Black Country Customs: Tony Iommi Sig. TI-BOOST Treble Booster
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- www.blackcountr...
www.laney.co.uk
Tony Iommi's modded Rangemaster Treble Booster was thrown out in '79 for some unknown reason. I'll bet that went down well! Laney/Black Country Customs in collaboration with Mr Iommi have built as close a reproduction to that forlorn treble booster, with extras, as they could - the TI-Boost. It's a Rangemaster on steroids. You'll get controls to cut or boost low and high frequencies, a 3-way filter switch (upper mids, flat, lower mids), volume control and drive control. You can use the TI-Boost as a clean boost an old-school drive, or as a booster with which to push your already-overdriven amp into sonic nirvana. The TI-Boost covers a lot of ground. I believe Tony Iommi uses his to tame the bottom end and push the upper mids a little (which is how a Rangemaster was commonly used). This pedal, ladies and gents, brings the rock. You probably need one.
Disclaimer: I am not Tony Iommi, I don't own a P90-equipped SG (although I wish I did) and I don't have a guitar setup with 8's and tuned down to C#. So I've simply adapted my own preferred gear to suit. I hope that's OK. The TI-Boost was designed with a wide variety of uses in mind as well as the traditional application, hence my approach here.
Today's tools:
Guitars: 2010 Music Man Axis, 2017 Music Man Cutlass.
Amp: Laney VH100R and Laney LT212 cab
Extra effects: N/A
Cables: Goodwood Audio and Providence
Power Supply: Strymon Zuma
Mic: sE V3 Dynamic and VR1 (www.seelectron...) (Laney); Samson Airline77 (me)
Camera: Canon 60D (me) and Nikon D5100 (pedal)
Soundcard: AVID Mbox Pro 3 (for recording) & Fractal Audio Systems Axe-FX II XL+ (mixing and bouncing).
Computer: Apple iMac 27" i7 3.4 GHz 16 GB RAM
Software: Logic Pro X, Eventide/Newfangled Audio ‘Elevate’ Mastering Limiter, Apple Final Cut Pro X (video editing and UA-cam compression).
![Because Everyone Needs A Treble Booster [Yes You Do]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YAP7A6k1nq8/mqdefault.jpg)
finally someone does this pedal justice !!! hell yeah !
Ordered this pedal recently based almost solely on this demo, it just arrived, and WOWZERS!! "What a pedal" indeed! Brett's demos are the best...perfect length, just the right mix of talking/playing, and the tones are always faithful to what the products actually sound like.
I'm very flattered and pleased, Paul. Thanks for the support, faith and for letting us know. Rock on, mate!
FINALLY, someone that actually knows how to demo this damn pedal. 🤘🏻
My goodness!! This sounds amazing! Tony Iommi is one of my heroes. I'm gonna buy this! Thank you for a great demo!
Merry Christmas, Carmen!
Brett Kingman merry Christmas to you too. Those sabbath riffs were killer man. Bravo!
Should've used the neck pickup though. But still cool sounding.
I've watched a lot of your videos and sometimes it's hard for me to tell how good a pedal is because the sound of your guitar and amp alone is so good.
Wow! This sounds way better than the Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra! I can't wait to try it.
Awesome demo and playing as usual
Though I love early Sabbath, the Iommi name and association is not what sells me-
Some fuzz pedals sound like they just add a layer on top: This thing somehow mixes with the amp sound, blends and enhances unlike any other fuzz I've ever heard.
That's because it's not a fuzz. It's a treble booster :)
Despite his tone sometimes sounding fuzz-esque Tony never used fuzz pedals! Just a treble booster in the front end of an already overdriven Laney. Rory Gallagher and Brian May did the same thing but with Vox AC30's, although it sounded less heavy than Tony's Laney
Another enjoyable demo! Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all the Kingman clan.
Thank you, Kevin. A merry and safe Christmas to the Betts' too! Cheers.
Always a class demo.
