Legendary Tones Time Machine Boost

This pedal is simple to operate. The Vintage boost has two tone options-1966 and 1973. Two knobs control volume and intensity. The Modern boost has only a volume control.

I play a Godin P-90, Carvin DC 135 and G & L ASAT through a Fender Deville. The pedal is a great boost to any of my guitars. The P-90 guitar through the '66 Vintage boost side is my favorite. The tone is treble-boosted with a great "edge" added to the mix. This setup also sounds great through my Keeley-modded TS9 and Rat pedals. The treble edge it adds cuts through and sounds like a wah-wah in the mid sweep range. It sounds sweet with that great "edge". The '73 Vintage boost works great with single coils by adding bass to the tone. The Modern boost works great with any guitar by adding a clean boost to my clean setup or a volume boost and edge through my distortion effects. It is simply fun to play around with it. The Bluesbreakers tone is also easy on the '66 boost mode through a Marshall tube amp.

The pedal is quality built with quality parts. I think it will be very reliable. I must also comment that my other dealings with Keeley- modded effects has been exceptional. I expect his work on this pedal will ensure quality and reliability!

My dealings with Legendary Tones during the ordering process were good, though the demand meant several weeks wait! I trust their future support.

I play Blues/Rock music mainly for personal pleasure. The Time Machine Boost works great for my style. I must rate it a 10 for what it does. Understand that it is not a Distortion pedal, nor is it suppose to totally alter your sound. It simple adds a boost and/or edge to your tone. It sounds great!

Two foots-witchable channels with independent volume levels for Vintage ("1966 and "1973" modes with toggle switch) and Modern. Both Vintage modes are adjustable for intensity and volume. The Modern channel has a volume pot. It couldn?t be easier to use

I am the proud owner of TMB serial #4. I have played the TMB through an ?81 LP Custom, ?78 Ibanez Artist (335), ?74 ES-175T, ?88 Am Tele Std., ?85 MIJ Strat and Taylor concert acoustic. In the signal chain, it is wired before a Fulltone Distortion Pro and H&K Tube Factor and ultimately to a Traynor YGL-3 2x12, 85 watt (Twin copy). The amp dialed in for a clean sound with flat EQ.

I haven't used the Vintage side very much yet, but the "1966" modes seems to emphasize mid to high frequencies and reduce lows and "1973" seems to concentrate on highs. The Modern channel is where I?ve spent 99% of my time. The Modern channel boosts the signal with no coloration or added distortion. So you get more of the sound you love. The pedal is worth the price of admission for this channel alone.

I haven't used it the traditional fashion yet (boosting power tubes) since my amp has major headroom. So I have used it to push my Tube Factor or Fulltone into more distortion. It does this without changing the tonal character. The TMB seems to work best for pushing OD pedals when they are set to mild or "blues-type" overdrive. For the H&K, I use the TMB for Factor 1 only. For the DistortionPro, the drive is set fully counterclockwise. The TMB works by adding more saturated OD to a mildly overdriven pedal. It's like having a three-channel amp - clean, blues drive and saturated drive. When I add a second OD pedal, it becomes a sort of a six-channel amp by adding another blues drive/saturated drive combo and the combo of H&K and DistortionPro. Now that's versatility! And I use the pedal to boost the clean sound when I want to play with a very light touch and work the dynamics with the assistance of a Ernie Ball volume pedal. I have even used it to as a boost for soloing on an acoustic guitar through a P.A. Just make sure you?ve got enough headroom in the P.A. input.

Finally, as most of us know, everything plays a part in great tone. Thus, the TMB makes great equipment sound greater. But don?t expect it to make crappy stuff sound better.

Hand made with the best parts available. I can't imagine what could go wrong. Having worked with David (Legendary Tones) and Robert (Keeley) before, if something did go wrong, no worries.

From my experience, you can expect nothing but the best.

I play rock, jazz and blues mostly and I?ve played for almost 30 years. I?ve spent most of my time the last couple of years working on Robben Ford and some Larry Carlton tunes. I love the music, the tunes and of course the tone. The TMB improves my tonal possibilities. I?d buy it again for sure.

The Legendary Tones Time Machine Boost is rather easy to use. It has an on/off footswitch and another to switch between the "Vintage and Modern" boost modes. The Modern side has one control for volume. The Vintage side has two knobs to control volume and intensity and a toggle switch to select between '66 and '73 boost styles. It doesn't take long to figure out what everything does, then it is happy tweaking.

The Time Machine Boost is a clean boost and this one is SUPER clean! Some people are confused about what a clean boost does or doesn't do. It is NOT a Distorion/OD unit. It doesn't add distortion on it's own. But it does boost your guitar signal and sends your amplifier into overdrive/distortion. Therefore the breakup comes from your existing rig, (guitar/amp combo) not from the boost, but BECAUSE of the boost.

