Weekly boost thread

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irondeth21

irondeth21

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I'm going to pick up a new clean boost for my board this weekend and wanted suggestions before I try them out. Right now I'm just using a sd-1 set to a clean boost, but I'm not crazy with the extra high end it adds to my ace. I want a transparent clean boost to hit the front end of the amp harder to add some compression and a little more fluid feel. If anything the pedal can add a little low end, but I'm really just looking for something that won't effect the overall tone very much and I especially don't want it to take any low end away like a tubescreamer. So far I'm looking at the CAE MC401 clean boost, the MXR micro amp, Xotic EP boost and the fulltone fatboost 3. I'm trying to stay cheap with this so the MXR actually has my attention more then the others, but I think I read that the CAE adds the cleanest boost of the bunch. Is there that noticeable of a difference between the MXR and CAE? Any other pedals I should take a look at?
 
My microamp just got bumped after a 1 year run on my board - thats a really long time for me and boosts and ODs. Mine is fairly transparent and has a good bit of lowend when cranked. It has a great feel to it. Lots of output to drive an amp. I think it would be a good choice for what you want.

I still use it at my acoustic shows when I have a full band with me. I kick it on for leads with my acoustic to get over the band. Works great.
It recently got bumped from my electric rig as Ive been favoring the mid hump of a stock tubescreamer lately
 
The MC401 CAE is clean clean clean till the cows come home.

I've heard the MXR micro amp adds a tiny bit of color.

I use my MC401 as a line driver / buffer. Sounds friggin unreal.
 
I'm pretty torn on those two pedals, I'm going to try them out, but it's not the same till I use it with my board, cables, amp, etc...

Does the CAE work well for pushing the amp harder like a clean boost, or is just better at recovering signal loss from long signal chains?
 
I like the keeley katana, I also got a klon clone(called the taurus) off ebay and it fuckin rips as a clean boost or an od. I was also curious about the cae and micro boost, they are both made by dunlop so I wonder if they share any of the same design or parts?
 
I tried a Z Vex Super Hard On back in '98 and my MXR Microamp couldn't come off of my pedalboard fast enough. Nothing has been able to displace it since (and a lot have tried).
 
That would be helpful lol. My main guitar is a G0 Les Paul into a wylde wah, sd-1, small clone, script phase 90, micro flanger, pitch black tuner to my mesa stiletto ace with a mxr 6 band eq, isp decimator, holy grail and tech 21 boost dla in the loop. I have a rear loaded diezel 4x12 with v30's. You can check out my band at the site below, but we have a wider range of music then whats on the site. Doing a broad spectrum of hard rock and metal. Some blues rock like acdc, some punk, some AIC, some stuff like pantera and white zombie and then some stuff like shinedown.

The boost will replace the sd-1 though I might keep it on the board as an overdrive for the clean channel instead of set as a boost.
 
That super hard on is a little out of my price range, the mod tone looks cool. How transparent is it? I figure the tone knob can shape it more than the other pedals but I'm not really sure I want to do that with it.
 
Well in my experience, and I hope others can chime in on this matter as well, is that you don't get the same kind of response from the amp using a 'true' clean boost that passes all frequencies. Especially for the styles of music and artists you are quoting, who all pretty much wrote the book on Tubescreamers as clean boosts. Tubescreamer clean boosts are something entirely different because they shape and tighten the tone into something that the amp wants to see. The front end of any tube amp does not want to be overloaded with too much low frequency energy. The power section on the other hand doesn't really care too much since its job is not to compress the hell out of anything, just amplify. I would recommend using a tightening boost before the amp to carve out the EQ curve and then use the EQ's on the amp to add back the low end lost to the boost pedal. This becomes increasingly important as that master volume knob goes up, a.k.a. stage volumes. I think what you are locking onto about the SD-1 is not the low end chop, but the unfocused high end. This was my major complaint about my SD-1 that I've been using for over 5 years and the main reason for altering it. Have you ever tried a run of the mill Tubescreamer into your rig? What is your opinion of the low end suck of one of those units compared to the SD-1?
 
Listen very carefully to me, I just went through
this a couple of weeks ago. I tried numerous Boost's
such as the Maxon, BB, OCD, Dunlop Zakk Wylde OD
and looked at the Suhr Koko and a few others. The best
clean boost I've ever heard and knocked my socks off,
is the CAL Mk. 4.23. I was so impressed with this boost,
that I bought one on the spot and I will never look back.
Trust me on this, I did my homework and listened to buddy
here on this forum (Mo) :rock: and found exactly what I
was looking for and you're looking for the same thing.
Rick

http://www.creationaudiolabs.com/mk423

 
irondeth21":2i90y268 said:
That would be helpful lol. My main guitar is a G0 Les Paul into a wylde wah, sd-1, small clone, script phase 90, micro flanger, pitch black tuner to my mesa stiletto ace with a mxr 6 band eq, isp decimator, holy grail and tech 21 boost dla in the loop. I have a rear loaded diezel 4x12 with v30's. You can check out my band at the site below, but we have a wider range of music then whats on the site. Doing a broad spectrum of hard rock and metal. Some blues rock like acdc, some punk, some AIC, some stuff like pantera and white zombie and then some stuff like shinedown.