Best review out there, cheers Brett. On the strength of this vid i bought one, and no regrets
simple, yet very flexible and open sounding. great boost or drive tone shape pedal
This pedal with the Ehx Green russian big muff reissue?! What a tone👌
Received mine yesterday. Couldn't be happier. There are so many really great ways to use this pedal. I have it after all my drive pedals in the signal chain. Not only does it push a driven amp but it can shape and sharpen the tones of a pedal that comes before it. I put it after my royal overdrive and man, killer. Into a straight up clean amp it's a slight gain boost that's great for srv lenny type sounds. Really great pedal. Obviously into a crunchy amp you get the sonic bliss that Brett has demonstrated as only he can. I need to play around with putting it before my drive pedals now. How great is new pedal day ???!!! Especially when it's a killer pedal. My only complaint is the input jacks. They want to push the jack out. I think I will have to rubber band the input jacks so they don't pop out if I stomp too hard. All in all, great pedal. Great review!
Hope you had a good new year Brett.
That was thorough. I want one.
After 3 years playing it I can say 1) Capable of much more than The Dark Lord's tone 2) My favourite pedal in 40 years of playing.
Awesome demo brother!!!!! That’s the sound I’m looking for!
Best review for the TI-Boost!!!
Great as always Brett! Happy holidays to you and the fam, sir.
Thank you, Jonathan. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
I enjoyed this demo very much, thank you! I am happy that you decided to plug in the strat as well.
My only amps here are Marshall's and I'm hoping that this pedal will work nicely with them!
Took me awhile to find one Bret but I put it in front of my Laney gh50l and it’s instant Toni iommi tone to a tee great video I love this pedal.
Good demo, just got one of these myself and it is everything and more. Expensive, but well worth it.
Holy shit. THAT is how a pedal should be! Now I’m buying one.
O.M.G. Sounds Brutal. Love It. ( and Tony Iommi / so unique, underrated and original ) Another Fantastic Job Brett. Wow. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. This one will really: Tear your face-off. Black Sabbath man. What a way to Rock 2018. Happy New Year.
Bergs...sir. Over some years now, you have induced me to purchase more pedals than any of the other fine people who are top-tier demo artists, although the esteemed Andy Martin has done his fair share as well. I keep telling myself that I don't "need" any more gear...and then along comes Mr. Kingman absolutely killing it on some new piece of kit. Much of your audience experiences the same things I do at that point: Soon, there's another package on the way and another box to play with. My checking account probably curses you a bit as a result, but I look forward to your work here, even if I don't grab every piece of gear you demonstrate so wonderfully. This video is yet another stellar example. Do I *need* this pedal? No. Do I *want* this pedal? Yes, sir. Very much so, indeed.
Bergs, may you, Elizabeth and Suds have the loveliest and happiest of holiday seasons. I remain a steadfast viewer, and to be honest, a bit of a fan. Cheers and Merry Christmas to you and yours (and the rest of your faithful and appreciative audience as well).
Now, off to wrestle with my checking account to see if I can make this purchase happen...
A quick note to my US brethren: This can indeed be found for considerably less in shipping charges elsewhere than noted in my original comment, if you dig a bit. My apologies for, in my enthusiasm, only noting the Reverb listing and charges at first. I'm sure you can understand.
Mine shall arrive in six days via DHL. Thrilled!
Merry Christmas, Jeff! Thanks for your support and friendship. I wish you and your family all the best. Cheers!
I am new to your channel Brett. I really enjoyed your superb demo of this pedal. Sounds great with both Musicman guitars.
Sabbath in a stompbox if I ever heard it. I dig it!
Great demo !
Best review on youtube of this pedal. Awesome mate!
I wake to Bergs playing SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH??!!! Life is Good!
Symptom of the Universe, actually.
Jimmy Fischbeck you sure?! ;-)
Naw, I'm wrong. Won't be the first time, and not the last!
Don't feel bad, the only way I learn is by mistake! Have a great one!
Merry Christmas, Mr Keeley! Thanks for your friendship and support during 2017. I wish you and your family all the best for the Christmas break and the new year. Rock on, Sir!
Very Nice! A wonderful Holiday Season to both you and yours!!!
And to you, Timothy. Have a great and safe one!
Awesome sounds! ... ur becoming a legend Brett! ... luv the Axe! ... i def want one, same colour! ... Compliments of the Season!
Great demo Brett I will be buying this now sounds awesome
I just got mine
It is a very versatile pedal that works great with other pedals as well and its used by Tony Iommi
It's a win win situation all the way around.
so touching for an excellent video
Around 79 Tony ended up with a Marshall Plexi for Heaven & Hell album. Tony's tech modded the Plexi and threw the Rangemaster out. Tony heard the amp and didn't even realise that he had removed it.
