Analog Man Beano Boost

One knob, one toggle. Simples, but you do have to experiment with where it goes in your chain.

On the SunLion Pedal, Mike has this after the NKT fuzz so that's what I tried and there were some interesting tones but nothing that seemed magical. I nearly gave up on it when I thought I'd try something different. Now it's before my other two overdrive pedals - a MI Audio Blues Boy Deluxe and a Z-Vex Box of Rock.

WOW.

Seriously. This thing has transformed what I already thought were two great pedals, but with the Beano in the chain before then, they sound so good. Full of harmonics, full of simply great guitar tone. Using a Strat, I can now get a great thick sound. Less bass but the mid range has something magical going on that I can't describe. It's great with the MI Audio pedal (basically a TS type pedal) but with the Z-Vex BOR, it is absolutely sensational.

I'm glad I didn't sell it. I couldn't get it to work well with the Analogman NKT Sunface but with the Z-Vex BOR, I've found a match made in heaven.

Looks pretty indestructable to me

Mike always answers my mails. Feels great knowing he's there if needed, but actually, I've never had a prob with any of the four analogman pedals I own.

I absolutely love it. Can you tell?

Can't get any easier. Volume knowb and 3 position toggle for Hi, Mid or Low boost.

Oustanding. Every note on the guitar jumps out. It's a little weird at first - no place to hide! but if you've been playing a while the sound quality will blow you away. I use this whith a late 60's SG and super reverb mostly as a semi-clean boost (volume set about 11): great gear & great tone with some nice grit. I have Mike's mod on a TS808 to cover the dirt/ heavier sounds I may need. I've also used this with an old mid 60's Univox 15W and wow when you can really crank the beano (anything over half way) it's absolutely amazing and loud! - think the Who at Isle of Wight. It's also very sensitive to your guitar volume; with your volume on 10 you can really get that transistor to break up nice. Roll back and you can get pretty clean, though there's stil a tad bit of grit depending on how you pick. The 3 position toggle is very useful and depending upon the amp/guitar combo you can get the right amount of high end or bass.

Over a year of solid giging and no issues.

Mike is the best.

For the money this is a great pedal that will make your guitar come alive. It is also extremely loud and depending on the size of the room your playing I feel you can get the best of this pedal with low wattage amps, say a 30W so you can really push it. Keep in mind that this is the real deal and very sensitive to your playing and like a fuzz face not for a beginner.

You can??t go wrong here.... on/off switch, three tone (original RM, mid, low) switch and volume knob (with on /off function - practical if it??s on a pedalboard).

I??ve got a bunch of treble boosters (P Cornish TB83 Extra Duplex, BSM BM-Q and RM Majestic, Keeley Java Boost and one RM copy made by a friend) and I either use them to drive my VOX AC30??s (mainly) into nice distortion or I place them in front of various fuzzes or od pedals to "spice" up the sound. I??ve got a tele, strat, a couple of old Burns, Hagstroms, a Les Paul, one PRS and a couple of Ad Lib(Stockholm-Sweden) specially made guitars for me.
This Beano Boost is simply top quality!! Mine is the CV7003 transistor version ( will be made in about 150) and not the earlier NKT275 normally used. Since it??s germanium transistors we??re dealing with here I can only compare it to my other germanium tb??s. My favourite so far has been the BSM RM Majestic (there??ll only be about 40 made of these) and soundwise the Beano Boost is just about the same. The BSM has got more gain(making it the king when it comes to drive my OLD, tired and battered red panel non top boost AC30) but the Beano??s got that three way switch making it more flexible and will surely have enough gain for most amps. So if you??re after the best flexible rangemaster type of pedal around (handwired too!!) this is probably it.

Only had this for a few weeks but I??ve had no problemes with the other pedals I??ve bought from Analog Man so ... A backup? ...well this and all my other tb;s will mainly be used for studiowork but if I??d gig with this I would??nt be nervous...

They??ve answered my mails very quickly and in a friendly way.

I??ve been a fulltime musician for well over 10 years and played the guitar for more than 30 years. I??m very conserned about my sound and the gear I use. My favourite way of playing is to have a good treble booster in front of a VOX AC30 going on (more or less) full. You can have all kinds of sounds using the volume control on the guitar - from nice and clean to roaring thunder. As already mentioned I have other tb;s too. They??re all good one way or the other (with that guitar - with that amp etc). For instance imho, the Keeley Java boost is superb at driving other pedals, a friend of mine made me a RM style pedal and it??s perfect for fat sounding guitars beeing a bit bright in a positive way, the P Cornish is the fatest imaginable giving a great attack (think B May), the BSM BM-Q is similar to that just a little more "raw" and less fat while the BSM RM Majestic and the Analog Man Beano Boost sounds much alike though the BSM??s got more gain. The nice thing about the Beano is that it can drive other pedals just as good as the Keeley but also shines on its own into a VOX AC30 (or whatever). If I??d lost it I would buy another. Great stuff!!

