Any info on clean boost pedals

Billy Murdoch · From: Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.

I have three rigs which I use for live playing and each go to a Furlong SPLIT.
One of these rigs does not give enough volume,the other two are fine.
Would a clean boost pedal do the trick without affecting the original tone?
Can anyone recommend a particular brand?
Thanks
Billy

George Macdonald · From: Vancouver Island BC Canada

Billy, I haven't had first hand experience, but the TC Electronics "Spark Booster" has received a lot of very favorable reviews. I have one of their reverb and delay pedals and they are top quality.

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

I own a Seymour Duncan Booster, it works just fine, but you have to be careful as you can easily overdrive the front end of the amp with an excessive DB boost.

I have used it on outdoor big stage gigs for a clean bump, and yeah it does that very well !

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Billy Murdoch · From: Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.

Thanks George and Tony
Best regards
Billy

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

If you want to increase the bang for your pound, another option would be an EQ box such as the Boss. You can shape your sound and get extra gain. Absolutely, the potential to overdrive the amp's input is an issue. But until you reach this threshold, you can really fatten up your feed with a boost. Also, if you happen to be thinking about a compressor, this, too, can give you boost.

--just giving you some ideas for killing two birds, if they happen to be birds that interest you.

Billy Murdoch · From: Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.

Thanks for the suggestions Jon.
I am completely satisfied with My sound and do not really wish the option of changing the tone,I just want a bit more volume.
Billy

Chris Tarrow · From: Maplewood, NJ

I hang around on thegearpage.net and that is a great place for both intel and used pedals. The MXR is known as very transparent, as is the TC Spark. Xotic are also popular but tend to be more colored.

Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

There was a powered cable that was mentioned on the forum a while back. Clean boost and the battery was supposed to last a year. I was going to give it a try as there was a model cable for steel. I may give it a go...

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Goodrich 7A Match Box has a boost function along with the impedance matching doesn't it?
How about Brad Sarno's SMS products. Doesn't one of these do that too besides just unloading the pickup?

These are a couple things designed to work with steel guitar pickups.

Also, many effects pedals have a LEVEL control that you can use to only boost the signal and back off the effect part of it. Some of them do tend to color your sound though.

I'd be more inclined to use something like the Match Box for steel guitar personally.

Paul Arntson · From: Washington, USA

If you happen to go with the Boss GE7 I highly recommend the Monte Allums pedal mod. I A-B ed a pair of GE7 with and without and bought the modded one. The noise floor is way way lower.
http://www.monteallums.com/pedal_mods_GE7.html
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Tom Wolverton · From: Carpinteria, CA

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David Gertschen · From: Phoenix, Arizona

I'll second what Tom posted; the EP Booster is really a neat little pedal. Although I haven't had a need for it with my PSG rig, it sure sounds good with six string guitar.

Michael Brebes · From: Northridge CA

I've used the MXR Micro Amp for just this purpose for many years.
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Brett Lanier · From: Madison, TN

Union Tube and Transistor "More". Also their compressor pedal, which is just the More circuit with an LA2A style compressor that doesn't engage unless you turn that knob up.

I use an Ego compressor as a boost which does a really good job, but I think the Union pedal sounds a little better. I got the chance to try their whole line recently, and compare them to what I had on my board. I went through a bunch of boost pedals before settling on the Ego. Most of them effected the tone too much for me, especially in the highs. The Nobels preamp boost sounds good too, and is a lot cheaper than the others I mentioned.

All that said, I'd go for the Union compressor if I were to buy another boost.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

I've used literally dozens of "clean boost pedals", many tested for manufacturers.

Buy a Tone City Bad Horse.

Here's why -

I also own an original Klon Centaur - and it truly *is* the "holy grail* of clean boost pedals. It's mind-numbingly easy to set one so your signal will get a "kick" with no perceptible change in tone - other than that provided by hitting your amp harder.

After years of testing "Klon clones" that weren't - and let me get compressors out of the way right now, as they ALL color the tone - In the Bad Horse I finally found pedal so close to the Klon most players can't hear the difference.

