FEATURE > 5 DiY moDS

Pedal maestro Brian Wampler of Wampler Pedals

shows us how to make two of the most popular
overdrive pedals on the planet rule even more.
Story and photoS By Brian WaMpler

basic modding Supplies

Each of the modifications discussed here require the following :
Soldering iron
60/40 rosin-core solder (dont buy lead-free)
Solder sucker (not mandatory, but very helpful)
Desoldering braid
Small side cuts/wire cutters
Felt-tip marker

f youve ever owned an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer or a Boss

SD-1 Super Overdrive, youve probably noticed two things: You
like the way they sound, but they could also really use a little something more. Weve come up with some custom modifications that
we feel give these pedals that something moreand the best part
is that you can do the mods on your own! All you need to be able
to do is follow instructions and know how to solder and desolder.
(If you havent soldered beforeor if you are a bit rusty and need a
refreshergo to YouTube and watch CuriousInventor.coms video
How and WHY to Solder Correctly, and ExpertVillage.coms
How to Solder: Removing Solder.)
Modifying pedals can be an intensely rewarding experienceits
like creating an entirely new pedal that feels and breathes differently

premierguitar.com

CLICK HERE
to head online and
view the visuals
for this story.

than before. Sometimes its a battle, a game of wits, with you pitted against a mechanism that you so bravely took apart with the
intentions of creating something more wonderful and awe inspiring.
Sometimes it can be an emotional rollercoaster, especially if you are
somewhat attached to the pedals that you are modifying. Its very
frustrating to be pumped up to play through your newly modded
pedal and have it not work. Thats why its so crucial to follow all
of the instructions outlined in this article. No one wants to break
a perfectly good pedal while trying to improve it. Fortunately, if
you follow the instructions outlined here, youll have an awesomesounding pedal for you and the rest of the world to enjoy for the
rest of your musical daysand that is where the fun lies.
Okay, lets get started!
PREMIER GUITAR OCTOBER 2012 77

FEATURE > 5 DiY moDS

The STageS

There are generally five stages to pedal modding, depending on how successful you are with replacing and/or adding parts the first time around.
Read them carefully and remember to flip back and reference them at
any point during the mod process to make sure youre on the right track.
One very important warning before moving on to the stages:
Avoid the temptation to try to work on two mods simultaneously. For
example, dont try to do the true-bypass mod while doing the variable
mid-control mod. Working on different mods simultaneously usually
makes the troubleshooting process a nightmare. Complete one modification starting at stage 1 and going through stage 5. Once that mod is
finished, start over at stage 1 with the next mod.
StAGe 1: Assess mod Difficulty
This first stage is important because its when you decide whether
to attempt a specific modification. The steps include:
1. Read all of the instructions.
2. Make a supply list (if one is not provided).
3. Determine the overall difficulty of the modification.
4. Decide whether or not you can pull off the mod without
adversely affecting your pedal.
This last step is very important. If you dont feel comfortable with the
mod, dont do it! Start with something easier and work your way up
to build confidence and skill. Some of the modifications were talking about here are pretty tricky, and they will be much more difficult
(though not impossible) for beginners. Note: Neither I nor anyone
at my company, Wampler Pedals, can provide technical support for these
modifications or assume responsibility for pedals damaged while performing these mods. If these modifications are too difficult for you, we may be
able to perform them on your pedal, depending on our workload at the
time. Visit wamplerpedals.com and click the Contact link for more details.
StAGe 2: prep for the mod
If, in stage 1, you decided the mod isnt a good idea at the moment,
this stage includes boxing up your pedal and sending it in to us. If
you are doing the mod, the steps include:
1. Turn on your soldering iron. I do this first so that it will be up
to temperature by the time I am done with the rest of the steps.
2. Gather parts, wire, and tools as described in your supply list.
3. If you use a sponge to clean your irons tip, wet it now.
4. Take a deep breath.
StAGe 3: mod time!
This is the stage where it all happens. The steps include:
1. Remove the pedals back panel and take pictures of how the
circuit board and other internal parts are oriented before making any changes.
2. Take the circuit board out of the pedals enclosure.
Note: Some circuit boardsincluding those in Boss and Ibanez
unitscannot be removed all the way due to the way they are wired.
In those cases, you can make it easier to move the circuit board
around while its still attached to the case by loosening the potentiometers and/or the 1/4" jacksbut be careful not to break the wires.

