How Does One Mod an 808/Clone to...

[Philippe]

(1) decrease its trademark 'nasal-like' tonality and (2) add a more distinct bass-treble character (reduce the mid-range hump)?

Is this a relatively simple PCB part(s) replacement? Or is the concept better served by simply using or building certain overdrive effects (examples?) that don't have this natural characteristic?

Been using TS's for years with no ill effects *pardon the unintentional pun* but every now & then that 'nasal' tone bugs me a little bit (depending on mood).

[John Lyons]

http://www.muzique.com/lab/fatt.htm

http://www.muzique.com/lab/tstone.htm

Search "son of screamer" and "Landgraff Dynamic Overdrive"

[Philippe]

Thanks for the input John.  I experimented with that route a couple of years ago & found that while the bass frequency could obviously be increased, it did so at the expense of the treble response & the natural sweetness of 808's 720 Hz ceiling was lost...it essentially became a muddier-sounding TS.

I guess what I was trying to imagine here was something along the lines of decreasing the mid-hump a bit while maintaining the 808's natural treble & adding a tad more bass...probably like wanting to eat one's cake & have it too!

[jkokura]

If the Timmy teaches us anything, it's that it may work to cut treble to add bass. Cut it out rather than try to add it in. The Treb and Bass knobs on the Timmy actually work that way, cutting bass and treb rather than adding it. I think it's an effective way of making a pedal work for you better, so if you want more bass, it may be as simple as cutting out some of the treble.

Jacob

[Philippe]

The closest I came to achieving this effect/concept was by building one of those AMZ JFET mini-boosters, reducing the 3.3 uf NP source capacitor & then adding a switchable input cap switch for a normal/brighter tonal range. It's less colored than the TS & sometimes doubles as an added gain booster for the overdrive.

[Paul Marossy]

The one thing that I like about the Tube Screamer (my stock TS808 clone in particular) is that it's almost impossible to make it muddy sounding.

[Philippe]

The one thing that I like about the Tube Screamer (my stock TS808 clone in particular) is that it's almost impossible to make it muddy sounding.

Roger on that, Paul. An adulterated TS (with the possibility of clipper diode selection/options) will always sound better than a  Tubescreamer with all of those capacitor/fat boost mods. MP/Analogman will back us on that one!

[Paul Marossy]

Roger on that, Paul. An adulterated TS (with the possibility of clipper diode selection/options) will always sound better than a  Tubescreamer with all of those capacitor/fat boost mods. MP/Analogman will back us on that one!

Uh, you meant un-adulterated, didn't you? 

[John Lyons]

So the sound of a tube screamer that sleeps around is what your going for?

[Philippe]

Uh, you meant un-adulterated, didn't you? 

*heh, heh* Yes, a missing prefix makes a world of difference!

So the sound of a tube screamer that sleeps around is what your going for?

Isn't that one called a Big Muff Pi?

[John Lyons]

Right! 

[Paul Marossy]

Uh, you meant un-adulterated, didn't you? 

*heh, heh* Yes, a missing prefix makes a world of difference!

OK, we'll just call that a "Freudian slip" then. Or something like that.