Treble booster vs Boost with 3-knob EQ

Dave_Mc · July 2023

Yorkie said:

One thing I've noticed with the Rangemaster-style circuits I've built (the boxed one included) is that they all seem to make a loud pop when you activate them. I've tried adding a 1M pull-down resistor after the output capacitor, but that was not the game-changer I was expecting it to be. Do you guys also get that pop when activating your treble boosters?

I can't say I've noticed but I haven't tried mine for a good while. If I remember (if I don't, post again to remind me!) I'll try mine in the next day or two and see. (I don't think I'll have a chance to try it tomorrow and it's too late to try it now.)

dean111music · July 2023

rze99 said:

A slightly different take.... I couldn't make the Treble Booster thing work for me the way I liked but I am chuffed to bits with my Drybell Unit67 pedal, which is a booster, upper mid-rangemaster, eq and compressor pedal in one. It's fab.

The Pete Thorn demo is excellent

https://youtu.be/P8pgByNOWo8

Just checked this out and looks amazing. V2 should include separate footswitch for the rangemaster and top mounted jacks.

That would make a superb versatile pedal?!

Yorkie · July 2023

Should I request that this thread is moved to ‘Making & modding’? There’s so much ‘making’ in it

Yorkie · July 2023

I’ve moved the thread. Didn’t know I could do it myself

Dave_Mc · July 2023

Yorkie said:

One thing I've noticed with the Rangemaster-style circuits I've built (the boxed one included) is that they all seem to make a loud pop when you activate them. I've tried adding a 1M pull-down resistor after the output capacitor, but that was not the game-changer I was expecting it to be. Do you guys also get that pop when activating your treble boosters?

Tried mine there today. I have two- a Websmurfer pretty straight clone (I think!) and and a Svaha Aqstics more involved one with switchable Ge/Si transistor, a bias knob and switchable input (I think!) caps to affect the tone. I wasn't getting any pops. Well... maybe a very slight one with the Websmurfer one, but I had my Fame Tube 5 (more or less a Champion 600) cranked pretty well up and the pop was still barely noticeable. No pop with the other one. By comparison my EHX Neo Clone makes a very obvious (more like obnoxious!) pop the first time you turn it on, even at low volume, and this was nowhere near as bad as that, even though the volume was way higher. EDIT: Just to be clear, I didn't built either of those myself. They may well have some kind of circuitry to avoid the pop! Maybe there's something fancier than the 1M pull-down resistor...

Yorkie · July 2023

Dave_Mc said:

Yorkie said:

One thing I've noticed with the Rangemaster-style circuits I've built (the boxed one included) is that they all seem to make a loud pop when you activate them. I've tried adding a 1M pull-down resistor after the output capacitor, but that was not the game-changer I was expecting it to be. Do you guys also get that pop when activating your treble boosters?

Tried mine there today. I have two- a Websmurfer pretty straight clone (I think!) and and a Svaha Aqstics more involved one with switchable Ge/Si transistor, a bias knob and switchable input (I think!) caps to affect the tone. I wasn't getting any pops. Well... maybe a very slight one with the Websmurfer one, but I had my Fame Tube 5 (more or less a Champion 600) cranked pretty well up and the pop was still barely noticeable. No pop with the other one. By comparison my EHX Neo Clone makes a very obvious (more like obnoxious!) pop the first time you turn it on, even at low volume, and this was nowhere near as bad as that, even though the volume was way higher. EDIT: Just to be clear, I didn't built either of those myself. They may well have some kind of circuitry to avoid the pop! Maybe there's something fancier than the 1M pull-down resistor...

Thanks! I’ve also noticed that my LED fades off when I deactivate the circuit, so there may be an issue with capacitors charging/discharging. I’ll try to figure it out… sloooowly.

Dave_Mc · July 2023

Yorkie said:
Thanks! I’ve also noticed that my LED fades off when I deactivate the circuit, so there may be an issue with capacitors charging/discharging. I’ll try to figure it out… sloooowly.

I wasn't looking out for it, but I didn't notice any fading of the LEDs either- I think they just went off with the footswitch. It does sound like there's something not quite right going on there. Good luck

Yorkie · July 2023

Dave_Mc said:

Yorkie said:
Thanks! I’ve also noticed that my LED fades off when I deactivate the circuit, so there may be an issue with capacitors charging/discharging. I’ll try to figure it out… sloooowly.

I wasn't looking out for it, but I didn't notice any fading of the LEDs either- I think they just went off with the footswitch. It does sound like there's something not quite right going on there. Good luck

Nah, the LED fades out because it's got a capacitor next to it – this is part of the protection circuit I've spotted in many other designs. I had a few options for wiring the LED and went for the one that needed fewer and shorter cables.

The pop is actually mentioned on the Naga Viper manual (a very similar circuit, mine has a different transistor and a couple of the capacitors and pots are different too), so it might be difficult to avoid in this kind of circuit. I remember I put an extra resistor to try and address that, so I will start by removing that and see if it pops harder

Or I could just build another one after I finish with the fuzz project I'm working on... maybe in time for Christmas!?

Dave_Mc · July 2023

Yorkie said:

Dave_Mc said:

Yorkie said:
Thanks! I’ve also noticed that my LED fades off when I deactivate the circuit, so there may be an issue with capacitors charging/discharging. I’ll try to figure it out… sloooowly.

I wasn't looking out for it, but I didn't notice any fading of the LEDs either- I think they just went off with the footswitch. It does sound like there's something not quite right going on there. Good luck

Nah, the LED fades out because it's got a capacitor next to it – this is part of the protection circuit I've spotted in many other designs. I had a few options for wiring the LED and went for the one that needed fewer and shorter cables.

The pop is actually mentioned on the Naga Viper manual (a very similar circuit, mine has a different transistor and a couple of the capacitors and pots are different too), so it might be difficult to avoid in this kind of circuit. I remember I put an extra resistor to try and address that, so I will start by removing that and see if it pops harder

Or I could just build another one after I finish with the fuzz project I'm working on... maybe in time for Christmas!?

Oh ok, I guess that explains why the LED thing wasn't happening on mine!

Yeah that's worth a try (removing the resistor), just to see what happens. I think Svaha changed their treble booster to be more like a Naga Viper just after I got mine, lol, I have no idea if it's just the Naga Viper version which pops... I know mine don't, though mine are probably slightly closer to the original Rangemaster circuit than the Naga Viper.

Yorkie · July 2023

Dave_Mc said:
Oh ok, I guess that explains why the LED thing wasn't happening on mine!

I'm in a bit of a quandary here.

If I were to decide it's a bug, I'd have to rewire the LED so it doesn't do it anymore.
But if it's a feature – and I must say I kind of like it! – I would have to add another capacitor so it does it when it's powering up as well

Asperger problems, I guess.

Dave_Mc · July 2023

Yorkie said:

Dave_Mc said:
Oh ok, I guess that explains why the LED thing wasn't happening on mine!
I'm in a bit of a quandary here.

If I were to decide it's a bug, I'd have to rewire the LED so it doesn't do it anymore.
But if it's a feature – and I must say I kind of like it! – I would have to add another capacitor so it does it when it's powering up as well

Asperger problems, I guess.

LOL

I do stuff like that too

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Treble booster vs Boost with 3-knob EQ

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