Tym guitars blog has moved to bigger and better primises.

We have moved this blog to our new site. Check it out here.

NEW TYM GUITARS WEBSITE

Tym guitars has a brand new website up and running with the new BLOG as part of the site. Please go to Tym guitars to view/comment and browse the BLOG.

All the old stories and reviews are on the new blog.

Diamond Bass Comp

IN STOCK NOW. The original Diamond Compressor has become one of our most well known products, loved by players for it's smooth response and ability to enhance your instruments tone. Turns out that bass players have discovered the Compressor (many via it's discussion on the TalkBass online forums) and while it generally works great for 4-string passive basses, the performance with 5/6 strings and high output active basses was less than ideal as the frequency response and headroom was optimized for guitar use.
Our response to that interest is the new dedicated Bass Comp, the first Diamond pedal designed specifically for bass players. With low frequency response extending down to 20Hz and increased headroom, the Bass Compressor is ideal for 4/5/6 string basses, both active and passive.
We've also revoiced the Tilt EQ control, offering bassists the choice of the original 900Hz tilt point or a new 250Hz setting, accessible via a mini toggle.
Features:
-Smooth, optical compression/limiting
-Premium audio components, including 2% polypropylenecapacitors,1% metal film resistors and a pro audio grade opamp (our signal path opamp alone costs 8 to 10 times
what the industry norm uses).
- Innovative 'tilt' EQ provides a very musical tailoring of frequency response - selectable 900Hz or 250Hz tilt point
- Dual AC capacitive coupling paths for improved
transient response.
- True bypass signal path
- 18V power supply included

New Tym T shirts

Thanks to Nathan Smith, local R'n'R legend for doing this hand drawn artwork for the new Tym T shirt. These join the huge line of Tym T shirts we already have available here for shipping anywhere in the world.
These are available in white T with black sleeves in all sizes from XS to XL and black T's in all sizes from 10 to XL. Back has the Tym oval logo with "custom handmade guitars, effects,amps and speakers cabs" All Tym T's are $20. Contact Tym guitars for these or any other T's in the Tym range. Thanks for supporting Tym guitars.

The new Tym Tone Boost

I made a handful (less than 10) of these back in the late 90's and sold/gave them to some big (ish) player friends I knew who all raved about them highly. I stopped making them as they were a lot of work as I was wiring them point to point and assembling by hand. The originals were in an MXR Phase 100 size box and had a clear sticker printed with a bubblejet and stuck to the box with a coat of clear laquer over the top. I think most of them were painted light blue ? I actually saw one of these sell about a year and half ago for what I considered WAY too much money ?

I found the prototype a month or so ago and wired it up and plugged it in. Man, I'd forgotten how much I love this thing. It's a simple 1 transistor subtle to high gain boost/overdrive that can push any nice valve amp into saturation and has a very usable 1 transistor active tone control. The original had a toggle switch to switch from a type of treble/mid boost to a full linear boost which I've changed into a footswitch to make it more usable while you're playing ? Full frequency response makes it usable for both guitar and bass and you can get from the Shellac type "clang" right through to BIG "stoner" type bottom end.
This is the new version with new box and new artwork. This is schematically identical to the original and is now available in the small MXR size enclosure but sideways like some ZVEX pedals ?

Since the last blog entry I lent this prototype to "boost collector" Brett Netson from legendary US indie band Built to Spill when they played here in Brisbane and I'm very happy to announce this pedal will also be available as Brett's signature pedal in a different enclosure with artwork developed by Brett and Tym guitars. He was so impressed with the pedal, he's putting his name on it. Stay tuned for more info on that SOON.
Both of these versions will be available soon. Contact Tym guitars for these or any other pedal in the Tym range. Thanks for supporting Tym guitars.

The new Tym Red Mudd

Since starting my Big Mudd series a couple of years ago I get asked for this version time and time again, mainly by bass players and stoner rock guitarists, so, here it is. This is the new Tym version of the green/army overdrive/sustain pedal from the early 90's.
Like most of these pedals this is essentially the same circuit as all the other versions with some component changes in key areas. It was sold in a few different versions originally and like most of their products, yes,they do all sound slightly different. I used 2 original versions that I've kept for their tone as a template to work from. After building one as per "spec" from online schematics I then started modifying the circuit slightly to fine tune the tone.

While this is an exact copy of the original I am also offering a modified version that lets slightly MORE bottom end through without getting unusably muddy. While still being great on guitar, especially if you tune down, this will work for bass players who currently use one of these versions but with features like my smaller stainless steel enclosures, standard 9V "BOSS" style adaptor, and a standard stomp switch. I also have IN and OUT the "right" way around .........

The Russian writing at the bottom under the Tym logo says "Made in Brisbane, Australia" or at least, that's what we think it says !! These pedals will be available VERY soon. Contact Tym guitars for these or any other pedal in the Tym range. Thanks for supporting Tym guitars.

