The Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster is a Dallas boost pedal. Close alternatives include the Hudson Electronics Sidecar 24V and the Vox VTB-1 Treble Booster. It pairs well with the Dumble Overdrive Special Amp Head and the Dumble Steel String Singer.
Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster
Dallas · pedal
The Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster is a single-knob germanium boost designed in London in 1965, built around a Mullard OC44 germanium transistor. Rather than a full-range boost, it emphasizes upper-midrange and treble frequencies above roughly 2.6 kHz, adding sweet, warm coloration and soft germanium clipping when pushed. Placed in front of a cranked valve amp, it tightens and brightens the signal and drives the amp into smooth, singing overdrive. It is famously associated with Rory Gallagher, Tony Iommi, Brian May, Eric Clapton, and Marc Bolan, shaping much of the late 1960s and early 70s British rock and early metal guitar tone. Unit-to-unit variation is high due to germanium transistor tolerances.
What stands out
“The Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster is a single-knob germanium boost designed in London in 1965, built around a Mullard OC44 germanium transistor”
— from the listing
“Sweet, warm treble boost that cuts through and pushes a valve amp into smooth, compressed overdrive, the community consensus for vintage British lead tone”
— from the community notes
“It is famously associated with Rory Gallagher, Tony Iommi, Brian May, Eric Clapton, and Marc Bolan, shaping much of the late 1960s and early 70s British rock and early metal guitar tone”
— from the listing
“It excels at waking up , adding clarity and cut while pushing the front end into rich overdrive”
— from the reviews
“6 kHz, adding sweet, warm coloration and soft germanium clipping when pushed”
— from the listing
Trade-offs
“The single-control simplicity is musical and immediate, and it stacks naturally with cranked valve gain”
— from the reviews
- germanium
- treble
- smooth
- boost
- metal
- warm
- overdrive
- clipping
Genres the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster is commonly used in
- Hard Rock
- Metal
- Rock
- Blues Rock
- Blues
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Alternative
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Amps that pair well with the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster
Dumble Overdrive Special Amp Head
Dumble
52% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain. (dynamic → compressed)
Into Dumble Overdrive Special Amp Head, Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster is right at home: it's built around a clean amp's front end
Comes later in the signal chain
Dumble Steel String Singer
Dumble
48% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)
The Rangemaster's germanium treble kick is exactly what pushes a Dumble-style clean into that liquid, singing breakup.
Comes later in the signal chain
Marshall JTM45 45W Tube Guitar Amp Head
amplifier
46% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)
The JTM45 is the vintage Marshall the Rangemaster was designed around, its germanium treble boost driving the amp's tube breakup into the singing lead tone both are known for.
Comes later in the signal chain
Fender Vibrolux 6G11
amplifier
44% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
Where this leans warm, Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster answers back bright
Comes later in the signal chain
Swart Space Tone Atomic Jr. Two-Tone
Swart
43% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain. (dynamic → compressed)
The Rangemaster's germanium treble boost pushes the Space Tone's lush, boutique breakup into brighter territory.
Comes later in the signal chain
Fender Bassman Combo Amp
amplifier
41% matchUsed together by 1 artist
shapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain. (dynamic → compressed)
Into Fender Bassman Combo Amp, Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster is right at home: it's built around a clean amp's front end
Comes later in the signal chain
Vox MV50-CE Rock
Vox
39% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
The Rangemaster's germanium treble boost pushes the MV50's tight, direct-recording crunch further.
Comes later in the signal chain
Matchless DC-30
Matchless
39% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)
The Rangemaster's germanium treble boost pushes the DC-30's dynamic, chiming breakup into brighter territory.
Comes later in the signal chain
See all 40 amps that pair with the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster →
Pedals that stack with the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster
MXR Phase 90
MXR
39% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
The Phase 90's psychedelic sweep works well after the Rangemaster's treble boost, since the extra top end keeps the phasing from getting lost.
Comes later in the signal chain
Wampler Latitude Deluxe Tremolo
Wampler
38% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
Where this leans warm, Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster answers back bright
Comes later in the signal chain
Boss OC-5
Boss
35% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
The Rangemaster's germanium treble boost feeds the OC-5's octave tracking a brighter, more defined signal.
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Dunlop - MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe Analog Delay
Dunlop
34% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
Run Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster after it and the dark edge settles into something more bright — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Caroline Guitar Company Kilobyte
Caroline Guitar Company
34% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
The Rangemaster's germanium treble boost feeds the Kilobyte's digital and analog delay a brighter signal to echo. — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Caroline Guitar Company Meteore
Caroline Guitar Company
34% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
The Rangemaster's germanium treble boost feeds the Meteore's warm, spring-style reverb a brighter signal. — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
TC Electronic SCF Gold Stereo Chorus
TC Electronic
33% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
The SCF Gold's warm, analog chorus-flange blend doesn't stack gain with the Rangemaster's treble boost — it just colors the brighter signal directly.
Comes later in the signal chain
Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy Analog Delay
Electro-Harmonix
33% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
Feed the Memory Boy's warm analog echo with the Rangemaster's germanium treble boost and the repeats pick up real brightness. — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
See all 88 pedals that pair with the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster →
Alternativessee all similar tone character →
Hudson Electronics Sidecar 24V
Hudson Electronics
77% similarity“inspired by the Dallas Rangemaster treble booster circuit used by Tony Iommi, Brian May, Marc Bolan, and Rory Gallagher”
Vox VTB-1 Treble Booster
Vox
74% similarity“a modern silicon reinterpretation of the classic Dallas Rangemaster treble booster”
Dallas Tuxedo Treble Booster
pedal
71% similarity“the Dallas Rangemaster-adjacent circuit responds to amp input impedance”
AnalogMan Beano Boost
Analog Man
68% similarity“is a boutique reimagining of the classic Dallas Rangemaster treble booster”
ThorpyFX Wopr
ThorpyFX
66% similarity“with a Rangemaster-inspired treble booster in one pedal”
Carl Martin Blue Ranger
Carl Martin
65% similarity“is a treble booster in the tradition of the Dallas Rangemaster, designed to add brightness, harmonic presence”
Catalinbread Gailieo Red Treble Booster
Catalinbread
65% similarity“Based on the Dallas Rangemaster treble booster concept, the Galileo adds treble presence and drive character”
Suhr Brighton Treble Booster
Suhr
65% similarityShared character: singing, treble, bright
Caroline Guitar Company Icarus
Caroline Guitar Company
63% similarityShared character: sensitivity, pick attack, boost
Catalinbread Super Chili Picoso
Catalinbread
63% similarity“Rangemaster-inspired treble booster providing hot, spicy upper-frequency emphasis and harmonic saturation”
Benson Amps Germanium Preamp (Boost)
Benson Amps
63% similarityShared character: sensitivity, boost, treble
Catalinbread Silver Kiss Reissue
Catalinbread
63% similarityShared character: signal, treble, bright
See all alternatives to the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster?+
The closest matches in character are the Hudson Electronics Sidecar 24V, the Vox VTB-1 Treble Booster, the Dallas Tuxedo Treble Booster.
What pairs well with the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Dumble Overdrive Special Amp Head, Dumble Steel String Singer, Marshall JTM45 45W Tube Guitar Amp Head — Into Dumble Overdrive Special Amp Head, Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster is right at home: it's built around a clean amp's front end.