Pedal Build for Nelskie....

[duhvoodooman]

Our old Fret.net buddy Jon Nelson, a.k.a. "Nelskie", contacted me a couple of weeks back about building him a BYOC Triboost pedal. But when it came to the pedal finishing, this was a man with a plan! Based upon it's 3-way boost capabilities, he had a specific finishing concept in mind, including a snazzy paint type (Testor's metallic Electric Pink) and a decal reminiscent of those old adult film posters. So he had the paint drop-shipped to me, sent me the decal graphic by e-mail, and I did the rest. People, I give you....Nelskie's Porno Pedal!!

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/Nelskie_triboost_finished.jpg

[Robert]

You gonna havta play sleeezy funk with dat pedal! :D

[Blaze]

Nice nasty one DVM.

Three way hen !!!

[pes_laul]

haha awsome

[Tone2TheBone]

I LMAO everytime I see this. Love the color and the name. Good going Jon and Bob.

ps - after looking at the bottom female figure more than once I finally realize its her left arm that extends past her form and not what I initially thought it was ahem.....still funny though and it DOES say three way! :D

[mrmudcat]

Hey i like that!!:beer:

[Big K]

nice finish

[bigoldron]

Works for me! :drool:

[Kazz]

lmao Tone......I see the same thing you did.....


DVM...that is one sexy pedal.....

[Robert]

I LMAO everytime I see this. Love the color and the name. Good going Jon and Bob.

ps - after looking at the bottom female figure more than once I finally realize its her left arm that extends past her form and not what I initially thought it was ahem.....still funny though and it DOES say three way! :D


No, no, come on, that is a true She-Male, isn't it? That's why that, you know what I mean, is doing that. Happy to see you. :D

[SuperSwede]

Awesome pedal.. I know El Nelskie will enjoy it, good job DVM!

[duhvoodooman]

Thanks, guys.

Tone, Kazz & Robert: You're perverts. ;)

[Nelskie]

Conventional wisdom would lead me to believe that this forum holds a consensus of players who not only recognize great guitar tone - but also great value when it comes to guitar equipment. It should come as no surprise that I'd willingly toss my hat into the ring when discussing the newest addtion to the Nelskie pedal arsenal: the BYOC Tribooost, hand-built and finished by the Fret.Net's resident pedal guru duhvoodooman.

If you've spent any time reading his highly informative pedal-building posts, you're probably quite familiar with BYOC's impressive line-up of effects. What's cool about the BYOC product is that they take a tried and true circuit / design to the next level by adding cool tweaks and features, thus creating a pedal that is truly deserving of its "custom" namesake.

The Triboost keeps pace with the BYOC design philosophy by offering not one . . . but three killer boost circuits in a single pedal - which feature-wise would be plenty of bang for the buck. But fun doesn't stop there, kids - nosiree! One of the groovy added twists of the Triboost pedal: the normal trebly-ness of the germanim boost circuit has been tamed / enhanced by adding both a middle and full frequency setting. Both are but a toggle switch away, thus allowing you enjoy that raw, slightly dirty germanium goodness with brighter-voiced amplifiers and guitars - sans the "ice-picky" sensitivity that a standard geramanium circuit might impart (*if you're not careful with it!!)

My first foray into the Triboost's delicious germanium setting was with a MIJ Strat with vintage-style SC's through a Fender Super Champ XD's Ch. 1 Blackface setting. Using the "full" mode, the pedal provided a rich, round Black Crowes-style tone resplendent with attitude and just the right amount of touch. Hearing an opportunity for a cleaner, driven tone, I put the Triboost in front of my Bitmo-modded Valve Jr., and took full advantage of the circuit's 60's Brit-style attributes. In no time flat, I was ripping through grinding, aggressive Yardbirds and Kinks-style grooves - with nary more than a small adjustment here and there. A little tone-farming know-how may yield even more surprises for curious tweakers who favor the germanium setting's decidedly vintage vibe.

I would also add that the Triboost's germanium circuitry draws its influence from the the Dallas Rangemaster bloodline. For those in the know, the Rangemaster treble booster was a key component of Clapton's legendary "Beano" tone. Accentuating higher range frequencies (*which worked fabulously for the darker-voiced British amps of the day), the Triboost allows you to tap heartily into that edgy, slightly unkempt grind. Believe me, if Clapton's Rangemaster had these two optional settings back in his Bluesbreakers heyday, the "god" monniker would have taken on an entirely new meaning. These two voicings are incredibly useful - and tons of fun to play through.

MOSFET circuitry is certainly no stranger to the world of boutique effects - and having its tasty tonal fare on tap in the Triboost is yet another reason to have a Triboost on your pedal board. What I dig about the MOSFET circuit is its unobtrusiveness - i.e. keeping your base tone in tact, but enhancing its harmonic complexity. It's not totally transparent, but not overly aggressive - meaning that you can add just the right amount of grit to a cleaner tone, or kick-up an already over-driven sound without it getting too ratty. So tell me - how many times have you said that you'd like to have a pedal that did just that? Probably more than you'd care to admit.

Leaving the best for last, I simply cannot say enough about the Triboost's linear setting. To my ears, it might possibly be the best-sounding boost circuit I've ever come across. In the fact that its primary purpose is to "boost" a signal, the characteristics it imparts in the process are those that I use only when describing my favorite pieces of gear (*and a few former girlfriends!) - tight, articulate, with a warm, lovely sheen across the entire frequency range. This setting, IMHO, is alone worth the price of admission. I've run it on every one of my tube amplifiers - on both clean and dirty settings, and I have yet to find a tone that I didn't totally dig.

