Gilmourish

I have always considered boosters and overdrives to be the most challenging effects. There are tons of different models and tones to chose from but to find THE one that both sounds good and that fit the other pedals can be quite frustrating. In this article we’ll look at a couple of boosters and try to shed some light on the old Orange legend.

Boosters, or treble boosters appeared in the late 60’s designed to give the rather dark English tube amps, like Hiwatt, Vox and Marshall the extra push for a natural tube overdrive. The pedal was placed between the guitar and the amp (connected into the front panel).

The Treble Booster
A classic treble booster gets its tone from a germanium transistor (some models used silicon transistors like the Brian May booster). A volume knob that ranges from a little under unity gain to normally somewhere between 7-10 dB boost depending on the model controls the simple circuit.

Treble boosters was the secret weapon for many legendary guitarists in the late 60’s and early 70’s like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Marc Bolan and Brian May. Most of them either used the classic Dallas Arbiter Rangemaster (now one of the most sought after pedals ever built) or made their own pedals based on this circuit. In recent years, this has escalated into a boutique frenzy with a huge variety of different boosters.

Using a Treble Booster
As talked about above the treble boosters was designed to boost or distort a tube amp. By increasing the boost or volume the pedal “reacts” with the amp’s tubes and the tone changes from warm and clean to a crisp, natural overdrive. Treble boosters do not have a lot of compression and sustain like most OD pedals but a distinctly more open and raw tone.

One would usually set the pedal on max and use the guitar’s volume control to adjust the gain. The best way to achieve that desired, naturally saturated tone is to use a guitar with humbuckers, as they have higher output than single coils. You also need to crank your tube amp as hard as possible. A Les Paul and a classic Marshall Plexi with maximum treble boost will sound much like Jimmy Page or Tony Iommy during their early days.

Recommended treble boosters:

AnalogMan Beano Boost
- Same basic circuit as the Rangemaster but this one uses a NKT275 transistor for a warmer and more quiet tone.

Robert Keeley Java Boost
- This one’s got the legendary Mullard OC44 germanium transistor. The pedal is perhaps closer to a treble and bass booster with the tone knob for a wider EQ frequency.

BYOC Tribooster
- 3 in one, – classic Rangemaster germanium boost, silicon boost as the Brian May booster and Mosfet for clean volume boost.

MI Audio Boost n Buff
- This is one of the most versatile treble booster I’ve tried. Incredibly tasty with a fat character. The Boost n Buff also uses buffers for compensating tone loss.

BBE Freq Boost
- Surprisingly cool sounding budget model.

Is there a favorite treble booster you want to recommend? Please post your recommendation here.

The Treble and Bass Booster
The treble and bass boosters are mostly made up around the same circuit as the treble booster with the germanium transistor. The TB booster however has a passive tone control like the one on a guitar. At 0% you’ll get a dark, fat tone and at 100% you’ll get a bright, boosted tone much like a treble booster. You can get a similar tone by using a treble booster and adjusting the tone with the tone control on your guitar.

The Orange Treble and Bass Booster
In the early 70’s Orange produced a small line of stompboxes including a compressor, phaser and a treble and bass booster. The booster seems to be the source of all treble and bass boosters built in recent years. However, no one can seem to document its existence. There are no pictures available and it doesn’t seem that there are too many of them left… if any at all.

The Gilmour and the Orange TBB claim
Ever since I started researching David’s gear some 10 years ago I have always read about the Orange Treble and Bass Booster he supposedly used on most of the pre-WYWH albums. Still, neither I nor anyone else has ever found any evidence that this is true. However, in a recent Q&A on DavidGilmour.Com David’s long time technician Phil Taylor confirmed our suspicions and cleared it all up saying that David did only use a Colorsound Power Boost in the 70’s.

The source of the Orange and Gilmour relation seems to be an interview with Gilmour from 1978 by legendary music journalist Steven Rosen. David mentions an orange treble and bass booster as one of the effects in his (then) current Pete Cornish board. Of course, the board did include the Colorsound Power Boost, which is orange by colour, as confirmed by Phil Taylor in the book “Comfortably Numb – A History of the Wall” by Vernon Fitch and Richard Mahon (actually the Coloursound was taken out of the board shortly after the Animals tour ended and replaced by a custom Pete Cornish ST-2 treble and bass booster, which is Cornish’ take on the Coloursound – read more here). David must have referred to the colour and not the brand and there you have it.

So, why couldn’t David have used the Orange? Well, obviously the strongest evidence is the fact that Phil Taylor cleared it all up as explained above. There are also no pictures or video suggesting that he used anything else than a Fuzz Face, Vox Wah Wah and a DeArmond Volume pedal (and the footswitch for the Binson) between 1968 and 1971. In 1972 David included a Colorsound Power Boost in his rig.

Still, what’s interesting is the technical aspect of why David couldn’t have used a treble booster (or treble and bass booster) in the early days. It’s all in his tone. BSM, which offers what seems to be the “official” Orange clone, – the OR Treble and Bass Booster, claim that David in fact used the Orange TBB to achieve his magic tone on Ummagumma, Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon. That’s not correct. What you hear on those albums is David using a Fuzz Face for both rhythms and leads (germanium model on Ummagumma and silicon model on Meddle and Dark Side – read more here). Keep in mind that David has always set his amps very mild to achieve the cleanest tone possible, which is quite the opposite of what contemporary guitarists were trying to do. Normally his settings would be: bass 50%, treble 60% and mids 40%. With a treble booster, even when set to max, this will only sound bright and slightly harsh, which is far from the the typical Gilmour tone from that era.

