HomeBrew Electronics Arizona Germania

Very easy to use ; rotary knob for gain , on/off switch , lo fi/hi fi switch .Lo fi gives a vintage Rangemaster sound , Hi fi is more transparent and gainier . The unit can be run from an external power supply but it is centre positive and cannot be run with centre negative units . I use a battery , which is accessed by unscrewing the Germania's baseplate . Batteries last a long time , so long as you disconnect the input jack when not in use . Simple pedal , simple manual !

The Germania will add sustain and presence to your guitar sound ;the guitar feels more responsive and you may find yourself using the volume control more to access the dynamics that this pedal brings to your sound . Lo fi mode nails Rory Gallagher's sound on the Taste albums ; it will colour your tone and add a mid range hump . Hi fi works well with single coils ; I use this mode with a Strat into a Boogie Express 5.50 .Set a medium amp gain and the Germania's gain at about 9 o'clock for serious tone that cleans up from the guitar's volume knob .It's a boutique pedal and does add hiss ; if you switch it on or off during quiet moments you will hear a "pop" through your amp !However , I tend to leave mine on all the time because it sounds so good .Experiment with the placement of the pedal in the effects chain , it is very sensitive to other pedals ; I've found it works best before my Hotcake , even if the Hotcake is switched off.The Germania can be used to drive overdrive pedals and gets some cool sounds .

I've been gigging this pedal on average twice a week for the last six months and have had no problems , but the performance can vary depending on other pedals you use it with . It just takes time to experiment . Battery life has been excellent .Only once has the good old Germanium transistor picked up a local taxi firm , but I guess that's a by - product of the vintage circuit ; my old Fussfaces used to do that way back when!

I bought this mail order from Charlie Chandler's Guitar Experience and have not had to contact them .

I play in a classic rock covers band playing anything from biker rallies to theatres to small pubs .My rig is a Relic Strat with BK Irish Tours ,a "bitsa" Tele into a Boogie Express5.50 combo wth a Marshall 1936 extension cab . Effects are the Germania , a Hotcake , Boss chorus and analogue delay . The Germania has become essential to my sound ; it makes my guitars feel more alive and really gives my sound the balls to cut through what can sometimes be a pretty busy band . If it went walkies I'd have to get another one ; when I plug unto this it feels and sounds like my sound has been to the gym!

So far so good

I tried a bunch of Rangemaster clones all seperately. Same amp, same batteries, same guitar. Tried a real Dallas Rangemaster, Beano, Java, BSM, what I came up with was this. The Analogman Beano is great for mid and low (Very Hendrish) but weak to my ear in the high position. The Germania SCREAMS out high end and not shrill at all but is weak in the low end. This makes sense, the Beano used an NKT275 and the Germania a Mullard OC-44, Used together or seperate they are exactly what I wanted. So I had to buy both but am happy to have both types on my board. Pete Cornish makes a double Treble boost but very hard to get his goods and high buck!

So far so good.

A gain knob, a hi-fi/low-fi switch. How hard can that be?!

I've had this for about 6 months now, so the honeymoon period is long over. After this time, I'm still loving what this thing does for my sound. Running it into a slightly to moderately overdriven amp gives that midrange heavy, harmonically rich tone of guitarists like EC, Brian May, etc! Into a heavily distorted amp smooths things out and gives a great midrange kick. It will color your tone, but in a good way, and it's made to do that. Lots of hiss at high volume / high distortion levels, but it's made to sound like a vintage effect, not a modern technological wonder. I use this with Peavey Triumph, Marshall Valvestate, and Fender Twin amps, plus a PodXT modeler and it works wonders with 'em all. In fact, the booster in front of the PodXT using a Vox AC30 model absolutely nails the Brian May tone!

Built like a tank. Reminds me of my old 70's MXR effects, which were built to survive lots of road abuse, nuclear wars, etc.

Just an email to the company expressing my satisfaction with the pedal, which was quickly and graciously replied to.

I play classic rock, some modern stuff, and blues. This pedal is an integral part of my overall sound on most stuff I play, especially leads.

Couldn't be easier. One knob and one switch. Knob determines gain. Low-fi switch position excellent for humbucker guitars, hi-fi great for single coils.

