Athens isn’t the first place you think of when someone says “cranked British amp.” But Tsakalis AudioWorks is making a strong case for reconsidering that assumption.
The AC Master is two classic circuits sharing a single enclosure: a VOX AC30 Top Boost overdrive and a Rangemaster-style treble booster. Not a dual pedal that forces you to choose one or the other. A pedal that understands these two were always meant to be stacked.
The AC section recreates the jumpered AC30 experience—Normal and Top Boost channels blended, Bass and Treble shaping the character, Tone Cut rolling off the high-end fizz, Master Volume keeping your neighbors employed. It’s the sound of Brian May’s solo tone, Rory Gallagher’s snarling leads, and every British invasion record that still sounds better than anything made last week.
The MASTER section is a Rangemaster variant, but Tsakalis made two smart upgrades. First, a Volume control, because the original one-knob design was annoyingly limited. Second, a 3-way frequency switch:
- Treble for classic glass-cutting bite,
- Mid for solos that punch through,
- Bass for thicker, almost-overdrive textures.
And instead of fragile germanium that drifts with temperature, they used a carefully selected silicon transistor that mimics the feel without the unreliability.
Both sections have independent I/O, creating an FX loop between them. Stick a delay in there. A phaser. Another dirt pedal. The AC Master doesn’t care. It just works.
269 USD. 36mA. Handmade in Greece. For players who want authentic vintage British tones without the vintage British reliability issues.
