Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Crazy_Joe on April 20, 2010, 12:24:21 AM
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Just thought i'd ask what kind of boost pedals people are using.
I'm using my trusty Monte Allums modded SD-1 that i've had for ages, i had a BBE Freq Booster for a while which was supposed to replace the SD-1 but ended up liking the SD-1 more so i sold the BBE. Though now i'm tempted to try it again or maybe try a modded tubescreamer of some sort.
What about you guys?
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I've been using an old Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer from the 80s. It sounds great, especially at gigging volume. I have been using it for years.
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Was using a ts9dx on + mode for a few years, but got a boss od1 a few months back.
Really want to try a hbe power screamer, but to try one means buying it due to living on the opposite side of the world from good shops.
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I have an Ibanez TS 8080 Tubescreamer I've been using for years. With the level set high, the overdrive set low and the tone at 12 o'clock it gives a really great push on the amp. All that said, HTH is building me something that should offer me some great overdrive options and once I have that I suspect the TS-808 will get a lot less use. :)
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i have 4 favourites depending on the job in hand (amp is Marshall 2204):
Boss OD-1 : actually an SD-1 modded to OD-1 specs, sounds marvellous for those 1980s hard rock tones - big love for this one
Boss GE-7 : with full Allums mods, I keep coming back to this one for a nice clean boost
Thundertomate Phil Hilbourne : its a treble booster with top cut control. only works with single coils and vintage humbuckers, it really comes into its own with a strat. very transparent sounds, and the cut control well designed
MI Audio Crunchbox : i like using it as a booster on the marshall. works well for modded jcm800 tones. its a fun pedal, good distortion too
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analogman Ts9. :)
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MXR GT-OD - not sure how it compares to other TS-type boxes, but it does the job very nicely for me
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Keely TS808 vintage chip, or analogman KOT, i have a Butler tube driver set to boost but that gets used after distortions and fuzzes, whereas the keely and analogman boost the clean or OD channels on my amp
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I don't use them as my amp is an Engl Savage :twisted: - with 4 channels, more gain on tap than anyone could realistically need & switchable master volumes, a boost is kinda redundant. So strictly speaking I suppose my answer to the question is "Engl Z10 footswitch" :)
However, I do actually have a few pedals that can boost, have tried them with the Marshall & they're kinda useful but not really necessary there either:
MXR M193 GT-OD
MXR M109 6-band Eq (well, it's a boost of sorts :))
MXR MC-401
Boss MZ-2 Digital Metallizer
I used the MZ-2 as a "crunch" channel back when I had the Mesa - as it was a 2 channel amp, the pedal allowed me to get a "breaking up" kinda sound on top of the clean channel (having built in chorus was a bonus). The GT-OD does a similar thing, with a nicer sound. It's useful in the sense of effectively giving me a 5th channel with the Savage.
I suppose if I used a JCM800 or something else that needed a "kick" to get more gain, I'd use the M-109. The 6-band Eq allows you to givethe sound a nudge in the right places. The MC-401 is too "clean" for my tastes...
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Tonerider American Overdrive. Here's what I've used in the past....
Fulltone OCD
Barber LTD
Boss SD-1 Monte Allum
Danelectro Transparant OD
Blackstar Dual
TS9
Danelectro Distortion
BYOC Mouse
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Flynn Amps Hawk Booster - modelled on Rory Gallaghers 70's Hawk booster. It has a monumental amount of boost and needs 2 9 volt batteries to give it.
It is truly awesome, I cannot rate this pedal highly enough. It boosts the signal with no colour to the sound and the higher you go it then just fries the front end and compresses nicely. It has mid treble and bass controls so you canc further boost or cut the signal dependent on taste. It also has a treble boost circuit that you can switch in if you want.
It is a pedal that was designed to be left on permanently and alter gain by guitar volume - as it is simply a signal booster the sound cleans up beautifully. Can't recommend it enough.
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I use an EQ pedal in the FX loop. Doesn't add gain but I can mold my sound a bit more to what I like, adds a bit of a volume boost too.
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For Boost An EHX LPB-1 simples :D
Cheap, small, works, massive amount of boost available.
For OD an MXR Wylde overdrive, still not sure about this one yet, it's almost got what I want but also seems lacking something.
