Can I run my TS808 at 18V?

[Rex_Rocker]

I've heard some people do.

Would it be safe to do so? I have a 9 to 18V adapter that I use with my 805.

Not sure if I will fry something with my TS808.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

BTW, I don't know what happened years ago. I was once jamming with a friend, and I was using a cheapie One Spot. I think there may have been a peak or something at his home, and it fried my One Spot. Ever since that, my TS808 doesn't work on a battery, just plugged in. Don't want to further mess it up, TBH.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Most ODs are fine at 18V. Some circuits (like Klons & klones) have an internal voltage doubler and can't handle it.
Another exception is the Maxon 820 Pro which has a voltage doubler like the Klon.
But in the regular TS (or its many clones) there's no doubler. People have been running them at 18V for years without problems.

That said, if yours was compromised by a power spike in the past, I'd wait for an expert opinion.
Which mine is not.

 

[marcello252]

it depends on the caps you have inside, generally a standard ts9 must be modified, you have to check.
You have to read every electrolytical you have inside, read the rating, I remember on mine there were at least one 12v rated cap, that would not work, they must be at least 24v ( don't rely on 18v ratings) , I made lots of mods so I don't remeber if it was one only or several.
ceramics and film cap might be ok, there are no other issues

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Just checked the caps. They're rated 16V.

I did however try to run it at 18V, and it did work. It did not burst into flames, LOL. But I suspect it might not be a good idea for extended periods of time.

 

[jeremy]

i think that is a wise choice

 

[Rex_Rocker]

There is an Xotic 15V voltage pump. I think I'm going to get it, because it did sound FAT at 18V.

 

[marcello252]

rule of thumbs: never ever use components very close to limits for at least two reasons:
1) tolerance are notoriously huge, in order of 10%, even with ratings, if your cap is 16v and old it might be possible its rating is now 15 or lower , who knows , this would be at least 3v under the voltage you give
2) there are always spikes, short voltage peaks well beyond the given level, in switching adapter too, so never trust the ratings, be pessimistic, use better components, or don't connect overvoltaged supply

 

[Rex_Rocker]

rule of thumbs: never ever use components very close to limits for at least two reasons:
1) tolerance are notoriously huge, in order of 10%, even with ratings, if your cap is 16v and old it might be possible its rating is now 15 or lower , who knows , this would be at least 3v under the voltage you give
2) there are always spikes, short voltage peaks well beyond the given level, in switching adapter too, so never trust the ratings, be pessimistic, use better components, or don't connect overvoltaged supply

How about 12V? Would that be playing it safer?

 

[jeremy]

id think 12v would be ok, definitely safer than 15v or 18v

 

[beaubrummels]

You'd think common sense would tell you that circuits should be run on the voltages they were designed for. But I guess common sense is no longer part of the equation. When components are rated higher than expected by the circuit, it's to ensure they stay within an acceptable operating window that they have been tested for within that circuit. Oh but that's just a hunch.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

You'd think common sense would tell you that circuits should be run on the voltages they were designed for. But I guess common sense is no longer part of the equation. When components are rated higher than expected by the circuit, it's to ensure they stay within an acceptable operating window that they have been tested for within that circuit. Oh but that's just a hunch.

OK, but then there was Van Halen and how he got his brown sound.

Or Soldano doing the Hot Rod 25, or Music Man running those ridiculous voltages on their amps in the 70's.

It's not like I'm messing with a collectible rare pedal either. Or even a fully working pedal, at that.

As much as yeah, it's kind of a dumb question... is it really? Even if it is, I figured it was worth asking, no? Better ask it than be left with the doubt, especially since it didn't come across as obvious to me as the reason I asked it is I just saw someone doing it on a video.

 

[ehdwuld]

Does it not sound good at 9v like the pedal says?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Does it not sound good at 9v like the pedal says?

It does. But it sounds nasal compared to other pedals. But a TS is supposed to sound nasal. Grass is always greener on the other side kinda deal, I guess.

I like experimenting with the stuff I got. I've wanted a Maxon OD820 for a while, but they're discontinued, and they're kind of expensive. I just wanted to see if I can make my Tube Screamer's EQ a bit broader while still sounding like a Tube Screamer. I also have a Duncan 805, but it doesn't do the TS808 thing as well as the TS808 does.

 

[Mincer]

Does it not sound good at 9v like the pedal says?

I think they sound awesome at 9v, but it certainly has a 'sound'.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Yeah. TBH, I like it as-is. I just want to kinow if I'll be able to play around with it.

Funny thing is the sound did change a whole lot more when I briefly ran it at 18V compared to the Duncan 805 which you can actually run at 18V without any risk.

I tried recording it DI, and the headroom is GREATLY increased, when the 805's waveform barely changes at all.

I tend to fall in and out of love with my 805. This is the third I've had. I'm going to keep it for the time being, but right now, I'm liking the 808 better, TBH. There's a certain raspy/dirty quality to the 808's clipping that sounds nice that the 805 doesn't quite replicate. That, and the output on the 808 is hotter.

 

[marcello252]

It does. But it sounds nasal compared to other pedals. But a TS is supposed to sound nasal. Grass is always greener on the other side kinda deal, I guess.

a higher supply voltage can't avoid the nasal timbre, it's not due to the compression but from the eq tailoring of two part of the circuit:
1. the high pass filter on the first opamp feedback loop
2. the low pass filter on the output of the first opamp

you can increase the bass putting a 100nF instead of 47nF of the feedback loop, that way the bass cut varies from 723 hz to 360 Hz, more or less, but this increase also the crossover distortion, however this is a common mode.
you can decrease the cap to ground on the output of the opamp but broading the freq band introduces some harshness.
There are million of TS variations around and almost everyone messes with these values, or the type of clipping (the Boss SD-1 is identical but it has asymmetrical clipping, the high pass freq is the same, same values for example)

 

[Rex_Rocker]

a higher supply voltage can't avoid the nasal timbre, it's not due to the compression but from the eq tailoring of two part of the circuit.

Oh, but it actually did. It's not night-and-day, but it did. The same thing happens that happens running EMG's at 9 vs. 18V: Slightly more lows, slightly more highs, and slightly more pick attack dynamics come through. It doesn't radically change the voicing of the pedal.

​

(the Boss SD-1 is identical but it has asymmetrical clipping, the high pass freq is the same, same values for example)

You mean identical hipass frequency? I was aware the Boss SD-1 is pretty much the same circuit but with 15 or so values swapped around and the asymmetrical clipping. But I didn't realize the hipass was the same. Must be that the lopass is different and the output volume is less? Because whenever I saw an EQ graph comparing both, the SD-1 cuts more lows overall.

 

[marcello252]

You mean identical hipass frequency?

even the same values, 4K7R + 47nF

 

[marcello252]

there is some differences on the input cap of the clipping stage, on the SD1 there is a 18nF+100KR high pass filter in front of the input, in the TS9 there is a 1uF+10KR , on paper the TS9 would be broader toward the bass, in reality there's no such a big differences, since the SD-1 cut is at 88Hz, a freq really low, I don't think it's audible, although there could be somthing different in the higher harmonics obtained from the clipping stage, someone says is a big difference and make you pay big money for the mod, trust me, you almost don't hear anything