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Diaz Texas Ranger

Summary
Price New Diaz Texas Ranger @ Musician's Friend
Manufacturer URL http://www.diazmusicalproducts.com/
Ease of Use 9.6 (20 responses)
Sound Quality 9.7 (20 responses)
Reliability 9.5 (17 responses)
Customer Support 10.0 (11 responses)
Overall Rating 9.7 (19 responses)
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Product: Diaz Texas Ranger
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 05/21/2008 at 01:50am by G Hein

Ease of Use : 10
Nothing to it...plug in and go! Three settings for highs,mid,or low...pick what you want to boost...plus volume control(plenty of it). True bypass.
I Like things to be simple...this one is, no need for tweaking ,plug and play.

Sound Quality : 10
This pedal sounds like a fuzz version of a tube screamer...and would replace it if I had to choose one.The gain(non adjustable) adds a nice little grind and cleans up well when you back off the vol control.Works well in conjuction with other fuzz units or overdrive pedals.
I play Strats into a two amp setup... A/B into a jmp Marshall and a Blackface Fender...the Mid setting is nice , however I use the low setting to add some meat.
I can see why some users keep it on all night...I have it on most of the time. Damn thing flat out sounds great!
I am not going to say this just because it's called "Texas"Ranger...BUT it has this Texas tone quality thing going on....you need to hear it to know what I mean.


Reliability : 10
Looks like a quality build.

Customer Support : No Opinion
N/A

Overall Rating : 10
Great pedal...I fell for it in an instant! I use a foxox captain coconut with the fuzzfoot,an anolog man Sunface and an old tube sceamer for overdrive and fuzz...this pedal filled the gap between the tube Screamer and the other fuzz units...a sound I was missing.


Product: Diaz Texas Ranger
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 10/31/2006 at 03:28pm by Gwyn Ashton
Email: stratcat2000<at>hotmail dot com

Ease of Use : 10
This is a very simple unit to use. I don't know why anyone would want a manual! The best pedals are a basic circuit. You don't want a lot of components getting in the way of your sound.

It doesn't need an LED as it's always on. It's the most integral part of my sound, right after my fingers. It makes any guitar and amp combination sound wonderful. I've been looking out for a relacement and can't find anything else that suits me as much.


Sound Quality : 10
I use this with old Strats, Teles, Firbirds, Danelectro Baritone, Chandler Austin Special, Les Paul Jnr, lap steels and 3 tweed 50s Fender Twin Amps with the Ranger on the mid setting and volume anywhere from halfway to flat out. Also in my signal chain are various fuzz pedals, modulation thingys and a '78 EP4 Echoplex.

When I tour I get all sorts of rental amps and get a great sound out of them with the Texas Ranger. Rock, blues, country, jazz. It all works.

I've been playing pro since '76 in Australia and Europe and have never come across a better pedal.


Reliability : 9
I'd never gig without a spare anything. It's never let me down but you never know when a switch will die or some bastard steals it! I gave it a 9 because nothing's perfect. I played a show in Germany and someone lent over the monitor and grabbed my Boss tuner as a souvenier after the show. It was only a foot away from the Ranger. I was unhappy my tuner went, but relieved it wasn't the Texas Ranger!

Customer Support : 10
I've talked to Peter and he seems like a nice guy.

Overall Rating : 10
I've never written a review for a pedal before. I've been waiting for the "honeymoon period" to run out but it hasn't, after 5 years of usage. I've compared it back-to-back with all of the other Rangemaster clones out there and it ALWAYS outperforms them. In fact I've sold a few here in Europe on the strength of my own personal sound.

A friend of mine in Texas, Chris Duarte, put me onto this pedal. He told me I had to try one out. A year or so later I remembered the conversation out of the blue and rang Cesar to talk about sounds.
This was in May 2001 and Cesar told me he was coming to England for a Bob Dylan convention a couple of weeks later. How's that for synchronicity?
He had a night off, sat in with my band and brought the Ranger with him for me to try. He told me he designed the pedal with the tweed Twin Amp in mind. He invited me over the next day to where he was staying and serviced my amps. He was a cool guy and will be missed.

I like this pedal so much, it's all over my latest album. I never turn it off.


