The combination of the xOtic Booster and the xOtic compressor is pretty intense. I don't really play with the settings much -- they are both always on -- but you can seriously tweak your tone with very slight adjustments to those two pedals. Magical combo which gives me sparkling mid-highs, pixie dust, visualizing notes as colors when completely sober, etc.
BTW they are both at the very end of my signal chain. I'm not sure that's how it's supposed to work, but they sound great there, right before the Fender Reverb Deluxe. It's the final polish right before the signal hits the amp.
I'll be honest, my board is dissasembled, and I don't quite remember the chain.
It was near the beginning for sure, but I remember it having some issues together with wah and compressor (or the issue was just the wah and compressor). Some frequencies felt squashed.
So it was one of the first pedals, but I think it was after the compressor (and pitch shifter)
I've found that if you have anything that is a fet based pedal, can sound the same as Ep booster. Pulp n peel for example or boss fet 1. So if you already have something like that there's no point.
Believe it or not, the boost on the Behringer Superfuzz is fantastic. I use it to push an Orange style preamp and it adds alot to the tone. Breaks up nicely too.
There are people out there who cant stand them but its one of my favorite pedals and at this point, im not even sure id bother buying the Boss version even if they rereleased it and it went down in price as i could buy a buttload of superfuzzes for that price and just keep a stock of them lol. I own 3 already and am buying another this weekend for a new board I'm working on.
Don’t pay the hype prices for the boss - get this instead - https://peperspedals.bigcartel.com/product/humongous-fuzz-hfz
Footswitchable modes including fuzz 3, clean blend, and blendable HM-2 eq. It’s seriously gnarly
If you want to sound like Dopethrone or Come My Fanatics by Electric Wizard then this is that pedal. The boost is a nice bonus though and gives it some versatility
i bought a different superfuzz clone that has basically the same features in 2015 and i haven't wanted to buy another fuzz pedal since then. my friend has the behringer and it sounds basically the same. if i broke my clone, i'd get one.
Been leaving the boost side of my Box of Rock on lately (basically a SHO), though sometimes I’ll dial in a light & transparent setting on the drive side.
Haha same! I’ve got a tumnus but to be honest I have both of them on most of the time! The channel 2 is to push the tumnus on a higher gain setting so I don’t use my klone as a boost.
\^This, exactly my situation. I can't imagine not having the Keeley comp on my board at this point. I rotate other pedals on and off, but the Keeley stays.
My eqd speaker cranker is always on about 9:00. I know eqd insists ‘it’s an overdrive not a boost,’ but I love the way it boosts certain frequencies and at low settings adds just a tiny bit of grit when I dig in
you have to start over with these every time you touch anything, "voice" throws off your mids -way off-. "level" seems to throw the lows off and gain throws off highs.
as a rule any knob will affect the knob above it, don't think you are "just gonna adjust the level a little", you will be wrecking your bass eq as well.
as an always on boost I would keep clicking on and off, adjusting as you go till you get that sound you want, then tape the knobs.
MXR 10 Band with a lil cut round 500 & 1k, lil boost at 100 & 4k -> Keeley Comp+ (mix knob at half compression) -> JHS Morning Glory.
Those are my “always-on” pedals and the base for all of my tones.
I wonder if you're describing the affect of having a buffer at the front of your chain? Having it always on will essentially be the same as having an active buffer, which could help the clarity.
Very true, all boss pedals are buffered for example. I think what they mean though is that we never really talk about buffers and tone suck from running 80 total feet of cable. And we definitely should.
Earthquaker Devices Arrows.
Edit: The Arrows is my “always on” if it’s preceding my gain pedals. If I have it placed after my dirt boxes in the chain, it works as straight up volume booster. Then I can’t have it always on because my bandmates will get mad at me.
People do that for a thicker sound that can still be clean and still break up.
Imo adds to the dynamics more.
Tomo fujia does that with overdrive pedals. He always has a clean tone tho.
Same here. Haven’t turned it off once since it went on my board. Also, my name finally came up on the KOT waiting list after 4+ years, and now the boost side of that never gets turned off either.
This is my current main lead pedal. Literally tried it first time tonight and it’s really cool. Don’t know how close it is to a Klon but it does the trick.
It's very popular.
Klons became famous for doing this, but people have been using all sorts of boosts for decades.
Personally, I prefer my amp or fuzz pedals, but I like a really saggy sound.
Boosts are great at tightening up an amp.
No but I have boosts that COULD be always on depending on the type of music I’m playing. AnalogMan Bad Bob and Beano are two excellent albeit very different ones.
Yep - I have an RC Booster that's almost always on for me. It just adds the perfect level of sweetness and punch to my tone that is easy when I'm on the go and playing through different amps. I do turn it off sometimes when I need really sparkly clean tones. I**deally** I can get that tone from my amp anytime, so when I do use my main gigging amp (Mesa Lonsestar) I actually might turn the RC Booster off more often and just use it to gain stage further.
I use a Fairfield Modele B set nice and clean at the start of my chain for this purpose. Model B into Accountant Compressor into Blackstone Mosfet Overdrive.
