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Boost pedals, which one do you play?

Johnny Q

Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2003
Messages
511
I feel like I have used them all! For years, my favorite was the Barber Direct Drive. That changed this year when I got my first Rimrock Mythical Overdrive. I also use the Fulltone Fulldrive II. Honorable mention to the venerable Boss SD1 and TS9 Tube Screamer....of course.
 

duaneflowers

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
2,522
WFNikw9.jpg
 

rogue

New member
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
10
Got a couple.Love them all.

Menatone Red Snapper and Blue Collar.Great tonality on these.The blue collar crunches up warm and woody.The Red Snapper stands alone.Unique.great boost and overdrive.
(mine are early versions from the mid 90's).

Ibanez TS808 35th anniversary re-issue(narrow box with the butterfly on the side).Great pedal and tone,the voicing is crunchier than the average TS808 re-issue.

Got a couple Ibanez TS808 re-issues.nice pedal.

Love the Maxon OD 820.Versatile.

Will never part with an HK Butler Tube Works Real Rube.In a class of its own for tone,boost or dirt.

But i keep coming back to this one.have a couple,from '89 and '90. Because it colors the sound in a way that is nice.Its one i keep on all the time,and get a variety of tones from manipulating the volume control on my guitar.Not for the *must have transparency crowd*, but still a favorite here.

The Original Tube Screamer Classic.

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Sol

Active member
Joined
Oct 26, 2001
Messages
775
Thnx for chiming in everybody :salude

I tried a lot and played a diy Orman amz boost a while, but i've settled it:
A ThorpyFx peacekeeper is what i use now, and i'll keep using it
Amazing pedal which i can tailor exactly to my amp with the EQ section of the pedal and altough a low gain overdrive, it has plenty of clean headroom.
It really kicks the preamp up a fair bit and can be "transparant" but also can colour if you want depending on your settings.
Controls are gain/volume/treble/bass and mid.
I use it as a pure volume boost.
Stacks really well and is very low noise.

Its great to hear you've found your ideal boost. I've seen some of Thorpy's work, the range of pedals he's produced always look top notch. I'll have to take another look.

What would you have chosen if the 'Thorpy's Peacekeeper' was unavailable ?
 

MeHereNow

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
677
Its great to hear you've found your ideal boost. I've seen some of Thorpy's work, the range of pedals he's produced always look top notch. I'll have to take another look.

What would you have chosen if the 'Thorpy's Peacekeeper' was unavailable ?

Thnx again for everyone still coming in with suggestions.
A setup without the peacekeeper would probably be my rogue guitar shop timmy v2 set as clean boost at the end of my drive chain ( Greer Southland and dual Greer lightspeeds'..yess.. im a bit of a Greer SL / LS fanboy..)
I've tried that setup and they all interact real nicely when stacked or boosted, there's a precense and clarity in that combo that really cuts in a live and loud situation.
Im still experimenting with the peacekeeper qua settings because it's so tweakable.
I also have the Thorpy Gunshot v1 (really mid voiced/marshally and growling) and running it throug the peacekeeper has some really nice harmonics going on.
But man, as in the suggestions above: there are sooo many good pedals on the market today!
Choosing didn't get easier.

I'm pretty stoked with my current setup.


For now that is... :salude
 

gmann

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
6,147
RYRA's the Klone. Used as a clean boost only. I had a gold horse KLON for 17 yrs and I bought it new. I wouldn't pay todays prices for one but it's a great pedal. The weekend before I sold it I had it on my board next to the RYRA Klone and switched back and forth between them all weekend and could hear no difference. That decided it for me. If you like KLONs or ever wanted one but can't afford one this is it, for a reasonable price. There are other pedals that do what the KLON does but they also do other stuff which I found to get in the way of what I wanted.
 

spidey

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 21, 2003
Messages
3,265
Marshall Bluesbreaker II on boost mode. This is a pure clean boost that doesn’t colour your tone.
I’ve been using it since the mid 90s. Works perfectly.
 

metropolis

Active member
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
390
Marshall Bluesbreaker II on boost mode. This is a pure clean boost that doesn’t colour your tone.
I’ve been using it since the mid 90s. Works perfectly.

Hah, I've got one of those too. Despite having a plethora of other options I keep coming back to that in clean boost mode. Sometimes it can't be beaten.
 

spidey

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 21, 2003
Messages
3,265
Hah, I've got one of those too. Despite having a plethora of other options I keep coming back to that in clean boost mode. Sometimes it can't be beaten.

Agreed:)
The idea at the time for the pedal was for a boost that wouldn’t colour your tone to push an amp into natural overdrive or to further saturate an already overdriven amp. It does what it was intended to do!
 

LeonC

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
799
Agreed:)
The idea at the time for the pedal was for a boost that wouldn’t colour your tone to push an amp into natural overdrive or to further saturate an already overdriven amp. It does what it was intended to do!

Yeah, that's my feeling as well. Really, my favorite amps for pedals are amps that sound great overdriven on their own. I typically set the amp at the edge of breakup and use the pedal to push it over the edge. I just want the pedal to push them into that natural overdrive.
 

spidey

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 21, 2003
Messages
3,265
Yeah, that's my feeling as well. Really, my favorite amps for pedals are amps that sound great overdriven on their own. I typically set the amp at the edge of breakup and use the pedal to push it over the edge. I just want the pedal to push them into that natural overdrive.

Yes that’s exactly how I use my rig too! Great minds! :j
 

Triplet

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Messages
1,675
I think a problem a lot of folks have is to get the overdrive sound without upping the volume too much. Maybe change the bias in your preamp stage for an easier push.
 

metropolis

Active member
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
Messages
390
I think a problem a lot of folks have is to get the overdrive sound without upping the volume too much. Maybe change the bias in your preamp stage for an easier push.

I'm no tube expert but changing the types of preamp tubes in the right slot can allow earlier breakup too, but I guess that's preamp distortion rather than power amp distortion which isn't as preferable to me.
 
Joined
Feb 27, 2003
Messages
110
I dig the Lightspeed, as I use mine to take my amp more into the edge of breakup territory in amp. But I've been using a Chase Bliss Condor as a boost. I like it because you can choose which frequencies to boost, add more volume and/or subtle gain on top to add sustain.
 

Brek

Member
Joined
May 23, 2020
Messages
62
Me like the Timmy, only just got one about a month ago, if I was after just a boost I think it fits the bill nicely. I managed to get the boosted tone to remain pretty much like the unboosted quite quickly, and it’s got something in it boost that I have not got from any other pedal. But, and this is relevant, I am pretty much a noob when it comes to amps and pedals, so don’t quote me. Lol. I think what tributary says above describes what I feel the Timmy gives, a texture if you would.
 

c_wester

Well-known member
Joined
May 9, 2002
Messages
2,116
I have had all the pedals Ocd Fulltone, Analogman King of Tone, Klon copies and etc.
And Im back to a cheap Boss DS1.

And it works fine cuts the Bass a little and you have all the Distorsion you could want.
A Moeyer Modded 1990s Fender Vibrolux and a Killer Es335.
 
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MattD1960

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Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Messages
749
I use a tc Boost into a ocd into a KTR and depending on how much gain/boost I am looking for ill pick one two or run all three for maximum face meltyness
 

EpiLP1985

Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2017
Messages
113
I stick with the classic Rangemaster topology. There is so much room for frequency shaping and magnitude of drive/boost. I’m not a clean boost guy but I also respect those who are and I think a custom RM has something for everyone.
 
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