Product: Diaz Texas Ranger
Price Paid: US $225
Submitted 03/25/2006 at 07:44pm by Pete Ackermann
Email: packermann<at>infinityhealthcare dot com

Ease of Use : 10
This is very simple to use. Plug it in at the beginning of your signal chain or just after your wah. Hi, Mid & Low settings. You can't go wrong with Mid or Low settings.

Sound Quality : 10
Sound quailty is best described as vintage straight into your amp tone with nice presence without the spikey treble frequencies so many boost and distortion pedals can exhibit. Like to hear the wound strings on your Strat sizzle a bit without the plain strings sounding harsh? Then this is the pedal for you. Outstanding tone shaping pedal when combined in moderation (set at or slightly above unity gain) with other overdrive pedals. I use the Fulltone 69, Roger Mayer Octavia, Tube Screamer and Tube King each separately with the Texas Ranger occasionally. All I can say is it makes them all sound like they have more presence and clarity without being harsh. This is a very welcome enhancement when you are after those tones. When you want to smooth out your sound, just turn the Texas Ranger off. The other thing I need to tell you is that the Ranger is very interactive with your volume control. Move the volume from 8 to 9 and you notice more gain and the distortion comes on in this range. From 5 to 7 your guitar cleans up beautifully. At a full bore 10 on the volume knob the distortion is finally all there yet your guitar note articulation is still very good. It also adds a little bit of clean low end that sounds great too.

I use this pedal to emulate tones from SRV, Hendrix, Storyville, Cream etc. The Texas Ranger plus the Fulltone 69 or Tube Screamer can nail these tones with a good Strat using under wound pickups. I use an Emery Sound Shop Stage Baby head and a GT Soul-O-Single head into various cabinets/speakers in a stereo set up.

Reliability : No Opinion
I have only had this pedal for a couple of weeks so I can't comment on this yet. It seems sturdy.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never contacted them.

Overall Rating : 10
I play blues and classic rock. I have been playing 40 years and play a heavily modded 76 strat. This is a gear purchase that I have been so happy with that it made me want to post a review quickly. This pedal is very quiet when used slightly above unity gain. Yeah, it would be nice if it had an LED to indicate when it was on but hey, let your ears figure that out. If it sounds real good you may just decide to leave it on all the time like Chris Duarte does. This pedal is no good with active electronics so don't get it if you have low impedance output from your guitar. You also have to place this pedal early in your signal chain and keep the output away from a buffered output pedal. Get one from Musicians Friend and try it out. You can return it and only be out the shipping if it doesn't work out. I will never give up this pedal in my signal chain. It is like an organic exciter. Get past the high price, it is worth it for the incremental tone improvement you seek.


Product: Diaz Texas Ranger
Price Paid: 112 (GBP)
Submitted 03/17/2006 at 07:52am by Fritz

Ease of Use : 5
I bought this off eBay without trying one out, just on the recommendation of Harmony Reviewers! I opened the box, plugged it in, turned it on and it worked! But the first thing I see (or don't see) is,..... no on/off LED .....? Now that's gonna be a problem for an old fart like me! Would have been a 10 rating but for that!

Sound Quality : 10
STUNNING !!!! I play mainly humbuckers through valves and this pedal does everything that I've ever wanted my Tube Screamers to do! Incredible sound on all three settings, and at hi and low amp volumes too! Try it with a Keeley Compressor infront of it and a Banzai Cold Fussion or a Keeley/Boss BD2 behind it! STUNING, STUNNING, STUNNING TONES!!!!!!!!!!

Reliability : 6
Dunno! I've only just got it. But, and this is a big but, a brand new pedal, with only a three month limited warrenty? Something wrong there surely?

Customer Support : No Opinion
Dunno, hopefully I won't need to find out!

Overall Rating : No Opinion
I'm a blues player! Playing for 40 years. I love the tone and sound of this pedal but I hate the fact that in the 21st century I'm buying a brand new pedal with no on/off LED, thats only got a limited three month warrenty, and comes new with no instructions (although its easy enough to use) or blurb of any kind! "Where's me stickers?"


