Looking for a little boost

nailz100

Just looking for a drive pedal similar (if not exactly) to the Fulltone Fulldrive 2 pedal. What I want is something that WILL NOT discolor the original sound of the amp, give me a boost on leads and other parts...and a little more saturation and gain on tap for if I ever want it. A lovepedal eternity is another one that I've heard good things about. Any suggestions from people who have tried or own?

xtremehardy388

Ibanez TS-5 is what I use and it's great.

harrisonmerwin

a very overlooked source for a boost is the EQ pedal. You can carve up a nice range on a 7 band, and then boost those frequencies (and volume) without affecting your overall tone. if you want a true pick me up, i would suggest looking into a greedtone!

ianvomsaal

The BD-2 Blues Driver and the TS-9 are both great pedals for boost and/or drive (I use 'em both depending on what I'm looking for).
NOTE: Mike McCreedy also uses both - I'm assuming for the same reasons. The BD2 is currently my favorite for a nice boost.
Cheers . . .

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

nailz100

Some names that have come up are the RC booster, a Fulltone pedal or a lovepedal eternity. Not a big fan of the EQ pedal harrisonmerwin, but thanks. Anyone else own boosts that don't change the original sound of the amp?

All Those Yesterdays

How about a Keeley "Java Booster" its suppose to be a treble boost, but it has a touch of fuzz to it. Sounds really really good in front of a '59 bassman, 1974x Marshall and even one of those 5 watt Ephiphone heads.

nailz100

The ones I am considering now are the Xotic Rc Booster, The OCD pedal, the Fulltone Fatboost and the Klon (which is pricey as hell)

exhausted

skip the OCD. too much of it's own character. it's a great pedal but it's not neutral at all.

All Those Yesterdays

exhausted wrote:

skip the OCD. too much of it's own character. it's a great pedal but it's not neutral at all.

I can't agree with that at all. I've heard others say that. Put that in front of a 1974x and it sounds like that amp cranked on ten. Sounds fantastic in front of a '59 bassman too.

exhausted

i think it's character is of those amps though.

my experience is in front of a fender blackface so i think it really depends on the amp.

All Those Yesterdays

exhausted wrote:

i think it's character is of those amps though.

my experience is in front of a fender blackface so i think it really depends on the amp.

Which really is true for most pedals. The OCD is probably the best pedal I've heard in a long time, well next to the '69 fuzz

exhausted

i go back and forth on it. right now i'm happy with it.

but i go back and forth on virtually everything so who knows. works for heavy gain stuff for me.

All Those Yesterdays

exhausted wrote:

i go back and forth on it. right now i'm happy with it.

but i go back and forth on virtually everything so who knows. works for heavy gain stuff for me.

I think a lot of us are like that. The plan is when I get the money to get the JTM 45 built, is to have the OCD and the '69 fuzz in front of it. And thats about it, besides a reverb pedal. But I have to get the money first

nailz100

Comments on the RC booster and Fatboost?

ianvomsaal

The Boss GE-7 EQ pedal works surprisingly well.
Just flat line the EQ and raise the output level to the appropriate level you're looking for - no tonal change.
Or you could try the MXR MC401 Boost or MC402 Boost Overdrive. I believe Scott Henderson uses one of these.

However, as I said before, I like my BD2 a lot.
Cheers . . .

-Ian C.T. vom Saal

Pacomc79

you definately don't want a tubescreamer or derivitive or a rangemaster style (or any other germanium based booster) because it will color the sound. Not necessarily in a bad way but it does change things.

Ultimately you can't have completely clear but yeah the BD2 especially the modded versions is decidedly less colorful than say a tubescreamer and there's loads of gain should you want it.

Even the FD2 adds a bit of color. You'll probably go through quite a few before you find one you can live with.


The RC booster and the BB are pretty nice.

I like the Red Rooster Booster from BJFE but it's pricey.

Look at the Barber Launch Pad, and the Barber Burn Unit. And hell, if you want a fulltone go for it. It will color a little bit but it won't destroy the original sound of the amp, I've heard plenty of pro's who use them with a variety of amps and they work fine. They do really well with 6L6's and EL34's.

The Eternity is great but if you simply want a strait clean boost ask Sean (Lovepedal) for a Twin 60. That's clean.

The zvex super duper 2 in 1 also will give you a touch of color but provide most of what you want. (again pricey though)


For cost effective clean boosting I'd say check out a modded BD2 and or a Barber Launch Pad. Then try one of the RC boosters. After that you might find out that you do want a little color but hey, this could go on forever.

The LPB1 from EH is one more you might audition.

have fun.

oh and several more....The super Chili Picoso from Catlinbread. Oh yeah the Burriss Boostiest and or the Keeley Katana.

oh and for under 100 bucks. ($75) Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster

Pacomc79

for the benifit of everybody. MI audio just released this thing.

http://www.miaudio.com/BNB3.htm


Sound clips are fun looks like a nice box for 99 bucks (they have them here now no need to pay aussie shipping)

exhausted

i meant to get one of his crunch boxes and never got around to it.

enharmonic

In my experience, a Fulldrive totally colors your sound.

Try a Subdecay liquid sunshine. Killer pedal.

Pacomc79

exhausted wrote:

i meant to get one of his crunch boxes and never got around to it.

yeah I want one of the new Blue Boys.

Haven't tried the liquid sunshine yet, so that might be fun.


here it go.

http://www.tonefactor.com/proddetail.php?prod=Liquid

Jfet's nice.

Either a Jfet or Mosfet circuit design will likely get you where you want to go.

nailz100

The Super Chilli P looks cool guys, have any of you ever used it?

Pacomc79

http://www.catalinbread.com/picoso.html


a couple clips to hopefully provide an example of what it does.

basically, it adds balls, harmonics, complexity etc but in reality it's really just cooking the preamp, all that is there in the first place it's just easier to hear.

Having two outputs is a great feature on a clean boost, the Zvex SHO has this feature too.

nailz100

what are the benefits of having 2 outputs? Loop?

exhausted

nailz100 wrote:

what are the benefits of having 2 outputs? Loop?

combining channels on, say, a fender blackface. or driving two amps or something.

nailz100

Gotcha, that is a cool feature. Where would I put the pedal in my chain, direct from my guitar, or last

exhausted

depends on what you want to do with it.

if you want to sort of juice your amp all the time, i'd put it at the end and leave it on. or if you like your tone for leads and just want it louder, put it at the end.

if you wanted it to push a distortion pedal harder for more gain but not necessarily more volume, put it up front.

i don't know how you run your amp. if it's already overdriving, a clean boost, or anything for that matter, isn't going to give you much more volume. it will give you more distortion though.

from your original boost, i'd say clean boost at the end of the chain would work quite well at leaving your tone intact but just making it gainier when need be.