The boost will replace the sd-1 though I might keep it on the board as an overdrive for the clean channel instead of set as a boost.
Click to expand...
For a stiletto id recomend a Barber Direct Drive as a clean boost :rock:
 
Inca Roads":3ntz6wsk said:
Listen very carefully to me, I just went through
this a couple of weeks ago. I tried numerous Boost's
such as the Maxon, BB, OCD, Dunlop Zakk Wylde OD
and looked at the Suhr Koko and a few others. The best
clean boost I've ever heard and knocked my socks off,
is the CAL Mk. 4.23. I was so impressed with this boost,
that I bought one on the spot and I will never look back.
Trust me on this, I did my homework and listened to buddy
here on this forum (Mo) :rock: and found exactly what I
was looking for and you're looking for the same thing.
Rick

http://www.creationaudiolabs.com/mk423

Click to expand...

Thanks Braddah!! :thumbsup:

Ya, the Creation Audio Labs Mk.4:23 is bar none the top dog in over-the-top pure clean boosts and then some. It's an experience - it doesn't rely on internal dirt, it pushes the front end of your amp into crystal cleans or natural OD. Once you get it, you won't forget it.

Mo/Mojo/V./Ventura :D
 
JakeAC5253":3qm0nywf said:
Well in my experience, and I hope others can chime in on this matter as well, is that you don't get the same kind of response from the amp using a 'true' clean boost that passes all frequencies. Especially for the styles of music and artists you are quoting, who all pretty much wrote the book on Tubescreamers as clean boosts. Tubescreamer clean boosts are something entirely different because they shape and tighten the tone into something that the amp wants to see. The front end of any tube amp does not want to be overloaded with too much low frequency energy. The power section on the other hand doesn't really care too much since its job is not to compress the hell out of anything, just amplify. I would recommend using a tightening boost before the amp to carve out the EQ curve and then use the EQ's on the amp to add back the low end lost to the boost pedal. This becomes increasingly important as that master volume knob goes up, a.k.a. stage volumes. I think what you are locking onto about the SD-1 is not the low end chop, but the unfocused high end. This was my major complaint about my SD-1 that I've been using for over 5 years and the main reason for altering it. Have you ever tried a run of the mill Tubescreamer into your rig? What is your opinion of the low end suck of one of those units compared to the SD-1?
Click to expand...


I've had a maxon-808 before this sd-1 and while I loved it with some other amps I've had in the past, dual channel recto, my old 5150, quickrod, I liked it a lot. But I feel like the ace kinda lacks the lows already, I run them really high with mine and boost the lowest frequency with an eq in the loop to make it bigger. It still tight though, I like it but don't wanna change it just drive it harder for a more fluid compressed feel for some metal songs in our set, but when I turn it off the amp still can sound open for songs with a lot of big chords, maybe just slam it on for leads in those songs. This amp is really middy and I run them high so it stays thick and cuts. The Sd-1 gives a nice boost and feel, but I think it's almost a little to much grit even with the gain all the way off. I tried it with the gain off and volume at 3 oclock it just doesn't sound that good and it adds a little high end on this amp when I'm already running the presence and treble low.
 
Inca Roads":azd7dm0p said:
Listen very carefully to me, I just went through
this a couple of weeks ago. I tried numerous Boost's
such as the Maxon, BB, OCD, Dunlop Zakk Wylde OD
and looked at the Suhr Koko and a few others. The best
clean boost I've ever heard and knocked my socks off,
is the CAL Mk. 4.23. I was so impressed with this boost,
that I bought one on the spot and I will never look back.
Trust me on this, I did my homework and listened to buddy
here on this forum (Mo) :rock: and found exactly what I
was looking for and you're looking for the same thing.
Rick

http://www.creationaudiolabs.com/mk423

Click to expand...


That looks nice! It's a little more then I wanted to pay, but not much. Is there any place to get them other then their site?
 
New Boosts and OD's are like beating a dead horse and to me are usually a snooze, being a dime a dozen. But, after hearing Jerry Dyer's new "More" boost pedal, I was FF (fucking floored). Skeptical at first, but in fact, it was more of a body slam. It seems the boost is more like what the EP Boost was trying to be and is really cool.

So, of course, I ordered one. The plain packaging is certainly an oxymoron in this case, because - "Less is More". (Feel free to use this sale slogan Jerry)!

Steve
 
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