Bigfoot Engineering Trouble Boost review

West Sussex-based Bigfoot Engineering made its MusicRadar review debut at the tail end of last year with a roundup that included the excellent Octo Puss Prime pedal.

Now, following on from its limited edition Treble Booster, inspired by Brian May and built into a 35mm film can, the new Trouble Booster features a more conventional housing, and is apparently inspired by the guitar sounds of ZZ Top legend Billy F Gibbons.

Sounds

In the tradition of the classic Rangemaster treble booster, the Trouble Booster is a Germanium transistor design. It features a volume knob and two switchable modes: normal, with a full frequency response; and bright, with reduced bottom end.

Unity gain seems to be somewhere around the nine o'clock position, where you get no volume jump but a little bit more dirt. Winding up the knob adds more overdrive - which we felt worked best with an already dirty amp.

This is where the Trouble Booster finds its true forte: if your valves are already cooking away, this is a pedal that will take things further and enhance the tonality with a saturated richness, laden with harmonics.

The normal mode offers a fat sound with an enhanced top end, while the bright mode doesn't push your amp quite as much, but offers a defined bite to the note that cuts through. All this with a sensitivity that responds well to variations in pick attack and guitar volume.