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Tube booster pedal - is it a thing?

Phaidrus

Phaidrus

Oct 25, 2009
2,854
3,358
#1
Of course it's a thing. My question is, will it improve my tone, and if so, how?

So my gear/signal chain is a couple of Pbasses, a tube compressor (Markbass Compressore), a tube preamp class D head (Markbass Little Mark Vintage) and a 410 cab (Markbass 104HR).

I'm happy with the tone(s) I'm getting but better is always better. Will a tube booster pedal do that?
 
#3
Lammchop93 said:
Can you define what a tube booster is? Are you referencing any boost pedal? If so, I really love how they make my amps sound. Solid state or tube.

or a boost pedal that uses a tube such as the Sushibox More?
Click to expand...

Thanks for replying. I have this in mind (it looks funky and, also, I live in Europe, so it's easy and affordable to order).

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#5
Lammchop93 said:
Looks like a boost pedal powered by a tube. I personally haven’t used one so I can’t comment. But I know there’s lots of people here that use them!
Click to expand...

Looks similar to the Sushibox More. Have you used that one?

Part of my question is, will such pedal improve the tone further than the compressor, which I suppose already works as a booster of sorts?
 
#6
Phaidrus said:
Looks similar to the Sushibox More. Have you used that one?

Part of my question is, will such pedal improve the tone further than the compressor, which I suppose already works as a booster of sorts?
Click to expand...
I haven’t. I use a spaceman Saturn boost pedal and love the tone it gives me. To me it sounds like a tube overdrive. But it has no tubes in it.
 
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#9
lomo said:
Sushi Box More is a great example of this. If you put in a 12ax7 tube it can provide >30dB of kleeeeen boost, with a little subtle sauce from the onboard tube buffer.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm based in Europe, so ordering outside the EU can get quite costly (VAT + custom duties).

I'm considering this one, which looks similar to the Sushi Box More - and it's all hand-made.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#10
Phaidrus said:
Thanks. I'm based in Europe, so ordering outside the EU can get quite costly (VAT + custom duties).

I'm considering this one, which looks similar to the Sushi Box More - and it's all hand-made.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

Cool. Je ne suis pas ingenieur, mais je sais que More utilise la lampe dans la partie "buffer" du circuit. This looks very similar.
 
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#11
lomo said:
Cool. Je ne suis pas ingenieur, mais je sais que More utilise la lampe dans la partie "buffer" du circuit. This looks very similar.
Click to expand...

Oui, ca ressemble. I suppose it will boost the signal, also adding some tube dynamics to it. I'm already sort of doing that with my tube compressor, setting its gain to max, but it's not meant to do this. Will a boosted signal (say by this pedal), going into the tube compressor and then into the amp, sound different/better than an unboosted one?
 
#12
Phaidrus said:
Will a boosted signal (say by this pedal), going into the tube compressor and then into the amp, sound different/better than an unboosted one?
Click to expand...

In the case of the More pedal, it adds a VERY subtle je ne sais quoi all by itrelf. It's the sort of thing no one would ever hear in a live mix, but might be nice in a studio if you're listening very carefully (=tonal cork sniffing, LOL). Whether the boosted signal into the compressor will change the tone of the comp depends on the particular compressor. If the comp has an input gain control, then you can test this by varying it=adjusting how hard the signal hits the comp input, If the comp doesn't have an input gain knob, you'll have to try to find out. What compressor is it? All that said, hitting a compressor harder will trigger it sooner and more dramatically unless you change the comp settings to compensate.
 
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#13
How much tube do you need? I run my MB Compressore into my Shuttlemax 12.0 with the tube channel engaged and it sounds pretty tubey to me. It seems if you need more, get an all tube amp or something like a Genz Benz Streamliner or a Mesa with multiple tubes in the preamp.
 
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#14
On one of my pedalboards, I have Blackstar Dept. 10 Boost, which is a 12AX7 (ECC83)-based tube boost pedal. It also has a Baxandall EQ stage with bass and treble controls. I use it mostly for solos when I feel like I dig in hard to cut through the mix when the rest of the band is a bit loud during my solos. I do not have much experience in boost pedals with the exception of xotic EP, but Blackstar is really nice and I highly recommend it. The only downside is it draws 500 mA, so it is not the most pedalboard-friendly pedal (even though it comes with its own power supply).
 
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#16
lomo said:
In the case of the More pedal, it adds a VERY subtle je ne sais quoi all by itrelf. It's the sort of thing no one would ever hear in a live mix, but might be nice in a studio if you're listening very carefully (=tonal cork sniffing, LOL). Whether the boosted signal into the compressor will change the tone of the comp depends on the particular compressor. If the comp has an input gain control, then you can test this by varying it=adjusting how hard the signal hits the comp input, If the comp doesn't have an input gain knob, you'll have to try to find out. What compressor is it? All that said, hitting a compressor harder will trigger it sooner and more dramatically unless you change the comp settings to compensate.
Click to expand...

It's a Markbass Compressore tube compressor with gain control that is already always maxed out in order to get a tube vibe out of it. The compressor is always on and compression ratio is kept reasonably low (please see attached pic).

As @Thumpin6string rightly asks, how much tube do I need? Well, as much as possible. Surely, in the end I should just get myself and SVT but I bought the Little Mark Vintage like a year ago and I should better keep my finances under control. My tone is already sort of tubey, hence the question - will it become more tubey or more punchy or more whatever by adding this tube boost pedal?

@Alper Yilmaz The Blackstar Dept. 10 Boost looks interesting. What amp are you using?

IMG_2251.JPG
 
#19
Phaidrus said:
Oui, ca ressemble. I suppose it will boost the signal, also adding some tube dynamics to it. I'm already sort of doing that with my tube compressor, setting its gain to max, but it's not meant to do this. Will a boosted signal (say by this pedal), going into the tube compressor and then into the amp, sound different/better than an unboosted one?
Click to expand...

According to the Compressore's owner's manual, section 7 (block diagram): The gain control directly feeds into the tube. So, in my opinion, a boost pedal feeding directly into the Compressore would be roughly the same as turning up the Compressore's gain. I suppose running a tube gain into the tube compressor might be a tiny bit more tube sounding since you'd be stacking tube gain stages. But I think you'd get a better tube overdrive by placing a boost pedal directly in front of the amplifier input.

Also - I have a Markbass Compressore as an always on pedal on my board. It does have a nice overdrive with the input gain pushed hard. The only problem I have with that configuration is that I don't always want my compressed signal pushed into overdrive.
 
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#20
Phaidrus said:
I'm happy with the tone(s) I'm getting but better is always better. Will a tube booster pedal do that?
Click to expand...

How many tubes do you think you will need to get a better sound?

If you are happy with your sound, then guess what. You are happy with your sound.

You don’t need any more gear (I know that’s never to be mentioned here at TB). ;)
 
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