Brian May Treble Boosters: Varieties, How They Work + Build Your Own Kit

In this video I explain how treble booster effects pedals work and why you need one if you want to emulate Brian May’s distinctive Queen live and studio tones. I show you eight variants associated with Brian May then assemble a KAT Treble Booster Plush kit which you can find here:

https://deacyamp.com/products/kat-kit...

Links to Other Videos Mentioned:

Jamie Humphries’ Review of the Fryer Sound Touring, Deluxe and Plus Treble Boosters for Issue 40 of Guitar Interactive Magazine

   • Brian May Treble Boosters | Review | Guita...  

Nigel Knight’s KAT TB Plush Assembly Video

   • Building a KAT TB PLUSH  

dsgb Video on the KAT RED-18 Treble Booster and KAT Superpot

   • Brian May KAT RED-18 Strap-Mount Treble Bo...  

Links to Treble Boosters Featured in This Video:

https://fryerguitars.com/category/tre...
https://fryerguitars.com/treble-boost...
https://fryerguitars.com/treble-boost...

https://shop.brianmayguitars.co.uk/bm...

Links to Guitars Featured in This Video

Guyton RS Transporter No. 9 of 25 (Serial 0817154)

https://www.guytonrstransporter.com

Custom made 3/4 Scale Brian May Red Special replica:

https://dsgb.net/projects/1975rs/

Custom made Brian May Red Special replica:

https://dsgb.net/projects/redspecial/

Links to the Book featured in This Video:

Electronics for Guitarists by Denton J. Dailey. Springer, ISBN 978-3-031-10758-0

https://link.springer.com/book/10.100...
https://link.springer.com/book/10.100...

00:00 - Introduction.
00:19 - Brian May on what treble boosters do for him (Star Licks).
01:02 - Demonstration of enhanced clarity and presence in the upper mid frequencies using a KAT Ringmaster treble booster, my Guyton RS Transporter guitar and KAT Studio-One amplifier.
01:36 - Demonstration of overdrive using a KAT Ringmaster treble booster, my 3/4 scale Brian May Red Special replica and KAT Studio-One amplifier.
02:21 - Demonstration of boosted noise floor using a KAT Ringmaster treble booster, my home made Brian May Red Special guitar and a Vox AC30 TBX.
02:58 - Treble booster circuit discussion (Dallas Rangemaster).
04:28 - Show and tell with eight treble boosters (No. 1: Fryer Guitars treble booster Super).
04:57 - Show and tell with eight treble boosters (No. 2: KAT/Fryer Ringmaster).
05:22 - Show and tell with eight treble boosters (No. 3: 1980s BM pedalboard BC149 booster). I erroneously refer to this as a "Cornish style TB-83 booster" in the video commentary.
05:55 - Show and tell with eight treble boosters (No. 4: KAT/BMG Treble Booster Classic).
06:33 - Discussion of the boost/frequency response curves for six treble booster variants.
07:17 - Show and tell with eight treble boosters (No. 5: KAT RED-18 strap mounted treble booster and Sennheiser wireless transmitter body pack).
07:45 - Show and tell with eight treble boosters (No. 6: Vintage Pedal Workshop Dallas Rangemaster replica).
08:30 - Show and tell with eight treble boosters (No. 7: Fryer Guitars Treble Booster Deluxe).
09:01 - Show and tell with eight treble boosters (No. 8: KAT Treble Booster Plush).
09:19 - How to order a KAT Treble Booster Plush kit from the KAT website
09:52 - KAT Treble Booster Plush assembly instructions review.
10:30 - Unboxing the KAT Treble Booster Plush kit.
11:09 - Equipment for assembling and testing the electronic components.
11:34 - Testing and laying out the capacitors, resistors (passive components)
12:22 - Testing and laying out the silicon BC239 transistor.
12:42 - Loading and soldering the resistors onto the printed circuit board.
13:36 - Loading and soldering the capacitors onto the printed circuit board.
14:14 - Loading the soldering the 1/4 inch mono input and output jack sockets onto the printed circuit board.
14:53 - Preparing the battery connection wires and soldering them onto the printed circuit board.
15:18 - Soldering the battery connection wires to the battery box terminals.
15:26 - Loading the assembled circuit board and battery box into the enclosure.
16:00 - Screwing the two parts of the enclosure together.
16:15 - Applying the self-adhesive rubber feet to the underside of the unit.
16:33 - Closing remarks and outro.

#BrianMay #RedSpecial #dsgb #DougShortGuitarBlog #treblebooster