I've always loved playing through the classic Fender and Marshall amps mixed with a great Les Paul or Stratocaster and taking them "over the top" with overdrive or boost pedals. I loved feeling those tubes compress and sing but still retain a response to my touch and dynamics as a guitar player. But I had been dissatisfied with many of the pedals that I used to help create these tones. On top of that, I really enjoyed the modern harder rock type boosted Marshall tones, but also loved the sweet vintage tones of yesterday. I wanted to have the best of both in one pedal design. This vision ultimately led me to develop the concept of the LegendaryTones Time Machine Boost. And with that, I wanted the ability to not only have both options of booster-types in one pedal, but also gain the ability to set each level differently and switch between them for all kinds of tonal options.

But I'm unfortunately not an engineer, so I found a great partner to work with, Robert Keeley, a trained electrical engineer, former educator, and musician. For those who don't know Robert's name, he is the creator of the highly-regarded Keeley Compressor as well as offering his own personal pedal modification services.

The vintage side for the Time Machine Boost had to be improved when compared to many of the older noisy boosters that were out in the market. Only the best components for low noise and the most select of germanium transistors were deployed in the Time Machine Boost. Today's production germanium transistors unfortunately seemed to lack in comparison to those older European and U.S.-made chips so we spent time looking for a supply and ended up with a limited number of New Old Stock U.S. military grade germanium transistors. This is what we is put into the Time Machine Boost and they not only sound fantastic, but they are very consistent in quality! 

The clean boost effect - what is now known as the Modern channel on the Time Machine Boost - had to be truly transparent. So many of the pedals I had used either added too much midrange color or they would have piercing highs when engaged. I didn't want tone knobs on it, but rather have it designed as a non-coloring and pure level-boosting device in the first place where the only required control would be of course for volume to control the boost. Robert put countless hours in to get the ultimate design worked out for the Modern Channel and we're both quite proud of the results.

Working with Robert now for nearly a year as of this writing in 2002, he was able to turn my initial vision and concept into a reality and engineered the Time Machine Boost according to the standards that we discussed and worked with. Along the way, we used our ears and eyes as well as received input from a select few people who were kind enough to offer their opinions on what they heard and saw. Ultimately, this made the Time Machine Boost what it is today - and to me it is the ultimate boost pedal.

I hope you decide to take a trip with the LegendaryTones Time Machine Boost and that it provides you with a lifetime of musical pleasure. Robert and I look forward to providing you with more designs in the future - designs that have not yet ever been brought to market. The partnership has definitely spawned some magic - Stay tuned!

David Szabados - 09/14/02