The Carl Martin Blue Ranger is a Carl Martin overdrive pedal, currently around $115. Close alternatives include the Catalinbread Skewer and the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster. It pairs well with the Marshall JTM45 45W Tube Guitar Amp Head and the Marshall Studio JTM ST20C MkII 20W 1x12 Combo.

Carl Martin Blue Ranger

Carl Martin · pedal

The Carl Martin Blue Ranger is a treble booster in the tradition of the Dallas Rangemaster, designed to add brightness, harmonic presence, and singing upper-register character to a guitar signal ahead of a tube amplifier. Named after the Rangemaster design lineage it references, the Blue Ranger provides the treble cut-and-boost character associated with 1960s British lead guitar tones -- enhancing single notes in the upper register while reducing bass content to focus the amp response. Associated with the tonal approach of Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi, and the vintage British amp driving tradition. Made in Denmark.

What stands out

  • “The treble-boosting character that compensates for humbucking warmth and adds harmonic singing quality is the standout application”

    — from the community notes

  • “The Carl Martin Blue Ranger is a treble booster in the tradition of the Dallas Rangemaster, designed to add brightness, harmonic presence, and singing upper-register character to a guitar signal ahead of a tube amplifier”

    — from the listing

  • “Named after the Rangemaster design lineage it references, the Blue Ranger provides the treble cut-and-boost character associated with 1960s British lead guitar tones -- enhancing single notes in the upper register while”

    — from the listing

  • “The upper-register emphasis is effective with humbucking pickups, adding the brightness and presence that humbuckers naturally compress”

    — from the reviews

  • “Works best placed first in chain before the amp input where it pushes the amp into natural breakup with a bright, focused character”

    — from the community notes

Trade-offs

  • “used primarily with darker humbucking pickups and british-voiced amps such as marshall and vox where the treble boost compensates for warmth and adds the harmonic edge associated with 1960s lead guitar”

    — from the community notes

  • treble
  • presence
  • british
  • brightness
  • treble booster
  • harmonic
  • lead guitar
  • high headroom
$115View on Reverb

Price updated Oct 23, 2026

Genres the Carl Martin Blue Ranger is commonly used in

  • Blues Rock
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
  • Blues
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
  • Classic Rock
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.

Amps that pair well with the Carl Martin Blue Ranger

Marshall JTM45 45W Tube Guitar Amp Head

amplifier

28% match

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)

Run Marshall JTM45 45W Tube Guitar Amp Head after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm

Comes later in the signal chain

Marshall Studio JTM ST20C MkII 20W 1x12 Combo

Marshall

27% match

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)

Where this leans bright, Marshall Studio JTM ST20C MkII 20W 1x12 Combo answers back smooth

Comes later in the signal chain

Blackstar Series One 45

Blackstar

tonal match
$814.95via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Where this leans bright, Blackstar Series One 45 answers back warm

Ampeg V-4

Ampeg

tonal match
$559via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Ampeg V-4's warm balances out the bright tone

Ampeg BA 108

Ampeg

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Where this leans bright, Ampeg BA 108 answers back smooth

Park P45H

Park

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Where this leans bright, Park P45H answers back warm

Blackstar Series One 200

Blackstar

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Run Blackstar Series One 200 after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm

Hiwatt Park P18LH 'Little 45' Handwired18W

Hiwatt

tonal match
$4300via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Where this leans bright, Hiwatt Park P18LH 'Little 45' Handwired18W answers back warm

Pedals that stack with the Carl Martin Blue Ranger

Electro-Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff

Electro-Harmonix

16% match
$76.22via Reverb

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)

Run Electro-Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff after it and the bright edge settles into something more smooth

Comes later in the signal chain

EarthQuaker Devices Hoof

EarthQuaker Devices

15% match

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)

EarthQuaker Devices Hoof leans warm right where the bright tone needs it

Comes later in the signal chain

MXR Flanger

MXR

14% match

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Run MXR Flanger after Carl Martin Blue Ranger in the signal chain, clear of Carl Martin Blue Ranger's own gain stage

Comes later in the signal chain

Ashdown Velvet Compressor

Ashdown

13% match
$243.31via Reverb

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)

Ashdown Velvet Compressor's own compressed character is the real reason this is worth trying

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Caroline Guitar Company Kilobyte

Caroline Guitar Company

10% match
$199via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Caroline Guitar Company Kilobyte's pristine voice goes after Carl Martin Blue Ranger in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Carl Martin Blue Ranger's own bright character — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

T-Rex Junior Roomate

T Rex

10% match
$108.38via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Keep T-Rex Junior Roomate after Carl Martin Blue Ranger in the signal chain, clear of Carl Martin Blue Ranger's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

Source Audio L.A. Lady

Source Audio

tonal match

Source Audio L.A. Lady leans warm right where the bright tone needs it

Dunlop Echoplex Preamp

Dunlop

tonal match
$135via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Run Dunlop Echoplex Preamp after it and the bright edge settles into something more smooth

Boutique & premium upgrades

Catalinbread Naga-Viper

Catalinbread

69% similarity
$179.99via Reverb

Shared character: modern reliability, edge, bright

Carl Martin PlexiRanger

Carl Martin

61% similarity
$164.29via Reverb

Shared character: bright, singing, treble

Death By Audio Thee Treble

Death By Audio

60% similarity
$219.46via Reverb

Shared character: bright, presence, treble

EarthQuaker Devices Chelsea

EarthQuaker Devices

59% similarity
$177.80via Reverb

Shared character: bright, presence, treble

Catalinbread Silver Kiss Reissue

Catalinbread

52% similarity
$209.61via Reverb

Shared character: treble, bright, boost

AnalogMan Beano Boost

Analog Man

52% similarity
$299via Reverb

Shared character: bright, singing, treble

Similar charactersee all similar tone character →

Catalinbread Skewer

Catalinbread

69% similarity

Shared character: modern reliability, reliable performance, edge

Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster

Dallas

65% similarity

“is a treble booster in the tradition of the Dallas Rangemaster, designed to add brightness, harmonic presence”

Catalinbread Super Chili Picoso

Catalinbread

65% similarity
$139.99via Reverb

Shared character: modern reliability, bright, singing

Vox VTB-1 Treble Booster

Vox

58% similarity
$135.48via Reverb

Shared character: sweet, singing, treble

Suhr Brighton Treble Booster

Suhr

57% similarity
$149via Reverb

Shared character: bright, singing, presence

Dallas Tuxedo Treble Booster

pedal

57% similarity

Shared character: bright, presence, treble

See all alternatives to the Carl Martin Blue Ranger (cheaper + boutique) →

Questions people ask

What are good alternatives to the Carl Martin Blue Ranger?+

The closest matches in character are the Catalinbread Skewer, the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster, the Catalinbread Super Chili Picoso. Boutique upgrades: Catalinbread Naga-Viper, Carl Martin PlexiRanger, Death By Audio Thee Treble.

What pairs well with the Carl Martin Blue Ranger?+

Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Marshall JTM45 45W Tube Guitar Amp Head, Marshall Studio JTM ST20C MkII 20W 1x12 Combo, Blackstar Series One 45 — Run Marshall JTM45 45W Tube Guitar Amp Head after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm.

How much does the Carl Martin Blue Ranger cost?+

Around $115 (live listing price, updated Oct 23, 2026).

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