2009 TDPRI Giveaway Winners List is available HERE

superhand · October 22nd, 2009, 12:49 AM

What is a good, fairly cheap boost pedal that will drive my amp a little harder with out coloring my tone too much?

Zillinois · October 22nd, 2009, 01:04 AM

I've been using this Seymour Duncan pedal for a while, no color added, just a simple 6-25db boost!
http://www.seymourduncan.com/product...x01_pickup_bo/

Ormond · October 22nd, 2009, 04:25 AM

It is not inexpensive, but I have had two strong recommendations for the RC Boost lately....I am looking into it. Was about to pull the trigger on a Sparkle drive...now I do not know exactly what to do....

Jelle · October 22nd, 2009, 05:10 AM

I like the Zvex SHO very much, it just adds some sparkle, but it's hideously overpriced if you don't want a handpainted box (and the cost isn't for the parts or development). So I suggest building one of the clones that are all over the net; that way you can build it for $30.

Tim Bowen · October 22nd, 2009, 05:36 AM

In my opinion, the ticket to getting one's feet wet with boosters at budget is the venerable MXR Micro Amp. It's a butt-simple circuit. It's cheap. No additive gain circuit is truly transparent, but there's no EQ emphasis here that won't work with a variety of electric guitar rigs. It's also great with DI/PA acoustic-electric rigs. It always works. I'm a boost freak and own several. The MXR is the best of the cheapies in my experience.

VL Sparkle Drive is a great ped, but it's an overdrive, not a boost.

gmann · October 22nd, 2009, 06:17 AM

The Keeley Katana Boost is my fav but I wouldn't consider it cheap. Affordable yes, cheap no.

kp8 · October 22nd, 2009, 06:21 AM

Bad bob

ASC67 · October 22nd, 2009, 02:59 PM

I have a BBE Boosta Grande on the way for this purpose, I'll let you know how it works out.

Shadowrunner · October 22nd, 2009, 03:18 PM

I like the MXR Micro Amp. Only has a gain knob!

schenkadere · October 22nd, 2009, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASC67

I have a BBE Boosta Grande on the way for this purpose, I'll let you know how it works out.

+1...the perfect boost IMO...between price, quality and transparency, you can't beat it. It's clean boost...one knob is all you need.

TwoString · October 22nd, 2009, 04:06 PM

I wired up an old ART Tube MP mic pre with a true bypass footswitch and never looked back. It can be used as a clean boost or you can up the input level a bit and get some nice warm breakup out of it. A great warm tone and you can dial it in as clean as you want it. I nabbed mine on Ebay new in the box for $25 and wired up my own bypass switch. It takes up a bit of room on the board, but it's well worth it IMO.

surfco · October 22nd, 2009, 05:18 PM

Ummm... Danelectro Cool Cat Transparent Drive?????

Grandma's Tele · October 22nd, 2009, 11:40 PM

MXR/Custom Audio Electronic MC-401 Boost pedal http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...dal?sku=151127

bloos66 · October 23rd, 2009, 12:43 AM

MI Audio Boost'n'Buff is a great pedal for a reasonable price.

68 Shovelhead · October 23rd, 2009, 01:21 AM

I love my Bad Bob, but on a budget, I'd go with the BBE, they really do make a good pedal for the money.

FMA · October 23rd, 2009, 09:22 AM

Another vote for the Boosta Grande.

Very transparent and quiet. Just lots of boost on tap. And not terribly expensive. I like it better than the MXR and Seymour Duncan units, the other two that I tried. Doesn't color your tone. What you put into it, you get out of it.

AngryEL34s · October 23rd, 2009, 10:47 AM

I use a SolidgoldFX N.O.B. for my boosting duties, which is a treble-booster-ish pedal. It sounds fantastic and will likely be my last booster for a while, but they aren't too cheap.