Earthquaker Ghost Echo Reverb

Ghost Echo Reverb
The Ghost Echo Reverb is designed to emulate a vintage reverb unit. It ‘s capable of providing a little atmosphere all the way through to vast depths. The attack control sets the delay of the initial pick attack on the wet signal only. When playing staccato this registers as a slap back type echo hitting the reverb but when playing fluid lines it adds a massive depth and "fattens" up the sound. The dwell control is a fine tune function that enhances the decay. At first it may seem like it's not there but back it off and you'll miss it. The depth controls the intensity of the reverb. An, yes, it is true bypass!
Power:
Any standard 9 volt DC power supply with a negative center 2.1mm barrel. No battery option.
Controls:
Depth- Sets reverb intensity
Dwell- Sets the decay
Attack- Sets the delay of the pick attack on the wet signal

These pedals are IN STOCK now. Contact Tym guitars for more info and prices.

Zvex Box of Rock

The Box of Rock is Z.Vex Effect's first "distortion" pedal, highly specialized to simulate the "everything on 10" sound of a classic Marshall JTM45 non-master-volume amplifier. You may use the Box of Rock effectively with many different amplifiers, but to get the sound I heard when I designed it, try it through a Marshall at least once. You may use your guitar's volume control to adjust for the exact amount of distortion you need, all the way down to very clean and clear with most drive settings. You will notice the words "distortron engine" on the Vexter version of this pedal (no, that's not a misprint) on the pedal. This is what I named my distortion circuit... call me crazy. On the hand-painted version, the stomp switch on the right is labeled "ROCK" instead, because our paint brushes are too wide for so many small letters.

The Box of Rock also contains an extremely high-headroom, unity-to-50X gain booster with nominal input impedance and low hiss. It is very similar to the SHO boost circuit, with refinements to make it sound more like a standard amp input and less glassy. The boost channel can be used alone or in conjunction with the "distortron engine" channel. The boost channel follows the distortion channel so that the distortion is able to hit your amp harder (at a higher volume) when both switches are engaged, for boosting solos and what-not.
Look out when boosting what-not. 8^)

The Controls:
Drive: Sets the amount of distortion. Start around 1:00 o'clock.
Tone: Adjust for treble content. Start around 2:00 o'clock.
Vol: Adjust for distortron engine volume level. Start around 9:00 o'clock.
Boost: Sets the boost level, which is engaged with the left stomp switch. Start around 11:00 o'clock.
The Drive and Boost controls are based on my original Super Hard-On gain control, so they may crackle when turned. This is perfectly normal.

In stock now. Please contact Tym guitars for more info and prices.

Phoenix Custom Electronics Lady Stardust

This pedal is based on the Vox Tonebender which is one of the first fuzzes ever produced, and was probably the basis for the famous Dallas Fuzz Face. Our version has the new Phoenix Range knob which allows you to dial in classic bright Vox Fuzz tones or blend in a larger output cap for progressively more bass response. The Lady stardust may seem bright at first, but try it through a cranked Marshall with a Les Paul and it's Mick Ronson all the way! This is a very versatile killer germanium fuzz pedal that will not disappoint. John Stewart and Prescott Kagan aided greatly in the design of this product.
Available now at Tym guitars.

Lava cable shipment in NOW

LAVA CLEAR CONNECT CABLE
The Lava Clear Connect cable is Made in the U.S.A. and designed to be one of the very best guitar and instrument cable on the market. Featuring G&H Industries Pure Plug™ and Clear Connect Technology™- a patented process where the connectors are high-pressure crimped onto the cable, The Lava Clear Connect cable produces the purest signal path possible. At 26 pF per foot it's capacitance has been designed at the sweet spot for intsrument cables. With a large outer diameter of .260”, 98% shielding, and 99.999% pure Oxygen Free Copper (OFC) for both the shield and conductor, it is a world-class cable capable of superb performance in all situations.

















Retro-Coil NOW COMES IN SEVEN COLORS! BLACK, WHITE, ORANGE, PURPLE, METALLIC PURPLE, METALLIC RED AND METALLIC BLUE

Lava Solder-Free Pedal Board Kit. 10' Mini ELC Cable + 10 Lava Plugs + Stripping Tool.
Lava Cable along with G&H Industries has designed a revolutionary DIY solder-free plug specifically designed with tight tolerances to match the Lava Mini ELC cable. The Lava PlugTM is first solder-free DIY plug on the market not to use a set screw to make the ground connection. Instead, a sleeve making 360 degree ground and outer jacket contact is used. This new right angle plug was introduced at Summer NAMM and is the smallest DIY solder-free right angle plug on the market with a body width of .435" allowing for spacing between pedals of less than 1" or less than 1/2" when staggered.

Contact Tym guitars for more options and info.

Valve order just arrived

Just got a shipment of valves inc the new JJ EL844.
These have 25% less gain from an EL84 ........ so you wont have to pull vales out of your classic 30/50 , Delta Blues, Orange, Vox etc amps or buy a smaller amp. Yes, 12.5 watts drop will take a 50w down to about 37.5 or a 30W will drop from 30 down to about 22.5 watts. An EL...84 that will dissipate right at 9 watts rather than 12 watts which will be a great option for players who want to get to the sweet spot at a little lower volume.
We also got our usual line up of JJ, EH, Sovtek, Tube Amp Doctor, Groove Tubes, EI, Valve Art and Winged C as well as some good stock of Mullard and Svetlana valves as well. We have Mullard EL34's and 12AX7's which are both GREAT for old Marshalls. We have stock of Svetlana EL34's and 12AX7's which are great with EVERYTHING
We have a good stock of guitar amp valves at both the retail and repair shop so check the site for prices or contact us for availability and advice.
We stock most of the "big" brands and can get most others inc NOS but advise against this as the market is so flooded with bad valves being sold as good, the success rate of getting good serviceable valves is getting harder and harder.
We generally always have stock of JJ, EH, Sovtek, Tube Amp Doctor, Groove Tubes, EI, Valve Art and Winged C with some Tungsol and Svetlana valves in stock.

