown and haven't had a chance to test their worth against my bandmates..hopefully that will happen before too long.
*Also worth mentioning, the pedalboard of our rhythm guitar guy is purposefully devoid of TS circuits and other mids-heavy devices, so a lot of things that don't work for me end up there. He's got my vero Angry Charlie and a Green Russian MBP Rabbit Hole that sound great for his parts and assure that we don't step on each others' toes in the mix.
So weird... I've built a ton of fuzzes, ODs, and distortions, but I think I've only made one Tubescreamer clone. Didn't really gel with it.
My go-to OD/Dist/Fuzz is still either the Madbean Cosmopolitan, or Lavache.
Oddly, I keep building tubescreamers and thinking..... "Nah, I'm not into this"
I just re-bought an old SD-1 (which is basically a TS with different clipping) cos I had one years ago and still like that sound.
I did have a Green Rhino for a while and its currently (since about 5 years now) being held hostage by my ex band mate :) one day I will grab it back.
SO you arent alone! its a classic for a reason.
There is something great about this circuit that keeps me always coming back to my very old BYOC build from 2006. It sounds great and is a blast to play, especially for dem blooze licks.
I'm currently working on rehousing an old TS circuit that I originally built inexpertly. ::) The old enclosure was embarrassingly bad, and I don't want to hide the pedal anymore.
So, I'm a fan of the TS as well. I won't try to explain why.
I never really got along with the tube screamer. My only real experience with one is the BYOC OD2 that I built when I first got into pedal building. I pulled it out recently when I recorded a springsteen cover for a friend's birthday and it got me just the sound I was looking for
I keep meaning to try out an SD1, I forgot it had different clipping. I like the tubescreamer but the Timmy's clipping options and EQ setup work for me a bit better.
Isn't the OCD more or less a tube screamer as well? I used to be really into that one, it's probably what got me into pedals in the first place.
This is all making me want to build another Green Bean to do some comparisons. My ear has developed quite a bit since I've really sat down and compared any of these.
Quote from: peAk on March 09, 2021, 06:04:02 PM
Quote from: Matmosphere on March 09, 2021, 05:18:13 PM
I have never bonded with it. I like the Timmy more, but mostly because of the versatility of the tone controls. But I absolutely feel you. Sometimes you just want "that sound". For me it the sound of a Fender Pbass. I can totally see that a tubescreamer is definitely one of those iconic sounds.
funny you mention that. I have a Fender Jazz Bass but I really love that old, muted, Motown sound with the PBass. I can kind of get there with my JBass but it's not completely there.
Sorry for the tangent...
I like Jazz basses as well, but there is something about that p-bass sound that is hard to quantify. I did a lot of research on it ages ago, apparently a lot of it has to do with the location of the pickup.
I think another part of the picture as to how it has become so ubiquitous is that, before Leo Fender designed it there was no other option than an acoustic upright. It entered the market as a completely unique product, and once the bass could be louder other instruments could follow suit.
I read an interesting piece that said no mater how innovative the Telecaster was or how much Leo pushed the envelope with amplification, his most important achievement was the electric bass. It is an interesting point of view but it might be true, Bigsby already made solid body guitars when the telecaster came out, and I'm sure at some point somebody else would have made a good 100 watt amp.
Madbean Sparkplug has outlived any other overdrive on my board.
I have an 808 modded, Maxon built, Ibanez TS9DX that I use on the + mode. It's the "One"
Quote from: Aentons on March 11, 2021, 06:58:49 PM
an 808 modded, Maxon built, Ibanez TS9DX
^That's a mouthful- I'm sure it's glorious!
Quote from: dawson on March 11, 2021, 10:51:33 PM
Quote from: Aentons on March 11, 2021, 06:58:49 PM
an 808 modded, Maxon built, Ibanez TS9DX
^That's a mouthful- I'm sure it's glorious!
Im not exactly sure what all the mods are or I'd share. I was told when I bought it in the early 2000's that it "was modded before people knew what modding was". I think it may be similar to the analogman silver mod. I need to suck it up and just document all the changes. I had an Ibanez made one and it didn't some near as good
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cYbHJvi3pN9O2J26THXOmMVM4hREaKRSjXmoQk-ize5rQMORGjzNB908joiroWL_2uM8higd7Sb_RZuk1xqTK3ZejIxC4GE5ArcOyWfwlefQIX3-WzXvP18SBSRPjK0Dj8d3HBEF1Y8f_f_j73_byvfA=w1442-h1082-no)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fpGdb_U21u50MdpPG3YSRFJ6YriHsCg_J3nxWtMYud-hWfzChdaYMdRsHWGN31hQ12nFRptJ4fhWPi352LwUTdKvnDP_UfDoY1hVW1JUviL5Gfg6xrafAsJ5dRxAYgK4hZphI3wf7KudtIb6eAbRuyQQ=w1446-h1925-no)
I think I'll always have a TS on my board. I've built several of Aion's TS boards, they're nice for the extra diode pads. My favorite clipping option is the Zendrive (2x2n7000 and 2x1N34A) configuration.
Quote from: Aentons on March 11, 2021, 11:09:55 PM
Quote from: dawson on March 11, 2021, 10:51:33 PM
Quote from: Aentons on March 11, 2021, 06:58:49 PM
an 808 modded, Maxon built, Ibanez TS9DX
^That's a mouthful- I'm sure it's glorious!
