like YOUR tone just MOOOOOOOORE OF IT?

bobk · June 6th, 2003, 10:37 AM

took my recent purcahse into the studio lastnight and it was AMAZING....recently i purchased a bad bob boost(gee i wonder why that appealed to me..ha ha)made by our own Robbie Wallace and used it in a session i was doin lastnight...WOW.......right into the front end of a balckface deluxe reverb...it just amplifies everything....it doesnt alter the tone a bit...its your sound in,your sound out just TONS more of YOUR tone.....harmonics(got have em).....a lil sizzle if you crank it(which i did a few times)..........well worth $99(worth more than that IMHO)...an excellent well made clean boost........just got this thing so no doubt ill fool with it some more,but it got the job done with the clock ticking and the tape rolling($$$$$$$$$$$$$thats when it counts)

Tim Armstrong · June 6th, 2003, 12:18 PM

So, did Robbie name it after you???

Grins, Tim

eryque · June 6th, 2003, 01:53 PM

Bob, here's a question I've had about boosters: what's the difference between boosting your signal and just turning up the volume knob on amp & guitar? I just bought a SHO from ebay and found the difference between stepping on the pedal and turning up the volume to be very, very, very slight, if at all.

AlNelson · June 6th, 2003, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eryque

Bob, here's a question I've had about boosters: what's the difference between boosting your signal and just turning up the volume knob on amp & guitar? I just bought a SHO from ebay and found the difference between stepping on the pedal and turning up the volume to be very, very, very slight, if at all.

Sorry to butt in Bob.

IMO, if the difference is sound is very slight, that is a good booster. If, OTOH, it makes your nice expensive amp sound like a SS pratice amp or pedal, that is a bod one.

One of my regulars swears by the SHO. After hearing it in my shop with an amp I was very familiar with, I liked it too.

So, that leaves one big advantage over turning up the volume knob - you can keep your hands on the guitar. :D

felken · June 6th, 2003, 02:58 PM

A boost pedal increases the signal the first preamp tube sees, very useful for non-master volume amplifiers. I notice a difference in tone between turning up my nmv Silver face Princeton Reverb or Tone King 40B or using the boost.

A boost can be used to push your amp into overdrive if the amp is close to that. You could set the amp volume to edge fo breakup with guitar volume maxed and use the boost to "push" it into more overdrive.

Listen to "Lenny" by SRV as I believe he used a boost to make the amp sound bigger but still clean.

They are very useful pedals and come in many variations with slight differences.

Poppatwang · June 6th, 2003, 03:20 PM

Any A/B comparisons you can make w/ other boosts?

Pedalworld · June 6th, 2003, 04:28 PM

bobk · June 7th, 2003, 07:37 AM

with the KLON....the BAD BOB beats it hands down for transparency AND headroom...i ran my guitar into the KLON and it was no dice...i clipped the front end of the KLON.......and it colored the heck out of my tone,the BAD BOB just made it louder..my tone in,my tone out

with a MODDED TS-9...and again for transparency and headroom the BAD BOB comes out ahead,less tonal coloration(this was a mid free model)

with a FULLTONE FULLDRIVE...for what i was lookinfor,still too much coloration....not enough headroom

Tim Armstrong · June 7th, 2003, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by felken

A boost can be used to push your amp into overdrive if the amp is close to that. You could set the amp volume to edge fo breakup with guitar volume maxed and use the boost to "push" it into more overdrive.

I get the same effect from setting my guitar's volume knob to about 75%, dialing in the amp to "edge of breakup", and just turning the guitar up whenever I need a little dirt. Works great, and I didn't have to buy a pedal!

Probably too simple a solution!