78 PREMIER GUITAR OCTOBER 2012

3. Use a felt-tip marker to mark the leads of the components that

need to be removed from the circuit on the solder side of the circuit board. Note: If you accidentally mark the wrong component, you
can either just leave the mark on there as it will not affect the sound,
or you can lightly heat the joint with your iron to remove the mark.
4. Remove the first component and replace it with the new one
using the desoldering and soldering techniques learned in the
videos mentioned at the beginning of this article.
5. Test the pedal to make sure it still works after the new component is in the circuit. Testing after each component change
can save you a lot of time and frustration in the troubleshooting process, because you will know the exact point at which
the circuit failed. You dont have to put the circuit board back
in the casejust make sure the 1/4" jacks are still connected
to the case to ensure proper grounding.
6. Continue replacing or adding parts, one at a timeand testing the pedal after each addition or replacementuntil the
mod is complete.
StAGe 4: troubleshooting
If stage 3 went well and your stompbox works properly, skip this
step. If not:
1. Relax! Its fairly common for a pedal not to work right after
modding due to some easy-to-make mistakes.
2. Check to see if everything that is supposed to be grounded is
grounded, and that everything that shouldnt be grounded isnt.
Look for places where the input or output jack may be touching
the case where it shouldnt be. Also, check that the solder side of
the circuit board is not in direct contact with the case. In the case
of the true-bypass mod, check to make sure the lugs of the footswitch are not touching the case. Double-check all the solder joints.
Note: It often helps to use a multimeter here. For a great video
on how to use them, go to YouTube and search for AfroTechMods
THE BEST Multimeter Tutorial (HD).
3. If youre still having problems, watch Chromesphere.coms
YouTube video called DIY Guitar Pedal Tutorial 9: Fault
Diagnosing to see several things you can check first-hand.
StAGe 5: Final testing
This is the most exciting stageits where all your hard work pays off
with an awesome, unique, and fresh-sounding pedal. The steps include:
1. After testing the pedal with the modification completed,
carefully put the pedal back together, making sure to tighten
everything down snugbut leave the back plate off.
2. Test the pedal one last time.
3. If it still works properly, install the back plate.
Now that you know all the stages, lets get on to the fun stuff! All of the
following mods are separate projects. You can do one of them, all of
them, or maybe pick and choose two or three. No matter what mods you
choose to do, your pedal will sound great when youre done. However,
if you decide to do the true-bypass mod, I suggest doing it first because
youre going to remove a couple of FETs, diodes, resistors, and capacitors,
which will change the tone of your pedal a bitand you dont want to
get the tone you want dialed in with these other mods only to have it
changed by making it true-bypass. Just keep in mind that in the pictures
shown here, I did my true-bypass mod last so there wasnt a big hole in
the unit for all of the pictures.
premierguitar.com

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FEATURE > 5 DiY moDS

Mod 1:

Make Your TS9 True-Bypass

This mod requires drilling a big ol hole in the middle of your Tube
Screamers case. Here goes nothing, right? I know it sounds crazy,
but it has to be done so you can install the shiny new 3PDT (threepole, double-throw) footswitch thats necessary to make your pedal
true-bypass.
Tools and Parts for This Mod
Power drill
1/2" drill bit
Wire strippers
3PDT footswitch
2.2k4.7k resistor
Three jumpers (these could be clippings from
the leg of a resistor or capacitor)
Two or three 3" pieces of wire
Needle-nose pliers (handy, but optional)

