NAMM: New Stomp Box from Seymour Duncan

Say you've got your tone totally dialed-in, but you just want more of it. You can turn up the volume of the amp or the guitar, but that can alter your tone dramatically. What do you do? Santa Barbara-based Seymour Duncan Pickups has the answer with the release of the Pickup Booster, the first effects pedal designed specifically to work together with a guitar's pickups in an instrument to achieve optimum gain and resonance for all tonal applications.

The Pickup Booster's main feature is the Gain Control knob. By rotating it clockwise, the user can add pure, clean, flat-EQ gain, ranging from 6dB, all the way to 25dB, Home studio enthusiasts can take advantage of the Pickup Booster's clean boost abilities to augment the recording levels of instruments and microphones. Acoustic guitarists and bassists can use it to add a subtle volume boost (9 -- 12dB) for solos. Electric guitarists will take the fullest advantage of the Pickup Booster's capabilities as they add everything from "punch" to a solo, to over-the-top gain to a tube amplifier's front end -- all with the simple twist of a knob.

One of the most interesting features is the Resonance Switch, designed specifically for electric guitarists who use single coil pickups. By setting the Resonance Switch to position "1," the resonant peak of a single coil pickup can be lowered 2-3kHz, making it sound similar to a vintage humbucker. Position "2," is marked by a 3-5kHz drop in resonant peak. Together with the added gain, this position can make a typical Strat pickup sound like a high-output humbucker. The switch is bypassed on position "0."

The Pickup Booster features fully discrete Class A circuitry along with true bypass. It's housed in a heavy-duty steel chassis and runs on a single 9-volt battery (supplied) or DC power supply.