It's a cheap little 1/2 size, adapter power-only pedal. They sell for about $80-90. I've gotten them on Reverb (I've built pedalboards for some other players).

I keep one around and use it *with* my Klon so I can have two different transparent boost levels.

The thing really is scary. I've A/B'd it with the Klon through Fenders (tweeds, Champs, Deluxe Reverb, brown Concert, Twin etc), several different Marshalls, Vox AC30's and AC10's ,Magnatones, Peaveys, old Airlines & Silvertones - and several solid-state amps including bass and acoustic amps.

With tube amps, if they're cranked it can push them into saturation - again, without coloration. Or run clean it just kicks the level. Which is exactly what it does with solid-state and digital amps.

There are a few others I think are very good - but I don't see a reason to mention them because the Bad Horse is SO much better.

No, I don't work for them or anyone involved. I just found a cheap pedal that does what a $2,000 one does and nothing else can match and it's the only thing I recommend for "clean boost".
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional

Billy Murdoch · From: Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.

Hi Jim,
Thanks for Your input.
I had a look at the Bad Horse and it is listed as an overdrive pedal.
Am I correct in saying You mean the Tone City All Spark.
Best regards
Billy

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Keely Katana works very well on 6 string but haven't tried it on steel.
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Steve Spitz · From: New Orleans, LA, USA

I also had the Seymore Duncan that Tony pictured. It worked very well for what I needed.

I doubled on Baritone and steel,thru one amp, and the modern steel pickup output vs. the strat type pickup in the Bari gave a volume mismatch.

The Duncan booster balanced the volume, with a nice clean bump. If dirty tone was desired, it was available, but thats not what I was looking for.

It was dirt cheap, and easy on batteries.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

The Keely Katana provides a nice clean boost. But if you pull out on the knob/switch. look out!
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Tommy Boswell · From: Virginia, USA

I use a Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive. It has a clean boost and a drive (for grit). For pedal steel I turn clean boost all the way up, and the drive all the way down. It also has volume and tone controls, but I don't boost volume. My settings give me a bit of tube-like warmth when using a solid-state amp. And if I ever need the gritty drive, it's right there waiting.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Drew Pierce · From: Arkansas, USA

Isn't the venerable Goodrich MatchBox basically a clean boost device? And how about the Lil' Izzy? Just asking.
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Drew Pierce
Emmons D10 Fatback, S10 bolt-on, Zum D10, Evans RE500, Hilton volume and delay pedals.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

Billy - no, I meant the Bad Horse.

Ignore terms like "overdrive" and "clean boost". They are generic terms that mean nothing. Originally an "overdrive" was intended as a pedal that pushed a clean amp into mild saturation. Or just made it a bit louder. But did not create any distortion of its own.

Virtually ALL clean boost pedals made today will create distortion if dialed up enough.

The "function" and sound" are what matters - NOT the semantics.

But to back up a bit - if one rig does not have enough volume NO pedal will increase the total volume level. Even the Cleanest of clean boosts will simply cause it to distort.

If the amp is running at the absolute top of its headroom (and a tube amp) you have two possible choices: 1) have the amp serviced and "dialed-in" by a competent amp tech to *increase* the overall volume - this could involve new filter caps; new power and driver tubes AND rebiasing the amp; changing the rectifier tube/rebias; transformer changes; new speaker and so on, or 2) replacing the amp with one that has higher output (NOT necessarily "power" - "watts" are a lousy indicator of volume).

If it's solid state there are fewer service options available to increase volume outside of speaker sensitivity.

But a boost pedal will NOT make an amp louder that's already at maximum clean volume.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional

Bill L. Wilson · From: Oklahoma, USA

Here lately, Iâ€™ve been running both the Liâ€™l Izzy and a Goodrich Matchbox together. The Matchbox is a clean boost, with a volume and a tone pot. The Liâ€™l Izzy is an op-amp and more of a tone machine to boost the high end, without boosting the volume. Iâ€™ve only had the Izzy for a few months, but I like what it does to my tone and having the Matchbox attached to the leg of my steel makes adjustments easier.

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