"Tony heard the amp and didn't even realise that he had removed it." - Not according to Tony. He was pissed when he found out his Rangemaster was thrown out; he's said so in interviews.
Yep
The plexi changes were additional preamp tube stage added and power tubes changed to KT88s
Hi Brett, just received my TI Boost from BMusic in SA, Awesome Pedal, quite versatile even though the Clean Channel on my Mesa Mini Rec it sounded brilliant, highly recommended. Great Demo, thank you.
Makes me wonder how it would perform with a BM guitar and amp setup. Great playing man. Thanks for the demo.
Fantastic demo and playing dude
Saw it for the 1st time today on a guys board today. Had no idea it was years old. Where have i been
DEEP PURPLE DAMMIT!!!!! YOU ROCK BRETT!!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS!!!!!!
A great demonstration as you always deliver Brett and also it must be said the manner in which you have access to, know how to and then have such a versatile range technique wise that you deliver entire signal path wise as stuff is intended and the majority of players will use/incorporate into their setup(s) and with a good number of variations also. Your playing as mentioned allows you to pull that variety off then on top of that you know what you are doing engineering wise which is so crucial to capturing reliable examples of the gear which you put through its paces. Just mentioning all that as a cheers mate and to acknowledge you fella for being one of the rock-solid reliable ones that do what you do.
This very nice take on Tony's original modified and with this pedal a very much extended Rangemaster, One element of a very sparse signal chain that is the sound of doom period. It is on every essential Sabbath album enough said. which as the story goes was binned by his guitar tech in 1979...That must have been absolutely infuriating since it was not at Tony's request!!! It has to be one of many of the grave sins short of anything physical and criminal in the history of audio/sound engineering, guitar, bass, drum tech work...etc.
On another note and bit of a tangent, I think that I'll grab the newer Steelpark also that BCC/Laney has done as despite being a longtime gear junkie, Which I'm sure yourself and many fellow players that can more than just relate to a little bit and can't help themselves :)
I have only a handful of specific boost pedals whereas my closest friend, a fellow player and audio engineer has bare versions of treble boosters, Builds loads of variations on the variety Brian May uses and has had made for him over the years as he is the biggest fan of Brian and Queen along with tons of other pedals also. As I have over the years normally always taken care of such tasks via lower gain drive pedals plus a number of pedals over the years I've grabbed feature a separate, stomp-able boost circuit (a perfect example off of the top of my head would be the MXR CAE MC402 boost/overdrive. I really dig the drive as it is far smoother than the Maxon OD-808/OD-9/Ibanez TS-808/TS-9 and alike drives I've got whilst not being like, for example, the Klon Centaur and klones/based on drives either, As much as I use and love any/all of the aforementioned options) and then comes my shamefully thin selection of fuzz devices which both friends and fellow players have either stated directly, implied and/or got through to me with facial expressions or just the manner in which their eyes burned through me with utter contempt, disgust and a "how dare you/how do you have such dreadfully poor taste?" and "How could you!?! I thought we were supposed to be friends!"...etc. consisting of the following; Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz + an extremely cheap yet does it soundwise Behringer clone that was less than 20 quid!, Electro-Harmonix/Sovtek Russian-made big, black box, yellow and white print big muff from the 1990's and less than half-price of any of the other models at the time and it is way filthier also, Not a Pi or Triangle sort of guy, Electro-Harmonix IC big muff, Electro-Harmonix Octavix, MXR Jimi Hendrix Octave Fuzz from the 1990s, Amptweaker TightFuzz Pro and a modified Boss DS-1 which is totally scuzzed up and doomed out to total oblivion when maxed and nothing from it resembles any of the sounds which are available from the regular, instantly recognizable orange coloured pedal. Then technically not fuzz based I have some of the more odd pedals which can at certain settings and situations sound fuzz-like, Bit crush & sample-rate reducers mainly, WMD, Red Panda, Mooer and others which I can't recall off of the top of head, Still though they aren't fuzz boxes so, therefore, don't count hehe
All the very best and to all, Cheers \m/
Dean
Great demo, as always.
one of my favourite tone based pedals, i actually prefer using this to a Tubescreamer. I like how i can add some high end clarity and saturate an overdriven amp a bit more, but doesn't give me to much mid range. It does alot within a small footprint imo, highly useable and great value for the price.