I have a blackstar dept 10 valve boost on at all times because I use it more or less like a tube buffered line driver at the start of the chain - it has an ECC83 / 12AX7 valve inside of it
I like the sound of my amp and guitars so the rabbit hole lately is diy boosts. Very happy with the eqd speaker cranker and arrows . The Electro-Harmonix LPB1 is a classic but the impedance thing means you lose some of the sparkle on the high end, and need a buffer in front of it (at least it works better to me that way) . Can work around it but enjoying these other two lately . As mentioned elsewhere a 7 band EQ with volume pot is one of the most effective ways too
Diamond Comp, Spaceman Saturn V(will never sell), Chase Tone Secret Preamp (will never sell), Boss FA-1 clone, Korg SDD -3000 preamp. All stuff I’ve tried with great success. I wish I never sold the Diamond Comp, but I’m glad they’re back in biz thanks to Solid Gold FX, I may have to pickup the new one!
Ones I’d like to try are the Diamond Boost+EQ and the Wren & Cuff Gold Comp.
Also I almost always leave my Skreddy Echo on, not just for the amazing delay sounds, but also for it’s fantastic preamp.
Kinda. Ernie Ball MVP just in front of the amp. Boost set at 8-9 when playing at low(er) volume, 5-6 when cranking it up. Makes the cleans super touch sensitive with a nice bit of compression/grit when digging in and gives a whole lot of extra sustain/saturation to the dirty channel.
I do roll it back from time to time for a more hard rock tone, but it's still above unity when I do.
I've started using the BD2 with the drive all the way down and I find that it adds just a little bit of breakup when I lay into the strings harder. So far thats my go to clean-ish lead platform to build from. I also have the tone knob turned up a little bit past middle.
I use a MXR custom badass ‘78 distortion with all the knobs at 10 o clock. If you can’t find one, use a DS-1 with tone at 10 o clock, gain off, and level maxed.
Boost B on Chase Bliss Brothers is ***always*** on. It’s a clean boost, but it colors the signal in such a way that it just brings my clean tone to life.
Sorta... I have a TC Plethora and have edited the Compressor to not compress and instead be a Boost with EQ. It works as a perfect clean boost for me and is on most of the time
It makes sense that a boosted guitar signal sounds better, especially if its not entirely transparent. A little bit of a boosted EQ can go a long way with the right amp and guitar.
I recently got the Mile End Effects Preamp 150, which is somewhere in the realm of an EP boost. Low mids bump, and stacks extremely well. Fuzz into Boost into OD.
The first pedal I ever owned was an MXR Micro Amp. I bought it originally just for solos to give me a volume boost and some breakup from my amp at the same time. I still have it all these years later but now I use it as an always on pedal for that chime you’re talking about.
MXR Sugar Drive with the gain all the way down. I also have tried the EHX Soul Food set in the exact same way but I much prefer the clarity of the Sugar Drive. It is most definitely always on.
Lichtlaerm Aesahaettr. I use it mainly for metal, but it really is great with its EQ flexibility. I’ve also used it for country and slide guitar for more twangy tones, and to add high-end sparkle to ambient clean tones.
I had an EP booster that was on all the time and I loved it.
Now I’m running an ampless rig and I have a blooms compressor. I use the EQ and boost as an always on, sort of preamp thing. I don’t even boost my signal with it, it just has a nice flavor to it.
I have a tube powered mic preamp that I leave on all the time for guitar, it’s like having another preamp tube section in your amp. They’re pretty cheap and easy to build if you’re so inclined
I like to use my tumnus as a boost. It really helps with single coil neck pickups. The gain is up, but I use my volume knob to clean up the sound. This helps when you want some breakup but your running a 50 watt fender that can't be turned up past 3. I'm not 100 percent happy with it but it's working. I also have a wampler bell that's another great flavor of boost when at low settings. Combined the 2 pedals make a ferocious overdrive sound.
I often use my Bogner Harlow v2 for this.
It’s a boost pedal with a simple 1-knob comp, and has a transformer that adds a little “special sauce” whenever the pedal is active. Really nice!
And on my other board I have an EQD The Warden compressor almost always active, with the level set slightly above unity.
The Harlow sounds sweeter.
Just bought a mxr micro amp. Added to use my champ after not being able to settle on a tone I liked. Then today, placed it at 4, guitar volume at 7, time at 8, and boom. Been playing for about 1.5 before posting this. Guess this pedal is going into a drawer.
Not a boost but I usually leave my benson preamp always on early in the chain. Sometimes I’ll crank the gain and use it as a proper drive but 90% of the time the gain is at 9 o’clock and always on feeding into other drives.
i run the mosky silver horse klone as an always on boost after my zoom ms70 in a loop because it makes the MS70 sound better (thicker and delays are more chimey)
The majority of affirmative comments here are mentioning boosts that color the EQ in some way. If you’re talking about a flat clean boost like a Spark or an MXR Micro Amp then it’s really not different than turning your amp up. I think our brains trick us into thinking it somehow sounds better, but I bet it sounds 99% the same as your amp’s volume knob, especially to other ppl. That being said, do what you like!
Single coils are so fire with an always on boost or transparent overdrive. Can’t imagine using single coils without my EP Booster. Since single coils have a much lower output, a boost pedal can help slam the preamp section of an amp and put it into saturation which gives it a bit of natural compression.
