The original Dallas Rangemaster was a simple, single transistor guitar effect that first appeared in the 1960s. Its function was twofold, to both boost the guitar’s signal (kicking a tube amp that is already on the edge of breakup into overdrive) and simultaneously boosting the treble of the instrument, helping to make darker sounding British amps of the period sound brighter. The circuit utilizes an NTE101 NPN germanium transistor as I have adapted the circuit from PNP to NPN and also added a trim pot on the PCB so the gain of the emitter follower can be adjusted to suit your instrument. Housed in an ultra small enclosure it is an indispensable tone tool for guitarists seeking classic rock tones the traditional way.

Stacking the Germanium Booster [Ge Boost] with other pedals by placing it either before or after a fuzz or distortion can open up new layers of tone in your setup and is the ideal way to use this device.