rangemaster question

[km-r]

i built the rangemaster yesterday and i think i built it good and right... 

when used with a clean amp, low volume, does it just act like a nice clean treble boost?

but when used with an overdriven amp or FET stage thats where i noticed the "effect", correct?

i used NOS matsushita 2sb170 [hfe = 130] and hitatchi 2sb98 [hfe = 120], are these good trannies and are there better ones?

[jonathan perez]

matsushita? matsushata?

sounds like a typical rangemaster to me...it is a treble booster, you know. 

[hellwood]

when used with a clean amp, low volume, does it just act like a nice clean treble boost?

yeah, nice, clean and pretty much useless.

but when used with an overdriven amp or FET stage thats where i noticed the "effect", correct?

on an overdriven amp is when all of the magic is unleashed!

i used NOS matsush*ta 2sb170 [hfe = 130] and hitatchi 2sb98 [hfe = 120], are these good trannies and are there better ones?

better is a matter of personal preference. i used Hfe 100 but of equal importance is the biasing. if thats off it doesnt matter how good your transistors are. bad transistors are either leaky or noisy. the Hfe is your call. if the pedal blows your mind(and it should), thats all that matters.

[yeeshkul]

Any time i feed my RM to anything else than a tube amp (i've tried H&K blue-carpet muffled-sounding-combo and few others), i am not happy with the sound at all.
Matsushita 2sb175B is what i'm constantly using and they are simply superb. Try even a weaker one [hfe 50-80]. The whole thing can be less hissy and still do the job well.

[mac]

Matsush*ta 2sb175B is what i'm constantly using and they are simply superb. Try even a weaker one [hfe 50-80]. The whole thing can be less hissy and still do the job well.

Matsush(i)ta Ge transistors are excelent. Another good choices are Toshibas and Hitachis.
My RM has a 2sa102 CX hfe 77 leaking less than 150ua, 10k, 4.7k, 470k and 68k, bias at 7.0v, 47uf tantalum cap, into a thick Disney round box a little smaller than my FF round box... family style.

mac

[DougH]

Rangemaster into fairly clean amp (note the bypassed tone at the beginning):

http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/v/DougH/NPN_RM/NPN_RM.mp3.html

I think it produces a pretty good grind through a clean amp.

[rogeryu_ph]

Pardon me, but sound like SD1 for me...
Roger

[DougH]

Check the schematic in the parent folder. It's a Rangmaster.

edit:

http://www.top-priority.de/rory/rangemaster.html

I don't know if I agree with all of this guy's conclusions, but I do agree with his assertion that the Rangemaster is more of a "midrange booster" with the guitar volume turned up all the way. Sounds that way to me anyway...

[drewl]

I changed the .01uf output cap to a 4.7uf I think, for more of an overall boost instead of just the high frequencies and the damn thing just sounds incredible into every tube amp I've tried so far.
I'll have to try it with a SS amp to see if it sounds good, but it works better with the amp that's not too distorted.

[Dragonfly]

i used NOS matsush*ta 2sb170 [hfe = 130] and hitatchi 2sb98 [hfe = 120], are these good trannies and are there better ones?

Personally, I'd use transistors with a lower hfe for the RM....anywhere from 60 - 90 hfe.....but those that you have will work fine.

[rogeryu_ph]

Guys,
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lVca7XtBQfw
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BbfFo1swwWM
This is what I heard Rangemaster sound like and I know Black S is using it. I just wanna share it. Everyone is free to correct I maybe wrong.
Roger

[DougH]

I gotta be honest with you...

That first youtube clip sounds pretty weak IMO. But I don't know how high they had the gain on the RM set for that demo. In lower settings it does sound like that.

The second clip was okay, but IMO this is what a RM should sound like:

http://www.tonefrenzy.com/effects/dallas_rangemaster.html

That, and the clip I made that I linked above are more typical of the RM sound that I'm used to. It may be pickups and etc though, I don't know much about Jazzmasters. But the clip I did was with a humbucker. Also, check early Rory Gallagher "Taste" samples for a good idea of the compressed RM sound.

[rogeryu_ph]

Your right,  pick up and amp has a factor to get that Rangemaster sound. BTW guys have you tried MayQueenBooster http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/ggg_mayqueen_boost.pdf? 
Not much of the Rangemaster but great treble and gain and lot of harmonics. Just a tip.....
Thanks,
Roger