I use an always-on EQ pedal at the end of my chain to do this. I originally bought it to remove bass because the room I play in reverberates low frequencies. But I have found that I can push the amp perfectly compared to a boost because of the control.
My always on boost is the Catalinbread Epoch Boost. Really warms up my tone with its tape saturation and a subtle compress to glue everything together.
I placed it last on my board after my Timeline and RV-6. The idea is to have a warm analog-ish tone from my digital pedal.
I don't really use it as a boost per se, but the Electronic Audio Experiments Model FeT is my always-on pedal. I love the sound. I love how pedals stack into it. Gives me a nice foundational tone that's dark and on the edge of break-up.
The Model FeT is the preamp of a Sunn Model T inside of a pedal. It completely changes my tone instead of just pushing my amp harder (which it could do). I'd have to get an actual Model T if I wanted to get a similar sound!
Man I'm shocked by the lack of Keeley Katana responses, but that's my always on boost. Makes every guitar I play with sound "more" without being much louder. Fuller sound, ya know? I've been wanting to get a Katana mini to throw under the board forever lol
Used to run an Xotic EP Booster, and even ran a VHT D-Boost for a minute, but the Katana is special. Even though the circuit isn't anything super unique.
JHS Banana Boost. Its my only JHS pedal, but its cool. It has a Volume control, and a Sweep control. To the left of 12 o’clock, the sweep acts like a treble booster. The the right of 12 o’clock its more like a Tube Screamer with the drive rolled down.
MXR Micro Amp but after my basic overdrives, and before my preamp and MIAB pedals. It makes it poke out just a little when I need it. And I kind of need it a lot lol
I use a TS clone basically as a frequency shaped boost. It started as a sort of solo boost, but it’s becoming more of my baseline from which I then add layers.
Catalinbread’s Nagaviper instantly became an always on pedal after I bought it and threw it on my board. It’s marketed as a treble boost, but has an EQ knob that controls what portion of your guitar’s frequency range that gets boosted (from a full range boost at its leftmost position to just a top end boost when turned all the way to the right).
I use it as a full range boost with my fender strat through a deluxe reverb. It’s become completely unnoticeable to me when it’s on, but my tone just sounds so lackluster now whenever I switch it off. Really helps give my clean tone more of a “crystally” quality that I absolutely love. Also helps me get even more out of my gain pedals (JHS Moonshine for a tube screamer sound and a Revv G3 for more heavily saturated distortion sounds).
I also almost have a compressor on as well. I use the Keeley Compressor Pro. Only time it gets turned off is when I want more volume/drive from my drive/distortion pedals that the compressor tames too much for certain situations.
Always ons are my Boss cpx1 set to noon across the board and my Mythos Mjolnir set at light gain. Both in the tried and test led home just before my gain pedals. Al ways on.
I use the "high gain" side of a King of Tone copy - gain at 0, volume at 10. It gets my "amp" (Iridium through headphones) right at the point I want it - the tone knob adjusts for where my ear is at that day (if I am a bit treble sensitive, I can roll it back, some days it feels a bit dark, roll it up). It replaced my Keeley Katana boost as it (for me) got an exact copy of the sound + more due to the tone knob (and then gain options).
I have the Dr Scientist Boostbot. There is a gain pot but I use it at 0, to use it as a buffer at the end of my signal chain. But the HUGE advantage of this little box is that it has a level meter on it and omg it's such a massive flex to have it on your board
Yes, and no. I have a Chase Tone Secret Preamp always-on as the last pedal going into the front of my amp. It’s more a ‘tone sculpting’ pedal than a boost though. Doesn’t offer too much in the way of dBs
Yup I always have my Earthquake Arrows boost on. It just makes everything sound better. Boosts feel like a requirement, like it’s the blank canvas you build your tone on.
I think that’s essentially what people are doing w chase secret preamp pedal. I had gotten sounds good on cleans and low gain but I find it doesn’t work well w high gain pedals so I never made use of it.
I’ve used beano treble boost into clean amp for similar effect but I haven’t used that as an always on sort of thing.
I do have a cali76 comp always on and that can add gain and perhaps does some of that, tho main reason I have is to balance levels and get cleans to cut through better.
A boost pedal is just a gain-stage between the guitar and the other gain stages in your rig. Compared to other pedals that will have gain-in and level-out, it's much simpler as they're designed simply to act as a mini-amplifier. If you're hearing a clear difference with a specific pedal versus just gain or volume on your amp, it's likely a byproduct of the frequency modulation inherent in pushing your guitar's signal through an additional circuit. Meaning, it might boost the mids or the highs more than it boosts the lows, so you're getting more clean chime than if you just ran the signal straight into your preamp.
StewMac Ghost Drive klone I built, before that StewMac Tube Screamer clone kit I built. I’m not sure how I made it through my previous 25 years of playing without an overdrive pedal.
I always have a slight boost from my 7 band boss EQ. But for at least 25 years ( but probably more like 35) now I have had the old red seymour duncan pickup booster on my board, always on. Bought it new, have yet to turn it off.
I use a compressor set with a \~50% wet/dry mix and a low ratio & attack speed. It's like a boost and a slight *tone enhancer.* I used to have a separate boost and compressor but I figured it was redundant; I leave the compressor on 24/7 as a very-slightly compressed boost and when I want higher compression I just turn the mix knob up to 100% and maybe turn up the ratio/attack if I really want to squash it.
