Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster

Brian May's tone on Bohemian Rhapsody is built on a unique combination: his homemade Red Special guitar played with a sixpence coin, a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster slamming the front end of a Vox AC30. The treble booster adds gain and upper-harmonic sparkle, pushing the AC30's Top Boost channel into a rich, creamy overdrive. May's multi-tracked guitar harmonies on this song create an orchestral wall of sound, but each individual guitar part has this distinctive bright, singing character.

The tone that invented heavy metal. Tony Iommi's SG through a cranked Laney produces a thick, grinding, dark distortion that is the foundation of doom and heavy metal. The Rangemaster treble booster pushes the Laney into heavy saturation while maintaining note definition. Iommi's prosthetic fingertips and light string gauge contribute to a slightly looser, more aggressive attack.

Billy Gibbons' tone on La Grange is a grinding, bluesy crunch built on a Les Paul through a Marshall Plexi pushed by a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster. The Rangemaster adds searing upper harmonics and extra gain, driving the Plexi into rich, sustained overdrive. Gibbons' picking technique -- including his signature pinch harmonics -- makes each note scream with harmonic overtones. The tone is aggressive enough for rock but rooted deeply in Texas blues tradition.