I’m addicted to treble boosters

[Vibroluxer]

I had a Swart Atomic Boost and it was fantastic! The big issue I had was only battery powered so I had to pull the plug after every use and 5hat was a headache. Other than that, I highly recommend it.

 

[D_Malone]

Since getting a Beano Boost a year or so ago I love using it for all of these. It's too assertive to be an always on effect, but for crunchy tones I use it a ton.

I get that. I’ve had a Beano. Amazing treble booster. It’s got more of that traditional treble booster honk, so probably not an “always on” pedal. It’s one of the best in my experience.

 

[E5RSY]

What about the new JHS Germanium Boost (that's already sold out)??? It's a Rangemaster clone.

 

[D_Malone]

What about the new JHS Germanium Boost (that's already sold out)??? It's a Rangemaster clone.

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If I could get my hands on one for under $150 I’d do it in a heartbeat.

 

[2after909]

I love a good rangemaster too. I have an old tweed gibson from 1960. It’s a rude and gainy beast, and it’s pretty bassy, even with the tone set as bright as it goes. It’s a little like an ac30 and a little like a tweed deluxe, at least in terms of how it responds to a rangemaster. Which is to say it takes a rangemaster perfectly. My rangemaster is made by Stromer and uses some kind of unobtainium Mullard ge transistor. It sounds cool but it is finicky. I’ve been told it shouldn’t do this, but in the midst of experimenting with stacking I found that when I send a boosted signal into the rangemaster it seems to cause the thing to collapse sonically. Mine, at least, only really works when it’s the first gain stage. I put it before my buffered tuner for best volume knob interaction. But I’m curious if other people have had the same issue I have.

I’m also intrigued by the mythos cestus - not the original clean boost one but the revised version, the silicon transistor rangemaster type thing.

 

[D_Malone]

Another one of my favorite pedals that is similar to a treble booster is the Catalinbread Karma Suture.

It’s derived from the Harmonic Percolator, but it’s actually quite different, and much more tweakable.

I dial the bass way down and use just like a treble booster.

I don’t know what it’s doing, technically, but to my ears it adds harmonic complexity. I hear it adding harmonic overtones, and it has a spongy, bouncy feel. The Germanium version is warmer and softens the attack. The Si version is brighter and more aggressive. Both offer exceptional clean-up with the guitar volume.

 

[northernguitar]

If I could get my hands on one for under $150 I’d do it in a heartbeat.

A decent Rangemaster clone shouldn’t be that expensive.

 

[D_Malone]

A decent Rangemaster clone shouldn’t be that expensive.

Agreed, but I would still snag that JHS if I could find one for under $150.

 

[wildschwein]

They work a treat on honky, middy or darker amps. I like the extra gain too. I built one of the GMR Spares kits and often use it in font of my Mesa Rocket 44 and I love how it pushes the clean channel into crunch:

 

[dinomike77]

Radian Germanium Boost / Dallas Rangemaster

An adaptation of the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster first released in 1965. Includes a Range switch to allow boosting of treble, mids, or full-frequency.

aionfx.com

I built one of these this summer and it’s great. I posted this link in the thread about the sold-out JHS treble booster. The kits were in stock a couple of days ago, but are sold out at the moment. I wonder if these threads and the JHS situation caused a run on these kits. Anyway, it was a fun and smooth build and sounds awesome. Plus it has full boost and mid boost modes. Really versatile!

 

[Happy Enchilada]

Not another thread @ the deadly Billy Gaboons Viper pickups ...

 

[Bigsby_fab]

There are so many good uses for Treble Boosters, very misunderstood effect.
People tend to shy away from “anything boosting the treble”, we know this is a misnomer.
I have a few of those, 4 which I made (P2P) and an actual OC44 Rangemaster

 

[D_Malone]

There are so many good uses for Treble Boosters, very misunderstood effect.
People tend to shy away from “anything boosting the treble”, we know this is a misnomer.
I have a few of those, 4 which I made (P2P) and an actual OC44 Rangemaster

Nice!

Definitely very misunderstood. People not familiar also tend to assume that any pedal that boosts treble/mids, whether it be an EQ or OD, is the same thing. They’re not aware of the dynamics, or the jangly tone it offers when rolling back the guitar volume.

 

[6stringcowboy]

My Aion Radian build. Love the switch that let's you choose the range of frequencies you want to boost.

 

[11 Gauge]

People not familiar also tend to assume that any pedal that boosts treble/mids, whether it be an EQ or OD, is the same thing. They’re not aware of the dynamics, or the jangly tone it offers when rolling back the guitar volume.

Yeah, a treble booster has a lot in common (circuit-wise) with something like a Fuzz Face, which is about as different from a graphic EQ or TS as it gets. It has a very low input impedance, and is capable of more gain than something like a MXR Micro Amp (which is actually more similar circuit-wise to something like a TS).