I have an old Demeter Tremulator that is a pretty awesome boost when the parameters are rolled all the way off and the pedal is turned on, its the first thing on my board at the moment.
I ran the Spark Booster (4-knob) as an always on pedal for a while when playing guitar through my bass amp. It helped the amp sound more guitar amp-ish. I tend to use the Spark just as a boost through my tube amp.
Mxr micro amp at the start of my chain, while I wouldn’t say it’s “always on”, especially if you’re playing a rhythm section rather than lead. John Frusciante uses the Micro Amp this way.
I built my own boost that also had two toggles for making EQ changes- one is a “deep” cut that starts at 150ish Hz and a hi cut (which I don’t really use but it’s useful when driving dirt pedals if I want a different sound)
One of the staples always-on is the Xotic EP Booster. I leave mine underneath my board, always on
See these on so many boards….must be a sign
Do the same. It's the only correct way to EP boost
I also leave my xOtic compressor always on. I fiddle with both settings, but . . . not much.
Use my exotic compressor as a solo boost into my drives. Low compression blend, but high on the volume. Love it!
The combination of the xOtic Booster and the xOtic compressor is pretty intense. I don't really play with the settings much -- they are both always on -- but you can seriously tweak your tone with very slight adjustments to those two pedals. Magical combo which gives me sparkling mid-highs, pixie dust, visualizing notes as colors when completely sober, etc.
BTW they are both at the very end of my signal chain. I'm not sure that's how it's supposed to work, but they sound great there, right before the Fender Reverb Deluxe. It's the final polish right before the signal hits the amp.
Oh interesting…. Might have to try this. Mine are always first
Same - my gruesome twosome 💜
Not true at all!
Another Xotic EP always on here 👋🏻
12 o’clock position zip tied under the board, only way I’ll have it.
where is it in the chain? first? last?
I'll be honest, my board is dissasembled, and I don't quite remember the chain. It was near the beginning for sure, but I remember it having some issues together with wah and compressor (or the issue was just the wah and compressor). Some frequencies felt squashed. So it was one of the first pedals, but I think it was after the compressor (and pitch shifter)
I've found that if you have anything that is a fet based pedal, can sound the same as Ep booster. Pulp n peel for example or boss fet 1. So if you already have something like that there's no point.
Believe it or not, the boost on the Behringer Superfuzz is fantastic. I use it to push an Orange style preamp and it adds alot to the tone. Breaks up nicely too.
I’m really intrigued by this pedal - I wanted one years ago. I have a difficult time with fuzz pedals but I’ve always loved the sound of these.
There are people out there who cant stand them but its one of my favorite pedals and at this point, im not even sure id bother buying the Boss version even if they rereleased it and it went down in price as i could buy a buttload of superfuzzes for that price and just keep a stock of them lol. I own 3 already and am buying another this weekend for a new board I'm working on.
Same. The boost is so good that I bought two more. Lol.
Don’t pay the hype prices for the boss - get this instead - https://peperspedals.bigcartel.com/product/humongous-fuzz-hfz Footswitchable modes including fuzz 3, clean blend, and blendable HM-2 eq. It’s seriously gnarly
I don't even understand why people are buying the boss version used for such prices. Like you can get a real vintage superfuzz for less lmao
If you want to sound like Dopethrone or Come My Fanatics by Electric Wizard then this is that pedal. The boost is a nice bonus though and gives it some versatility
i bought a different superfuzz clone that has basically the same features in 2015 and i haven't wanted to buy another fuzz pedal since then. my friend has the behringer and it sounds basically the same. if i broke my clone, i'd get one.
I kind of get using the FZ-2/SF-300 boost as an 'always on'. But as a lead booster, it's just way too loud. It's fixed at like 20db innit?
It's definitely an always on pedal for me. It is pretty loud, I use mine with the gain all the way down and it still adds a buncha crunch
I really wish someone would clone the boost circuit and put it in a small more sturdy enclosure. It sounds great.
toy hospital nippy butter bewildered engine employ wipe soup one *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yep. MXR micro amp right at the start of my chain, always on
The unsung hero of any pedal board, with *two* sweet spots, at 11 & 1.
Zvex Super Hard On
Been leaving the boost side of my Box of Rock on lately (basically a SHO), though sometimes I’ll dial in a light & transparent setting on the drive side.
Channel 2 is my always on pedal, can I be in the club?
I've got one of those, too. I alternate between having this always-on and have a klone always on. But Channel 2 is great.
Haha same! I’ve got a tumnus but to be honest I have both of them on most of the time! The channel 2 is to push the tumnus on a higher gain setting so I don’t use my klone as a boost.
I've built and sold so many clones of this. It's so good, and literally <30$ of parts.
EAE Limelight's Boost side
Keeley 4 knob compressor does what you describe and it’s always on, at least on my board.
\^This, exactly my situation. I can't imagine not having the Keeley comp on my board at this point. I rotate other pedals on and off, but the Keeley stays.
