boost inside?

[nosuch]

what do you think about integrating a booster into a tele.
playing gigs most often I use the amps the club provides, sometimes I could use a bit more output from my 52 RI. I am contemplaiting building a boost into the tele that I can switch on with a push/pull pot when needed. I've done some research and found that product: http://www.rockinger.com/index.php?c...&product=07050

any experiences?

[hockey_head]

if it's a fender 52 ri i think i wouldn't because of the battery and preamp circuit routing. when i here boost i think active guitar preamp.
there are some good boost pedals that don't add distortion if that's what your lookin' for.
if it's like a squire affinity butterscotch, chop it up and install preamp out of an old fender tele or strat elite if you can find one.

[jefrs]

I now think these things are more trouble than they are worth. They can disguise the sound of poor pickups and ruin the sound of good ones.

I've used a MoPro 'Sonic Ranger' in one of my guitars for many years. It is no longer available but it is a small box like the one you chose, although it has additional controls (a five-way tone control switch and a Q-factor pot), it can provide 0dB, +1dB and +3dB of clean boost. Even though it is small, I do not think the block and its 9V battery will fit into the normal routs of a tele.

Since a recent re-build of that guitar I have removed the unit, I can get pretty much the same range of sounds from the pickup selector and the tone control, and I can get all the boost I need from the volume control, just back it off for normal volume...

[bradpdx]

What does a boost do for you? Most players want a "boost" in order to drive an amp harder for overdrive. Assuming you are using "amps the club provides", I am not sure how well that would work. They might stink at any level.

Before chopping up a guitar, try a boost pedal to see how well the idea really works.

Don't forget, onboard preamps isolate the pickups from the cable, which can drastically alter the sound (brighter, harder).

[nosuch]

Originally Posted by bradpdx

What does a boost do for you? Most players want a "boost" in order to drive an amp harder for overdrive.

Yeah, that's what I want it for. I was contemplating a pedal than this idea came to my mind - just have it nside the guitar and pull the volume pot when I need it to get a little hair. no good idea?
so you think a booster (preamp) and battery wouldn't fit into under the control plate?

[6x47]

That particular booster will likely not fit in the plate cavity as is, but I'll bet if you pop that plastic cover you'll find a pcb that will fit no sweat leaving the placement of the battery as the major fitting problem and it should go in between the pots.

[jefrs]

Try getting a 9V battery under the control plate.

[shades]

If your talking about an American '52RI, I'd leave it well enough alone and use a stomp box for boost. If a Squire, try one of these preamps from EMG. I recently put a PA-2 in a partscaster and have been very pleased. The PA-2 is small enough to mount in the control plate.

[The Bestron]

I'd say DEFINITELY go for a pedal.... I've never tried an active booster I liked on an electric.,,, they sound too "sterile" to me. The EMGs and other stuff for heavy metal apparently does wonders, but if you're playing a Tele I don't think it'll suit your style ;) And everyone's already told you that you're going to have to rout the thang...

If you want to go the whole hog, http://www.villex.com/prtb.html is doing some really interesting stuff with passive boosters. Haven't tried them, but the strat booster is on my want list :)

[ce24]

Originally Posted by shades

If your talking about an American '52RI, I'd leave it well enough alone and use a stomp box for boost. If a Squire, try one of these preamps from EMG. I recently put a PA-2 in a partscaster and have been very pleased. The PA-2 is small enough to mount in the control plate.

I've used the PA-2 in my strat and I liked what it did but the battery thing is a hassle. I've thought about putting it in my Agile Tele and getting one of those battery boxes that just flip out so you can replace the battery without taking off the PG. They are a nice unit tho and not very much $$$.

Cheers
ce24

[claudel]

I've got a boost circuit in Froggy the Bender that works as you describe.

A friend built it for me a few years back and all it is is a transistor, a couple of resistors & capacitors, and a trimpot to control the max gain on about a 3/4" square of perfboard.

It fits in the control cavity with the trimpot soldered to the volume pot so that it doesn't float around and is switched on/off via an pull pot that is also the tone control.

Power is from a 9V that is stashed in a cutout in the bender cavity.
If I was putting one in a non-bender guitar, I'd install a battery box so as to not have to take anything apart to change batteries.

I like it. I don't use it *that* much but IMO, it was worth the effort to install it.

I wish I had a schematic with the part values. I *do* know that one of the keys to getting it to sound good was going through a bunch of transistors till he found one that sounded right...

I also have an Alembic Stratoblaster in my Sparkle Strat.

It's nice to have those few extra dBs on hand when wanted and neither one affects the actual tone of the guitar noticeably to my ears other than the boost.

It's also handy to not have to screw around with an extra cable and an extra little metal box.

As always, YMMV...

[Cole]

call me old fashion... I always set my solo volume on my amp with the guitar volume turned all the way up. When I think I'm there, I turn it up a tiny bit more and leave it for the night... (depending on where the overall stage volume stays). After that, I turn the guitar volume down for most all my playing. This also allows me to go from clean to crunch with my guitar volume & pick dynamics orangically. AND... when you find the sweet spot, you can play clean rhythm and pick hard for crunch fills. Mmmmm.... good! This IMO is the cheapest and best boost around.

Guesting on a loaner amp is always a coin toss. If that was what I had to do every time I did a gig... I would always choose a pedal over adding a boost mod to my axe.