View other reviews for this product:
James... « Amazing AC30 booster »
Published on 08/25/11 at 19:24This is for all intents and purposes a clone of the old Dallas Rangemaster that's so popular and legendary. I'm surprised that no one else (to my knowledge) has made one besides Throbak. Perhaps it's too expensive to do under $200? I'm not sure. It has a bias adjustment knob and a voicing kind of switch. I'm not super familiar with the tech side of what Throbak did with this pedal. But it's hand wired and obviously a very well made pedal. Again, I'm sort of in shock that no one else has made something like this. You would think Rangemaster clones would be in bigger demand.
UTILIZATION
To my knowledge there isn't a manual and Throbak doesn't go into great detail on the functions but this pedal isn't hard to figure out if you just sit down with it for a second. I think most players will use it to get those classic sounds and won't bother with the odd tweaks you can do. Sure it's nice to have but personally I bought this because I wanted classic rangemaster sounds.
SOUND QUALITY
There's something magical about one of these through an AC30. On all the forums you hear people talking about OCD's and Hot Cakes and RC Boosters when AC30's get mentioned. I'm here to say that I've tried all those and they are fine, but the Strangemaster is a much cooler animal. It makes the AC30 sound MEAN. Treble booster is correct. It makes the amp snap and snarl. Not harsh, although if you like your bass this might not be the pedal to get. It really cuts all the mud out of the amp and gives it crunch. You have to hear it to know what I mean.
OVERALL OPINION
I think everyone who owns an AC30 should try one of these. Yeah they aren't cheap but a lot of AC30 guys I know don't care about price. I don't understand why this pedal seems to go largely ignored in gear circles while the same old same old overdrives keep getting play. For my money this is one of the best AC30 overdrives I've ever heard. The 70's guys did it right the first time. And thank god that Throbak is making this pedal, otherwise this classic pedal might not ever be available. I really feel like I'm doing a PSA with this review. Throbak deserves some kind of award for taking the effort to get this pedal made.
UTILIZATION
To my knowledge there isn't a manual and Throbak doesn't go into great detail on the functions but this pedal isn't hard to figure out if you just sit down with it for a second. I think most players will use it to get those classic sounds and won't bother with the odd tweaks you can do. Sure it's nice to have but personally I bought this because I wanted classic rangemaster sounds.
SOUND QUALITY
There's something magical about one of these through an AC30. On all the forums you hear people talking about OCD's and Hot Cakes and RC Boosters when AC30's get mentioned. I'm here to say that I've tried all those and they are fine, but the Strangemaster is a much cooler animal. It makes the AC30 sound MEAN. Treble booster is correct. It makes the amp snap and snarl. Not harsh, although if you like your bass this might not be the pedal to get. It really cuts all the mud out of the amp and gives it crunch. You have to hear it to know what I mean.
OVERALL OPINION
I think everyone who owns an AC30 should try one of these. Yeah they aren't cheap but a lot of AC30 guys I know don't care about price. I don't understand why this pedal seems to go largely ignored in gear circles while the same old same old overdrives keep getting play. For my money this is one of the best AC30 overdrives I've ever heard. The 70's guys did it right the first time. And thank god that Throbak is making this pedal, otherwise this classic pedal might not ever be available. I really feel like I'm doing a PSA with this review. Throbak deserves some kind of award for taking the effort to get this pedal made.