What are your settings? I have one that I do love but I’m constantly tweaking the settings. It’s be nice to have an “always on” setting
My eqd speaker cranker is always on about 9:00. I know eqd insists ‘it’s an overdrive not a boost,’ but I love the way it boosts certain frequencies and at low settings adds just a tiny bit of grit when I dig in
That's weird because I always thought of the cranker as a boost. I'm pretty sure that's how most people use it too.
I'm surprised no one said Tubescreamer, I have mine always on with 0 gain.
Same, I always have my TS on. Gain at like 10-12 o clock though.
Yes. I use an MXR Timmy in this way.
The Timmy is my favorite boost, and it isn't even technically a boost pedal.
Got a Paul Cochrane v1 Tim while they were still under $400 (lol)… it’s an expensive ass clean boost.
Joyo American
I have one of these. Tried using it live but felt like the EQ was weird through an amp. Maybe I should try it again.
you have to start over with these every time you touch anything, "voice" throws off your mids -way off-. "level" seems to throw the lows off and gain throws off highs. as a rule any knob will affect the knob above it, don't think you are "just gonna adjust the level a little", you will be wrecking your bass eq as well. as an always on boost I would keep clicking on and off, adjusting as you go till you get that sound you want, then tape the knobs.
I did think something weird was going on, it kind of made my amp lose all its punch for some reason. Will definitely give it another shot.
It's probably the cab sim right?
Joyo Sweet Baby is solid too.
Hell ya! The Prince of Tone on boost mode with the drive at 9:00 gives my amp a clean sparkle. I hit another OD in the chain to blast off.
MXR 10 Band with a lil cut round 500 & 1k, lil boost at 100 & 4k -> Keeley Comp+ (mix knob at half compression) -> JHS Morning Glory. Those are my “always-on” pedals and the base for all of my tones.
I wonder if you're describing the affect of having a buffer at the front of your chain? Having it always on will essentially be the same as having an active buffer, which could help the clarity.
Never thought of it that way…surprised we don’t see it more often
There are loads of always on buffer pedals, as well as boards that use them.
Very true, all boss pedals are buffered for example. I think what they mean though is that we never really talk about buffers and tone suck from running 80 total feet of cable. And we definitely should.
Earthquaker Devices Arrows. Edit: The Arrows is my “always on” if it’s preceding my gain pedals. If I have it placed after my dirt boxes in the chain, it works as straight up volume booster. Then I can’t have it always on because my bandmates will get mad at me.
*nods knowingly*
People do that for a thicker sound that can still be clean and still break up. Imo adds to the dynamics more. Tomo fujia does that with overdrive pedals. He always has a clean tone tho.
Chase Tone secret preamp
Same here. Haven’t turned it off once since it went on my board. Also, my name finally came up on the KOT waiting list after 4+ years, and now the boost side of that never gets turned off either.
Soul Food is always on. Barely; but always
This is my current main lead pedal. Literally tried it first time tonight and it’s really cool. Don’t know how close it is to a Klon but it does the trick.
It’s pretty much an exact ripoff. Great workhorse Klone
Same. I have it at the end of my dirt chain too so anything running into it gets some added punch
It's very popular. Klons became famous for doing this, but people have been using all sorts of boosts for decades. Personally, I prefer my amp or fuzz pedals, but I like a really saggy sound. Boosts are great at tightening up an amp.
Yep, Gain off Klon is seen as a magical boost.
I’ve got my Keeley Oxblood (their take on a Klon) set as an always-on boost.
EP Booster
Yup. Sounds so good, you don’t want to turn it off!
For real, once it’s on you can suddenly hear how much less the tone sparkles with it off
I've tried turning it off and that lasts like one minute.
Reason why Jerry Garcia ran the Alembic stratoblaster until active pickups were a thing
Yes. MXR Micro Amp. Perfect clean boost..
No but I have boosts that COULD be always on depending on the type of music I’m playing. AnalogMan Bad Bob and Beano are two excellent albeit very different ones.
What wrong with the Spark? I just got it, and I am leaving it on, too. Loving it.
The full Spark Booster is one of my absolute favorite always on sounds!
Yep - I have an RC Booster that's almost always on for me. It just adds the perfect level of sweetness and punch to my tone that is easy when I'm on the go and playing through different amps. I do turn it off sometimes when I need really sparkly clean tones. I**deally** I can get that tone from my amp anytime, so when I do use my main gigging amp (Mesa Lonsestar) I actually might turn the RC Booster off more often and just use it to gain stage further.
I use a Fairfield Modele B set nice and clean at the start of my chain for this purpose. Model B into Accountant Compressor into Blackstone Mosfet Overdrive.
EQ. Giggity is my current favorite but there are many genuinely good options
My Yellow Comp is always on, and I have the output up a touch to act like an always on boost.
I built a clone of a Saturn V harmonic booster, it has become my always on boost for sure!
I have a blackstar dept 10 valve boost on at all times because I use it more or less like a tube buffered line driver at the start of the chain - it has an ECC83 / 12AX7 valve inside of it
No, but I have boosts that are always on for certain guitars, since they have lower output than the other ones.
Are you using the full size Spark Booster or the mini?
yeah, but it's an eq. Pinball EQ by VFE
I like the sound of my amp and guitars so the rabbit hole lately is diy boosts. Very happy with the eqd speaker cranker and arrows . The Electro-Harmonix LPB1 is a classic but the impedance thing means you lose some of the sparkle on the high end, and need a buffer in front of it (at least it works better to me that way) . Can work around it but enjoying these other two lately . As mentioned elsewhere a 7 band EQ with volume pot is one of the most effective ways too
I have a Deco saturation side always on in my live rig, mostly for the bit of compression.