Product: Diaz Texas Ranger
Price Paid: US $225
Submitted 02/05/2005 at 07:43pm by Joe Dirt

Ease of Use : 10
First off, we are not talking about amps turned up to 2. Real applications. Real tone real loud enjoyable sounds. High is a little to bright for me, I have not used it. reminds me of a sloppy, loud, rude guitar player's tone, punkish.
The Mid setting is perfect, does what a tubescreamer only dreams of.
The low is great for marshall or mesa blue angel amps when you just need a little, not too much.

Sound Quality : 10
Quality sound, real deal.

Reliability : 10
If it breaks down, I'll fix it. Just like the F$#@$#Kn Bike.

Customer Support : 10
Seems like Ceasar's following is holding up his reputation. God bless Ceasar.

Overall Rating : 10
If you play loud. Get it. A little dirt for Texas. Farty when played at low volumes; have to let it breathe. I played it before a TS-9dx modded, gave the TS a little more grit and dirt. Brought out some more natuaral tone. For leads, kick it on and get that perfect extra something. Sounds a little compressed hammering back down on the low strings when really pushed or with another overdrive but clear as hell on the high stings with loud warm power.


Product: Diaz Texas Ranger
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 09/19/2002 at 12:21am by Anonymous

Ease of Use : 6
Simple to a fault. Two knobs. One for volume. Then a three setting knob for treble , mids and bass. Treble is for the Dallas
Rangemaster treble boost tone that the pedal is designed to pay tribute to. The only 'difficult' aspect of this pedal is for the player
who have never used a germaniun device before( think Dallas
Arbiter Fuzz Face, of Fulltone 69/ SoulBender).This is not a device for people who are using high gain active pick ups, or for
the player who leaves the volume of his/her guitar on 10 all the time. The pedal has a preset amount of gain that is ment to blend with the gain of the amp you are using. This preset gain
dissappears when you roll your volume knob back to 7.5-8.5.
If you know about this aspect of germanium transistor loaded
pedals you are fine. If not, you can generate harsh sounds.
ACTIVE pick ups with just generate static with these types of pedals.

Sound Quality : 9
I was able to A/B this with a real vintage Dallas Rangemaster.
The treble setting nailed the Rangemaster vibe perfectly but with a better signal to noise ratio. Alone in a room practicing, the treble setting is a bit harsh, but jamming with a loud bass and drums I found it helped me to cut through really nicely. The Mid
setting also worked in a jam setting for bluesy leads. I found
the bass setting to thick playing with a band, but nice to fatten up
an amp played at low volume while practicing.

Reliability : 9
two years old and no problems

Customer Support : No Opinion
I just heard that Diaz is with the angels. He was too young.

Overall Rating : 10
An excellent device. I 'm glad I have it. A keeper.


Product: Diaz Texas Ranger
Price Paid: US $225
Submitted 10/29/2001 at 11:34am by Mark
Email: markyuen14 at hotmail<dot>com

Ease of Use : 10
It only has two knobs-volume and an eq switch (low, mid, high). There was no manual for it as it's not needed. I did contact Mr. Diaz to find out where I should put it in my effects chain as I couldn't really decide where to put it.

Sound Quality : 10
Excellent sound quality from a very simple box. By itself, it adds a very nice boost at any of the eq settings. I primarily use it to give body and tone shape to my fuzz and overdrive pedals. I think it is essential in front of my 69 pedal at bedroom settings since the 69 sounds best with a cranked amp. In front of my SIB varidrive, the diaz really adds texture to the overdrive. I used to use a Fulldrive II in front of my varidrive. In comparison, the Fulldrive II is noisy and adds very little depth to the overall sound of the Varidrive. I usually have the diaz at the mid or low eq setting and with volume at the 2-3 pm setting and I lower the drive on the varidrive to about 2 pm also. On a clean amp setting, this sounds really good.

Reliability : No Opinion
I've owned it for about 3 months already. Looks reliable but I can't really comment yet.

Customer Support : 10
I bought this pedal through Analog Mike who of course is in a class by himself when it comes to customer support. As for Cesar-I e-mailed him once and he responded within that day. He's obviously very proud of his products and I'm sure he'll stand behind them 100%.

