RedShark
Quarternote
Posts: 10
Formerly Known As: RedShark
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Post by RedShark on Mar 27, 2020 9:54:19 GMT -5
Treble Boost is something I've recently become interested in and I've been wanting to find one to try out.
They seem to be a bit of a fringe thing; for instance, it doesn't look like most of the major pedal makers have one in their line-up, and most of the ones I have found seem to be by smaller companies, which is making researching which one to get a bit tricky.
The Dallas Rangemaster seems to kind of be the gold standard and that's what people like Brian May, Tony Iommi, etc., used. The Beano Boost by Analog Man (which I think is more modern than the Rangemaster) also seems to get a lot of mentions, but the price on both is up there, around $300+, which is a bit more than I want to spend while just experimenting.
I did ask this on a Vox-related Facebook group (my main amp right now is a Vox AC15C1) and one more affordable option that got a recommendation was a Rangemaster clone, Germania by a company called Homebrew Electronics. That's kinda what I'm looking at first, as the price is much more affordable (in the area of $100).
Another one that's caught my attention is the Black LTD by Mr. Black, another small company, prices on those are maybe a bit cheaper than the one above. While browsing eBay/Reverb, though, I see a number of other options come up.
One challenge, though, is its hard to find solid info on these as again, this seems to be a bit of a fringe thing, so I'm curious if anyone here has any experience with either of the two above or any others in that price range.
If it makes a difference my main amp right now is the aforementioned Vox AC15C1, and I'm running a pretty standard Strat and Tele into it, as well as an ES-335 with high-output Humbuckers.
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herb
Wholenote
Posts: 159
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Post by herb on Mar 27, 2020 11:44:07 GMT -5
Mike Fulltone of Fulltone pedals does a great demo of his Rangemaster clone on Youtube. Years ago I bought the Analogman pedal. It's just sitting on the self and doesn't get much use. It seems like a good tool if you use a lot of gain and want to find the right frequency for recording. Thanks for reminding me that I own it. I might have to revisit it again to see if I can use it for something. My 2 cents.
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Post by LTB on Mar 27, 2020 13:13:07 GMT -5
Mike Fulltone of Fulltone pedals does a great demo of his Rangemaster clone on Youtube. Years ago I bought the Analogman pedal. It's just sitting on the self and doesn't get much use. It seems like a good tool if you use a lot of gain and want to find the right frequency for recording. Thanks for reminding me that I own it. I might have to revisit it again to see if I can use it for something. My 2 cents. I wished I have that 68 Gibson ES-335 
While checking that video out I saw this one. To me it sounds very good
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Tall-Fir
Wholenote
Liking both kinds of music—Country and Western!
Posts: 109
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Post by Tall-Fir on Mar 27, 2020 18:09:50 GMT -5
Won’t a graphic equalizer do that job? Probably inexpensive also. I have one on one of my pedal boards, and I do use it, but the pedal is not true bypass. I know that many think of a graphic equalizer as just another tone knob, but I’m sure it can be set up as a treble boost. My graphic equalizer is a Maxon.
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Post by LTB on Mar 27, 2020 22:23:04 GMT -5
Won’t a graphic equalizer do that job? Probably inexpensive also. I have one on one of my pedal boards, and I do use it, but the pedal is not true bypass. I know that many think of a graphic equalizer as just another tone knob, but I’m sure it can be set up as a treble boost. My graphic equalizer is a Maxon. Yes, a good one. The GE-7 Boss EQ pedal introduced noise into the mix plus to me it just sounded dull. Using a more expensive EQ would be optimal as it would seem to me but then you are paying much more than even the Range master. |
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RedShark
Quarternote
Posts: 10
Formerly Known As: RedShark
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Post by RedShark on Apr 8, 2020 9:15:49 GMT -5
I'm not up on all of the technicalities, but as I understand it, an EQ can sort-of mimic what a Treble Booster is doing but at their core, they're doing different things.
In any case I found someone local selling a used pedal built from a kit for a pretty reasonable price so I'll be trying that out soon.
