Where Does Everyone Like To Put Their Clean Boost?

• Forums New posts Search forums
• Newsletter
• What's new New posts New media New media comments New profile posts Latest activity
• Media New media New comments Search media
• Members Registered members Current visitors New profile posts Search profile posts
• Classifieds Guitar Classifieds Guitars (Complete) Guitar Bodies Guitar Necks Guitar Pickups Misc Guitar Parts Amp Classifieds Amplifiers (complete) Amp Speakers Amp Tubes Misc Amp Parts Accessories Classifieds Guitar/Amp Accessories Effects Classifieds Effects & Stompboxes Published Materials Music/Lessons/Books & Videos Recording Gear Classifieds Studio / Recording Gear
• Subscribe

Log in Register What's new Search

Search

Everywhere Threads This forum This thread Search titles only By: Search Advanced search…

• New posts
• Search forums

Menu Log in Register Navigation Install the app Install More options Contact us Close Menu

• Forums
• Other Discussion Forums
• The Stomp Box

You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Where does everyone like to put their clean boost?

• Thread starter backalleyblues
• Start date Nov 8, 2008
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.

• 1
• 2
• 3

Next 1 of 3

Go to page

Go Next Last

backalleyblues

Friend of Leo's

Joined Nov 5, 2006 Posts 3,549 Location Jacksonville, FL, USA Just picked up a Duncan Pickup booster at a swap meet today ($40, in nice shape, even the velcro on the bottom is the way I like it!). My question is-where does everybody like to put their boost pedals in the chain? FWIW, I'm playing blues, using a tubescreamer, old RAT, tremolo, chorus and delay pedals, and want to use this pedal mainly for a clean boost on solos, although I know there are a LOT of uses for something like this... So, any ideas, gang? Thanx in advance, Franc Robert Delta Aces

Norrin Radd

Tele-Holic

Joined Apr 19, 2008 Posts 989 Age 59 Location Saint Paul Do you have a loop? That's where I'd put it if I were just using it for solos - otherwise - last in the chain if just using it for solos. I have 3 boosts in my chain - a SHO is the first thing - then comes my SD Pickup Booster, and then I place my Sex Drive next. I like them before my ODs/Dist pedals - it works nicely to give those tones some more bite. And the SHO is 1st because I like the impedance boost it gives to the whole signal chain. It stays on all of the time. I could do the same with the Sex Drive, but I find it more versatile further down the chain for mixing tones. To each their own, I guess.

dalandan

Tele-Afflicted

Joined Sep 15, 2008 Posts 1,490 Location Jamaica usually, i would put it last in the chain for signal boosting. i don't want to overdrive the input of my other pedals, i'd rather just make their signal louder. BUT, a seymour duncan pickup booster was meant to be placed first in the chain to interact directly with the pickups. it's up to you. experimentation always leads to better answers than what you can get from a guy like me.

ProToneThinline

Tele-Holic

Joined Jun 27, 2005 Posts 782 Age 69 Location Pittsburgh, PA I keep mine toward to front of my chain, right after my wah, but before my OD. That way I can get a clean solo boost, or use it with my OD to get a more "fluid" sound.

Silverface

Doctor of Teleocity

Ad Free Member Joined Mar 2, 2003 Posts 10,518 Age 73 Location Lawndale CA Always in the front. A clean boost used right should give you just a bit more "push" in the signal, and not overdrive anything. To me a loop is the LAST place I'd put one. I (and about 99% of the players I know who ever use a loop...I don't very often as I prefer ALL effects go ahead of the preamp) put all Gain and EQ effects - boosts, distortion, fuzz, wah, etc - in front of the input and all time-based effects - phase, flange, delay etc - in the loop. It generally keeps the noise very low. But if it works for you, do it - I break "rules" all the time.

