frosty22 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Are there any pedals on the market that give the guitar a volume boost for solos?The sound I use with my single channel amp is a metallica type sound. Rather than buy a second amp and use a switchblade pedal, I want to keep using my old faithful.I have recently bought an MXR MC402 in the hope it might do the trick. It doesnt work unless you want to boost a clean-ish type sound. No good for me.Would a volume pedal do the trick? I have heard the active ones are suited for the job.Any ideas chaps?Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 The snag is that virtually all guitar pedals are designed to attenuate - pretty important to make sure that the output from a typical single coil or humbucker is matched to the input gain on the amp - because the change between clean and dirty sound is done at the amp. A pedal that boosted output would mess up the gain structure, so to get the clean sound, it would be an amp tweak and then a particular max position on the pedal, which would be hard to replicate. If you want to change clean to dirty on a single channel amp, then the usual way is some kind of outboard processor - Line 6/Behringer/zoom type and then run the amp clean. With a single channel amp that doesn't quite have enough gain, the only other way would be to perhaps use something like a graphic that has a variable output level, to run flat and just boost the level - but the input impedance isn't particularly high and might have a tonal impact on your guitar sound. p.s.You did realise we're not a musical forum? Primarily we're a backstage and events style forum - so lighting, sound, staging - that kind of thing is our usual area. This question could be better on something like the sound on sound forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billy jim Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 What a lot of people tend to do is to buy an EQ pedal and use that to boost certain areas for solos. However, again, this question would be better aimed at a different audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightsandguitars Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 There are a few volume boosters around, however the only one I can think of at the moment is the electro-harmonix LPB -1 (Linear Power Booster). That should do the trick and is no more than £20-30 new. Though it will change the sound of your guitar slightly as you will be increasing the saturation in your amp by driving it with a more powerful signal, but than thats what you want for a solo! :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frosty22 Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 I have a Laney AOR head with a send/return FX loop on the back. Whats the best pedal to put into the loop to give me the biggest lift in volume when I play solos?Any advice much appreciated thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 The same one you'd use in the other topic about boosting pedals you started. Moderation: Please - our usual forum etiquette is to not start multiple topics on the same subject - especially ones that are not our normal area. If you want to expand your original topic to cover using a pedal in the fx loop - post it there, so people get a feel for what you're after. I'll merge these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndenim Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Why not use a simple Volume Pedal? Set the max volume with the pedal in it's highest attenuation, the when called for depress the pedal to your desired increased level? A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on. Would a volume pedal do the trick? I have heard the active ones are suited for the job.Any ideas chaps?Thanks. Opps!Trust me to scan read!Yes, this should do the job, try one out in your local shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Alot of people find that a reduced dynamic range and a higher output level is useful for solos. So a compression pedal may also work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Volume control and distorion makes for an interewsting set of conundrums. The question is - where is the distortion coming from? If its from a distortion pedal into a clean amplifier then a volume pedal between the last pedal and the amplifier input socket will do the job nicely. If you use pre-amp distortion then you can put a volume pedal, an electro-harmonix linear power boost (or possibly an Colorsound overdriver) in the effects loop out the back. If the distortion comes from a steaming amp then you have little ability to control the volume, other than using an attenuator to reduce the level to the speaker whilst keeping the amp cooking. Just to note that the best guitarist volume booster known to mankind is a colorsound "overdriver"; a google will lead you to schematics of the thing so you can build it yourself, or you can get a reissue or clone, or probably pay really silly money for a knackered old one on eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt-onstage Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Hi, Try a Boss LS2 Line Selector Pedal, Use the A-Bypass mode, Pop a short Jack-Jack cable in the A loop then you have the volume control on loop A to boost or cut to your hearts content. My 2ps worth. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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