The Colorsound Power Boost
The silicon transistor based Colorsound Power Boost was introduced in the late 60’s as a booster similar to the treble booster and linear power boosters but this thing was extremely loud and distorted easily and it soon got re-named to Overdriver. It got controls for bass, treble and volume. A bit confusing really, as the volume is actually a gain control. The new reissue therefor features a master volume control that allows you to play even louder without the pedal distorting. At medium settings this thing will give you a warm, clean boost ideal for that little extra bite. By slightly increasing the volume/gain and bass you’ll get a very powerful and crunchy boost ideal for rhythms and as a boost for a Fuzz Face or a Big Muff. With the volume all the way up the pedal turns into a monster with a strong germanium type overdrive with a glassy top and boomy lows.

Gilmour and the Colorsound Power Booster
David is seen using the Colorsound in 1972 on Pink Floyd’s Eclipse tour. The pedal was used for rhythms and for boosting the Fuzz Face with a mild overdrive setting. In 1973 the Colorsound was included in David’s first effects board and again in 1977, in the Pete Cornish Animals pedal board. A Cornish ST-2 replaced the Colorsound in October 1977. David is also seen using a Colorsound Overdriver (same pedal, different name and chassis) during the La Carrera Pan America sessions in 1991.

The Colorsound PB was widely used throughout the 1973-75 Dark Side of the Moon tour. David would use it on almost all the songs as a mild overdrive and adjusting the guitar volume for more or less gain. He also used it as a booster for the Fuzz Face on songs like Time, Money and Echoes.

Reference clip – Echoes: Hollywood Bowl, US 22. Sept. ‘72
- David is using the Colorsound PB with a fairly mild overdrive setting for rhythms and leaves it on for boosting the Fuzz Face for a smoother, sustained tone on the fills. The “Black Strat” w/ late 60’s PUs (middle position) and Colorsound PB adding Fuzz Face and Binson echo on fills.

Reference clip – Have a Cigar: Ontario, Canada 28. June ‘75
- David used the Colorosund on almost all the songs performed on the Dark Side of the Moon tour in 1973-75. Have a Cigar is a great example of the fat, yet glassy naturally compressed tone you’ll get when turning up the Colorsound PB for full overdrive with a tube amp. The “Black Strat” w/ late 60’s PUs (bridge position) and Colorsound PB.

Reference clip – Shine On You Crazy Diamond: Montreal, Canada 6. July ‘77
- This is a clip of the third solo from Shine On. The board is clearly not working properly and you can hear David’s frustration as he must be stomping like hell and barely playing the guitar. When the pedal kicks in the solo gets wild! Anyway, the clip is interesting because it clearly indicates that David’s using the Colorsound to boost the Muff and you can hear the super smooth sustained tone. The “Black Strat” w/ late 60’s PUs and a DiMarzio FS-1 bridge PU (solo is played in bridge position) and the Colorsound PB adding a EH Big Muff “ram’s head” and an Electric Mistress.

The Colorsound PB was also used on:
- Have a Cigar, Wish You Were Here album 1975
- Pigs (Three Different Ones), Animals album 1977
- Sheep, Animals album 1977

It’s not documented just which pedal David used on the studio version of Shine On You Crazy Diamond. It could be a mild Fuzz Face, but it’s fair to assume that he used the Coloround PB for all the rhythm overdrive parts.

David also used a Pete Cornish ST-2 treble and bass booster on his first solo album in 1978, which is more or less identical to the Colorsound PB. Notable songs, – There’s No Way Out of Here, Cry From the Street, Short and Sweet and No Way.

The ST-2 was also extensively used on The Wall album and tour.

Recommended power boosters:
Colorsound pedals are still handmade and offered exclusively at the legendary Macari’s store in Denmark Street, London UK. When I bought mine back in early 2005, I payed 89£ for it… all new. Now this pedal costs 149£! Still, IMO it’s worth every penny. I urge everyone who visits London to check out the store and get one of these. There’s nothing like the real deal in this case. There’s something about a super basic circuit that loose some of its original character if it’s “improved”. Still, there are some very good sounding clones out there.

Throbak Overdrive Boost
- A straight clone of the Colorsound with new additional features, – pre gain switch for more overdrive and a switch for germanium option. The pedal also got the master volume control like the Colorsound reissue.

Vintage FX Colordrive
- A clone of the Colorsound Power Boost with master volume control allowing clean volume boost.

Absolutely Analog Fist
- A clone of the original Colorsound Power Boost.

Pete Cornsih ST-2
- In October 1977, Pete Cornish replaced David’s old Colorsound with a new and improved clone, the TS-2 treble and bass booster. The controls and tone is identical to the Colorsound but of course with the hailed Cornish finesse.

Xotic RC Booster
- Perhaps not a Colorsound clone but an extremely well tuned pedal somewhere between the Colorsound and a TS808.

Klon Centaur
- This is by no means a Colorsound clone but definitely in the same tone “family”. The Klon is hailed as one of the best sounding boosters/overdrives ever made with an outstanding tone. Still, it’s not for every one and a good tip is try one before you buy it.

Boss BD-2
- Again, not a Colorsound clone but one of the best budget boosters/classic overdrives I’ve ever tried. The tone is 100% transparent, with a glassy top and fat lows. Ideal for any Gilmour rhytms from Saucerful to Animals. If you can spend a little more I definitely recommend a Robert Keeley modified version for an even better tone.

Is there a favorite Colorsound Power Boost-ish pedal you want to recommend? Please post your recommendation here.