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MoJoe
Wholenote
Posts: 855
Formerly Known As: quiksilver
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Post by MoJoe on Apr 10, 2020 21:17:26 GMT -5
Subdecay Liquid Sunshine, 100$ used,. Not your average tb but an overdrive that can also function as a tb. Quite the funky little pedal. Cheaper but also pretty good fared the 4-knob TC Spark booster in front of an AC15. That one can produce a convincing BMs 'It's Late' from a Telecaster.
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Post by Vibroluxer on Apr 13, 2020 18:29:19 GMT -5
Won’t a graphic equalizer do that job? Probably inexpensive also. I have one on one of my pedal boards, and I do use it, but the pedal is not true bypass. I know that many think of a graphic equalizer as just another tone knob, but I’m sure it can be set up as a treble boost. My graphic equalizer is a Maxon. which one do you have? I'm a huge fan of theirs. |
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Post by rdr on Apr 15, 2020 9:55:20 GMT -5
Enjoyed this Pete Thorn video on treble boosters (love that guy). Tempted to order an ehx screaming bird (<$50 delivered).
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RedShark
Quarternote
Posts: 10
Formerly Known As: RedShark
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Post by RedShark on Apr 16, 2020 15:26:51 GMT -5
In any case I found someone local selling a used pedal built from a kit for a pretty reasonable price so I'll be trying that out soon. So I did get this one and have had chance to play with it for a bit. It was built from a kit by a company called General Guitar Gadgets and is a clone of one of the Fryer designs. I looked up Fryer's website, and I'm not sure exactly which model this is a clone of because they have several... So one thing that was interesting about it right up front... The manual/specs for this build say that the original design did not include a level control... This makes sense as a number of their Treble Boost pedals don't have any controls save for the on/off switch. However, one thing is interesting... they say that when their level control is maxed it's equivalent to the output of the original pedal. I found this one to be incredibly overpowering at its maximum setting to the point where even minimizing the guitar's volume didn't really tame it all that much. That's fine for his pedal as I can turn the output down but it makes me wonder what applications the original version had. Anyway, I was mostly using this around 2-4 and found it quite usable in that area. I'm mostly experimenting with it now but I'm finding it pairs nicely with overdrive (I have a Tubescreamer Mini after it in the chain) boosting the OD some and (more importantly) giving the tone a much tighter and focused sound. Still experimenting with it, but I think it'll be fun. I'm glad I started with a low-cost option, it'll give me some context if/when I decide to buy a more expensive one later. |
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sirWheat
Wholenote
For a better future, play Stevie Wonder for your children.
Posts: 319
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Post by sirWheat on Apr 17, 2020 7:43:24 GMT -5
This thread prompted me to pull out my Earthquaker Tone Job pedal. I had bought it a few years ago in an attempt to warm up my Gibson GA-5T (didn't really help). Using it with my Redplate Bluesmachine I'm able to get similar results as in that video posted by rdr above as well as nicely thickened and saturated distorted tones in general. I have no experience with treble boosters so I can't compare but setting up the Tone Job to boost the treble makes me happy. This pedal was recommended to me by a friend who had been frustrated by the added noise of slider-style eqs like the mxr. This is the only eq i've ever used but am very happy with it; with the extra gain available it can act pretty much like a boost pedal too.
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Post by Seldom Seen on Apr 19, 2020 11:52:53 GMT -5
The Dallas Rangemaster seems to kind of be the gold standard and that's what people like Brian May, Tony Iommi, etc. I have a reissue and it really brings my 1970 Marshall JMP 1987 to life at more reasonable volumes. The tone is much more lively and crisp with the TB. |
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Post by reverendrob on Apr 20, 2020 16:39:42 GMT -5
I've used Rangemasters - they're VERY amp and guitar dependent on whether they sound good.
For my money, with my usual Fender 6L6/little Marshall 1x12 DSL 1/Jazz Chorus, my favorite (not very clean) treble boost is the one in the original Bee Baa (or proper clones - most AREN'T, as they gut the boost for something 'pleasing' to modern ears.)
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Tall-Fir
Wholenote
Liking both kinds of music—Country and Western!
Posts: 109
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Post by Tall-Fir on May 6, 2020 19:46:59 GMT -5
Hi Vibroluxer, glad to see you are active here at Moes 2! The Maxon graphic equalizer that I have is the GE601. It seems to work fine, and doubles as a lead boost. It’s a fun pedal. It’s in their line of vintage reissue pedals.
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