Best boost to put in the LOOP for solo boosts

[Badside]

Just installed a Metro Amps "Zero-Loss FX Loop" in my amp (a Plexi/JCM800 hybrid I built).
My delay sounds killer in the loop.
Now I want something to boost the level for my solos.

I don't like pure clean boost as I prefer the boost to be more subtle level-wise but to emphasis the mids a bit for better cut.

I tried my TS clone for fun, even with the clipper out of the circuit, it screws everything up in the loop. It may boost the mids, but the lows and highs completely disappear.

So between a TS-style boost, and a pure clean boost, what's a good circuit that would fulfill this need?

I thought about maybe a simple JFET booster, a single stage. I hear they fatten up the sound a little, sounds like fun.
I'm not looking for this stage to overdrive, but I don't mind a bit of extra dirt.

[jkokura]

AMZ Mosfet boost?

http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/NaBos-Layouts/amz_mosfet_boost_001.gif.html

Or a sho could work too. Little dirtier though. Depends I guess cause you don't want uber clean? A little dirty to lots dirty could be a variety of boosters. I recommend searching the layouts.

Jacob

[blueduck577]

if you want a slight mid boost, try something like:  buffer -> big muff tone control -> boost?  the muff's tone stack can be modified for any kind of mid response.

this is what i've got in my muff right now:


R2 in my case is a 25K pot in series with a 1K resistor.  at the lower ends of the rotation it's pretty much flat mids. i'd look into this if i were you.

as far as the actual volume boost goes, I'd look at the amz mosfet boost or something the like.

[Badside]

AMZ Mosfet boost?

http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/NaBos-Layouts/amz_mosfet_boost_001.gif.html

Or a sho could work too. Little dirtier though. Depends I guess cause you don't want uber clean? A little dirty to lots dirty could be a variety of boosters. I recommend searching the layouts.

Jacob

Thanks
How do mosfet boosters compare to JFET boosters?

I say a little dirt cause by this point the sound is well dirty (think a JCM800 model 2204 with a TS or a Guv'nor pushing it), so a bit of subtle overdrive on top is not a bad thing, but it's gotta be mostly clean, else it screws up the delay and reverb.

Thanks

[Badside]

if you want a slight mid boost, try something like:  buffer -> big muff tone control -> boost?  the muff's tone stack can be modified for any kind of mid response.

this is what i've got in my muff right now:


R2 in my case is a 25K pot in series with a 1K resistor.  at the lower ends of the rotation it's pretty much flat mids. i'd look into this if i were you.

as far as the actual volume boost goes, I'd look at the amz mosfet boost or something the like.

I hadn't thought about the Muff tone! Brilliant!
Fun thing is I can also use it to scoop the mids a bit when I'm playing metal (aka the brootal) too
I have the TS calculator installed, I'll go have fun with it right now!

[blueduck577]

ok.  in case you find it useful, here's my tone stack. the mid boost switch allows you to go from mega scoop to the boosted mids i showed up top.

[jacobyjd]

This may sound crazy, but one of the BEST sounding 'boosts' I've used for solos happens to be an Orange Squeezer. Yeah. Weird, huh?

It's a pretty clean boost at its core, but with that extra bit of dirty compression, leads come alive. Simple build, and if you don't like it for solos, it's worthwhile elsewhere

[boogietube]

Mark Hammer's ... The Crank.

[Processaurus]

I would just put a switchable pot in a box, as an attenuator.  The instinct is to never want less of anything, always more, it's like the curious phenomenon mixing with a bunch of people, when the faders all start to creep up, because more of something is more natural to want than less of everything else. 

This would have the advantage of not needing any power or support circuitry, and would sound exactly like what went in.  Let the amp do the amplifying...

[Badside]

I would just put a switchable pot in a box, as an attenuator.  The instinct is to never want less of anything, always more, it's like the curious phenomenon mixing with a bunch of people, when the faders all start to creep up, because more of something is more natural to want than less of everything else. 

This would have the advantage of not needing any power or support circuitry, and would sound exactly like what went in.  Let the amp do the amplifying...

I'll most likely be doing that for the moment being, as I already have the parts (tried to build a "clean machine" once, but I didn't like it). Since the loop is already buffered via a high-voltage MOSFET, loading down shouldn't be a problem.
I'll still add a power connector cause I like having a LED, which I'll wire to be on when the effect is off.

The reason I'm looking for some kind of active circuit though is that I'd like some extra tone shaping, cause I like my leads to have a it more cut to them.

However, I was thinking... I COULD make it a passive tone control that would cut mids, I'd simply set my amp for more mids (they're already on 6 usually) and cut some with the passive pedal engaged. When I disengage it, I get the volume boost and the mid boost.
The difficulty though is that the global level cut has to remain within 4-5dB, or the solo boost will be too much.

Or I can simply add a JFET or Mosfet (or even an opamp, I have a few unused ones), feeding the tone control proposed by BlueDuck, and voilà! Tone shaping and level boosting for an extra 2-3$. By the time I've paid the enclosure and the switch, what's an extra 3$?
With the FX loop already well buffered, I can put the tone control first and use the active stage as recovery with gain for the highest clean output with a single stage (putting the active stage before the tone control, means losing some signal, which in turns mean driving the active stage harder and thus running out of headroom quicker).

Regarding the Orange Squeezer suggestion, I was thinking also that a compressor might be a fun thing to try in the loop.

[jacobyjd]

Regarding the Orange Squeezer suggestion, I was thinking also that a compressor might be a fun thing to try in the loop.

I also tried the same sort of application with my EHX black finger tube compressor with great results, if the OS doesn't work for you.

[FlyingZ]

I used a GE-7 with the level slightly bumped for many years then recently bought a micro amp. After a few shows with the Micro amp I went back to the GE-7. I honestly don't know why but that flat GE-7 really sounds good as a volume boost in the loop. TB of coarse, the buffer is really bad.

If you don't like flat I suppose you could tailor the boost specifically for each room.

[Processaurus]

Oh, didn't read that you were after a mid boost.  Something that was a one band parametric EQ with output gain would be perfect, for dialing the right frequency for the guitar+amp+room.  Don't know if there's a made to order project like that, but that would be something most performing guitarists could use.