cheaper alternative to RC booster ?

Bad Monkey with gain most of the way down is the cheapest option I can think of. It's closer to the AC than the RC with the gain anywhere above 9:00. Best $40 pedal I've bought. I use it WITH my RC booster much of the time.

 

Timmy? Killer light gain tones and the EQing is really musical and useful IMO...

 

If your looking for an inexpensaive lo gain OD there are several good ones to try:

Boss BD-2
Barber LTD
Sparkle drive (this is a TS-9 with a blendable clean boost)
Zendrive (not much cheaper than the RC tho)
Hell baby (looks interesting)
Paul Cochrane Timmy
Nobels ODR-1

 

Either the Hellbaby or RGW Bad Bob will do what you're looking for.

 

How about a used RC Booster? I'm selling mine in case you're interested.

 

+1...Im sure a USED RC is a pedal most people can afford.

 

Depends on how much the guy is asking.. And maybe he is a person that will only buy new...

 

Prior to a sound check I spent a good amount of time comparing my RC Booster with a Nobels ODR-1 for your exact application - adding just a bit of hair to my clean Twin.

I absolutely love the RC Booster as a clean boost. However, with the gain set to 3:00 to add that "hair", I noticed that the RC displayed some grainy, unpleasant overtones when compared to my ODR-1. The ODR-1 was much smoother and "transparent" sounding for that "touch-of-dirt" application than the RC. I also noticed that the ODR-1 was less noisey.

So, it's really hard to beat that $50 ODR-1 for that low-gain overdrive sound. I have other overdrives that I love for medium or higher gain sounds but I actually use the ODR-1 more than any of them.

 

Here is some really good alternatives, that are cheeper than the RC.. And they all are cheeper..

1. T.C. Jauernig Luxury Drive
2. Smart People Factory Ego Booster
3. T Miranda Booster
4. Nick Greer Sonic Boom
5. Barber Launch Pad
6. Pedalworx McBoost
7. Tonefactor Hellbaby
8. Catalinbread Super Chile Picoso.
9. Seymoure Duncan Pickup Booster
10. Pro Tone Wide Tread.

 

+1 on the Tim or Timmy!

 

The Timmy isn't that much cheaper than a RC Booster, at least the one I bought. I highly recommend the Fulltone Fat Boost, you can score them for about $100 used and they are way flexible, they have eq controls too. If your going with the Catalinbread Super Chili Picoso or the ZVex SHO, either will do the job, the Chili has a second output that is inverted, which comes in handy for running into tow amps and one hase reverb and one doesn't. I use one for feeding into two JCM800's a 2204 and a 2205 and it made a big difference inverting the signal into one of the amps, much bigger tone!!!! The Timmy is a great OD pedal, you may find it too good of one to use just for a boost.

Just my two pesos...

TheGrooveking

 

The Reverend Drivetrain II is also a decent option --- can be a pure clean boost with the gain all the way down or add just a bit of overdrive with the gain at 9:00. They're not made anymore but usually go for around $100 or less.

 

The Timmy is only $100 - I guess you bought yours used..?

I'll also second the Reverend Drivetrain 2 - I used mine for that purpose before I replaced it with the Timmy and it worked really well. Lots of EQing possiblility with the DT2, and it does light/med OD very well. Can do TS-9 type tones and crunchier stuff with the level up - and it has a TON of boost on tap.

 

If you want "hair" you probably need an OD if you just want a thicker tone try an EQ pedal set for a midrange boost. Clean boosters and treble boosters WILL thicken your tone but they only do that at a louder volume than your original signal level. Thats great for leads but if you want thick clean at the same volume as your unaltered sound I don't think a booster is what you have in mind.

 

Keeley BD-2, gain off, level 1:00, tone noon, phat on.
Molto bene

 

Marcello,
I should add that I have a Timmy also but I prefer to use it for my medium-gain overdrive. It sounds fantastic and will also cover the low-gain tones well. It has better definition at higher gain settings than the ODR-1. However, I like the ODR-1 best for just fattening up a clean sound and for $50 it's worth checking out.

Scott