We've found in the repair shop that JJ valves are a good, solid performer and generally sound pretty good. Good value for money and easy to get in most forms. I use JJ's in most of my personal amps and all Tym amps come standard with them.
EH and Sovtek 12AX7's perform well in higher gain amps and keep a tighter bottom end. The EI ones are great in Vox AC30's with a real "jangle" to them.
All this of course is subjective. The best way to find what's best for you is to try them. This can get expensive but all valves behave differently in different amps and just because you use one brand in one amp doesn't mean you should or have to use that brand in another amp.
Winged C EL34's, 6L6's and KT88's generally outperform the JJ's but are more expensive. We've been getting great tones from the TAD's in both preamp and power amp stages but they're not for everyone.

You can mix and match preamp tubes with different brands and sometimes types of valves to try and get the best tone. Sometimes one brand works best in VR1 but not 2 or 3. Power valves however MUST be matched in brand and type and most amps need biasing when new power vales are fitted so we recommend you get these fitted by a tech.
So this, like everything else in your signal chain is all personal. We can "steer" you towards what might be close, but at the end of the day it's up to the player to decide what valves best suit their style and taste. Come in and have a chat if you like or contact us and we'll help as best we can.

Tym Toecutter Big Bottom pedal

Well, here's another crazy idea from the Tym guitars effects camp. This idea came about because a few years ago we built a Big Bottom V1 board into Tony from GuitarNerds old Pro Co RAT pedal. The idea was that instead of running the RAT in the loop of the Big Bottom pedal externally, the RAT would be in the loop, in the pedal. This worked well but was a nigthmare to make as the BB board only JUST fitted with a lot of shoehorning into the vintage big box style RAT.
So, with the new Big Bottom V2 up and running I thought it was time to re-visit this idea. As the new version now has a bypass switch and volumes on both effects loop and bottom end and I also make a RAT clone in the form of the Toecutter it seemed like it was time to make a more reliable version for Tone.
So, here's the prototype. It's in my bigger stainless steel enclosure I used for the Superfuzz BigMudd and TremFuzz and runs on one 9V DC input. The bass signal comes in and goes straight to the Big Bottom where the effects is set up as per normal with the bottomend separated off and the mids and tops sent through the loop but instead of the effects loop going out, the output of the loop (the send) goes to the input of the Toecutter, via a switch to bypass the distortion. The signal is then sent from the Toecutter to and effects loop and then back into the Big Bottom(the return) Sound complicated ?It's not.
This allows you to keep your bottom end clean using the Big Bottom circuit but also adding in the Toecutter within the same circuit. The effects loop after the distortion means you can also run other pedals IN the Big Bottom loop after the distortion.
This pedal can,and will be of course made with other pedals in the BBV2 loop like a Tym Big Mudd or Tym Bass Face. I have already had lots of enquiries about fitting the Tym Red Mudd into this pedal which WILL be done. It will be the ultimate stoner bass players pedal giving the Russian style sustainer with the Big Bottom which is already a common set up with bass players.
I will also be adding a boost to this set up as well just to give a little more diversity and more gain, 'cause you ALWAYS need more gain. Other options will of course be available since all these pedals are all hand made by me here at the workshop.
These will be available soon in most options of Tym pedals. Contact Tym guitars for these or any other pedal in the Tym range. Thanks for supporting Tym guitars.

Phoenix Ranger

"The Ranger" is a treble/full range booster based on the legendary Dallas Rangemaster.

The original signal path is still there, unchanged, though the Ranger uses metal film resistors, which are less noisy than the original carbon resistors. The Dallas Rangemaster was not a stompbox, but was actually designed to sit on top of the amp. It had a toggle switch to turn it on or off. The Ranger basically takes the Rangemaster and puts it into stompbox form. If you are looking for a crystal clear boost pedal that will not affect your tone in any way, this ain't it! The Ranger uses a military spec CV7003 germanium transistor to boost your signal. It adds just a touch of that great sounding warmth and dirt to your tone, without being dirty enough to qualify as a fuzz or overdrive pedal. Use the Ranger to push your amp into natural tube overdrive and you won't need or want a distortion pedal! This pedal responds marvelously to the volume knob on your guitar. You can get clean tones by turning down to about 7 or so, and then bring the level back up for thick lead tones!

Leave it on for the entire gig - your tone will be marvelous! The "Cut" knob allows you to blend in a larger input capacitor which allows more low end into the signal. You can get any tone from the original treble boost of the Dallas Rangemaster to a full range boost that is great for Fender guitars and amps. This is not a tone circuit, just a simple way to give you some control over the frequency response of the effect.

In stock now. Please contact Tym guitars for more info and prices.

