Beano Boost

First built in 2001 as a custom for Tony Iommi, the Beano Boost entered general production in early 2003. It recreates the 1960s Dallas Rangemaster treble booster that Clapton used to push his Marshall on the legendary Bluesbreakers 'Beano' album.

A three-position Tone Switch selects treble (center), mid-range (up), or low-range boost (down). The Volume knob has massive headroom: unity at 9 o'clock, 10dB at 11, and 18dB at full. Hand-wired point-to-point with no circuit board, using Orange Drop capacitors. Germanium and silicon transistor options available.

Draws just 5mA at 9V with true bypass. Needs an isolated power supply since daisy chains get noisy. The Mini version packs the same circuit into a smaller footprint without battery option. Players include Brian May, Tony Iommi, Billy Gibbons, Billy Corgan, and Marc Ford.