Red Rooster verses the competition

[thesjkexperience]

I am on the waiting list for a Red Rooster and hope to have it by early next year. I have a AM Beano Boost and a Keeley Java boost. Anyone compare these pedals? I find I have the Beano in the lineup most all of the time, but at the same time it isn't perfect. I am hoping that the dial is more effective than the three way switch on the ones I have.

I am also curious as to the types of transistors the Captain uses on this pedal.

[psycho*daisies]

i dug out an old comment from Dave Main on the old board describing the Red Rooster and it's trannies. The first part is a question, then Dave's response.

Q: "I've had a few treble boosters, (a bsm rm metal most recently) and I found them to be very noisy. I'm also trying to simplify my rig. I'm currently using a wah, a phaser and a boost on a board, I'd like to just use a boost so I need a bleddy good one!! I might have to check out the rooster..."

A: "Noise in Treble boosters can be a real pain. I don't want to start pooh-poohing other designs or anything like that but the more commonly used transistors in treble boosters, mainly OC44's & OC76's, (edit: i think Dave meant "OC71's") amplify noise like hell fire!! The Original Rangemasters used OC44's as standard but they ain't so cool on the noise, kinda sounds like you have a little elf in there cooking up eggs. As for the Rooster, I use military grade or ex-military stock transistors. Either CV7112, OC140 or OC139. The CV7112's are a military version of the OC140. Both the OC140 and the OC139 where primarily designed for use a fast switching device to be used in transistor computers. They where even still being used in RAF radar sytems as late as the 1980's. They have awesome specifications but tend get over looked because they don't have the "mojo" and dare I say hype that an OC44 might have. So as far as noise goes, don't worry about it!"

[mezcalhead]

kinda sounds like you have a little elf in there cooking up eggs.

[thesjkexperience]

NO kidding! My Java boost is so noisy I am going to have to sell it. The Beano is much quieter, but can often sound like an open wha pedal. I am excited to see the difference in tone between the Beano and the Rooster.

[Graham]

I have several treble boosters including a nice OC44 Rangemaster - the first blue Hornby Skewes model (that goes nicely with the Zonk Machine) - a couple of Arbiter treble & bass faces - some old EH models (Screaming Tree and Screaming Bird) a few other oldies as well as some more recent stuff - a nice Rangemaster clone made by John Chambers at Champ Electronics in Nottingham, a Dice Works one and also a Beano and a couple of Roosters - Oh and some clean boosters like the Klon that can also do a reasonable job on the treble and a few "mixed" pedals like the Bee Baa which incorporates a nice boost section and a recent favourite addition - the Acetone FM-3 (well the treble boost half of it). Maybe I ought to sort a group photo out!?

I have been fiddling around with treble boosters for a lot of years now and guess I am reasonably qualified to comment on them. And I would say (and have said before!) that The Roosters are really very excellent pedals - mine while sharing the essential characteristics of the Rangemaster are both slightly different from each other (just like original Dallas Rangemasters are!!) - or at least enough so for me to keep them both!. They really do hold up particularly well against the original Rangemaster - certainly much better than the Beano that I have - those use modern NKT275 trannies and are nice enough and seemingly well built (although not in the same league as Dave's pedals) but somehow mine never manages to quite get there or achieve the sparkle that a proper Rangemaster has - they do well enough on the boost but not that special twinkle (for want of a better word that isnt me repeating sparkle!) Perhaps I have been unlucky with my Beano because I have friends whose ears I respect that really rate them just my Beano never really hits the spot.

On the other hand the Red Roosters get there in spades - enough said!

Oh by the way - the Champ versions although not in a particularly sturdy enclosure are absolutely wonderful sounding too and well worth watching out for - John has paid a lot of attention to getting them right but unlike the Rooster he has added a four position range selector which brings different capacitors into play (or so I understand).

In summary I don't think anybody would be able to fault a Rooster and you would be hard pushed to better it with the currently available options - maybe the Champs will match the sound. Others will get most of the way there but the Rooster is king of the hill unless you are fortunate enough to have an original Rangemaster or a nice sounding JHS-1 (they didnt all sound as good as each other!).

Hope it helps - Graham 8-)

[squarewave]

Once again Graham a stellar post! How many treble boosters do you have? Whoa. I’ve not tried a vast array of TB’s but only having the RR I am a true believer in the might of the TB. I have said how much I love the RR in many a previous posts and here I am again…my tone is based around it.
I love the way is sends my Orange AD30 into drive mode but you never loose the character of the guitar you are playing. A strat sounds like a strat and my mosrite, well, it sounds like the NY Dolls!

I was playing my strat the other day with fender twin and was able to get sunshine of your love tone when the drive knob is maxed out, a versatile little beast.

One KILLER box

[thesjkexperience]

Thanks for that extensive reply. I am so happy I am on the list for a Rooster! I hadn't used them (TBs) until the beginning of the year and now I cant live without them. I will have to check out that other one you mentioned because the Java is outa here.

[cubba]

My favorite things about the Red Rooster are:

*The sound quality -- has a great low-gain fuzz tone with low-noise
*Volume -- plenty of that to boost the amp at any gain level
*The low-end can be rolled in/out to taste

The latter makes it work with any amp and gtr. combo.

[Graham]

Once again Graham a stellar post! How many treble boosters do you have?

Probably too many - well I haven't got enough patch leads to join them all up although earlier on I did have two roosters linked together into my Champ Treboost (just got it back tody after being modded for me by JC) into a Mk1.5 into a Matamp - It made the amp howl with pleasure 8-)

here's a couple of family shots of what I term as boosters of treble:



G

[psycho*daisies]

Good God, Graham! ...Trying to give me a heart-attack!??!