The GUPtech Honker Hot Rod is an overdrive pedal built as a tribute to the Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer, with GUPtech's Hot Rod mod added on top. Where a stock TS-808 gives you three knobs and one fixed voice, the Honker Hot Rod keeps the familiar Volume, Gain and Tone controls but adds two toggles: one that fattens the low end and one that changes how the pedal clips the signal1.
GUPtech builds every pedal itself in Saguenay, Québec, Canada, and the Honker Hot Rod is a compact, low draw analog pedal that fits easily on any board1.
A TS-808 overdrive with the Hot Rod mod
The circuit is based on the Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pro, one of the most copied overdrive designs in existence. The original TS-808 shipped with JRC4558D op amp chips, though some units carried RC4558P instead, and that chip choice is part of why the design gets cloned so often2. Vintage Guitar notes the original had an Overdrive knob to control distortion, the same basic gain control the Honker Hot Rod carries forward as its Gain knob3.
Modded Tube Screamers are a category of their own. Delicious Audio, covering the Ibanez TS808 TAMURA-MOD, describes that pedal as "a little more than that: a mod of" the stock TS808, and the Honker Hot Rod sits in the same tradition: a stock-style circuit with maker chosen changes4. GUPtech's Hot Rod mod consists of two additions, a bass voicing toggle and a clipping selection toggle, both described below.
The controls: three knobs and two voicing toggles
The three knobs are the classic Tube Screamer set. The two toggles are where the Hot Rod mod lives15.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets the output level |
| Gain | Sets the amount of overdrive |
| Tone | Sets the treble response |
| Left toggle (Bass) | Up: more bass. Center: stock. Down: even more bass1 |
| Right toggle (Clipping) | Up: single diode (stock). Center: LEDs clipping. Down: dual diode1 |
The left toggle is the Fat control. Center is the stock TS-808 bass response, up adds more bass, and down adds even more1. For players who find a stock Tube Screamer too thin through a bright amp, this is the toggle that addresses it directly.
The right toggle selects the clipping configuration. The up position is single diode clipping, which GUPtech marks as stock, meaning the diode arrangement a standard TS-808 uses. The center position switches to LED clipping, where light emitting diodes do the clipping work instead. The down position uses two diodes, which GUPtech calls Dual Diode1. Each arrangement shapes the overdrive differently as the Gain knob comes up, so the same pedal covers a range of voices without touching the knobs.
Versions and color options
The Honker Hot Rod comes in two versions. The standard pedal is available in Orange and Purple color options1. The Douche Edition is the same pedal in a gold sparkle finish: GUPtech describes it as "Same as the regular one, but sparkly."6
| Version | Finish | Circuit | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honker Hot Rod | Orange or Purple | TS-808 with Hot Rod mod | £77.00 GBP1 |
| Honker Hot Rod Douche Edition | Gold | Same as the regular one6 | £88.00 GBP sale price6 |
The Douche Edition carries the same Hot Rod mod, with the left toggle offering three Fat modes and the right toggle offering three clipping modes (diode, op amp, classic), and the same Volume, Gain and Tone controls6. It draws the same 6mA and runs on the same 9V DC center negative supply6.
The Douche Edition shares its circuit with the standard Honker Hot Rod, differing only in its gold finish6.
Power and build
The Honker Hot Rod runs on 9V DC with a center negative plug, the standard arrangement for compact pedals, and draws only 6mA1. That is light enough that it works fine on a shared or daisy chained output on most power supplies. Both versions share the same power requirements6.
GUPtech states plainly where its pedals come from:
"All of our pedals are made by us in Saguenay, Québec, Canada"
GUPtech product page1
Where it sits among GUPtech's overdrives
GUPtech makes several overdrives alongside the Honker Hot Rod, including the CocoCast Preamp-Overdrive, the Queen of Crow Dual Overdrive and the Trou D'Beigne TB Overdrive. The Honker Hot Rod is its Tube Screamer voice, distinguished from the others by the TS-808 circuit at its base and the two Hot Rod toggles on top15.
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Questions
What power supply does the GUPtech Honker Hot Rod need?
It runs on a standard 9V DC supply with a center negative plug, the same arrangement as most compact pedals. Any typical 9V pedal power supply with a center negative output will run it, and its 6mA draw is light enough that it can share an output with other low current pedals on most isolated supplies.
How much current does the Honker Hot Rod draw?
GUPtech lists its power consumption as 6mA, which is very low. For comparison, that is far below what most digital pedals need, so it places almost no demand on a pedalboard power supply.
Where is the GUPtech Honker Hot Rod made?
GUPtech builds all of its pedals itself in Saguenay, Québec, Canada, including the Honker Hot Rod. It is a small hand-built operation rather than a mass produced line.
What does the LED clipping setting on the Honker Hot Rod do?
The right toggle selects the clipping configuration. The center position uses LEDs for clipping instead of the stock single diode, and the down position uses two diodes. Each setting changes how the overdrive character responds as you turn up the gain.
How much does the GUPtech Honker Hot Rod cost?
GUPtech lists the standard Honker Hot Rod at £77.00 GBP. The Douche Edition, a gold sparkle version with the same circuit, was listed at a sale price of £88.00 GBP but is sold out.
Sources (6)
- GUPtech Honker Hot Rod, GUPtech (guptech.ca)
- Stratus Classic Overdrive / Ibanez® Tube Screamer, Aion FX, 2018-09-22
- Ibanez Tube Screamer, Vintage Guitar magazine, 2014-03-08
- Ibanez TS808 TAMURA-MOD Tube Screamer, Delicious Audio, 2022-03-21
- Douche Edition - Baby Honker, GUP Tech
- Honker Hot Rod, GUPtech (guptech.ca)