On the <$ side, I would go for the EHX LPB Nano series. I loved my vintage LPB-2 pedal when I still had it because it was capable of giving me a huge boost and also added a bit of grit. I think they're like $40 or so new. Definitely worth it.

superhand · October 24th, 2009, 02:30 PM

The Electro-Harmonix Nano LPB-1 is looking pretty cool considering the price. I'm cheap.

I like that it has a true bypass switch, that is always nice.

I can't seem to find how many dbs of boost it gives you though. Where can I find the specs? Is it noisy?

Mike Eskimo · October 24th, 2009, 03:25 PM

As cheap as they are, AVOID the Rocktron one.

Awful.

rockinhorse · October 24th, 2009, 03:28 PM

Danelectro Cool Cat OD.....almost nails the Timmy pedal sound for $40....

franchelB · October 24th, 2009, 08:45 PM

If I was wanting a cheap boost pedal, I'd simply use my Boss DS-1 with the Gain on zero.
If I had the money, I'd look into Creation Audio Labs' MK 4.23

SirJackdeFuzz · October 24th, 2009, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zillinois

I've been using this Seymour Duncan pedal for a while, no color added, just a simple 6-25db boost!
http://www.seymourduncan.com/product...x01_pickup_bo/

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadowrunner

I like the MXR Micro Amp. Only has a gain knob!

These TWO

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>0<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

If you want to go a little more expensive, look into the Jaques Katapult.

And for $250.00 you can get yourself a Roger Mayer Concord+

HenryAdams · October 24th, 2009, 11:48 PM

The BYOC confidence boost is cheap (free, if you buy another pedal kit), and I like the way it sounds...

superhand · October 25th, 2009, 01:21 AM

Ok, so I went out and bought me an Electro-Harmonix Nano LPB-1, tried it out briefly, I'ts kind of late and I don't want to p*** off the neighbors too much, but I like it, its pretty much what I had in mind. It pushes my amp into overdrive without having to crank it up too loud which is exactly what I wanted to achieve. Its way quieter than I expected it to be and it doesn't seem to add anything but boost to the signal. I'll have to try it again tomorrow so I can let the tubes warm up some more and crank it up a little louder. For 40 bucks, I'm happy.

Elliot Easton · October 25th, 2009, 01:44 AM

I recently added a Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster to my pedal board and I really like it. One cool feature is the 3-way switch: in the middle setting it's clean boost and the other 2 positions roll off some highs and boost mids and is intended to give single-coil pickups a fat, humbucker-like tone. Very cool if you're using gain and want to fatten things up but still play your fave guitar:The Telecaster! Hope this helps...

djinn1973 · October 25th, 2009, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zillinois

I've been using this Seymour Duncan pedal for a while, no color added, just a simple 6-25db boost!
http://www.seymourduncan.com/product...x01_pickup_bo/

That's what I have been using to push my amp in to low gain break up. Its really nice with single coils and in the clean position it gives me the sound of my amp only bigger
Also; a friend loaned me his Catalinbread VariOboost and I really like it, I am thinking about picking one up. It takes all the things like about the Pickup Booster when I have it set to positions one or two and improves on them.

czech-one-2 · October 25th, 2009, 06:38 AM

OK, i got this for sale on EBAY UK right now.
Already had a footswitch installed when i got it,so I didnt mind doing a true bypass/led /adapter jack mod.
I would highly recommend it for anyone with a good tube amp! Doesn't break up like an SHO, but it does add a little fat and sparkle into the mix.
doesnt do much for my solid state peavey Special 130,other than make it louder,which is the LAST thing that amp needs!
But when I owned a 12w,6v6 fender music master bass amp this pedal was my go to overdive!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1981-DOD-FET-P...21110001r38086

ASC67 · October 25th, 2009, 02:04 PM

I just got the BBE Boosta Grande to try with my BJr. While it does drive the amp I found that I have to set the gain to high to do it and then the amp is too loud. My Fat boost switch works just as well. However it works great with my buddies super champ XD.

