Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

[Larioso]

I'm using just a a pedal for gain to adjust for more boost in fx loop, as complement to Boost feature on Marshall Origin 20w.
I like increasing signal to power amp rather than preamp in what it does.

I just have pedal left over that I use now.
Tried different, some introduce too much noise, some restrict frequency content.

So is there a pedal with minimal other features to keep it simple and have good circuits inside?
And well shielded, so have to be metal cover I guess - get some extra hum when fx loop is engaged.

Thanks.

 

[VinceT]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

TC Electronic Spark Mini Booster is about as simple and clean as it gets - a great MORE pedal.


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[Larioso]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

Will check that out, thanks.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

clean transparent boost

EQ pedal with a level control

 

[devastone]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

ehdwuld beat me to it, best clean boost in a loop is an EQ, you can leave the EQ flat and just boost the output, but you also have a lot of tone shaping potential.

 

[Larioso]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

Ok, thanks for EQ pedal tip.
It's not too much electronics to be transparent, or?

 

[Diego]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

Nothing wrong with a Boss GE7 for that application, except that some people report it as being noisy.

I never had that issue with mine, but I used it gently. 3-5 db gain boost in total, tops.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

The Pickup Booster is my go to clean boost. It can also make single coils sound more like humbuckers, too if that's your thing.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

TC Spark was my first call, or the Mini Keeley Boost. Xotic RC Booster

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

ehdwuld beat me to it, best clean boost in a loop is an EQ, you can leave the EQ flat and just boost the output, but you also have a lot of tone shaping potential.

totally agree. if you just need a little bit of gain -go with an EQ pedal for sure -you will get powerful tone control with the EQ.

Also -here's a tip -buy a used Boss GE7 for $50 and send it to Analogman to do the Pro Mod for $55 or just buy one from them direct for $155 -or buy the parts and do it yourself.

either way -you'll end up with a badass super quiet EQ pedal for cheap.
http://www.analogman.com/boss.htm

 

[devastone]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

The GE7 is great if you have an instrument level loop, if it is line level, Boss pedals don't behave well even in bypass mode. I think those DSLs are instrument level, so it should work fine, but the manual doesn't even say. Some Marshalls in the past (JCM900s I think) had a level switch for the loop, doesn't look like these do. Probably worth doing a little googlin'.

FWIW, I learned about this a long, long time ago when I was using a borrowed Valvestate at a practice place, couldn't figure out why it sounded like crap with my Boss delay in the loop, turns out is clipping the buffers even when the pedal was in bypass.

 

[dave74]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

Same on the valvestate I had years ago. It was the first gen 100w head.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

FWIW, I learned about this a long, long time ago when I was using a borrowed Valvestate at a practice place, couldn't figure out why it sounded like crap with my Boss delay in the loop, turns out is clipping the buffers even when the pedal was in bypass.

Never noticed! Then again, never play clean...

 

[SirJackdeFuzz II]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

This one might be worth a look.
I have not read a bad comment about it - yet !

 

[devastone]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

You guys need to read the OP, he's looking for volume boost for the loop, "gain" was probably the wrong word to use. Overdrives don't really work well for that.

 

[Diego]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

The GE7 is great if you have an instrument level loop, if it is line level, Boss pedals don't behave well even in bypass mode. I think those DSLs are instrument level, so it should work fine, but the manual doesn't even say. Some Marshalls in the past (JCM900s I think) had a level switch for the loop, doesn't look like these do. Probably worth doing a little googlin'.

FWIW, I learned about this a long, long time ago when I was using a borrowed Valvestate at a practice place, couldn't figure out why it sounded like crap with my Boss delay in the loop, turns out is clipping the buffers even when the pedal was in bypass.

My Tweaker has a line level FX loop and the GE7 behaved just fine through it.
However I also had a DD7 and it sounded like absolute **** through the loop, bright and distorted.
My Memory Toy sounds super dark through it.

Just saying.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

A clean boost with no other knobs is the key here.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

OK - let's get crazy: Here is my Uber-clean Boost of choice....

 

[Coma]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

Ok, thanks for EQ pedal tip.
It's not too much electronics to be transparent, or?

That really depends on the pedal and the amp as well. I have an MXR 10-band. In one amp its a good boost, but causes buzz (not just increased noise from raising levels). In another amp it doesn't buzz, but causes bad tone suck, though that's mostly due to how ****ty the FX loop is.

This one might be worth a look.
I have not read a bad comment about it - yet !

View attachment 104357

Well, here's one for ya then! Don't put this pedal in the loop. I have - it's awful. Why? Because it's not a boost, it's an OD. It will start to constrict your tone. Worse yet, that pedal is by far the noisiest one I've ever owned. I'm not the only one, you can google around for "DOD Looking Glass noisey" if you're curious.

TC Spark was my first call, or the Mini Keeley Boost. Xotic RC Booster

Very much this. I've run both the TC (big version) and the Xotic (v1) in the loop specifically to do volume boosting with just a touch of extra gain thrown in for good measure. The TC is actually the better sounding one to my ears, and dirt cheap new as well, albeit tricky to repair if it breaks.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Transparent pedal, low noise, for just doing a bit of gain in effect loop?

I prefer the EP boost by Exotic because of how it opens up the tone.
Here is a demo of the EP with the Spark showing the differences.