Tym HIRE gear

Here at Tym guitars I have a lot of guitars, amps and effects that I don't really want to sell, but I hate the idea of a guitar or amp sitting in a cupboard, or worse a vault not being used.
Although this isn't all my personal stuff as some is just (unfortunately) too valuable to hire out in case of damage or theft, it is a nice cross section of gear and most can be used in our studio and/or live use.
Here's a list of current gear I have for hire. If there's something you don't see, ask me, I might just have it and be happy for it to be used for studio use both in our studios and outside.

GUITARS
'69 Gibson SG special
'71 Gibson SG Std
'96 Gibson SG '61 Rei
'69 Gibson SG Std
'79 Gibson 335
'89 Gibson LP Custom
'90 Gibson LP '57 Goldtop
Fender Strats x lots
Fender Esquire
Fender Teles x 3
Fender Jazzmasters x 2
'65/66 Fender Jaguars x 2
'79 Fender P bass
Fender P basses x lots
Fender J basses x lots
'96 Rickenbacker 360
'86 Rickenbacker 340
'89 Rickenbacker 330
'70 Rickenbacker 335
'96 Rickenbacker 4001 V63
'70's Travis Bean
'83 Guild DV52 acoustic
AMPS
'09 Tym Supertone 40
'10 Tym Supertone 100
'85 Mesa Boogie MkIII
'79 Marshall JMP
'90's Marshall 20W (handwired)
'80's Marshall 800
'80's Marshall 800 combo
'90's Marshall 900
'72 Orange OR80 (Graphic)
'73 Orange OR120
'76 Matamp GT100
'74 Orange OR120
'05 Orange AD30 combo
'04 Matamp GT1
'04 Matamp King Street
'65 Selmer Zodiac 50 x 2
'76 Fender Twin
'76 Fender Twin
'80's Fender Twin
'08 Fender Princton reverb combo
'65 Fender Bassman 50
'73 Fender Bassman 100
'71 Fender Bassman 100
'71 Fender Bassman 50
'06 Vox AC30 (JMI hotrodded and greenbacks)
'80's Roland JC120 combos x 2
'90's Peavey Classic 30
'06 Ampeg SVT1000
Gallien Krueger 800RB
SPEAKER CABS
Mesa 410
TYM 212 (vintage 30's)
TYM 212 (Greenbacks)
TYM 410 (Mojotone)
TYM 410 (Jensen)
TYM 610 (Emminence)
Marshall 4X12 quads (G12's)
Marshall 4X12 quads (Greenbacks)
EFFECTS
WEM Copy Cat. tape delay
EH Big Muff. Green Russian version
EH Big MUff. Choice of several V2/V3
EH Small Stone. Classic EH phaser
EH Big Muff Dlx. Classic Big Muff with Comp
Univox Superfuzz. FUZZ
Pro Co RAT. Original "white face" RAT
Roland Bee Bar. Classic 70's Fuzz.
Roland Phase Five. Classic phaser.
Roland Double Beat. Classic fuzz wah
Ampeg Scrambler Fuzz
Solarsound Fuzz Wah. Early classic British Fuzz Wah
Zvex Fuzz Factory
Zvex Box Of Rock
Zvex Super HardOn
Boss DM-2 Analogue Delay
Boss DD-2 Digital Delay
Boss TU2 Floor Tuner
Boss DS1 Original Japanese
Boss OD1 Original Japanese
MXR Dist +. Original black logo version














Come in and try them out or contact Tym guitars for price and availability.

Pedaltrain boards and cases

PEDALTRAIN is the premier innovation in guitar effects pedalboards. Our award winning and patented design has been road tested, approved, and is currently in use by many of today's top guitarists. Professional tour grade pedalboards and cases at prices everyone can afford.
These revolutionary pedalboards are made of welded aluminum alloy tubing to ensure that every PEDALTRAIN is as strong and lightweight as possible. There are no moving parts to loosen or wear out. A durable powder coat finish ensures your PEDALTRAIN will look great and last a lifetime.

The unique, open frame, elevated angle design provides added flexibility when configuring the layout of the effects. Your connecting cables can be neatly routed over, under, and through the open slots in the top surface area of the PEDALTRAIN to keep the risk of possible accidental disconnection to a minimum. Pedals may be added, removed, rearranged, or bypassed quickly and easily. All three PEDALTRAIN models include plenty of industrial grade, adhesive backed, hook and loop material, along with detailed instructions to make setup fast and efficient. You can easily and securely mount virtually any effects pedal, volume or wah pedal, or other device, such as a pedal power supply, channel switcher, power strip, direct box, or wireless receiver.

All new PEDALTRAIN models (excluding PT-MINI) now include specially designed brackets and instructions for mounting the popular Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 power supply underneath the pedalboard with no cutting modifications necessary. As always, you can still use any power supply of your choice with the PEDALTRAIN.
Contact Tym guitars for price and availability.

New Tym Big Mudd

That's right folks. I guess it was inevitable really. Since starting my Big Mudd series a couple of years ago I get asked for this version time and time again, mainly by bass players and stoner rock guitarists, so, here it is. This is the Tym version of the green/army overdrive/sustain pedal from the early 90's.
Like most of these pedals this is essentially the same circuit as all the other versions with some component changes in key areas. It was sold in a few different versions originally and like most of their products, yes,they do all sound slightly different. I used 2 original versions that I've kept for their tone as a template to work from. After building one as per "spec" from online schematics I then started modifying the circuit slightly to fine tune the tone.

