Solo boost... needed on guitar

R

Ransom

New member
I have several different rigs that I use for different situations. One that I am working on is a Gibson ES-137 with original P-90's and a Line 6 Flextone III Plus. This would be a no-nonsense; quick in-and-out; volume controlable setup.

These are my questions...

1. The P-90's are too noisey for this use. I am thinking of using the stacks? Thoughts? Other options?

2. The Line 6 Flextone III Plus is fairly versatile but has one glaring shortcoming (other than the obvious); it has no solo boost set in the pedal board. I could insert an EQ or something in the FX loop, but I am trying to make this as simple and idiotproof as possible. Now comes my question...

Is there a way to wire in a solo boost inside the guitar that I would simply access via a switch? The current setup is 4 pots (2 and 2), which I may consider push/pulls for adding options. The only switch is a standard 3-way. Thoughts?
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

buy an EMG afterburner. it will replace one of your pots on your guitar and add a 20 db gain boost. Also the stacks will do nicely.
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

guitarelectronics actually sells the Duncan pickup booster circuit made to be used in the guitar cavity, and i bet it would be perfect for you

heres the link, although i just realized it has a pot and switch as well, which may put a damper on your situation.....either way i thought i'd show you it http://www.guitarelectronics.com/product/PASFX
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

The only issue I have with either of these is that you are probably going to be getting more distortion rather than "louder" volume. Do you have a pedal you could use to simulate boost? Compressor, Distortion box, even chorus/flange with a volume knob? Set the distortion/compression/effect to minimum but the output volume to max. When you engage the effect see if you get more volume or just more distortion. Also, I don't know how Line 6 amps take to a boost in front of an amp. I think the SD booster is geared toward tube amps.

Although the internal variable SD pickup booster is REALLY cool. I may need to pick this up!
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

PFDarkside said:
The only issue I have with either of these is that you are probably going to be getting more distortion rather than "louder" volume. Do you have a pedal you could use to simulate boost? Compressor, Distortion box, even chorus/flange with a volume knob? Set the distortion/compression/effect to minimum but the output volume to max. When you engage the effect see if you get more volume or just more distortion. Also, I don't know how Line 6 amps take to a boost in front of an amp. I think the SD booster is geared toward tube amps.

Although the internal variable SD pickup booster is REALLY cool. I may need to pick this up!
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I do have pedals that could simulate a boost. However, I am trying to do this and keep the rig as simple as possible (i.e. no effects loop). Is it true that the SD Booster is geared toward tube amps? How would this impact tone and function?
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

If you've already got the Line 6 foot controller, just set two patches with the same preset, but one slightly louder than the other.
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

mnbaseball91 said:
If you've already got the Line 6 foot controller, just set two patches with the same preset, but one slightly louder than the other.
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Yep. That definitely works.
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

The thing about the stacked P-90's (Like the P-100) is that you think they sound decent, until you play a P-90 again. I had a few P-90 guitars that were bothering me, so I switched to P-100s. One day I A/B'd one of my guitars to a guitar with a Duncan Custom P-90 in it. No comparison, the regular P-90 and the Duncan Custom P-90 allow the sound to "breathe" so much more- and they're much more dynamic- they respond to nuances in picking attack. P-100's are much more sterile and compressed. YMMV
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

Use a true boost pedal, like the SD pickup booster, AMZ Minibooster, or others. There's a ton of them out of there for purchase or even that you can build yourself. I've built 3 and they all sound different. One is based off the Marshall 12AX7 Input stage and really boosts the signal.

I never understood using an effect pedal or OD pedal for a boost when that's not the intended purpose. Use the right tool for the job. Would you use a screwdriver to hammer a nail?
 
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Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

ErikH said:
I never understood using an effect pedal or OD pedal for a boost when that's not the intended purpose. Use the right tool for the job. Would you use a screwdriver to hammer a nail?
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I've done it and I completely understand. For the most part, what you're hoping to boost is going to be a signal that'll be helped, in essence, by extra compression and/or gain. Generally speaking, a lead line. A good OD pedal should be able to be variable with it's output and the gain/compression. Adding another preamp gain section is essentially nothing different than slamming the initial preamp of the amp.
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

The Golden Boy said:
I've done it and I completely understand. For the most part, what you're hoping to boost is going to be a signal that'll be helped, in essence, by extra compression and/or gain. Generally speaking, a lead line. A good OD pedal should be able to be variable with it's output and the gain/compression. Adding another preamp gain section is essentially nothing different than slamming the initial preamp of the amp.
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I've done it too with OD's but realized that it wasn't doing what I was asking it to. If anything, it was just adding more gain/compression (like you said) rather than boosting with more volume. That's when I decided to investigate and learned a lot in the process which led to me building my own boosters.

A boost pedal in front of a clean amp will boost the hell out of it and add more volume. Putting a boost in front of an already saturated preamp will add little to no additional volume because it's already reached it's max input level or gain. This is where putting the booster in the effects loop comes in handy because now you're boosting an already saturated signal right before the power amp which 99% of the time still has some clean headroom available before the boost won't do anything. The key is, how much clean headroom is in the next stage right after the booster, whether it be preamp or power amp.