I have a Danolectro transparant overdrive on the way to try.

October 22nd, 2009, 12:49 AM	#1 (permalink)
superhand Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Clovis, CA Posts: 247	Boost pedal? What is a good, fairly cheap boost pedal that will drive my amp a little harder with out coloring my tone too much?

October 22nd, 2009, 02:59 PM	#8 (permalink)
ASC67 Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Minnesota Age: 42 Posts: 222	I have a BBE Boosta Grande on the way for this purpose, I'll let you know how it works out. __________________ Steve

October 24th, 2009, 03:25 PM	#19 (permalink)
Mike Eskimo Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Detroit Age: 45 Posts: 1,472	As cheap as they are, AVOID the Rocktron one. Awful. __________________ Geeshie Wiley is my co-pilot

October 24th, 2009, 08:45 PM	#21 (permalink)
franchelB Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Irving, United States of Texas! Age: 44 Posts: 2,314	If I was wanting a cheap boost pedal, I'd simply use my Boss DS-1 with the Gain on zero. If I had the money, I'd look into Creation Audio Labs' MK 4.23 __________________ Feel free to visit my homepage! http://www.myspace.com/francisbalagtas

October 25th, 2009, 01:21 AM	#24 (permalink)
superhand Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Clovis, CA Posts: 247	Update Ok, so I went out and bought me an Electro-Harmonix Nano LPB-1, tried it out briefly, I'ts kind of late and I don't want to p*** off the neighbors too much, but I like it, its pretty much what I had in mind. It pushes my amp into overdrive without having to crank it up too loud which is exactly what I wanted to achieve. Its way quieter than I expected it to be and it doesn't seem to add anything but boost to the signal. I'll have to try it again tomorrow so I can let the tubes warm up some more and crank it up a little louder. For 40 bucks, I'm happy.

October 22nd, 2009, 01:04 AM	#2 (permalink)
Zillinois Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Seattle Posts: 108 18 Photos	I've been using this Seymour Duncan pedal for a while, no color added, just a simple 6-25db boost! http://www.seymourduncan.com/product...x01_pickup_bo/

October 22nd, 2009, 04:25 AM	#3 (permalink)
Ormond Tele-Holic Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: san bernardino Age: 59 Posts: 573	It is not inexpensive, but I have had two strong recommendations for the RC Boost lately....I am looking into it. Was about to pull the trigger on a Sparkle drive...now I do not know exactly what to do....

October 22nd, 2009, 05:10 AM	#4 (permalink)
Jelle Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Netherlands Posts: 179	I like the Zvex SHO very much, it just adds some sparkle, but it's hideously overpriced if you don't want a handpainted box (and the cost isn't for the parts or development). So I suggest building one of the clones that are all over the net; that way you can build it for $30.

October 22nd, 2009, 05:36 AM	#5 (permalink)
Tim Bowen Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Age: 49 Posts: 4,168	In my opinion, the ticket to getting one's feet wet with boosters at budget is the venerable MXR Micro Amp. It's a butt-simple circuit. It's cheap. No additive gain circuit is truly transparent, but there's no EQ emphasis here that won't work with a variety of electric guitar rigs. It's also great with DI/PA acoustic-electric rigs. It always works. I'm a boost freak and own several. The MXR is the best of the cheapies in my experience. VL Sparkle Drive is a great ped, but it's an overdrive, not a boost.

October 22nd, 2009, 06:17 AM	#6 (permalink)
gmann Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2008 Location: Okinawa, Japan Age: 55 Posts: 160	The Keeley Katana Boost is my fav but I wouldn't consider it cheap. Affordable yes, cheap no.

October 22nd, 2009, 06:21 AM	#7 (permalink)
kp8 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Seoul, Korea Posts: 3,382	Bad bob

October 22nd, 2009, 03:18 PM	#9 (permalink)
Shadowrunner Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Independence, MO Age: 28 Posts: 171	I like the MXR Micro Amp. Only has a gain knob!

