...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by SY6655321 » Thu Apr 16, 2020 3:28 am

nanamour wrote:
Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:41 pm
I've fallen head over heels for a Boss FA-1 FET Preamp clone I threw together a few weeks ago as an always on dirty boost that excels equally as a clean boost/EQ depending on how you set the knobs.

Generally these are advertised as a "clean" boost, but with the level past noon and flirting with breakup it has a wonderful dirty quality that can go from laser beam slice to juicy, saggy sponge depending on where the low cut switch and (incredibly powerful) treble and bass controls are set. A note of caution, though--the FA-1 gets VERY loud with the level control cranked into clipping territory (over 30dB of gain on tap IIRC); I've been using a Super Duper or Fairfield Barbershop later in the pedal chain as a sort of master volume to keep things at sane volumes.

The FA-1 is just a great sounding workhorse for clean/dirty boost and EQ duties, and for ~$30 in parts I highly recommend building one or maybe trying the Retro-Sonic Preamp clone, which is apparently quite faithful to the original but with a handy added internal switch that dirties the boost up a bit.
FA-1s are highly underrated. I run a Danelectro Billion Dollar Boost (FA-1 clone) into my Vox AC15C1 and it sounds amazing. That amp and pedal go together like peanut butter and jelly.

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by soggy mittens » Mon May 04, 2020 11:24 pm

I was going to say a JHS Clover, a clone of the BOSS FET Pre but that is only based on videos, def GAS tho. I just use my wah for any kind of presence boost, click it on and leave it in full toe position. I'm ordering a BBE Sonic Stomp tomorrow and while it ain't a boost and I will use it as an always on pedal still worth mentioning, I've had my eye on them forever and use them for drums when mixing, underrated and misunderstood brilliance. 8)
If OSG has tort me anything...

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou » Tue May 05, 2020 12:58 am

Treble Boost Appreciation Society. I like that! :D
I got one too - a diy-kit Rangemaster which sounds pretty cool. Tried a Laney Iommi Signature once (even with the Laney Supergroup of a friend) to get those convincing Black Sabbath tones... but it wasn‘t the 150+bucks better in doing so than the diy-kit.

My other go-to pedal is the JPTR FX Jive (based on a 70s Akai reel to reel machine) which can be a clean or dirty boost pedal. In my case it‘s always on to sparkle up my Surfy Bear Reverb (as it got quite a volume-drop and I haven‘t gotten to rewire it to buffered bypass). They recently released a Mini and a Double version of the Jive - which would be tempting to have a boost at hand too.

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by kaboodle45 » Tue Jul 28, 2020 7:06 pm

I've had a hankering to get more into treble/dirty boosts, with an eye on the Jext Telez Range Lord and Electrofoods Germ Warfare

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by fuzzjunkie » Wed Jul 29, 2020 8:49 am

SY6655321 wrote:
Thu Apr 16, 2020 3:28 am
nanamour wrote:
Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:41 pm
I've fallen head over heels for a Boss FA-1 FET Preamp clone I threw together a few weeks ago as an always on dirty boost that excels equally as a clean boost/EQ depending on how you set the knobs.

Generally these are advertised as a "clean" boost, but with the level past noon and flirting with breakup it has a wonderful dirty quality that can go from laser beam slice to juicy, saggy sponge depending on where the low cut switch and (incredibly powerful) treble and bass controls are set. A note of caution, though--the FA-1 gets VERY loud with the level control cranked into clipping territory (over 30dB of gain on tap IIRC); I've been using a Super Duper or Fairfield Barbershop later in the pedal chain as a sort of master volume to keep things at sane volumes.

The FA-1 is just a great sounding workhorse for clean/dirty boost and EQ duties, and for ~$30 in parts I highly recommend building one or maybe trying the Retro-Sonic Preamp clone, which is apparently quite faithful to the original but with a handy added internal switch that dirties the boost up a bit.
FA-1s are highly underrated. I run a Danelectro Billion Dollar Boost (FA-1 clone) into my Vox AC15C1 and it sounds amazing. That amp and pedal go together like peanut butter and jelly.
I think the Edge uses some type of Boss FET boost ( is there one besides the FA-1?) with his Vox amps. It’s not talked about very often because it’s a cheap pedal and everyone wants to talk about his rack of delay units, but supposedly it’s his “trade secret” for tone.

Edit- a quick search says it is a FET Boss FA-1 that he uses to boost his Vox amps.

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by SY6655321 » Fri Aug 07, 2020 10:23 pm

I think it gets overlooked due to the fact it wasn't in a regular Boss enclosure. The originals had no stomp switch and were made to clip onto your belt.

