Recommend a Boost for the Quick Rod

[JerEvil]

So I have never been a guy to boost my amps, but since getting my Black Arts Toneworks "Coven" pedal, I am really liking the sound of hitting my gain channel with a little bit of extra dirt.

I am using the Black Forest part of the Coven pedal to get a really gritty Entombed style sound. Not for the faint of heart. My favorite tones are the Dokken, Ratt type stuff to more Accept and King Diamond type (Andy LaRocque has been a long time favorite).

The Splawn sounds glorious on its own IMHO but I have been toying with the idea of boosts so fire away!

Was looking at these few but really looking to hear y'alls thoughts:

 

[craftm1]

Suhr Koko Boost

 

[JerEvil]

Suhr Koko Boost

Is there a difference (outside of $20) between the Koko and the Reloaded? Which do you prefer and why?

 

[Lord Toneking]

I had a Mk.4.23 that I wish I never wouldve sold that I used with my QR. I basically ran it in front and left it on all the time. It just gave my amp 'more' without really altering the tone. More sag? more saturation?...idk, it just made it sound better and I didnt fight my amp when my chops were off

Sold it to make room for my wireless

 

[JerEvil]

I had a Mk.4.23 that I wish I never wouldve sold that I used with my QR. I basically ran it in front and left it on all the time. It just gave my amp 'more' without really altering the tone. More sag? more saturation?...idk, it just made it sound better and I didnt fight my amp when my chops were off

Sold it to make room for my wireless

Just checked it out on youtube. Very cool pedal.

 

[maddnotez]

I have not played a Quickrod but I am a guy that boosts everything.

I have only tried a few but I went with the classic Maxon 808. Just soundded amazing with my Pitbull.

I sold my Ibanez TS808 as ssoon as I heard the maxon, took a $50 hit and did not care at all. I also tried an SD-1 and thought it was very bad. Did not like.

I have been very eager to start heavily testing OD pedals once I get my amp situation back in order. The Koko is definitely on the list along with Electro Harmonix Soul Food, Maxon 808 extreme, "Klone" the Klon clone and the Timmy.

Good luck with the search and enjoy.

http://www.suhr.com/suhr-guitar-pedals/ ... -Reloaded/

 

[JerEvil]

There are so many OD's out there it is hard to narrow down.

 

[XSSIVE]

Anything based on a tube screamer circuit that retains it's mid push will work great with the QR for 80s metal tones, or modern metal for that matter. Thus why so many high gain players use variations of it. It will cut the flab out of the bottom end, saturate the palm mutes and push the mids. So pretty much any OD pedal NOT advertised as transparent lol.

MXR GTOD
MXR Wylde
MXR Custom Badass OD
Way Huge Green Rhino
JHS Moonshine
XTS precision overdrive
XTS precision Multi Drive
Rockbox Boiling Point
Cusack Screamer
Boss SD-1
Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive
Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive Mod
Earthquaker Devices Palisades
EHX East River Drive (accurate replica of a vintage TS808 but the bonus of true bypass)
Retro Sonic Eight O Eight
VFE The Scream

The list of pedals based on the good old tube screamer is massive, those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head and any one will work well to push any high gain amp they all just have a slightly different flavor to them with more or less available tweaks.

Two new pedals based on the same principal the tube screamer does to an already high gain amp (saturation, mid push and bass cut) just came out from VFE that are on my radar but I'm yet to try them. The VFE Focus and VFE Ice Scream

 

[maddnotez]

Anything based on a tube screamer circuit that retains it's mid push will work great with the QR for 80s metal tones, or modern metal for that matter. Thus why so many high gain players use variations of it. It will cut the flab out of the bottom end, saturate the palm mutes and push the mids. So pretty much any OD pedal NOT advertised as transparent lol.

MXR GTOD
MXR Wylde
MXR Custom Badass OD
Way Huge Green Rhino
JHS Moonshine
XTS precision overdrive
XTS precision Multi Drive
Rockbox Boiling Point
Cusack Screamer
Boss SD-1
Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive
Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive Mod
Earthquaker Devices Palisades
EHX East River Drive (accurate replica of a vintage TS808 but the bonus of true bypass)
Retro Sonic Eight O Eight
VFE The Scream

The list of pedals based on the good old tube screamer is massive, those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head and any one will work well to push any high gain amp they all just have a slightly different flavor to them with more or less available tweaks.