1. Desolder the red-and-whitestriped wire from the circuit board

(upper-left corner in Photo 1) and
cut the black wire that connects
the input jack to the original footswitch. This allows you to remove
the circuit board from the case.
2. With the circuit board
removed, drill a 1/2"-diameter
hole in the middle of the case
where it says TS9 (under the
Ibanez logo). You may want to
prop your pedal up on blocks so
that the top is level and you can
get a straight shot at the surface
(otherwise, the hole will end up
being elliptical instead of round).
3. The TS9 uses whats called
a flip-flop circuit to turn on
and off, but with the new truebypass switch, the parts in this
circuit arent necessary. Remove
the following:
Two FETs
Two 510k resistors
Two diodes
The jumper wire
The capacitor labeled
104 (its the blue cap at
lower-right on this board,
but it may be a different
color on yours)

photo 1. Components and wire leads to be removed from the main TS9
circuit board.

4. Desolder the end of the pink

wire on the main circuit board
that connects to the LEDs circuit board.
5. Remove the short jumper
wire (bottom middle of the
circuit board in Photo 2) and
replace it with a longer jumper
that begins at the same right-side
hole as the previous jumper but
extends to the hole in between
where the two FETs removed
in step 3 used to be. The correct
hole previously contained the
bottom leg of one of the 510k
resistors also removed in step 3.
(Note: Disregard the two clear
LEDs that appear in place of
clipping diodes at middle right in
Photo 2they were from a previous mod.)

6. Now that most of the board

work is done, lets move on to
the footswitch. To make wiring more convenient, place it
upside-down in the case, with
the holes in the lugs facing you
(see Photo 3). Referencing the
schematic in Fig. 1:

80 PREMIER GUITAR OCTOBER 2012

Connect pins 2 and 9 with

a jumper wire

photo 2. Replace the original short jumper wire with a longer one extending to the hole where the bottom leg of a 510k resistor used to be.

Connect pins 7 and 8 with

a jumper wire
Note: Make sure the jumper
wires dont touch any other lugs.

7. Desolder the yellow wire at

the upper right in Photo 1 (its in
the hole labeled 11) from the
main circuit board and solder it
to footswitch pin 2. See Photo 4.
8. Solder one end of a 3" wire
in the now-empty hole 11.
Solder the other end to footswitch pin 5.
9. Desolder the white wire
from the upper-left corner of
the main circuit board (the hole
labeled 1).

photo 3. Prop the new 3PDT footswitch in the newly drilled hole for
convenience while soldering jumper
wires and other leads.

10. Solder one end of a 3"

wire (or you could reuse the

red-and-white-striped wire) in
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FEATURE > 5 DiY moDS

lugthe one with the black

wire going to the output jack
is the one you want to solder to.

15. Connect the new foot-

switch to the pedal housing.

Fig. 1. Schematic for wiring a 3PDT true-bypass footswitch.

the now-vacant hole 1. Solder

the other end to footswitch
pin 3.

11. Solder the white wire from

the output jack to footswitch pin 6.

12. Strip a little insulation off

of the pink wire.
13. Solder one leg of your new
2.2k4.7k resistor (resistors
arent polarized, so it doesnt
matter which leg) to the pink

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Congratsyour TS9 is now truebypass! Your footswitch should

look something like Photo 5
when its done and installed.

photo 4. The true-bypass switch

with steps 714 completed.

wire. Connect the resistors

other leg to footswitch pin 1.

14. Solder one end of a 3" wire

to the sleeve lug of the input

jack, and the other end to footswitch pin 4. If youre having
trouble finding the sleeve lug,
heres how: See how the jack
has three lugs, one with a yellow wire, one with a black wire
going to the battery terminal,
and one with a black wire going
to the output jack? That last

photo 5. A completed TS9 true-bypass mod.