I have modified this pedal slightly by letting MORE bottom end through without getting unusably muddy for bass players, who seem to say this version is the BEST for bass players. While still being great on guitar, especially if you tune down, this will work for bass players who currently use one of these versions but with features like smaller enclosure, standard 9V Boss style adaptor, and a standard stomp switch. I also have IN and OUT the "right" way around .........

These pedals will be available soon. Contact Tym guitars for these or any other pedal in the Tym range. Thanks for supporting Tym guitars.

The Diaz Tremodillo

All Diaz Musical Products effect pedals are individually hand-constructed, wired, tested and actually played by our in-house guitar gods before we ship!

All units are now powder coated instead of painted, which is stronger and looks better. Also the inside is coated so it will not corrode. The Tremodillo is the world's biggest little tremolo box! A Solid state battery powered tremolo unit in the same small box as the Texas Square Face. Features : Rate control : speed of tremolo Dwell control : depth of tremolo Speed stomp switch : doubles or halfs the tremolo rate On/Off switch : Turns the effect on and off Power jack : Boss style power jack included Indicator light : Flashes in sync with the tremolo pulse!

The Diaz Tremodillo is the closest thing you'll find to a classic Fender tremolo in a box. Rate and Dwell knobs take care of the traditional speed and depth functions while two stomp switches provide on/off and normal/half speed choices. The Diaz also includes a LED status that pulses in time with the tremolo's rate. It's a very cool addition that certainly helps in dialing up the perfect tempo. With most pedals you can expect to spend some twiddling to find that elusive sweet spot. That is not the case with the Tremodillo, as every conceivable setting sounded great to our ears. The Tremodillo is warm, expansive and oozing with that definable Blackface sound of the sixties. Despite the lack of true bypass, we never noticed any toneloss. In fact we noticed that this thing actually seemed to mysteriously enhance our tone just by being in the signal chain.

These pedals are IN STOCK now. Contact Tym guitars for more info and prices.

Tym Toecutter

The Toecutter is a Tym pedal that copies the original RAT. I started with the "Bud Box" and original "THE RAT" and tried to find out why new ones don't sound like old ones ? In this case, it really is true.
It turns out the RAT circuit hasn't changed that much over the years. It's mainly that the new ones don't use the original components due to their slightly higher cost. The circuit stayed almost the same for about 20 years.
The original used the famous LM308 IC that has become expensive (for a chip) and was replaced with the inferior sounding OP07DP around 2003 when production moved to China, along with several other mods to the circuit. These original ones had a much nicer tone and harmonic distortion, what the RAT was actually famous for. The FET has also been changed over the years which in conjunction with the chip, makes the newer circuit "mudier"
These early RATs are now fetching BIG money and the new ones can't be modified to sound like the old ones (just check the Keeley site) so it seemed to make sense ........ to make one ?

It is built on custom designed Tym PCB and hand wired using original type caps, resistors, FET and IC to give the original tone as used by The Melvins, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Radiohead and many many more. This has been fitted to my new enclosure design. It's the same size box handmade out of stainless steel, just sideways. This looks more like the vintage RAT design although liberty has been taken with artwork (thanks Tone) and pot placement. It has Boss style 9V input (no battery/ see earlier post), Swithccraft jacks and true bypass. The 2 LED's are located in the eyes of the skull. There will also be one available with toggle switches for "clean boost" and more "bottom end"


















These pedals are IN STOCK now. Contact Tym guitars for these or any other pedal in the Tym range. Thanks for supporting Tym guitars.

BYOC effects kits

B.Y.O.C. offers a full line of DIY guitar effects kits that are based on some of the most famous circuits ever conceived and use top shelf components to provide you with superb sounding boutique level effects pedals that are both fun to build and save you money. And you will also enjoy your pedal so much more because you built it yourself (your friends will be thoroughly impressed too!).
Our kits come with absolutely EVERYTHING you need to build a complete pedal right down to the hook up wire. The circuit board is ready-to-solder and the enclosure is pre-drilled. The only thing you'll need are a few basic tools and a little patience. And they're easy to build too. The step by step instructions make it as simple as paint by numbers and the layouts are extremely intuitive.
But the most important thing with any guitar FX stompbox is how the end result sounds and holds up. A BYOC kit is not just some DIY project that simply "works". A properly built BYOC kit will rival or surpass even the most coveted and expensive handmade versions of a comparable circuit in tone, construction, and every other aspect of what makes pedal great.
With so many pedal companies that all seem to offer the same things, why not try something different? Why not build your own clone and Take Tone Into Your Own Hands?

SOME of the kits include

DOD 250+:
If you're a fan of either the DOD 250 overdrive or the MXR Distortion+, then you probably already know that the two circuits are nearly 100% identical with the exception of a few component values.
The BYOC 250+ kit comes with all the parts to build to either 250 or Dist+ specs and extra diodes to experiment with the clipping section. This is also the easiest kit to build that BYOC offers, so if you are looking for an easy "first timer" project, this kit would be ideal.

