Good Solo Boost Pedal?

[hippietim]

No boost pedals in the loop! John is right - a volume pedal is the way to go.

[toejam]

Remember one thing.. if you are dealing with an already overdriven signal you will not increase the volume if you put a pedal in front of the amp. What you will do is add another stage of gain. You have to put the pedal in the loop.

The other nice thing about using a volume pedal is that you can vary how much solo boost you want (less for fills, more for solo's) and it doesn't affect your tone at all. Completely silent too.

True, but some people also want a little more gain for solos as well as volume, and some people confuse the two terms. A gain boost will give, of course, more gain, but you can get a little more volume, too. A volume boost will just boost your volume without adding more gain.

The original post also said, "I've heard that a lot of players use a ts9 tube screamer to kick on during solos so I tried one and was not impressed. It made my 5150 go from a high gain beast to something like a vintage marshall without the great sustain..."

If the pedal didn't give him more gain or sustain, he obviously didn't use the pedal right.

[Learn Guitars]

EH Linear Power Boost. No gain change...Same tone. Cheap.

[jgcable]

True, but some people also want a little more gain for solos as well as volume, and some people confuse the two terms. A gain boost will give, of course, more gain, but you can get a little more volume, too. A volume boost will just boost your volume without adding more gain.

The original post also said, "I've heard that a lot of players use a ts9 tube screamer to kick on during solos so I tried one and was not impressed. It made my 5150 go from a high gain beast to something like a vintage marshall without the great sustain..."

If the pedal didn't give him more gain or sustain, he obviously didn't use the pedal right.

If you want more gain you should do what I do... I have a YJM308 out in front of my JCM900. I kick it on when I need more gain. For solo volume boost, nothing beats a volume pedal (unless of course you have a roadie at the console boosting your solo's through the mains!!)

[jgcable]

One more thing... I can't see any reason to need more gain than a 5150 has to offer.

[MSGfan]

BB Preamp by Xotic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANNQkONYsgE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiW22O914Cg&feature=related

You will likey

Great pedal BTW!,..it has more gain than the AC or RC. it just depends on how much you want to push the gain of the amp. The RC is the lightest in gain boost, had one but sold it in favor of a Digitech Bad Monkey od.

[AfterForever]

I use a Boss GE7 Equilizer for solo's, great little pedal.

[MartinBarre]

Boss DS-1!

[surfreak]

I love the original TC Electronic booster/line drive/distortion, but that's fairly hard to find nowadays and the reissue doesn't sound the same.

Among modern pedals, the MXR/CAE 401 Boost is the best I've tried, and sounds much more transparent than the Keeley and the Klon.

In other words, just like the TC, it sounds very "hi fi", with absolutely no mid bump: therefore it works great for mid-heavy classic metal tones, as it adds brilliance (almost like a BBE) and a touch of gain without unbalancing your volume.

If instead you start with a scoooped tone, then the MXR might not help you cut through the mix as well: perhaps a low gain TS-style overdrive would work better.

[Nazgul]

I just tried Boss SD-1 (Super Overdrive) in front of my Peavey 5150 and at bedroom levels it hummed sooo much. I used the 9V battery too.

I'm looking to try DS-1 next.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

try the SD-1 with the gain off and the level up. clean boost style.

[Nazgul]

Will try.

[toejam]

Among modern pedals, the MXR/CAE 401 Boost is the best I've tried, and sounds much more transparent than the Keeley and the Klon.

The MXR/CAE 401 is very nice. I had the 402, which is the Boost/Overdrive, loved the boost, but the overdrive side was just okay.

A Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive is also a nice pedal, especially the Keeley modded version like I've got.

[guitarsjb]

I just got a Morely Little Alligator pedal, and it's a PERFECT solo boost used in the effects loop. Thanks to jgcable for the suggestion, and hippietim for the pedal. My rig is complete.

[jgcable]

I just got a Morely Little Alligator pedal, and it's a PERFECT solo boost used in the effects loop. Thanks to jgcable for the suggestion, and hippietim for the pedal. My rig is complete.

And with a volume pedal now you can vary how much boost you want. If you do fills you can back off a little and lay into it for the solos!!