Best booster?

[Lew]

Yo, I want to tighten up the gain side of my Elmwood and get it more focused when it has the dirt on + it could use a bit more gain. Nollys BB preamp worked well but I wonder if anyone has a cheaper option than spending 170quid! I don't fancy any pos Boss either though!

[Stevepage]

Digitech Bad Monkey. Surposed to be a very good reliable pedal.

MXR Custom shop OD or Zakk Wylde pedal. Apparently they share a very similar circuit.

[Will]

The MXR GT-OD, ZW - OD and CAE - OD all sound very different IMO.
CAE is a bit fuzzy
GT is a bit compressed
Can't quite remember what I disliked about the ZW now... but I really hated it, and it kept breaking

[Twinfan]

Depends how you want to add the gain.  Do you want the pedal to do it and do some EQ-ing?  Any Tubescreamer-type would be the obvious example here.  Bad Monkey or ToneRider would be your cheaper options.

If you want to push the valves into more gain instead, I've tried quite a few boosters and the Rothwell F1 Boost is the best I've tried.

[Denim n Leather]

If you're looking to tighten up the tone you already have, there are three pedals that will do that nicely:

1. A Klon Centaur

2. Lizard Legs Flying Dragon.



3. Hermida Zen Drive




They are priced at both ends of the price spectrum, and are by no means the same pedal, sonically, but they apply the same basic principle -- your tone, just more of it.

(waits for slew of posts contradicting this  ...)

[mikey5]

I use the Mi Audio Blues Boy Deluxe. It is decent. Man if you have an amp as kick @ss as an elmwood you should run a decent boost into it. Like a BB Preamp. I have to say that is my absolute favorite.

[Lew]

Ta for the fast replies! I'll go read up on all the suggestions. Bad Monkey, really? I wont buy anything with Zakk Wylde written it, shallow I know!

TF - I don't really know, I don't want it to sound like I'm standing on a dirt box.
D@L - basically yea + some more gain would be good.

The amp sounds great it just needs more focus and tightening up + a little more gain for heavy riffing. It's perfect as is for classic rock but I've got a couple of heavier projects coming up. I only have the gain at 70% ish on the second chan, if I ride the gain too much on the amp it loses alot of the definition that makes it sound so good.

You're probably right Mikey but I really don't fancy spending 170 (plus postage!). I'm looking out for used stuff too.

[d1dsj]

I used either C.A. line driver or an MXR Micro amp to push the pre amp, both worked well for me without a huge cost. They are both essentially the same pedal I believe. 

[dave_mc]

the centaur is badass as D&L rightly said, but if you don't want to pay £170 for a BB preamp you probably don't want to pay £300 for the klon... :lol:

I must look into that lizard legs one, never heard of them before. :)

Depending on how much tightening you want, an od might be better than a plain booster? would definitely be worth trying both, anyway, just to be certain.

[Plexi Ken]

EHX LPB-1 best value booster there is, if you don't like it, you've not lost much  :)

[camf]

I hear what you say about POS Boss, but I put a modded GE7 in my effects loop and pulled DOWN the sliders for chord work and then switch it off for lead... works like a total charm. Gives great tone and no noise. Just a suggestion.

[tomjackson]

I'm awaiting an MI Audio Boost and Buff, they are meant to be very nice but I can't say for sure because after 3 weeks I'm still waiting!

Here's a clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9UjlXkgZQQ

Should get it next week so will post a review / clips

[HTH AMPS]

from what's been described, a pedal that actually rolls off some bass end when engaged is gonna be best to keep the OD tight.  you really don't need to spend a fotune here, a simple SD-1 will do fine.

[juansolo]

EHX LPB-1 best value booster there is, if you don't like it, you've not lost much  :)

I reckon anyone with rudimentary soldering skills could knock one up for a fiver or so.

[gwEm]

from what's been described, a pedal that actually rolls off some bass end when engaged is gonna be best to keep the OD tight.  you really don't need to spend a fotune here, a simple SD-1 will do fine.

+1

i also like modded ge-7