How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

[IMENATOR]

I recently got a PlimSoul and I really lik this pedal, then the other day I connected a boss SD-1 infront of it and got a higer gain sound out of it that I reall liked, even better then the Boss Power Stack. Now I am getting interested to know more about how you guys boost your gain, it does not matter if you get your distrotion from the amp or from a pedal, I just want to know how you apporach the "gain boost" concept, let me know your booster/overdrive pedal and why you like it, your good and bad experiences with other boost/overdrive pedals.

 

[DeathALT.]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I like a tubescreamer, with gain off, or up to 1 or 2.

 

[erksin]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I typically just crank my small amps and roll back the guitar volume to clean it up - so I have various levels of gain at the guitar's knobs. If I need more than what the amps provide, I use a treble booster with the gain set low to add a little hair and compression - a shift in EQ is typically all that is required to cut through a mix rather than more volume.

 

[vinta9e]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I use a Maxon OD808 clone set up slightly dirty, output and tone to taste. My preamp runs well crunchy, of course. I aim for best definition and clean-up by rolling back the guitar's volume. My rehearsal sound might seem dry and undersaturated to some gain junkies but it stays crisp within band mix so I have to play my parts honestly. On a gig, I just crank the master volume until the phase inverter, the power tubes and the cab get a lil' cooking into spongy, buttery goodness. The amp running loud gives me a bit of extra compression for the chugs but it also cleans up better with volume control and picking dynamics.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

For a while I tried using an old DOD FX70C Corrosion pedal with the gain low and the volume bumped. It does add some grit, but also adds some noise and mucks the low end of the signal.

I have also tried using a Dunlop Q-zone pedal as a fixed wah for a mid boost. It does work well for boosting the mids, but tends to cut off the low end of the signal too much to use consistently.

I find myself just going with a guitar straight into the Triaxis more often lately, but still use those to boost Rectifier sounds occasionally.

Ideally, I would like to find a boost that is not much more than a clean buffer where a wide mid frequency can be bumped a few decibels.

 

[Matt42]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I use a clean booster (MXR Micro Amp type), a Tubescreamer with the drive and output set between 11 o'clock and 2 o'clock depending on the situation and my needs, and a AC booster type pedal. Sometimes I'll use the volume knob too, it just depends on what song I'm on, and what type of boost I'm going for.

 

[toneseeker74]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

Most of the time I use a DOD Bi-Fet Preamp clean boost. This pedal works well with every guitar and every amp. One of my amps gets a particularly hot sound with my KMD Overdrive with level high and drive low. I have yet to find a great sound with my Boss DS-1...some good sounds, but nothing great. I used to have a soft spot for the DOD 250 Overdrive, running the level high (2 o'clock or more) and the gain around 10 or 11 o'clock. See a common trend here? Big volume boost, minimal grit added from the pedal. This combination always sounds best for me when using pedals. But the best tones come from turning the amp up!

 

[Jolly_Rancher]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I only boost an amp set clean with headroom. I do use a TS-808 clone for tone with high-gain amps, but that's not a "boost"... I like the boost side of my GT-500 for an actual volume boost because it just gets louder through a clean amp without altering the tone. If I had little Fender type amp that could use a kick in the nuts, I'm not sure what I'd do, but I have a few pedals that would work. I'd try the GT-500 or OCD, and I'm thinking the TS-808 would be good too.

 

[Diego]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I always set my amp barely breaking up, and then I've got two choices:

1) For classic or southern rock / King's X / anything not Metal but heavy, I prefer a clean boost. It retains the dynamics and the chord clarity.
I do this with a Zvex Super Duper clone which is a 2 in 1 SHO, so gobs and gobs of pure clean boost with a slight twist in the bass and highs.

2) For Metal: Overdrive. Be it classic or modern stuff, I gotta have a overdrive or anything with a gain stage to add some compression for riffing or complex leads.
A regular clean boost just isn't for this.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I like collecting dirt pedals of all levels of gain, from clean boost to full blown gain. Then when you mess with a certain amp, you find out which one or two really sound great with it. You eventually see which tones really work for you, and remember that formula.

I'm much more into getting the majority of the gain from an amp, then using very subtle clean boost pedals, and riding the guitars volume control.