Analog delay:
The BYOC Analog Delay kit features 100% true mechanical bypass with a dry out and boasts four 4096 step BBD (Bucket Brigade Delay) chips. Each BBD chip has its own dedicated clock driver chip to provide the lowest amount of clock noise and most efficient operation. With a 16,384 bucket brigade delay line, the BYOC analog delay isn't going to give you pristine clear bell like repeats. If you want that, you had better get yourself a digital delay. If you've never played an analog delay before, you should know that the repeats will be grainy and have some distortion. But if analog is the only thing that will do if for you, and you need more than the typical 300ms analog delay, then this is the delay for you.
The kit also has a Short/Long switch. This switch completely bypasses 3 of the 4 BBD stages to give you a perfect vintage slapback delay tone similar to a DM-2 in addition to having one of the longest analog delay times available today. The repeats are clearer when in short mode, but still distinctly analog.

The Large Beaver:
With the Large Beaver, we set out to give you the most absolutely accurate sonic recreation of an early era Big Muff Pi, but with some added tonal flexibility. Since the component selections used by Electro Harmonix in the early days were very inconsistent, there are many conflicting opinions of what exactly Triangle Era specs and what Ram's Head Era specs should be. So we decided to investigate for ourselves. We sampled dozens of vintage Big Muffs and recorded the component
values for dozens of specimens. We then compiled the data to determine what the average value (or closest to a standard component value) was for each component. This gives us a far better idea of what the intended component values should be and a tone that is more consistently familiar.
The BYOC Large Beaver kit comes with parts to build to Triangle Era specs or Rams Head Era specs including BC239C transistors. We also added a modification to make the circuit better adapted for any playing situation.
Because the Big Muff Pi has such a scooped mid EQ, it can make it hard to cut through in a band setting or impossible to nail your favorite famous recorded muff tones because of post recording EQ. We added a 4 way EQ switch that affects how the tone knob works. Position 1 is the standard mid scooped tone knob that we all know and love. Position 2 is a flat mids tone knob that you'll find on a lot of the modern boutique Muff clones. Position 3 is a mid hump tone knob which really cuts through and gives it a real overdrive flavor when you roll back on the guitar's volume knob. And position 4 is a tone knob bypass, like you'd find on some of the later versions of the Big Muff Pi, but never before on the Triangle or Ram's Head Era versions. When you take the passive tone stack out of the way, the tone knob bypass offers a huge volume boost with unadulterated vintage muff tone....very cool!

These and MANY MORE BYOC KITS are available at Tym guitars Contact us for more info and prices.

The WMD Geiger Counter - Civilian Issue

The WMD Geiger Counter - Civilian Issue is 32 killer sounds from the original Geiger Counter. We stripped off the majority of the controls and took $100 off the price. This is for those players who want to dial in a tone quickly and save pedalboard space.

The Controls

Stomp Switch - Like all WMD pedals, the GCCI (Geiger Counter Civilian Issue) is handwired and true bypass, so it won't affect your tone when disabled. When the GCCI is on, the red LED will be lit.

Gain - The gain control provides anywhere from a nice clean tone to a ton of overdrive. Use this to hit the Function tables harder or softer to produce different amounts of harmonics.

Tone - The tone control can be used to fine tune the harmonic content from the Function tables. Use lower settings for fewer upper level harmonics.

Function - Twisting this knob will cause the number on the display to change. It goes 0 to 9 and A to F. This selects the 16 presets inside the GCCI. Push the knob in to activate the Low Fidelity mode for each preset. Low Fidelity mode is indicated by the decimal point on the display.

Each Function recalls parameters from the original Geiger Counter including the Bit Depth, Sample Rate and the Wave Table. The wave tables are displayed in the manual file. As your guitar string swings up and down, the wave table is played left to right from the center. The output is what's vertically on the graph. The more movement in the Function, the more harmonic content you'll get out.

Volume - Sets the output volume of the GCCI which can be up to 5Vpp, enough to really crush your amp's input stage.

Battery & 9VDC Jack - WMD recommends using a 9V BOSS style power adapter (2.1mm Center Negative). A battery snap is provided, but is recommended for power supply backup only as the GCCI uses a lot of power (about 40mA). A battery could last as little as 5 hours.

Warranty - All WMD pedals are warranted against manufacturing defects for one year from date of purchase. Please contact us if you think your pedal is experiencing difficulties.

These pedals are IN STOCK now. Contact Tym guitars for more info and prices.

Blackout "dirt boxes"

THE TWOSOME FUZZ: is a meaty fuzz sandwich made up of the Musket Fuzz pedal and the deluxe version of the Fix’d Fuzz pedal. Both circuits run independently in an A/B configuration allowing you to dial in your perfect fuzz or overdrive tone on each and then switch back and forth between them. You won’t find more dirt under one roof – unless you live in a mud hut.
















