Any ideas for a fast signal boost?

Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 4860 Location: Pennsylvania

Sorry for the topics. Again first gig coming up next week and theres a lot of stuff i'm trying to figure out quick.

we've had an issue in practice where my solos are lost in the mix. i'm currently using my marshall 3203.. 2 channel, no boost. i have a ZW OD which i thought would accomplish a volume boost, but it really doesn't to the point necessary. can you guys think of any ways to boost my signal for solos without going and buying something?

i also remember i built a super super simple boost circuit but tore it apart not thinking i'd ever need it. i don't remember how high of a volume boost it did. brad, if you see this, do you have any idea? i think i remember talking to you about a simple boost. i might have the necessarily parts

Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 1371 Location: Lutz, Fl.

I'll answer your question in two ways, but even I'll admit I don't think they are great ideas.

1. You said you need a boost without buying anything. The only thing I can think of is to play with your volume knob on 7 and when you need a boost, turn it to 10. Even I'll admit, I'm not crazy about that idea, but for a quick, no cost way to boost, that's the best I can think of.

2. This is the "you're going to have to buy something" advice. If you can't find a boost you like locally or quickly, you can always try a volume pedal. Those are usually really simply made, so they don't cost too much as far as guitar pedals go. At least with a volume pedal you can control your volume with just a touch of your foot. Again, I know you said no cost, but this might be the low cost alternative.

Again it may not be a great idea, but I wanted to throw something out there for a Dean Brother. Take care, and keep bouncing ideas here and there.

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 11:55 pm

ask around, borrow a boss line boost pedal.

Joined: 19 Jan 2007 Posts: 3200 Location: UK

Tell you band to lighten up a tad on your solo or if you're super confident have them stop altogether then jump back in after.

Hard to know weather that would work due to the song but maybe just ask if you can try it at practice and see what it's like.

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

I didn't read all the replies but I'll give you the short answer as I see it. Adding an OD or boost pedal to a distorted amp only gives more input gain and distortion, not a level boost. On a clean amp you can get it to give you a level boost. So for instance on a clean amp you can use a distortion pedal with an OD pedal to get a boost, but if you put the OD in front of the distortion you only get more distortion.

That being said there are ways to get an effective solo tone to cut a mix without boosting. You can use a wah pedal and click it on and go toe down which will give your tone a "violin-like" tone which will cut a mix. Zakk Wylde does this and solos a lot of times with his wah on without rocking it. One way to get the tone the way you like is to tape a bunch of quarters to the heel side of the wah so you can't rock it back past a certain point to stay in the tonal area you want for leads.

The second idea is if you have an effects loop you can use a volume pedal to have a rhythm level and a lead level. Or you can run an EQ pedal in the loop and make a "frown" shape with the sliders for a mid boost which will cut a mix really well..

There are some other ways but I did see you wanted to keep it cheap.

Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 4860 Location: Pennsylvania

thanks guys.

lan.. i'd really prefer to be louder than to cut through better. the only solos i'll be playing are more melodic ones that would sound better without the extra treble (like neck pickup style).

a few things. i just realized i could put my Od in the loop rather than upfront. well... that gave me a huge volume boost. but also sounded like complete dog s#%t. is there a specific reason why? or a way to get it sounding better?

other idea. before i bought this zw od, i tried to build one. i still have that pedal lying around. i also built an lpb-1 circuit. i could just swap out circuits and have a boost pedal in 5 minutes.
but, is this going to accomplish what i want? will it help if its up front? if i put it in the loop, will it still sound like s#%t, or should this one not change my tone like the zw did?

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

The reason an OD in the loop sounds like crap is you're taking that wonderful pre-amp'd signal of your amp and squeezing it through that OD's tone shaping network and gain... Effectively squashing and thinning it out. I bet it sounded like a loud, thin, low-fi mess... lol

You can have your amp mod'd to have a second, foot switchable master volume. Otherwise that amp isn't going to do what you need as far as a master volume boost. You can change the tone with an EQ pedal in the loop with the mids cranked up and some volume boost but it won't do much more than that. You need 2 master volumes or a variable power soak.

Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 6629 Location: Minnesota

You need a Marshall SL-X.

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

Gen an amp with a second master volume like a Krank, or Mesa. My amp has a variable power soak that's selectable on the fly via midi so I can run different wattage for different situations. There are options out there but most of them require another amp.

Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 4860 Location: Pennsylvania

Ok so even a clean boost like an lpb-1 in the loop would be no good?

One of the guys in the band has a 6505 with a boost that I suppose I could use for this show if I need it.. we'll see. I just need something for this show. afterwards i'm getting a poweramp for my engl which has boost channels + solo boost.

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

cgibsong002 wrote:

Ok so even a clean boost like an lpb-1 in the loop would be no good?

One of the guys in the band has a 6505 with a boost that I suppose I could use for this show if I need it.. we'll see. I just need something for this show. afterwards i'm getting a poweramp for my engl which has boost channels + solo boost.

A clean boost will do exactly the same thing as an overdrive, just not add quite as much distortion. It will just be more gain though, not volume.

The 6505 has a crunch and lead channel which is why you can use it as a rhythm and solo configuration but they don't have a "Boost" per-se.... You may need an overdrive in front of that rhythm channel though if you're playing the super heavy stuff. I think the 6505 rhythm channel with an OD sounds better than the lead channel anyway so it's a good choice. The last DD EP was recorded with the rhythm channel of a 6505 just like that.

Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 4860 Location: Pennsylvania

Lanning is Killdozer wrote:

cgibsong002 wrote:

Ok so even a clean boost like an lpb-1 in the loop would be no good?

One of the guys in the band has a 6505 with a boost that I suppose I could use for this show if I need it.. we'll see. I just need something for this show. afterwards i'm getting a poweramp for my engl which has boost channels + solo boost.

A clean boost will do exactly the same thing as an overdrive, just not add quite as much distortion. It will just be more gain though, not volume.

The 6505 has a crunch and lead channel which is why you can use it as a rhythm and solo configuration but they don't have a "Boost" per-se.... You may need an overdrive in front of that rhythm channel though if you're playing the super heavy stuff. I think the 6505 rhythm channel with an OD sounds better than the lead channel anyway so it's a good choice. The last DD EP was recorded with the rhythm channel of a 6505 just like that.

I don't know exactly how its set up.. i haven't even looked at it. but i played on it for a few gigs and i know the one channel had more than enough gain and volume.. and then there was an extra channel i could kick for even more gain/volume. it worked well.. i just want to use my own amp if possible.

if i think i can control the noise, i'm just going to use the ZW od and put the tone on max kinda like you said and just use that. my solo is only a harmony anyway so its not super crucial.

Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 1413 Location: Dallas, TX

MXR 10 band eq....like Lanning said, dial it in with emphasized mids then you also have seperate gain and boost sliders. Put it in the loop last in the chain then push the level or boost slider up and it will definately boost the s#%t out of your signal. Like having another channel when you kick it on. Wink