JSA Effects LNS Screamer+

The finest tube screamer ever made, with additional bass and V.C.S controls

I recently built what I consider to be the greatest tube screamer ever; the "LNS Screamer" (Late Night Simon). That may seem like a bold statement, but as someone who owns more tube screamer pedals than pieces of cutlery, and has lost count of the amount of tube screamer style pedals they've built over the years (I mean, it's in the hundreds of different versions), I feel reasonably well qualified to make that statement. At the very least, it's the first tube screamer I've ever built where I didn't want to change a single thing, and has made me want to play guitar

However, as is often the case, I couldn't help but ask myself "I wonder what would happen if I added a bass and 'V.C.S' control to it?". So, with a cheek vintage Sony CXA4558 op amp, I built an updated version with these tweaks as the "LNS Screamer+"

Do these changes make THIS the best tube screamer ever? Honestly, no, BUT it is a more versatile take on the best tube screamer ever

The Timmy style passive bass control softens up the mid hump, and allows you to refine the low end to perfection

The 'V.C.S' (Variable Clipping Saturation) control sweeps between LED clipping fully left, and beautifully rich and smooth silicon clipping (from a pair of NOS MA150 diodes, as found in the original TS-808) fully right, but, unlike a toggle switch, this pot allows you to find a range of in-between clipping sounds which is where the real magic is

Built on veroboard finished in Culture Hustle Black 4.0 (a black paint that is blacker than black), the "LNS Screamer+ " uses vintage & NOS components throughout - incredible NOS Soviet PIO caps, Mullard 'Tropical Fish', vintage solid tantalum, and vintage and NOS carbon comp resistors throughout - which have been carefully measured and hand selected, as well as the previously mentioned vintage Sony CXA4558 dual op amp (salvaged from a 1980's Japanese overdrive) and NOS MA150 diodes. These two elements alone are a large part of why the original TS-808's now command a four figure pricetag on the used market

Housed in a handpainted 125b enclosure with top mounted jacks, the "LNS Screamer+" it can be powered by a 9v battery or the standard 2.1mm 9v centre negative 'Boss style' power supply (I.e your normal power supply)

"Why aren't the knobs labeled?" Mostly for aesthetic reasons, but also, as a friend said recently, not having the controls labeled means you spend more time listening and tweaking rather than 'defaulting' to settings. However, to make life easier, it is laid out like a normal overdrive:

Top right is gain

Top left if level

Bottom middle is tone

And then bottom right is bass, and bottom left is VCS (if you think of it as a three knob overdrive with two toggle switches, that will help orientate you. There may be labels in the box to add if you're so inclined 😉)

This is part of "Simon's Secret Stash Sale"; this sold as soon as I built it, and then it travelled to LA where it lived a luxury life, before coming back home as a part exchange for a dual pedal. I've been glad to have it back in my collection as I really didn't want to sell it at the time, but we need a new roof, so needs must. It has some very, very minor blemishes to the paint, but they obviously don't effect how it works or the sound