Hi all, So I’ve been doing a bit of reconfiguring of my pedalbord rig (currently an Amptweaker Pressurizer, Darkglass Alpha Omicron, Meris Polymoon and a Shift Line Olympic MkIII) and have recently taken out a Darkglass Vintage Microtubes and Vintage Ultra. Pressurizer into Olympic is my main tone and sounds great through headphones and into my amp. The Pressurizer has a boost function and boosting into the Olympic gives a lovely tube breakup/OD sound which I really like. Previously I’ve been getting this low gain OD sound from the Darkglass Vintage Pedals (kept switching between the standard and the Ultra) but I much prefer the sound of the Olympic being pushed. While I’m getting a good sound from the Pressurizer boost in the Olympic I’d like to get a dedicated boost to replace the Darkglass pedals. As the Pressurizer does a decent clean boost I’m looking for something with a bit of character that’s still reasonably transparent. Have been interested in the Phat Phuk for a while but not sure if that might add too much colour/breakup on its own. The Spaceman pedals interest me and the Atlas seems to be suited for what I want to do. I have got a germanium bass boost pedal on order from a local builder to try out as well, but looking for some opinions on what people suggest for a character boost pedal for a tube preamp. Thansk!
What kind of boost are you after? Full range? Dirty? Clean? Mid-range? Anarchy Audio (in Perth) is amazing, J will sort you out dude. Hit him up on stalkbook. Another one to consider is the Dazatronyx Germanium Amplifier +. I have one of these, cool little pedal. It is voiced for guitar (I use it to boost my drive pedals for solo guitar stuff) but it's currently on my bass board for the same use.
{} -This one is super quiet and has tons of boost available. I give it 3 thumbs up. BOO Instruments Boost
Thanks smo! I’ve tried out some Anarchy Audio stuff before (Gold Class OD & BeeBaa) which sounded good but didn’t fit my needs at the time. Just found that he’s done a run of unique germanium based pedals and one of them is a specific bass booster/od/preamp! I’ve placed an order for one and am hoping it will satisfy my itch for a characterful boost! The demos of it sounded great and seemed to be what I was looking for! I’ve checked out the Dazatronyx Germanium Boost before but wasn’t sure how well it would work for Bass, glad to hear it works well!
So I picked up the Anarchy Audio pedal the other day, a germanium boost/preamp/OD/fuzz called the Big Bertha. Volume control, a germanium blend control and a switch to toggle between symmetrical and asymmetrical clipping. Was hoping to use as a dirty boost to push my tube pre and Alpha Omicron. With the blend at minimum the pedal is very dirty, already starting to get into fuzz territory, so a bit too dirty for what I wanted to use it for! Had to turn the bass volume and the compressor output down quite a bit to get it to clean up and that effected the rest of my setup negatively. At my normal input volume with the blend cranked it’s actually a really nice, thick fuzz sound. Very full and articulate on the A, D & G strings but a little wooly on the E. Still a great sound and I might keep it aside to use when I want that sort of sound but it’s probablt not going to stay on my board. So I’m back to where I started and looking at slightly dirty boosts again!
I think the W&C Phat Phuk B or SPP would serve you pretty well from what you've described. Alternatively, the SolidGoldFX range of Mini Boosters would likely cover you too. I have one of the JFET boosts and it is wonderful at pushing things or adding just a bit of tonal magic. Just a bit of something extra in the harmonic content. The BC183 Boost seems well suited to bass too, as it seems like it offers an emphasis in the low end. Also, the BC549 Boost is marketed as crunchy/dirty so could be a good option too. It may be worth getting in contact with SolidGoldFX directly and describing what you're after and they may likely be able to guide you well.
Thanks for the suggestions @sifrancis! I’ve had the PPB on my mind for a while now and am thinking I should go ahead with it! The SGFX boosts have been quite appealing too, but not as easily available where I am!
Wondering if a Hudson Broadcast might fit the bill as well. Very similar price to the Phat Phuk B where I am.
I bet you'd be happy with the PPB. I had an Atlas III and found it nice, but the PPB was as nice or better. Alternatively, I think you should check out the TC Electronics Spark Booster. Not the mini. The full size. Seriously underrated pedal.
Most definitely give the full size Spark a try. Between that and the PPB all your boost needs should be met.
Anyone have any experience with Southampton's All Things Equal? I have a Broughton Josh Wah and I like running it with lower gain and volume for a very clean sound but then I have a considerable volume difference when engaged.
@jthisdell That would be a great use for the ATE. I had one and really liked it. The second version with the drive circuit is nice but be aware it is always on or always off depending on the switch position. So both channels get drive or no drive.
Well, I just placed an order for a Phat Phuk B, should be here by Friday! It’s been calling my name for a while now and as much as I checked out so many other pedals, I kept coming back to wanting to try the PPB!
I’m on my 3rd PPB. Went looking far and wide for something better and kept coming back to it. It’s a keeper!
I use Pigtronix' Bass Fat Drive. Out of production, but still available. I have other boost pedals, but prefer Da Pig! A couple of reviews: