Beano tone boost pedals

[Justin Bradfield]

Just wondering what is the best boost pedal for the Clapton Beano tone????

 

[Go Nigel Go]

A good start for a pedal would be an old Marshall Blues Breaker. This was a moderate drive/distortion pedal that was made by Marshall for a couple of years in the early '90s. They are surprisingly responsive to picking dynamics and great for blues and classic rock sounds. I bought one new back in the day and it is one of my core pedals that lives in my pedal chain every time I play. It was actually designed to help achieve the tone you are looking for.

Due to the limited sales volume and production run, originals are stupid expensive these days (5 to 10 times what I paid back in the day). The good news is that there are more than half a dozen excellent present day circuit clones out there for normal pedal prices at the moment. I have seen several you tube "shootouts" of modern clone pedals vs the original, and they are very good. Steer clear of the newer silver body Marshall Blues Breaker 2, it is not a bad pedal, but it is a different pedal, and the offerings from other manufacturers are going to be a way better choice for that sound you are looking for.

I use mine on both the clean and gain channel on multiple amps with excellent results. It is very versatile pedal and puts "a little bit of Marshall" into the cleanest amp set up.

Here is a short introduction and some clones:


Here is a good hour long video with a bit of history, and also comparing the original to some modern clones.

 

[donepearce]

There were no pedals on Beano - just a well cranked Marshall Bluesbreaker amp.

 

[Go Nigel Go]

True. If you had one of those amps, there would be no need for a pedal at all. The original pedal was designed by Marshall to emulate (to some extent) the amp. Nothing is going to beat the "real thing", but if you don't have the real thing, what are ya gonna do?

 

[donepearce]

True. If you had one of those amps, there would be no need for a pedal at all. The original pedal was designed by Marshall to emulate (to some extent) the amp. Nothing is going to beat the "real thing", but if you don't have the real thing, what are ya gonna do?

Save yer pennies! They are still out there.

 

[Justin Bradfield]

Thank u very much for the info !!!!

 

[njpaulc]

Clapton used a treble booster on the Beano album. I believe it was a Vox(?) Rangemaster.

 

[donepearce]

Clapton used a treble booster on the Beano album. I believe it was a Vox(?) Rangemaster.

Dallas did the rangemaster, and it actually did nothing that wasn't already there in the amp's own controls.

 

[njpaulc]

My limited understanding is that the Rangemaster was a popular addition at the time and was used to overdrive the amp more than to "boost" the treble.

 

[donepearce]

My limited understanding is that the Rangemaster was a popular addition at the time and was used to overdrive the amp more than to "boost" the treble.

It can do that.

 

[dumpster chicken]

Analogman beano boost

It can do that.

 

[neoclassical]

Mustard Effects War Pig (NOS 60's parts Rangemaster treble booster) Great sounding device but terrible customer service.

Honestly IMHO there is no booster on the Beano disk. That's just a cranked Marshall blues breaker.

 

[dumpster chicken]

Analogman beano boost

 

[Voxman]

The Deluxe OT in early Marshalls had KT66 or 6L6 valves connected to pins 1 and 9, the HT supply to pin 5. The secondary was wired for 15 ohms. There was no output selector as the OT adjustment was hardwired. This gave a primary load of 6.6 Kohms. Actually that's too high for 45 watts, it's the load normally used for 20 watts with EL34's or 30 watts with 6L6's in class A (cathode bias). The JTM45 was a fixed bias amp but used a high bias current adjustment (40 mA per valve) that took it towards class A. By 1966 it had begun to be fitted with the custom-wound Drake OT which had more conventional 3.5 Kohm loading, allowing a cooler running class AB bias setting of 30 mA's.

Where it gets interesting is that the same connection was used in the Deluxe OT fitted to the earliest Marshall Bluesbreakers, but the speakers were wired for 8 ohms not 16. By wiring the OT for 16 (15) ohms but operating it into 8 ohms, the primary load was approximately halved to 3.3 Kohms. That allowed the amp to develop higher power, around 45 watts, with lower bias current. The penalty was lower primary inductance (less bass) and more distortion. I think that was the sound that Clapton got on the Beano album that made the amp famous. Also his amp was probably fitted with KT66 valves, which have an individual sound under these conditions.