I have a LOT of different treble boosters, including rangemaster clones, Hornby Skewes clones and silicon transistor (Brian May) types. The ones I have include every brand you've ever heard of and probably some you're not familiar with. The Germania i THE s**t. It's simple and it sounds great for both humbuckers and single coils. You need a good tube amp, a good guitar with either high quality sigle coils or humbuckers and the Germania. It's like a sonic equivalent of the father, the son and the holy ghost. You crank the Germania's gain knob and adjust your amp accordingly. Lo-fi switch position will sound great for humbuckers and hi-fi will kick in all the extra you need for your single coils. I use this great pedal with stock Gibson SG Standard guitars, a Fender USA Telecaster with Custom Shop Nocaster pups and a 1972 Hiwatt DR103(Custom 100)amp with a Fane loaded 4x12 cabinet. When running my fairly clean-sounding, vintage amp as dirty as possible and the Germanium fully cranked, the world of tone is within range of my guitar's volume knob. From sparkling clean (even with humbuckers) to metal grinding distortion (even with single coils.) This pedal is a work of art.

I know treble boosters, and this one's well built. But NOS Germanium based stomp-boxes are by nature not as stable as your cheap sounding, mass produced stomp box. You will have to choose between sonic qualities and reliability. The great thing about the HBE Germania is that it's VERY reasonably priced. I will definitely get a replacement or three, I can actually afford it.

I purchased my HBE Germania from Brian Aberg, www.SuperSoundMusic.com. I will definitely recommend to anyone. I'll be back for a Germania 44.

I play classic rock, country, metal or anything you throw at me. I'm your man. If the Germania was stolen, I'd definitely buy again. It's the greatest thing, it makes me sound great and therefore makes me want to play more. I've played the guitar for decades.

The sounds are there as soon as you plug it in. It is quite loud, so you have to tweak your amps eq a little. The manual is very clear about what the pedal actually does. This is a professional vintage analog effect, though. So if you're used to modelling equipment, you may have difficulty finding your tones. It works best in tandem with a tube amp. There is a balance to be found between the two, much like a fuzz face.
This amp sports a NOS germanium transistor on a handwired circuit board, a blue LED, white chicken head knob, HI-FI/LO-FI toggle switch (Full-Range/Treble Boost), true bypass switch, and an awesome purple sparkle finish. It is powered by a 9V battery or +9vdc AC adapter (not included). It doesn't suck batteries, either.
For you vintage Rangemaster lovers, HBE does have an upgrade version called the Germania44 which features a NOS 0C44 chip (the 'real' thing).

I use a 2000 Mexican Strat with lace golds, TBX pot, and a GFS mid-boost. This goes to the Germania, to a crybaby, and into a 2000 Deluxe Reverb reissue with a Celestion G12M 50watt speaker.
The effect is noisy because of it's vintage design. It hisses because I dime the amp. You can't avoid this unless you use a larger amp like a Twin or Marshall plexi (50 or 100 watt). But really this is only a problem when you're not playing. As soon as you hit the strings, you can't hear the hiss.
So, if we have a treble booster we're looking for EC, Rory Gallagher, or Brian May right? Well, they're there and there not. Tones are the sum of your parts. If you know how to manipulate your guitar's tone circuit, the amp's eq then you can get in the vicinity of the afore mention tones.
This pedal will colour your amp, no doubt. But the colour is whatever you want it to be. If you play a blue lick, your whole rig will sound blue, if you play a twangy riff, your whole rig will twang. Your input determines the output. Make sense? It's all up to you. Full midrange/hollow midrange, furry treble/metallic treble, rumbly bass/crunchy bass, it's all how you attack. This pedal will answer the call, if you follow me.

This pedal is a rock. I wouldn't go anywhere without it. You'll wonder what you ever did without it.

N/A

I play blues, classic rock. I've been playing 10 years. If I lost it or it was stolen, I think I'd try the OC44 one; I figure if a regular transistor sounds this good, then the desirable one must sound like heaven.
I love that it works with me. It's very intuitive. It's not just a sound generator, it's an instrument. I'm a plug and play guy. I like the amp's distortion. I was finding my deluxe just wasn't enough. It would go right to the sweet spot, but it wouldn't sing as much as I wanted. This pedal gives you an extra kick to dig into those extreme passages. I turn it on and leave it. The clean tones are below 5 on the volume pot, but are no quieter than above the 5.

Fairly easy to use - one chicken head knob to control the gain and a switch to move between Hi fi and low fi modes. The layout could be slightly better. I enjoy simple pedals with one knob like MXR, where you can adjust the gain with your foot while playing. It's a little fiddly to do that with the select switch being in the way. I think it would be better off on the side.