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i've spent way too much time and money on boosts and overdrives!
Got the Monte Allums SD-1 GT mod, very bright and quite thin.
Keeley TS808 mod plus, great pedal, still has the mids but has more gain at max and less at lower settings.
Analogman Maxon OD9 Silver mod, flattened out eq, no mid push.
Analogman Brown mod on an Ibanez TS9, what i imagine the best tube screamer to sound like
Ibanez TS10, like the AM Brown mod.
MXR GT-OD, like the Keeley mod plus but more output level. (sold)
Fulltone Fat boost V2, massive volume boost when using 18v. The Tweed crunch is nice at low levels.
Crowther Hotcake. Great pedal, lots of volume and gain available if needed, can spend ages fine tweaking it.
T-Rex Mudhoney. Very TS like but with slightly less gain on the standard setting, quite fuzzy with tons of low end when the boost button is used.
I Just picked up a Butler Tube Driver with the Bias mod, not having great success with it at the moment... need more time with it
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With the Orange it was first a BYOC 250 overdrive, then a Tonerider American Overdrive. But the Orange is a non MV anp and doesn't clip until it's halfway up, and that's too loud.
I've also got a love/hate relationship with a Devi Ever Punch Love - it's kinda a boost/treble booster/overdrive. It does SOMETHING to the tone, I quite like it, but it's really noisy...
With the Egnater Renegade I've ditched the pedals. I used to use the AOD and a Crunchbox, now it's channel 1 and channel 2 respectively, with my Eventide Modfactor and BiYang delay in the FX loop. And the second MV on the amp for solos.
The drive pedals sound great in front of the amp, it's just I'm loving the simplicity of fewer pedals at the moment.
Mark.
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I have an Ibanez TS 8080 Tubescreamer I've been using for years. With the level set high, the overdrive set low and the tone at 12 o'clock it gives a really great push on the amp. All that said, HTH is building me something that should offer me some great overdrive options and once I have that I suspect the TS-808 will get a lot less use. :)
yep, this pedal I'm building Andrew has four gain stages (a pair of ECC83s). driving the front end of a valve amp, this will have enough gain and sustain that you can go and have a bite to eat and it'll still be sustaining for days :lol:
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Keeley Java Boost Treble Booster. Love it! I'm using it with my Laney Lionheart and it really brightens the amps up.
Flynn Amps Hawk Booster - modelled on Rory Gallaghers 70's Hawk booster.
I also considered this when going down the treble booster route. I am still intrigued by it. I'm a big RG fan so would love to try one out sometime, see if I prefer it to the Keeley.
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i use a Thundertomate Hilborne Booster, same as Gwem's. fabulous little pedal, really brings the right amp to life. i've mostly used it with my Matamp AB15, and it's just a glorious sound. i tried it with the Genz Benz El Diablo and it just really added noise, but then, that amp doesn't really need a boost! :)
i, too, am intrigued by the hawk booster
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HBE Dos Mos
I do have a power screamer too but I like the sound of the Dos Mos more as its transparent. I do have to two master volumes on my Koch too so they're obviously useful.
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biyang overdrive (basically a tubescreamer, i think, with some bells and whistles) or dano trans od
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i, too, am intrigued by the hawk booster
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Youtube has some clips which show it on mainly lower gain settings. the treble boost circuit only really is of use with something like the normal channel in an ac30 or jtm45/plexi - brightening up the dark tone. In normal operation mode you can just plug it into the bright channel of your chosen amp and overdrive the preamp until it begs for mercy.
Set high up it gives quite thick tones - think Gallagher 'taste' or Brian May and you would be about right.
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ahhhh!! this forum costs me a fortune! i have a terrible hankering for one of those hawks now! still, it's more sensible than that '75 V Gwem found, which i also have an awful notion for. but then, he might not forgive any if us if we bought it :)
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Keeley Time Machine Boost, Katana and Java boost in one!
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Bodenhamer Bloody Murder, level max, overdrive min, tone 12 O'clock to 3pm.
Look no further.
Roo
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Juan's Sholicon (super hard on boost), for the rock side, a BYOC tubescreamer & provalve 2...the 2 has tons of gain, the BYOC does the classic crunch/boost & sho is just beautiful
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My pedals are mostly DIY.
