SD Pickup Booster?

jmv

jmv

New member
I wanted to see if you guys could maybe help me understand this pedal a little.

Something that i've been doing recently since i got the champ 600 is to run the amp pretty wide open, at least when i'm going for a dirtier tone, and then use my TS-7 tube screamer with the gain turned pretty low to pop on for a solo tone or for heavier rhythm stuff. The champ itself is pretty low gain, lower gain than my bassman, and so i find myself occasionally looking for a bit more

Now, what if i were to use a pickup booster instead?? I understand that its a 'clean' boost, but if you're running it into a tube amp in power-amp distortion, it would simply serve to further the natural distortion of the amp, without adding its own 'color', wouldn't it?? Also, when run into an already distorting amp, there wouldn't be much volume increase, just the increase in dirt, correct??

I know its not designed to add dirt per se, and that many people view it as just a tool to help give single coils a humbucker sound, but it seems like it may work well for what i'm looking for.
 
Re: SD Pickup Booster?

I think the Duncan booster might be just what your lookin for...it will add some volume and it will also make the sound more distorted becuase you're driving it harder...
 
Re: SD Pickup Booster?

I love that pedal because it is transparent. I tried a bunch of stuff, did not like it, and then fell in love with the SD Booster. Been problem free for a couple years now, great with every head I own.
 
Re: SD Pickup Booster?

hmm, interesting. I wonder if they would have one at GC where i could try it out with a tube amp or anything??

I guess it doesn't matter too much at the moment, i really need to focus my spending on replacing the speakers in my bassmans cabinet.


Also, would it change the character of the distortion?? Wouldn't it essentially be causing more PREamp distortion, and not poweramp distortion?? I dunno, i still don't have a real firm grasp of how this works in the scheme of things.
 
Re: SD Pickup Booster?

jmv said:
hmm, interesting. I wonder if they would have one at GC where i could try it out with a tube amp or anything??

I guess it doesn't matter too much at the moment, i really need to focus my spending on replacing the speakers in my bassmans cabinet.


Also, would it change the character of the distortion?? Wouldn't it essentially be causing more PREamp distortion, and not poweramp distortion?? I dunno, i still don't have a real firm grasp of how this works in the scheme of things.
Click to expand...

It will just feel like more of the amp, the tone really stays in the same place.
 
Re: SD Pickup Booster?

I kind of think of the Duncan Pickup Booster as being good at making a Strat pickup sound like a humbucker. You can make a Strat pickup sound a lot more like a vintage humbucker or a hot humbucker or a way over the top humbucker in terms of output and thickness and resonance. That seems to be what the resonance switch is for. It's a cool pedal. Don't know why it doesn't get more notice. I have one.
 
Re: SD Pickup Booster?

jmv said:
hmm, interesting. I wonder if they would have one at GC where i could try it out with a tube amp or anything??

I guess it doesn't matter too much at the moment, i really need to focus my spending on replacing the speakers in my bassmans cabinet.


Also, would it change the character of the distortion?? Wouldn't it essentially be causing more PREamp distortion, and not poweramp distortion?? I dunno, i still don't have a real firm grasp of how this works in the scheme of things.
Click to expand...

the boost will make the signal a little hotter, it wont add any distortion.

there will be more distortion, but not like that of a distortion pedal.

it will be like youre using more powerful pickups.

the tone should remain the same, just hotter.
 
Re: SD Pickup Booster?

right, but i figured if my distortion is coming from a tube amp thats being overdriven from the volume, the clean boost would add dirt just like running humbuckers into a dimed tube amp will produce more distortion than running single coils.... right??


Been doing some reading, and maybe what i'm looking for is a fuzz.... thats what hendrix and old school clapton was, and i really dig both players tones of course. Once i have a little disposable income i'll have to mess around with this stuff.
 
Re: SD Pickup Booster?

astrozombie said:
the boost will make the signal a little hotter, it wont add any distortion.

there will be more distortion, but not like that of a distortion pedal.

it will be like youre using more powerful pickups.

the tone should remain the same, just hotter.
Click to expand...

I don't know about it not adding distortion. I guess you could say that because it's supposed to be a clean boost. But the thing is, when you boost the signal of the pickup it will INDUCE distortion in the amp itself. So although the pedal may be a clean boost, if you use it to boost the output of your guitar enough, that increased output will result in a more distorted tone from your amp. In a way, that's what the whole point of the pedal seems to be: raise the output of a single coil to the point where it overdrives the amp resulting in a more distorted tone. Lew
 
Re: SD Pickup Booster?

I just bought one today (my little Xmas present to myself) when I was buying strings for my kids...it's a nice clean boost, like an MXR Micro Amp, but the resonance switch really does bring in a different character in a subtle way. With a maple neck Tele, it kinda reminds me of a P90 in the 1st position, but it still remains pretty uncolored. What might have been cool would have been a treble boost as well as cut...I had an old Schaller pedal from the 60's that did this and had loads of gain as well.
 
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