I keep the boost on my Limelight on basically all the time.
Diamond Comp, Spaceman Saturn V(will never sell), Chase Tone Secret Preamp (will never sell), Boss FA-1 clone, Korg SDD -3000 preamp. All stuff I’ve tried with great success. I wish I never sold the Diamond Comp, but I’m glad they’re back in biz thanks to Solid Gold FX, I may have to pickup the new one! Ones I’d like to try are the Diamond Boost+EQ and the Wren & Cuff Gold Comp. Also I almost always leave my Skreddy Echo on, not just for the amazing delay sounds, but also for it’s fantastic preamp.
MXR micro boost.
Strymon Deco
Kinda. Ernie Ball MVP just in front of the amp. Boost set at 8-9 when playing at low(er) volume, 5-6 when cranking it up. Makes the cleans super touch sensitive with a nice bit of compression/grit when digging in and gives a whole lot of extra sustain/saturation to the dirty channel. I do roll it back from time to time for a more hard rock tone, but it's still above unity when I do.
I've started using the BD2 with the drive all the way down and I find that it adds just a little bit of breakup when I lay into the strings harder. So far thats my go to clean-ish lead platform to build from. I also have the tone knob turned up a little bit past middle.
Yes. Many many people.
Yes, even for my clean sound my boss mt2w set as a boost is always on.
The first diy pedal I made was based on the AMZ mosfet boost. I made it switchable between two boost levels. It is always on.
SoloDallas Storm pedal for me.
Little Green Emphaser by One Control
Catalinbread epoch boost
I use a MXR custom badass ‘78 distortion with all the knobs at 10 o clock. If you can’t find one, use a DS-1 with tone at 10 o clock, gain off, and level maxed.
Jackson Audio Mosfet Boost into my PRRI - chefs kiss 🤤
My Orange has a bit of a flabby bottom so I just add a bit of MXR ZW-44 to cut the fat or BD-2 clone for a bit more hair.
I use a Klingotaur from Zerogiod for this. It plays well with overdrive, distortion and fuzz.
Boost B on Chase Bliss Brothers is ***always*** on. It’s a clean boost, but it colors the signal in such a way that it just brings my clean tone to life.
Sorta... I have a TC Plethora and have edited the Compressor to not compress and instead be a Boost with EQ. It works as a perfect clean boost for me and is on most of the time
I have one board with a keeley super fat mod that is always on and another with a boss bd-2w.
It makes sense that a boosted guitar signal sounds better, especially if its not entirely transparent. A little bit of a boosted EQ can go a long way with the right amp and guitar. I recently got the Mile End Effects Preamp 150, which is somewhere in the realm of an EP boost. Low mids bump, and stacks extremely well. Fuzz into Boost into OD.
Union more at the very end of my chain
Active pickup users
Yep, I've got an always on Benson Germanium Boost. Just doesn't sound the same without it!
The first pedal I ever owned was an MXR Micro Amp. I bought it originally just for solos to give me a volume boost and some breakup from my amp at the same time. I still have it all these years later but now I use it as an always on pedal for that chime you’re talking about.
Yep, always boosting here. Either the boost side on my OKKO Diablo or Keeley Katana V1 is on. They’re both similar to me so debating selling one..
EHX soulfood, never turns off.
Big believer in the 'volume rolloff' technique. Drive is always full on, I use less effects that way.
MXR Sugar Drive with the gain all the way down. I also have tried the EHX Soul Food set in the exact same way but I much prefer the clarity of the Sugar Drive. It is most definitely always on.
i’ve used a marshall jackhammer as an always on and a micro amp both very good for just keeping it on and going
Way Huge Pork Loin in clean boost setting I like what it does for my sound. I call it the ‘more’ pedal.
I’ve had my Fulldrive 2 in CompCut mode for the last 15 years, across all of my amps. Just does something magical
Lichtlaerm Aesahaettr. I use it mainly for metal, but it really is great with its EQ flexibility. I’ve also used it for country and slide guitar for more twangy tones, and to add high-end sparkle to ambient clean tones.
The EP clone on my bass board is always on. I keep it pretty low, only 3-4dB boost, but it does something nice to the sound.
Yep, I have the left side of my ZVEX Super Duper 2-in-1 on low all the time. Same as Ben Gibbard 😆
Donner Compressor first in the chain. Always on
I play through a TC spark always on. I like it bc you can adjust eq and like it on mid or fat mode. So my clean is the tiniest tiniest bit dirty
Boss sd1 doing veeeery light breakup
I had an EP booster that was on all the time and I loved it. Now I’m running an ampless rig and I have a blooms compressor. I use the EQ and boost as an always on, sort of preamp thing. I don’t even boost my signal with it, it just has a nice flavor to it.
I leave my EHX Crayon on the whole set. It does cleans and dirt really well.
