Catalinbread | Skewer | Treble Booster | Based on the Blackmore Hornby-Skewes Catalinbread

One of Blackmore’s most recognizable pieces of gear is his old Hornby-Skewes Treble Booster, a version of the classic effect used by too many artists to list. While almost all of them used a Rangemaster, the Hornby-Skewes version came stock with a silicon transistor for a more biting sound that cut through even the densest of mixes. The SKEWER stays true to that circuit, giving the old JHS unit the same treatment as our Naga Viper. This lets you dial in the desired frequency range from rich and full to treble-heavy, as well as control the amount of boost. You can also vary the amount of transistor gain for some extra juice. Of course, because it’s Blackmore we’re talking about here, he had his original Treble Booster modded to play nicer with the rest of his gear. We’ve taken the liberty of giving you that mod as well, which is fully adjustable via the trimpot inside. Further enhancements include a noise reduction filter and anti-pop switch circuitry. This one bites just a little harder than our Naga Viper, and sounds fantastic with the DREAMCOAT.

SKEW: Adjusts the frequency response of the boost, which also slightly affects the gain. When dialed fully counter-clockwise, you get full range and max gain. When dialed fully clockwise, you get the stock setting of the original H-S Treble Booster.

BOOST: Adjusts the amount of boost. Stock H-S setting is about 2/3 up.

EXTRA: Adjusts level of gain extracted from the transistor. Crank this setting to get rowdy.

INTERNAL TRIMMER: This is a master volume control. It’s included because rumor has it that Blackmore had his TB modded for master volume to make it sound better with his amp. Default is all the way up. Blackmore allegedly liked it at about 80%

The Skewer has an incredibly low current draw (1mA), and so a battery will last for months and months. All battery operated effects will continue to drain the battery as long as a cable is plugged into the pedal’s input. However, the original Hornby-Skewes Treble Booster did not have a jack-based battery defeat, and as such, neither does the Skewer. If you insist on running the Skewer with a battery, please remove it when it’s not on your board or in storage.

Current draw: 1mA

Input impedance: 100k
Output impedance: 8k
Dimensions: 4.33” X 2.36” X 1.93”
Weight: 0.46 lbs