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by Veitchy » Sun Aug 09, 2020 7:09 pm

SY6655321 wrote:
Fri Aug 07, 2020 10:23 pm
I think it gets overlooked due to the fact it wasn't in a regular Boss enclosure. The originals had no stomp switch and were made to clip onto your belt.
Now you've got me imagining a Batman utility-belt style rig for all my pedals.

But where to put my power supply...

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by marqueemoon » Sun Aug 09, 2020 7:46 pm

Pedal bandoliers are going to be the next big thing.

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by fuzzjunkie » Mon Aug 10, 2020 8:43 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Sun Aug 09, 2020 7:46 pm
Pedal bandoliers are going to be the next big thing.
I have thought a couple of times that it would be fun to have a set of Dan Armstrong style effects, like the Green Ringer and Orange Squeeze, strung up on a guitar strap. Now that there’s plenty of Moer sized pedals it’s actually doable. Before there was only Dan Armstrong, a Vox or 2, and the EHx LPB-1.

I remember seeing an iconic old blues player years ago. It wasn’t Howling Wolf or Muddy Waters, but someone from that era. He was 80 or so, but still playing, and he had a fuzz, phaser, and maybe a tremolo(?) outfitted to his guitar so he could turn effects on and off and adjust settings with his right hand as he played. It only really mattered on the phaser as he sped it up or slowed it down. Sounded like a Fuzz Face and Small Stone.

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by ElephantDNA » Mon Aug 10, 2020 2:49 pm

nanamour wrote:
Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:41 pm

I think the Edge uses some type of Boss FET boost ( is there one besides the FA-1?) with his Vox amps. It’s not talked about very often because it’s a cheap pedal and everyone wants to talk about his rack of delay units, but supposedly it’s his “trade secret” for tone.

Edit- a quick search says it is a FET Boss FA-1 that he uses to boost his Vox amps.
Yeah, it's pretty common for lots of people to use some form of treble boost into British amps if they want a more sparkly sound. I window shop for various rangmasters all the time for my AC30, but I have had some semblance of self control so far. I think I will end up with the "true" amp top rangemaster or clone at some point. Very old-school of me I guess, but there's just something about that rangemaster sitting on top of the amp thing that just appeals to me.

I guess it's not technically a clean boost, but I like the voodoo lab sparkle drive a lot for this type of application. It's just a tube screamer with a blend knob basically (which sounds stupid when put that way) but sounds good.

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by Veitchy » Tue Aug 11, 2020 2:54 am

fuzzjunkie wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 8:43 am
I remember seeing an iconic old blues player years ago. It wasn’t Howling Wolf or Muddy Waters, but someone from that era. He was 80 or so, but still playing, and he had a fuzz, phaser, and maybe a tremolo(?) outfitted to his guitar so he could turn effects on and off and adjust settings with his right hand as he played. It only really mattered on the phaser as he sped it up or slowed it down. Sounded like a Fuzz Face and Small Stone.
Didn't the first model Bilt Revelators have a distortion pedal built into the upper bout? I seem to remember a video of one bloke imitating a theremin solo by riding the controls and altering the pitch of the oscillation.

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by fuzzjunkie » Tue Aug 11, 2020 7:50 am

Veitchy wrote:
Tue Aug 11, 2020 2:54 am
fuzzjunkie wrote:
Mon Aug 10, 2020 8:43 am
I remember seeing an iconic old blues player years ago. It wasn’t Howling Wolf or Muddy Waters, but someone from that era. He was 80 or so, but still playing, and he had a fuzz, phaser, and maybe a tremolo(?) outfitted to his guitar so he could turn effects on and off and adjust settings with his right hand as he played. It only really mattered on the phaser as he sped it up or slowed it down. Sounded like a Fuzz Face and Small Stone.
Didn't the first model Bilt Revelators have a distortion pedal built into the upper bout? I seem to remember a video of one bloke imitating a theremin solo by riding the controls and altering the pitch of the oscillation.
Maybe? I don’t know a lot about Bilt. I do know they build custom orders so they could have added a fuzz factory type circuit for someone.

Vox added distortion and other effects to a few of their guitars. The “repeater” circuit is often cloned and was utilized to great effect by Spacemen 3.

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Re: ...and now let's nerd out on dirty boosts

Post by Maggieo » Fri Aug 14, 2020 9:16 am

Holy cow, you guys! The Joe Gore CULT germanium OD is absolutely amazing.

It is super responsive to volume and tone knob changes, picking dynamics, and even how you wiggle the strings. With the volume at 10, it does a dirty/fuzzy distortion thing that's sooo Ribot freaking out. Turn it down to 8, and it's a full spectrum dirty, dirty boy. By the time you get to 5, it does that wonderfully beefy, but transparent thing, with just a touch of glassiness. Doing full swells with it is so much fun, especially when you add delay.

Big win, IMO.

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