Boost Pedal for Blues

[dobbs]

When my jamming buddy plays out with his band, he plays teles thru a Deluxe Reverb RI. He uses a BOSS OD-3 with the gain almost all the way off. There is no" boost" or OD in his tone. His overall sound is amazing.

 

[Adagietto]

So almost everything suggested here provides more grit/dirt/drive than an MXR Micro Amp.

As one post said, have the Tube Screamer first in your chain and the Micro Boost second.

Is your clean sound getting dirty with just the Micro Boost and the TS off? If so, what guitar are you using & how is the amp set?

Yep. My suggestion (same as yours):

Guitar > TS > Micro Amp > amp

1. Get the best clean tone you can from the amp without pedals
2. Set the MA for the boosted clean you want with it as the only pedal on. If it's not clean enough, it could be the amp settings or the amp itself.
3. Set the TS (w/o MA) for the driven sound you want
4. Test the TS with the MA and tweak as necessary

If you can't get what you want, then it may be time to look at the pedals. The main thing that would clean up with the volume in this setup is the amp, if driven— which could be an issue if you want it really clean when boosted. Something other than a TS should work better with the volume knob. There are lots of great low-gain ODs to explore, and new threads on them pop up continuously. [I'm fond of amp-in-a-box pedals for this.]

 

[65ChampAmp]

@CBGNick,
If your amp has enough clean headroom, you could try the opposite.
Turn the amp volume up to the loudest you’ll need it.
*I* would then roll my guitar’s volume down for the regular parts, but without rewiring your guitar, try this ~ use the micro amp as an underdrive, or unbooster. Lower it’s output below unity to get you your rythmn volume. Turn it off to be loud(er).
Then set your tube screamer at unity volume with the gain set to whatever gives you a touch of grit when you want that.
With the pedals you have, you shouldn’t really need to buy another one, just think about using them differently.
Unless you’ve got TGP disease, in that case, what’s need got to do with it?

 

[Gl4th]

 

[El Phaco]

The first thing I would try is putting the micro amp in the effects loop.

Yeah, OP should find more headroom this way. It should work fine.

 

[urQuill]

With a sweet little 1x12” Swart combo, I’ve had great results with a Keeley Java Boost and a Swart Atomic boost (both “treble boosters) but the very best live guitar sound in a small club, playing blues on pop tunes, that I have ever produced was with a Spaceman Saturn V, and only that. Limited production, too hard to find and expensive now, but their Saturn VI which I think they still make is just as good - I replaced my V with a VI and I’m totally happy with it - just haven’t used it live.

Their Atlas III boost is a cleaner boost than the Saturn V or VI, with absolutely beautiful presence, they are out there for fair prices.

 

[underdog726]

My blues/rock board and that honey bee amps "Clean drive " is my choice over the other 30 or so drives I have tried. I still wanna check out Kingtones "Blues power" .

 

[analogic]

Surprised there’s no Keeley Katana recs. Perfect clean boost with internal dip switches for drive and eq.

 

[CBGNick]

Yeah, OP should find more headroom this way. It should work fine.

And this is the route I'm going to try first. I've rearranged my pedalboard so I can use the effects loop on my Quilter and will stick the Micro Amp into that chain and see what happens!

Thanks everyone for the outstanding insights.

 

[Dirty Tony]

So just a quick overview of what I am looking for. I Like to keep my pedals relatively simple. I'm in a blues rock band so I don't really need a lot of over the top effects. Clean or dirty is about it and the dirty should not really be "dirty" as much as overdrive with a bit of grit.

I do NOT like the way my tone sounds if I dial back the volume knob on any of my guitars. So I have been using an MXR Micro Amp to give me a volume boost when it comes time for lead breaks. But I want to find something better that doesn't dirty up my clean sound and can still boost my dirty sound when I have my Tube Screamer engaged.

I have read about compressors but not sure that is the way I want to go as I live off of the dynamics of how I pick and pluck. I have thought about the Bogner Harlow v2, which seems to to do a fantastic job of boosting without screwing up the tone. I have also read about J. Rockett Audio Designs Archer Overdrive and Boost pedal, but have mixed thoughts on using that one as it is just basically dialing down the gain all the way. And then back to the compressor route with a Keeley Compressor Plus, which again, I'm not sure that is the best direction to go with my playing style.

Curious as to what others use in a similar type situation playing blues.

EDIT: forgot to add that I am running a Strat through a Quilter 101 and a Vintage 30 speaker.