PREMIER GUITAR OCTOBER 2012 81

FEATURE > 5 DiY moDS

Mod 2:

alter TS9 and SD-1 Distortion

by Swapping Diodes
Tools and Parts for This Mod
Various numbers and types of diodes and/or LEDs, depending
on which symmetrical or asymmetrical mod you decide to do
You can get different shades of
distortion by swapping clipping
diodes in your Tube Screamer
or Super Overdrive. For
example, replacing the existing
diodes with germanium diodes
will yield a compressed, smooth
fuzz sound. In contrast, silicon diodes (1n4148, 1n4001,
1n914, etc.) tend to provide a
crisper, tighter, more focused
sound. LEDs sound warmer,
offer a great crunch, and usually
make the pedal sound louder.

You can also experiment

with different diode configurations. Two types of clipping can
be achieved through different
configurations: symmetrical and
asymmetrical. Asymmetrical
clippingthe type of clipping
achieved in a stock Boss SD-1
circuit (see Fig. 2)tends
to yield a more dynamic and
responsive overdrive resembling
the feel and response of an amp
overdrive. You can get asymmetrical clipping by putting two

82 PREMIER GUITAR OCTOBER 2012

series-wired diodes
in parallel with one
diode oriented in
the opposite direction (as shown in the
mod instructions).
You can also achieve
asymmetrical clipping by removing an
original diode and
replacing it with an
Fig. 2: Asymmetrical clipping. A stock Boss
SD-1 schematic (left), and an SD-1 schematic
LED, which tends
with an LED swapped out in place of the original
to yield more headclipping diode to yield a louder, warmer, more
room and volume.
responsive feel (right).
To get more
headroom out of a symmetrical
When replacing diodes,
clipping circuitthe type of
make sure you orient them corclipping achieved in an Ibanez
rectly. The stripe on the diode
TS9 circuit (see Fig. 3)you
always goes on the same side as
can add an extra set of diodes in
the bar at the tip of the triangle
series with the original diodes,
on the diode symbol thats
or you can change both diodes
stenciled on the circuit board.
out for LEDs (as shown in the
For LEDs, the short leg goes
diagrams). However, keep in
towards the bar.
mind that this will change how
Now that you know more than
much clipping you hear.
you probably ever wanted to know

premierguitar.com

FEATURE > 5 DiY moDS

about diode configurations, well

show you how to do some diode
mods on a TS9 and an SD-1.
tS9 Asymmetrical
clipping mod
Lets start by changing a Tube
Screamers clipping from stock
symmetrical to asymmetrical by
adding a diode pair in series.

1. Locate the diodes on your

TS9s circuit board. See Photo 6.
2. Desolder diode 1 (D1) or
diode 2 (D2)it doesnt matter
which comes first. Note: I recommend using a felt-tip marker
to mark which components you
need to desolder on the underside
of the circuit board.
3. Wire two diodes in series
either pair one stock diode
with a new one or pair two
brand-new diodesby twisting

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their legs together as shown

in Photo 7. Note: See how the
black stripes are both on the left
hand side of each diode? This is
very important to get rightyour
pedal wont work unless they are
oriented correctly.

4. Solder the twisted-together

legs as shown in Photo 8, and
then place heat-shrink wrap or
electrical tape on the exposed
solder joint (not shown), and
bend the legs as shown.
5. Place the series-wired diodes
legs back through the D1 or D2
holes (depending on which you
removed in step 2) and solder
them in place. See Photo 9.
Note: Make sure the diodes black
stripes are on the same side as
the bar on the tip of the triangle
marked on the board.

Now that you know how to

place diodes in series, you can
read the schematics in Figures 2
and 3 and execute any of them
that use series wiring.
SD-1 Symmetrical
clipping mod
The SD-1 circuit is different
from the TS9 in that it comes
standard with an asymmetrical
clipping arrangement. Take a
look at the circuit layout in
Photo 10. D4, D5, and D6 are
the clipping diodes. D5 and D6
are already in series with each
other and in parallel with D4.
If you want to make this a symmetrical arrangement, you can
remove D5 or D6it doesnt
matter whichand place a
jumper wire where it used to be.
If you want a symmetrical arrangement with more

headroom, I suggest leaving

D5 and D6 alone and adding a
diode in series with D4, just as
we did in steps 3 and 4 in the
previous TS9 Asymmetrical
Clipping Mod. If you want
more clipping with an asymmetrical setup, you could also
place a diode in series with
D4 and D6. You can try many
variations of series and parallel
pairings of different types of
diodes, and its a bit easier with
the SD-1 as compared to the
TS9 because of the SD-1s setup
and its roomier circuit board.
So dont be afraid to experimentjust make sure you dont
put your diodes in backward. If
you do, it wont hurt anything,
but your pedal wont work
right. All you have to do is turn
them around and you should be
good to go.