It has one knob and switch, and input and an output... it's really very easy

This is the first musical thing I've owned that sounds proper... It makes my electric guitar sound like a real one... I own a quality custom made telecaster and a musicman amp... you might think 'what do you need a treble boost for' Well this thing makes it sound like it should sound... sustain, bite, action packed fun... if you havn't got one you havn't heard your guitar properly (specially if it's a fender)... you will be amazed...... (if you are looking for that Clapton sound buy one of his albums and play it on your ipod) If you want to sound propper get one of these.

I've had this for quite a bit of time and it's still on the first battery. Nicely made, not a lot can go wrong really, it probably isn't water proof. So don't put it down the toilet. Also for all you GG Allin wanna bees, it probably isn't garunteed agianst poo!

You can email them and they get back to you... I've had an email from Mike! Brilliant! I wanted some wah wah advice.. he gave it.. also I bought my stuff on line from them.. came all the way to england in just a matter of days..

The Beano booster is the best thing I've ever owned musically.. I use mine with a telecaster... it sounds brilliant... I originally wanted a Dallas Arbiter Range Master.. Marc Bolan used on with a fender.. So I've done the same only with a Beano Booster... which I believe is the best substitute... If you switch the switch to the fat position turn it up to about 11.45.. Try some of the Bolan leads.. Spot on it's brilliant... If you turn it up any higher you will seriously damage your hearing...

Cant go wrong on this one. One knob and a three way toggle. Mine has the on/off switch on the pot. I recommend that. Just make sure you run it into a quality OD pedal or preferably an over driving tube amp.

Stratocaster >> Sunface >> Beano Boost >> Mojo Vibe >> OCD >> Nova Delay >> Victoria 20112 w/celestion blue.

I also have a Java Boost which is a great sound, but it is so noisy! The Beano is very quiet considering the dbs of boost you are getting. I also love how I can mess up the Sunface with different boost settings.

I have only had mine 5 months, but you look inside and it is just as pretty as can be.

Mike gets back to you fast. I find myself making excuses to find another AM pedal to get they are so nice.

I have played since 1980 and wish I had discovered this type of pedal much earlier. I know Rory Gallagher used a Rangemaster in his pre 1976 recordings, but kind of came across this only by checking out all the AM offerings. It sounded really fun and it is! Works fantastic with a strat, and is a must if you use an attenuator.

I would buy again and recommend you get one as well. I compared it to a Keeley Java Boost which is really inspired by a Rangemaster, but is a different animal and a different sound. I have both, but the Beano is on my pedal chain.

What would be cool is a continuous knob that was in the place of the toggle so you could get more shades, but that may mess up the circuit.

Easy to dial in.

I think it's probably the best sounding Treble Boost pedal on the market (I've owned most). Treble Boost's in general lack attack. This one is no exception. A nice pedal to run in front of a Plexi or Bassman.
I don't care for it as a stomp box/solo pedal.
Plus it really can't be used in front of another pedal since it colors your tone so much.

My switch broke within 1 hour of use.
They did fix it, but I had to pay shipping charges??

I think the customer service at Analogman could be improved greatly!
If a pedal stops working the day you received it they should reimburse
the shipping charges!

It doesn't really work in my set up & most likely I will sell it. Brian May can make the old RangeMaster sing like no one else. If you can find a good Overdrive pedal you'd be much better off. The only reason the old school Rock Guitarist used Treble Boost type pedals is because there weren't any Overdrive pedals that sounded good & limited choices at best.
Well, now there's a bunch of great companies putting out OD pedals.
Some things should be left in the past. I've been playing over 30 years & know good tone when I hear it. For what this pedal does it delivers the tone. I would never buy this pedal again, in fact I find it pointless.

very easy to use.

1976 les paul standard-1970's DeArmond wah (sweet wah by the way)-
vintage ts808-beano boost-1980 MXR micro amp- 1970's univox fazer-)sick phazer, it blows away the deja vibe for that univibe sound) 1968 marshall plexi with a mesa boogie 4-12 big cab.
having the micro amp after the beano is a pristine boost for the beano, gives it even more pagey kind of BITE. Beano on mid, dial at 11 o'clock. i keep it set there for everything when i use it.
i don't play with the high & low setting.
i agree with a review before me....i am a beano stalker.
i think about the tone of this thing while....well all the time.

i would depend on this pedal at a gig.