Hi Brett Merry Christmas to you and your family, thank you for a great year of excellent videos!!!
Melbourne, Aust.
Brilliant. I want one
Awesome as usual!
;-)
Killer pedal gents, definitely on my short list of WANT gear...
Did you find any problem with keeping the instrument cables in the jack sockets in this pedal? My leads kept loosening out of both sockets with the slightest bit of movement. Had to send it back and don't know if I got a faulty pedal or they are all like this? All my other pedals click in securely.
I have one and never experienced that, it's a solid click with mine.
Undead Hesher I got a replacement and it's much better. There are certain patch cables that it still doesn't really like, but it's holding the cables I'm using solidly now, which is a relief.
brasseye84 I returned my first one because of this exact problem; more-so with the output side. My 2nd unit had the same damn problem, though admittedly not as bad. I’d resorted to using a damn rubber band. Having said that, I have found better success with the following cables; not perfect, but much better: smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00WU6H2GM?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image
That's an interesting pedal how it reaches what it can do. Is it me or is that just damn near guitar tone? It's heavy and tasteful, bringing out the best an electric guitar has to offer. But then again I love Heavy Metal. Heaven and Hell with Dio is an Iconic album in music. It rocks, but also has awesome melodies and every song is just stellar. Cool pedal. Sounds great.
Holy!! Sounds heavy!!
Just ordered mine. Fantastic video. Subscribed 🤘
Best review yet!!!
I owned this pedal. Liked the tone it produced. The only drawback, it was hard to read the settings. The font on the knobs was too small for my vision.
great demo ! super pedal 👍
Damn sound's good for a silicon pedal too Great demo BK
Would love to hear this compared to the Catalinbread Sabbra
I’ve owned both the ti destroys it. Still own the ti boost.
The Sabbra is a pretty lazy implementation of... something. Lots of labor went into this design, however. Also, it is not related to the Rangemaster as our narrator asserts.
@@ryanheard i have the Sabbra - it does a good job with Ozzy era Sabs..
But, I am looking for a pedal to do Dio era - is the TI-Boost closer to that sound?
@@troychrisman2035 It's very versatile so I would say it should help. I'm sure you know Tony's gear changed quite a bit over that time period and that contributed to the sound as well.
@@ryanheard Wouldn't the Catalinbread Naga Viper be a better comparison to the TI-Boost, since it's also a treble booster that's essentially a modded Rangermaster? I'm looking to get a treble boost pedal to brighten up an Orange amp that has a relatively dark voicing, and I was set on getting the Naga viper, but no that I've seen the TI-boost, I'm not sure... The TI-boost sounds good, but I don't know which will do a better job of brightening the amp while retaining the character of the amp... I'm not really interested in sounding like Tony Iommi, just want to brighten a dark amp to cut through the mix better.
Super!!!!Lo uso con il mio jcm 800 ...e le streghe ballano con i Caproni 🐐😈🐐😈! Grande video!.... HAIL DI'AUL ABRACAMACABRA 😈🐐. ...
Great video. Would you say this has to be first into the signal chain?
Great product and review, thank you.
Awesome sounds!
Is it possible, to create a Brian May tone with this booster as well?
That would be great!
I did just that last night. Into an already partly overdriven amp or pedal. Pedal settings
boost switch top position
volume 9
drive 2
High 9
Low 3
Don't want to pay $190 for an overdrive, but I really want this bastard. Gonna wait it out for a used one.
HEY BRETT! i like this one a lot!
I reserved a space on my pedal board for this. I'm gonna use it to abuse my uni-vibe and fuzz.
just ordered one
tony also used a strat on the first Sabbath album and in the early demos just a tip if you don't have an sg !
Only on one song,wicked world.
He demo’d a start-like single coil if you watch to the end
I love mine!! it's incredible.
😲👉🏻 Sounds awesome 😧👍🏻
Hey Burg's when you flip this, I would like to put my name down as #1 on the 'waiting list' cheers. Merry Xmas
Wow that children of the grave... Really dark sound
Sounds like modified Tubescreamer
What I'd like to know is, about the black box in front of the amp ???
It looks like an interesting approach to miking the amp.
Is it a clever homemade contraption or is it a store bought item ???
6:05 - AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
MY EARS !!!
