I'm Building a Rangemaster

[JohnnyCrash]

Got myself all of the parts to build a Rangemaster treble booster.

I got a NOS tested-to-bias Germanium diode. The rest is all of the usual parts:

Low noise 1% tolerance metal film resistors (470k, 68k, and 3.9k), 10k pot, poly-film caps (.01uF and .0047uF), 9-volt AC jack, LED, etc.

The diode and enclosure were the most expensive at $6 and $7.50. How the hell do people sell kits for this for $95? How do they sell clones for over $100?!

This literally cost me about $30 in parts (and I have extra parts due to bulk ordering) and will likely take 20 minutes to build.

This will be fun, I'll post photos as I go... then I post a clip of this thing with my new Vox AC30 build :)

[vjf1968]

I think the reason BYOC charges as much as they do is so they can recoup the cost of the parts and enclosures not to mention the running of the website servers. Just my guess. Actually to get the pedal already assembled is still somewhat cheaper than buying mass market.

[micpoc]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

Got myself all of the parts to build a Rangemaster treble booster.

I got a NOS tested-to-bias Germanium diode.

You mean a germanium transistor, don't you?

I built a Rangemaster clone several years ago; still works great. And the Vox is definitely the right sort of amp to use these with; it didn't sound good at all with the old Deluxe I used to have.

[JohnnyCrash]

Originally Posted by micpoc

You mean a germanium transistor, don't you?

I built a Rangemaster clone several years ago; still works great. And the Vox is definitely the right sort of amp to use these with; it didn't sound good at all with the old Deluxe I used to have.

Doh!

Still haven't had my coffee yet.

When I tried to find this part number at one supplier, it came up with a Germanium diode as an alternative to my search. 1N34A and 1N270 are Germanium signal diodes, for instance.

Simple mixup :)

These things are super basic and easy to make... perhaps I should throw some together and put em on eBay :)

[Paul in Colorado]

Let us know how you like it. Did you get the schematics I sent you? Hope they helped.

[JohnnyCrash]

Originally Posted by Paul in Colorado

Let us know how you like it. Did you get the schematics I sent you? Hope they helped.

Yes I did! Thank you so much!!

I used yours and two other schematics to be sure. Should get the parts in a few days shipped in, and should have the thing finished soon after.

Then the fun part - plugging it into my Vox AC30 build's Normal channel and aiming for Brian May... mic'ed up and recording of course ;)

[Stewart Ward]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

The diode and enclosure were the most expensive at $6 and $7.50. How the hell do people sell kits for this for $95? How do they sell clones for over $100?!

Just call Guitar Player's advertising manager and ask how much they charge for a half page advert? You will soon realise why stuff cost what it does!

And, without advertising and all the other bull that goes along with it... how would we ever know the products exist? The stores won't take a product unless players are forming a que at the front door!

Oh... and we have to pay ourselves a little too, so that we can eat and have fun buying more guitars. And the latter IS WHAT WE'RE ALL HERE FOR!!

[ibobunot]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

How the hell do people sell kits for this for $95?

It's three, three, three boosts in one...

The TriBoost is the ultimate boost/preamp for guitar. The three most essential circuits in one unit - A germanuim boost that uses an NOS European made germanium transistor, based on the Dallas Rangemaster treble boost for warm vintage tone that's a little on the dirty side. A silicon boost based on the Linear Power Boost for a full frequency kick with tight punchy low end. And a MosFET based boost for sparkle and chime.

--BYOC--

[JohnnyCrash]

Originally Posted by Stewart Ward

Just call Guitar Player's advertising manager and ask how much they charge for a half page advert? You will soon realise why stuff cost what it does!

And, without advertising and all the other bull that goes along with it... how would we ever know the products exist? The stores won't take a product unless players are forming a que at the front door!

Oh... and we have to pay ourselves a little too, so that we can eat and have fun buying more guitars. And the latter IS WHAT WE'RE ALL HERE FOR!!

HAHA

Yeah, I understand the print ads are a bit pricey. But, BYOC doesn't show up in magazines, seems to be word of mouth, has a terrible website, sells generic looking boxes...

Not to talk trash - I enjoyed building a TS808 from them :)

BYOC is a great place.

There's so many DIY'ers that push generic boxes, you'd think BYOC would sell the Rangemaster kits for less to undercut the bigger guys who actually do print ads and source the real expensive parts - pretty boxes, custom graphics/silk screening, etc... unless these big name guys are handwiring (every box seems to be PCBoard).

In any case, it appears difficult to find a link to BYOC's Rangemaster clone, so perhaps this one just aint worth it for them.

There is simply so little to the Rangemaster.

[1293]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

I got a NOS tested-to-bias Germanium diode.

Breadboard it before you assemble. I had all the components dog-piled on a small piece of perfboard so I could fit it in an mxr box and it turned out that it didn't bias correctly. The bias resistor was on the bottom and I had to disassemble the whole thing.

[Stewart Ward]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

HAHA

Yeah, I understand the print ads are a bit pricey. But, BYOC doesn't show up in magazines, seems to be word of mouth, has a terrible website, sells generic looking boxes...

Not to talk trash - I enjoyed building a TS808 from them :)

BYOC is a great place.