When trying to get clean amps into OD territory, you've really got to choose wisely when it comes to dirt pedals. Some sound like a rat's nest, and some sound god-like. That's where the fat, gainy, high dollar pedals usually succeed.

 

[Diego]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

When trying to get clean amps into OD territory, you've really got to choose wisely when it comes to dirt pedals. Some sound like a rat's nest, and some sound god-like. That's where the fat, gainy, high dollar pedals usually succeed.

I totally agree with this. It's much simpler (and if you've got a nice amp already, cheap) to get a good sound by boosting an amp that's already crunching nicely than getting it all from a box.
That's why I find just mind-boggling that some high gain pedals like the Suhr Riot, which isn't cheap, don't come with 3 band EQ.
IMO a pedal that will go into a clean amp needs that flexibility, like all the high gain Wampler pedals.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

It all just depends...

I have clean boost pedals, OD pedals, dirt boost pedals, treble boosters, fuzz boxes, distortion pedals, etc and depending on the amp, the volume I can play at and what I need will dictate what pedal(s) I use...

If I can I'll plug into my old Deluxe or Super and just crank it then add a bit of boost from something like a treble booster or OD pedal with the gain set low but sometimes even that is too loud so it just depends...

 

[Securb]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I have two boost pedals. Recently I used them together and got a great Billy Gibbon tone with the Marshall set clean. I use a BBE Freq Boost which I absolutely love. I also have a TWA: Triskelion Harmonic Energizer the thing is a tone monster

 

[Bludave]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I use a Bogner Shiva. On the clean channel I use a TS9 with the gain all the way down. On the drive channel when I kick in the TS it's like a bit if a treble boost. It adds a bit of clarity and a touch more volume. In my other amp (Komet 60). I use a custom TS 808 more like a channel switch this along with my volume knob works really well

 

[Brow]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

It all depends on what amp I'm using at the time to be honest:

Splawn Quick Rod: Has it's own built in boosts so don't usually use anything with this. I do occasionally use a Boyes Boost (made by Toe-Knee on here), which I **think** is loosely based around an OCD with some of his own mods, gain at around 9 o clock, tone at 12 o clock and level at just below 12 o clock. For a small gain boost and a bit more push it works really well.

SLO Clone (made by Toe-Knee): I mainly use this amp on the Crunch channel and then use either the Boyes Boost (set as above) and a Catalinbread Naga Viper Clone (again made by Toe-Knee) for different tones of boost.

Marshall JCM800 2210: With the Marshall I tend to use something more TSish so I usually go for an old SD1, Homebrew Electronics Power Screamer or a Digitech Bad Monkey depending on the result I want.

 

[dominus]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I totally agree with this. It's much simpler (and if you've got a nice amp already, cheap) to get a good sound by boosting an amp that's already crunching nicely than getting it all from a box.
That's why I find just mind-boggling that some high gain pedals like the Suhr Riot, which isn't cheap, don't come with 3 band EQ.
IMO a pedal that will go into a clean amp needs that flexibility, like all the high gain Wampler pedals.

Put an EQ after the pedal, you'll get more control. Sometimes the three or four band EQs that are on high gain pedals are at bizarre frequencies. I get better sounds out of finding the middle spot on high gain pedals then shaping with a graphic EQ after it.

As for boosters, I'll use anything from an overdrive to a distortion pedal set on lower gains to push my distortion as hard as I can.

 

[B2D]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I've not yet encountered a situation where my Fulltone Fat-Boost 3 can't make an amp or guitar sound better.

 

[esandes]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

clean boost in the front end, not the effects loop.

 

[karpathion]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

I just switch over to the red channel.

 

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: How do you boost your gain? Clean booster, clean with mids bump, overdrive pedal?

So far, I've only tried the Boss SD1, Digitech Bad Monkey and a TS9.

I tend to set them up in similar fashion: Tone controls around noon or just above, level around 2-3 o'clock, Drive at 9-10 o'clock. The SD1 is a little gnarlier and grittier, the TS9 has a smoother (but harmonically rich) tone with a bit of the mid bump, and the Monkey is fairly smooth with a more even EQ. All worked great. I kept the SD1 though out of the three.

Maybe one day I'll try some others, but I'm still very happy with the SD1.