A Strat...... too twangy for me.
Might be all right for Duane Eddy but Elvis has just left the building !!!
The twang is not 🚫 the thang for me !!!
This is where I turn the volume 🎚️ down ⬇️ !!!
Reflexion filter in front of the amp: seelectronics.com/products/guitarf/ Strat: Yeah, they're twangy.
I like it!
Iommi never used any pedals....just the booster and the Laney
Thank for the demo!
Laney amp EL34s match the treble boosters beautiful!
I’m happy with my Laney GH50R and BSM TM Metal but I see TI Booster has more options.
I have the doubt if the TI Boost has the OC44 transistor?
Tks!
Dope
This is very nice. I am searching for an OD pedal wich I use a lot during the lessons at my guitarteacher. Was thinking of the Boss BD2 or OD3 for leads and allround guitar practicing. I allready using the Carcosa fuzz, but sometimes it is difficult to dial in the sound I want in specific moments and then I get confused.
Now I have read information about guitarmasters like Iommi and Gallagher who used a Treble Booster. And I was thinking is this what I need? To push and get more out of my Marshall DSL5 (with 10' Greenback) instead of an OD effect.
Difficult it is... Help, some ideas?
ti boost vs naga viper
EBMM AXIS FTW! Only guitar i like out of the box with absolutely nothing done to it.
Loved your demo of the Carl Martin Plexiranger....I am torn....how do these really compare sonically?
Great review. One question, is it similar to Brian mays pedal when you turn the volume down on your guitar that gets kind of brighter and thinner in tone?
Cheers
Button iommi you do fuzz
These play well with Marshall and VOX but what about a Fender Deluxe Reverb?
Dear Brett how does this compares with Steelpark, maybe you have tried
Would this pedal work as good in front of a digital amp model plug-in? Or only with real amps?
It packs a fair punch of output so may clip the input stage. You'd have to experiment to see.
Nice review. I have a Laney TI15 amp and I need a boost/overdrive pedal to push it. Do you believe this is the one?
Did you find any problem with keeping the instrument cables in the jack sockets in this pedal? My leads kept loosening out of both sockets with the slightest bit of movement. Had to send it back and don't know if I got a faulty pedal or they are all like this? All my other pedals click in securely.
No, none of that here. That's an odd one and I hope they look after you.
Brett Kingman Thanks, Brett. I'll try getting another one then and hopefully it'll be grand. Love the videos, by the way. Very helpful! Cheers for the reply.
+Brett Kingman That's great! Thanks for your reply, I have ordered another one. Love the videos, by the way, very helpful! Cheers!
brasseye84 exact same issue here! I’ve sent it back for a new one so fingers crossed
brasseye84 same happens with mine. I zip tied it in. Should probably send it back
Awesome pedal, but it's not exactly a treble booster anymore with all the extra controls is it?
Possible and good sounding when puting the Pedal between the FX Loop ?
What pickups you have in that red beauty mate?
If your amp only has one channel, no matter volume, I assume you can feed this into a pedal set for crunch to get the same results, correct? The amp I have is a Dr. Z Route 66.
*master volume
What type of power supply do I need for this pedal? What voltage? 9v?
Human juke box!
Not very interesting to use with a clean channel. But it really shines to boost the front end of a distorted amp.
i play true single coils on old non-master volume amps. Will this suffice to bring enough gain on its own to get very close ? Iommi used NMV amps in the first place too, but humbuckers.
he used p90s until he started using john birch/diggins guitars I believe
Put #8 strings for best results
How much did you pay?? I can`t find in the store.... I live in another country so I`d ask to my cousin to buy for me..
Close but with Tony's playing you can hear the pick
Sounnds great. It would make my AOR 50 sound even better. I want one. Can I please have yours?
C’mon man, I said please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dave B I use it with my AOR 50 Series I (8 knobs) and I f’n love it man. I mostly play doom metal type stuff. It took a while to get the AOR dialed in to begin with, then adding this required some more tweaking. But man, once you get them both dialed in right.....it’s glorious
But you need the same hard and soft wear to get this sound from this screaming bird.
D knob plays sabbath
Thanks! It is a silicon or germanium TB?
I reckon it would have to be a silicon, Javier. Too hard to do germanium en masse.
Are you running that before or after your fuzz?
There is no fuzz. Just the amp; clean and crunch channels.