Two new pedals based on the same principal the tube screamer does to an already high gain amp (saturation, mid push and bass cut) just came out from VFE that are on my radar but I'm yet to try them. The VFE Focus and VFE Ice Scream

This certainly holds true however the amount of the "flavor" each of the pedals bring can be an pretty large difference. You have to try them all Jer Start with the most expensive and sell/trade your way down.

 

[flimz]

Ive tried several tube screamer variants with my Quickrod. The Spalwn has such a unique (Weird/Haunting..lol) mid push already, that I couldnt settle on one that didnt interfere with the natural tone of the amp. And quite frankly I dont really see any need to tighten up a Splawn. The amp is already ridiculously tight as is.
That being said, what I did try was a compressor for leads. I left my rhythm chunk alone, and kicked in the compressor for smooth singing leads. It was nice! My 2 cents

 

[JerEvil]

Anything based on a tube screamer circuit that retains it's mid push will work great with the QR for 80s metal tones, or modern metal for that matter. Thus why so many high gain players use variations of it. It will cut the flab out of the bottom end, saturate the palm mutes and push the mids. So pretty much any OD pedal NOT advertised as transparent lol.

MXR GTOD
MXR Wylde
MXR Custom Badass OD
Way Huge Green Rhino
JHS Moonshine
XTS precision overdrive
XTS precision Multi Drive
Rockbox Boiling Point
Cusack Screamer
Boss SD-1
Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive
Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive Mod
Earthquaker Devices Palisades
EHX East River Drive (accurate replica of a vintage TS808 but the bonus of true bypass)
Retro Sonic Eight O Eight
VFE The Scream

The list of pedals based on the good old tube screamer is massive, those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head and any one will work well to push any high gain amp they all just have a slightly different flavor to them with more or less available tweaks.

Two new pedals based on the same principal the tube screamer does to an already high gain amp (saturation, mid push and bass cut) just came out from VFE that are on my radar but I'm yet to try them. The VFE Focus and VFE Ice Scream

This certainly holds true however the amount of the "flavor" each of the pedals bring can be an pretty large difference. You have to try them all Jer Start with the most expensive and sell/trade your way down.

Thinking about snagging the VFE Ice Scream. Talked to the dude at VFE and it seems to be the TS format but with an additional mid bump as well as hi and lo pass filter that is adjustable. Sounds very cool.

 

[harddriver]

SRB 808. Go read up on them online. One of the best 808 variant pedals out there but of course IMO so read up and make your own decision. I had the maxon od808 and it was nice. The SRB is even nicer, You can set it three different styles of clipping circuits, 808, SD1 or class a boost. You also have a three way bass boost switch, normal, more bass, maximum bass if needed.

This pedal sounds great with every amp I've used it on, my Splawn modded 2203, my 72 Super lead, my rivera K-TRE, a Cameron Ocean, a Cameron Aldrich(not that it needed it), and a 2203 blue channel Bogner build. You can back the gain down on the amps some and the pedal tightens things up nicely and boosts the right amount desired.

I really liked the Maxon but the SRB is more versatile.

 

[JerEvil]

SRB 808. Go read up on them online. One of the best 808 variant pedals out there but of course IMO so read up and make your own decision. I had the maxon od808 and it was nice. The SRB is even nicer, You can set it three different styles of clipping circuits, 808, SD1 or class a boost. You also have a three way bass boost switch, normal, more bass, maximum bass if needed.

This pedal sounds great with every amp I've used it on, my Splawn modded 2203, my 72 Super lead, my rivera K-TRE, a Cameron Ocean, a Cameron Aldrich(not that it needed it), and a 2203 blue channel Bogner build. You can back the gain down on the amps some and the pedal tightens things up nicely and boosts the right amount desired.

I really liked the Maxon but the SRB is more versatile.

I'll check that out for sure.

EDIT:
$430??? What am I, a lawyer??? LOL!

Too rich for my blood.

 

[harddriver]

Check his site again, that might be for his double 808 pedal. They normally sell for 100.00 to 150.00 either from his site or Ebay sometimes he lists them on there. Unless he has gotten out of control with his pricing.

I got mine a few years ago for 99.00 from him on an ebay special.

I agree not worth 430.00 but I would check again, he normally has some kind of sale going. It's a nicely built pedal.

I just went to his site and you are right 429.00, JEEEZ!!! I guess he figures to price them like Klon nowadays... Sorry bout the current pricing, I wouldn't pay that even as nice of a pedal as it is.

