Treble boosters and tube screamers?

[YamiFrankc]

Hello.

In the early day it seems that everyone used treble boosters, Blackmoore, Iommi, Brian May and other people.
Then, the tube screamer came along and became much more popular it seems.

But, what is the difference between them?
Treble boosters really do bost treble frequencies or is it just a name?

I got interested because I saw catalin bread's Sabbra Cadabra and it sounds amazing..


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[Lampy H]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

I don't think a treble booster hits the midrange the same way a tube screamer does, and likewise, I doubt a tube screamer does the same thing to the treble frequencies that a dedicated treble boost would do.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

tube screamers are more of a mid boost whereas treble boosters are what they say they are. Tube screamers also have clipping diodes to add their own overdrive sound, treble boosters have no clipping. Treble boosters are pretty much just one transistor and a couple of caps and resistors. Tube screamers have a more complex circuit involving opamps, a clipping stage, a tone filtering stage as well as input and output buffers.
They are pretty different. The thing about treble boosters is that they only really work their magic thru an already cranked and preferably dark sounding amp. This is where the amp starts to really rip, and the treble booster's rolling off of the low end is a good thing, so leads stay tight, rich and focused rather than flabby. Thru a clean fender amp, they sound pretty awful truth be told, in this case they just take away your low end and make the harsh higher frequencies stand out and not in an attractive way.
So in reality, it totally depends on what amp you are using.

 

[jimijames]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

tube screamers are more of a mid boost whereas treble boosters are what they say they are. Tube screamers also have clipping diodes to add their own overdrive sound, treble boosters have no clipping. Treble boosters are pretty much just one transistor and a couple of caps and resistors. Tube screamers have a more complex circuit involving opamps, a clipping stage, a tone filtering stage as well as input and output buffers.
They are pretty different. The thing about treble boosters is that they only really work their magic thru an already cranked and preferably dark sounding amp. This is where the amp starts to really rip, and the treble booster's rolling off of the low end is a good thing, so leads stay tight, rich and focused rather than flabby. Thru a clean fender amp, they sound pretty awful truth be told, in this case they just take away your low end and make the harsh higher frequencies stand out and not in an attractive way.
So in reality, it totally depends on what amp you are using.

/thread


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[YamiFrankc]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

tube screamers are more of a mid boost whereas treble boosters are what they say they are. Tube screamers also have clipping diodes to add their own overdrive sound, treble boosters have no clipping. Treble boosters are pretty much just one transistor and a couple of caps and resistors. Tube screamers have a more complex circuit involving opamps, a clipping stage, a tone filtering stage as well as input and output buffers.
They are pretty different. The thing about treble boosters is that they only really work their magic thru an already cranked and preferably dark sounding amp. This is where the amp starts to really rip, and the treble booster's rolling off of the low end is a good thing, so leads stay tight, rich and focused rather than flabby. Thru a clean fender amp, they sound pretty awful truth be told, in this case they just take away your low end and make the harsh higher frequencies stand out and not in an attractive way.
So in reality, it totally depends on what amp you are using.

Very good info. Thanks.

Treble boosters seem realdy interesting and more appealing than tube screamers

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[jimijames]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

Only addendum is that treble booster don't boost just treble... Basically IIRC they're a transistor hooked up to some high pass filters so depending on the booster it's actually a treble/mid boost (you just hear the treble more because our ears are more sensitive to treble).

They'll make a clean amp sound like deep fried butt however they are magic with an amp on the verge of breakup


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[zzmoore]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

Some excellent synopsis above.
To generalize...a relatively "dark" amp like a Vox, benefited much from the treble boost...especially at higher volumes.
For the TS, it would be difficult to find a better example than SRV and a BF Fender...they boost the relatively flat-scooped mid response of a BF/SF Fender.

 

[Surgeon]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

Zvex sho --》ts808 --》 amp = amazing... built a 2/1 pedal in that order and it's pretty much perfect.

 

[BrianS.]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

They'll make a clean amp sound like deep fried butt

Awesome.

 

[sosomething]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

Play a JTM 45 and you will understand why people used them.

A lot of the stuff our heroes used was made to compensate for the fact that most of their gear was designed by people who never considered rock and roll as a potential use for it.

