Contemplating the use of a booster?

[El Supremo]

Re: Contemplating the use of a booster?

Depends on what kind of booster your planning to use.
A Treble Booster will boost mainly high frequencies and some mids and can get a bit fuzzy at higher settings. You'll want to use this on an already overdriven amp.
A Tube Screamer type will basically do the same, but will sound a bit smoother and can also be used on a clean amp.

Apart from a volume and gain increase, you would want these to get more clarity and get rid of any kind of flabby bass response and mud.

Then there's the clean boosts which will boost your signal volume wise without colouring your tone. These you could use in the FX Loop of your amp to get a really clean volume boost or in front of the amp to hit it harder. In the latter situation the volume won't dramatically increase when the amp is already overdriven. However, things can get a bit harsh or bassy depending on your pickups and so a tone control of some sort might be a desireable feature.

I use the new MXR Micro Amp myself most of time as it has the additional EQ. Subtle EQ, but very effective.

 

[J E C]

Re: Contemplating the use of a booster?

Wow! Thank you all!:yourock:
I don't mind rambling at all. Some times the best tidbits come out of rambling. A lot of incite and knowledge here.
I have been trying to learn and understand how the use of different FX such as boosters, compressors and dirt boxes affect the amp and the final feel, dynamics, attitude, and tonal out come.

I have a Mark V head and a 2x12 Recto cab. I've been running mostly in the 45w mode on all channels with a Marshall Power Brake to tame the volume. It allows me to raise and lower the vollume on all three channels with one knob and I think the amp sounds better in the 45w mode then it does in the 10w mode at the same volume. Ive been getting into using Ch1 more and I finely got a Ch2 setting I like.

Ch1 - Clean, and Ch1 - Normal, with the tube rectifier. Gain - 11:30+. Master - 1:30. Using the preset EQ set at 12:30.
Ch2 - Crunch, and Mark 1 Thick, with the diode rectifier. Gain - 1:30. Master - 1:30-
Ch3 - Mark 4, and Bright, in Pentode. Gain - 12:30. Master - 10:30
Ch2 and Ch3 Graphic EQ set with: 80Hz - 1 1/8. 240Hz - 1 3/4. 750 Hz - 1 7/8. 2200Hz - 2. 6600Hz - 1 1/4.
Would be cool if there was a foot pedal switch to go between Clean and Tweed in Ch1.

I am into a lot of different players and music, but mostly Rock.
Van Halen, Vai, Michael Schenker, Jeff Beck, George Lynch, Steve Stevens, Alex Lifeson, Warren DeMartini, David Gilmour, Gary Moore, Paul Gilbert, Vinni Moore,
Ted Nugent, Jeff Loomis........ you get the idea.
My favorites are EVH, Vai, Beck, Schenker, Gilmour, Lynch.
Now I'm rambling!

The SD-1 and TS-9 modded (quite often by Keely) and stock, seem to be pretty popular for dirt boxes.
I am also interested in the Xotic EP Boost (probably because of EVHs use of an Ecoplex) and SP comp as well as the new Duncan Vice Grip. Well really......anything!

Once again..... Thank you everyone!:notworthy

Please feel free to add to this, rambling and all. John

 

[chadd]

Re: Contemplating the use of a booster?

Would be cool if there was a foot pedal switch to go between Clean and Tweed in Ch1.

I have the same issue with my Roadster. I like the Tweed on Channel 1 and Brit on Channel 2, but I need a clean channel. If the Tweed is similar to the Roadster, it is my favorite tone on the amp.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Contemplating the use of a booster?

+1 on anything made or modded by Keeley. They have a bunch of new stuff out now too. https://robertkeeley.com/product-category/boost/ and https://robertkeeley.com/product-category/overdrive/ . I'm a big fan of the Katana, and the MT-2 mod, though that may be a bit much for what you're looking for.
Also consider one of the many pedals that contain both boost and overdrive, some of with which you can choose the order of the effect.

 

[jimijames]

Re: Contemplating the use of a booster?

Ch1 - Clean, and Ch1 - Normal, with the tube rectifier. Gain - 11:30+. Master - 1:30. Using the preset EQ set at 12:30.
Ch2 - Crunch, and Mark 1 Thick, with the diode rectifier. Gain - 1:30. Master - 1:30-
Ch3 - Mark 4, and Bright, in Pentode. Gain - 12:30. Master - 10:30
Ch2 and Ch3 Graphic EQ set with: 80Hz - 1 1/8. 240Hz - 1 3/4. 750 Hz - 1 7/8. 2200Hz - 2. 6600Hz - 1 1/4.
Would be cool if there was a foot pedal switch to go between Clean and Tweed in Ch1.

I am into a lot of different players and music, but mostly Rock.
Van Halen, Vai, Michael Schenker, Jeff Beck, George Lynch, Steve Stevens, Alex Lifeson, Warren DeMartini, David Gilmour, Gary Moore, Paul Gilbert, Vinni Moore,
Ted Nugent, Jeff Loomis........ you get the idea.
My favorites are EVH, Vai, Beck, Schenker, Gilmour, Lynch.

So, after seeing your influences, well those guys are across the map after you get past the "loud, distorted guitar" part lol.

Now for evh if I'm not mistaken his sound had a lot of 'sag' to it - between the ep preamp and the turned down variac his amp combined with his technique lent itself to a very fluid feel vs someone like David Gilmour who had a very tight and percussive sound especially with those sound city and hiwatt amps.

Now IMO having cascaded gain stages you do get a ton of that richness and feel that you hear on the van Halen albums, and they certainly have the clean headroom to do Gilmour as well.

For clean boosts then it would seem (from your influences) that you want a 10 foot tall, single guitar kind of sound, and the ep works great for that. Mosfet boosts are going to be more percussive, and treble boosters are going to be (counterintuitively) somewhat warm but those are a lot more limited in their application - mostly you want them through a cooking amp already. Off the top of my head I don't believe any of the influences you mentioned used them, but I've certainly been wrong before (quite frequently unfortunately).

Another boost I just saw that intrigues me is the jhs banana boost, which combines a Mosfet boost and a treble booster in the same pedal. Sound clips sound really good and it seems to flirt with that line between full-range richness and depth and treble booster cut very nicely.

I'm going to be busy until March but when it does roll around I have plans to build a dual boost pedal that uses a treble booster to drive the jfet in an echoplex type boost. It could sound good and it could sound like garbage but at any rate at least the boosts by themselves sound really good so I can use them separately and not cascade them.

But yes ramble over. Good luck on your search, the road ahead is fraught with peril and the end uncertain but the journey itself is if nothing else exciting.