Booster pedal, which one do you use/like?

[scotch]

This is a completely idiotic question: but what is the difference between a booster and a preamp? Would someone need both?

Would someone need both? Sure! (from my above post):

I use mine for a variety of functions:
a)clean boost for stepping up low-output vintage pickups
b)clean volume boost for accent/solo passages
c)to drive my tube pre's or tube amps into overdrive (the old fashioned way!)
d)as a "quickee" eq. I'll set it for treble cut and a little boost, for instance, when I am playing a song where I switch from fingers to pick.

 

[bongomania]

Please see the link in my sig explaining what a preamp is.

A booster is a specific type of preamp, but not all preamps are boosters.

 

[djwackfriz]

Please see the link in my sig explaining what a preamp is.

A booster is a specific type of preamp, but not all preamps are boosters.

aha! that makes more sense!

 

[Thangfish]

I use my Cream Pie as an always-on slightly dirty boost.

Me too... but lately I've been substituting the Polish Love for that purpose, and I am leaning towards it slightly, right now. Subject to change tomorrow.
Jury ain't back quite yet.

 

[strangeFace]

There are 3 pedals I absolutely love.

The El Grande bass fuzz by MXR for nasty raunchiness - it doesn't lose low end and has a customizable deep switch built in. This effect is not subtle, though. It's loud awesome fuzz.

The MK 4.23 by Creation Audio Labs is a 100% clean boost that that allows you to dial in up to 24 decibels of completely clean boost. It's great for driving a tube amp and I'm sure it would do just fine on an amp that had a tube pre.

The Fulltone Fat Boost is kinda in between - you can dial in some dirt or just use it as a boost, but you'll be coloring your sound.

I'm using these through a vintage Bassman amp and they all sound great. I'm not sure how they would act on a Solid State rig.

I hope you find something you love!

 

[Mudfuzz]

Oh, I almost forgot... I also have a boost in my Death By Audio Interstellar bass overdrive, I'm not really sure if it is clean or dirty though as it is very powerful and when turned up makes most things distort............

And In my HAO Rumble mod and that is a dirty boost.

 

[rustynuts]

Me too... but lately I've been substituting the Polish Love for that purpose, and I am leaning towards it slightly, right now. Subject to change tomorrow.
Jury ain't back quite yet.

The PL is certainly good for the purpose and I have another one on the way, but for now I keep the CP up front and then one Polish Love in normal and the other in boost.

 

[musicelectronix]

I think someone is making a new pedal!?!?!?

Not necessarily I am just doing some thinking and also trying to see if the world really needs another booster pedal I already offer 2 boosters, but I wouldn't use them for bass. They are not exactly low-end friendly.

I used to have a Fulltone Fatboost (old version), but couldn't find any use for bass and eventually sold it. I do most of the stuff mentioned earlier with Submarine, granted I wouldn't consider it as a transparent boost; in just the way I would want it to be.

Having a low impedance and high impedance output option may be a useful addition as Dan mentioned, but the main part of the equation (boosting the signal) is fairly the same from one pedal to another, not so open to a revolutionary idea. In my understanding, the added features are the ones make the difference.

 

[selfblessed]

Hmmm. So modest.

 

[KarateKid25]

I use my Cream Pie as an always-on slightly dirty boost.

Same here

 

[whoatherechunk]

b sharp malazadas. why? because it incorporates a distortion and a boost. the clean boost is wonderful.

 

[fishtx]

I like the Catalinbread Serrano Picaso...nice and clean...and small...

I have also tried out the Lizard Leg Blue Tail, and really liked it as well...

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Bumpola!

 

[Thangfish]

-[snip]- I do most of the stuff mentioned earlier with Submarine, granted I wouldn't consider it as a transparent boost; in just the way I would want it to be.
-[snip]-

Ah... that reminds me... been meaning to play around some with the Submarine and Cream Pie combination. Keep forgetting.

 

[TrevorOfDoom]

- switchable silicon transistor / germanium transistor / FET / Mosfet / IC
- adjustable gain

I think that about covers it ....

i'm down for that!
just a volume knob and a three way switch to toggle between a silicon tranny (like the LPB), a germ tranny (Rangemaster style), and a FET (just about every other clean boost ever) would be amazing. all in the same circuit soas to cut down on EQ differences and let the character of the trannys shine through!
i like it!!

(now, if you could fit it in a Bantam Box ala Catalinbread mini's, that would be awesome! but your standard enclosures are pretty small anyways)

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Well. Some interesting news. Whilst perusing the interwebs I came across Barge Concepts site, and they have a pedal called the GLZ-1. It has a variable impedance and a boost/volume combination.

Im very tempted to shoot off an e-mail to find out what the db range is on the "level" control (says on the site the boost knob is 0-15), and whether they would be able to put the in/out jacks on the side of the box.

Link Removed

 

[Joe Gress]

Im very tempted to shoot off an e-mail to find out what the db range is on the "level" control

As per the site:

As a Clean Boost: Based on the boost stages of the Barge Concepts DB-3, the GLZ can provide 0 - 15 dB of clean gain.

Interesting.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Hehe... that's for the "boost" knob. There is also "level" and "z" knobs

Either way I've shot the e-mail off. I'll keep everybody updated lol

QUICK EDIT: Even if I've found my perfect boost, I still endorse many of the ideas in this thread. Especially the multiple transistor one

 

[TrevorOfDoom]

well hell... anyone wanna toss out ideas as to how hard it'd be to mod a Serrano Picaso with a three way switch for different trannys?

 

[scotch]

Well. Some interesting news. Whilst perusing the interwebs I came across Barge Concepts site, and they have a pedal called the GLZ-1. It has a variable impedance and a boost/volume combination.

Im very tempted to shoot off an e-mail to find out what the db range is on the "level" control (says on the site the boost knob is 0-15), and whether they would be able to put the in/out jacks on the side of the box.

Link Removed

I use the GLZ-1!

The Gain & Volume knobs sort of work together. "Unity" gain (as in same level as GLZ-1 bypassed) is with Volume at max and gain at min. So think of the Gain knob as giving you +15 db of boost, while the Volume knob is 0-infinity cut.

I use my GLZ-1 to boost lower-output basses & also to attenuate one particularly high-output bass that I own... The impedance control is handy for interfacing active instruments with "finicky" fuzz boxes, but I'm not using a finicky fuzz right now....