Rangemaster/Beano R.G. ?? HELP!

[S. Dunigan]

Yesterday I changed caps on a friend's Analogman Beano. I noticed it had a GE germ. tranny. Why don't my rangemasters break up like this one. I ordered the correct tranny from steve at smallbear, bias is correct. I ve tried swaping to a higer gain Germ. tranny still doing something wrong. R.G., I have a copy of your tech. of the rangemaster what could I be doing wrong? The Beano sounded real nice (after cap change) I don't like em bright. I would like mine to break up quite a bit. Anyhelp would be great and very appreciated.  Sean...

[RDV]

Well, I'm not R.G.(by a longshot), but I believe Mike uses a higher gain Ge than what Steve is doling out. This is neither good nor bad, just different. I've got a Smallbear Ge rangemaster clone I built(which sounds wonderful with an old tube amp) and the hfe of the transistor he sent me is in the 60's. I believe A.M.'s are around 100 hfe or so. I don't think I'm giving away any trade secrets here, AnalogMan's stuff ALL sounds good, and is of the highest quality build-wise.

Regards

RDV

[analogmike]

HI,

We try to use HFE in the 70 to 80 range for the BEANO BOOSTS, as they are easily biased using the info in RG's article. Usually the stock resistor value will be perfect for this range. But just as important as gain and biasing is the selection of the brand and model of transistor used. We have dozens of models from the 60s to newer ones and some just don't sound good in the rangemaster circuit. The black ones we used were really good, lately we are using the NKT275's from our SUNFACE as some of those were in the Rangemaster range (!) in HFE. Those sound great for people who dont like as bright and harsh a tone.

Also try to choose a transistor with low noise, as this circuit can get quite noisy.

Have fun!!!

[RDV]

A.M. said:
The black ones we used were really good

Were those the old black General Electric 2N404 :?:
I think I've got a couple of those. I might do another R.M. with one :wink:

Regards

RDV

[analogmike]

A.M. said:
The black ones we used were really good

Were those the old black General Electric 2N404 :?:
I think I've got a couple of those. I might do another R.M. with one :wink:

Regards

RDV

They were NOS 1960s General Electric transistors, there were some 2N508 which were really good. The 2N527 were also pretty good. The 404 could be good too.

good luck!

[smallbearelec]

As others have pointed out, my generic Rangemaster devices usually fall in the lower part of the "acceptable" gain range, anywhere from 55-75. I do have enough supply to offer something hotter for those who want it, so if you want to try a device with a gain in, say, the low 80s, let me know when you order. I charge a little extra for those, $4.50 rather than $3.75.

As far as manufacturers, my present raw stock for the lower gain parts is either the 2SB77 or unbranded TO-5 can material. I can accommodate requests for either depending what you turn out to prefer. The higher gain parts will be the unbranded TO-5. Remember that you can try them on a solderless breadboard and exchange if not happy!

Regards
SD

[Mark Hammer]

I made myself a very nice Rangemaster using RG's document and a 2SB172 and foolishly sold it to a guy who owns a vintage gear store and has access to lots of things but still loved the tone on it as much as I did.  Tried making myself a replacement recently, and even though I've got all sorts of Ge trannies (including more NOS 2SB172's) have yet to find anything that sounds anywhere near as good.  VERY sensitive to tranny choice.

On the other hand, I tended to restrict myself to devices with hfe>90 when working my way through the parts bin.  based on the comments, maybe its time to start working my way through the lower gain devices....of which there are MANY.

[Dai H.]

HI,

We try to use HFE in the 70 to 80 range for the BEANO BOOSTS, as they are easily biased using the info in RG's article. Usually the stock resistor value will be perfect for this range. But just as important as gain and biasing is the selection of the brand and model of transistor used. We have dozens of models from the 60s to newer ones and some just don't sound good in the rangemaster circuit. The black ones we used were really good, lately we are using the NKT275's from our SUNFACE as some of those were in the Rangemaster range (!) in HFE. Those sound great for people who dont like as bright and harsh a tone.

What I found interesting with the Sunface NKT/non-NKT clips was that when I was trying to find some Germaniums I liked by ear, I preferred the same sort of thing (less edge, rounder tone). I think I had two with the same sort of slight tonal difference as in the sound clips. Same number but either different period or manf. Ones I disliked were ones with too much bright edge.

Dai

[Rick]

For more breakup try a 20k pot in the Rangemaster. With a fairly gainy Ge this should get you there.[/img]

[RDV]

I've got a 25K pot that came with some EMG pick-ups in my R.M. Sounds great. Will break up the front end of a non-master volume tube amp like nobody's business. Sounds like Led Zep's 'Heartbreaker' through my Supro 'Super'.

Regards

RDV