A Maxon 808 would work awesome with the Splawn for a 150 or so! They tend to leave more low end intact a bit less mid spike than the standard Tubescreamer TS808(again IMO), that's why the metal guys use them. Good luck on the hunt!!!

 

[JerEvil]

Check his site again, that might be for his double 808 pedal. They normally sell for 100.00 to 150.00 either from his site or Ebay sometimes he lists them on there. Unless he has gotten out of control with his pricing.

I got mine a few years ago for 99.00 from him on an ebay special.

I agree not worth 430.00 but I would check again, he normally has some kind of sale going. It's a nicely built pedal.

I just went to his site and you are right 429.00, JEEEZ!!! I guess he figures to price them like Klon nowadays... Sorry bout the current pricing, I wouldn't pay that even as nice of a pedal as it is.

A Maxon 808 would work awesome with the Splawn for a 150 or so! They tend to leave more low end intact a bit less mid spike than the standard Tubescreamer TS808(again IMO), that's why the metal guys use them. Good luck on the hunt!!!

Oh no worries man.

Threw caution to the wind and ordered the VFE Ice Scream (Mint). Other forum crews seems to dig the heck outta VFE so I'm sure I can move it if I don't like it.

The owner was cool and we talked through a few of his pedals along with the tones I like. He talked me out of a few and recommended the Mint Ice Scream over the other models.

Full report when it arrives. I'll probably grab another boost or 2 to compare.

 

[311boogieman]

I was just going to say....a Splawn needs mid boosting



Let us know what you think Jer, looks like you've got something ordered already.

Shit guys. Maybe I'm behind the times. I got a $40 Digitech Bad Monkey. TS clone that is a touch more transparent and has better EQ control. Gain on Zer0

 

[JerEvil]

I was just going to say....a Splawn needs mid boosting



Let us know what you think Jer, looks like you've got something ordered already.

Shit guys. Maybe I'm behind the times. I got a $40 Digitech Bad Monkey. TS clone that is a touch more transparent and has better EQ control. Gain on Zer0

Will do. I'm going to check out the Suhr Koko Reloaded and maybe one the Maxon 808X. One thing I'll say is that the Quick Rid smooths out quite a bit when running my H9 but I like the effects. I am interested to see if the VFE or other boosts add that little but of "bite" back in.

 

[XSSIVE]

It's not so much the mid boost it's the bass tightening/cut and saturation. Not even looking for gain from the pedal, in most cases the drive is either off or at maybe 9 o'clock but the level can be from noon to all the way up depending on the amp being boosted and the amount of boost it needs. My JMP is stock so it need pulverizing but my EVH will feed back like mad if it's pushed too hard on Ch2. About the splawn mids, I had a splawn nitro (granted, less mid heavy than the QR but from the same family) and it was a flabby bottom mess without something from the screamer family pushing its front end, then it was awesome. It lost out to my EVH 50w and was eventually sold though. The EVH needs no boost on Ch3 (thus why I love it) but Ch2 suffers that same flabby bottom fate where I use a green rhino (currently prototyping my own OD) with it and it tightens up the bottom well and still sounds different than Ch3. I've used a boost into every high gain amp I've owned (decent list) and all it does is make them better and give you another tonal option.

Let me know what you think of the Ice Scream. Like I said it's on my radar for sure since it's built to do what many metal players have been doing for ages with standard or modified screamers, so hopefully they really have it dialed in with just the right tweaks to help it serve that purpose even better.

 

[craftm1]

I've never played the reloaded KoKo Boost, no need!

 

[sideshowsmitty]

Ive tried several tube screamer variants with my Quickrod. The Spalwn has such a unique (Weird/Haunting..lol) mid push already, that I couldnt settle on one that didnt interfere with the natural tone of the amp. And quite frankly I dont really see any need to tighten up a Splawn. The amp is already ridiculously tight as is.
That being said, what I did try was a compressor for leads. I left my rhythm chunk alone, and kicked in the compressor for smooth singing leads. It was nice! My 2 cents

A recently bought a Boss CS3 compressor and I used that with my QR for the last two gigs I did. The first gig, the sound guy said some of my leads were dropping, which was strange since I had the solo level up. I basically set up the compressor for the clean sound, and didn't test it for solos. I adjusted it and bought the level up and that took care of it. I've been playing for 30 years and I've never actually owned a compressor pedal until now which is strange. I still need to dial it it a little more, and I think I'm going to be happy with it when I do. I do have a Boss SD1 on my board that I kick on once in a while, but I mostly don't need it with the QR.