Clean Boost?

[vikingtyty]

Can someone give me the schematics/a link to a clean boost kit?

Also, this will be my first pedal build, would a clean boost be an okay place to start, or should I start with something more simple?

[nelson]

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?board=6.0


The clean boost is the recommended beginner project. There is a whole forum here dedicated to it.

[vikingtyty]

Ahh, for some reason I thought the beginner project was a treble boost. Oh well. Thanks man!

[Alex C]

If you want a treble boost, you can easily change some cap values in the clean boost circuit and boost only treble frequencies.  Or put in a switch to select between "standard" clean boost and a "treble boost" setting.

[vikingtyty]

Thanks, i'll remember that... but I really want a clean boost first at least.

[petemoore]

  AMZ Mosfet Boost, quite clean, and very boosty.

[vikingtyty]

What exactly is mosfet? I've heard that word a lot.

Is the AMZ mosfet boost just a plain ol' clean booster?

[bwanasonic]

What exactly is mosfet? I've heard that word a lot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSFET

Is the AMZ mosfet boost just a plain ol' clean booster?

http://www.muzique.com/schem/mosfet.htm

Kerry M

[Gilles C]

What exactly is mosfet? I've heard that word a lot.

Is the AMZ mosfet boost just a plain ol' clean booster?

No, it's simply the BEST clean booster you can build... 

Gilles

[vikingtyty]

How much does it boost? is the sound altered in any way (as in treble, mids, bass, etc)?

[petemoore]

How much does it boost? is the sound altered in any way (as in treble, mids, bass, etc)? Alot/not much.

35db IIRC, wire can alter your sound, the MB is PDClean, anything with a component of course can alter your sound ... boosting the input to your amp probably lends as much or more 'difference' in sound than the boost unit.
  I don't like the word 'best', used publicly as applied to circuits, I find it 'competetive' and insulting to all other named units that don't qualify for its application.
  But the Mosfet Boost, 'clearly' is a standout for 'clean-ish' boosts, I believe all searches for 'clean-*er-ish' boosts have failed.
 
 

[Gilles C]

Would "BEST FOR ME" be better... 

As for anything, we all have preferences.

Btw, I just tried the Jensen Guitar Buffer (without a XFMR)  built, and it is also very clean and very flat. It could become a favorite for me once I experiment a bit with it, and see what it can do, even if it used more parts.

Gilles

[Mark Hammer]

Without wishing to offend, there seem to be a lot of misunderstandings about "clean boosters".

I find in most instances, that people are going to use "clean" boosters to actually extract more distortion from something else.  And certainly, if one is going to add 35db of gain to any guitar signal, I can pretty much promise you that unless you are feeding a Crown power amp or something similar directly, you WILL get clipping.  You will get it from the amp.  You will get it from the FETs or OTAs in your compressor or phaser.  You will get it from your non-companded chorus pedal.

Is all boosting "unclean"?  No.  In fact, using just the right amount of boost can clean things up remarkably well.  Note that noise is measured in terms of the ratio of signal to noise.  Heating up an audio signal a bit can make it higher than the noise floor and improve S/N.  And if the gain stage in question also provides useful buffering and impedance management the brighter sound will make the background hiss even less noticeable.

When dealing with voice mics, whose signal output is often quite low, 35db or even 60db of gain simply brings the level up to a reasonable level.  The typical guitar level, however, is already pretty hot, so there are limits to how much gain can be applied to the signal and have it remain "clean".

I'm not saying there is no reason to want to use large amounts of gain that do not attempt to create some sort of distortion within the pedal itself.  But since one of the normal outcomes of boosting guitar signal is to produce distortion down the line, the question then becomes one of asking whether and how much you want the pedal to drive the tonal colour of that distortion.  It may well be the case that your amp sounds amazing when pushed in a particular way but pedal X's version of "clean" is not that sort of push.

[Gilles C]

You're right Mark.

That reminds me that I forgot to add that I always use a gain pot, and add the unity gain output to deal with every situations.

Better be ready than sorry...

Gilles

[vikingtyty]

Without wishing to offend, there seem to be a lot of misunderstandings about "clean boosters".

I find in most instances, that people are going to use "clean" boosters to actually extract more distortion from something else.  And certainly, if one is going to add 35db of gain to any guitar signal, I can pretty much promise you that unless you are feeding a Crown power amp or something similar directly, you WILL get clipping.  You will get it from the amp.  You will get it from the FETs or OTAs in your compressor or phaser.  You will get it from your non-companded chorus pedal.