backalleyblues

Friend of Leo's

Joined Nov 5, 2006 Posts 3,549 Location Jacksonville, FL, USA Well, after playing it last night... WOW! Boy have I been missing something by not having one on the board... I put it last in the chain, simply because I wasn't going to totally revise my board right before a gig, but it seemed to really work very nicely there. Kicked the volume up just enough for solos, and actually pushed the amp just a touch to where I got a little compression and dirt-very nice!!! Barely used the tubescreamer (Cool Guitars by Jimmy Thackery) and didn't use the RAT at all... trem and echo were fine with the SDPB, since they were in front. I forgot to mention that I also use a wireless, so the resonance switches are not in play here. Methinks that at this point, I'm going to pull the RAT, but otherwise leave things the way they are-I was REALLY happy with my sound last night, it was the sound I've had in my head for a long time-finally!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks, everybody... Franc Robert Delta Aces

bradpdx

Friend of Leo's

Joined Jul 16, 2006 Posts 2,550 Location Portland, OR My "clean boost" is just the amplifier volume knob. Since I always use a volume pedal, it's easy to leave myself plenty of headroom to drive the amp harder if I wish to without affecting the behavior of my other pedals (compressor, OD, etc.). I use the guitar volume knob ONLY to adjust the behavior of level-sensitive effects. The volume pedal is what sets the drive to the amp itself. Easy, fast and always at the "right" level.

Robbie W

Tele-Holic

Joined Mar 16, 2003 Posts 611 Location Lubbock, TX A clean boost should never be used in an effects loop because at that point in the signal chain, your putting a line level signal into the clean boost circuit. The only thing this will do is create mush and noise. Stomp boxes in general are low level devices, but in some situations such as delay and chorus they function well in effects loops with line level signals. Any gain type device should always be used with low level signals (i.e. guitar pickup output) for optimum performance as Silverface states above. I see the question a lot "why do I need a boost?....can't I just turn up my amp?". What people miss here is that a clean boost provides a function before your guitar's signal ever hits the front end of your amp. No matter how loud you turn up your amp, you can't get more output from your guitar's pickups. That is limited to the pickups themselves. But running a boost between your guitar and amp allows the signal to be amplified creating a much hotter signal driving the preamp, thus giving a fatter thicker tone. All this being said.....if something works for you and you like the sounds, then by all means go for it. That is what it is all about, having fun! take care, Robbie M

Mike Bruce

Friend of Leo's

Joined Apr 8, 2008 Posts 2,998 Location Ontario Right after the tuner and before everything else. Alone, it simply jacks the signal for solos or dynamics; with other pedals it delivers more signal for them to work with. Mike Bruce

Norrin Radd

Tele-Holic

Joined Apr 19, 2008 Posts 989 Age 59 Location Saint Paul Obviously most of you guys don't play with much gain. If you are playing with a lot of gain on your amp, AND you want a boost for leads, you've got to put the boost in your loop. Otherwise all you are doing is adding gain with a boost in front of a really dirty amp - and yeah - that just makes it more mushy. SO, if you play with lots of gain already and you want your leads to be louder than your non-lead signal - it's got to go in the loop or you'll get nothing but mush.

Robbie W

Tele-Holic

Joined Mar 16, 2003 Posts 611 Location Lubbock, TX

Norrin Radd said: Obviously most of you guys don't play with much gain. If you are playing with a lot of gain on your amp, AND you want a boost for leads, you've got to put the boost in your loop. Otherwise all you are doing is adding gain with a boost in front of a really dirty amp - and yeah - that just makes it more mushy. SO, if you play with lots of gain already and you want your leads to be louder than your non-lead signal - it's got to go in the loop or you'll get nothing but mush. Click to expand...

Put it in the effects loop and you still get mush. If you play with a lot of preamp gain/saturation, a booster is of little use anywhere in the chain. Boosters are limited in what they can do. They saturate just like any other gain stage. If you hit a 9VDC powered booster (that has a gain of even just 20db) with a 2V-3V peak to peak line level signal.......it will clip like crazy and give you no noticeable amplitude/volume gain. Lots of noise, though. take care, Robbie

Norrin Radd

Tele-Holic

Joined Apr 19, 2008 Posts 989 Age 59 Location Saint Paul

Robbie W said: Put it in the effects loop and you still get mush. If you play with a lot of preamp gain/saturation, a booster is of little use anywhere in the chain. Boosters are limited in what they can do. They saturate just like any other gain stage. If you hit a 9VDC powered booster (that has a gain of even just 20db) with a 2V-3V peak to peak line level signal.......it will clip like crazy and give you no noticeable amplitude/volume gain. Lots of noise, though. take care, Robbie Click to expand...

My actual experience says otherwise. Maybe it's more amp dependent too, IDK. But a booster in the loop of my RV50 works perfectly for giving a volume boost for solos - without any added mush.

