brand new pedal modder!

[GLPE]

Today I modified my ts9 Dx to Ts808 specs, I replaced both resistors and I found an RC4558P chip in my old peavey rage amp, I stole that and installed it in the tube screamer. I also replaced the .0473uf input cap with the .01uf cap for bass response. My question is... there were to of the 473k caps on the board, I replaced the one closest to the input jack, I dont know if this was right or not but it seemed to work. Pedal modding is awesome. I might try to build one from scratch next. Thanks for all the information available on this site. I am also going to work on modding my Boss Bd2, anyone got any tips on that.
Thanks,
David

[NaBo]

Erm...  This may seem like a silly question, but why did you pull the IC from your amp to put in a pedal?  Especially one that costs perhaps 50 cents brand new... Was the amp dead?  By all means lets mod away... but fixing the amp might be a better financial investment  :wink:

[Peter Snowberg]

Welcome to the forum and to modding effects.

Be sure to try different chips in there. You may find that the NE5532 does an even better job (with increased power draw). An NE5532 in your amp would be a nice upgrade too.

[travissk]

Welcome to the forum! Glad to see you enjoy the hobby as much as we do - quite addictive, isn't it

The 4558 has obtained legendary status. This means a couple things:
-As NaBo mentioned, you can grab modern versions (I use the TI version) for pretty cheap. Grab another one and stick it in your amp to have a replacement.
-It has the reputation on some sites for being the end-all opamp for tube screamer circuits, due to the use of the 808 by a certain individual. It does do a good job, but the 4558 wasn't necessarily magical - it was used in tons of consumer electronics from clock radios, effects pedals, microwaves, etc-it's a general purpose dual opamp. There are better ones out there, and there are worse ones out there. Of course, "better" and "worse" in terms of datasheets don't necessarily translate to better/worse for your ears, so go crazy and experiment. Peter's suggestion of the 5532 is a good one, and if you have a lot of cash to blow, try a burr brown op-amp or something of similar high quality. It's worth noting that the overall change to the sound might not be extremely noticable in replacing the 4558 with a really expensive opamp, but it's fun to experiment. Just put in a socket and go crazy with whatever dual opamps you can find.

As for the BD-2, try swapping out capacitors with higher-quality ones (and perhaps different values on the input/output caps). You can also replace the opamp as you did with the tube screamer. Changing the clipping diodes can result in a change to the basic sound, if you're not happy with it. You can replace them with germanium diodes, other silicon diodes, or even LEDs. As far as improving the basic sound goes, change some of the cheap caps to ones of higher quality - e.g. film.

[travissk]

Oh yeah - forgot to mention that the NE5532 is widely available; you can get them from 50 cents on up to $1 or so from mouser.com, etc.

If you want to replace that 4558 you took out of your amp, the RC4558 is a good substitution and is a whole 20 cents cheaper. Again, I use the TI one out of habit, but you can also go with another manufacturers' version (like the MC4558CN from ST Micro)

[GLPE]

Thanks for all of the information, yall are awesome. As for why I took it out of the amp... well, Just impulsively decided to mod this pedal, I bought the resistors and other componenets at Radio Shack, I am, however, a very impatient person and I would have had to order the 4558 chip, so after taking apart every electronic device in the house I found one in a Peavey Rage (I dont know if you have ever used one but it is a very small solid state amp and I never use it, anyway, if I need to I can put it back in there) Thanks for the info on the BD2, it looks like it will be easier to Mod since all the components are labeled i.e. c1, d2, r3...etc.
I have found good info on this, I do have on question though, I have read about replacing diodes with 14n002 diodes. How do you Identify "14N002" diodes, and isnt there a certain direction that they have to go, how do you reference that direction.
Thanks,
David

[NaBo]

Ahhh, gotcha David... sounds like you've got "the bug"  

But, keep in mind that down the road, you just might find your crummy little solid state amp could be the building block for a super-cool talkbox project- i know i did

As for your diode question...  you can find the answers (as well as the answers to many many many other questions you'll have!) in the FAQ on aron's main site (//www.diystompboxes.com/index.html), and another great resource with pics is the beginner information under tech pages at //www.generalguitargadgets.com

[Fret Wire]

I also replaced the .0473uf input cap with the .01uf cap for bass response.  

Welcome David.  For more bass, the .047uf cap is replaced with a larger value cap, usually .1uf. Is that what you meant? Replacing a .047 with a .01 would give less bass.

[wampcat1]

Welcome to the forum! Glad to see you enjoy the hobby as much as we do - quite addictive, isn't it

The 4558 has obtained legendary status. This means a couple things:
-As NaBo mentioned, you can grab modern versions (I use the TI version) for pretty cheap. Grab another one and stick it in your amp to have a replacement.
-It has the reputation on some sites for being the end-all opamp for tube screamer circuits, due to the use of the 808 by a certain individual. It does do a good job, but the 4558 wasn't necessarily magical - it was used in tons of consumer electronics from clock radios, effects pedals, microwaves, etc-it's a general purpose dual opamp. There are better ones out there, and there are worse ones out there. Of course, "better" and "worse" in terms of datasheets don't necessarily translate to better/worse for your ears, so go crazy and experiment. Peter's suggestion of the 5532 is a good one, and if you have a lot of cash to blow, try a burr brown op-amp or something of similar high quality. It's worth noting that the overall change to the sound might not be extremely noticable in replacing the 4558 with a really expensive opamp, but it's fun to experiment. Just put in a socket and go crazy with whatever dual opamps you can find.

As for the BD-2, try swapping out capacitors with higher-quality ones (and perhaps different values on the input/output caps). You can also replace the opamp as you did with the tube screamer. Changing the clipping diodes can result in a change to the basic sound, if you're not happy with it. You can replace them with germanium diodes, other silicon diodes, or even LEDs. As far as improving the basic sound goes, change some of the cheap caps to ones of higher quality - e.g. film.

also, don't forget to change the capacitor on the tone control circuit board -- I like to make it a .1uf.

Take care,
Brian

[GLPE]

you are right Fret Wire, I replaced it with the wrong size, im not sure I replaced the right cap though, because there are two .047uf caps on the TS9DX board, can anyone either tell me where a picture is or describe to me which one is the correct one. There is no way to identify or name components like there is on the boss pedal. The increased bass must be a result of the resistor changes and the new opamp.
Thanks,
David

[NaBo]

Hey David.  The input cap you wanna replace should be in the signal path as soon as it enters the circuit board.  IE, look for the wire going from the input jack's tip to the circuit board.  If you follow the trace from that solder point, you should find the cap you wanna change.