cleanish boost

[tom]

how about comparing. interested in rc, sho, katana and anything else. at this point i've only had the rc.

[olectric]

my favorite boost is the boost side of the ZVex Box of Rock. it can be clean, but it's really meant to drive your amp into sweet goodness. for my amp and the tone that i am going for, it does just what i need. from the ZVex website:

"The Box of Rock also contains an extremely high-headroom, unity-to-50X gain booster with nominal input impedance and low hiss. It is very similar to the SHO boost circuit, with refinements to make it sound more like a standard amp input and less glassy."

other boosts that i have had include the RC Booster, the Menatone Workingman's Blue (it has an independent boost), and the BYOC Mighty Mouse (3-way modded RAT clone which has a boost mode). I still have the RC at the end of my chain. I leave it on all the time and use it to drive my signal through 40 feet of cable to my amp.

[bud]

Tom, have you tried the silver LTD with the drive down? I have started using the black LTD in this role.

[ckofahl]

I have the rc and leave it on all the time, but I also have a klon in the chain and that is what I use to kick the amp into a great singing tone. I set the amp for a slight bit of break up, and then use the volume control on the guitar (a TAG of course) and when it's time for a solo, I just hit the blower switch and step on the klon and it seems to be pure magic for my set up. Your milage may vary according to use.

[LonestarGtr]

The new Creation Audio Labs MK 4.23 boost is about as clean a boost as you can get. I used it on almost every new track we've recorded lately. I also have an RC and an SHO and a Klon and a Tim/Timmy. They're all very mildly different flavors, but all are usable and sound good. Here's a link to some specs on it:

http://www.pedalgeek.com/cgi-bin/new_shop.cgi?config=&uid=&uzc=&command=link--calmk423

[tom]

don't have silver ltd, but do have a black one. this pedal has to be the small size footprint cause the board is otherwise all full.

[tom]

mike, have you tried the katana compared to the others?

[mdrs]

The Klon. It's the one. For me, anyhow.

I stopped buying boost/OD pedals when I got my first Klon.

If you like your amp, you'll LOVE a Klon.

It is not small, however. Now, it's not huge either.

[strat56]

I like the BBE Boosta Grande. It's bigger than a Boss pedal but not huge. True bypass and gives you up to 20db transparent boost, reasonably priced and incudes a power supply.

[SonicGator]

Katana would be my choice. Great clean boost, but also the ability to use it as a light OD pedal and, it's a Keeley product...always a good choice.

[dannopelli]

If real estate is an issue the Katana might pose a problem with its side mounted dial. The RC has a bit more control to it too.

[Suriel Zayas]

The new Creation Audio Labs MK 4.23 boost is about as clean a boost as you can get.

+1 on this one mike. played it a few weeks ago and can dial it all the way up through the clean.

[Janine Doubly]

I used to use a Klon, which I loved, but took up too much real estate. Tried the Katana and RC, but they lacked something the Klon had. Then I got a Cornish NB-2. Fantastic!!! Still a bit big, but not in the width...real estate of course :-) GREAT clean boost.

[John Price]

I'm happy with the RC Booster.

[Harker1440]

I use the Katana and Love it especially like the fact I can switch from an all clean boost to a slightly dirty boost with a pull of the knob.:)

[Ray K.]

Tom and all,

I've not tried any of the ones mentioned, but thought I'd add another one - an "oldie, but goodie." DOD FX-10 Bi-FET boost. Very nice/clean boost with a tone knob (if needed). Very small footprint as a bonus.

Of course, you'll have to search for a used one since they're no longer made.

Now my secret is out... :rolleyes:

Ray K.

[Janine Doubly]

Ah, the DOD BiFET pre-amp. :D :D I used numerous ones for years. It sounds really good, but that little chicklet footswitch they used was horrible!!! I had to stop using them cause I constantly had to re-click it and by then, I had missed the first two bars of a solo. Has anyone found a way to make them workable? Any mods you know of? It would be worth it for the tone and the fact you can still get them for under $40.00 on Ebay.

[pipedwho]

Ah, the DOD BiFET pre-amp. :D :D I used numerous ones for years. It sounds really good, but that little chicklet footswitch they used was horrible!!! I had to stop using them cause I constantly had to re-click it and by then, I had missed the first two bars of a solo. Has anyone found a way to make them workable? Any mods you know of? It would be worth it for the tone and the fact you can still get them for under $40.00 on Ebay.
You could always just rehouse it in one of those DIY enclosures.

[pipedwho]

I have a BYOC Triboost that is great - it has a transparent setting that I use the most, but the treble boost mode is also really useful when using higher gains.

