Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

[xicodelico]

I'm very dissappointed with this item, it's not really work like it seems:

Clean pick up Bridge and neck (JB & jazz) and Hot Rails: It really work nice and you really feel the boost by far. IMO good to make clean riff without affect the mix.

Distortion: (MT2 & Blues Driver, AMP Hot gain & regular Gain) It really suck I never notice any difference between ON & Off. I try to make rythm and turn it up in the solo part and what I got... anything, just a little groovie Bass adding to the notes...

what a waste of money ( I connect it before all other pedals if any gaot other better way to use this for soloing... welcome)

OD- works better
SFX01 Pickup Booster Pedal>>> I think I'm gonna deliver it back to AMS...

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

It sounds like you expected it to be an OD pedal, which it is not.

 

[RockStarNick]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

Dude, thats not how a boost pedal works really. If you put a clean/volume boost BEFORE a heavily saturated overdrive or distortion pedal, theres NO way that it can make your signal louder. Its just gonna hit the pedal and make the pedal distort and get mushy.

If you want to make it raise your solo volume, place it AFTER your distortion pedals, and make sure that your amp is set fairly clean. That way you have some headroom to work with.

Try that before returning it.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

Connecting any booster before an overdrive or distortion pedal that is on will not boost the same was as when they are off. When they're off, like you said, you get a good volume increase in to a clean signal, it's louder. With any those pedals on, engaged the booster just makes them saturate more because they've already reached their max headroom.

Look at it this way, when you're playing clean, there's some headroom there before clipping. When playing with distortion or overdrive, the signal has already gone beyond it's max headroom so the only way to make it louder is to put a boost AFTER all the clipping.

 

[MartinSixStringCustoms]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

It sounds like you expected it to be an OD pedal, which it is not.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

I have one and it's just nowhere near as transparent as I thought it would be. It adds bottom even in the neutral ("0) position. Sometimes that's a good thing but most of the time not what I want. I think a Boss GE-7 (7-band EQ) stompbox is what I need. Anybody got one they want to sell me or trade for my Duncan Booster?

 

[xicodelico]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

1) I have one and it's just nowhere near as transparent as I thought it would be. It adds bottom even in the neutral ("0) position.
This what I found too...

If you want to make it raise your solo volume, place it AFTER your distortion pedals, and make sure that your amp is set fairly clean.

This is exactly what I'm looking for with this pedal and I place it after all the pedals (MT2 & TU2) and it have no signal when I plug it... maybe I should try again and see what happens...

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

It's not an overdrive or distortion or fuzz tone pedal.

IMO, what the Duncan Pickup Booster is designed to do is make a vintage output Strat single coil pickup sound more like a full sized humbucker.

It'll do more than that of course, but that's what I think it excels at and what it was designed to do.

I never use mine to make a full size humbucker overdrive my amp harder...I don't think that's what it's really designed to do.

IMO, it's designed for single coil pickups and It's supposed to make your Fender Strat single coils sound more like real strong paf humbuckers.

So I can plug in my Strat and make the pickups sound kinda like Eric Clapton did with Cream playing his Les Paul or SG.



Lew

 

[Stevo]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

The pedal does exactly as claimed. Learn about the term "saturation" and you might understand your problem.

I really like the resonant frequency switch in position 1 when I play with single coil pickups - it really makes the SC sound like a low output humbucker.

The boost is very hardy and quiet too

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

The pedal does exactly as claimed. Learn about the term "saturation" and you might understand your problem.

I really like the resonant frequency switch in position 1 when I play with single coil pickups - it really makes the SC sound like a low output humbucker.

The boost is very hardy and quiet too

That's the way I see it too. It's a great pedal as long as you use for the use intended.

Lew

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

It was made from day one to fatten up and boost the signal of a Single coil pickup, however Seymour himself uses it to push his amp harder and he doe suse fullsize buckersa...a Jazz and a JB FWIW.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

I understand that the 1 and 2 positions are supposed to add beef, but I thought the 0 position was supposed to be neutral.

 

[xicodelico]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

If you want to make it raise your solo volume, place it AFTER your distortion pedals, and make sure that your amp is set fairly clean. That way you have some headroom to work with.

Try that before returning it.[/QUOTE]

Ok . I'd try that way and this time it work perfect and now I can raise the solos volume without affect the tone or overdrive it... thank you dude!

 

[larry_emder]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

Another happy customer......they should be paying you guys!

 

[xicodelico]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

Another happy customer......they should be paying you guys!

Yeah Dude! I'm gonna Bill it To Seymour... someone have the ad?

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

Yeah Dude! I'm gonna Bill it To Seymour... someone have the ad?

Ehm, He didn´t mean paying the customers, he meant paying the forum members for invaluable tech advice

Then again, I seem to remember at least 3 occasions within the last year and a half that could be very much considered "paying the Forum".. 2 UGDs and the Brobucker, for example. Thanks for everything, Seymour

 

[Xeromus]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

It frustrates me when I see someone complain about a product because they don't know how to use it or don't know what it's for. Read the manual!!!!

I'm going to re-iterate some things some of the other guys here said, but I want to combine it in one thread.

The SD pickup booster should be FIRST in your signal chain always. The manual even says so. It won't work correctly otherwise. Also, if you put it before an OD or Distortion pedal, it's just going to boost the signal into that pedal and not really go anywhere except possibly turn the signal to mush.

This is NOT an overdrive or distortion pedal. It isn't necessarily a volume boost either. It's a clean gain boost. Meaning, it virtually raises the output of single coils and the resonance switch changes the frequency to make it sound more like a hot or vintage humbucker. It just gives you some extra beef when you need it. It's very transparent. The fact that you barely notice it's working is a GOOD thing and part of it's appeal.

I love mine, and I use it with both humbuckers and single coils for an extra push.

Also, are you using a solid state amp? If you use this with a lot of boost on a solid state amp it's probably going to sound like poop. Because this thing is designed to work better with tube amps. The way I use mine is to push the preamp section of my amp a little more. So that way I get more saturation from the amp itself.

I hope that clears things up a bit.

 

[Lee_M.]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

The pedal does exactly as claimed. Learn about the term "saturation" and you might understand your problem.

I really like the resonant frequency switch in position 1 when I play with single coil pickups - it really makes the SC sound like a low output humbucker.

The boost is very hardy and quiet too

+1

That is exactly what is for.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

This is NOT an overdrive or distortion pedal.

I never thought it was.

It isn't necessarily a volume boost either. It's a clean gain boost.

That's what I thought it was.

Meaning, it virtually raises the output of single coils and the resonance switch changes the frequency to make it sound more like a hot or vintage humbucker.

As I said before, I understand the 1 and 2 positions are intended to fatten up the tone but I was under the impression that the 0 position was supposed to be neutral, as in a true clean boost -- as in, it DOESN'T fatten up or otherwise alter the tone, just increases the volume like pushing up the slider on a mixer.

It just gives you some extra beef when you need it. It's very transparent. The fact that you barely notice it's working is a GOOD thing and part of it's appeal.

My question is was it intended to be truly transparent in the 0 position or not?If it always cranks up the bass even in the 0 position, then by definition it isn't transparent.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pick Ups Booster Seymour Duncan (REVIEW)

Dave, with it on the 0 position, does it crank up the bass with the level of boost turned down some? When you boost a signal or increase the level, all frequencies are coming along with it. Think about it. When do you hear the most bass or treble when listening to your home stereo or surround sound system, when the volume is low or when it's up high? Same thing is going on here. What's the bass set to on your amp?