Also the power is positive 9v which is a bit of a nuisance as my power brick is all 9v negative so it means I have to run an additional supply to my board. I think it is something to do with the type of transistor. No harm done, just a little inconvenient.

I play mainly rock blues and rock gospel. I use a PRS McCarty with a Cornford Hurricane. I went for the pedal mainly because earlier reviews say it nails the Clapton/rock sound spot on.

It's amazing how versatile the pedal is with just the one knob. There is a vast array of tones available from slight adjustment of the knob and this interacts with how much gain you have on your amp. Initially I wasn't interested in the modded sound, I wanted to add a little sweetness to my overdrive for soloing. I tried the standard treble boost mode into my mini battery amp when it arrived and was satisfied with what I heard - it was what I expected and nice lift to an overdriven sound. Then I tried the Hi-Fi setting out of curiousity and was completely floored. It was pure filth, but nice filth. Filth that you could hear every note through. When I tried it with my Cornford again I was floored by the amount of gain available through it. The sensitivity of the gain on this is phenominal. I now use this mode for all my soloing as it's just unbelievable. The gain stages of the two modes are poles apart. 3/4 on the standard mode adds a nice sonic harmonic distortion to an overdriven amp. The same setting on hi-fi kicks it into oblivion. I recommend lower settings on the hi-fi channel to get the best out of it.

Build solidly, no worries

Not had the pleasure, but I believe they are very good

This is just the pedal for my sonic arsenal. Works great with humbuckers and single coils. Adds a new dimension to the amp. You know you have a good pedal, when the amp sounds dull by comparison when you turn it off. It would be nice to leave it on all the time but this thing is an animal. Too much of it and you would lose the impact of it. It truly is an experience stomping on it, seeing the blue light shine and then hearing your amp and your playing propelled into another world. True bypass aswell. It is a little more expensive than standard factory pedals, which you might keep for a month and then sell on ebay. This thing is hand crafted quality and it sparkles too! Definately a keeper.

one toggle switch (hi-fi or lo-fi), one potentiometer (gain). not too tough.

for reasons i won't go into here, my two low-wattage tube amps have not been available to me to test this li'l focker out. so, gibson s-1> hbe germania> lovepedal magicboy> bc rich bcl10 transistor amp. i know what you're thinking-"bc rich transistor amp?" yeah yeah, simmer down. it's all i got at the moment. anyway, the germania & magicboy sound great together. a really thick, violent sound when the pick hits the strings (even the B & high E strings). my toughest critic -a non-guitar-playing friend who lives within earshot of my "studio"- made a point of coming over & telling me how cool the sound was of this particular set-up. that's the kinda thing you live for, innit? one half point off cuz the germania does introduce some noise into the signal. unfortunately, a 9.5 grade is not an option on harmony central.

built solidly. however, if you wanna power the germania externally (as opposed to w/enclosed battery), a reverse polarity (positive center) plug is required. should be no prob as godlyke power-all, voodoo lab pedal power & visual sound one-spot all have reverse polarity attachments. but, the germania manual states that the germania should NOT be powered externally unless ALL other effects in the chain are positive center too. let's face it- most effects pedals are negative center. so either you don't use them w/the germania, or you can use them IF you power the germania w/its battery. some guitarists may not see any problem w/this. fine. but i like powering all my pedals w/the particular brand of power supply i'm using (doesn't matter which one-they're all good). in hbe's defence, i beleive all germanium resistor effects (fuzz, treble boost) MUST have reverse polarity external power jacks. neverdaless, a minor quibble. again, can i give a 9.5?

i got mine through pedalgeek. they rule.

have you seen the prices of some of these trble boosters? bse, 65 amps, dirty boy... geeziz kryst! the germania comes in at about one half to one third(!) the cost of the above-mentioned brands. plus, it has an LED light (some other treb boost units don't) & external power option (although w/previously-mentioned caveats). & oh yeah, it sounds frickin awesome. my personal "recipe"? switch on hi-fi, gain totally dimed. then stand back. I SED STAND BACK!

Way to easy even for beginers novel concept hahahahahahaha

Fender Strat and Tele Fender Silver face vibro champ and Pevey Delta Blues. Its very cool on the sound, Sounds great all the time, the Delta Blues with the clean channel on is the coolist but with the overdrive channel you get Hendrix type tones which is way more than I wanted...This is the dream pedal for me because it sounds like all the guys I like Page, Blackmore, Clapton, Hendrix, Gilmore.

