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 . . . ?? :