CARL MARTIN / PLEXIRANGER

Carl Martin/PlexiRanger is a distortion pedal that combines the bottom end of a British tube amp with a treble booster to create an overdrive sound.

■Guitar Effects
■Features
The most common setups from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, the glory days of rock guitar, were based on British Marshall and Vox amps (often models with multi-speaker cabinets). The forefront guitarists of the time, such as Tommy Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore, and Brian May, used these British amps to pursue their own unique sounds on stage and in the studio.

To deal with the overwhelming bottom end of British amps, they used treble boosters to add high frequencies to their guitar tones and create their own unique sounds.

Using a treble booster that matches the amp settings allows you to get the optimal overdrive. It is well known that models such as Dallas' Rangemaster and Hornby Skewes' Treble Booster contributed to their unique sounds at the time.

What's unique and amazing about the PlexiRanger is that you can use both the pre-gain and overdrive channels, either individually or simultaneously. By sending more of the pre-gain channel's output to the overdrive channel, you can achieve massive gain and violin-like sustain. Of course, it also works well at lower gain settings. With its boost section, the PlexiRanger is the most versatile boost/drive pedal on the market, allowing you to recreate the great guitar tones of the glory days of rock guitar on stage and in the studio, or create your own special tone.

The special DC/DC converter used in Carl Martin's latest models allows it to run on ±12 VDC internally, providing excellent sound quality and headroom.

■Controls/Switches
BOOST knob: Adjusts the boost amount up to +15 dB (Carl Martin's proud clean boost)
FREQ knob: Sets the frequency of the treble booster
RANGE knob: Adjusts the boost amount of the treble booster
LO CUT mini switch: Sets the low cut
1: Small amount of low cut 2: Large amount of low cut 0: No low cut
BOOST foot switch: Turns the pre-gain boost channel on/off (green LED lights up when on)
*The pre-gain boost channel operates independently, so it functions as a treble booster.
GAIN knob: Adjusts the amount of drive (can be adjusted from light crunch to full overdrive)
TONE knob: Adjusts the tone of the drive sound
LEVEL knob: Sets the overall output level of the effect
PLEXI foot switch: Turns the overdrive channel on/off (red LED lights up when on)
INPUT jack: Standard phone (TS) input
OUTPUT jack: Standard phone (TS) output
REMOTE jack: Standard phone (TS)
*Boost channel on/off can be controlled with an external switcher
9V DC jack: Connects an optional AC adapter
Specifications
Input impedance: 1 MΩ
Output impedance: 200 Ω
S/N ratio: 54 dB
Dimensions: 120 (W) x 95 (D) x 56 (H) mm
Weight: 420 g
Maximum current consumption: 100 mA
Power supply: 9V output AC adapter (sold separately, center negative, 10 mA or more, 2.1 mm diameter)

*Image is for illustrative purposes only.