Question: Never-ending pedal quest, OD/boost edition

Yngtchie Blacksteen

Yngtchie Blacksteen

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Alright, I've been having a lot fun with my Marshall JTM-1, and it's definitely a keeper. Of course, since I live in a basement flat, I don't have a lot of wiggle room volume-wise, so I need a good pedal or two to give me that sweet, sweet gain.

The one that never goes away, is the Xotic AC Booster. Had it for many years now, and I've always used it, either as a clean boost or, more recently, as a smooth overdrive. But wait a minute, clean boost and overdrive? Which one is it? That's the question, really. I'm falling for the drive sounds it gives me, but I still need a bit of extra boost. Not distortion levels of gain, just more of the good stuff.

So one solution would be to get an RC Booster, and use it as a clean boost together with the AC's overdrive.

Any other things I could try? I really love those smooth, singing lead tones, and I can't stand any gritty, harsh drive sounds. That's why I didn't fall for the Suhr Riot, it just didn't sound all that smooth and singing through my wee Marshall.
 
I own two RC Boosters, one in each of my live rigs. It's always a good call. Transparent but it gives you the ability to shape your sound a bit too if you need it.
 
Mine will be used at home, and maybe someday at an informal band practice. Any other pedals that do similar things to the RC? I mean, in cast I can't find one used. Seen people talking about the Timmy as being a good pedal to be used together with another OD, or just as a standalone OD.
 
If you are looking for a little extra push, I really like the EP Booster. The only problem I had with it, was it sounded so good when it was on, I never turned it off, so it wasn't really a booster anymore.
 
Yngtchie Blacksteen said:
Mine will be used at home, and maybe someday at an informal band practice. Any other pedals that do similar things to the RC? I mean, in cast I can't find one used. Seen people talking about the Timmy as being a good pedal to be used together with another OD, or just as a standalone OD.
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The Keeley Katana is also good.
 
Chad said:
If you are looking for a little extra push, I really like the EP Booster. The only problem I had with it, was it sounded so good when it was on, I never turned it off, so it wasn't really a booster anymore.
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yep, mine's always on too. I've never thought about that actually defeating the purpose, but I guess in some sense you're right. though, just depends on the purpose I guess.
 
Mark Wein said:
The Keeley Katana is also good.
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I remember reading about it a lot back when I started learning about pedals. How does it compare to the RC? What I like about the RC, from what I've read and seen in video clips, is that it has a gain knob, giving you a little more oomph.
Knox in Box said:
I really love my Zen Drive clone for that.
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A guy here in Bergen builds pedal clones, among those is a Zen Drive clone. Are those good for low volume setups, though? I couldn't dig my Klon clone (Monsterpiece STUD), this is most likely because of my low volume.
 
Yngtchie Blacksteen said:
I remember reading about it a lot back when I started learning about pedals. How does it compare to the RC? What I like about the RC, from what I've read and seen in video clips, is that it has a gain knob, giving you a little more oomph.

A guy here in Bergen builds pedal clones, among those is a Zen Drive clone. Are those good for low volume setups, though? I couldn't dig my Klon clone (Monsterpiece STUD), this is most likely because of my low volume.
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Yeah..the Katana is just a clean boost with no other options. The RC is more useful in terms of tailoring your sound.
 
Yngtchie Blacksteen said:
A guy here in Bergen builds peoomphones, among those is a Zen Drive clone. Are those good for low volume setups, though? I couldn't dig my Klon clone (Monsterpiece STUD), this is most likely because of my low volume.
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I only play low volume in our rec room at home. Zen does everything from clean boost to overdriven fender or dumbleesque Tones. Mine Lacks a bit of headroom at low gain but it does the Job very well. At least to my ears. Well worth the 26 bucks I paid for the kit.
 
Sounds sweet. I met with that pedal guy just now, I'm gonna try out his EP clone, and he's borrowing my Tone Bender-based fuzz.

We were actually discussing the Zen and similar pedals, as I was describing the tone I've been chasing for a number of years. Sorta like a soft, smooth yet sorta fuzzy lead sound. I felt I got very close when I tried the Cornish G-2. This guy reckons he might be able to build such a pedal for me, because he built a low-gain Big Muff-styled pedal that sounds a bit like what I was describing. Worth a shot, at least.
 
I love the RC following the AC for boosting leads. I also use the BB as well for a different drive characteristic. Kick in RC after and you have a match made in heaven.
 
Got the EP clone last night, and immediately after turning it on (with settings recommended by the builder), I noticed my whole sound kinda opening up, if that makes sense. It's difficult to describe, but it was like everything sounded a little bigger and a little clearer. It made the AC Booster come alive, but I also tried out this setup with a Mooer Black Secret (Rat clone, supposedly a very good one) and my Fulltone '69 that I got a few weeks back.

The Mooer sounded a lot more usable when I turned down the gain and added the AC and the EP, a really fat, singing lead tone. I'll probably sell the Riot, but for now, that Mooer is a keeper, especially for the price.

The '69 is a different beast altogether, but I'm trying to find ways of using it that still gives me 'my' sound. Sound-wise, think a cross between Shawn Lane, Eric Johnson and maybe a little Yngwie. That's my goal, we'll see what I need to do to get there.
 
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