Updated Finish

In an attempt to make the Butter Booster more butter-like, I've been working on a pigment mixture that achieves a more consistent shade. Previously I'd done this by cooking it in a toaster oven until it turns golden brown, like a batch of chocolate chip cookies. This was a bit imprecise. I found a nice yellow water-based pigment that works well with water-based polycrylic, resulting in the following:

About This Pedal:

The Butter Booster is my version of the classic Dallas Rangemaster treble booster. Useful in pushing any valve amplifier over the top into crisp overdrive and sustain, the unique tonal balance and compression created by this simple circuit adds unmistakable complexity and articulation to your tone.

There are three tone presets, which I'm calling Traditional, Modern, and Baritone. I carefully chose these for their emotional impact and feel, guided by their mathematical relationship to notes on the guitar's fretboard. Traditional is the classic Rangemaster sound and the highest frequency setting, which balances out the distortion by letting high notes shine and saturate in equal amounts to low notes. Modern shifts this frequency an octave lower, creating a slight midrange bump that pairs well with modern amps and playing styles. Baritone goes an octave lower still, adding impressive depth and growl while preserving overall tightness. This last setting is coincidentally the same as the Tube Screamer, so it cuts through the mix in a similar way while still having its own unique character.

The Ge / Si switch combines the sounds of Silicon and Germanium into one unit. Silicon has intrinsically higher bandwidth, which can be perceived as brittle or harsh. To avoid this, the Butter Booster Si setting matches the input bandwidth of a tube guitar amplifier. This yields a clear, present and articulate sound, while still limiting excess unpleasant highs.

Germanium has a much lower bandwidth, which is often perceived as warmer and more relaxed. To emulate this, the Butter Booster Ge setting matches the bandwidth of the original Rangemaster transistor. This removes potentially unpleasant overtones and smooths out the transient response, giving the tone a more laid back feeling. Germanium emulation is accomplished by modifying the properties of a single carefully chosen silicon transistor. This gives all the tonal benefits of Ge, but without the excess noise, temperature dependent gain, or host of other issues that accompany vintage Ge transistors.

I've gone through every aspect of this circuit with a fine-toothed comb. Each component has been carefully optimized to make this pedal the best it can be. Special attention to biasing and voltage regulation means each pedal sounds exactly the same, no need to cherry pick the "best one". Parts were deliberately chosen for lowest noise and highest stability, ensuring many years of happy playing. Finally and perhaps most importantly was that the final product simply inspires me to play. I am happy to say the Butter Booster does exactly that.