RM Velvet Treble-Booster

BSM RM Velvet Treble-Booster

The BSM Velvet model is based on the British Range Master unit produced between 1965 and 1969, as used by Eric Clapton in John Mayall"s Bluesbreakers. Eric also used the booster when playing in the legendary group Cream. Its biting, powerful sound is clearly in evidence on the Bluesbreakers "Beano" album. Blues rocker Rory Gallagher, Glam rocker Mark Bolan, Heavy Rock pioneer Tony Iommi and Brian May from Queen were also heavy users of the original Range Master unit.

The RM Velvet is the result of a lot of customer demands, looking for the perfect Blues machine. The RM Velvet is loaded with the same highly selected OC76 transistor, used for the famous BSM OR model and therefore sounds much smoother and silkier than it's brother with the OC44. The tone of the RM Velvet is rounder and warmer than a stock RM and the perfect machine if you are looking for the ultimate Blues pedal.

Almost all British rock guitarists using single coil pickup guitars used a germanium Treble Booster from the late 60's to the mid 70's. By the end of the seventies, the Treble Booster was replaced by a new circuit from Japan, the so called Tube Screamer and other similar overdrive circuits. These were based on the old Treble Boosters and therefore had a very similar frequency response. The germanium boosters on the other hand, sadly fell into oblivion despite their unique and inimitable sound. The RM Treble Booster has been specifically designed for single coil and humbucking pickups with a relatively low/medium inductance, such as pickups in Fender, Gretsch, Burns or Gibson guitars. On these pickups, the RM produces (with the volume control of the guitar turned up to the max) a fat, biting and penetrating lead sound, minus any shrill characteristics. By lowering the guitar's volume control, many shades of crunch can be easily dialed in. Another thing to consider is that when a guitar amp's volume is turned up (reaching saturation), the power amp normally begins to mute the highs, which results in a duller sound. At an amp's full tilt, the RM Treble Booster allows a more transparent tone (covering the entire frequency range) to shine through. The presence control on the amp need only be minimally used (if at all). When vintage amps are used (such as the Fender Deluxe, Fender Bassman, Vox AC30, Marshall JTM 45 or Marshall Plexi) it is amazing what effect the use of a good treble booster has. It is also of interest to note that Eric Clapton used a new 2 x12" Marshall combo (Model 1962 with KT66 output tubes) with the Bluesbreakers, and 100 Watt Plexi heads with Cream. Brian May used a couple of VOX AC30 combos with the RM in front of the "Normal" channel.

The Treble Booster is inserted between guitar and amplifier, not into the FX loop. The magical tone is achieved by the interaction between guitar pickup, treble booster and amplifier. The unit is powered by a 9V battery with a current consumption of approx. 250 uA. The average output level is 10dBm, the maximum output voltage when the strings are struck really hard is 7V max. Note: The positive pole of the battery is ground. By turning the volume pot, the special circuit design makes noises - just like the orginal does!

Booster Image: RM Velvet Treble-Booster
If you have any questions concerning our products, especially the BSM RM Velvet Treble-Booster, our tech-head and mastermind Mr. Bernd C. Meiser would be happy to talk to you. So don't hestitate any longer and send him an email to info@treblebooster.net or use the contact form to contact him.

Reviews

Hallo Bernd, geiles Teil – sehr klassisch. Am JMP mit Strat und Tele an der Grenze mit den Höhen, LP passt super! Strat und AC30 – Hammer! Hiwatt fängt sehr schön an zu schreien - geil!! Super Beratung - der RM Velvet war der richtige Tipp – vielen Dank Lieben Gruß
Rasmus
Hi, I recently acquired a BSM RM Velvet treble booster. I originally bought it because I felt that I could do with a bit more treble on the lead channel of my amp. However I have since discovered that rather than using it to provide the amp with more treble, it is in fact a tremendous overdrive unit, much better than the amp's overdrive. For many years I have been messing around getting various stomp boxes which caused me much frustration, with a mixture of muddy, poorly defined, and at best bland sounds. But the RM Velvet gives me a tight, slightly grainy, well defined quality sound. It's a gread pedal. The best thing is that I play better now that i'm getting a quality sound. I would like to know more about the other BSM treble booster units. There appears to be big range of other similar looking units and I would like to know more about them and how they differ from each other. Thanks for making a quality box that provides quality overdriven sounds. All the best
Alan Manley
Hi, I test the two pedals and my favorit is the velvet... You right, it's the perfect blues machine... So, I keep the velvet and I ship you today the classic RM. Thanx a lot and congratulations to build extraordinary pedals...
Eric Dumontet
Hello Bernd! I received the velvet booster today. I've only tried it with two solidstate amps (my tubeamp is at the reahearsal shack) Great tone! Very creamy but with a very rich palette of overtones. Very nice. A touch more gain than the regular RM... before i knew it a was sliding my way through "you shook me" from Led Zeppelin I. It's great pedal. i'm loving it! I'm a great fan of your pedals. Thank you ever so much.
Luca Giordano
Hallo Bernd, ich möchte dir an dieser Stelle ein dickes Kompliment aussprechen. Ich bin wie mein Bruder auch ein großer Fan vom Rory und seit Jahrenden auf der Suche nach (m)einem Sound, der natürlich ähnlich Rorys sein soll aber vielleicht ein bisschen moderner. Ich spiele Strats und Tele über einen AC30 und über einen alten Sundown A50. Nun, der langen Rede kurzer Sinn: mit dem HS-C und dem RM Velvet ging die Sonne auf! Wobei ich mit dem HS-C noch ein bißchen mehr das bekomme, was ich schon immer gesucht habe. Jedenfalls habe ich jetzt eine lange Liste von diversen Effekten, die jetzt wohl alle bei ebay landen werden. Gruß aus dem verschneiten Bayern
Juergen Heilmaier
Hallo Herr Meiser, ganz herzlichen Dank für die schnelle Lieferung! Das Pedal gefällt mir sehr gut, genau dass, was ich gesucht habe. Zwischen Tele und Tweed-Champ bringt es genau die Brillianz, die dem Champ konstruktionsbedingt fehlt - eine Art interaktiver Presenz-Regler, der durch seine Verstärkung die Dynamik des Spiels (Anschlag) zusätzlich vergrößert. Auch die tonale Qualität überzeugt - ganz offensichtlich eine gelungene Abstimmung der Bauteile. Das sonst bei Germanium-betriebenen Effekten häufig auftretende harsche "Kratzen" in den Höhen (billig aufgebaute oder mit schlecht selektierten Transistoren betriebene Fuzz-Boxen sind da ein unrühmliches Beispiel) geht dem RM-Velvet ab, ohne das das typische "raue Funkeln" in den oberen Frequenzbereichen (ich weiss nicht recht, wie ich es beschreiben soll), also der Charakter eines klassischen Treble-Boosters, verloren geht. Klasse. Viele Grüße & weiterhin viel Erfolg mit Ihren Kreationen wünscht Mathias Poets
Mathias Poets
Hallo Bernd, der Velvet ist bei mir angekommen und ich muss sagen, supergeil!!! Mit der Strat auf dem Hals-Pickup plus Marshall und Greenbacks, das klingt so bluesig, echt klasse. Die Paula versteht sich auch sehr gut mit dem Velvet, das ist ja bei Treble Boostern eher selten, toll gemacht, Danke.
Georg Kaiser