Rangemaster pedal

[benoit]

Hey all, I know that pedals don't come up here much, but I built one so simple and cool I couldn't resist saying something.

I built a rough approximate of the ol' Rangemaster (3 resistors, 3 caps, a transistor, input, output, level, on/off) out of parts I had lying around. Had to use a silicon transistor but I must say, in front of my little 20 watt Bassman 20 the thing sounds FIERCE. Super thick sustain with nice blooming and feedback. Just a small hint of fuzz on the tone. It's definitely more of a dirty raw lo-fi kind of sound when cranked but with the level set for a more moderate boost it adds just a little bit of hair for more old school electric-bluesy endeavors.

Definitely worth the 10-15 (probably less) spent on the parts. No pics, because right now it's just mocked up in a cardboard box.

[Noel Grassy]

I was really surprised to find that FX sounded so good with a small tube amp.
I placed mine as a boost before a Burns BuzzAround in the same enclosure.
It makes for a wicked sustain in that early Fripp fuzz kinda way.
Glad you found the Rangemaster to your liking. What xistor did you settle on? Post some pics when you box her up.
Did you build a PNP or NPN version? If you built the PNP versh I can send you a Mullard OC44 to try. It makes that hair just a bit creamier.

Have fun,

NG

[benoit]

It's PNP. I don't even remember off the top of my head what it is, just that it's silicon. To be honest, I didn't even look at the spec sheet because I only had that one type (with about ten on hand so not worried about frying anything). That mullard would definitely be fun to check out.

Not sure when I'll get 'er boxed up but probably soon as I've begun jamming with a friend of mine and have already used it a fair amount.