Best Boosts

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JD01
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by JD01 »

Greg_L wrote: Wed Oct 25, 2017 8:21 am Is your amp still mud-city with the new cab? I've always thought Blackstars are dark, but I attributed the boxy mud in you tones to the tiny terrible combo cab it sits in. I know that the bigger Blackstar heads don't necessarily sound muddy, they're just dark-ish.
Its nowhere near as bad as it was - the new cab mainly just seems to make things sound bigger and louder without things getting woofy. I still find that when I press the EQ pedal with the 400hz notch it sounds like a sleeping bag has been taken off the amp... just not as thick a sleeping bag as it used to be. With the decent cab and the 400hz notch I think the Blackstar isn't that bad at all as a starting point amp for home recording and small gigs, certainly at the price point its at. Its never gonna really change anyone's world though... what's it taken me? 2 years of fucking about with it to get close to the tones I hearing in my head? (I understand that someone with more experience of dialing in an amp would have managed it more quickly)
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Greg_L
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by Greg_L »

JD01 wrote: Wed Oct 25, 2017 8:33 am
Its nowhere near as bad as it was - the new cab mainly just seems to make things sound bigger and louder without things getting woofy. I still find that when I press the EQ pedal with the 400hz notch it sounds like a sleeping bag has been taken off the amp... just not as thick a sleeping bag as it used to be. With the decent cab and the 400hz notch I think the Blackstar isn't that bad at all as a starting point amp for home recording and small gigs, certainly at the price point its at. Its never gonna really change anyone's world though... what's it taken me? 2 years of fucking about with it to get close to the tones I hearing in my head? (I understand that someone with more experience of dialing in an amp would have managed it more quickly)
But is all that even really necessary anymore? It seems like if you're still using the same tone band-aids that you did before the new cab, and now your tones have gone thin, then maybe you don't need to do all that stuff anymore. :confused:
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JD01
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by JD01 »

Greg_L wrote: Wed Oct 25, 2017 9:28 am
JD01 wrote: Wed Oct 25, 2017 8:33 am
Its nowhere near as bad as it was - the new cab mainly just seems to make things sound bigger and louder without things getting woofy. I still find that when I press the EQ pedal with the 400hz notch it sounds like a sleeping bag has been taken off the amp... just not as thick a sleeping bag as it used to be. With the decent cab and the 400hz notch I think the Blackstar isn't that bad at all as a starting point amp for home recording and small gigs, certainly at the price point its at. Its never gonna really change anyone's world though... what's it taken me? 2 years of fucking about with it to get close to the tones I hearing in my head? (I understand that someone with more experience of dialing in an amp would have managed it more quickly)
But is all that even really necessary anymore? It seems like if you're still using the same tone band-aids that you did before the new cab, and now your tones have gone thin, then maybe you don't need to do all that stuff anymore. :confused:
As I said - I'm getting close, but I'm not there yet! While they have gone a bit thin I still think they are better than I've managed before.
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liv_rong
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by liv_rong »

Dont know why those links didnt work, Ill just attach them to this post instead the old fashioned way.

Anyways, in case you didnt know, the Xotic EP Booster is basically a clone of the og echoplex preamp. I like it better for breaking up my clean channel than using it on my dirty channel as my dirty channel has plenty of gain available and when mixed it gets a little flubby.

I know another somewhat popular cheap option is the EHX Crayon.
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rayc
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by rayc »

liv,
they both sound fine to me though they both sound like pedal sounds rather than a pushed amp. Probably my lack of experience in such things.
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liv_rong
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by liv_rong »

rayc wrote: Wed Oct 25, 2017 9:58 am liv,
they both sound fine to me though they both sound like pedal sounds rather than a pushed amp. Probably my lack of experience in such things.
Thanks. I think that may be because the master is turned so low, the the front is being pushed a little bit the back end is not really doing anything. Its just a clean boost.
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JD01
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by JD01 »

Just looked up the JRAD Archer and the Xotic EP Booster on eBay. They're basically going for new pedal money... and if you buy them new Anderton's throw in a power supply!
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by Greg_L »

I just got an EP Boost fairly recently. It's not bad.
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liv_rong
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by liv_rong »

I don’t know what the Archer is but it sounds like a klone to me.
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by Greg_L »

liv_rong wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:15 pm I don’t know what the Archer is but it sounds like a klone to me.
It is. Klon klone
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JD01
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by JD01 »

You liked the archer didn't you, Greg?