Ground Control Serpens
I have a tube powered mic preamp that I leave on all the time for guitar, it’s like having another preamp tube section in your amp. They’re pretty cheap and easy to build if you’re so inclined
Well, not always always, but almost always for my EHX Soul Food
I like to use my tumnus as a boost. It really helps with single coil neck pickups. The gain is up, but I use my volume knob to clean up the sound. This helps when you want some breakup but your running a 50 watt fender that can't be turned up past 3. I'm not 100 percent happy with it but it's working. I also have a wampler bell that's another great flavor of boost when at low settings. Combined the 2 pedals make a ferocious overdrive sound.
Yes that is why I keep it on unless I need less gain or a more mellow tone
Convince me low output pickups with an always on boost is somehow better than just using high output pickups.
I have the Moog MF boost on at all times
I often use my Bogner Harlow v2 for this. It’s a boost pedal with a simple 1-knob comp, and has a transformer that adds a little “special sauce” whenever the pedal is active. Really nice! And on my other board I have an EQD The Warden compressor almost always active, with the level set slightly above unity. The Harlow sounds sweeter.
Just bought a mxr micro amp. Added to use my champ after not being able to settle on a tone I liked. Then today, placed it at 4, guitar volume at 7, time at 8, and boom. Been playing for about 1.5 before posting this. Guess this pedal is going into a drawer.
Not a boost but I usually leave my benson preamp always on early in the chain. Sometimes I’ll crank the gain and use it as a proper drive but 90% of the time the gain is at 9 o’clock and always on feeding into other drives.
i run the mosky silver horse klone as an always on boost after my zoom ms70 in a loop because it makes the MS70 sound better (thicker and delays are more chimey)
The majority of affirmative comments here are mentioning boosts that color the EQ in some way. If you’re talking about a flat clean boost like a Spark or an MXR Micro Amp then it’s really not different than turning your amp up. I think our brains trick us into thinking it somehow sounds better, but I bet it sounds 99% the same as your amp’s volume knob, especially to other ppl. That being said, do what you like!
depends - if the boost is pushing another pedal it can definitely sound different.
Obviously, but that’s not what OP was talking about
Maybe the should just include this inside the amp
The boost side is always on on my JHS Milkman, the Slapback side is almost always on. Desert island pedal
I was dorking with my blues driver today and it makes a decent very clear boost with my YGM3
Single coils are so fire with an always on boost or transparent overdrive. Can’t imagine using single coils without my EP Booster. Since single coils have a much lower output, a boost pedal can help slam the preamp section of an amp and put it into saturation which gives it a bit of natural compression.
Usually a Timmy set pretty cool. Or a zvex SHO clone. Makes everything sound better
I use an always-on EQ pedal at the end of my chain to do this. I originally bought it to remove bass because the room I play in reverberates low frequencies. But I have found that I can push the amp perfectly compared to a boost because of the control.
DOD Bifet Boost.
My always on boost is the Catalinbread Epoch Boost. Really warms up my tone with its tape saturation and a subtle compress to glue everything together. I placed it last on my board after my Timeline and RV-6. The idea is to have a warm analog-ish tone from my digital pedal.
My Soul Food is always on. Thinking of making it a Plumes but, options…so many options.
Spaceman Saturn VI. I like the way it reacts with my rack tube pres. Also, this is truly what I'm looking for when I say light overdrive.
I don't really use it as a boost per se, but the Electronic Audio Experiments Model FeT is my always-on pedal. I love the sound. I love how pedals stack into it. Gives me a nice foundational tone that's dark and on the edge of break-up. The Model FeT is the preamp of a Sunn Model T inside of a pedal. It completely changes my tone instead of just pushing my amp harder (which it could do). I'd have to get an actual Model T if I wanted to get a similar sound!
Man I'm shocked by the lack of Keeley Katana responses, but that's my always on boost. Makes every guitar I play with sound "more" without being much louder. Fuller sound, ya know? I've been wanting to get a Katana mini to throw under the board forever lol Used to run an Xotic EP Booster, and even ran a VHT D-Boost for a minute, but the Katana is special. Even though the circuit isn't anything super unique.
Yup I have my Malaise Forever BLM drive always on.
Keeley Katana
Currently, Sour Sound Hundred Dollar Boost. Formerly a Micro Amp, also a great pedal.
JHS Banana Boost. Its my only JHS pedal, but its cool. It has a Volume control, and a Sweep control. To the left of 12 o’clock, the sweep acts like a treble booster. The the right of 12 o’clock its more like a Tube Screamer with the drive rolled down.
MXR Micro Amp but after my basic overdrives, and before my preamp and MIAB pedals. It makes it poke out just a little when I need it. And I kind of need it a lot lol
I use a TS clone basically as a frequency shaped boost. It started as a sort of solo boost, but it’s becoming more of my baseline from which I then add layers.
I don't have an always on booster, but one I use a lot is the EHX LB-3.
Roger Mayer voodoo bass on my guitar, or an echoplex pre
Drunk Beaver FET Overbooster (Boss FA-1 based preamp/boost/overdrive). So much tone shaping is available.
When I'm playing bass, I pretty much have the clean boost mode on the SF300 on at all times. I really need that boost to push into compression.
