Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Probably two of the most hyped Tube Screamer clones around. The only real difference between the Dynamic Overdrive and a TS808 is the clipping switch, offering symmetrical red LEDs, diode lift, and asymmetrical silicon diodes. The Clay Jones Overdrive is mostly the same, just without the clipping switch (just LEDs), and a Burr Brown OPA2134 … Read more
Original info: “The Friedman Dirty Shirley all-tube amp is well known for being one of the most flexible and touch-responsive single-channel amplifiers on the market. Now you can get that same tonal versatility, sensitivity and harmonically rich overdrive in a pedal. The Dirty Shirley Overdrive packs the same intuitive control set as the amplifier, allowing … Read more
Original info: “The Palisades is something we said we would never do… an overdrive based on the legendary TS808! Gasp! The horror! Another tubes creamer?? In 2014?? Really?? After loads of requests we finally buckled. We ran tests with every popular clone on the market as well as several vintage originals, compared, contrasted and took … Read more
Here is an 18V Big Muff version from the 70s. Original FSB thread and schematic available here.
Here’s a recent design by Nocentelli. A single JFET stage into a Baxandall EQ stage with a BJT gain recovery stage. Originally designed with an opamp gain recovery stage and no gain control, Nocentelli redesigned it for a lower parts count and easier build. I added a trimmer to the JFET stage so it’s easier … Read more
From the source: The JHS Twin Twelve is the first effects pedal to go after the sound of the short-lived but revered Silvertone 1484 Twin Twelve. Available through the Sears catalog from 1963 – 1967, the Twin Twelve was not regarded in its day as a premier amplifier. However, modern players looking for a vintage … Read more
Here’s a bit of a rarer old school Way Huge circuit from the 90s. It’s essentially what would happen if a Red Llama and a Foxx Tone Machine had a baby. Original thread on FSB here with schematic.
From the source: The Wizard is a new distortion pedal, inspired by Tony Iommi’s guitar sound on the early Black Sabbath albums. It is well known that he used a modified Rangemaster to drive his amps, so the same principle was used for The Wizard. The first gain stage is essentially a Rangemaster, using a … Read more
For Fuzz Friday, here’s a great fuzz design by Bjorn he did for the DIY community. Q1-2 can be either silicon or germanium, and Q3-4 are used as clipping diodes. Here’s the schematic for reference. Should be an easy fit in a 1590B.
There are a lot of circuits (a lot) that use J201/2N5457 JFETs. Sadly, these components in the TO-92 package are out of production, and many of those that can be found online are either barely within spec or completely out of spec. So I thought it would be good to have a conversion board to … Read more