Tube Screamer 808

Background

Tubescreamer is probably one of the most built pedals in the DIY community. I got idea to build this pedal after disappointment with Marshall Jackhammer JH-1 distortion pedal which turned out to be a disappointment in my Squier Strat guitar 🙂 . After hearing many good stuff about this pedal I just had to try it. PCB layout came from TonePad and parts are mostly ordered from Small Bear.

Mods

I also made few small modifications to original TS-808 design: instead of tantal 0.22uF capacitors I used Panasonic film caps and instead of 51pF cap I used 47pF Silver Mica. Besides that I also added few mods by Robert Keeley – change 0.047uF cap to 0.1uF cap for more bass, change 4.7K resistor to 2.2K and 51K resistor with 20K for more gain range. Resistors used are metal film 1% tolerance 1/4w and 1/2w, whichever were available and IC is JRC4558.

Pictorial

Click on a photo to see more details

Update

Although it wasn’t noisey I wanted to try to shield everything inside the box, so I changed all pot leads and input/output leads with shielded cable to further reduce noise. It wasn’t easy because shielded wire is much thicker than regular, but at the end everything turned out fine. I hope this is the last time I’m messing around with this project 🙂

Useful links

Tonepad.com project page
Torchy’s stripboard layout
GeneralGuitarGadgets.com project page
ScreamerLab, great TS build with many switchable mods
Harmony Central Vintage TS808 reviews
Harmony Central TS808 Reissue reviews
Harmony Central TS808 with Keeley plus mod reviews
Harmony Central TS808 Reissue with Keeley mods reviews

Comments
5 Responses to “Tube Screamer 808”
  1. JakeJenkins says:

    with trying to quite down that pedal. use an lm833 and 2n 5088/89 transistors. you wont lose that majical tone but it will be quite as an amp turned off!

  2. JD says:

    I know it’s a long shot, but do u still have the Marshall pedal? If so will u sell it, how much? Thanx. Please email: bigjd@cogeco.net Thanx!!

    • Bancika says:

      It’s an interesting story, a guy took it to sell it in his guitar shop 4 years ago and I never heard from him again 🙂

  3. Schnugglwuggl says:

    Did the shielded wires really make a difference?

    • Bancika says:

      Not that I could tell. If I’d to build it again I’d only use shielded wire for input lead if it’s longer than 1″ for precaution.
      Cheers

Leave A Comment

  • About

    The idea behind this site is to share my experience with Do It Yourself approach to guitars, amplifiers and pedals. Whether you want to save a couple of bucks by performing a mod or upgrade yourself instead of paying a tech, or want to build your own piece of gear from scratch, I'm sure you will find something interesting here. Also, this is the home of DIY Layout Creator, a free piece of software for drawing circuit layouts and schematics, written with DIY enthusiasts in mind.