MGR/Brian Johnston « Dual Channel Clean Boost with 'Muscle' »
Published on 05/01/23 at 02:57
Value For Money :
Excellent
Audience:
Anyone
Boostequila is a diverse beast! It is a dual-boost, which means two channels, one you can dedicate to a clean channel and the other a dirty channel, or one for rhythm crunch and the other lead, as two common examples. Switching channels is done direct from the footswitch (hold for 0.4 seconds versus a quick click to turn on/off). Each channel has its own EQ (treble, mid & bass), and those can act as a boost on their own, besides sculpting and fine-tuning the tone. Also, each channel shares a ‘Muscle’ knob, which adds or takes away from the low end. When on Bone, bass is removed, but what you get is utter clarity and sparkle, as though having a presence knob; this can clean up any dark amp. As you turn the knob counter-clockwise, toward the middle, the Muscle adds a great tight low-end. The more you turn the knob, the fatter the tone becomes. In terms of loudness, with the EQ set at 12-noon, I doubt anyone would need to set the level past 1-2 o’clock. In my demo, I only had the Level at 1-o’clock 9 (as well as the treble EQ), since any louder and I would have clipped my signal. In other words, there is plenty of headroom.
If the above isn’t enough, Boostequila drives an amp in such a way that the mids burst through, and this produces a very similar response to a low-to-mid gain pedal. But what makes it even more impressive is the nature of Boostequila. This must be one of the cleanest boosts available. Cleans remain clean and dirty simply becomes more aggressive; in either instance, the added detail and robustness is superb and noticeable.
The demo included touches on some basic examples, but there could be quite a bit of tweaking, if so desired. Each EQ knob makes a difference, anywhere from a simple treble boost (fantastic without any upper-end harshness) to producing a massive, heavy crunch with a typical dirty amp. The ‘Muscle’ knob then permits you to hone in on the bottom end, to clean up any mud or to add deep punch to thin-sounding pickups. Boostequila is one of those ‘always-on’ pedals. It retails as a stand-alone pedal (complete with dual-switching mode), but also is a module for a LiberaToe pedal switching platform.
If the above isn’t enough, Boostequila drives an amp in such a way that the mids burst through, and this produces a very similar response to a low-to-mid gain pedal. But what makes it even more impressive is the nature of Boostequila. This must be one of the cleanest boosts available. Cleans remain clean and dirty simply becomes more aggressive; in either instance, the added detail and robustness is superb and noticeable.
The demo included touches on some basic examples, but there could be quite a bit of tweaking, if so desired. Each EQ knob makes a difference, anywhere from a simple treble boost (fantastic without any upper-end harshness) to producing a massive, heavy crunch with a typical dirty amp. The ‘Muscle’ knob then permits you to hone in on the bottom end, to clean up any mud or to add deep punch to thin-sounding pickups. Boostequila is one of those ‘always-on’ pedals. It retails as a stand-alone pedal (complete with dual-switching mode), but also is a module for a LiberaToe pedal switching platform.
