Military Spec NKT 6 Position Rangemaster

Description

Description of Product

This build came directly from a question that has followed me around for years.

Why do some treble boosters make an amplifier feel alive, while others simply sound brighter?

On paper they often look remarkably similar.

In practice they can feel completely different underneath your fingers.

This particular Rangemaster was built around exploring that behaviour.

Finished in nitrocellulose lacquer and hand wired on traditional tagboard construction, it combines carefully selected vintage components with six distinct filtering options that alter the way the amplifier reacts rather than simply changing the EQ.

Inside you’ll find a military specification NKT germanium transistor, complete with its original packaging label mounted inside the enclosure lid. It serves no practical purpose. I simply could not bring myself to throw away a small piece of history.

The component selection reflects the same philosophy.

Vintage Mullard tropical fish capacitors.

A Mullard mustard capacitor.

A Wima gold capacitor of the type found in many classic Selmer and Vox amplifiers of the 1960s.

A vintage New Old Stock CTS potentiometer.

Every component was chosen because it contributed something useful to the feel and behaviour of the circuit rather than simply because it was old.

As with all Hello Sailor Effects builds, this is hand built individually rather than assembled as part of a production run.

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Description of Sound

Most people expect a Rangemaster to add treble.

The better ones tend to do something more interesting.

At lower settings this pedal can tighten the amplifier and push the mids forward in a way that helps notes cut through without becoming harsh.

Move through the six position rotary switch and the character changes gradually.

Some positions feel leaner and faster.

Others feel thicker and more forceful.

The most interesting settings are not necessarily the brightest ones.

They are the ones where the amplifier starts reacting differently underneath the fingers.

The attack changes.

The cleanup changes.

The way the amp responds to the guitar volume changes.

The entire rig can start feeling larger and more elastic without losing clarity.

That is the behaviour this build was chasing.

It works particularly well with British voiced amplifiers, though the six position switch makes it adaptable to a much wider range of rigs than a traditional fixed Rangemaster.

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Real World Testimonials

“My rig now has 2 epochs: before HSE Rangemaster, and after HSE Rangemaster.”

“The desert island, single pedal for rock’n’roll.”

“Excellent Rangemaster. One of the best and useful ones I’ve played.”

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Build Features

• Hand wired tagboard construction

• Military specification NKT germanium transistor

• Original military transistor packaging label mounted inside enclosure

• Six position rotary EQ selector

• Vintage Mullard tropical fish capacitors

• Mullard mustard capacitor

• Vintage Wima gold capacitor

• New Old Stock CTS potentiometer

• Nitrocellulose lacquer finish

• Handmade in the UK

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Final Thoughts

The funny thing about great treble boosters is that most people spend years chasing brightness before realising they were actually chasing feel.

This build was created for the players who already know the difference.

This is a one off build.

The combination of components, transistor, finish and natural variation within the circuit means it will not be repeated exactly.

If the idea behind it speaks to you, it is available.

If not, the next build will almost certainly take a different path.