MANTRA OVERDRIVE: equally capable of invoking the sacred sounds of a classically refined overdrive AND summoning wickedly raunchy drive, with more crunch on tap than the “overdrive” moniker usually entails. With such a wide palette of tones and character the MANTRA will feel just as at home at the feet of the stalwart blues crowd as it will the quintessential rock & roll protagonists.
The MANTRA utilizes amp-like circuit architecture, with multiple cascaded MOSFET and JFET gain stages to insure the most natural, touch-sensitive overdrive conditions possible and a seemingly endless range of clean-up with your guitar’s volume knob. We burned a lot of midnight oil to make sure that the MANTRA could get down with vintage-type, low output single coils and hot humbucker pickups alike. From gently fingerpicked melodic phrases to bludgeoning riffs that you’ll want to play over and over and over…

THE MUSKET FUZZ: The logical progression from then to now, the MUSKET is based on one of the raunchiest, best selling fuzz circuits of all time – taken three giant muffy steps further. With the addition of the PRE, FOCUS & MIDS controls, the MUSKET is able to traverse the decades, the continents and the many iterations of the classic 4-stage fuzz circuit – from emulation to beyond. If you need fuzz and you need it to be massive…
And bass players, look no further. The Musket brings the thunder to perfectly compliment your lightning. You’ll find the Musket on pro bass player boards the world over.













The FIX’D FUZZ V3 is the hydra-headed dragon of handmade fuzz boxes/boosts/overdrives. Replete with two polar-opposite fuzz tones, a full-bodied boost through light overdrive and a (wide) tone sculpting stage. It delivers BIG diversity in sound – all in a SMALL footprint package designed specifically for the cramped pedalboard. All 4 stages of the circuit are bypassable via their respective toggles, meaning you can add/remove from the stack as your black heart desires. There are no differences between the Poppy and the Ant graphic versions. Same pedal, same circuit.
These pedals are all IN STOCK now. Contact Tym guitars for these or any other pedal in the Blackout range.

Tym practice rooms

Our 2 practice rooms are located at Winn lane, Fortitude Valley. They are fully soundproof, custom designed and built rooms being approx 5m x 5m each with custom built air conditioning in each room. Both rooms have brand new Acoustic Technologies PA's, 4 mics and stands and power boards supplied.

The rooms are currently available only during shop open hours being Tues-Thurs, 10-5. Fri, 10-7 and Sat 10-5. Sun 11-4 but will VERY soon be available most nights.

Bookings are in 6 hour blocks (11am to 5pm) for the day (except Sunday) and will be 6 hour blocks at night (6pm to midnight).

The rooms are $60 per block and are available with 2 brand new Tym guitars 2x12 guitar cabs and 1 Tym guitars 4x10 bass cab for an extra $10. Eventually we will have drum kits also available for an extra $10 (ie: $80 for 6 hours with speaker cabs and drum kit) Our huge list of hire gear is also available at the standard hire costs.

The studio is part of the practice rooms and will be up and running by March and will be available for bookings with or without an in house engineer and with all of our hire gear. More info on that soon.

Option 5 effects

Destination Rotation Single













Features include:

* Smooth overdrive feature with footswitch and level trimmer.
* Top mounted trimmers for slow and fast speed tweaking.
* Microphone placement control for effect depth.
* Realistic speed up/down ramping effect.
* Standard 9 volt operation.
* Low profile box (Voodoo Lab size)
* True Bypass.

The DR Single is 100% analog and low noise. The doppler effect is tight and the phasing characteristics are liquid sounding. The DR Single is 100% hand-built and thouroughly tested before it leaves my hands. It is built like a tank with high quality components, all lead free soldered to a carefully designed and super-solid, double sided, plate-through PC board that is also lead free. All that is housed in a die-cast aluminum box that will not rust or fall apart. As with all Option 5 products, the DR Single is built to last!

Destination Overdrive II















Features include:

* Improved bass response.
* Improved gain control with more range.
* Standard 9 volt operation.
* True Bypass

This has to be, by far, the best tube preamp sounding, solid state overdrive pedal ever created. Smooth, tight and responsive are words that come to mind. This is not another "Screamer" clone. This pedal will basically add another channel to your amp with all the features such as a classic tone 'stack' configuration for shaping your sound. It is able to sound like a barely broken up blues tone or with the twist of a few knobs, it will rip your head off with searing, scooped mids heavy metal. This is one pedal that has a range that is actually usable, throughout. I have designed it that way. The bass is never farty. Performing a 'dive bomb' will not make it choke. Roll your volume knob back on your guitar and actually reduce your gain. Picking dynamics and note separation are unbelievable. And, oh yeah, it's low noise too!

Destination Phase
Stereo Phase Shifter













Features include:

* True, panning, stereo phase shifting.
* No distortion on peaks.
* Wide range of Speed control.
* Non tone altering Depth control.
* Cool Regeneration control.
* Non-Tone-Sucking Bypass.

These pedals are IN STOCK now. Contact Tym guitars for more info and prices.