Im not exactly sure what all the mods are or I'd share. I was told when I bought it in the early 2000's that it "was modded before people knew what modding was". I think it may be similar to the analogman silver mod. I need to suck it up and just document all the changes. I had an Ibanez made one and it didn't some near as good
OooOoo-Aaah
I was secretly hoping there would be some glamour shots but I wasn't going to ask- thanks for sharing!
+ it would be super cool to know what the mod is if you ever get in there and hunt it down.
I bought my TS-10 in 1990 right before going to Berklee. Used it for years, in the studio, even had it on my gigging bass rig for a long time. Dang thing sounded great! But I haven't used it in years and just sold it within the last two weeks for three times what I paid for it. I won't miss it, other than maybe some sentimental value. DIY has given me so many other ODs that sound just as good or better.
The best overdrive will always be the next one I build :)
I'm with the OP, didn't matter how many OD's a I built, it didn't matter that each next OD I built was king of the roost for a week or two, in the end the TS would always come back on my boards. Eventually I stopped caring about building overdrives at all.
Quote from: Matmosphere on March 11, 2021, 05:56:22 PMSorry for the tangent...
I like Jazz basses as well, but there is something about that p-bass sound that is hard to quantify. I did a lot of research on it ages ago, apparently a lot of it has to do with the location of the pickup.
I think another part of the picture as to how it has become so ubiquitous is that, before Leo Fender designed it there was no other option than an acoustic upright. It entered the market as a completely unique product, and once the bass could be louder other instruments could follow suit.
I read an interesting piece that said no mater how innovative the Telecaster was or how much Leo pushed the envelope with amplification, his most important achievement was the electric bass. It is an interesting point of view but it might be true, Bigsby already made solid body guitars when the telecaster came out, and I'm sure at some point somebody else would have made a good 100 watt amp.
The electric bass is an outgrowth of the electric guitar. If Leo had not designed the Tele before the P-bass would never have followed. And as you said others made solid body guitars before, just like others built cars before Ford did, but Ford revolutionized its production process that allowed for mass production instead of rich men's toys. And so did Leo Fender with the electric guitar. Others took an acoustic guitar, solidified it and put some pickups on it. Leo designed a way you could assemble pre made parts, screw and solder them together and end up with a working guitar. It's the modular nature of Fender guitars what revolutionizes them over what Bigsby and Gibson were doing.
Quote from: Willybomb on March 11, 2021, 09:26:34 AM
Oddly, I keep building tubescreamers and thinking..... "Nah, I'm not into this"
Sounds like me with BMPs!
Quote from: Muadzin on March 12, 2021, 03:13:13 PM
The electric bass is an outgrowth of the electric guitar. If Leo had not designed the Tele before the P-bass would never have followed. And as you said others made solid body guitars before, just like others built cars before Ford did, but Ford revolutionized its production process that allowed for mass production instead of rich men's toys. And so did Leo Fender with the electric guitar. Others took an acoustic guitar, solidified it and put some pickups on it. Leo designed a way you could assemble pre made parts, screw and solder them together and end up with a working guitar. It's the modular nature of Fender guitars what revolutionizes them over what Bigsby and Gibson were doing.
That reminds me of something Pratchett wrote in one of his Discworld books... what's important is not who first sets foot on new land, it's who gets back to civilization to tell people about it.
Quote from: Stomptown on March 12, 2021, 05:32:13 PM
Sounds like me with BMPs!
BMP's need a mid switch. Once you have the ability to bring in some mids and re-appear in a band mix you will get the BMP.
Quote from: alanp on March 12, 2021, 10:50:35 PM
That reminds me of something Pratchett wrote in one of his Discworld books... what's important is not who first sets foot on new land, it's who gets back to civilization to tell people about it.
True. Similarly in business its not who invents somethings that matters, but who can capitalize on it and mass produce something that people want.
My bandmate sold me his ts9 (reissue with jrc chip) for dirt cheap and I did landgraff mods to it, added LEDs for clipping. Does the trick with my blues Jr. Sometimes you just need good generic crunch. Now are the mods worth the landgraff prices? awesome, but nah. Buy a couple caps and a couple LEDs and go to town. Ibanez/Maxxon pedals are cheap and plentiful and easy to mod (along with many PCBs). I always called TS and TS style drives the swiss army knife of dirt/crunch. Need some? use a TS.
Quote from: movinginslomo on March 31, 2021, 11:07:42 PM
My bandmate sold me his ts9 (reissue with jrc chip) for dirt cheap and I did landgraff mods to it, added LEDs for clipping. Does the trick with my blues Jr. Sometimes you just need good generic crunch. Now are the mods worth the landgraff prices? awesome, but nah. Buy a couple caps and a couple LEDs and go to town. Ibanez/Maxxon pedals are cheap and plentiful and easy to mod (along with many PCBs). I always called TS and TS style drives the swiss army knife of dirt/crunch. Need some? use a TS.
Oh yeah, with a blues jr., sounds amazing. Throw in a harmonic tremolo and you're on a whole new level, sounds even more awesome.
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Quote from: movinginslomo on March 31, 2021, 11:07:42 PM
My bandmate sold me his ts9 (reissue with jrc chip) for dirt cheap and I did landgraff mods to it, added LEDs for clipping. Does the trick with my blues Jr. Sometimes you just need good generic crunch. Now are the mods worth the landgraff prices? awesome, but nah. Buy a couple caps and a couple LEDs and go to town. Ibanez/Maxxon pedals are cheap and plentiful and easy to mod (along with many PCBs). I always called TS and TS style drives the swiss army knife of dirt/crunch. Need some? use a TS.
Same goes for the Boss overdrives. And modding those was what got me into this obsessive compulsive disorder.