needing two boosts. and there are too many to choose from. help!

[jamiefbolton]

i need one as a "gain boost" that will go first in the pedal chain. and a second for "solo boost" at the end of the chain O/D chain.

the solo boost needs to be clean. very transparent. and the gain boost could be slightly colored but still pretty transparent. and it can have some dirty characteristics.

would the minibooster be good as a gain boost?

[oliphaunt]

For transparent boosts check out the AMZ Mosfet boost and the SHO, though the SHO does add some top end.  I have heard it said you can lower the values of the two 10M resistors to make it warmer.

I recently tried the Sparkle Boost and loved it.  It has some extra top end as well, but I replaced the 1M resistor with 100K to make it more transparent.  Some folks get some grit from the SB with the gain control, but I have yet to experience that.

[morcey2]

I like the omega boost from ROG because of its flexibility.  I tried to build a rangemaster, but failed.  I figured out why it failed, (stupid user trick) but I haven't rebuilt it yet.

[Stompin Tom]

I like the omega boost from ROG because of its flexibility. 

Agreed. I've built lots of boosts, but I keep this one around because it sounds great and can go from treble to full range. The SHO's pretty nice, but not flexible.

I'd recommend Jack's clean boost (http://www.muzique.com/schem/mosfet.htm) for solos.

[Ben N]

If you really want that boost at the end to be clean, even with some gain happening along the signal chain upstream (like from your "gain boost"), probably the way to go is with an flat eq non-inverting opamp stage running at 18-24v, something along the lines of an MXR Microamp. For the general idea, take a look at the Barber Launchpad. I think it would be difficult to get a single transistor of any kind to be that transparent/undistorted or have that much headroom.

[trjones1]

I put the amz mini booster in an overdrive pedal with a switch to put it before or after the overdrive so it can act either as a gain or a solo boost.  I love it for both functions, but it definitely adds some grit and fatness, so it may not be clean enough for your solo boost needs.

[mth5044]

I put the amz mini booster in an overdrive pedal with a switch to put it before or after the overdrive so it can act either as a gain or a solo boost.  I love it for both functions, but it definitely adds some grit and fatness, so it may not be clean enough for your solo boost needs.

I did the same thing with a SHO and Zendrive. One of my favorite pedals now.

I really recommend the SHO.. it is hard to convince myself that I have to shut it off :lol:

[Stompin Tom]

the amz mini booster

Don't forget that Jack has two booster designs. One (the mini-booster) is designed to add fat and grit, the other (the mosfet clean boost) is designed to be clean. I was, in fact, kind of disappointed with his clean boost because I couldn't get it to dirty up when I first built it. That said, yea, I suppose running something with a higher voltage would give you super headroom. Your (pre)amp will have to have a lot of clean head room for that clean boost to work the way you want it.

[chris1001]

Many thanks for the info so far, I'll try the Mosfet clean boost later today. After that I'll try an opamp boost, will let you know which one works out the best. I suspect that the booster circuit will be critical. I think the 535q uses as opamp boost at the output buffer.