Solo boosts

[kingrocker]

Bit of an old chestnut this one, need a boost for my solos gooing thru a JVM 205c. Ive connected a morley volume pedal to the effects loop. This seems to be best set up i can get. Why is it that the volume will not go to zero on the down setting of the pedal? Im not complaining because i find that if i set my levels to the minimum setting on the pedal i have enough when i move pedal to max to give me a boost for solos. Seem to loose a bit of the natural valve distortion tho? Anyone out there can help? My knowledge is fairly basic I'm afraid. Im using return and send loop.

 

[jcmjmp]

A volume pedal isn't the best setup. A clean boost would work much better. There are a lot of boosts out there and some people use a graphic eq. I've used the BOSS LS-2 and BBE Boosta Grande and both have worked well. I find the BOSS more transparent though.

 

[wulfgar1976]

Bit of an old chestnut this one, need a boost for my solos gooing thru a JVM 205c. Ive connected a morley volume pedal to the effects loop. This seems to be best set up i can get. Why is it that the volume will not go to zero on the down setting of the pedal? Im not complaining because i find that if i set my levels to the minimum setting on the pedal i have enough when i move pedal to max to give me a boost for solos. Seem to loose a bit of the natural valve distortion tho? Anyone out there can help? My knowledge is fairly basic I'm afraid. Im using return and send loop.

Presumably, the volume pedal can't limit the signal enough for the volume to go to zero.

I prefer to use an EQ pedal in the effects loop as it means that I'm boosting the volume, not reducing it. I can also shape the sound a bit too.

 

[kingrocker]

Presumably, the volume pedal can't limit the signal enough for the volume to go to zero.

I prefer to use an EQ pedal in the effects loop as it means that I'm boosting the volume, not reducing it. I can also shape the sound a bit too.

Thanks everyone for such quick replies, i think the EQ or boss boost is what i'll try out. Trouble is all the local frigging music shops are going under these days. Looks like a trip up to the smoke!
Thanks again guys

 

[wulfgar1976]

Thanks everyone for such quick replies, i think the EQ or boss boost is what i'll try out. Trouble is all the local frigging music shops are going under these days. Looks like a trip up to the smoke!
Thanks again guys

I'm thinking that the volume pedal, which is ultimately a variable resistor but presumably with a treble bleed capacitor wired in parallel, is affecting the sound. The Boss GE-7 is transparent with all the sliders in the neutral position and works very nicely for shaping the sound and setting the volume. I boost all the frequencies but focus on the treble most, mids less and only a bit of bass, which boost the volume quite a lot so I have the level slider down fairly low to compensate so that I'm only boosting the overall sound level a fairly small amount.

 

[thefyn]

A REALLY great vol boost is the Snarling Dog Very Tone pedal. It also has EQ options which I never use, but to slam the front end of my JCM800 it really adds some depth/drive.

I went though a LOT of boosts over the past month.

I settled on the "always on" Very Tone pedal for ryth and a Maxon OD if I need more liquid gain.

So this gives me 3 levels:

ACDC levels of gain
Thrash ryth levels of gain (Very Tone boost)
Liquid gain (very tone and MAxon OD)

 

[MikeJSchmidt]

I use the Seymour Duncan Booster pedal in my effects loop, you can add 6-25 db of boost with it.


Mike
Iiii|,

 

[Adrian R]

I use the Seymour Duncan Booster pedal in my effects loop, you can add 6-25 db of boost with it.


Mike
Iiii|,

Hey Mike..

You know for the longest time I was a HUGE advocate of that SD Booster pedal. I tried out SO, SO many different boosts, OD pedals, distortion pedals..also inlcuding one of the expensive Tubeworks pedals, etc.. and in the end I thought the SD Pickup Booster pedal the best sounding one, incredibly transparent and very quiet..

And then...(now I pushed the front of the amp with it..not in FX loop) I noticed after awhile how it cut some of my tone while it was disengaged....I was surprised as according to SD the unit was suppose to have a true by-pass circuit. I had 3 different examples of that pedal. The very first ones with the red sides, and then two updated versions in which were painted black on its side..

Now I am using a TS-9 which works well..but not as strong as the SD pedal was...but with a very true bypass in which does not at all affect my tone when its off..

Have you ever used it in the amp's front end? If so, did you notice any tone alteration/loss of signal..while not on?

 

[RazorDave]

Out of all the solo boosts Ive used, My two favs have been the Mxr Micro Amp, and The Dod 250 (Reissue), Boosta Grande, and the OCD. The DOD 250 is super transparent as long as you "DONT" max the gain. If you slam it in front of a semi dirty channel, it sounds excellent! The micro amp is pretty awsome as well, it hads I tiny bit of highs when engaged. The Ocd is really nice as well, but it not really a clean boost. You can really shred with it though! The best thing about the Dod 250 and the Micro Amp is that they take no bass off!

I noticed that with the stock Ts-9's and Sd-1's as well as the Zakk overdrive, you get a compressed sound that loses some low end! Just my 2 cents!

ps...I use the boosts for gain only, not volume!

 

[HOT TUBES 70]

the dano CT0-1 , transparent overdrive will surprise alot of people as a great little
clean boost pedal . and the price is hard to understand !!

 

[pinto79]

I've been using an MXR Micro Amp in the Line Out/In (Effectively a Series FX Loop) of my 6100 for a while now and it's perfect as a solo boost. My tone stays exactly the same it just gets as loud as I want.

 

[wkcchampion]

+1 for the Clean Boost.
I use the "Clean Boost" or the "Mid Boost" on my Boss Gt-10 and I get good results, along with a Mid-boost EQ in the FX Loop, to help going cutting the mix

 

[kev93_10]

Why do you need a solo boost?

The JVM has 2 master vols.

K

 

[scott]

i have a jcm 900mk111 and need help with the solo end sounds great for rythm but need more for solo bought a ratt pedal but does not seem to help

 

[truckdub]

Something else to try is the Danelectro Fish-n-Chip 7 band EQ. FOr $30.00US it's hard to go wrong. I use in front of a Peavey C30 and love it. But it doesn't seem to work as well in the loop. But again for the money it's great.

 

[Bopper]

I use the Seymour Duncan Booster pedal in my effects loop, you can add 6-25 db of boost with it.


Mike
Iiii|,

I use the SD Pickupbooster..great sound,engaged as well as disengaged ;-) And the 3 way switch is great (vintage humb/plain boost/modern humb) A LOT for the money, that pedal.

 

[Adrian R]

i have a jcm 900mk111 and need help with the solo end sounds great for rythm but need more for solo bought a ratt pedal but does not seem to help

Scott..

I've got the same head...most of the boost pedals listed in this thread would work fine with that head. I use both and MXR Microamp and a TS-9 to get the extra gain when needed for solos...gotta be cool with the gain sensitivity control though...can't get it much higher then like 9'oclock without significant, uncontrollable feedback..and thats with the preamp control dimed.

Of course you are also familiar with the amp's footswitchable master volume controls...I love that feature with that head as well as the SL-X...GREAT tool for solo boosts..

 

[radiomatts]

I use the Seymour Duncan Booster pedal in my effects loop, you can add 6-25 db of boost with it.


Mike
Iiii|,

I'm going to second Mike here. I run the Duncan booster in my Mosfet 100 head and it's great!