True Bypass Mod for Ibanez Tube King (TK999 - US model)
First off, this is a really great pedal. Absolutely one of the best high gain circuits ever. Instant Soldano SLO or JCM 800. The bypass on the original version is actually pretty good, but if you are maniacal about tone like us, this is a must do procedure.
This mod is for the original version of the pedal (TK-999 US - pictured left)...not the diamond box reissue - which is an entirely different pedal.
Disclaimers: If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it. These pedals are getting hard to find, so don't mess one up. Second, the specimen we used to show you this mod has seen a fair share of abuse, and needed a new switch anyway. So needless to say, the wiring is slightly different if you use the original DPDT switch. We used a 3PDT for this and wired it as if you were using the original DPDT. The downfall - the light will be hardwired on. If you use 3PDT switching, you will want to go the distance and wire the LED to the switch. This requires removing the board (what a pain) and cutting a trace. Rather than make anything irreversible, we opted for leaving the light on. If you are creative, you can put a super bright LED right under the grill (above the tube) which makes for some really cool ground effects when the pedal is on! That is actually how this particular pedal ended up.
Getting to it:
- Remove all leads from the original switch leaving them connected to the PCB.
- Connect the orange and green leads (hardwire them together).
- Output jack. Remove the wire from the jack to the board. Solder 2 leads, one from the jack, and one from the board where you removed the wire from. These need to be long enough to reach the switch. Solder the wire from the output jack to the middle lug on the switch. Solder the new wire from the board to one of the ends of the switch. See image.
- Add a jumper to the switch on the other side of the switch. This will be the bypass. See image.
- Input jack. Following a similar procedure as the output jack, remove the grey lead from the input jack to the board and replace with 2 longer leads, one from the jack, and one from the board that will have enough length to get to the switch. The lead from the input jack will go to the center lug (on the other side from output). The lead from the board will go to the other lug on the same side.
- Close off the remaining wires from the board so they don't make contact with anything.
At this point, you should be able to run the pedal in true bypass. If you are using a new switch. Turn the pedal on and pump it about 25 times. There will be a lot of static in a new switch most likely. This will go away over time.
Figure One
Figure Two
Figure Three