to view the photos and other visual elements for this mod, visit premierguitar.com/oct2012

PREMIER GUITAR OCTOBER 2012 83

FEATURE > 5 DiY moDS

Mod 3:

Tweak Feedback in
Your SD-1 or TS9

Tools and Parts for This Mod

.1 F, .22 F, and .47 F film capacitors
1k 1/4-watt resistor
10k 1/4-watt resistor
You can adjust the tonality of
an SD-1 or a TS9 in many ways
simply by using different resistor-and-capacitor combinations
for the components in the large
oval in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5.
This component combination
(aka the feedback to ground, or
4.5V in this case) helps set the
gain, as well as what frequencies
get amplified and clipped by
the op-amp (the triangle thingy
in the schematic). A stock TS9
is set to clip around 720 Hz.
Lowering the value of the resistor will provide more gain, but it
will also change what frequency
is getting clipped. If you dont
want to change the pedals tone,
you have to change the capacitor
value with the resistor value. You
can also squeeze some bass out of

the pedal by adjusting the value

of the capacitor in this combo.
Table 1 shows some values that
I suggest you try. If you want to
play around with the values and
frequencies a bit more, I suggest
visiting muzique.com/schem/filter.htm. This website has a great
frequency calculator for resistor/
capacitor pairs.
Note: The TS9 and SD-1 are very
similar in this part of the schematic,
so all of the same mods apply. Just
be careful with the SD-1: If you
increase the gain too much without
adding the proper circuitry, the distorted signal will start to bleed into
the bypassed signal. If you run into
this problem, you can find mods to
rectify the situation online.
Before we jump into the actual
mod, lets look at Figures 4 and 5

table 1. Suggested capacitor-and-resistor combinations to try in your SD1s or TS9s feedback to ground. (Numbers in parentheses represent what
will be written on your capacitors. Resistor color codes vary, depending on
whether they use 3- or 4-color coding bands. Visit Wikipedias Electronic
color code page for details.)

photo 11. Replacing your Super Overdrives R5 resistor with a 10k part
will enable you to clean up the signal more. Also, swapping the C3 and R6
components with different values will vary the available gain and which
frequencies get amplified and clipped by the op-amp.

again. See the lone circled resistor in each schematic (R5 in the
SD-1 circuit, and R7 in the TS9
diagram)? This resistor sets the
minimum gain when the drive

knob is turned all the way down.

I suggest changing it to a 10k
in both pedalsitll enable them
to clean up a lot better.
Okay, lets replace the SD-1s
R5 resistor, the TS9s R7 resistor, and the C3 capacitor and
R6 resistor in both the Boss and
Ibanez pedals.

1. Locate the minimum-gain

resistor in your SD-1 (R5
in Photo 11) or TS9 (R7 in
Photo 12), desolder it, and solder in a 10k replacement.
2. Then test your pedal.

Fig. 4: SD-1 Gain Stage. (LeFt) You can achieve myriad tones with a Boss SD-1 by varying the values of the resistor
and capacitor shown inside the large oval. Fig. 5: tS9 Gain Stage. (riGht) Altering the values of the resistor and
capacitor shown here inside the large oval can yield a wide variety of tones with a Tube Screamer.

to view the photos and other visual elements for this mod, visit premierguitar.com/oct2012
84 PREMIER GUITAR OCTOBER 2012

