Looking for a boost that will run at 9 or 18 volts?

[sevenisthenumber]

I would love just a volume knob.
Any suggestions?

[Mark Hammer]

What do you need it to do for you?

[sevenisthenumber]

Just boost leads.

[jacobyjd]

NPN Boost, AMZ Mosfet Boost, AMZ mini-Boost, SHO, Rangemaster, Trotsky w/ diodes lifted, Tillman, Fetzer, Microamp, Sparkle boost, Orange T&B Booster, Orange Squeezer.

These are a few.

Use the search button for info on each.

Most of the projects I listed use <$4 worth of parts. There's really nothing that anyone can tell you without knowing exactly HOW you plan to use it.

Do you want the signal to be otherwise unaffected, save a dB boost?

Do you want some EQing done to help your signal cut more?

Do you want some compression along with that boost?

Do you want more distortion with the boost, or do you want it clean (i.e. in front of your amp or in the effects loop)?

What kind of styles are you intending this boost to be for?

'Boost leads' means a lot of different things to many different players.

[Heemis]

Ok, I think it's time for DIYstompboxes.com to have a sister site...

DIYcleanboosts.com.  Forum titled: "Building your own clean boost"

Seriously though, the clean boost question has been asked time and time again.  The search function will turn up dozens of pages on the topic.  Although while I'm here I'll state that I personally am a fan of the Sparkle Boost and Micro amp.

[sevenisthenumber]

thanks guys. I searched and searched but couldnt find a for sure answer on "what runs on 18 or 9 volts???"

[jacobyjd]

thanks guys. I searched and searched but couldnt find a for sure answer on "what runs on 18 or 9 volts???"

Do you need it to do both? or just one or the other?

For most boosts, 18 should work just as well as 9, as long as you make sure all your component values are rated to a high enough voltage. You may get a different response (more headroom) from running at 18 though.

An alternative would be to allow for 2 DC inputs, one for 9v, and one that will regulat 18v to 9v.

[Mark Hammer]

Virtually all clean boosts will "run" on those voltages.  The big question is whether they will behave in the identical way, and the companion question is whether they would need any internal adjustment to behave in the same way for each supply voltage.

If it is just something like a simple op-amp booster (poster child is the MXR Micro-amp, but there are MANY others), then you can fearlessly plug in an 18v supply as long as you've used electrolytic caps with a suitable rating (at least 25v).  of course, there are some unusual cases.  I was recently given a delightful tour (and lunch) by Visual Sound prez Bob Weil (and thanks to RG for setting it up), and since I knew it wold be taking place, asked a few folks for some questions theymight want answered.  One of these was whether the pedals would "run" at 18v.  Bob's response was that while most would "run", they wouldn't necessarily sound any better.  The tricky one was the recently-released Truetone booster, which uses a voltage multiplier to internally provide a 27V supply voltage (though I'm thinking that it must actually be around 25.5 for those picky about voltage drops).  In that instance, the caps are suitably rated (most likely 35V or so) for a stock unit.  But that assumes one is tripling a 9v supply voltage.  Make that supply voltage greater than 9v, and tripling it just starts begging for trouble.  of course, once you're using a 27v supply already, I don't know that feeding it 18v provides any improvement, even if the circuit and caps could take it.

In the case of all-discrete boosters, most transistors ain use are quite comfortable with higher voltages.  However, they will frequently require re-biasing.  Or rather, the boas setting that works for 9v won't necessarily provide equivalent sound/performance with 18v.  And of course, the caveats about cap ratings also apply here.  Once upon a time, the difference in price and size between a 16v and a 25v electrolytic was noticeable.  Not any more, though.  So I imagine the brunt of us have 25v electrolytics in our respective parts bins.

[petemoore]

  A lot is in the data sheets.
  They're' [manufacturers] pretty accurate about what they say about their components, sometimes the full story bears out 'after' building or recieving, they can be a bit cryptic.
   

[sevenisthenumber]

I want one that can run at 9v but when an 18volt is ran it gives more headroom with no internal adjustment.

[R.G.]

I want one that can run at 9v but when an 18volt is ran it gives more headroom with no internal adjustment.

Opamp.

But again... why?

[sevenisthenumber]

I just like the option of having that available.... ? ha! Is it a bad idea?

[jacobyjd]

I just like the option of having that available.... ? ha! Is it a bad idea?

It's not likely to be necessary. I mean...what problem are you needing to solve where you'd need that much headroom? I can't think of anything that would need to be boosted by more than a few dB where other adjustments couldn't do a better job...and be less of a pain.

[R.G.]

I just like the option of having that available.... ? ha! Is it a bad idea?

Bad idea? No, not particularly. There are even some circumstances under which it could be good. But unless you know what circumstances you want to use it in, it's kinda like paying extra for a rear airfoil spoiler fin on a passenger car. Sure, it improves traction at speeds over 150 mph, which could be useful in some conceivable situations, I guess.

Following on the same line, why not build a boost that can be dialed from 9V up to maybe 90 or 100V? Surely if 18's good, 80's better.

[sevenisthenumber]

Maybe the boost could have a spoiler! ha!
I just like how open 18 volts makes a screamer or some commercial boosts ive tried. So ANY op amp based boost will do?

[sevenisthenumber]

bump?