YOU’VE
GOT
RANGE
Distortion possibilities were
opening up, and clearly both
musicians and fans were
interested in the sound. In
spite of this though, amplifier
companies weren’t into it.
Even as wattage increased
from 30, to 50, to 100, and
even 200 (see the Marshall
Major), the priority was
volume so musicians could
be heard on stage. Distortion
was incidental and was seen
as a side effect of pushing the
tubes as hard as they did.
16
TO N E TA LK
//
As distortion became more
en vogue though, guitarists
still had a secret weapon:
the Dallas Rangemaster. The
product was listed as a treble
booster but that’s somewhat
inaccurate. It was more of a
frequency booster, pushing
decibels more naturally than
a fuzz pedal to get a rich,
saturated tone. Brian May of
Queen was a huge fan, using
the multi-phase settings of
his homemade Red Special
guitar and the relatively low
wattage of his Vox AC30 amps
to get the creamy distortion
for which he was known. Tony
Iommi of Black Sabbath used
it for his band’s down-tuned
roar, and the unit’s sound
continued even through early
Judas Priest records.
In spite of this interest though,
amp companies weren’t
budging. In a 1992 interview
with James Hetfield of
Metallica, Tony Iommi said:
“Believe it or not, I went to
several companies 20 years
ago (with the Rangemaster)
and said, ‘Can you build this in
an amp?’ They all said, ‘Don’t
be stupid, nobody’s going to
want to buy something that
distorts an amplifier.’ I said,
‘Of course they will. If they like
that sound, they’ll buy them.
If they don’t, they’ll buy your
ordinary one.’ And it took
them 15 years before they
realized what I was saying. In
fact, Laney (Iommi’s preferred
amp company) came to me
later and said, ‘Now we know
what you were talking
about.’”
D i sto rted Past: A B ri ef H i sto ry o f All Th i n g s D isto rtio n