Tube Screamer FAQ Version 1

[JBroll]

Formally I've just had the standard run of physics courses, this is mainly a hobby - I just tend to turn hobbies into obsessions. I started with computers when I was very young (I rewrote Hangman so that I could hang as many men as I needed to so that I could get the words right before I could safely walk down stairs) and from there I went straight to logic circuits and other such nonsense. I mainly just spent my time either in the library or on the internet working on stuff like this and computer nonsense from about eight years old on. This stuff is amazingly simple if you have a logical bone in your body, it's just not as accessible as it was a few decades back when building radios was the 'in' thing.

As for the different pedals and components... army surplus is great for finding odds and ends (including carbon-comp resistors and odd chips, things like that) and I've been doing tech work for a few people with much more money than me for quite some time now. It mainly comes down to borrowing pedals and finding schematics, and simple things like putting trimpots in place of resistors whose functions you'd like to know more about.

Long story short, I'm a bit obsessive about this stuff, my mind works entirely in logic and mathematics, and I sleep about an hour in a good night. I'm the hobbyist from hell.

Jeff

[Metaltastic]

Damn, that answers my question. More power to you, dude, you're truly a fleiβig fellow (thank you German 101!)

[JBroll]

Honestly, 99% of what college has done so far is tell me stuff I already read when I was bored. There's not much you'd get from a 'formal' training that you wouldn't get from just hitting the books and finding people who know what they're doing when you need questions.

Jeff

[Loren Littlejohn]

Originally Posted by JBroll

Honestly, 99% of what college has done so far is tell me stuff I already read when I was bored. There's not much you'd get from a 'formal' training that you wouldn't get from just hitting the books and finding people who know what they're doing when you need questions.

Jeff

Ugh so far this statement is correct. The only things covered in detail that I didn't already know are some basic principals of sound.

[Metaltastic]

Well since I go to a 4-year liberal arts college, I feel I've learned a ton from all the gen-ed courses I've been forced to take, so I value the wide breadth of knowledge that I'm accruing - that being said, I've learned way MORE from books and y'all niggaz then I have in my Audio Arts classes, which are pretty much nothing but the idiosyncrasies of Pro Tools

[JBroll]

Originally Posted by GuitarGodgt

Ugh so far this statement is correct. The only things covered in detail that I didn't already know are some basic principals of sound.

I'm getting frustrated because I'm studying math and physics at a good university that does them pretty well, graduating next spring and still bored stiff. Either I read too much before or my suspicion that I just need to hold on until grad school to get really in-depth and specialized was more true than I thought it would be.

Jeff

[whitedamp]

What´s the deal with that TS9/HOT switch on TS7? I mean, I understand the "TS9 mode", but what about that "HOT mode"?

[JBroll]

It adds more gain and smooths out the mid bump - it basically turns it into Generic Distortion Pedal #816 so unless you like it on it's own it's not doing much of anything.

Jeff

[Nebulous]

Originally Posted by JBroll

Formally I've just had the standard run of physics courses, this is mainly a hobby - I just tend to turn hobbies into obsessions. I started with computers when I was very young (I rewrote Hangman so that I could hang as many men as I needed to so that I could get the words right before I could safely walk down stairs) and from there I went straight to logic circuits and other such nonsense. I mainly just spent my time either in the library or on the internet working on stuff like this and computer nonsense from about eight years old on. This stuff is amazingly simple if you have a logical bone in your body, it's just not as accessible as it was a few decades back when building radios was the 'in' thing.

As for the different pedals and components... army surplus is great for finding odds and ends (including carbon-comp resistors and odd chips, things like that) and I've been doing tech work for a few people with much more money than me for quite some time now. It mainly comes down to borrowing pedals and finding schematics, and simple things like putting trimpots in place of resistors whose functions you'd like to know more about.

Long story short, I'm a bit obsessive about this stuff, my mind works entirely in logic and mathematics, and I sleep about an hour in a good night. I'm the hobbyist from hell.

Jeff

Haha, cool. Thanks dude.

[JBroll]

I can't recommend libraries strongly enough. They may turn you into an obsessed, insomniac bibliophile, but at least you'll know way too much about some field that won't be nearly as useful in day-to-day life as you'd think.

