Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
While on the JHS thing, I noticed this booster and thought it looked interesting. The output switches between filters to allow for treble and bass boost, unlike most other boosters where it all happens at the input. Very few seem to be around, as I could only find one photo of the internals and one video … Read more
The Analog Man Beano Boost takes the classic Rangemaster treble booster and adds a very useful function — a switched input capacitor that widens the tonal range beyond the original’s treble boost. Because it’s a single-transistor germanium circuit, the choice of transistor does shape the tone and clipping character, especially at higher gain settings. That … Read more
Happy 2022, everyone! Here’s a buffer/booster from Fulltone. Engaged it’s a booster with an interesting controllable germanium soft clipping setup, and when bypassed the diodes and gain control are shorted, creating a buffer. If you’re just after the boost and want to skip the buffered bypass, just ignore the two Bypass pads and wire it … Read more
The Earthquaker Devices Bows is a straight-up germanium Rangemaster with some modern tweaks. It uses an NPN transistor and has a switch to swap to a larger input capacitor for a full-range boost. The space above the transistor on this layout allows it to be mounted on its side (bent over 90 degrees), as OC transistors are … Read more
Bass, treble and full range boost – a 1970s classic from Dan Armstrong, although somewhat overlooked compared to its more famous brethren, the Orange Squeezer and Green Ringer. DAN ARMSTRONG RED RANGER – VERO LAYOUT RED RANGER VIDEO DEMO
I’ve posted layouts for a stripped-back version of the Roland BeeBaa, but never for the full BeeBaa. So here it is. The Roland BeeBaa has a couple of extra options, not generally found on fuzzes of the era, mainly the treble boost and tone control. The switching swaps between a treble boost and a fuzz … Read more
Be prepared for some scorching output level – the Saturn V is LOUD… SPACEMAN SATURN V BOOSTER – VERO LAYOUT SATURN VIDEO DEMO
This is the input amplifier from a Revox A77 reel to reel (circa ~ 1967) – which also happens to be almost identical to the mic preamp in Trident A-Range mixing consoles from the early seventies. So far out of the preamps that I’ve been working on, which is the Neve, RCA and this, I’m … Read more
Here’s a nice easy one if you haven’t done anything point to point before – the Zvex Super Hardon. ZVEX SUPER HARDON – POINT TO POINT LAYOUT I’ve left some room on the board for added power filtering / protection.
A bit of a classic – well one of the first guitar effects really, the Dallas Rangemaster. A nice simple one for a quick build using leftover tag board. In theory there is room to fit the output cap on the board too, but I liked the straight lines of the components. DALLAS RANGEMASTER TREBLE … Read more