3. Locate C3 and R6 on your

SD-1 or TS9, desolder them, and
replace them with different values
based on the chart above or perhaps a recipe you come up with
using the widget at muzique.
com. Note: If youre modding your
SD-1, dont be afraid to remove the
gunk thats globbed all over C3.
premierguitar.com

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PREMIER GUITAR OCTOBER 2012 85

FEATURE > 5 DiY moDS

Mod 4:

Make Your TS9 or SD-1

More Transparent
Have you ever noticed how, when you turn your TS9s or SD-1s tone
knob up, it sounds like the pedal is boosting frequencies? Thats
because it is. Both pedals have an active tone control. Some players
like that, but others prefer a passive tone control. This mod shows you
how to install a passive tone control to make your Tube Screamer or
Super Overdrive sound much more transparent.
Tools and Parts for This Mod
1k 1/4-watt resistor (one for a TS9, two for an SD-1)
A1k audio potentiometer
.22 F capacitor
2.2 F electrolytic capacitor
1" piece of jumper wire
Two 3" pieces of wire
Pot knob for the new pot
The steps for installing a passive
tone control are pretty much
the same for a Tube Screamer
and a Super Overdrive (see Fig.
6 for a reference schematic), so
well cover both together here
and note any divergences within
the appropriate step.

1. For a TS9: Remove wires 6,

7, and 8, as well as components

R11 and C9 (see Photo 13).
For an SD-1: Remove wires 5,

photo 13. Remove the indicated wires and components in your TS9.

8, and 11, as well as components

C5 and R8 (see Photo 14).

2. Remove the old 20k

tone pot.

3. TS9: Attach a 3" wire from

lug 2 of your new A1k pot
to the hole where wire 7 used
to connect to the circuit board.
SD-1: Remove R7 and replace
it with a 1k resistor. Then
solder one end of a 3" wire to

Fig. 6. Schematic for the TS9 and SD-1 transparency mod.

86 PREMIER GUITAR OCTOBER 2012

photo 14. Remove the indicated wires and components in your SD-1.

lug 2 of your new A1k pot,

and solder the other end where
wire 5 used to connect to the
circuit board.

4. TS9: Remove C5.

SD-1: Remove C4.
5. Stick one leg of your new
.22 F capacitor through lug 1
of your new pot and solder it
in place. Attach another 3" wire
to the open leg of the cap (see
Photo 16). Note: When making
a connection like this, I suggest
stripping a little extra off of the
wire and wrapping it around the
caps leg before soldering it. Its
also a good idea to put electrical
tape or heat-shrink wrap around
bare spots such as this one.
6. TS9: Solder the other end of
the 3" wire into the negative hole
where C5 used to be (the negative hole is the one thats not next
to the plus sign). See Photo 17.
SD-1: Solder the other end of
the 3" wire to the sleeve lug of
the output jack. See Photo 18
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FEATURE > 5 DiY moDS

7. TS9: Attach the 1" piece of

wire from where wire 6 used
to be to the hole where wire 8
used to be.
SD-1: Attach the 1" piece of
wire from where wire 8 used to
be to the hole where wire 11
used to be. See Photo 19.
8. TS9: Solder your new 1k

resistor where C9 used to be

and place your 2.2 f electrolytic capacitor where R11 used
to be (see Photo 20). Note:
Make sure the negative side of
your electrolytic capacitor is closest to your Tube Screamers IC
chip, and that the positive side
is closest to the 1k resistor you
just installed. The negative side
is usually signified by a stripe on
the cap, and the positive side is
almost always the long leg.
SD-1: Solder your 1k resistor
where C5 used to be and your
2.2 F electrolytic capacitor

photo 15. Connect a 3" wire from the new tone pot to hole 7 on your TS9s circuit board.

where R8 used to be.

