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Boost: Before or after OD/Distortion?


joegrant413

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Do you prefer to put your clean boost before or after your OD and distortion pedals?

 

In my case, nothing sounds better than when the Katana clean boost is right before my amp. But then there are times when I'll put the Katana right before my Keeley DS-1 and it just sounds great! Something about the boost makes most of my dist / OD pedals sound fuller.

 

So, yeah, I'm contradictin' myself :freak:

 

Maybe I need BOTH! Of course, that would cost $$$ for another boost.

 

Cheers,

-- Joe

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Dude, I agree with your first statement, and live by it, I tried it the other way, and it just didn't work. I run my OD/SD before my Keeley Katana Boost and that makes all the difference in the world to me, I also use a Comprosser from Analogman before the pedals. So I get a great Compressed signal through the pedals and the Katana Boost just brings the true tone of each pedal right out!

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Originally posted by joegrant413

....Maybe I need BOTH! Of course, that would cost $$$ for another boost....

 

but it could be as little as $14 for a dano eq to put at the beginning of the chain as a clean boost, to be kept on all the time, so even the tiny switch is not an issue :idea:

 

i cant even imagine not running a slight boost at the start of the chain. makes pedals downstream sound much better.

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I use an S.Duncan Pick UP Booster before all my effects to lower my volume knob to get certain tones out of my pick up....sounds great for getting shiny tones on a clean channel. Next I'm putting another booster in the effects loop of my RP-1 to get some more volume to cut through the live or recording envirnment.:D

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I use an S.Duncan Pick UP Booster before all my effects to lower my volume knob to get certain tones out of my pick ups....sounds great for getting shiny tones on a clean channel. Next I'm putting another booster in the effects loop of my RP-1 to get some more volume to cut through the live or recording envirnment.:D

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Originally posted by L6Sguy



but it could be as little as $14 for a dano eq to put at the beginning of the chain as a clean boost, to be kept on all the time, so even the tiny switch is not an issue
:idea:

i cant even imagine
not
running a slight boost at the start of the chain. makes pedals downstream sound much better.

 

 

Hi L6Sguy,

 

Thanks for the tip. I have both a Fish 'n Chips EQ and Surf n Turf compressor, but I haven't used them much lately. I suppose either one can serve up a boost.

 

Do you run your Danos on batteries or with a power cord? I ask because they seem to give me noise problems, esp. if I'm running a Katana boost at the end of the chain. However, it's been awhile since I've worked with these pedals, maybe I just need to put in fresh batteries.

 

Thanks,

-- Joe

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Originally posted by preservation

should i try my new keeley RAT b/w

my SCP & my bi-fet ???

 

 

I don't have those pedals, but IMO try any OD or distortion pedal with a boost before or after it. My biggest surprises come with the boost before a OD/distortion pedal.

 

HOWEVER, my amp likes the boost, too, which got me started on this thread :cool:

 

-- Joe

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Originally posted by joegrant413


Maybe I need BOTH! Of course, that would cost $$$ for another boost.

 

 

Joe, that's one one the benefits of the Banzai NRS2. You can use it pre, post, or both. So you have one pedal, and you can run a boost at the beginning of the chain and another boost at the end, each with it's own settings.

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One indicator is the boost gain. If you're boosting single coils to high humbucker levels, obviously this is associated with the guitar end. If you want to send a jillion volts into your tube amp, nothing else will pass that except in a true bypass state).

 

Other possible issues could interfere, for example you might want to boost into distortion so if you "accidently" turn both on you won't kill anyone.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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I've been trying to boost Big Muff type distortions with a Bad Monkey (level max, gain min), but it sounds TERRIBLE with the boost after the distortion

 

Is it the Bad Monkey? Do I need some expensive Katana or whatever?

 

It would be nice to boost my Muff after & get it louder for solos without adding lots of gain.. thanks

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Originally posted by joegrant413

Hi L6Sguy,


Thanks for the tip. I have both a Fish 'n Chips EQ and Surf n Turf compressor, but I haven't used them much lately. I suppose either one can serve up a boost.


Do you run your Danos on batteries or with a power cord? I ask because they seem to give me noise problems, esp. if I'm running a Katana boost at the end of the chain. However, it's been awhile since I've worked with these pedals, maybe I just need to put in fresh batteries.


Thanks,

-- Joe

 

 

between a bandmate and i, we've been through about 15 minis in 7ish years on both batts & power supplies, and the only time we ever had any sonic issues, it was battery related.

 

the leds in the minis stay well-lit far after the battery has gone past the point of usability in the pedal. this leads to whatever 'issues' going on in a normal-looking pedal, as "The LED is bright, so i know its good, the pedal must be dead," scenario happens.

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Originally posted by bondini

I've been trying to boost Big Muff type distortions with a Bad Monkey (level max, gain min), but it sounds TERRIBLE with the boost after the distortion


Is it the Bad Monkey? Do I need some expensive Katana or whatever?


It would be nice to boost my Muff after & get it louder for solos without adding lots of gain.. thanks

 

 

in my experience it never works to put a boost or overdrive after a big muff.

 

i guess it depends on your muff tone settings, but for my setup i use the SD-1 with the tone knob all the way up, drive at 12:00, and level at around 9:00. it makes the muff a bit louder, but what it really does it helps the muff sustain and cut through even more. useful for leads.

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Originally posted by tsquared



in my experience it never works to put a boost or overdrive after a big muff.


i guess it depends on your muff tone settings, but for my setup i use the SD-1 with the tone knob all the way up, drive at 12:00, and level at around 9:00. it makes the muff a bit louder, but what it really does it helps the muff sustain and cut through even more. useful for leads.

 

 

it's strange but if i try to boost the muff it just gets this broken speaker sound... i love it's wall of sound when the amp is completely clean but when combined with any boost it just messes up....

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Originally posted by harmonix



it's strange but if i try to boost the muff it just gets this broken speaker sound... i love it's wall of sound when the amp is completely clean but when combined with any boost it just messes up....

 

 

..exactly! It would be great to be able to do it for lead boosts. It not just my cheap boost pedal then..

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  • 7 years later...

For me, it's a matter of what I want the boost pedal to do. If you're looking for more grit and attitude from your distortion and overdrive pedals, try placing a boost in front of them in the signa path. This will drive them harder and open up new distortion sounds. If, on the other hand, you're looking for an increase in overall output level, then placing the boost after your other pedals is the best way to accomplish that.

There's no "right or wrong" way to use the boost - it's just a matter of what you want to do with it. :)

 

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