I think a big misconception is some look at gain and volume as one in the same when that is actually not the case.
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

ErikH said:
I never understood using an effect pedal or OD pedal for a boost when that's not the intended purpose. Use the right tool for the job. Would you use a screwdriver to hammer a nail?
Click to expand...
I told him to try it out to see if there's headroom left. I have a Line 6 amp, they respond wierd to pedals out front. Or I guess he could buy the boost, install it, then realize it didn't do what he wanted it to do and be right where he started.
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

ErikH said:
I've done it too with OD's but realized that it wasn't doing what I was asking it to. If anything, it was just adding more gain/compression (like you said) rather than boosting with more volume. That's when I decided to investigate and learned a lot in the process which led to me building my own boosters.

A boost pedal in front of a clean amp will boost the hell out of it and add more volume. Putting a boost in front of an already saturated preamp will add little to no additional volume because it's already reached it's max input level or gain. This is where putting the booster in the effects loop comes in handy because now you're boosting an already saturated signal right before the power amp which 99% of the time still has some clean headroom available before the boost won't do anything. The key is, how much clean headroom is in the next stage right after the booster, whether it be preamp or power amp.

I think a big misconception is some look at gain and volume as one in the same when that is actually not the case.
Click to expand...
I think there's a common misconception that an OD pedal has to add compression. I really dislike pedals like the Tube Screamer series and the Boss OD and DS pedals. I want a pedal to behave like an amp, and that means having headroom.
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

The Golden Boy said:
I think there's a common misconception that an OD pedal has to add compression. I really dislike pedals like the Tube Screamer series and the Boss OD and DS pedals. I want a pedal to behave like an amp, and that means having headroom.
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It's usually just the nature of the circuit that the compression happens, or just how mother nature intends it to be. I was never a fan of the Tube Screamer either but I do like the Boss SD-1 and even the SD-2 is really good but I never could get used to the BD-2 and DS-1. Now, my MXR Wylde OD, that's a different beast. Well, it's actually a SD-1 circuit heavily modified and with no buffers. I love it. Very transparent and adds a nice amount of grit. I use it mainly with my practice setup. When I'm playing through my Marshall, that's where my DIY booster comes in to slam the front end in to submission. :D I don't know what it'll do if it's in the effects loop though. Haven't tried that yet. Most likely it will do the same thing that any other booster I've tried in the FX loop would do, boost the post pre-amp volume.
 
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Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

What i do to minimise headache, I gotten a Ernie ball volume control pedal, adjust the pedal with the amp until it suits a certain loudness then when it comes to the solo part, I'll just step up to increase the volume during the solo.
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

well there is the more extreme solution of using EMGs (81, 85 etc. ) in P-90 housing, and hooking it up with the EMG Afterburner in your guitar.
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

pac112 said:
well there is the more extreme solution of using EMGs (81, 85 etc. ) in P-90 housing, and hooking it up with the EMG Afterburner in your guitar.
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I have actually thought about this... but what will this Frankenstein sound like?
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

ErikH said:
I've done it too with OD's but realized that it wasn't doing what I was asking it to. If anything, it was just adding more gain/compression (like you said) rather than boosting with more volume. That's when I decided to investigate and learned a lot in the process which led to me building my own boosters.

A boost pedal in front of a clean amp will boost the hell out of it and add more volume. Putting a boost in front of an already saturated preamp will add little to no additional volume because it's already reached it's max input level or gain. This is where putting the booster in the effects loop comes in handy because now you're boosting an already saturated signal right before the power amp which 99% of the time still has some clean headroom available before the boost won't do anything. The key is, how much clean headroom is in the next stage right after the booster, whether it be preamp or power amp.

I think a big misconception is some look at gain and volume as one in the same when that is actually not the case.
Click to expand...

I made up a pedalboard to work like a great infront of a clean amp.... I use a compact little Classic 30 amp set on Clean.. Infront of the amp i have a pedalboard with a Boss Line Selector.... In one loop i have a distortion box set for Rythym playing, and in loop B i have a louder and dirtier Distortion box for solos..... I figured if David Gilmour can make great sounds with pedals instead of amps OD i'd give it a try.. With this set up i can get one hell of a volume and dirt boost for solos... i have an almost 3 channel set up.... clean, rythym, and solo.... Not as nice as my big amp set up with a 5150 head and a Classic 50 for clean sounds.... but a small compact Classic 30 and Pedalboard works great for me to jam with others and small clubs....

Back to the original posters problem..... I would think the easiest thing to do with a Line 6 amp is to make a patch louder then the rythym patch for solos.... Line 6 being a computer i do not think will like any booster or OD pedals placed infront or in the FX loop..... I would think the Line 6 amp should just be re-programed with better patches if it can be done.... I'm still figuring out my Line 6 POD 2.2 so i'm not an expert on modeling gear....

Pete Townshend used slightly overdriven Hiwatts back in the late 70's.... His Les Paul Deluxes had an added Dimarzio Dual Sound-(some early ones had a super dist) in the middle with some extra switches above the volume controlls.... He never ended up use these mods that much but the original idea behind it was to be able to switch from the LP's Minis to a louder high output Dimarzio in the middle for boosts.... With his amps being somewhat clean he could get a volume and dirt boost with the louder pickup...

WhoFan
 
Re: Solo boost... needed on guitar

Have you tried the "Vetta Juice" effect ? Not sure if that's "stock" on the Flex, but it came with my XTL (reckon ya could download the model pack to get it?)

I'm really starting to like this thing better than the Tubescreamer....preserves the tone of the model you are using much better, just adds a $hitpile (or not) of gain/boost.....it works very much the same way as the EMG boost/preamp I have on my Jackson.
 
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