HBE
GERMANIA
Homebrew
Electronics
has
seemingly fallen off the face of the
earth, but it left behind a legacy
of great stompboxes, and one of
the greatest was the Germania. This
single-knob pedal is based on the
vintage Dallas Rangemaster, and
it definitely does the Rangemaster
thing really well, adding cut, clarity,
and a shimmering upper harmonic
sheen to a tube amp that’s already
running near full-throttle. My
favorite way to use the Germania,
however, is in its full-range “Hi-Fi”
boost mode, which is engaged with
12
TONE TALK //
the toggle switch that sits below
the output knob. With this setting it
produces a thick, throaty bark that
veers from hairy overdrive into fat
fuzz territory, especially when hit
hard with a brawny humbucking
pickup. The HBE Germania is an
incredibly dynamic pedal that yields
a very wide array of tones with
subtle volume knob manipulations.
It is relatively common wherever
used pedals are sold, but market
value seems to be climbing for this
out-of-production gem.
Germanium Giants: 6 Superb Sound Sculptors