If you asked someone to name the pedal on their board, chances are that you'll hear a lot about distortion, overdrive, filters, reverb, delay, and maybe even a fancy programming or looping pedal. Chances are, that person won't wax poetic about their boost pedal. Sure, there are a lot of pedals out there that promise a "clean boost", but what is that really? Isn't that just turning up the volume on you guitar? Maybe you want something to drive the front end of you amp a little harder, but isn't that why we have overdrives? So say you don't want your signal clip before it goes to your amp. You want the sound that your amp makes when pushed past it's clip. Fair enough. Do you need a special pedal to do that? ...eh
So you want a straight path your amp. Chances are your no a bid "pedal" guy. So why not set your amp up to overdrive (turning up your level and lowing your master)? Maybe because your amp is too simple to have a level and master. So you're one of "those guys". Your amp came from Sear and Roebuck's back when it was a mail-order and it only have two knobs and one broke off. But this is the best amp and the only thing that you truly love. You just want to torture the tubes enough to make it scream. Your the type of guy that needs a boost pedal. Right? ...eh
So you have to have a boost pedal. You want some ridiculous box with one know that only turns up the volume on your signal. The simpler that better, right? that is your motto. After all, that amp of your has only got one knob and it's the best. Your amp is a relic and your ideas about "boost" pedal is a little screwy, but hang in there, I'll explain.
You boost pedal is basically the same thing as an overdrive, except that they've removed the clipping circuit and your are just left with a boosted signal. Great right? Maybe not. Everyone loves a good TS-9 tube screamer, and everyone is familiar with the big fat "mid-hump" that you get when you kick one on. (if you're not then you must be very board, why are you reading this?) So the pedal effect the shape, tone, color of your tone. In the same way, all these boost boxes do the same thing. Maybe its not as noticeable, or maybe you just like the way it changes things, Think all those wonder sounds are made by your amp being pushed? Maybe they are, or maybe its that pedal you just hit.
So you must boost, but your boost pedal is just a neutered dirt box that you can't control as much as said dirt box because they took the "tone knob off the thing! Don't worry. I wouldn't leave you hanging. I have an answer for you. You might not like it, but its the truth. Behold, your new boost pedal!
Yes. The lowly Boss GE-7 Equalizer. Vile and reproachable as it is. Boss the brand of pedal that everyone started with and now no one will admit to using. I too have started limiting the number of boss pedals on my board. The humble GE-7 without as much as a 3PDT switch is the king of all boosts. The pedal does what it claims. It can cut or boost your frequencies, but it has a feature that not all EQ do. The level slide is actually the star of the show here. Now I know what you are saying, "I've used this pedal and its too noisy to boost." Ok, I hear you, but I raise you this: I once got my self into modding pedals. opening these things up and fiddling with their insides. There is a lot of potential in this box, but wait it get better. I was once half way into a mod, meaning I had removed all of the pieces of the pedal that were to be replaced, then just for kicks, I powered it on and played through it. It sounded identical to another GE-7 that had already been through the mod and it was missing bits of its insides. I'm not a electrical engineer (if you couldn't tell) but to this day I can't remember which one has the mod and which one is running around with less than a full deck of cards. And they are both
dead silent. So for no more than you'd pay for a boutique boost and a little be of stomp-box-operation you can have a flat boost, treble boost, bass (fat) boost, mid boost, mid scoop or low-fi pedal. In short, friends don't let friends buy boost pedal.
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