I have used this with several guitars Les Pauls/Strats/Tele/ES-335/ES-175 and several different TUBE Amps Fender/Marshall/Mesa-Boogie/Gibson/Traynor(no solid state) and I have to say this is the ultimate clean boost. It sounded awesome with every guitar and amp combo tried. My personal favorite is with my 1982 Les Paul with Seymour Duncan '59s and my 1964 Fender Bandmaster 2x12.

The Vintage side has two boost styles '66 and '73. The '66 is voiced with an emphisis on Treble Boost. It sounded very good. I think this mode would be more for a country picker for that Tele/Fender sound. I prefer a thicker tone, but the '66 might be great for rhythm work to cut through the mix, etc. I need to experiment more with the '66 side.

The '73 is voiced to keep the high end but emphisis on the lows. It really thickens your tone and gives a nice bottom end. This is my favorite. It made my Bandmaster growl with rich tube distortion while keeping the highs. It gave me this huge sound with tight punchy bass response. It really compliments my Bandmaster 2x12 cabinet.

The Modern side has TONS of head room. It is super clean while really boosting your signal. The distortion that came from my Fender was unreal. It wasn't muddy or midrangy. It was full and warm with rich harmonics. This is what any quality tube amp deserves! It kept my guitar and amp character while pushing the Fender tubes. The distortion I got was from my amp, not a $69 fuzzbox. REAL TUBE OVERDRIVE!! Classic tone.

Point to point wiring and true bypass. Legendary Tones/Robert Keeley colaboration, (anyone that knows Robert Keeley's reputation knows that this is the ultimate in workmanship and design). It is a new pedal, so it isn't "road tested", but I have no worries about it's dependability.

Super friendly. I asked many questions of both David at Legendary Tones and Robert Keeley. Both were very patient and helpful with my numerous questions. If only all companies were so helpful and friendly to their customers.

I am into blues/rock and this is a welcome addition to my setup. I was using a modded TS-9 for my Boost/OD needs, but the TS-9 colors your guitar/amp tone. I have owned and used lots of overdrives and distortion units, but what I have finally realized is that what I really needed to do was enhance my rig with a clean boost not color it with an overdrive or distortion unit. This one is from the gods. It is simple to operate, ultra clean with not one but THREE styles of boost! Nothing else like it!! If it were lost or stolen I would buy another in a heart beat.

The Time Machine Boost is a breeze to use. The "vintage" side has knobs for volume and intensity. The intensity controls the amount of treble bite and harmonic content. The volume knob does, well, volume adjustment... There is also a mini toggle switch for choosing the "'66" or "'73" mode. The "modern" side only has a volume knob. The bright LEDs let you know what mode you have chosen and whether the unit is switched on.

There are two foot switches -- one for turning the unit off and on, and one for choosing between the "vintage" and "modern" modes. You can set your amp for a nice rhythm sound, and switch on the Time Machine for a lead sound that really cuts through the mix. Or you can set up a nice rhythm sound on the "vintage" side, and switch to a creamy lead sound on the "modern" side.

I tested the Time Machine with two Les Pauls (one with stock humbuckers and another with Rio Grande P-90s), a Gibson SG, and a Fender '57 re-issue Strat. Amplifiers were a 1971 Marshall Super Lead, 1973 Marshall JMP 50-watt, and a 1961 Fender Concert. Just for laughs, I also tested it with a 1972 Fender Champ.

The Time Machine is NOT a distortion device. Instead, it excels at pushing non-master volume tube amplifiers into breakup. It seemed to prefer the Marshalls, although I was able to coax some nice overdrive and controlled feedback out of the Concert amp. The Champ just begged for mercy...

Using the Time Machine is almost like turning a single-channel amp into multi-channel unit. You can set your amp for a somewhat cleaner sound, and then use the two modes for a crunchy rhythm sound and a balls-out lead sound. No matter which mode you are in, you can reduce the drive by lowering the volume on your axe, without losing treble or clarity.

The '66 mode has the most treble of the bunch, although you can moderate it by turning down the intensity knob. The LP with the P-90s liked the '66 mode, as it cleaned up the sound and really brought out the chime in those pickups. The '73 mode is a bit warmer than the '66 mode, and has a bit more output. The sound is punchy, and will really cut through a mix. The modern mode is the creamiest of the bunch -- tons of output across the spectrum, yielding fat leads and gut-pummeling chords, even with single coil pickups.