Overall Rating : 9
Excellent pedal. I think it's essential. I've been playing guitar for about 18 years off and on. My extent of playing these days is jamming with the guys or fooling around at home. I like it because it's not noisy at all for a booster pedal and it really adds something great to your overall tone. It's the only pedal besides a delay pedal (which I use just to beef up the sound) that is on all the time. I may buy Diaz' square fuzz face but since I already have the Fulltone 69, it might be a little redundant. I however only give it a 9 for overall rating as it was a little expensive.


Product: Diaz Texas Ranger
Price Paid: US $225
Submitted 09/10/2001 at 06:57pm by Travis
Email: travis<at>swimband dot com

Ease of Use : 10
With only two knobs, it can't get much easier.

Sound Quality : 10
I am using a Gibson custom les paul thru a Marshall triple lead head and this pedle can really take a lot of the dull tones out of the Gibson. It's pertect for getting leads that really cut. When overdriving with the Ranger you can get some really unique lead and rythem tones.

Reliability : 8
I have only had it for a short time but from the way it looks and as solid as it feels I think it will last long time

Customer Support : 10
I've met with Cesar a few times and he has been nothing but helpful and informative, not only with his equipment but with also any problems that I have had with any of my own equipment. All I can say is this guy knows his shit.

Overall Rating : 10
I have never used a pedle so much (besides a distortion pedle) it seems to come in use in every song I play (rock n'roll music), it just seems like it improves on any tone that you already liked.


Product: Diaz Texas Ranger
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 07/11/2001 at 06:58am by Jimmy Spoondrane

Ease of Use : 10
It takes a bit of experimentation with your rig - one pedal two dials.

Sound Quality : 9
I use this with a Groove Tube Trio preamp running into a Groove Tube power amp - out to standard Marshall boxes. I use a 1960 rosewood necked Strat loaded with fralin vintage Blues pickups

Reliability : 10
Solidly built unit - marginally heavier than an MXR pedal

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 10
About 20 years ago there was a guitarist in Australia goes by the name of Ian Moss - In those days he had THE tone with what appeared to be a vintage strat straight into a Marshall loaded with 4 Greenbacks. OK you might say, the tone comes from your hands, and your right, but this pedal puts back the tone into your guitar. For me it is the missing link. Anyone with enough sense to have a Dyna Comp in their signal chain will appreciate what I'm saying. This unit is like a dynacomp on steroids!! What a lot of you seem to have missed in your reviews is that this is NOT a booster pedal. Your guitar's volume pot becomes the booster - but it takes time to make the realisation. If you approach it as a tool to boost your solos forget it!! This pedal boosts your guitar tone. I've been playing professionally and semi-professionally for over 25 years so I do know what I'm talking about. What this means to me is that if I have to use hired rigs I can be assured of a great tone no matter what I use. You will save a fortune if you are searching for the holy grail guitar tone.


Product: Diaz Texas Ranger
Price Paid: US $225
Submitted 07/10/2001 at 12:01am by Arista

Ease of Use : 10
Very easy. One volume knob and 3 toggle switch - hi, mid, lo. And one input and one output, DC jack. You don't need manual.

Sound Quality : 10
This has 3 eq setting. 'Hi' is very thin and gritter!! similar TS-808 sound. 'Mid' is my favorite setting, you get mellow and fat tone. And 'lo' setting is also great. This setting help that you get real fat and powerful tone.

My setting is Fender CS strat > mxr dynacomp > proco Rat2 > Ibanez TS-9 > Diaz Texas ranger > Boss FT-2 > Boss DC-2 > Boss RV-3 > Boss DM3 > Maxon AD-80 > Fender blues Jr.

That's surprised tone!! But this is boost pedal, thus you will get hiss noise.

Reliability : 10
This small box sized similar MXR box. I depend on this Box!!

Customer Support : No Opinion
I don't know cause i will not deal with diaz. But this is cesar diaz's product!!

Overall Rating : 10
I'm playing blues, modern rock. If i was stolen this box, i buy it again.
I compared with fulltone fat boost. Fat boost is also good boost pedal, but Texas ranger is best in pedal that i've heard.
If you find it or you need boost pedal, you must buy!!

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