Treble Boosters

[loopfinding]

And yes, TB is a lot more, then just a booster with rolled lowend.

Not really. It is almost a textbook voltage divider biased transistor amp with a small input coupling cap (to cut low end before gain), emitter bypassed with a cap for more gain/low frequencies cut, and then a small-ish output coupling cap to cut lows before wherever it’s going to.

 

[JustABluesGuy]

I have built a few boosters, both treble and otherwise.

It's less fun but more flexible to buy a stompbox eq. It will give you a treble booster (a la Brian May), a mid-boost (a la Van Halen and Tom Scholz) and a flat boost (a la... not really sure).

Lately I've been messing with a Boss GE-7 constantly and I don't miss my treble boosters at all.

EQ pedals are very underrated and underutilized.

 

[D_Malone]

In my experience a treble booster is not the same as a clean boost/EQ pedal. A treble booster pushes picking dynamics to another level, and when you roll back the guitar volume it kind of has a treble bleed effect. Retains all of the high end and sounds jangly/feels bouncy.

I’m not saying clean boosts and EQ pedals are inferior, or less useful. Just different IMO.

 

[monkeybanana]

If you are hitting an OD prior to your amp the entire equation changes. Into a clean BF amp would be a strident icepick to the forehead. However, pushing an OD into richer harmonic and gain territory would be killer. I have been gassing for a RM style pedal with some mid shaping. Money is the issue right now.

That's the way to go. If you put the boost in front of an OD you can play at any volume and get that honk. As a clean boost it will be pretty loud and piercing unless you have a tone switch/knob that changes in the input cap and allow more low end.

 

[monkeybanana]

EQ pedals are very underrated and underutilized.

I have two GE7s and love them. They were moded to run quiet too! A TB still has its place though.

 

[Masmus]

and a flat boost (a la... not really sure).

I have used a late 70’s Big Muff for years. When it’s off it acts like a clean boost and pushes my 79 mv Marshall into a great sounding overdrive. Especially with my Strat with Dimarzio Fat Strats.

 

[JustABluesGuy]

I have two GE7s and love them. They were moded to run quiet too! A TB still has its place though.

If I was more of a pedal guy I would run at least two. One to tweak the amp to taste, and one as a custom clean boost maybe.

 

[mexicanyella]

Awful in front of a clean amp. Best in front of heavy distortion. Acts like a woof shaver. Can’t get Iommi tones without it. An eq pedal does not have the same effect.

I plan to use the term “woof shaver” at my earliest convenience. Actual LOL!

 

[northernguitar]

I plan to use the term “woof shaver” at my earliest convenience. Actual LOL!

I’d love to see a tb named as such.

 

[phart]

It's less fun but more flexible to buy a stompbox eq. It will give you a treble booster (a la Brian May), a mid-boost (a la Van Halen and Tom Scholz) and a flat boost (a la... not really sure).

Tom Morello from RATM is an example of someone who uses an eq pedal for a "flat" boost. He keeps all the eq sliders flat but raises the "level" slider for a boost during solos.

Why doesn't he just use a regular boost pedal then? Probably a combination of "make do with what you have" (during early, poor days) and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" (in later, wealthy days).

 

[Fenderboy32]

I’ve had several variations of boosters over the years and have recently moved to the Seafoam Pedals Lighthouse, which has various settings to allow both clean and treble boosting. I agree that a good EQ pedal like the Boss GE7 will get you a lot of versatility as well, but the footprint is a little larger and it has a bit of noise. I have one of these as well, but had it modded by Xact Tone Solutions to dial in frequencies a little more suited to guitar. Either option is good, and I find the boosters work well for hitting the front end of my OD (either pedal or amp) for all of my guitars. The treble booster just helps the guitar be a bit more top end focused to ride above the bass and drums and cut through the mix.

Here’s a link to the Lighthouse:

Lighthouse Boost

The Lighthouse boost from Seafoam Pedals is truly dynamite in a small package. It features 9 different boost settings via two 3-way switches for a huge variety of boost, drive and tone-shaping options. The "Type" switch is for (1) clean boost, (2) dirty boost, and (3) nasty boost. This allows...

seafoampedals.com

Here’s the Xact Tone Solutions GE7 mod:

XTS Midrange Graphic Modded GE-7

The XTS Midrange Graphic Mod was developed with Tom Bukovac. The session ace wanted an eq pedal centered entirely on the guitar's midrange frequencies. To that end, we take a full-range Boss GE-7 graphic eq and modify the frequency bands to focus on critical midrange frequencies. With the...

xacttone.com

Hope you find the tone you’re seeking. If you do, let the rest of us know!!!

 

[MonkeyKing]

I was reading about Treble boosters and watched a couple of YouTube videos.

It sounds like they primarily help tone with Marshalls and Vox but I was wondering if it would help take some of the muddy or wooly tone out of my Les Paul through a Fender.

Anyone use a treble booster?

I had to laugh a sec, considering where we are - if the Les is too muddy, why not plug in a TELE!?

There are two main camps of treble booster - the special germanium devices ( premier guitar has an epic article on them and their history) that includes countless examples from Rory Gallagher to Brian May, Marc Bolan, Ritchie Blackmore. It's easier to think of them as an exciter that boosts the great part of your tone.

Then there are solid state boosts, and it's a different, blander, though useful game.