Tim

jumpnblues · June 7th, 2003, 12:23 PM

bobk,

How does the Bad Bob compare to the Klon when comparing it to the boost side of the Klon only. I agree that when you begin to use the OD side of the Klon it begins to color your tone when you get into the moderate to heavy side of the OD spectrum. Although I rarely use much OD anymore, I actually LIKE the way a Klon colors your tone except in the heavy OD range (which as I said I never use anyway). I've tried loads of OD, boost, and combination OD/boost pedals (I own 2 Klons, Z-Vex Super Duper, Cold Fusion, Sparkledrive, 2 Nobels ODR-1's, Fulldrive 2, and a Barber Tone Press that is not only a compressor but has a nice boost feature.). I use most of these for recording and only a couple for live gigs, which brings to mind another issue...that is the amp specific nature of many pedals.
When you compare pedals you have to be sure you're comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges. That's why I asked if you compared the Bad Bob to just the boost side of the Klon. I'm not intimately familiar with the Bad Bob (Oh behave!), but isn't it a boost pedal only? If so, then to be more objective in a comparison you would need to compare boost to boost. And it is in this department that I've not been able to find anything superior to the Klon. IMO the Z-Vex Super Duper/SHO is VERY close or maybe equal. I prefer the Klon with my Victoria 45410T Bassman and Dr.Z MAZ 18 jr. and the Super Duper with my Victoria 35115T Pro. And therein lies the "rub". I've found most OD/boost pedals to be "amp specific". In other words although they sound good with many amps, they sound better with others. For example, my lowly Sparkledrive matches up to my 1961 Fender Concert better than any other pedal I've heard. Is the Sparkledrive a "transparent" pedal? Not in my opinion. However, I LIKE the way it colors the tone. So "transparent" doesn't always equal "better" IMO.
I do try to keep an open mind though and I consistently hear good things about the Bad Bob. The price is certainly right. I wouldn't be surprised that one may find it's way to my studio. But before this post gets any more long winded, I'll just reiterate that to be fair, while comparing pedals or any piece of equipment one needs to compare specific features of one with the same exact features of the other. By the way does "Bob" have a website?

bobk · June 7th, 2003, 05:30 PM

not sure exactly what you were gettin at...i was posting my impressions and i found it to be superior for my purposes...ampwise ive used it with boogies and with fenders...no problem with either....

jumpnblues · June 7th, 2003, 05:35 PM

Fair enough.

Anonymous · June 7th, 2003, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Quote:

Originally Posted by felken

A boost can be used to push your amp into overdrive if the amp is close to that. You could set the amp volume to edge fo breakup with guitar volume maxed and use the boost to "push" it into more overdrive.

I get the same effect from setting my guitar's volume knob to about 75%, dialing in the amp to "edge of breakup", and just turning the guitar up whenever I need a little dirt. Works great, and I didn't have to buy a pedal!

Probably too simple a solution!

Tim

Darn right it's too simple. Why do something the easy (and authentic) way when you can spend barrels o' bucks searching out a pedal to simulate the same thing? Shame on you. ;-) CS

jumpnblues · June 7th, 2003, 09:13 PM

...and I always end up too loud when I crank the guitar volume to add "boost". With a good boost pedal I can add the boost, which makes my smaller amp sound bigger and louder with out being too loud. That's been my experience anyhow, but I'm always searching for a better way and I'm open to suggestions. JMHO YMMV.

Lance · June 7th, 2003, 10:25 PM

Whenever my amp is sounding weak and I'm scratching my head about what's wrong.....it always turns out that my SHO isn't turned on (unusual since I really leave it on all the time).

These clean boost pedals just MAKE your tone. I'm not even sure the brand makes a huge difference since most anyone that adds a clean boost to their signal chain seems to have the same experience.

Anonymous · June 8th, 2003, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jumpnblues

...and I always end up too loud when I crank the guitar volume to add "boost". With a good boost pedal I can add the boost, which makes my smaller amp sound bigger and louder with out being too loud. That's been my experience anyhow, but I'm always searching for a better way and I'm open to suggestions. JMHO YMMV.

I was just joshin' w/Tim ('cause he's so easy to pick on). ;-) While I really do prefer "natural" power tube distortion to pedals, I own an FD-2 for exactly the situation you describe: needing to sound loud without actually being loud. Most times if I know the venue in advance, I'll take along a smaller amp and just crank it, in which case using the guitar's volume works great. But sometimes you need the clean tones and/or projection ability of a larger rig without all the volume. Doesn't come up too often, but when it does, I agree with you -- a boost pedal is just what the tone doctor ordered. :-) CS

Tim Armstrong · June 8th, 2003, 10:53 AM

That mean, nasty man in Virginia wrote:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris S.

But sometimes you need the clean tones and/or projection ability of a larger rig without all the volume. Doesn't come up too often, but when it does, I agree with you -- a boost pedal is just what the tone doctor ordered. :-) CS

Yeah, me too. I'm not too proud to use a big clean amp and some good sounding pedals!

Uh, I just don't own a big clean amp anymore...

