ggg its8 with "very expensive boutique mods" and fat switch?

[trh74]

Hey everybody,

Long time fan of this board, first time poster.

I'm getting ready to build a ggg its8 with the "very expensive boutique mods" option, and I was also considering adding the AMZ Fat Mod as well.  Have any of you guys done this?  Is it overkill?  Just wondering how the Fat Mod reacts to the different clipping modes.

[R.G.]

It is quite difficult to describe tone in words.

The screaming advantage of DIY is that you can do your own mods and see how they sound to you.

[Brymus]

I would definetly breadboard it first to try and see what mods work for you.
I really like mine,its based off the ITS808,If I did it over I would use a bigger enclosure and add a 6 way rotary switch for the corner freq select.
I made the PCB and tested it over a year ago but just got around to boxing it up.
I really like it alot!
Sorry for the crappy pics but you get the idea.


Here is the PNP I used,its the GGG board with extra filtering and pads for more mods.

[trh74]

Very nice Bryan... Thanks for the info!

[Brymus]

Thanks
IMO the mods are totaly worth doing.
Just nail down how "fat" you want it first, AMZ has some great info on calculating the knee or corner.
Along with several values already listed.

[askwho69]

nice layout brymus!  like ts808 alot for boosting my sansamp! by the way do have the layout?

[Brymus]

nice layout brymus!  like ts808 alot for boosting my sansamp! by the way do have the layout?

Thanks ,just use the GGG ITS8 layout ,the unused/new pads will make sense.

[WesMVaughan]

Hi trh74, I built two ITS8's using the very expensive boutique mod.

This mod uses the same principles of increased gain as the Keeley mod and the AMZ Fat mod.

You will notice that it uses the toggle switch to switch between LED and silicon diodes. When they say that it includes the same principles as the AMZ Fat mod switch, I think it is because the expensive boutique mod just replaces C3 with a 224 cap instead of bypassing it using the toggle switch (AMZ fat switch mod) meaning the boost is no longer switchable it is just part of the circuit now(IDK FOR SURE LET THE SMARTER PEOPLE ON HERE VERIFY!!!!!!!!!) Now I guess you could just use the toggle switch to do the AMZ fat mod switch (again, this bypasses C3) but then you would need another toggle switch to switch between different diodes which is part of the Expensive boutique mod.

I actually ended up reverting back to the stock layout (I still have the toggle switch for changing diodes) because I found that with the gain turned all the way down, and volume all the way up, it had too much gain, even though now I might attribute that to a low-wattage amp (DRRI) that didn't have enough headroom. I am currently playing on a FUCH's ODS 50/100 which I play on full power mode rated at 100 watts. It still adds a little too much gain to my liking, but I just live with it. It depends on the sound you are trying to get. I was looking for a more clean boost a la SRV. A lot of Texas country players use a similar tone, where it almost sounds clean just with more balls. However it will sound distorted if you play more than one note. I just built a BYOC 5-knob Compressor which works great for this. It doesn't distort when you hit chords. 

Honestly I can't say I heard a big difference between the stock layout and the values changed in the expensive Boutique mod, however i did notice the difference between the diodes or if they were not used at all.

What kind of tone are you trying to get out of the ITS8?

[trh74]

Thanks for the info Wes.  I think I'm just going to do the boutique mod without adding the fat mod.  I can't wait to get started.  This is my third build, and I'm starting to find out just how addicting building these things can be!