Marc Bolan got a hellacious sound from a les paul and zemaitis into a rangemaster into a fender champ, so I imagine it can do great things for you.

I'm using an analog man beano boost into a vibro champ most of the time, and the teenage girls who play at my work have taken to calling it 'the DOOmsday DEvice' - what better rec could there be?

Of course, what pickups are in your Les Paul? ; and I'm going to trust you don't mean a fender modeling mustang here - those could be more sensible avenues to explore before risking a full blown germanium addiction . . . you might be happy just with a zvex SHO in your case . . .
it's not too late . . .
you can still turn back . . .

 

[anonymous]

I was reading about Treble boosters and watched a couple of YouTube videos.

It sounds like they primarily help tone with Marshalls and Vox but I was wondering if it would help take some of the muddy or wooly tone out of my Les Paul through a Fender.

Anyone use a treble booster?

A little background on treble boosters will help identify if one would help.

In the 1960’s guitarist would overdrive the power [tube] section of their amp by turning it up to 11 and this would roll off the high-end frequencies (they're still present, but at a reduced level). A treble booster was added to regain/boost those high frequencies back up again to even out the sound. The Dallas Rangemaster is a typical example and you’ll notice it was designed to be plugged into the amp from the guitar at all times. Think Woodstock and a stack of Marshalls at full tilt.

Today most use pedals to overdrive the preamp (not power section) of the amp and in this case, the high frequencies are not rolled off. This is why treble boosters have become much less common. There’s no need to boost what’s already there.

So, if the goal is to overdrive the power section of the amp by turning it up to 11 then a treble booster would be a good investment. Otherwise, probably not – an overdrive could be better used to finely tailor the sound (and why there are so many overdrives available today).

 

[HaWE]

I also have a Les Paul which sounds a bit too muddy.What I did was to mod one of the tone-pots to a bass cut.This means you can reduce the amount of bass your guitar produces by turning a knob on the guitar.Perhaps is this an alternative idea ? Look for "Bass cut guitar"- there are some wiring ideas on the internet.

 

[D_Malone]

I also have a Les Paul which sounds a bit too muddy.What I did was to mod one of the tone-pots to a bass cut.This means you can reduce the amount of bass your guitar produces by turning a knob on the guitar.Perhaps is this an alternative idea ? Look for "Bass cut guitar"- there are some wiring ideas on the internet.

I had a Reverend guitar with this feature. Really useful.

 

[Wooly Fox]

I need to get into TBs one day.

I use my Tru-Fi Colordriver for boost duties as it has bass and treble eq, massive headroom from the master volume and with the gain turned off, it really shapes my other drives.

Plus the G2 let's me put the Colordriver before the drives to get even more drive. I pretty run my drives between 9-noon gain wise.

Once I finish my wet dry rig, I don't think I'll need the drive pedals, only the Colordriver.

 

[northernguitar]

I also have a Les Paul which sounds a bit too muddy.What I did was to mod one of the tone-pots to a bass cut.This means you can reduce the amount of bass your guitar produces by turning a knob on the guitar.Perhaps is this an alternative idea ? Look for "Bass cut guitar"- there are some wiring ideas on the internet.

Yamaha did this standard on their first lineup of Revstar guitars and called it a ‘dry switch’. It’s a fantastic feature and I use it all the time with a replacement Gibson 498T bridge pickup. It’s a humbucker I always found a bit wooly. In my Revstar with the dry switch engaged, it gives it a much leaner and punchier effect. Makes it almost T-Top sounding. And it works very well with clean tones.

Premier Guitar did an article on it and reverse engineered it. Check it out:

Mod Garage: Inside Yamaha’s Dry Switch

Passive bass-cut switches have been around since the late ’50s—maybe even longer. Here’s a new twist on a classic theme.

www.premierguitar.com

 

[HaWE]

Yamaha did this standard on their first lineup of Revstar guitars and called it a ‘dry switch’. It’s a fantastic feature and I use it all the time with a replacement Gibson 498T bridge pickup. It’s a humbucker I always found a bit wooly. In my Revstar with the dry switch engaged, it gives it a much leaner and punchier effect. Makes it almost T-Top sounding. And it works very well with clean tones.

Premier Guitar did an article on it and reverse engineered it. Check it out:

Mod Garage: Inside Yamaha’s Dry Switch

Passive bass-cut switches have been around since the late ’50s—maybe even longer. Here’s a new twist on a classic theme.

www.premierguitar.com

Yes, I like it very much and it is a simple solution.With the bass cut I can now still play in the "normal" mode but go to a brighter pu signal just bei turning the bass cut knob - so I have an additional tonal opportunity which is rather interesting.And my Les Paul (it is a copy, a Hohner L59) now sounds more bright according to my taste, even has a little twang if I want.

 

[burntfrijoles]

if the Les is too muddy, why not plug in a TELE!?

Because the Les Paul gets into territory that the Tele can’t. As for muddy, I’ve discovered a marvelous device: the tone control. It’s amazing what you can do when you stop ignoring the tone and volume controls on your guitar.

f the goal is to overdrive the power section of the amp by turning it up to 11 then a treble booster would be a good investment. Otherwise, probably not

Thanks. After reading your and similar responses in the thread I realized that a treble booster would be of no value.

 

[dankilling]

I have a Naga Viper that I use with great success in front of a 5e3 and a 5f11. Tightens up the 5e3 well, and sends the 5f11 into a lovely overdrive tone. Much recommended.