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Rockmonster
Published on 03/29/08 at 15:30
This is a clean boost pedal.. 1/4" true bypass.. I'm assuming this is an analog effect.. (durrr) Definitely NOT rackable... bulletproof construction.
UTILIZATION
Uh..1 button. 1 Knob. Wow. No manual necessary. Anyone can do this. It is a clean boost.. especially on cleans.. really enhances distortion if used in front of a dirty amp.
SOUND QUALITY
Mmm..really clean. True bypass pedal.. really quiet. Great deal for 80 bucks. Does not add artifacts, fuzz or anything else truly.. it WILL enhance distortion because it is fattening up your signal. Adds LOADS of beef to my Strat with a Dimarzio HS-3 stacked humbucker in the bridge. Using this and a Keeley TS9 in front of a Voodoo Lab Preamp absolutely SCREAMS. People cannot believe the metal tone I get with a Strat with single coils. I can get that grind from Godsmack "Keep Away".. with an even heavier/fatter lead tone.. knock off the pedals, flip to the neck pickup and and I have nasty blues... hit my clean channel and I can comp Stevie Ray Vaughn. So.. using it as a pickup booster for humbucker tones can make your Strat even more versatile. To really get this as a clean volume boost on a dirty amp..You have to run it in the effects loop. My rig does not have one.. so.. I just use it for signal fattening. Either is good.. it is a very clean effect.
More on the issue of volume boost versus gain boost. In the front end of a dirty amp this will NOT give you enough db gain to use as a boost for solos. In front of a clean amp, then yeah.. it will noticeably bump it up. With distortion you MUST run it in the loop.. (between your preamp and poweramp stages) to get a usable real solo boost. If you are just looking to increase your distortion or fatten your signal, run it into the front end.
Use this with the Strat mostly, but also with Les Pauls, Tele's, other humbucker guitars if I want to go over the top. I use this with one particular Yamaha electric with JB's in the bridgee..and I get a really close approximation to Eric Johnson's old tone (shockingly enough. It gets that chunky Fuzz Face meets Plexi fatness).
Nothing I hate about it! (except that it adds some noise.. but way less than even my Keeley TS9...
OVERALL OPINION
Using it about a year. Use it on and off... with the 3 channel preamp.. I use it extensively. With a Digitech GSP2101..I use it a bit. With my Boss GT8.. I don't use it at all.. (the solo boost function on that preamp is perfect.Just the right amount of boost.)
Mmmm..did not try anything else for this function before this..but this has the right features. True bypass and one purpose. Pretty easy to figure that out.
I think it is a great value if you need it. Does what it is supposed to.. cleanly and overall quietly for something adding gain/volume.
I would buy it again. There are a lot of pedals out there with the same features at twice the price. This is not something that I bought to color my tone...the transparency IS the desired effect!
UTILIZATION
Uh..1 button. 1 Knob. Wow. No manual necessary. Anyone can do this. It is a clean boost.. especially on cleans.. really enhances distortion if used in front of a dirty amp.
SOUND QUALITY
Mmm..really clean. True bypass pedal.. really quiet. Great deal for 80 bucks. Does not add artifacts, fuzz or anything else truly.. it WILL enhance distortion because it is fattening up your signal. Adds LOADS of beef to my Strat with a Dimarzio HS-3 stacked humbucker in the bridge. Using this and a Keeley TS9 in front of a Voodoo Lab Preamp absolutely SCREAMS. People cannot believe the metal tone I get with a Strat with single coils. I can get that grind from Godsmack "Keep Away".. with an even heavier/fatter lead tone.. knock off the pedals, flip to the neck pickup and and I have nasty blues... hit my clean channel and I can comp Stevie Ray Vaughn. So.. using it as a pickup booster for humbucker tones can make your Strat even more versatile. To really get this as a clean volume boost on a dirty amp..You have to run it in the effects loop. My rig does not have one.. so.. I just use it for signal fattening. Either is good.. it is a very clean effect.
More on the issue of volume boost versus gain boost. In the front end of a dirty amp this will NOT give you enough db gain to use as a boost for solos. In front of a clean amp, then yeah.. it will noticeably bump it up. With distortion you MUST run it in the loop.. (between your preamp and poweramp stages) to get a usable real solo boost. If you are just looking to increase your distortion or fatten your signal, run it into the front end.
Use this with the Strat mostly, but also with Les Pauls, Tele's, other humbucker guitars if I want to go over the top. I use this with one particular Yamaha electric with JB's in the bridgee..and I get a really close approximation to Eric Johnson's old tone (shockingly enough. It gets that chunky Fuzz Face meets Plexi fatness).
Nothing I hate about it! (except that it adds some noise.. but way less than even my Keeley TS9...
OVERALL OPINION
Using it about a year. Use it on and off... with the 3 channel preamp.. I use it extensively. With a Digitech GSP2101..I use it a bit. With my Boss GT8.. I don't use it at all.. (the solo boost function on that preamp is perfect.Just the right amount of boost.)
Mmmm..did not try anything else for this function before this..but this has the right features. True bypass and one purpose. Pretty easy to figure that out.
I think it is a great value if you need it. Does what it is supposed to.. cleanly and overall quietly for something adding gain/volume.
I would buy it again. There are a lot of pedals out there with the same features at twice the price. This is not something that I bought to color my tone...the transparency IS the desired effect!