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I was looking on Musiciansfriend.com and saw the EH Nano LPB-1 power booster. Is this basically what the HBE Germania does? If they are the same principal, I’d love to get one. Hell, for $40, it’s worth the gamble. Just wanted to be sure it was the same general idea in the pedal.
Similar, but not quite the same. The LPB is a full-range boost which uses a silicone transistor. The Germania is a treble booster (it’s essentially a clone of the Dallas Rangemaster) which uses a germanium transistor (hence the name).
If you’re handy at all, a Rangemaster/Germania is not hard to build. I made mine for less than $30, and that included having the enclosure powder-coated purple.
Do you have a schematic? My wife could probably do it, she used to build circuit boxes for airplanes.
"sfbarker " wrote:Do you have a schematic?There are schematics all over the web. You just need to decided whether you want to make yours with a PNP transistor, or an NPN.
The original Rangmaster used a PNP (typically an OC44). The Germania also uses this. Great sound, but the problem is that the polarity is opposite of most effects. Not a problem if you’re going to run it from a battery… BIG problem if you’re going to plug it into a power supply.
I made mine with an NPN (OC140) because it goes on my pedalboard and plugs into the power supply with a bunch of other pedals. Personally, I can’t hear a difference in the sound between a PNP and an NPN, but I guess there is some slight difference.
Awesome, I found some schematics online for lots of pedals. May have to give these a whirl. If I fail…so be it, at least I tried.
I got a LPB-1 yesterday. Need to give it a try this evening. Can’t wait to check it out.
"sfbarker " wrote:I got a LPB-1 yesterday. Need to give it a try this evening. Can’t wait to check it out.Let me know how it sounds. I’ve been thinking of getting one to put infront of my Big Muff and/or Metal Muff. I’m curious to know how much it will affect the sound.
The effect is VERY minimal. I’m going to return it today. I was pretty bummed on it. Maybe if you use a tube amp, it’ll sound better, but for me, it kinda blew. It increased the low end, which was cool. And works as a small distortion. Like a tubescreamer-lite vibe. But it’s not something I’ll use much, so it goes back to the store.
Bummer, maybe I’ll check it out at a store with the same set up as my rig. Maybe the Germania pedal is the way to go. :-
yeah but i think you shouldn’t waste so much money on a booster just to be like j. lpb is the way to go
"sfbarker " wrote:The effect is VERY minimal. I’m going to return it today. I was pretty bummed on it. Maybe if you use a tube amp, it’ll sound better, but for me, it kinda blew. It increased the low end, which was cool. And works as a small distortion. Like a tubescreamer-lite vibe. But it’s not something I’ll use much, so it goes back to the store.Hey sfbarker did you have it connected right? I just played one on my lunch break at the local guitar shop and loved it. I bought it on the spot. You’re right, for rhythm it is a useless effect, but for leads it rules! I played it like this: from my guitar to the LPB1, to a pocket Metal Muff, to the Amp. With the Meatal Muff on for rhythm parts and for leads I kicked on the LPB1 over it. It sounded awesome, totally saturated the notes. I always wondered how guitarists got their leads to sound so big and awesome. Now I know, whether it be a treble booster, or an EQ. So stoked. Sorry you didn’t like it sf.
Maybe the one I had doesn’t work right or something…but it did VERY little for my setup. I ran it guitar into LPB into Big Muff into amp…It just made everything sound really low. It killed the highs. Of course, I usually run my Big Muff pegged out, so that may have something to do with it. I should have recorded the response I got…
My only thought is that I use a Sunn Concert Lead, which is solid-state. I know my tubescreamer doesn’t do near as much for that amp as it does my Peavey Prowler combo amp. And yes, I know TUBEscreamer says it all. So I’m guessing the power booster does more for overdriving the tubes. I’m back to my standard setup now. Glad it worked out for you.
Yeah when I use it with my Big Muff there is little difference, but when used with my Metal Muff it ruled. Maybe the Germanias are more noticeable with the Big Muffs because they are a treble booster, not a power booster. Who knows……
Yeah, I use a more low-end than most in my tone, so for me, it just mudded it out. I think the treble booster would be much better for me. I went back to using my russian Big Muff to boost for leads. It works alright, so I’ll live with it. I need to get with my friend and make a Rangemaster/Germania pedal. It could be awesome.
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