Grins, Tim

Adam Waldron · June 8th, 2003, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Quote:

Originally Posted by felken

A boost can be used to push your amp into overdrive if the amp is close to that. You could set the amp volume to edge fo breakup with guitar volume maxed and use the boost to "push" it into more overdrive.

I get the same effect from setting my guitar's volume knob to about 75%, dialing in the amp to "edge of breakup", and just turning the guitar up whenever I need a little dirt. Works great, and I didn't have to buy a pedal!

Probably too simple a solution!

Tim

Right on Tim! Thats how I have always played.

I can't play with my feet!

Cheers,

Adam

Steven · June 9th, 2003, 02:47 AM

You might find a boost pedal verry handy if you use dist/overdrive pedals. Put the boost last in the effects chain. You then can boost your lead sound without changing your tone the way using the volume pot on the guitar would (i e decreased drive with loverd volume pot). One problem i have come across with this setup though is that my MXR micro amp seems to boost different pedals differently. Just the boost into the amp gives a much smaller boost compared to the boost together with a dist pedal. The boost seems to increase with the amount of gain in front of it. I guess there is a physical explanation to this but it is a bit annoying :? .

June 6th, 2003, 10:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
bobk Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 102	like YOUR tone just MOOOOOOOORE OF IT? took my recent purcahse into the studio lastnight and it was AMAZING....recently i purchased a bad bob boost(gee i wonder why that appealed to me..ha ha)made by our own Robbie Wallace and used it in a session i was doin lastnight...WOW.......right into the front end of a balckface deluxe reverb...it just amplifies everything....it doesnt alter the tone a bit...its your sound in,your sound out just TONS more of YOUR tone.....harmonics(got have em).....a lil sizzle if you crank it(which i did a few times)..........well worth $99(worth more than that IMHO)...an excellent well made clean boost........just got this thing so no doubt ill fool with it some more,but it got the job done with the clock ticking and the tape rolling($$$$$$$$$$$$$thats when it counts) __________________ #3,the Intimidator

June 6th, 2003, 12:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tim Armstrong Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Berlin, Maryland, USA Age: 49 Posts: 9,720	Hey Bob! So, did Robbie name it after you??? Grins, Tim

June 6th, 2003, 03:20 PM	#6 (permalink)
Poppatwang Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: St. Paul, MN Posts: 1,892 13 Photos	Hey Bob Any A/B comparisons you can make w/ other boosts?

June 7th, 2003, 07:37 AM	#8 (permalink)
bobk Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 102	ive compared it............. with the KLON....the BAD BOB beats it hands down for transparency AND headroom...i ran my guitar into the KLON and it was no dice...i clipped the front end of the KLON.......and it colored the heck out of my tone,the BAD BOB just made it louder..my tone in,my tone out with a MODDED TS-9...and again for transparency and headroom the BAD BOB comes out ahead,less tonal coloration(this was a mid free model) with a FULLTONE FULLDRIVE...for what i was lookinfor,still too much coloration....not enough headroom __________________ #3,the Intimidator

June 7th, 2003, 12:23 PM	#10 (permalink)
jumpnblues Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midwest Age: 58 Posts: 1,662	Bad Bob vs Klon bobk, How does the Bad Bob compare to the Klon when comparing it to the boost side of the Klon only. I agree that when you begin to use the OD side of the Klon it begins to color your tone when you get into the moderate to heavy side of the OD spectrum. Although I rarely use much OD anymore, I actually LIKE the way a Klon colors your tone except in the heavy OD range (which as I said I never use anyway). I've tried loads of OD, boost, and combination OD/boost pedals (I own 2 Klons, Z-Vex Super Duper, Cold Fusion, Sparkledrive, 2 Nobels ODR-1's, Fulldrive 2, and a Barber Tone Press that is not only a compressor but has a nice boost feature.). I use most of these for recording and only a couple for live gigs, which brings to mind another issue...that is the amp specific nature of many pedals. When you compare pedals you have to be sure you're comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges. That's why I asked if you compared the Bad Bob to just the boost side of the Klon. I'm not intimately familiar with the Bad Bob (Oh behave!), but isn't it a boost pedal only? If so, then to be more objective in a comparison you would need to compare boost to boost. And it is in this department that I've not been able to find anything superior to the Klon. IMO the Z-Vex Super Duper/SHO is VERY close or maybe equal. I prefer the Klon with my Victoria 45410T Bassman and Dr.Z MAZ 18 jr. and the Super Duper with my Victoria 35115T Pro. And therein lies the "rub". I've found most OD/boost pedals to be "amp specific". In other words although they sound good with many amps, they sound better with others. For example, my lowly Sparkledrive matches up to my 1961 Fender Concert better than any other pedal I've heard. Is the Sparkledrive a "transparent" pedal? Not in my opinion. However, I LIKE the way it colors the tone. So "transparent" doesn't always equal "better" IMO. I do try to keep an open mind though and I consistently hear good things about the Bad Bob. The price is certainly right. I wouldn't be surprised that one may find it's way to my studio. But before this post gets any more long winded, I'll just reiterate that to be fair, while comparing pedals or any piece of equipment one needs to compare specific features of one with the same exact features of the other. By the way does "Bob" have a website? __________________ jumpnblues "Heaven St." (Original Blues Instrumental): http://www.box.net/shared/static/z96atf0zn2.mp3 http://www.myspace.com/drbluezz