It's Mike! I mean come on!

i rate this to be a great new pedal. i use only vintage gear.
The only way to get vintage sound is to use vintage gear.
the beano is the only new pedal i use, and i love it.
i would kick your butt if you stole anything from me.

OK...it was my first review and I screwed up the number thing.
Let's try to make that maneuver happen.

I swear...I think about playing with this thing while I'm at work.
I'm like a Beano Boost stalker.

Good communication.
I hesitate to give a 10 for "incredibly helpful".
Incredibly is serious.

If it were stolen, I'd need another.
Cn you get Lojack for effects?

9 Just plug it in and go.
The only slightly weird thing is, I'm not really sure what the toggle switch does.
I know it changes the tone, but it's not like low, mid, high.
More like A,B,C.It's cool, though.
3 very useable tones.
I need to mess with it more.
I'm a slow learner.

10 I am using this mainly with a narrow panel tweed deluxe and a Gibson ES-225 with mid-mounted P90.
I play straight blues and have been gigging for almost 30 years (yikes!). I'm going through a serious Clapton/Bluesbreakers and Peter Green period, which is how I stumbled on this pedal.
I think, actually, it sounds a lot like Danny Kirwan's tone on Fleetwood Mac/Otis Spann "Biggest Thing since the Colossus"

Hard to say, but the box is built like a tank, jacks are switchcraft and soldering/wiring,etc looks clean and tight.

Aside from something to add a little reverb to my tweed Deluxe, this thing is the only effect I've owned since I sold my Big Muff Pi to Danny Hubbard around 1980.
This is am amazing little box based on the Dallas Rangemaster used back when by several British guys. Clapton used on on the Bluesbreakers "Beano" album, Mark Bolan used one, and I'm pretty sure thet Danny Kirwan used one, judging by his tone on "Biggest thing Since the Colossus".
The website also says that Brian May always uses one, and I was concerned that I would get that hollow sound like it's coming through a paper towel tube, but that didn't happen.
Anyway...this thing is like brand new electrolytics and tubes in a tired old amp. Not distortion or overdrive, just focused PUNCH.
I'm totally in love with it.
It's like the difference in tone you get (on a Gibson, in particular) when you go from half to full volume on the guitar and you know the tone is just flowing.
I get all the great distortion and tone that a 5E3 has, but with much less flab... There is note articulation, pick attack and biting tone without icepick.
This is especially great with P90s and humbuckers which I think can be a tad too hot for a 5E3 and I lose definition.
Also...I have this oddball Gibson with one P90 in the middle, so I was missing some of the bite that a bridge pickup would give me, but even when I was using guitars with a P90 at the bridge (LP Deluxe, ES125TDC, ES135), I wasn't getting this kind of tone.
I haven't been this thrilled about a sound in YEARS.
There is no need to ever turn this thing off.
Good mornin' little schoolgirl!

Dead simple to use, one knob and a toggle switch. Mine was made in 2003 with a NOS General Electric transistor, not like the current run with NKT275s. I asked Mike about this and he said they were really good transistors, one of his faves although maybe not as quiet as the current NKTs

I was looking at treble boosters for months before I decided on and bought the Beano. There seem to be plenty of other clones out there but to me, this one seemed to be the closest to the original in specs and build. I was looking for the same tone as anyone esle who buys these things; Page, Clapton, Iommi. This pedal delivers. I can't replicate their tones exactly, of course, but the Beano puts me well within the ballpark. I'm not looking for exact duplication anyway, just more of the vibe of their tone if that makes sense. Tweaking is in order here. I use my Beano with a DRRI and Zvex Nano. I have an Orange Tiny Terror coming soon that I am excited about pairing the Beano with. Should deliver some exceptional British tone

You could absolutely depend on this thing. The build quality is flawless, the components are top quality.

If I could give an 11, I would. Each and every time I e-mail Mike with a question I get a friendly and informative reply within 24 hours, often with 12! I have no doubt that Mike will look after me as long as I own the pedal. To be fair, some of the other builders I contacted were very nice as well but Mike's level of customer service rose to the top of the bunch for me.

If I caught the guy who tried to steal my Beano, I'd rip his arm off and beat him with it, then kick his dog. I like it that much! This is no honeymoon review. I have owned this pedal and played it for a long time now. I've owned more pedals than I care to list. I tend to be a minimalist, using only a wah (Fasel Crybaby), fuzz (Fulltone Soulbender), delay (DD-20) and the Beano. I can't see ever getting rid of this pedal because it delivers the tones I'm looking for. A 10 in this category is for a "Fantastic value." That is exactly what the Analogman Beano is.