Im not familiar with the 101, assuming it got dynamics I'll encourage you to try again playing with guitar volume at 6, adjust 101 setting, and use 10 for the boost... adding another pedal in your rig can make the distortion great but you will lose depth, that "direct" feel and note per note distinction that are very important in blues imho.
Id personally avoid compressors for blues, you need a pedal with lots of headroom and depth. Its a very difficult route as pedals that lift an already pushed signal, not referring to gain or distortion but to volume/stand out/room filling, are very hard to find.. maybe you could also try a delay that can do that like a Deluxe Memory Man.
Second Id suggest an Eq pedal but good luck finding one that is not noisy.. MXR are silent but the tone is not good imho
If it must be a gain pedal, assuming your vintage30 is a made in UK one, Id try a klon pedal or a marshall bluesbreaker pedal, pushing the midrange, if your vintage30 is a made in china one Id go with the bluebreaker category and leave out the klon one.
Good luck

 

[CBGNick]

@CBGNick,
If your amp has enough clean headroom, you could try the opposite.
Turn the amp volume up to the loudest you’ll need it.
*I* would then roll my guitar’s volume down for the regular parts, but without rewiring your guitar, try this ~ use the micro amp as an underdrive, or unbooster. Lower it’s output below unity to get you your rythmn volume. Turn it off to be loud(er).
Then set your tube screamer at unity volume with the gain set to whatever gives you a touch of grit when you want that.
With the pedals you have, you shouldn’t really need to buy another one, just think about using them differently.
Unless you’ve got TGP disease, in that case, what’s need got to do with it?

If sticking the Micro Amp in the effects loop doesn't do what I want, I'm going to try this... actually, I may just try this anyway to see what results I get. Intriguing!!

 

[flatulentmatt]

BD2 just has too much Gain at '0' for me to qualify it as a Boost

Really? Mine is dead clean, I don't really get grit until 9 o'clock on the dial with my Strat, maybe 8 o'clock on higher output guitars.

That said, for what the OP is wanting (clean boost) Valeton FP-10 all the way.

 

[carl_in_vain]

They make a clean boost version of the Archer for people like you:

J. Rockett Audio Designs Archer Clean Colored Boost Pedal

Clean/Color Boost Guitar Effects Pedal with Output, Color, and Treble Controls

www.sweetwater.com

My preferred Klon flavor.

 

[MeHereNow]

You can try another trick:
Crank the amp to solo volume, then set the micro amp so that when you engage it the volume goes down a notch.
Than that is your rhythm volume.
Time for solo?
Switch the micro amp off.

 

[HuntersHelm]

Germanium preamps are great for this kind of boost/grit work. My favorite is the Menatone Simplexity - great on it’s own or stacked.

 

[Scott SG]

I was recommended the Sarno Doozy Boost last summer and I'm glad I went for it. What an amazing Boost pedal!

Direct from the builder: $125 new https://www.sarnomusicsolutions.com/products/dzb.html

A couple TGP threads about it

New boost pedal - Sarno Doozy Boost

Anyone been hands-on with one of these yet? I love everything of Brad's I've tried. Curious if this is a neutral clean boost or if it will color the tone in a nice way? Could kick the Klone off my board if there is some overlap. http://sarnomusicsolutions.com/products/dzb.html

www.thegearpage.net

XTS Pegasus Boost and SMS Doozy Boost: the enclosures are black and white but both rock

I love high-quality, transparent boost pedals. For a couple of years, my go-to choice has been one of my two XTS Pegasus Boosts, which are based on the Alembic Stratoblaster circuit. (I have another Stratoblaster circuit wired on-board in my Scarlet Fire Wolf 2.1 guitar.) I also own a 1st...

www.thegearpage.net

 

[CBGNick]

Thank you EVERYONE for the awesome input. For the time being I inserted the Micro Amp into my fx loop and voila! that made a significant difference. I am, however, going to eventually look at a higher end clean boost rather than the MA, maybe an EQ or both (depends on how the gigs keep progressing). I most certainly came to the right place looking for suggestions!

 

[El Phaco]

Keeley Katana is a great clean boost.

 

[Ce24]

You should at least check out the VHT V-Drive. I use it sitting on top of my Marshall Origin 20.....boss ME80 into the V drive into amp. It is a great clean boost with tone tweaks if wanted. I use it with volume dimed and gain at 3......7/8 oclock. I just gave it a try as i have an MXR micro amp and this is just as clean but with the added tone shaping if wanted.

 

[Trainwreck]

Mr White can be used as a boost or add some clean grit and even beyond if needed love mine!

Mr White ll

• Trainwreck
• Jan 18, 2021