Tips & Tricks: Booster as a tone enhancer

Tips & tricksNowadays many guitarists swear by true bypass. As I already told you in the article “Buffer vs True Bypass”, a good buffer or booster has many advantages (especially for large pedalboards).

 

But you can also buffer your signal by using a good booster, which is not only suitable for overdriving a tube-amp but also is appropriate to be used as an exciter and sound-refresher.

An example: The Edge of U2 has got more than one in his huge rack. He uses a Boss Pre-Amp and a Korg SDD-3000 digital delay (preamp) to freshen up his guitar-signal.

And also Angus Young (AC/DC) is known to do so. He uses a wireless-system to improve his sound. Even in the studio he does not use a cable but his Schaffer Wireless.

Numerous guitarists use the Echoplex EP3 – a transistor tape-delay of the 70s – only to improve their sound. Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones) too boosts his tweed amps with a Fulltone TTE Tape Echo.

Especially when you mostly play your guitar at home and want to use a tube-amp as a so-called “bedroom amp”, this has many advantages: tubes need a certain volume level to sound sweet. If you live in a flat and you cannot turn up the volume that high, it makes sense to drive the preamp by a louder signal – without overdriving the preamp. This increases the dynamic-area and makes the signal more dynamic and punchy.

Geeignet sich dafür viele Pedale: Vom bekannten  Appropriate to this are many pedals: starting with the famous Xotic EP Boost, which imitates the Echoplex EP3 preamp over clones of the Korg SDD-3000 preamp to the Klon Centaur. The preamp of the wireless system of Angus Young (Schaffer Replica) just has been reissued.

And even EQ pedals are suitable for this. The Boss GE-7 or similar pedals moreover are able to edit individual frequencies.

In summary one can say: just try it out. Both the sound and the feeling of playing will change. Booster are not only to boost the preamp.