Maxon OD808 to Ibanez TS-808

[casimiroe]

I've heard that the Maxon OD808 actually has a TS-9/TS-10 output section.  Anyone out there know what I need to do to completely convert it to an Ibanez TS-808?

Regards,
Eric

[petemoore]

http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/TStech/tsxfram.htm
 or whatever Tube Screamer type [there are different ones] you're looking to clone off of.
 I would start by socketting the OA and messing with diodes.
 Shoot, I got a Few TS clones, one's in a box. Why not just build one, then you can have somethings to compare, and it you may end up with 2 good working pedals instead of 0...can usually be debugged,
 There's a point where I leave good enough alone, and try to beat that with the next one....I box and use the 'better ones I like.

[jrc4558]

Hey, Peter!
I think that socketing op-amp and diodes is the shure way NOT to clone original! But to whip up your own "king of overdrive". :twisted:

[jimbob]

I wouldnt risk messing it up. Build a clone and mess w that.

[petemoore]

Or better yet real close.
 There are so many variations on a theme.
 what do you want it to do? I don't seem to ever know...'till I see what 'it'. my amp, speakers, guitar in unicen can do.
 The OA's to me are a big deal, and I did alot of trying out TL082's.
 The diodes...
 The voicing of the caps.
 etc.
 I would get something with sockets for OA and Diodes at least [if not just get a dern breadboard, but I like to take my tuning and directly box it, Road test it...the more demanding the conditions the better...then come back and try 'that'...for a time er two+].
 Whatever sound I use as reference is A/B...build two and compare tweeks, trying for an 'exact perfect'...just a plain misnomer IMO, by the time the component tolerances, and related necessary circuitry are added, there is no exact anything..the better you are at tuning the darn theing the better unit youre going to end up with.
 I wouldn't worry about anything in particular necessarily except OA's, diode configs, and cap tunings, as long as the OA's are sitting pretty..bias wise, and signal path is made.
 Measuring resistors exact values as you go with the DMM ain't a bad thing if you like your'e bias tolerances to be a little tighter, I don't know if it even really amtters...with and compared to everything else that's going on in there. I do it anyway, just so I feel 'right and tight' about it.

[casimiroe]

Guys,

This is all great information, but I would really like to know specifically how to convert the Maxon 808 to true TS-808 specs.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Mark Hammer]

Some of the earliest designs that eventually turned into the Tube Screamer had the identical *parts* but had the order reversed.  One of the early Maxons had the Tone section ahead of the clipping section.  That may well be the one in question.  I've never heard them side by side so I don't kow what their respective advantages are, but they ought to sound a bit different.

[casimiroe]

Sorry,

I guess I should have been more specific.  I am referring to the reissue Maxon OD-808.  Any ideas how to convert it to the original Ibanez TS-808 specs?  I think it is just a difference in the output section.  I believe the Maxon has a TS-9/TS-10 output section.  I appreciate the help.

[bwanasonic]

Sorry,

I guess I should have been more specific.  I am referring to the reissue Maxon OD-808.  Any ideas how to convert it to the original Ibanez TS-808 specs?  I think it is just a difference in the output section.  I believe the Maxon has a TS-9/TS-10 output section.  I appreciate the help.

This refers to the two resistors in the output section, and has to be one of the most wildly overated mods of all time. There are several online pictorial guides to changing these two resistors in a TS9 (www.tonepad.com has a nice one), and if you use a vintage style tube amp it's worth doing, if nothing else but for curiosity's sake. Just don't expect your significant other to be as enthusiastic about the difference in tone your solder fume addled brain perceives. Contrary to published reports, the skies will not part and you will not be instantly transported to some *Texas Blues Tone Nirvana*.  If you have a TS9 style pedal and a soldering iron, the lure of the mystical *808* mod will capture you eventually. Get it over with, and either spread the hype or don't.

Kerry M

[Mark Hammer]

But, but, but,....but....but.....oh.....alright. :cry:   I was sort of hoping that a 5-cent resistor might save me the grief of trying to grow a "soul patch" on my lower lip.  

As Bwana wisely notes, changes to the output resistance essentially alter what the amplifier or next pedal "sees".  Whether that makes any audible difference will depend on what the next-thing-in-line *needs* to see, and whether those resistance changes alter where the pedal lies within that range of possibilities.  In many instances, it won't make much audible difference, where in some it will.

As always, context matters.  I doubt a vintage Neumann U87 will sound much different or better than the mic cartridge in your 1984 cassette recorder if you're standing on the other side of the parking garage yelling from 200 feet away.