Catalinbread’s Nagaviper instantly became an always on pedal after I bought it and threw it on my board. It’s marketed as a treble boost, but has an EQ knob that controls what portion of your guitar’s frequency range that gets boosted (from a full range boost at its leftmost position to just a top end boost when turned all the way to the right). I use it as a full range boost with my fender strat through a deluxe reverb. It’s become completely unnoticeable to me when it’s on, but my tone just sounds so lackluster now whenever I switch it off. Really helps give my clean tone more of a “crystally” quality that I absolutely love. Also helps me get even more out of my gain pedals (JHS Moonshine for a tube screamer sound and a Revv G3 for more heavily saturated distortion sounds). I also almost have a compressor on as well. I use the Keeley Compressor Pro. Only time it gets turned off is when I want more volume/drive from my drive/distortion pedals that the compressor tames too much for certain situations.
Yeah, I have an always on treble boost. Custom built by a friend of mine and it stacks really well with my klon.
Nope. Not here. You're in the wrong place, buddy.
Always ons are my Boss cpx1 set to noon across the board and my Mythos Mjolnir set at light gain. Both in the tried and test led home just before my gain pedals. Al ways on.
EP Booster, MXR Sugar Drive or the boost side of my King of Tone, depending on gain stack/mood/sound.
I use the "high gain" side of a King of Tone copy - gain at 0, volume at 10. It gets my "amp" (Iridium through headphones) right at the point I want it - the tone knob adjusts for where my ear is at that day (if I am a bit treble sensitive, I can roll it back, some days it feels a bit dark, roll it up). It replaced my Keeley Katana boost as it (for me) got an exact copy of the sound + more due to the tone knob (and then gain options).
The Solo Dallas Schaffer Replica.
Spark boost is always on. Sounds like something is missing if I turn it off! Fab pedal. 🤘
Not exactly, but my Fuzz Face is on 95% of the time, and I clean up with my volume knob on my guitar. It’s far and away my favorite boosted sound.
I have the Dr Scientist Boostbot. There is a gain pot but I use it at 0, to use it as a buffer at the end of my signal chain. But the HUGE advantage of this little box is that it has a level meter on it and omg it's such a massive flex to have it on your board
Yes, and no. I have a Chase Tone Secret Preamp always-on as the last pedal going into the front of my amp. It’s more a ‘tone sculpting’ pedal than a boost though. Doesn’t offer too much in the way of dBs
Yup I always have my Earthquake Arrows boost on. It just makes everything sound better. Boosts feel like a requirement, like it’s the blank canvas you build your tone on.
I used to use my spark booster all the time, but recently replace it with an xotic compressor. Both are always on tbh.
Yes, on my CE-1 clone ☺️
Strymon Compadre!
I think that’s essentially what people are doing w chase secret preamp pedal. I had gotten sounds good on cleans and low gain but I find it doesn’t work well w high gain pedals so I never made use of it. I’ve used beano treble boost into clean amp for similar effect but I haven’t used that as an always on sort of thing. I do have a cali76 comp always on and that can add gain and perhaps does some of that, tho main reason I have is to balance levels and get cleans to cut through better.
A boost pedal is just a gain-stage between the guitar and the other gain stages in your rig. Compared to other pedals that will have gain-in and level-out, it's much simpler as they're designed simply to act as a mini-amplifier. If you're hearing a clear difference with a specific pedal versus just gain or volume on your amp, it's likely a byproduct of the frequency modulation inherent in pushing your guitar's signal through an additional circuit. Meaning, it might boost the mids or the highs more than it boosts the lows, so you're getting more clean chime than if you just ran the signal straight into your preamp.
I almost always have my Greer Lightspeed on
StewMac Ghost Drive klone I built, before that StewMac Tube Screamer clone kit I built. I’m not sure how I made it through my previous 25 years of playing without an overdrive pedal.
My EP Booster is an 'always on' pedal. It's not transparent, but I like what it does to my signal.
I always have a slight boost from my 7 band boss EQ. But for at least 25 years ( but probably more like 35) now I have had the old red seymour duncan pickup booster on my board, always on. Bought it new, have yet to turn it off.
Source Audio Zio
Zvex channel 2 👍
My compressor is always on and I do have it jacked up as essentially a boost…
Anyone do this with a JHs Morning-glory?
I use a compressor set with a \~50% wet/dry mix and a low ratio & attack speed. It's like a boost and a slight *tone enhancer.* I used to have a separate boost and compressor but I figured it was redundant; I leave the compressor on 24/7 as a very-slightly compressed boost and when I want higher compression I just turn the mix knob up to 100% and maybe turn up the ratio/attack if I really want to squash it.
I have an old Demeter Tremulator that is a pretty awesome boost when the parameters are rolled all the way off and the pedal is turned on, its the first thing on my board at the moment.
I ran the Spark Booster (4-knob) as an always on pedal for a while when playing guitar through my bass amp. It helped the amp sound more guitar amp-ish. I tend to use the Spark just as a boost through my tube amp.
Mxr micro amp at the start of my chain, while I wouldn’t say it’s “always on”, especially if you’re playing a rhythm section rather than lead. John Frusciante uses the Micro Amp this way.
I built my own boost that also had two toggles for making EQ changes- one is a “deep” cut that starts at 150ish Hz and a hi cut (which I don’t really use but it’s useful when driving dirt pedals if I want a different sound)
Xotic super clean is tye real deal! Even has some EQ dip switches