ThunderTomate Fat Treble Booster & ThunderTomate V2 Treble Booster
By Adrian Clark


About the ThunderTomate Fat Treble Booster...

¨The Phil Hilborne signature model is definitely one of the best boosters we've come across, and while it´s quite expensive for such a simple type of effect, we can't fault the workmanship or tonal quality here at all. What's more, it's considerably more flexible than just about any other treble booster we've seen before.¨

¨There's enough scope on the level control to add some serious distortion, specially if your dry amp sound is already overdriven. On the other hand, you don't even have to use the pedal as an occasional boost - you could leave it on all time, using the cut control to shape your basic rhythm tone, adding another overdrive pedal for solos as necessary. With a moderate amount of boost and about 50 per cent cut, we were able to dial in some fantastic Stones-like rhythm tone. Use less amp gain and you can add a touch of extra definition to jangly arpeggio parts.¨

¨The pedal really comes into its own as a lead boost, though, and that's were you can get creative with the row of internal DIP switches. The three treble boost types build gradually in intensity, or you can chain all three together for maximun drive. Thanks to the cut control, it's already possible to get a quite fat, mid-rangey tone from the pedal, but the five extra levels of fatness make for a really powerful sound, meaning you can then leave the cut control wide open for a huge, fullrange boost. This sound is just prefect for a Strat's bridge pickup.¨


About the ThunderTomate V2 Treble Booster...

¨Here, the first four switches are marked 'Body' and the next four 'Treble Boost', and with all eight DIP switches engaged, the pedal adds quite a dramatic midrange boost, with masses of fat sustain.

The basic tone is very similar to that of the Hilborne model, so it really boils down to whether or not you need the cut control¨.

ThunderTomate V2 & Phil Hilborne Fat TB
By Pete Crisp


¨You certainly can't knock the build quality, and the sound these pedals ara capable of producing are at times exquisite¨.

¨What really impresses about the Fat TB is its ability to accommodate so many different styles of music. Mild crunch and jangly clean tones are just as easy to get as full on lead guitar tones, the pedal letting you control your sound by adjusting the guitar's volume¨.

¨Comparing the V2 to the Phil Hilborne Fat TB, the base sound is very similar between the two pedals. This is quite surprising in a way, as the DIP switch operation, on paper at least, looks quite different, especially with regard to the lower frecuencies¨.