Benson Amps | Germanium Boost Pedal

When designing the temperature controlled fuzz, we tried some unusual approaches. One false start utilised a voltage controlled error correction circuit to bias a single germanium transistor. It ultimately didn’t work for the fuzz, which is comically sensitive to transistor gain attributes.

We did find a place for it though.

It turns out it was PERFECT for achieving a germanium clean boost that, (like our fuzz) is impervious to component drift, leakage, and temperature....more so in fact. We also fixed a couple other issues preventing the germanium transistor from being used as a convincing linear boost...we increased the input headroom (even a normal guitar signal will drive a germanium transistor into unwanted input distortion without some tweaks) and increased the input impedance (a BJT transistor would normally thin out bass frequencies and interact negatively with whatever flows into it).

The result is a germanium clean boost that can utilise a germanium transistor WITHOUT the weird artefacts that were previously accepted as part of the deal...temperature sensitivity, drift, and suboptimal input impedance and headroom.

After the boost is first powered up, it takes about ten seconds before the error correction circuit correctly biases the germanium transistor After this things get interesting....we can hear how having the boost engaged makes guitar signals sound more musical...even when set at the same volume as the bypassed tone. Notes are given a simultaneously smoother and more detailed character, like a compressor but different. Some people we’ve shown it to have noted that it appears to deemphasise the unwanted parts of a signal and enhance the good. Its killer on bass. It helps acoustic guitar pickups sound more natural. And of course it’ll push your amp into a frenzy.

POWER SUPPLY
This pedal is for use only with a 9vdc Boss syle center negative power supply. There is space for a battery which is activated when a cable is plugged into the input, and there is no power supply plugged into the DC jack.
Please do not subject this pedal to more than 9vdc or the pedal or power supply could be destroyed.