October 22nd, 2009, 04:06 PM	#11 (permalink)
TwoString TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Houston Age: 26 Posts: 22	I wired up an old ART Tube MP mic pre with a true bypass footswitch and never looked back. It can be used as a clean boost or you can up the input level a bit and get some nice warm breakup out of it. A great warm tone and you can dial it in as clean as you want it. I nabbed mine on Ebay new in the box for $25 and wired up my own bypass switch. It takes up a bit of room on the board, but it's well worth it IMO.

October 22nd, 2009, 05:18 PM	#12 (permalink)
surfco Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: ◙ Calexico, CA ◙ Posts: 754	Ummm... Danelectro Cool Cat Transparent Drive?????

October 22nd, 2009, 11:40 PM	#13 (permalink)
Grandma's Tele TDPRI Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Montreal Age: 38 Posts: 63	MXR/Custom Audio Electronic MC-401 Boost pedal http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...dal?sku=151127

October 23rd, 2009, 12:43 AM	#14 (permalink)
bloos66 TDPRI Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 68 1 Photos	MI Audio Boost'n'Buff is a great pedal for a reasonable price.

October 23rd, 2009, 01:21 AM	#15 (permalink)
68 Shovelhead Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Seattle Age: 43 Posts: 228	I love my Bad Bob, but on a budget, I'd go with the BBE, they really do make a good pedal for the money.

October 23rd, 2009, 09:22 AM	#16 (permalink)
FMA Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 1,524	Another vote for the Boosta Grande. Very transparent and quiet. Just lots of boost on tap. And not terribly expensive. I like it better than the MXR and Seymour Duncan units, the other two that I tried. Doesn't color your tone. What you put into it, you get out of it.

October 23rd, 2009, 10:47 AM	#17 (permalink)
AngryEL34s Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Age: 29 Posts: 180	I use a SolidgoldFX N.O.B. for my boosting duties, which is a treble-booster-ish pedal. It sounds fantastic and will likely be my last booster for a while, but they aren't too cheap. On the <$ side, I would go for the EHX LPB Nano series. I loved my vintage LPB-2 pedal when I still had it because it was capable of giving me a huge boost and also added a bit of grit. I think they're like $40 or so new. Definitely worth it.

October 24th, 2009, 02:30 PM	#18 (permalink)
superhand Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Clovis, CA Posts: 247	The Electro-Harmonix Nano LPB-1 is looking pretty cool considering the price. I'm cheap. I like that it has a true bypass switch, that is always nice. I can't seem to find how many dbs of boost it gives you though. Where can I find the specs? Is it noisy?

October 24th, 2009, 03:28 PM	#20 (permalink)
rockinhorse TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sacramento Age: 58 Posts: 66	Danelectro Cool Cat OD.....almost nails the Timmy pedal sound for $40....

October 24th, 2009, 11:48 PM	#23 (permalink)
HenryAdams TDPRI Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Ithaca, NY Age: 29 Posts: 52	The BYOC confidence boost is cheap (free, if you buy another pedal kit), and I like the way it sounds...

October 25th, 2009, 01:44 AM	#25 (permalink)
Elliot Easton Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 456	I recently added a Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster to my pedal board and I really like it. One cool feature is the 3-way switch: in the middle setting it's clean boost and the other 2 positions roll off some highs and boost mids and is intended to give single-coil pickups a fat, humbucker-like tone. Very cool if you're using gain and want to fatten things up but still play your fave guitar:The Telecaster! Hope this helps... __________________ *It's impossible to tell lies on a Telecaster!*

October 25th, 2009, 02:04 PM	#28 (permalink)
ASC67 Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Minnesota Age: 42 Posts: 222	I just got the BBE Boosta Grande to try with my BJr. While it does drive the amp I found that I have to set the gain to high to do it and then the amp is too loud. My Fat boost switch works just as well. However it works great with my buddies super champ XD. I have a Danolectro transparant overdrive on the way to try. __________________ Steve

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