A treble booster is an effects unit used by guitarists to increase the high end of their tonal spectrum. Many units boost the overall volume as well. Treble boosters were commonly used by guitarists in the 1960s and 1970s. During the last couple of decades, their popularity has increased again and many clones and reissues of the classic circuits have become available.
Many treble boosters made in the 1960s were designed to not boost the signal much. Vox even decreased the output of the American made version of their treble booster because they were afraid that the signal would overload the amplifier's input stage.[1] Today, overdriving the input is considered one of the key features of a treble booster.
Popularized by guitarists such as Tony Iommi,[2] Ritchie Blackmore, Rory Gallagher, Brian May, and Marc Bolan,[3][4] treble boosters were used to overdrive amplifiers (mostly dark sounding, British tube models such as Marshall Bluesbreakers and Vox AC30s) in order to create a more distorted yet focused sound. They came up in the mid-1960s. By the 1980s they had fallen out of use. Guitarists used overdrive pedals instead, in a similar fashion. But the circuit and its derivatives have experienced a great revival in the 21st century, thanks to the many boutique builders who have rediscovered the circuit. While IC-based overdrive pedals remain far more popular than treble boosters, some players prefer the less compressed and more dynamic response of Rangemaster-family boosters.
One of the earliest treble boosters was the Dallas Rangemaster. Unlike most of today's clones, the original Rangemaster was not a pedal, but a box meant to be placed on top of the amplifier. The circuit makes use of a single OC71 or OC44 germanium transistor.
The original Rangemaster was an important ingredient for Brian May, Tony Iommi, Billy Gibbons, Marc Bolan or Rory Gallagher in finding their personal signature sound. Later some of these artists switched to close derivative circuits or tweaked clones - Tony Iommi's Rangemaster for example was modified to be full-range.
While early Hornby Skewes Treble Booster units used a germanium transistor, the later, better-known version features a silicon transistor. Rumours about a JFET version may source from a misread part number.[5]
Vox made a variety of boosters that were meant to be plugged directly into amps or guitars, including the model V806 Treble Booster.[9]Roger McGuinn installed one into his Rickenbacker guitar in the 1960s.[10]
Electro-Harmonix used to make treble boosters in two different enclosures. The Screaming Bird was a plug-in device,[11] whereas the Screaming Tree was a foot-pedal.[12] The circuits were supposedly identical. In 2009 the pedal was reissued, bearing the Screaming Bird name.[13]
The Colorsound Power Boost is a treble and bass booster that runs on 18 volts, using two nine-volt batteries. David Gilmour used this orange coloured unit, but is often misunderstood to have used an Orange brand Treble Booster.[14] Other notable users include Gary Moore.[15] Later on the circuit was modified to run on 9V and sold as the Colorsound Overdriver.
Now you are not limited by the maximum amplification capabilities of your PC's sound card. You can raise volume to the desired level even if the volume level in system set on maximum. Sound Booster processes all audio being played in system and boosts it before it gets to the sound card.
Yes, you can use Sound Booster to boost the sound of anything playing on your web browser, game, media player, or program that plays sound. Sound Booster amplifies audio in real-time and there is no need to configure it, just adjust the volume accordingly.
For Windows, another option is Equalizer APO, which is a free graphic equalizer that can work as a system sound booster and has VST plugin support for further audio customization. DeskFX Audio Enhancer also increases volume beyond the usual limits and includes audio effects that can be applied in real time. For increasing the volume level of media, VLC can boost sound up to 200 percent using the regular volume control.
Thought of buying a set of speaker for your PC ? Now you might want to rethink your plans. If your laptop's volume is generally good enough, and the only trouble you experience is with some particular program or media content that is recorded too low, then you can save the situation by using Sound Booster.
You can use Sound Booster to boost sound of a web browser, a media player, a game or any other PC program that plays sound. You can use the software the usual way, no special treatment required. No need to install any plugins or addons. Sound Booster amplifies sound in real-time and there is no need to configure it.
You can control current volume with the pop-up slider from the system tray. Alternatively, you can assign system-wide hot keys for increasing and decreasing, and use them when you need to adjust volume
Sound Booster uses two methods for raising volume of sound: code injection and APO effects. Both methods have their own benefits and drawbacks. To cover most playback situations both methods are enabled by default.
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