Zvex Super Hardon

This is the perfect preamp pedal. The "Crackle Okay" volume knob is a negative-feedback control styled after classic 60's recording console inputs. (They crackled when adjusted too.)
Most vintage guitars suffer from steadily deteriorating magnets in their pickups, since permanent magnets aren't really forever. The Super Hard-On's input impedance is so high (>5 Meg) that it refuses any current flow from your pickup... maintaining the most magnetic field around each string, so you can hear exactly what your pickup sounded like the day it came off the winder. The ouput level can exceed 8 volts peak, and when it finally distorts, the wave is shaped like triode overload, not fuzz. It's so transparent no one will be able to tell you're using a pedal. Perfect for making the most of a classic amp and guitar, because it simply makes your guitar bigger and pushes the amp harder, causing natural overload. This sound can be the solution to the 'disappearing guitar' effect you get sometimes on stage when you stomp on your distortion and sound weaker. When cranked, it sounds much louder than a fuzz or distortion under stage conditions.
Like all Z. Vex designs, current flow is low in this circuit (less than 2mA), enhancing battery life. The circuit board is hand-cut and soldered with the critical component, a BS-170 mosfet transistor, placed in a socket for easy user replacement should it be necessary. Your dealer can provide you with a free replacement transistor upon request. The box is hand-drilled using no petro lubricants, and hand painted so that every box is unique. Knobs are Harry Davies, made with the same molds they've used since the fifties. Each effect is hand dated and signed by Zachary Vex.

Zack Vex says - The Super Hard-ON uses a very sensitive transistor, with some early versions mounted in a socket. During 2000, I installed a protection circuit to prolong the life of these transistors and I've seen no failures since. If you have a problem with an older unit, feel free to contact me, or you may purchase transistors inexpensively from 1-800-DIGIKEY where they are sold as part number BS170P-ND. You must follow proper static handling procedures to install the part... write to me for instructions at and i'll set you up. Newer SHO units have a diode protection circuit to keep the transistor from blowing. Please contact for information about updating your older SHO. To protect your SHO's transistor on older units, please turn the unit off before unplugging the cords. On SHO units produced during 2000 and beyond, the battery switching jack has been moved to the output jack closest to the front of the unit (closest to the J. Myrold signature). Please unplug from this jack to preserve battery life.

WARNING: The very high input impedance of this pedal can cause strange reactions (sometimes mildly pleasant and/or arousing) when used with a vintage 'junk' (read 'cool') guitar. The solution is to simply lower the 'crackle okay' gain knob a little or leave the guitar volume wide open.

Compressor pedals

I've never been into "comps" so much. Never saw the point but after owning a guitar shop that imports so many pedals you start trying everything out and I got to hear the difference in compressors. Here's some GREAT pedal comps we stock at Tym guitars.

The Rothwell Love Squeeze is a compressor designed simply to sound right with guitars, without any bizarre “pumping” effects and without any noise.
This has been achieved by designing a circuit from scratch instead of adopting the more common approach of using an operational transconductance amplifier (for tech heads, it’s usually the CA3080 chip) or simply copying an existing design (like some American boutique makers have done) and gives the Love Squeeze a sound of its own. Low level signals can be raised by as much as 20dB without boosting high level signals, so when used in front of distortion - either in a pedal or an amp - leads lines can be fattened up without chords sending the distortion into mush. When used with a clean sound the Love Squeeze can be set to just take off the ice-pick attack of single coil pickups for a tone a little easier on the ear. Like reverb (when used sensibly), this is a subtle effect which can go almost unnoticed until it is switched off - then you wonder how you could live without it.
why not optical?
Compressors based on optical circuits can sound very good but the latest EU regulations have outlawed the use of Cadmium Sulphide so light dependent resistors (LDRs) are now banned and so are compressors which use them.
Why not a Ross or Dynacomp clone?
Why make a clone when you can make something better? The Love Squeeze gives a much more natural playing feel than vintage (and modern) units which seem to be fighting against the player all the time instead of controlling dynamics and enhancing tone.
So what’s in a Love Squeeze?
The Love Squeeze uses a discrete FET as the heart of a voltage controlled amplifier. The circuitry is elegantly simple but performs beautifully without introducing extraneous noise. More importantly, it enhances the playing experience. This is what compressors should do.
The Retro-Sonic Compressor is based on the famous gray Ross Compressor known for its smooth compression and attack response. The Ross design is updated with the finest components, providing clean, smooth compression with low noise and incredible transparency. You will notice note-to-note levels that are smoother and more consistent, chords and picking that is tighter and more focused, and when used with an overdriven amp, sustain that will last and last! Notably, you'll find minimal coloration to your guitar signal and less of the note-attack alterations so common to other compressors.
The "Recovery" switch has 3 settings: slow, medium, and fast. The slow setting (stock Ross) yields nice long sustain and compression. The fast seting is most useful when playing faster while still maintaining pick attack. The medium setting is the midpoint between the two.
Like all Retro-Sonic pedals the compressor is housed in a rugged die cast chassis, and also features true bypass switching."
Wampler Ego compressor.
Like many guitarists, I had always been looking for a compressor that was transparent while still giving the sound a very pleasant thickening quality. I had used many compressor in the past and they always seemed to alter the tone in a way that sounded as if the squeezing and compressing was 'fake' - like it had a cheapening affect on the sound.
The Ego Squasher is your answer to this...
It gives you a clear articulate sound thanks to the 'clean blend' knob which blends in your original clean signal yet still thickens your tone up better than anything else available in pedal form. It also will add a ton of sustain to your notes - all without excess noise. The new "tone" control adds in clarity and punchiness - while cutting through the mix! It won't screw your core tone up either like other compressors with tone controls.