Note: Make sure the capacitors
negative side (the short leg or the

short leg near the stripe on the

cap) is in the hole closest to the
edge of the circuit board, and the

positive side (the long leg) is

closest to the newly placed 1k
resistor.

to view the photos and other visual elements for this mod, visit premierguitar.com/oct2012

J. ROCKETT AUDIO DESIGNS

WWW.ROCKETTPEDALS.COM

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PREMIER GUITAR OCTOBER 2012 87

FEATURE > 5 DiY moDS

Mod 5:

Install a Variable Mid Control

in Your TS9 or SD-1
Our final mod gives you control over the nasally mids that have long
plagued the Tube Screamer and Super Overdrive. Be aware, though,
that youll lose quite a bit of volume with this mod due to insertion
loss. To make up for this volume loss, I recommend you also either
replace the original diodes with LEDs or wire the original diodes in
series (neither of which is covered here).
Tools and Parts for This Mod
Two 10k 1/4-watt resistors
.0068 F capacitor
.0047 F capacitor
.033 F capacitor
B100k alpha single-gang 9 mm right-angle PC mount linear potentiometer from SmallBearElec.com
Pot knob
Three 3" pieces of wire
1/4" drill bit
Marking utensil
Ruler

1. TS9: Remove resistor R8.

SD-1: Remove resistor R7.
2. Twist one leg from each of
the two 10k resistors together
so that their bodies are almost
touching.
3. Wrap one end of a 3" piece
of wire around the connected
resistor legs, solder the joint
(see Photo 24), and put electrical tape or a heat-shrink tube
around the joint (not shown).
4. Twist the legs of your .0068
F cap onto the long legs of
the joined 10k resistors and
solder the joint, then twist the
end of another 3" wire onto the
long leg of one the 10k resistors and solder that connection.
See Photo 25.
5. TS9: Place the long leg of the
resistor that has the 3" jumper in
the hole from R8 closest to the
dot (pin 1) on the IC chip. Place
the other resistors leg in the hole
vacated by R8. Solder the legs in

leg of the .0047 F cap thats

soldered to lug 3 of the pot.

9. TS9: Solder the 3" wire connected to lug 2 of your pot to

the leg opposite the stripe of the
diode located right next to the
power jack (see Photo 29). Test
the pedal and be sure that your
modifications worked.
10. TS9: Measure 5-6 mm
(about 1/4") from the upwardly
angled part of the case and
draw a horizontal line from the
right side of the case to about
where the tone knob is.
SD-1: Measure 1 cm to the right
or left of the edge of the 9V
adapter jack on the front of the
case. Draw a vertical line there.
11. TS9: Draw a vertical

line starting smack dab in the

middle of the volume pots hole

until it intersects with the line

you just drew. This will be the
center of the hole for your new
pot (see Photo 31).
SD-1: Draw a horizontal line
1 cm above the bottom of the
case until it intersects with the
vertical line. This will be the
center of the hole for your new
pot (see Photo 32).

12. Drill a 1/4"-diameter hole

in the marked spots.

13. Wipe the lines off of the

enclosure, secure the new pot,

reassemble the pedal, and
enjoy your new variable-mid
control! Note: On the SD-1, be
sure to install your pot so that
the lugs face the top of the case
so they dont get grounded to the
back plate (see Photo 33).

place. See Photo 26 and Photo

22, if necessary.
SD-1: Place the long leg of the
resistor that has the 3" jumper
in the vacated R7 hole that is
closest to the IC chip. Place the
other resistors leg in the other
vacant R7 hole. Solder the legs
in place. See Photo 27.

6. Solder your .033 F cap to

Fig. 7. Reference schematic for the TS9 and SD-1 variable-mid-control mod.

lug 1 of your B100k pot,

then solder the last piece of 3"
wire to lug 2 of your pot, and
then solder the .0047 F cap
to lug 3 of the pot. See
Photo 28.

7. Solder the wire attached

between the two 10k resistors

to the remaining leg of the .033
F cap thats soldered to lug 1
of the pot.

8. Solder the remaining wire

attached to the long leg of the
10k resistor to the remaining

88 PREMIER GUITAR OCTOBER 2012

photo 22. Remove R8 in your Tube Screamer.

to view the photos and other visual elements for this mod, visit premierguitar.com/oct2012
premierguitar.com