Robbie W

Tele-Holic

Joined Mar 16, 2003 Posts 611 Location Lubbock, TX

Norrin Radd said: My actual experience says otherwise. Maybe it's more amp dependent too, IDK. But a booster in the loop of my RV50 works perfectly for giving a volume boost for solos - without any added mush. Click to expand...

It is possible it is amp dependent and also it depends on just how many casdaded gain stages are being pushed. There are no set rules for specific effects placement, etc. Heck Vince Gill's former guitar tech told me Vince always ran his overdrives before his compressor and wouldn't budge from that set up even when the guitar tech recommended other wise. Vince always had a monster tone. Ultimately each of us has to do what works best for us and meets our needs as a player. Plato said it best "Necessity, who is the mother of invention". take care, Robbie

wnorcott

Tele-Holic

Joined Sep 30, 2008 Posts 862 Location New Hampshire, USA The clean boost I use is a AMZ MOSFET Boost that I built myself, and I always use it right after the guitar and before any other effects. I use it mostly as to buffer the guitar signal because of its 10 megohm impedence. So I am running it anywhere from unity gain to about 3 dB gain most of the time. This thing really has a lot of boost though, about 35 dB of boost.

sugarinthegourd

Tele-Meister

Joined Sep 5, 2008 Posts 200 Location Philadelphia, PA

Right after the tuner and before everything else. Click to expand...

I'd put it after wah & compressor too...

iim7v7im7

Tele-Meister

Joined Apr 29, 2008 Posts 216 Location New Jersey, USA I place my clean boost at the end of my distortion chain after my two OD pedals. I use it solo as a neutral EQ dynamic OD on its own or for additional OD saturation together with TS-808 or KOT. Its a JFET circuit only rated at 13db, but it is more than enough to send my amp whens et on edge into OD on its own. I do not use it with my time domain based effects (chorus and delay). Its a great boost, no noticeable coloration or compression that I can hear. Bob

varakeef

Tele-Afflicted

Joined Sep 7, 2007 Posts 1,059 Location Finland

backalleyblues said: Just picked up a Duncan Pickup booster at a swap meet today ($40, in nice shape, even the velcro on the bottom is the way I like it!). My question is-where does everybody like to put their boost pedals in the chain? Click to expand...

I use my Pickup booster right after the geetar - just like the manual suggests. I think the suggestion is mainly because of the fact that in addition to just boosting the signal there's an option of meddling with pick up resonance to make a single coil pup sound like a humbucker. Presumably it doesn't work like it should if there's pedals before it. When in use I rarely have any other pedal turned on so the signal just goes thru them and drive a silver face Fender a bit harder. It does good to my solos, not just the volume but the dirt too.

zoppotrump

Tele-Afflicted

Joined Jan 12, 2005 Posts 1,240 Location nuernberg, germany i tried various combinations and finally have set my board up as followed: tele > korg dt10 tuner > keeley comp > rc booster > zendrive > boss dd2 > ernie ball volume pedal > amp that´s by far the best sounding combination i found zoppotrump )

Del Pickup

Poster Extraordinaire

Joined Mar 24, 2008 Posts 5,679 Location New Zealand Um, just a thought. Would the correct answer to the original question be "where the sun don't shine?" Sorry, just had this passing thought fly through my brain as I read the heading.......... I'll go now. M

mrpicki

TDPRI Member

Joined Jul 8, 2007 Posts 76 Location Australia Mine's at the end of my chain.

• 1
• 2
• 3

Next 1 of 3

Go to page

Go Next Last You must log in or register to reply here. Share: Reddit Pinterest Tumblr WhatsApp Email Share Link

New Posts

• A thread about winding your own pickups...
  • Latest: DHart
  • 5 minutes ago
  Just Pickups
• I found a photo that explains the weirdness I hear in AI derived music.
  • Latest: John Backlund
  • 11 minutes ago
  Bad Dog Cafe
• Lazy Songwriting: What Bugs You?
  • Latest: Highway 49
  • 20 minutes ago
  Bad Dog Cafe
• For a group of songs: go for consistency of sound or variety?
  • Latest: studio
  • 24 minutes ago
  Recording In Progress
• Who made the transition to bass?
  • Latest: BristolKeeno
  • 32 minutes ago
  Bad Dog Cafe

• Forums
• Other Discussion Forums
• The Stomp Box

Top