Good pedal for boosting volume

[2Plus2isChicken]

Any recommendations for this? I notice with my Strat it seems to be a good bit quieter than my humbucker guitars. I tried raising the pickups and that seemed to help, but is there a pedal that can accomplish this? I looked up the Xotic EP Booster but it sounds like it colors the tone and may add some dirt, but I'm not sure. Just a plain volume boost is what I want, that way you can switch guitars from humbucker to single coil and turn it on to bring the volume up to where the humbucker guitar was with no coloration.

[ElfDude]

A while ago I was looking for a cheap clean boost pedal.
Tried this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Caline-CP-22-Pur ... 01ET2LAJ4/
Haven't looked back. Works great.

Obviously for more $ you can get nicer ones...

[Brian Johnston]

Nothing is better than the DEFCON4. It was designed to give a Strat more balls AND boost the signal (10db). I have a 79 Strat, and it sounds like I added some hot pickups when I use this pedal (not as hot if you ignore the 10db of boost). It was created with Ryan Adams (so he could switch from a Les Paul to a Strat with hardly a notice) with Walrus Audio. I did a review on it somewhere in this part of the forum.

[Casual Madman]

The Electro Harmonix LPB-1 (Linear Power Booster) sounds like exactly what you want: more juice without added flavor. It just makes your output... MORE.

I've got one from about 1978, still works like new.

[2Plus2isChicken]

I'm thinking about just getting a graphic EQ pedal that has a volume slider on it. This would give me all sorts of tone shaping options along with volume boost.

[spudmunkey]

I'm thinking about just getting a graphic EQ pedal that has a volume slider on it. This would give me all sorts of tone shaping options along with volume boost.

That's what I used my MXR 10-band EQ for, more that just about anything else.

[2Plus2isChicken]

I've owned the MXR 10-Band EQ twice and I should have never sold it the first time! I had the older black version of it. I wonder what's different with the new silver one?

[spudmunkey]

I've owned the MXR 10-Band EQ twice and I should have never sold it the first time! I had the older black version of it. I wonder what's different with the new silver one?

I don't know what they all changed other that the silver color and the blue LEDs, except that it's supposed to be quieter in terms of "noise"...which I do have to say would have been a welcome improvement (I had the black one, as well). Although, I do wish they kept with the red LEDs, since blue can screw with your night vision, and can be hard to clearly decipher in the dark as it "blooms" more than other colors.

[Brian Johnston]

I'm thinking about just getting a graphic EQ pedal that has a volume slider on it. This would give me all sorts of tone shaping options along with volume boost.

You can do that, but I have some EQ pedals, and whatever they did with the DEFCON4, they nailed it. Very easy to beef up a Strat and make it more powerful. I found there was too much tweaking with a regular EQ and I never could quite get it there. The DEFCON4 may be a bit more pricey, but if you plan on playing a Strat for a long time (the rest of your life), it's hardly a big investment. Something to think about.

[X1Glider]

Don't rule out using a compressor pedal for this purpose. You get the benefit of tweaking pick attack, gaining sustain or limiting and adding clarity and space overall in addition to also sending out a hotter signal to the amp. Being a Strat single coil, a simple booster can make you lose the qualities you love about the Strat because there isn't much control for anything else. A decent compressor can help you keep what you love.

Also, put your pickup height back to where it was before. All you're doing by raising it higher is increasing string pull and potential microphonic problems and feedback. Hearing the picking increases too. Real annoying.

[2Plus2isChicken]

I have been using an SP Compressor for this but it doesn't sound natural. Compression affects the tone in a way that I don't want to always be on.

[X1Glider]

I have been using an SP Compressor for this but it doesn't sound natural. Compression affects the tone in a way that I don't want to always be on.

The Xotic SP is pretty basically featured which explains your take on the squashed tone it gave you.

Something like the Keeley Compressor Plus or Pro, MXR M76 or the Electro-Harmonix Tone Corset will give you more control because you'll have other knobs for attack, release, sustain, ratio (which is preset on yours, turn it higher=more squash). I really like the Keeley Compressor Plus for ease of use and it just sounds good for normalizing volume levels and reducing initial pick attack for Vinnie Moore tone and for creating a spatial-ness like David Gilmour. But I also do my boosting with the V3 head's built in boost.