To new but I think its cool already.......

Never had a chance to call they but they are all over the web which is very cool unlike some manufactures that charge 400 dollars for there booster and you get zilch in customer service.

Heavy Metal (but old metal) Blues and this is the perfect match.
I have been playing 34 years, just a proco rat the vintage one which is also cool...I would buy another one its the orignal not some fake botique crap its just like the orignal....I love the fact that it has some many sounds and just on switch and one knob.....that its very complex yet very simple....yes I tried the Diaz Texas Ranger that thing is real crap what a joke does nothing, and BSM that over priced crap the worst of the group maybe tied with Diaz hahahahahahha..but for real this one is simple thats why it works so well there companys go out and make expensive stuff and they ruin the orignal sound of the pedal HEY STOP MESSING WITH SUFF GUYS LEAVE IT ALONE thats what made the sound cheap crap and thats the secret....yes I wish I had the CEO of BSM to give him a knuckle sandwich hahahahahahha.....well this the coolist pedal I have ever used and it doesnot even have the OC44 thats whats so funny and its better then all the other crap out I just love it HOMEBREW AMEN TO YOU BROTHERS YOU ARE DOING IT RIGHT...
hey does homebrew make a fuzz face well anyway..........

One knob and a switch, set and forget.

I've had this pedal for over a year, so this is not a honeymoon review. I play 50s/60s blues and jazz, but am also a huge Iommi/Sabbath fan (which is why I use this pedal). I play either a '64 Gibson Melody Maker (double cut, single pickup, stock) or a new Fender Esquire reissue (Callaham bridge) > Germania > Aphek Peanut Butter > Boss OD-1 > silverface Fender Champ with Weber alnico. I only play at home, usually at low volume due to living in a semi-detached house, hence the small amp.

I use my Germania to boost the Peanut Butter pedal. The PB is quite natural sounding (no mid hump ala OD-1/TS-808) and simulates that "just breaking up" tone very well. Running the Germania (Lo-Fi mode, Gain knob cranked; or Hi-Fi mode, Gain knob between 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock) into the PB (Level knob at unity; Smooth/Crunchy knob between off and high noon) gives me a good approximation of that early Iommi treble-boosted tone. I only use the Gibson with it though, and usually roll the tone knob down to about 6 for rhythm playing. Obviously this works for me with my gear, ears and room acoustics - YMMV.

Yes, running one of these into a clean amp sounds dreadful, but they are designed to be run into an amp or pedal that is breaking up. That is the key.

Build quality seems quite good overall. Mine has always been reliable (home use only though). Still on the original battery after 12 months plus. The only issue is the slight pop on bypass.

Very cool pedal for not much cabbage. Love the purple duco and blue LED too.

Really cool how it dles different things depending on the amp, settings, and how you manipulate your guitar's volume.

As I have said in my past reviews, the sound of this thing is absolutely awesome. It has a gritty snarl to it that works well with everyting I use. I have a G & L Asat semi hollow that has hot MFD single coils, and depending on the pickup selection, volume control, and the level of breakup of the amp, it gives me amazing tones. Interestingly, with both signle coils on, it has an amazing balanced tone that is really in your face. When I move back to the bridge, it can sizzle hot, or get a nice nasal tone to it if I back off my compressor a little (which is a Homebrew CPR, and I will not live without it). Summarily, this pedal really changes depending on various settings. I have yet to try it with humbuckers, and I can imagine that it sounds fantastic.

I had a problem with the first one that I had, but read below...

OK folks, here are the facts. The first Germania that I bought had problems - when it worked, it sounded great, but it seems that there was something loose. I did send it back to them and they had thought they had fixed it, but it still didn't work. So, rather than call them back, I just acted like a baby and put it on the shelf and pissed and moaned about it here on Harmony Central. Recently, Teri from Homebrew contacted me and said that having an unhappy customer was simply unacceptable. They just sent me a new Germania free of charge. It sounds as good as I remember (better, actually) and I couldn't be happier. The bottom line is that you do not get service anywhere close to this from the big companies. Buy from Homebrew, knowing that they will stand behind their product no matter what the circumstance. Great products, good people, great service. I'd give them a 20 for serviceif I could!

Top notch!