The BSM SPECTRUM Fuzz-Booster is our tribute to Tommy Bolin, guitar wizard of the 70's, that was not only well known because of his marvelous guitar playing as a studio guitarist on Billy Cobham's spectacular "Spectrum" jazz fusion album from 1973, he was also a worthy follower for Ritchie Blackmore on Deep Purples "Mk_IV". All the time Mr. Bolin had a punchy and "in the face" sound which he created with a Sam Ash Fuzz unit that had a controllable, treble-boosty character. The BSM "Spectrum" is an copy of the Sam Ash Fuzz that Tommy Bolin used, down to the oddest details like the "attack" control that can smoothly blend from treble boost to fuzz, while the "spectrum" control manipulates the tone spectrum up to unbelievable almost six octaves - because of this it should be very easy to find the sound you are yearning for.

Almost all British rock guitarists using single coil pickup guitars used a Treble Booster from the late 60's to the mid 70's. By the end of the seventies, the Treble Booster was replaced by a new circuit from Japan, the so called Tube Screamer and other similar overdrive circuits. These were based on the old Treble Boosters and therefore had a very similar frequency response. The treble boosters on the other hand, sadly fell into oblivion despite their unique and inimitable sound. The Spectrum Fuzz-Booster has been designed for single coil or humbucking pickups with a relatively low/ medium coil inductance, such as pickups in Fender and Gibson. On these pickups, the Spectrum produces (with the volume control of the guitar turned up to the max) a fat, biting and penetrating lead sound, minus any shrill characteristics. By lowering the guitar's volume control, many shades of crunch can be easily dialed in. Another thing to consider is that when a guitar amp's volume is turned up (reaching saturation), the power amp normally begins to mute the highs, which results in a duller sound. At an amp's full tilt, the Spectrum Fuzz-Booster allows a more transparent tone (covering the entire frequency range) to shine through. The presence control on the amp need only be minimally used (if at all).

It is also of interest to note that Tommy Bolin used Hiwatt amps by playing in Deep Purple Mk_IV. The Fuzz-Booster is inserted between guitar and amplifier, not into the FX loop. The magical tone is achieved by the interaction between guitar pickup, treble booster and amplifier. The unit is powered by a 9V battery with a current consumption of aprox. 800 uA. You can also power the unit, using the external "Boss style" (2.1mm - tip negative) DC jack, the internal battery will shut off automatically then. The average output level is 0dBm, the maximum output voltage when the strings are struck really hard is 2V max.

Product specs