Tsakalis AC Master Review

Built for the Long Haul

The AC Master is ruggedly constructed—a quality we’ve encountered in other Tsakalis hand-built creations. With an amp circuit and treble booster effect on board, the AC Master is, by necessity, relatively wide. The folded-steel enclosure measures 4.75" x 3.75" x 1.75" and tapers to 1.25" at the front edge. It’s actually pretty compact for a dual pedal, yet it comfortably fits nine knobs and two footswitches, as well as the four jacks and the 9V DC jack on the crown. With the wide footswitch spacing, most guitarists will manage activating the effects with ease and without mishap. Those with bigger—or clumsier—feet might worry a bit about knocking a knob out of position and then not knowing which one has gone awry, but this is hardly a reason for major concern.

Copper Top
The treble boost section includes controls for boost (the big knob, which can be adjusted with your toe, if you’re careful) plus volume and a 3-way range switch that enables moves between treble (a classic Rangemaster voice), a more mid-focused setting, and a third fuller, more bass-heavy voice. The control alone expands the pedal’s range considerably. The AC section to the left has the independent but blendable gain knobs for top boost and normal, which allows for approximating the jumpering technique many players use to get the most out of their AC30s. It’s another key to the AC Master’s versatility. There’s a Vox-like EQ section too, with bass, treble, tone cut, and master output knobs.

“The Rangemaster-style circuit added heat and juiciness that had the beefy 6L6-based Bassman playing against type.”

Between the single input and output on the pedal’s crown there are send and return jacks, which enable you to situate other pedals between the master and AC stages. Cleverly, you can also use them to re-route the stages so the treble booster follows the AC-style section.

ACknowledgement
Using a Telecaster and an ES-335 with a Fender Bassman head and cab, I was impressed with how effectively the AC Master could transform the Fender amp into something capable of very authentic and organic AC30-inspired overdrive. But with the pedal’s pair of gain stages, you can move beyond AC-style drive to explore a much wider variety of applications, no matter what amp is in the mix. It’s a very flexible pedal in this way. It could lend the Bassman impressive articulation and clarity, as well as an extra dimension of shimmer and harmonic swirl. And the Rangemaster-style circuit added heat and juiciness that had the beefy 6L6-based Bassman playing against type—nailing everything from chiming edge-of-breakup tones to soaring leads that, I'd venture, would pass for something much more English in a blindfold test.

Paired with the very Vox-y, 15-watt, dual-EL84 Spitfire, the AC Master was equally interesting—adding a brightness and sizzle that the Matchless doesn’t have on its own. The loop worked great, too, allowing me to seamlessly integrate an Analog Man Prince of Tone and Vemuram Shanks ODS-1 between the AC Master’s amp and Rangemaster-style sections to beautiful, succulently saturated ends.

The Verdict
While the AC Master pairs the voices of two very classic tone tools, it can shape sounds well beyond the AC-plus-Rangemaster template, depending on the amp you run it into. It excels with Fender-style amplifiers, lending convincing Voxiness to American accents, and it can push a Vox-style circuit white hot. There are so many stellar overdrive possibilities here—most of which impress with their character and harmonic clarity. Any pedal that delivers authentic Vox and Rangemaster tones is worth a spin, but with the AC Master, the sum is greater than the parts.