The Time Machine Boost has only recently been issued (mine is serial number 008), so it's hard to say with certainty how reliable it will be. However, it sure looks to be well made, and it is housed in a very rugged case, so I'd be surprised if it didn't last a good long time.

My order was acknowledged promptly, and I got a heads-up email when it was shipped. I've dealt with David from Legendary Tones before, and the service has always been top-notch all the way. I don't think you have anything to worry about here...

I think that for the money, the Time Machine Boost is one versatile little machine. I've been using other pedals (such as an Ibanez Tube Screamer) to boost the signal hitting my Marshalls, but I'm selling them now that I have the Time Machine. If you have a tube amp that you want to push over the edge, I'd recommend the Time Machine.

Very well-designed, and small, box. Two switchable channels: Vintage and Modern. The Vintage channel has two modes, "1966" (think Dallas Rangemaster) and 1973 (think Brian May/Tony Iommi), that are switchable by way of a small, but sturdy, toggle switch. It also has a Volume control and an "Intensity" control that boosts/cuts the highs and harmonics. The Modern channel has only a Volume control. There are two footswitches: a true-bypass On/Off and a Vintage/Modern channel select. Then there are the three very bright indicator LEDs: Power On, Vintage Channel and Modern Channel. You can preset the channel you want, then turn the effect on and you're off.

The TMB comes with a very thorough and informative four page manual that explains the ins, outs, features and some suggested uses of the pedal.

The TMB was designed to work off the supplied wall wart or other suitable power supply (ADL Juice Box and similar devices) and thats OK with me because I forsee applications when it could be left on at all times. I'll explain below.

I currently own about twenty boosts, overdrives and distortions. They each have their own personalities when it comes to what amp/guitar combinations are used. A couple, such as the Fulltone '69 or Don Butler (ToneMan) Rangemaster are pretty versatile, usable with many different setups. The Time Machine Boost, however, is different...

This pedal is not, I repeat not, a distortion. It is meant to boost a signal into an amp or other device. If your amp is running clean it will add some "breakup". If the amp is already distorting it will add to the distortion, sustain and harmonics and put it "over the top". The TMB can also drive another OD/Distortion pedal harder for an additional level or stage of OD/Distortion.

My guitars: Les Paul Classic w/Duncan '59s, Custom Shop '60 Les Paul Special w/ p-90s, 52 Telecaster RI (stock) and a friends ES-335 Dot (stock). Amps: Marshall JTM45 RI (Mullards pre, VA KT-66s power) into a Vibro World 2x12 Marshall-style cab w/Vintage 30s, Victoria Deluxe w/Celestion Blue, Allen Class Act (Mullards pre, Svet EL-34 power) into a 1x12 w/Celestion Blue,and a 30 year-old Silver Face Champ.

As God is my witness, I have never had any pedal that has been as usable, with any guitar in any pickup position, with any amp in any channel, in front of or after any pedal, as the Time Machine Boost. The results ran from very good (335, Vintage channel, "1973" mode, into the Normal channel on the Vicky) to spectacular (Les Paul Classic, Modern channel, JTM45 RI, Bright channel). I'm awaiting a Sweet Sound Ultra Vibe and I'm sure the TMB will sound great with that too.

This pedal will mostly be used into a Framptone amp switcher feeding a Clark Gainster into the Bright channel of the Marshall and the Rangemaster into the normal channel. This gives me so many tonal variations that my head is spinning. This same set up also works great with the similar input arrangement of the Victoria Deluxe.

One final, but important, point: this pedal cleans up fantastically. I can go from a overdriven, harmonic roar down to a jangly wisper by using the volume knob of my guitar. This means that in many cases you could leave the TMB on all the time, for instance, when using a warm (dull?) sounding tweed-style amp. Rory Gallagher was known to do this with his old Fender Bassman and Deluxe amps using Rangemasters or a Boosely-Hawks (sp?) treble booster.

Extremely well made with premium components. I fully expect to last at least as long as my 25 year-old MXR Distortion+.

Purchased through PayPal. Quick notification and thank you from David at Legendary Tones. Shipping update was nice touch. Limited lifetime warranty to the original owner with the usual abuse and misuse provisos. I'm not worried, I'm certain that the TMB (and future products) will be well supported.

I play for my own satisfaction. I'm mainly into getting the 60's and early 70's tones of people like Kossoff, Green, Beck, Page and so on. Anything that seems like it would contribute is worth at least a try, which is how I approached the TMB. Boy was I surprised. I've bought and sold so many pedals (and guitars and amps) in the last 30 years I've lost count. I finally realized that each pedal has it's own place in the tonal scheme of things so now I rarely sell anything off, even if I rarely use it. This one, though, will see a lot of use and is a keeper for sure!