June 6th, 2003, 01:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 7,126 44 Photos	Bob, here's a question I've had about boosters: what's the difference between boosting your signal and just turning up the volume knob on amp & guitar? I just bought a SHO from ebay and found the difference between stepping on the pedal and turning up the volume to be very, very, very slight, if at all.

June 6th, 2003, 02:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
felken TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 37	A boost pedal increases the signal the first preamp tube sees, very useful for non-master volume amplifiers. I notice a difference in tone between turning up my nmv Silver face Princeton Reverb or Tone King 40B or using the boost. A boost can be used to push your amp into overdrive if the amp is close to that. You could set the amp volume to edge fo breakup with guitar volume maxed and use the boost to "push" it into more overdrive. Listen to "Lenny" by SRV as I believe he used a boost to make the amp sound bigger but still clean. They are very useful pedals and come in many variations with slight differences.

June 6th, 2003, 04:28 PM	#7 (permalink)
Pedalworld Banned Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 936

June 7th, 2003, 05:30 PM	#11 (permalink)
bobk Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 102	i was talkin about the boost side of the klon not sure exactly what you were gettin at...i was posting my impressions and i found it to be superior for my purposes...ampwise ive used it with boogies and with fenders...no problem with either.... __________________ #3,the Intimidator

June 7th, 2003, 05:35 PM	#12 (permalink)
jumpnblues Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midwest Age: 58 Posts: 1,662	Fair enough. __________________ jumpnblues "Heaven St." (Original Blues Instrumental): http://www.box.net/shared/static/z96atf0zn2.mp3 http://www.myspace.com/drbluezz

June 7th, 2003, 09:13 PM	#14 (permalink)
jumpnblues Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Midwest Age: 58 Posts: 1,662	Chris S., God knows I've tried that more times than I can re ...and I always end up too loud when I crank the guitar volume to add "boost". With a good boost pedal I can add the boost, which makes my smaller amp sound bigger and louder with out being too loud. That's been my experience anyhow, but I'm always searching for a better way and I'm open to suggestions. JMHO YMMV. __________________ jumpnblues "Heaven St." (Original Blues Instrumental): http://www.box.net/shared/static/z96atf0zn2.mp3 http://www.myspace.com/drbluezz

June 7th, 2003, 10:25 PM	#15 (permalink)
Lance Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 2,180	All I can say is.... Whenever my amp is sounding weak and I'm scratching my head about what's wrong.....it always turns out that my SHO isn't turned on (unusual since I really leave it on all the time). These clean boost pedals just MAKE your tone. I'm not even sure the brand makes a huge difference since most anyone that adds a clean boost to their signal chain seems to have the same experience. __________________ Lance "not very good...but I make up for it by playing loud"

June 9th, 2003, 02:47 AM	#19 (permalink)
Steven Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sweden Posts: 511	Boost You might find a boost pedal verry handy if you use dist/overdrive pedals. Put the boost last in the effects chain. You then can boost your lead sound without changing your tone the way using the volume pot on the guitar would (i e decreased drive with loverd volume pot). One problem i have come across with this setup though is that my MXR micro amp seems to boost different pedals differently. Just the boost into the amp gives a much smaller boost compared to the boost together with a dist pedal. The boost seems to increase with the amount of gain in front of it. I guess there is a physical explanation to this but it is a bit annoying :? .