Riff Master Germanium Boost

The Fuzzlord Effects Riff Master is a treble/full-range boost inspired by Tony Iommi’s modified Dallas Arbiter Rangemaster used on classic 1970s Black Sabbath recordings. It is designed to push an already slightly saturated tube amplifier into thicker harmonic distortion while boosting a selected frequency range. The circuit uses a hand-selected NOS Philips/Mullard AC125 germanium transistor and provides up to 24 dB of gain. Boost controls the overall output level and gain, while the four-position Depth control changes the boosted frequency range from a traditional treble boost to a fuller-range response. Increasing the Depth range adds more low frequencies, volume, sustain and gain. The circuit is responsive to both picking dynamics and the guitar’s volume control.