There are lots of options to consider when thinking about purchasing a pedal effect: affordability; quality of internal componentry; build quality; versatility; and of course - tone. My Triboost kit has exceeded my expectations in every one of these areas, with the added bonus of it being hand-built by a friend and fellow guitarist / player whose pursuit of great tone is perhaps as rabid as my own.

By the way, did I mention the custom finishing options . . . ?? :AOK:

[Kazz]

Thanks, guys.

Tone, Kazz & Robert: You're perverts. ;)


What did Austin Danger Powers say......."We are SEXY bi****s"

[Kazz]

in case anyone is wondering....I actually typed the asterisks...

[marnold]

You've certainly got a way with words, Nelskie. Great to hear from you again! That sounds like pretty much the ultimate boost pedal. Looks like I'm going to have to investigate that one a bit more fully. Just when I thought I might be free from GAS, Nelskie drags me back in!

Just a question, does the mid-boost do kind of the Tube Screamer thing?

Here's a YouTube demo:
yPBQoDfwvZA

[sumitomo]

Way cool pedal,but I have to agree with some of the guys that chick in the middle has a shlong! Sumi:D

[duhvoodooman]

WOW! I gotta get you to write all my ad copy, Nelsk! The orders would be pouring in if I hired you as my Marketing Director!

Seriously, thanks for your effusive praise. Most of the credit has to go to Keith Vonderhulls at BYOC for a truly outstanding pedal design. But I'll take a little for a clean build and decent finishing job.

So....who's next?? ;) :D :rockon:

[Nelskie]

Just a question, does the mid-boost do kind of the Tube Screamer thing?

Thanks marnold. Your question is a good one, warranting a trip into my studio to find out firsthand.

The answer to your question is effectively yes and no. The Triboost can, in fact, cop a bit of that "mid-rangey" Tube Screamer flavor in the germanium mode. Bear in mind, however, that its vibe is different from the TS's - this being due to the differences in the circuit design: the Triboost uses a European-made germanium transistor more common to vintage pedal designs; the Tube Screamer uses a modern op amp (operational amplifier).

The Triboost's toggle switch (*again, for the germanium setting only) acts kind of like the Tube Screamer's "tone" control knob, allowing you to place emphasis on a specific frequency range (full, treble, and mid). A Tube Screamer's tone control, on the other hand, allows you to sweep through the entire frequency range. The Triboost's frequency adjustments are fixed (full, mid, treble), but sound really good thanks to a toneful circuit design. Both pedals have a common "level" control, which regulates the strength / intensity of the signal going into the amp. The TS also has a gain knob, allowing for yet another layer of harmonic density.

The Triboost and TS will both work effectively in "front-loading" a tube amp - i.e. driving the pre-amp section into a state of natural saturation (*I think that's how the pro's term it) - which in turn creates that smooth, delicious over-driven tone guitar players know and love. The Triboost shines in this capacity, as its three circuit options offer three distinctly different flavors of tone (five if you're counting the two additional settings on the germanium mode); the TS has but one - albeit a very good one.

It'd be hard for me to say whether I'd go for one over the other - if that's were you were going with your question. For me - life is good because I have both. What I like about the Triboost over the TS is that it has more of a vintage feel to it. Being that you're using it to boost the signal, you hear more of the natural tone of the guitar / amp you are running it through. The TS can be set to do somewhat the same thing, but I don't think the tonal result is quite the same. To me, it has a more agressive feel to it - if that makes any sense.

Anyways - that'll do it for my little "cameo" here at FN. Here's wishing all of you good playing. ;)

[marnold]

Thanks, Nelskie. I appreciate it.

[SuperSwede]

Anyways - that'll do it for my little "cameo" here at FN. Here's wishing all of you good playing. ;)

Dont be a stranger Nelskie!

Good luck with the pedal :)

[oldguy]

Dont be a stranger Nelskie!

Good luck with the pedal :)

+100!
And thanks for the review, quite thorough, and informative.

[duhvoodooman]

Just a couple of follow-up comments to Nelskie's thorough & informative posts:

Those of you familiar with the Dallas Rangemaster know that it was not just a booster, but more specifically a treble booster. Clapton and many other notable English guitarists of that time used it to raise the treble output of their naturally rather dark sounding Marshall amps. But these were also non-master volume amps, so the boost helped to push them into overdrive and give that quintessential "Beano" tone so many of us love. I remember the first time I heard that album, being just floored by Clapton's tone and thinking "Man, I've never heard a guitar sound like that!"

That said, the original Rangemaster was tonally pretty much a one-trick pony, and the EQ voicing toggle switch on the Triboost adds a lot more flexibility, as Nelsk points out. I rarely use the "treble" mode myself, because I don't play through dark sounding amps. But I use the "mid" and (especially) "full" EQ settings quite a bit.

But like Nelskie, my favorite of the three boost modes is the Linear. This is a simple bipolar NPN silicon transistor (2N5088) boost based upon the Electro Harmonix Linear Power Booster circuit that's been around since 1968. There's a reason why the "classics" stay around for years and years while the pretenders come and go. As simple as this boost circuit is, it sounds great. The "linear" description is apt, because it just seems to give you more of everything. Not just more volume--the signal picks up a fullness that I assume must reflect an increase in harmonics and overall tonal complexity. All I can tell you is that it sounds great, and seems to work its greatest magic on the bass end of the signal. Nelskie used the phrase "tight & articulate", and I can't describe it any better.

No kidding, if you're only going to have one boost pedal, this is the one to have--whether you build it yourself, buy it from me, or from someone else.

[ragnarpk]

hahaha thats the awesome looking pedal ever..