However, if you want a really great clean boost, Keeley makes the Katana and cheaper mini Katana (switches on inside). https://robertkeeley.com/product-category/boost/

[UnexplodedCow]

For a clean/neutral boost that's often found cheap, Boss FB-2 booster/feedbacker.

TC Electronic spark, and spark mini are options. Spark (full size) has some EQ options. MXR CAE-401 boost/buffer is quite clean. MXR Micro-amp, too. The EHX LPB-1 isn't the most neutral sound ever, but it's cheap, and gets the job done. EQ pedals are decent boosts, but there is still a flavor to them, as no EQ stack is completely transparent in the neutral position.

However, I think you may like a compressor. They can be punchy, but the sustain will help with the low output, and if need be, pair it with an overdrive for some dirt. With that in mind, I've done just this, and have thoroughly enjoyed the Rt. 66 V3 pedal. Plenty of options, and the compressor is pretty quiet. The earlier V2 version isn't bad, but not as good. The V1...eh. It was a start. But this pair can really do more than one thinks.

If you want pure boost, I sincerely suggest the FB-2. It has some EQing options, can act as a mid and/or treble boost, plus has the option of simulating an amp feeding back.

[2Plus2isChicken]

I may have found another option, the GigRig Three 2 One. Apparently it can be used with multiple guitars to balance out the levels between them. I'll have to look into it more.

[ElfDude]

I may have found another option, the GigRig Three 2 One. Apparently it can be used with multiple guitars to balance out the levels between them. I'll have to look into it more.

Oh man, that looks like a great solution!

[X1Glider]

I may have found another option, the GigRig Three 2 One. Apparently it can be used with multiple guitars to balance out the levels between them. I'll have to look into it more.

Oh man, that looks like a great solution!

It actually does look good. Use buffered for single coil and vintage humbucker. Use no buffer for a hot humbucker or Fluence.

What I don't understand is why they bothered providing 3 different input jacks. Really, who would keep 3 cables plugged in at all times? Most everyone would have one cable and just switch guitars. Who switches guitars and cables?

[2Plus2isChicken]

I was thinking that you could set the preamp level on different inputs so that you plug a humbucker guitar into one input and a single coil guitar into another and it balances them out.

As for having multiple inputs, it could have a purpose. I would unplug the unused cable though. I could see using all three inputs if you're using three different wireless units provided there's no interference between them, but I'm not having a bunch of cables all over the place going to three guitars. I learned my lesson leaving the cable plugged in on just one guitar the other day at church. Sermon ends, we all come back on stage to play a song, I trip over my cable and nearly send my guitar tumbling. It knocked the low E way out of tune, but no damage otherwise. Three guitars left plugged in could be this times three. Not a good idea.

[X1Glider]

I was thinking that you could set the preamp level on different inputs so that you plug a humbucker guitar into one input and a single coil guitar into another and it balances them out.

That can be done with one cable and just let the footswitch cycle them.

I could see using all three inputs if you're using three different wireless units provided there's no interference between them, but I'm not having a bunch of cables all over the place going to three guitars.

That makes sense to a large degree if you have 3 different wireless units, but you're likely only going to do that if each one goes to it's own amp. If you're using one amp and 1 wireless unit, you can have 3 transmitters all going to the same frequency, still only needing one input. Which is what I'd rather do even if I did have 3 amps. I'd use a much, much cheaper ABC amp switcher which you'd still need as the 3Two1 doesn't have 3 outputs.

But I won't complain about having options, needed or not. It's when you don't have it that you need it, right? And this still looks like a unit that will suit your needs real well.

As for the incident...gaffer tape and pick up your feet when you walk!!!!

[2Plus2isChicken]

I ended up getting an MXR 10-Band EQ, and I plan to use it for boosting single coil guitars, but I found another use for it: making piezo acoustic sounds more realistic. I tried this with my AE185 today and it sounded pretty good, much better than it would without the adjusted EQ.

Those blue LEDs are going to have to go, though. I'm not sure why MXR has decided blindingly bright blue LEDs are needed on all their pedals in the last few years. I don't need an LED that bright to tell me the pedal is on.