Is all boosting "unclean"?  No.  In fact, using just the right amount of boost can clean things up remarkably well.  Note that noise is measured in terms of the ratio of signal to noise.  Heating up an audio signal a bit can make it higher than the noise floor and improve S/N.  And if the gain stage in question also provides useful buffering and impedance management the brighter sound will make the background hiss even less noticeable.

When dealing with voice mics, whose signal output is often quite low, 35db or even 60db of gain simply brings the level up to a reasonable level.  The typical guitar level, however, is already pretty hot, so there are limits to how much gain can be applied to the signal and have it remain "clean".

I'm not saying there is no reason to want to use large amounts of gain that do not attempt to create some sort of distortion within the pedal itself.  But since one of the normal outcomes of boosting guitar signal is to produce distortion down the line, the question then becomes one of asking whether and how much you want the pedal to drive the tonal colour of that distortion.  It may well be the case that your amp sounds amazing when pushed in a particular way but pedal X's version of "clean" is not that sort of push.

i'm actually building this for a friend. he lives in an apartment, and owns a sunn sorado head with a sunn 4x12. he uses a meathead pedal, and when he does that he has to turn his amp way down, but then when he switches it off, it's just too quiet... so he wants a clean boost. is that a "misunderstanding"?

[jmusser]

Look on Geo for the "Titan Boost". It's awesome!

[Mark Hammer]

i'm actually building this for a friend. he lives in an apartment, and owns a sunn sorado head with a sunn 4x12. he uses a meathead pedal, and when he does that he has to turn his amp way down, but then when he switches it off, it's just too quiet... so he wants a clean boost. is that a "misunderstanding"?

No, but I always write postings partly for the lurkers who may have them.

I'm a little confused though about what is needed here, so some clarification please:
1) What is a Meathead? and does it have a level control?
2) Is the "clean" boost something that will still retain an undistorted sound from the amp the way it will be used, or will it simply produce a less distorted sound?
3) Is the real problem a volume control that doesn't provide the needed control over the lower part of the volume range?

Looking at the schematic for the Sorado that I was able to find (http://www.freeinfosociety.com/electronics/schematics/audio/sunnsorado.pdf), it seems to be a fairly simple set of controls V/T/B/lo-hi boost.  Perhaps if #3 is the real issue, someone could suggest a simple mod for producing a High/Low volume range.

I know at our home, the main TV is inaudible with the volume on 1 (out of 15 or so) and too damn loud at 2, so I have to watch with the closed captioning on and the sound off after 10PM.  Maybe your buddy's amp has a similar sort of issue.  Happily, it's analog so compromises are more readily available than this stupid electronic volume adjustment our TV has.

[vikingtyty]

the meathead is a fuzz pedal. when he has the setting he wants, it is LOUD so he has to turn his amp down. but he likes to switch to clean a lot, and when he switches to clean, the fuzz pedals gain isn't active anymore, thus causing his amp to be practically whispering. so that's why he wants a clean boost. he doesn't want it for making his loud cleans even louder (unless it's possible to get a little bit of break up, but that comes later on down the road)

[sta63bmx]

A clean boost might be the "beginner" project, but my clean boost (Microamp) is one of the most important pedals I own.  Even just turning it on without much boost really makes the amplifier come alive.  I think my guitar just sounds much cleaner and crisper at ALL frequencies, I supposed because of how the boost buffers the signal.  I use it for a clean boost in louder parts or after distortion pedals to punch up a lead sound when I want it.  I will probably build a second boost, one for the front of the pedal chain and one for the end.

And if you take a clean boost and hammer the front of a good tube amp, it really wakes things up.  I have been torturing the sales staff at the local music store by demoing pedals there (mostly to get feedback on what they do and don't like or potential changes to the circuit) and they say that people are always looking for compressors, reverb pedals, and overdrives, and a lot of people don't even seem to be aware that clean boosts exist or just how useful they are.

[petemoore]

  Mosfet Boost for lotsa boost
  Haven't heard a Titan
  Anything with Jfet or Bipolar or Opamp'll Boost,
  Each has their own character'.
  Boosty EQ pedal, ~20$...lotsa versatility, probly a little higher idle noise.