I was just thinking I might get someone with a slightly different flavour to the OCD that's all.
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by Greg_L »

JD01 wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:51 pm You liked the archer didn't you, Greg?

I was just thinking I might get someone with a slightly different flavour to the OCD that's all.
It's okay. I don't think any of them are all that great. I'm not into the modern fetishization of stompboxes and that trend is really turning me against them more than ever. I've yet to hear one do anything good to an amp that already sounds good.
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rayc
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by rayc »

I've been doing some research lately as I am interested in a clean boost BUT a simple LOUDER pedal seems a) rarish and b) expensive. All the classics & their clones, (Centaur etc), have drive knobs and I certainly don't need that. At present my Boss SDI with drive OFF and even my Behringer Blues Driver with Drive OFF seem to work fairly well and I'd need to get something REALLY on point to bother adding a new one.
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JD01
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by JD01 »

Before ressurecting this thread I actually read through it again and I've realised that I like what boost/overdrive does to my tone. I like the compression and tightening of the bottom end. I suppose, after that it's all about what EQ they imprint over your tone and how they react to your playing. I always find I get a bit of flubbiness if I try and chug on a powerchord without a boost.

I think it is partly modern fetishisation of stomp boxes and I am probably a bit caught up in that. I do like playing with them and having something to fiddle with. When I'm just sitting around playing I do tend to use all of my pedals quite a lot.
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liv_rong
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by liv_rong »

Greg_L wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:09 pm

It's okay. I don't think any of them are all that great. I'm not into the modern fetishization of stompboxes and that trend is really turning me against them more than ever. I've yet to hear one do anything good to an amp that already sounds good.
Modern how? Are you talking about the boutique surge?
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Greg_L
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Re: Best Boosts

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liv_rong wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 9:56 am

Modern how? Are you talking about the boutique surge?
Yeah. I think it's ridiculous. And I really dislike how most of the "boutique" pedals are more about the cool names and packaging than anything else.

Here, I'm gonna design a modern stompbox from scratch:

Oversized enclosure, four knobs labeled pop, dream, spaghetti, and lungs, three mini-toggles with no labels, it's painted purple with screenprints of dancing aliens on it, and it's called the Peanut Butter Recliner.

Boom, I'm done. No idea what it does because it doesn't matter. It just looks modern cool.


I like the way Boss does their pedal designs. They say what the fucking thing is right on top. Flanger. Tremolo. Super Overdrive. And they're buffered. None of that "true bypass" wankery.
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Lt. Bob
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by Lt. Bob »

Greg_L wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 2:58 pm I just got an EP Boost fairly recently. It's not bad.
I kinda want one of those but the TC Spark also has interested me.
I do like my old, old Zoom Power drive with gain on zero though .... and no one else has one
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by Greg_L »

Lt. Bob wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 12:04 pm
I kinda want one of those but the TC Spark also has interested me.
I do like my old, old Zoom Power drive with gain on zero though .... and no one else has one
As far as straight pure clean boosts go, the EP Boost and Spark are both good at what they do. It's been a while since I messed with the Spark, but I think it's got more output than the EP.
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by WhiskeyJack »

I have a spark. I also got something new too that i have been waiting a long while for. Ill post after i get back from walking my dogs.

[mention]JD01[/mention] so are you saying you like havimg those boosts and overdrives applied to your tones fulltime? Like they are engaged at all times? Or you turn them on for shreddy shreds and wanking?
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JD01
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Re: Best Boosts

Post by JD01 »

Pretty much all the time. My OCD is pretty much always on when I'm recording. I switch to a TS for lead guitars as I find shifting up the mid-bump makes the guitars cut through.

I do tend to avoid pedals that have stupid names for the dials and you can't tell what they do though. Vol, Tone & Drive/Gain is all I really want. Although the OCD has a HP/LP switch which I alter depending on what guitar I'm using... the Tele soubds a bit too savage when it's in HP mode.
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