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Treble Booster


smitty

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Don't know much about the Fryer, except that it's what Brian's using currently(?), but both the traditional Brian May Boost and the Dallas Rangemaster (and their clones) are one transistor circuits that shouldn't cost much to build. RG at Geofex has done a fairly comprehensive article on the Rangemaster's technology, and Small Bear sells a germanium transistor for use in it for less than $5.00 - it should also work well in the Brian May Boost. Or you could sim the circuit, plot the frequency response and build a simple opamp filter with the same curve, if you're into design. Brianboost has a page that includes step-by-step build pics and a couple of sound clips of the BMB that you may find of interest. HTH - I was a huge Queen fan, and consider Brian one of the most underrated heroes of guitardom, so I have quite a bit of info on his gear. B)

EDIT: The Rangemaster uses a PNP transistor, so if you use the Rangemaster transistor in the BMB schematic, you'll have to reverse the polarity of the battery and both the elctrolytic caps. Or you can get the silicon version of the BCL182L used in the original from almost any electronics parts source. Hope that didn't cause too much confusion. :D

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you were a queen fan? hope you still are.
Well, since Freddy's untimely death, only in the same abstract sense that I'm a Paul Kossoff fan. But, yeah, I still love 'em!

can you buy germanium transistors in electronics shops, or is it too specialised?
Germanium transistors are obsolete and haven't been produced for several decades, but they evidently made billions of them, so there's still some stock available. They're not common, though, so I doubt you'll find them at most electronics shops. If it was me, I'd build the Brian May boost with the BCL182L that's in current production first, simply because it's readily available at less than a dollar per piece. Since I live in a technological backwater (central Alabama), I have to mailorder anything that Radio Shack doesn't stock, so Mouser and Small Bear are generally where I look for what I need. If you live close to a major metro area or industrial base, you may have better luck. If you have trouble finding anything, gimme a shout, and I'll see if I can help.
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