There's so many DIY'ers that push generic boxes, you'd think BYOC would sell the Rangemaster kits for less to undercut the bigger guys who actually do print ads and source the real expensive parts - pretty boxes, custom graphics/silk screening, etc... unless these big name guys are handwiring (every box seems to be PCBoard).

In any case, it appears difficult to find a link to BYOC's Rangemaster clone, so perhaps this one just aint worth it for them.

There is simply so little to the Rangemaster.

Hiya,

Their website looks adequate to me and the info is very straight forward in the way the PDF assembly instructions are presented. I can't think of a more logical way of doing a 'kits' business, very 'clean' indeed... IMHO.

What is it about PCBs??? They're a wonderful way of producing electronics with perfectly repeatable performance, no assembly hassles, errors are mostly eradicated and importantly - affordable. Yes, I agree that no manufacturer should solder valve bases directly to PCBs... but other than that I LOVE THEM TO BITS and would not make any hand wired products... they don't sound any better!!! IMO.

The prices also, seem very reasonable considering the work involved to produce the supporting docs and get the pedals kitted up... plus giving after sales backup to the many that 'don't have a clue' what goes where.

In the UK, a typical FullTone pedal is well over £200 - $450, so these prices look like a real bargain to me. I hope he does well with them! I'd love to be distributing them in the UK... but then mail costs direct from USA are very reasonable!! I used to sell my pedals direct to USA (pre-PedalGeek) and no one ever complained about the shipping costs.

Nice one BYOC... but don't clone my JD10... or I'll take your house!

[JohnnyCrash]

Like I said, I'm not talking trash on BYOC at all.

I enjoyed their TS808 build. Most of their stuff is affordable and/or reasonable.

I also agree PCB is great for these projects.

What I don't understand is the price for their Rangemaster clone. It is literally a tiny little handful of parts... and they WERE selling an unassembled kit for nearly $100...

It appears now that the Rangemaster has been added into a three-in-one pedal for $94, so this is a much better bargain! Again, BYOC is a great place to buy kits:
http://www.buildyourownclone.com/triboost.html

I must have been looking at an old link, since it doesn't look like they do a single Rangemaster kit anymore.

As far as boutique guys, what I was saying about PCB is - unless some guy is handwiring them (more manhours to build = more expensive), I just don't understand the boutique Rangemaster clone prices. Rangemasters are ridiculously small and simple (low parts cost, few manhours to build).

I'm more than fine with PCB.

Anyway, we're in total agreement on all of this stuff Stewart :)

[tazzboy]

BYOC has ads in Vintage Guitar Magazine.

[Stewart Ward]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

Like I said, I'm not talking trash on BYOC at all.

I enjoyed their TS808 build. Most of their stuff is affordable and/or reasonable.

I also agree PCB is great for these projects.

What I don't understand is the price for their Rangemaster clone. It is literally a tiny little handful of parts... and they WERE selling an unassembled kit for nearly $100...

It appears now that the Rangemaster has been added into a three-in-one pedal for $94, so this is a much better bargain! Again, BYOC is a great place to buy kits:
http://www.buildyourownclone.com/triboost.html

I must have been looking at an old link, since it doesn't look like they do a single Rangemaster kit anymore.

As far as boutique guys, what I was saying about PCB is - unless some guy is handwiring them (more manhours to build = more expensive), I just don't understand the boutique Rangemaster clone prices. Rangemasters are ridiculously small and simple (low parts cost, few manhours to build).

I'm more than fine with PCB.

Anyway, we're in total agreement on all of this stuff Stewart :)

Perhaps I misread where you're coming from, sorry.

Rangemaster: Well, there's a price point where, below which, the overhead costs will make it non-viable to sell below. The cost of the product is so much more than just the sum of the parts + profit. It is often the case where a product containing three times the amount of parts will sell for about the same money. Which would probably support why the kit has been upgraded into 3-in-1?

As a manufacturer, I have differing points of view from many here. It is a very hard business to make a living in... after all, it's very small and dominated by fashion and fables!

I see so much dissing of PCBs, that I wonder why. OK, from a mods point of view, they're a little inconvenient. But once an amp has it's design settled, then 'DIY consumer modding' cannot be an issue for a manufacturer to take into account. I find the PCBs in the 65 TRRI and SRRI a very sensible use of a PCB. Valves wired to the PCB... the only way to do it!

The Fender BJ and Peavey Classic 30, for example, are examples of very bad uses of PCBs with their valves direct to PCB... dry (cold) joints waiting to happen. I've fixed a BJ for a friend about seven times so far!! Also the idea of valves hanging down right behind a speaker, to me, is plain stupid with all that vibration going on!! As an engineer, I can't rate these highly at all. As a musician, I really dislike that farty/scratchy distortion sound they make. Not my cuppa tea at all!

It's good to see we do agree on this stuff then!

[micpoc]

If I recall correctly, there's a capcitor right by the input; about .005uF, perhaps? If you follow the suggestion to breadboard it first, you may want to play around with that value a bit, both up and down. Depending on your particular setup, you may prefer a slightly different value to the stock spec. I'm pretty sure that's the one that determines the boost frequencies.

Also, when I built mine, I left off the knob; that way, it's ON or it's OFF, and any level change comes from the guitar's volume knob. Just a thought.