Usually on my pedal board are homemade modded Tubescreamer and Distortion+ clones and a Noah'sark Yellow OD, into a Valvecaster with a Sylvania 12at7wa (it's a bit fuzzy but much brighter than the rather muffled JJ 12au7 that I was using).
I've also got a silicon BHM (Bass, High, Mid) switchable boost pedal that I've made that I really like but I am waiting for some nicer weather so I can finish painting the case.
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I use a ELX LPB-1 Linear Power Booster Preamp (which I think cost £20 at the time) and a Skreddy Screwdriver which is a hybrid fuzz and treble booster combined in one pedal.
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I use my GGG ITS8 (another screamer clone) on with assymmetrical silicon clipping for my live rig. it's the punchiest and livelyest i've found. my amp also has a built in solo boost so i just use that for leads when i'm with another player (it's a post master boost with a controllable volume on the amp) and that gives me alot of volume and really drives the amp up. I'm in the search for a small booster right now that beefs up the sound and adds more gain but not more volume since i'm now alone :( the BYOC triboost has piqued my interest as it seems to be the best of all worlds. and i'm the kind of guy that likes having too many options!
at home i found my Allums OD-308 works really well with my low power rig. it's a nice bedroom volume booster, if that even makes sense!
alot of us seem to like'em screamers, original or clones.
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Zvex SHO
Fulltone OCD
BYOC Tube Screamer
They cover all I need at the moment
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BYOC Mighty Mouse, and I have a BYOC Triboost on the way, which just looks awesome on paper!
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crowther double hotcake- 3 gain stages. Brilliant.
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I mostly use an Xotic BB Preamp, set for a reasonably crunchy sound, through a two channel amp - gives me a crunch sound on the clean channel, then a really overdriven sound on the dirty channel.
When I want a stupidly heavy distortion sound, I use a Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem. I did try a Blackstar 2 stage pedal, but for some reason it made my wah pedal squeal whenever I switched it on. :?
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I have quite a few overdrive pedals
Boss SD-1
Digitech Bad Monkey
Digitech Hardwire Overdrive
MXR Zakk Wylde
T-Rex Michaelangelo Batio
The Bad Monkey is the most subtle one, the MXR the "strongest" one. IMO they all have their good and bad sides, but I think the T-Rex is best for boosting just slightly. As a standalone overdrive, the Hardwire is excellent.
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Analogman TS9 on occasions.
I have a Sniper modded GE-7 that I haven't got round to setting up properly yet!
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I have a Visual Sound Jekylll & Hyde. I rarely use the Hyde side though. I also have a DHA Purist pedal that I use for solos.
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Zinky Master Blaster for a clean boost and T-Rex Alberta (TS type) if I need some more drive.
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Krankshaft :D
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Been using a '81 TS09 for quite a few years. Now it's mostly the dano CTO1 - works quite well to sharpen the HRDx drive channel a bit. Also have a DIY customized TS808, lot of gain but a bit too fat for the HRDx IMHO so I don't know if I'll keep it on my board.
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... I'd love a BYOC tri-boost but I don't think I could stand the crushing sense of defeat after I screw yet another project up...
:(
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At the moment i am just using a digitech bad monkey which is working great for now.
Only use it for the level knob the tighten the amp up and the treble knob as i find the TSL to be a bit too bassy.
However i went down this route as my journey into tube amp land happened at a bad time really (moving house)
so i have been on an incredibly tight budget.
I have been looking at some fulltone stuff and also some BYOC stuff.
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BYOC Tubescreamer clone. Still needs the chip replaced with a working JRC as that one sounded better before I broke one of the legs. Still sounds better than the HBE Power Screamer that cost about 3x the price.
Used to use my Keeley Rat but have started to notice it does something weird to the mids, can't really describe it but its not very nice. Good fuzz pedal though.
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Having always been a complete TS Nut all I ever used was a Keeley Modded TS9 and an original 808.
Now my tastes have changed..... only one pedal gets any action, Zendrive2. :D
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I use a Catalinbread Super Chili Picoso. very transparent and low noise. Works great as a buffer too with the gain at minimum.