 

[Surgeon]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

however they are magic with an amp on the verge of breakup


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I always felt that they really work their magic when the amp as ample break-up going on and is getting mushy and dark. Not that you're wrong or anything, just my opinion. The whole "on the verge of break-up" that is so overly used in marketing spiel (IMHO) is, in my mind, more suited a job for an overdrive, in this case a TS.

 

[Lucy Diamond]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

Hello. I've actually learned a lot about Treble boosters in the past few months from the good people at Catalinbread. I recently became fascinated with the original Dallas Treble Booster and I looked into why I could never get a really good sound out of them.

Then I found the people at Catalinbread.

To get to the point, A treble booster boosts the top end frequencies you need WHEN YOUR AMP IS CRANKED. Back in the day when men needed to trainwreck their amps to get the tone they wanted, there was often a general fartyness that came along with it. The treble booster evened out this sound.

The reason why most of us today don't know this is because companies need to sell treble boosters and tell you things like "add sparkle" or "energize your sound" but don't tell you that the original purpose of a treble booster what to get some control back under your fingers when your amp is about to explode.


Overdrive pedals can give you that purring moaning bluesy sound at pretty much any volume. They can send an already overdriven amp over the edge at any volume. They are the swiss army pedal of the guitar universe and every guitar player should have at least one in their arsenal just in case the bad guys use theirs.


EDIT: This message got cut off because I had to go to a meeting. If you guys have any questions or want to get into this deeper, please PM me. I have a really deep THING right now for treble boosters and I'd love to chat.

Later,


~LD

 

[El Supremo]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

They'll make a clean amp sound like deep fried butt however they are magic with an amp on the verge of breakup

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The Catalinbread Naga Viper also works on a clean amp and offers a clean boost too. Has more controls (very helpful ones I might add) than the original Range Master and a silicon transistor instead of a germanium one I believe. Despite its deviating from the orignal specs more than the Java Boost I used to own, I like it a helluva lot more.

 

[Securb]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

Thru a clean fender amp, they sound pretty awful truth be told, in this case they just take away your low end and make the harsh higher frequencies stand out and not in an attractive way.
So in reality, it totally depends on what amp you are using.

Clapton and Richards used a treble booster with Fender amps and sounded just fine. I use one (A BBE FREQ BOOST) with my Fender Quad and get a great tone. I am starting with a very dark tone so I don't find it to be harsh in any way. Page is another treble booster fanatic and is known to use Fender amps in the studio. If something doesn't work for you that is cool, it doesn't mean it is horrible.

 

[YamiFrankc]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

Maybe I will but some kind of treble booster in the near future, they look very interesting, but usually i dont crank my amp...

 

[zzmoore]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

So many things come into play...like how much "treble" is in the amp to begin with...where/when the amp starts to distort. Boosting the treble freq of a bright, distorting amp can sound pretty bad, etc etc.
Then there is the device itself. We are probably discussing pedals that are true to the Dallas Circuit that was in use "back then".
But yeah...if it sounds good... to Hell with status quo.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

I use both. A TS-7 and a Keeley Katana which is a treble boost when the volume knob is pulled out.

 

[Securb]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

Maybe I will but some kind of treble booster in the near future, they look very interesting, but usually i dont crank my amp...

You don't have to crank your amp to get a usable tone from a treble booster. In the late 60s and early 70s they were used to push an overdriven amp over the edge. That is just one application. I get a lot of useable tones at bedroom volumes. They are also great for pushing your distortion and overdrive pedals or providing a bit of overdrive on their own. Brian May uses one with his Vox AC30s to help him get that violin like sustain he is famous for.

 

[Securb]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

Play a JTM 45 and you will understand why people used them.

A lot of the stuff our heroes used was made to compensate for the fact that most of their gear was designed by people who never considered rock and roll as a potential use for it.

Solid statement. A lot of the gear that we use wasn't even originally designed for guitars. The wah was originally marketed for trumpet players.

 

[El Supremo]

Re: Treble boosters and tube screamers?

Page is another treble booster fanatic and is known to use Fender amps in the studio.

Never knew he actually used them. Suspected it though. Was the Unidrive a Treble Booster?