Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Gigahearts' Trés Bull is a fantastic all-rounder tone enhancer - which combines Treble and Lower-Mids Boosters with a handy pickup simulator and impedance adjustment
Key Points
Gigahearts Trés Bull pairs a 3-way RangeMaster-style Treble Booster with a Lower‑Mids (Beefy/Phat) Boost, plus a Pickup Simulator and ± Impedance trimmer for placement before or after gain pedals and fuzzes.
Use the boosts independently or together for full‑range enhancement; the Pickup Simulator can sharpen or dampen incoming pedals (often off), and high Treble settings can cause feedback squeal. Controls include Range (EQ/gain), Mids and Treble footswitches, Pickup Sim on/off and Impedance ±. Mids cover ~150–800Hz, peaking ~250–400Hz. Current draw 6mA.
As of this article, the price was £135 from the Gighearts Webstore.
I’m a huge fan of Treble Boosters - and typically deploy a few on the board at a time in various guises. The Trés Bull essentially has a 3-way RangeMaster / Treble Booster on the right, with a Low-Mids Beefy Boost on the left. Those two combine beautifully for a full range boost - or you can deploy them independently to enhance any and all pedals on your board - upstream and downstream.
Traditionally, Treble Boosters sat at the front of the chain, while there is an increasing trend nowadays to place them after gain pedals and fuzzes in particular. The Pickup Simulator is there so you can deploy the Trés Bull in a variety of positions on your board - and depending on your setup and the pedals you use in combination with the Trés Bull - you will mostly get a really decent response without needing to deploy the Pickup Simulator - which works in conjunction with a ± Impedance refinement trimmer.
The Pickup Simulator can have a dual purpose too - as, depending on which pedal/s it combines with - it can be used to either sharpen or dampen the response of that pedal. So at times I use it to shave off a little brightness from the Treble Booster, while at other times the Pickup Simulator is deployed to improve clarity - in particular of incoming high gain fuzzes.
I’ve used the Trés Bull with well over a dozen pedals on the board, mostly fuzzes, but overdrives, distortions, and the Spaceman Atlas IV boost too. 5 of those fuzzes sit in front - and several - including my Gigahearts Gig Buff 2 and Dazatronyx Big Fuzz Console (Muffs) come after.
For each pedal a different combination of Treble Booster and Mids Boost is optimal - mostly one or the other, but on occasion both.
The Treble Booster can lead to feedback squeal if you dial it up too high - so typically you need to use that side a little more conservatively. I normally use the Middle and Right positions of the Treble Booster, and both of those combine brilliantly with the left-hand Lower-Mids Boost. In fact if you fairly crank both sides you get a pretty decent low-to-mid gain overdrive voicing.
So most of the time you deploy the Trés Bull - you're either beefing up another pedal with the Mids Boost (Lower-Mids!), or Sharpening up the attack with the Treble Booster, and as mentioned - deploying both sides together gives you an amazing Full-Range Boost. Both the Mids Boost, and the Left Setting of the Treble Booster are sort of Phat Boosts - where I much prefer the impact of the Lower-Mids Boost, and don't tend to use that left-hand mode of the Treble Booster.
I typically deploy the two boosts independently - and mostly the Treble Booster - it sharpens up the Spaceman Rumblefuzz II pretty wonderfully - also the various Big Muffs on the board. While the Mids Boost sounds particularly impressive with my BJFE Mystery Fuzz.
The one pedal I regularly deploy the Pickup Simulator on cannot be revealed until this coming Tuesday - but that one combines a Boost, Fuzz and Drive in a triple-stacking configuration. That's the one time I really needed to deploy the Pickup Simulator for more clarity. While most of the time - with the Impedance dial in the middle, it acts more as a damping function for the Treble Booster - so most of the time for me the Pickup Sim is switched off.
Trés Bull Controls - Lower Mids Boost (Beefy / Phat Boost), Treble Boost (Horns / Extra Bite Boost), Pickup Simulator : On/Off, Impedance ± (Adjust Sharpness / Dampen), Range (EQ Focus + Gain) : Left - Fattest + Loudest / Middle - Thinnest + Quietest / Middle - Middling + Moderate, Left Mids Footswitch, Right Treble Footswitch.
The Mids Boost (Lower-Mids) covers a circa 150Hz to 800Hz range, with an emphasis / peak around 250-400Hz.
Current Draw is just 6mA.
The Trés Bull is a supremely handy tone-enhancer - which can sit in a variety of positions on your board - and massively enhance and add to your various gain pedals in particular. It's a fantastic versatile Tone Component - which combines both EQ and Boost really smartly.
I'm not sure I need the lower frequency focus on the Treble Booster site (left-hand toggle option) - possibly I would look to entirely having capacitor values that wholly complemented the Mids Booster side - as that delivers a better Punchy / Beefy Boost for me. I did not use the left toggle-switch position of the Treble Booster at all really. On second thought though - I almost entirely use Humbuckers - I suppose those with particularly bright single coils might benefit from dual lower-end boosting - I stand corrected!
My good friend Ian from Gigahearts is still a little under the radar for most - but it won't be too long before everyone realises his genius. His pedals are beautifully designed and made, he's a fantastic engineer with a great ear for tone, and he delivers an exceptional triple threat of quality, value and high fidelity tone. All of his pedals are made to the highest standards and always include enhanced and extended features - which make them sound bigger and better than the mainstream equivalents.
Ian loves to deploy a pun or two as you can see with this Trés Bull and his January Overdrive! He also runs a killer custom shop!
The Trés Bull Dual Mids and Treble Booster is just £135 from the Gighearts Webstore. If you were thinking of getting a Treble Booster / RangeMaster - do yourself a favour - and make sure you check out one of these - which delivers a lot more bang for your bucks. A really beautifully conceived versatile all-rounder tone-enhancer boost that everyone can benefit from!
Demos