I used to use an EQ pedal for this, until I started using the EQ all the time (just before the amp to tame the guitar signal). The EQ as a boost worked really well to accentuate the mids for a bit more aggressive crunch.

[theatomicjeff]

It's hard to go wrong with the RC, the MK 4.23 or the Katana.

RC = most tweakable. I like the sparkly jangle the best with this one.
Katana = next best tweakable with the pullout knob to add some hair.
MK 4.23 = perhaps the cleanest of the three but the least tweakable with only one knob (volume).

I kept the RC.

[tom]

mike here has a katana he's going to let me try. if that isn't swell, i'll get another rc. i have a barber launch pad which is a totally clean boost, but i think i would miss the eq on the rc. it's also too big.

[stratoquack]

I have a Nick Greer Royal Fromage that I've been pleased with. Nick makes great amps and pedals.
Bill

[FFOGG]

Dumb question ..why does on want a clean boost ???? If I turn up volume on guitar ??/ isn't that the same ??? I 'm not trying to be smart but I never understood its function .

[dannopelli]

A couple of reasons:

If you lower the volume on your guitar you decrease output at the SOURCE. This can totally change your texture and tone. It is the difference between what a volume pedal can do compared to what the guitar volume will do.

You know how, when playing with distortion, dialing back to say 7 or 8 on the guitar volume will give you a more bluesey sound? A clean BOOST will up the volume to a preset amount without altering the texture. So you can solo with that bluesey sound but cut through the stage mix.

When playing clean, with say the volume all the way up, where do you go from there without a boost? Plus the clean boost might add a little more girth while not soloing. I often use the RC in the on position while playing a clean textural thing with say a little chorus, guitar volume on 8.

Here's a thought: Try a SSS equipped guitar, switch in one of the "quack" positions, a bit of chorus, RC boost, guitar on 8. Play an open Am7, fretting only the third and fourth strings at fret five, all the others open, (mute 6). Try it with and without the RC, or one of the others named here. Bet you'll walk out of the store with one!

For me, I play single channel clean amps. Typically a DR Z Maz or two, or a Stingray. Even if I use my Evil Twin or my F30 I only play from the clean channel. I set my board up so that all the pedals are at unity gain to the clean volume. I use five different OD/Distortion pedals. So the RC boost in my board is there to add the punch I need to cut through the mix, with little or no alteration to the texture or tone I am trying to achieve.

Hope that helps!

[FFOGG]

thankyou Danopelli

[Ray K.]

Ah, the DOD BiFET pre-amp. :D :D I used numerous ones for years. It sounds really good, but that little chicklet footswitch they used was horrible!!!
I agree! But as already has been mentioned, it can be re-housed with a heavy duty 3PDT stomp switch put in place. I've been meaning to do this with mine for awhile now. Just need to find one of those "round to its." :cool:

Ray K.

[Suriel Zayas]

i'll get another rc.

i personally perfer the rc, because the eq allows me to go perfectly clean or how i prefer, with a bite.

[tom]

ffogg, another bonus with a clean or cleanish boost is that the sound of the amp pushed into distortion with the boost is different than the sound of a distortion pedal. both are usable for me.

[mdrs]

Dumb question ..why does on want a clean boost ???? If I turn up volume on guitar ??/ isn't that the same ??? I 'm not trying to be smart but I never understood its function .

Lots of good points in answering this question already. I also love using a clean boost, like the Klon, as a way to push the amps tubes into their own natural distortion, without haveing to turn up the volume on the amp. You can get a nice growl at lower dB levels. This is great for recording, home use, and to keep the stage volume reasonable.

btw....I also like my Fulltone OCD a lot. It's not as clean as the Klon. But, it's not too far off.

[m_lance]

I use a homemade Mosfet Boost (see Jack Ormand's www.muzique.com for the DIY schematic). The Catlinbread Super Chili Picoso uses the same circuit and it's a Hammond BB sized box ... Zvex size.

The Mosfet Boost is totally transparent. I actually just use it as a buffer, but it'll get real loud without changing the overall character of your guitar and amp. I've not heard a more transparent boost pedal (although I've heard the Zvex SHO is similarly transparent).

Not sure if you want tonal coloration or not, but if you're looking for transparency, the Picoso would be a great choice.

[Harry]

I have a RC and use it for two reasons. First it acts like a buffer with the gain @ zero. I tried buffers and they did not bring me back to the "Straight into the amp" sound like the RC does. Secondly, it acts as a cool low gain boost if I want. I like my FDII in comp cut mode for clean boosts as it adds that little extra something that I prefer. I use a Dr. Z Maz 18 NR combo and a Maz Sr. 2x12 combo. These are great clean amps and they offer nice OD tones on their own.:D

[FFOGG]

I bought the RC