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BYOC Tri-Boost
The Build Your Own Clone line of effects offers boutique quality effects at low, low prices. You just have to build it yourself. In doing so, however, you have the final say in overall quality, design, and craftsmanship.
The BYOC Tri-Boost is three pedals in one.
1. A Boutique version of the Dallas Rangmaster. I say boutique because it offers the original circuit with the modification offered in pedals by Keely Electronics (the Java Boost) and Analogueman (Beno Boost). These mods include toggling between the original and mid or bass boosted settings and up to a date features such as true bypass.
2. A clean boost
3. A linear boost
I am not exactly sure what pedals the clean and linear boost modes emulate (if any) but the Fulltone Mosfet boost and the Z-Vex Super Hard On comes to mind. It is interesting to note that Fulltone was sued over their Mosfet boost. Apparently it wza a straight up copy of another boost pedal. Fulltone says the copying was an accident by the company and that the plans for the pedal were brought in by an employee--it was the employee who did the stealing. This is an interesting sidenote because Fulltone has an image where owner Mike Fuller is so hands on in the design of all Fullton's pedals.
The Tri-Boost is one of my favorite Pedals. The original Rangemaster is a very very very simple circuit. Much to simple to be charging up to $300 for as some as boutique builders do. The Tri-Boost faithfully incorporates this circuit into its design. Especially where it counts: the germanium transistor and the two resistors that bias this transistor. The Germanium resistor that comes with the Tri-Boost is an AC-127 (more on this below). This is not the original Rangemaster transistor but it comes in many of the boutique clones. The clean and linear boost modes are more transparent and give lots of top-end sparkle. I like this pedal much more than the Super Hard On. The Tri-Boost is more musical. I think the linear boost is best for a modern distorted or overdriven tones, the clean boost works well with a clean signal, and the germanium mode, which I use the most, is excellent for vintage snarling nastiness. This pedal is really versatile and I can't say enough about it.
The original Dallas Rangmaster came with a Mullard OC44 germanium transistor. Many boutique builders offer this transistor as an added upgrade at a substantial upcharge. The BYOC Tri-Boost comes with a socket so you can use different transistors. The Germanium transistor that comes with the Tri-Boost is an AC-127. I ordered a real NOS Mullard OCC44 from Small Bear Electronics. I got two of them for like $14. They are measured to operate at the intended Rangmaster specifications if your bias resistors match the values given by Smallbear when you purchase the OC44. Fortunately, these resistor values where already similar to what BYOC uses in its Tri-Boost. When I took a bias measurement with my multimeter the values were spot on for the Rangmaster. Between Small Bear offering resistors of the proper ratings and BYOC sticking to the original pedal specifications; I did not have to do a thing. My OC44 Tri-Boost was a little louder and little clearer. I think the biggest effect was that it was more transparent. Germanium colors the tone in a very musical way. The AC127 resistor had a very wahwah like vowel sounding property that I really dig. This was not so apparent with the OC44 but overall I did like the OC44 upgrade. Since their is a resistor socket I can switch back or experiment with other transistors as I please.
Note that BSM sells a whole line of Rangmaster clones and other similar silicone and germanium boost pedals. Their line is very high quality and very expensive. The OC44 based Rangmaster is like $350. BSM heavily markets their pedals around which germanium or silicone transistor they use. I mean, each pedal is the very simple Rangemaster type circuit with the biggest difference among pedals being the transistor used. For instance, they market a Rangemaster with the transistor used in the BYOC build (AC127) as boost offering the Eric Clapton Blues Brothers type of sound for about $250. My Tri-Boost costs $99 and contains the circuitry of 2 additional effects.
The Tri-Boost was my first BYOC build. I am proud to say I have a Rangemaster circuit equivalent to the Beno boost or all those other boutique clones. The pedal cost $99 and the OC44 cost $7. I mostly use the germanium mode of my Tri-Boost. That was what I bought it for. I am using the other modes more and more as time goes on. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this pedal as a premium signal booster. Even if it was as much as the other builds it would still be a value.
BOTTOM LINE: The BYOC Tri-Boost is the most versatile pedal of its type on the market. The cost is extremely low and the quality is extremely high. What a great value.