Jeff

[Metaltastic]

Just thought you all would be interested to see: I opened up my TS7 today out of curiosity, and sure enough, there was indeed a JRC4558D sitting on the circuit board. Here's a pic:

[JBroll]

Also, guys... notice how sparse that PCB looks. Not a whole lot of things on there - the TS is a fairly simple circuit to build if you're interested in making your own.

Jeff

[whitedamp]

Originally Posted by JBroll

It adds more gain and smooths out the mid bump - it basically turns it into Generic Distortion Pedal #816 so unless you like it on it's own it's not doing much of anything.

Thanks for the info. Got a TS7 yesterday. I really appreciate people that make analogies with guys equipped with rocket launchers.

[JBroll]

It's how I think of things... hopefully that doesn't scare too many people off. Hell, I explain electricity to people using lemmings jumping off a fucking cliff, 'stock' explanations just don't do it for me anymore.

Jeff

[Pman]

whats the relevance of the age of the tubescreamer?

[JBroll]

Some various time periods had other op amps instead of the 4558-types. For better or worse, they were noticeable, and manufacturers promptly pulled a 'Coke Classic' and went back to the original circuit core. Also, ancient pedals used carbon-comp resistors here and there, and while some people say they notice a difference I've pulled a few tests on the mojo-loving types (with everything matched up measurement-wise and switches to go from carbon-comp to silicon) and it's a bunch of voodoo nonsense.

Jeff

[Metaltastic]

Here's a question for the mods section: in this ebay auction, it mentions that it gives you "better sounding" poly film caps. As they don't specify what kind of difference specifically it makes ("more full and transparent"), could it be that these really are just higher quality pieces (like getting headers or a new exhaust for your car, for example) that improve the sound quality without taking away from the stuff we like (mid-hump, HPF, etc.) And if not, are there any mods that do "swap the exhaust" on a TS?

[JBroll]

See, both increased and decreased clarity will sound better if it makes a seller some money. 'Better' components will sound more 'transparent', 'hi-fi', and 'clear', while 'worse' (ahem... 'boutique'/'vintage') components sound 'smoother' or 'warmer' if the money is in it. Don't bother with their voodoo nonsense - if you were an obsessive ass about corduroy pants affecting tone negatively you'd care, but with as much other stuff going on as there is there's no excuse for spending that kind of money on it. What's more, the two tantalum caps in question would cost maybe pennies on their own.

Don't - I repeat, don't - buy mod kits from eBay. People sell them there because they get literally 90-95% profit, and they'll say whatever they have to (whether it's true or not, whether it's what you're looking for or not), so if you think something needs to be fixed spend a few minutes learning what it actually is and fix it with parts from some *real* electronics store.

To answer the last part of the question, it is more like an exhaust system swap - won't kill your mid hump or anything like that, no, but it's not exactly useful.

Jeff

[deanbailey]

I have a question regarding the LED topic in mod section of your first post. Just not to sure on replacing an LED (specifically the TS-7's) You mentioned "If you match the Diodes right". Does it have a power rating/resistance/ohm that needs to be matched with the original in order unalter the sound?
Or are all LED's the same?

[JBroll]

Do you mean changing the indicator LED or putting an LED in the clipping section?

'Matching the diodes right' refers to pairing diodes with each other, and that's a lot of guesswork with a touch of patience as far as I've gotten into it. If you have a couple of parameters (that I can't recall or explain off the top of my head) matched right you'll have different harmonic content pop up... I'll look into this and add it to the mod pictorials that'll pop up when school is out, I have enough time to eat two meals a day, I remember what I've been planning to do, the planets align to form a shape suspiciously similar looking to Bugs Bunny, and I can track down all of the electrical nonsense that I haven't pulled out since moving in the summer. Probably a few weeks, this is the last week of class and finals are next week, so I'm cramped as fuck for time.

Jeff

[deanbailey]

Yeah sorry, wasn't clear enough. I meant the indicator light (pedal on/off)

[JBroll]

Erm... can't remember that one off the top of my head. You do need to lower something to let a brighter LED shine at its full potential or raise it for a more delicate LED to prevent burnout, but I'll be damned if I can remember where it is or how much it needs to happen. I'll look that up.

Jeff

[deanbailey]

ok thanks, i'll just buy one and try it out.

[::XeS::]

Are there some differences between green TS7 and Gray TS7 (new one)?

[LSD-Studio]

Originally Posted by ::XeS::

Are there some differences between green TS7 and Gray TS7 (new one)?

the green one was just a special run, it's exactly the same though (cept the color of course)