• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Clean Boost/Buffers

#41
Edd, I saw a similar package from BYOC called the Confidence Booster, but Andy from Genz Benz sent me the parts to build a simple circuit a few years ago and I couldn't even handle that, so in my hands it would be yet another confidence crusher ;)
 
#42
tekdiver500ft said:
Jimmy, I don't want to inhibit your GAS, but have you thought of simply turning down the signal from your other bass(es) to match output from your PJ? Seems much cheaper and easier to me...
Click to expand...
It's actually the same bass, Fritz. The old "two pickups on full causing a volume cut" trick. I just want enough of a boost to level them out so I can use both the P by itself and the PJ without having to think about carefully positioning the J volume knob to get enough J tone and not cause a volume cut. This is why I'm rooting for the LPB-1 to work for me...such a simple task that even it should be able to handle it without screwing me up.
 
#45
Well Jimmy, I must have anticipated your question because I was testing my pedal board level and tone in front of may SVT-CL + Berg NV610 this afternoon.

Two take aways:

1. Having a boost a the end of a long chain of pedal and cables does a huge difference in the overall tone. We all know that but that was a vivid reminder.

2. I tested my two best boosts against each other: HBE Bajo Mos versus Xotic RC Booster and the Bajo Mos continues to perform the best. It's hard to say what it does but it enhances the harmonics while keeping the tone totally pristine.

Prior to ending up with these two I went through a massive period of A/B'ing boosts which is one of the most tedious thing to do. I had about 10 at the same time and the two listed here ended up being my favorites. The only thing the Xotic does better is tone control but if you are looking for a level boost or a buffer the Bajo Mos is the very best IMHO.

The pedal I did not test against the Bajo Mos is the Barber Linden; that pedal as you know is mostly an EQ but it's a incredibly good buffer and a boost. How would it perform against the HEB Bajo Mos will be for the next episode.
 
#48
scotch said:
Not my experience at all! Are you quite sure you weren't simply driving something else into clipping downstream?
Click to expand...

nshuman said:
I will second that as well. If I run Bass > LPB-1 > PJB Combo Amp, nothing but clean volume. It's a powerful boost though so you can definitely send stuff into clipping/distortion.

Some clean boosts don't give you much boots even with the knob all the way up so the LPB-1 can feel like it does not stay clean when in fact it is just giving you a LOT of clean boost. You would get very similar results with high gain clean boosts like the SFX or Lizard Leg boosts.

Now is the LPB-1 as good as the SFX or Lizard leg? No. Is it as good as a lot of other higher priced clean boost pedals, yes.
Click to expand...

Well maybe my unit is defective, I don't know, I doubt that as I have read many people about the same issue. Maybe you don't turn the knob up enough? All I know, I can put the LPB-1 and sfx side by side, the sfx is 100% transparent and much louder...

I never needed to try the Xotic as I am perfectly satisfied with the sfx, but it might be more interesting if you're in the US.
 
#49
JimmyM said:
Wow, that good, eh? Maybe I should hold off and investigate that one a little more fully. Almost pulled the trigger on a used Micro Amp. Maybe it can wait.
Click to expand...

The Micro amp is one of the pedal I tested during my big boost A/B'ing period. Nothing wrong with it but there is nothing special about it. It's rare to find a pedal that is transparent, they all do something to the tone.

It's funny but after burning through 200 plus pedals I believe boost are the most important pedals.
 
#50
Would all of these clean boost recommendations be useful for the old "tube cooking" a tube amp idea? I'm most familiar with Barber discussing it in relation to the Barber Launch Pad, a 24v clean boost.

I know he mainly discusses "cooking" guitar amps, but I've been wanting to try it in front of my VB-2, or Ashdown Little Bastard, to see if they can't be made to sound even more responsive, etc. Thanks!
 
#51
Yes they would. That's probably the most popular usage of a clean boost for guitar, although it works the same on tube bass amps as well, provided you're boosting it into the red.
 
#53
So I just got back from Sam Ash and GC trying out clean boosts. Neither had the MXR Micro Amp, but they had a few. The LPB-1 I ended up hating. The BBE Boosta Grande was OK but didn't quite have the tonality I wanted. The Hotone Liftup ended up being quite a pleasant surprise and almost had me till I tried the Xotic EP, which was excellent and I almost got it. But in the end, looks won over a smaller footprint:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

What can I tell you? When I saw that, I was in love, and thoughts of being able to wrap it in a sock and stick it in my suitcase for fly dates went out the window. You guys were right...the Echoplex preamp rules as a clean boost.

EDIT: Well it ruled until I got it home and did some comparative listening, at least ;)
 
Last edited:
#55
Nice to see that pedal, hadn't heard of that one. The EP preamp is one of the grails somebody figured out would be well used in a stomp box. Now it seems it's available in many flavors. Another might be the old Furman pre circuit used as a gain stage in a few of their rack eq units early on, the ones with the military green panels. Sweet sound.
 
#56
Heard good about those Furman circuits elsewhere. BTW, my local GC looked like a ghost town today. Still had gear, but they must have gotten rid of at least 1/3 of it. Looking forward to winding it out through the REDDI and headphones in a little while and seeing how good my in-store ear is these days.
 
#57
32113.jpg


It's going back. Just wound it out through the REDDI in a few different permutations, including unity gain, and it seems to chop a considerable amount of high end off and boost upper mids a tad (not usually a problem for me under ordinary circumstances), plus it also seems to chop off a little low end and compress the signal (which would be quite unacceptable for me). Weirdly enough, I'm getting almost exactly the same sound with the Echoplex pre boosting my signal as I get by rolling off the J pickup slightly, minus the compression.

Considering this booster is way at the top end of what I'm willing to spend, and I can back off the J pickup slightly for free, I think my choice is clear. Sorry Dunlop...nice pedal but not for me. Sure will miss that awesome look, though ;)
 
#58
JimmyM said:
32113.jpg


It's going back. Just wound it out through the REDDI in a few different permutations, including unity gain, and it seems to chop a considerable amount of high end off and boost upper mids a tad (not usually a problem for me under ordinary circumstances), plus it also seems to chop off a little low end and compress the signal (which would be quite unacceptable for me). Weirdly enough, I'm getting almost exactly the same sound with the Echoplex pre boosting my signal as I get by rolling off the J pickup slightly, minus the compression.

Considering this booster is way at the top end of what I'm willing to spend, and I can back off the J pickup slightly for free, I think my choice is clear. Sorry Dunlop...nice pedal but not for me. Sure will miss that awesome look, though ;)
Click to expand...

so that was with the MXR microamp?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back