Great Eastern FX Transformer Boost

A germanium boost built for colour, texture and character

The Great Eastern FX Obsolete Devices Transformer Boost is a limited-edition germanium boost and preamp designed to do much more than simply make your signal louder. Built around a NOS General Electric 2N1175 germanium transistor and a directly driven Triad Magnetics output transformer, it can add up to 18dB of boost while introducing warmth, harmonic texture and dynamic character along the way.

At the heart of the Transformer Boost is a carefully selected batch of vintage General Electric 2N1175 germanium transistors. Rather than simply using germanium as a source of gain, Great Eastern FX pairs the transistor directly with the output transformer, allowing the two components to interact and introduce their own saturation, harmonics and transient shaping as the circuit is pushed.

The result sits somewhere between a boost, preamp and tone enhancer. At more restrained settings, it can add warmth, dimension and character to clean or slightly driven sounds. Increase the level and it becomes an effective way to push an amplifier or another drive pedal into greater saturation, while retaining the responsive volume-knob cleanup associated with germanium circuits.

The Low Cut control plays an important role in shaping how the pedal responds. Rolling off bass before it reaches the gain stages produces a tighter, cleaner and more focused boost, while allowing more low end through creates a thicker response with greater weight, saturation and growl. This makes it easy to adapt the Transformer Boost to different guitars, amplifiers and gain sounds without losing the simplicity of a traditional boost.

With up to 18dB of available gain, the Transformer Boost can work as a solo boost, a front-end driver for other pedals and amplifiers, or an always-on preamp for adding subtle colour and texture to your core sound. Its simple controls leave the character of the germanium transistor and transformer at the center of the experience.

Limited to just 100 pieces worldwide, each Obsolete Devices Transformer Boost is designed and built by hand in the UK by Great Eastern FX, combining genuinely obsolete components with a circuit created specifically to make the most of their unique characteristics.

Great Eastern FX Obsolete Devices Transformer Boost Features

• Limited-edition germanium boost, preamp and tone enhancer

• Limited to 100 pieces worldwide

• NOS General Electric 2N1175 germanium transistor

• Triad Magnetics output transformer

• Transformer directly driven by the germanium transistor for increased saturation and character

• Up to 18dB of boost

• Adds harmonic texture, colouration and transient shaping

• Low Cut control shapes bass response and low-end saturation

• Can provide anything from a tighter, cleaner boost to a thicker, more saturated response

• Excellent cleanup from your guitar's volume control

• Suitable as a solo boost, amp or pedal driver, or always-on preamp

• Power: 9V DC

• Current draw: 10mA

• Dimensions: 4.9" × 3.7" × 2.2"