SHO clone clean boost

[944cabby]

I've just bought a sho clean boost pedal (already made up from a kit).
Now i thought that they should have a little distortion when the pedal is activated or have i got it wrong?
When you turn it on the knob acts the same as a volume, it gets louder as you turn it clockwise, however there's no distortion - the guitar sound does seem to have more treble though but there also seems to be an audible background noise (not quite a hiss, but definately a background noise which goes when you turn it off).
Is this normal?
I thought that the purpose of a clean boost was to increase the sound when you need it for example solo's but also add a little grit/distortion to the sound - or have i got that wrong?
I cant see from the board what the transistor is but the caps are marked 10uf 35v and 1j63.
I do have a spare 2n5088 transistor - would this drop into it to give it a bit of distortion.
Here's some pics:

[nocentelli]

The SHO is a single stage boost, and does not produce any overdrive in itself, it just boosts the signal level, and yes it is a bit hissy/noisy: You could (like zvex) rig up the first SHO to overdrive another SHO, in which case you would have the super duper 2-in-1 - You would also need to install an overall volume control to tame the massive output caused by driving one booster into another. Another possible alternative would be to add a pair of diode-clippers-to-ground on the end of the circuit, but I've not done this and I'm not sure how successful this is - I'm certain other have tried this though.

You can't just drop in a 5088 since the SHO uses a mosfet (BS170?), whilst the 5088 is a bipolar junction transistor, and I assume they have wildly different biasing requirements. If you want to mod your existing pedal for some overdrive, i'd look into the diode clipper pair. If you want to build a single stage effect that does clip itself, the bazz fuss is a good candidate to start with. The Electra distortion is another.

[ACS]

Clean boost is typically just that - clean.  Using one such as the SHO as a lead boost is designed just as you say - to push the 'volume' of the signal up, to hit any subsequent gain stages harder.  This produces more drive/sustain/compression in the subsequent gain stage, making it perfect for a solo boost.

If you want some drive/grit in there as well, then a TS or a Peppermill or one of the many other overdrives around is what you need - these will allow you to get a volume boost (like in the SHO) but to also dial in some grit if needed.

(and yes, normal behaviour for an SHO to be totally clean even when cranked)

[944cabby]

Ahh, cheers guys

[petemoore]

  "thinking inside the box''...but testing outside...
  Figure out what you like being driven after the SHO or what distortion sounds good boosted by the show, consider if there's enough room to fit it in, or more importantly what gets bypassed...
  Anotber active stage in there could = distortion w/boost for lead or distortion that gets Super distorted when the SHO drives it to...or something else  even..
  IIUC the SHO has a very boosty output and very high impedance input which equates to bright, clean sound.