The Treble Booster
A classic treble booster gets its tone from a germanium transistor (some models used silicon transistors like the Brian May booster). A volume knob that ranges from a little under unity gain to normally somewhere between 7-10 dB boost depending on the model controls the simple circuit.
Treble boosters was the secret weapon for many legendary guitarists in the late 60’s and early 70’s like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Marc Bolan and Brian May. Most of them either used the classic Dallas Arbiter Rangemaster (now one of the most sought after pedals ever built) or made their own pedals based on this circuit. In recent years, this has escalated into a boutique frenzy with a huge variety of different boosters.
Using a Treble Booster
As talked about above the treble boosters was designed to boost or distort a tube amp. By increasing the boost or volume the pedal “reacts” with the amp’s tubes and the tone changes from warm and clean to a crisp, natural overdrive. Treble boosters do not have a lot of compression and sustain like most OD pedals but a distinctly more open and raw tone.
One would usually set the pedal on max and use the guitar’s volume control to adjust the gain. The best way to achieve that desired, naturally saturated tone is to use a guitar with humbuckers, as they have higher output than single coils. You also need to crank your tube amp as hard as possible. A Les Paul and a classic Marshall Plexi with maximum treble boost will sound much like Jimmy Page or Tony Iommy during their early days.
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