The Hartman Vintage Germanium Boost is a very musical and faithful clone of the original Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster with added modern amenities of true-bypass switching, on/off LED indicator, external 9VDC (ground-positive) input jack, and switchable frequency response to shift the range of boost downward toward the midrange. The higher the note played, the more gain is applied (approx. 24 dB at the upper end of the neck and dial). The boost gently clips and compresses even when no audible fuzz/distortion is present. At higher settings of the boost knob, Germanium soft-clipping is introduced. The unit's breakup-point can be set by its own Boost knob, the volume control on the guitar, and articulated by playing dynamics/pick-attack. As with old fuzz pedals, the VGB is intended to be used directly after a guitar and plugged directly into an amplifier. Placing pedals, particularly buffered pedals, between the guitar and the VGB is not recommended. Placing pedals after the VGB is possible. Distortions and overdrive pedals that react well to being overdriven by their input signals may respond well to the output of the VGB. Unlike old fuzz pedals, the VGB is bias- and temperature-stabilized. The pedal retains the transparency and dynamics of being plugged straight-in even while adding its own tonal coloration to the signal. This setting is useful for instruments and amplifiers that are already treble-prominent. In the HI position, the unit functions as a stock Rangemaster. |