The NRG Effects Poker is a treble booster with a twist: it can overdrive as well as boost. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio describes it as "a high-end Silicon transistor evolution of the classic Rangemaster-style treblebooster circuit", and sums up its character as a "Vintage inspired boost/drive/tone-shaper."1 In other words, it sits in the lineage of the Rangemaster, the germanium treble booster style circuit that press coverage of the genre points to as the classic design,1 but it swaps the germanium transistor for silicon and adds a switchable gain stage of its own.
What it does to your sound
A treble booster lifts the top end and pushes the front of a cranked amp into gain, and that is the tradition the Poker comes from. On That Pedal Show, Dan and Mick demoed the Poker BC107 and described how it behaves: it "pushes a cranked amp into gain", becomes gainy when cranked "like a Fuzz Face", and is not a transparent boost but "definitely that edgy" treble booster character.2 They identified the transistor as a BC107, "obviously a silicon sister" to the germanium parts found in earlier pedals of this type.2
The Poker's own gain stage is what separates it from a straight Rangemaster clone. As De Gregorio puts it1:
"The main difference compared to your regular Rangemaster is that this pedal can overdrive, therefore it's not just a boost."
That gain stage is engaged with a second footswitch labeled Poke, while the single Loud knob sets the volume.1 NRG Effects describes the circuit as its "take and development on the vintage treble booster type circuits… but it's loads more than just that!"1
Versions and related pedals
Delicious Audio notes there is also a mini version of the Poker.1 The Poker sits alongside other NRG Effects designs covered elsewhere on the site, including the NRG Effects Humper 4558 and the NRG Effects Purrer Organic Overdrive with Plus Boost, which Guitar Pedal X has reviewed in its own right.3
Videos
NRG EFFECTS
NRG EFFECTS
NRG EFFECTS
Questions
Is the NRG Effects Poker a treble booster?
Yes. Delicious Audio describes it as a high-end silicon transistor evolution of the classic Rangemaster-style treblebooster circuit, and That Pedal Show called it a BC107 treble booster type affair. Guitar Pedal X lists it as a vintage-inspired frequency boost, and Delicious Audio sums it up as a vintage inspired boost, drive and tone-shaper.
Does the NRG Effects Poker use a silicon or germanium transistor?
Silicon. Delicious Audio describes the Poker as a high-end silicon transistor evolution of the Rangemaster-style treblebooster circuit, and in a That Pedal Show demo the pedal was identified as using a BC107, which is a silicon transistor. That sets it apart from the original germanium Rangemaster design.
Is there a mini version of the NRG Effects Poker?
Yes. Delicious Audio notes that there is also a mini version of the pedal, alongside the standard enclosure.
Can the NRG Effects Poker overdrive an amp by itself?
Yes. Paolo De Gregorio of Delicious Audio writes that the main difference compared to a regular Rangemaster is that this pedal can overdrive, so it is not just a boost. A second footswitch, labelled Poke, activates the gain stage.
Sources (3)
- NRG Effects Poker Treblebooster Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2023-01-25
- ZVEX Vibrophase, FEA Photon Fuzz, Fender Marine Layer, NRG Poker BC107, That Pedal Show (YouTube), 2018-11-13
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-09-25
