BBE recently discontinued their BBE Freq Boost stompbox. The description BBE gives this pedal is: The Freq Boost is patterned after a rare Treble Booster of the mid-’60s that gave many famous players the ability to add sustain, fatten and overdrive their favorite guitar amplifier.
So for those of you that can’t read through this the BBE was a knock off of the units used by Page, May, Townsend, Gilmore and many others to overdrive their amps in the 60’s and 70’s. They were also used in conjunction with an overdrive or distortion box.
With a distortion, phase or chorus and your wha you can nail Brian May’s signature tone. Knock your pickups out of phase then use this little wonder with a bit of distortion and you have a great Jimmy Page sound. The nice thing is this stomp box also sounds great on it’s own.
Cranked up about halfway it gives you just enough dirt off pull off the earlier Stones or Who stuff. I found with my hotter pickup like my Dimebuckers and Hot Rails it really sings. I never thought I would be using my Dimebucker pickup to produce a Keith Richards or Clapton tone. Surprisingly with the BBE it nails it.
Sticking with the Dimebuckers the BBE is also a great tool for shredders and NuMetal guitarists. A lot of guitarists like Kerry King will use some type of boost to cut through the mix. In King’s case he uses a Q-Zone. Not only will the BBE Freq Boost help you cut through the mix, it will also thicken up your tone and give you a ton of sustain. Sustain beyond what you would get with a standard compressor. These type of units worked for Tony Iommi in the 70’s I am sure you can find a great tone with one.
My suggestion is grab one of these babies now that they have just been discontinued. In a few short years they will be just as hard to find as the originals. They are on the discount racks of a lot of online retailers right now. Similar units can cost up to $300.00 or even more for an original vintage box. With a bit of research you can find these gems brand new in box for $50 – $60 instead of their original $100+ price tag.
