GUP Tech Moth

The GUP Tech Moth is a treble boost pedal made by GUP Tech, a small builder in Saguenay, Québec, Canada. GUP Tech describes it as "the modern version of the old Dallas Rangemaster Treble Boost," a circuit the company says is "based on the old Dallas Rangemaster and the Catalinbread Naga Viper"¹². Like the original Rangemaster, its job is to shape the sound of the guitar by cutting lows and pushing the upper frequencies into the front of an amp, giving punch to a clean or distorted tone¹³.

What makes the Moth different from a straight Rangemaster copy is the transistor and the controls. Instead of the germanium device the Rangemaster is known for, the Moth uses an original 2N2222 can transistor in what GUP Tech calls "a very simple circuit"¹, and it adds Heat and Range knobs the original never had.

A treble boost built on the Rangemaster idea

The Dallas Rangemaster is the reference point for this whole family of pedals. DIY Fever's technical analysis of the circuit explains the appeal plainly: "Having some sort of a treble booster at the front helps shape the sound of the guitar"³. The Rangemaster is a germanium treble booster in that style, as Gearnews described when covering a related pedal⁴. A treble boost sits before the amp, trims the low end and lifts the highs, so an amp already working hard compresses and sings rather than flubbing out.

GUP Tech's take borrows from two places. The Moth is based on the Rangemaster and on the Catalinbread Naga Viper, which Aion FX notes is "itself based on the Dallas Rangemaster"⁵. The Naga Viper's contribution is the extra control: where the original Rangemaster had a single fixed character, the Viper added adjustable gain saturation, and the Moth carries that idea forward with its Heat knob¹⁶.

GUP Tech says the Moth suits a wide range of uses: "The Moth is good for single coil pickups tone, humbuckers, to tighten high gain stuff, to boost a low signal, anything really"¹. That is the maker's own description of what it does, and it matches how treble boosts are generally used, pushing an amp harder or focusing a loose high-gain tone.

The controls: Boost, Heat and Range

Three knobs, each with a clear job¹:

Boost is the level control, straightforward output volume. Range is where the treble-boost character lives: it is a low frequency cut knob, so you decide how much low end gets trimmed before the signal leaves the pedal¹. Set it to cut more and the effect focuses harder on the highs, like a classic Rangemaster into a cranked amp; cut less and more of the full guitar signal passes through.

Heat is the knob the original Rangemaster never had. GUP Tech describes it as "the Bias drive of the transistor"¹, meaning it sets how the 2N2222 is biased rather than just how loud the pedal is. The idea comes from the Naga Viper, where, as Delicious Audio explains, "The HEAT knob gives you control over the gain level saturation, unlike the original which was fixed at maximum gain"⁶¹. On the Moth, that translates into choosing where the transistor sits, from a cleaner lift to a more saturated push.

Power, versions and where it is made

Power is simple: 9V DC, center negative, with a current draw of just 1mA¹. That draw is low enough that the Moth is easy to accommodate on almost any power supply.

The standard Moth comes in four colors: Purple, Black, Cream and Army Green¹. Beyond the standard run, GUP Tech makes limited editions. The Moth Douche Edition was offered as "the Douche edition of the week," the same Rangemaster and Naga Viper based treble boost with the same 2N2222 can transistor, Boost, Heat and Range controls, and 9V DC center negative power, and it was sold out at the time of writing⁷. There is also the Fun Moth, a related model GUP Tech says is "largely inspired by the Analogman Sun Lion," offered in Army Green and Black and also sold out².

All of GUP Tech's pedals, the Moth included, are made by the company itself in Saguenay, Québec, Canada¹.

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