At first glance, a clean boost is not the sexiest purchase you can make as a guitarist. It is therefore not often at the top of the wish list of guitarists.
Other effects such as reverb, delay and overdrive often get a lot more attention than a simple clean boost. However, the pedal should not be underestimated, you can use it as a volume boost, but you can also place it in front of an overdrive pedal, for example, with which you get even more distortion from the overdrive. You can also use a boost directly in front of your amplifier that you use to overdrive it. With this you add an extra channel to your amplifier, as it were. In addition, you can connect the boost to the effect loop of your amplifier. The pedal thus functions as a volume boost. In short, a clean boost is a versatile pedal. Below is an overview of the 10 best clean boost pedals that are currently on sale.
Xotic EP Booster
The Xotic EP Booster is based on the preamplifier of an EP 3 Echoplex. The pedal has a discrete FET circuit that provides a volume increase of up to 20 dB. The EP Booster has two internal DIP switches that allow different EQ settings. At Xotic they have managed to capture the musical magic of the EP-3 in a very handy device. The sound of the boost is very musical, you get a little bit of highs and lows (depending on the settings of the DIP switches). It is therefore not for nothing that it is the best-selling pedal from Xotic and in my opinion the best clean boost pedal from this manufacturer.
Details
- Price 129 euros
- Buffer no
- Boost 20dB
- Controls volume
- Size mini
- Bypass true bypass
- Details internal equalizer dip switches
JAM Pedals Boomster
JAM Pedals Boomster will give your signal a nice boost and a huge tone . You can use the pedal as an always-on pedal to fatten up your existing sound. In addition, you can also use it to give a boost when you give a solo. Additionally, you can use it to introduce some extra organic tube saturation into your already overdriven tube amp or put it in front of an overdrive or distortion pedal to give it even more distortion. Nice pedal from JAM Pedals!
Details
- Price 129 euros
- Buffer no
- Boost n.a.
- Control Level
- Size mini
- Bypass true bypass
- Details has an internal gain trimmer
Earthquaker Devices Arrows V2
Earthquaker Devices Arrows V2 is an all-discrete preamp booster . It was designed with the intention of adding an extra channel of gain to your overdrive pedals and brightening up neck pickups. It boosts the midrange, boosts the lows and makes the highs shine in your signal while giving overdrive pedals a nudge to bring them to full bloom.
Details
- Price 129 euros
- Buffer no
- Boost n.a.
- Control level
- Size standard
- Bypass true bypass
- Details none
Fulltone 2B Booster
De Fulltone 2B Booster is een clean en transparant boost pedaal en ontstaan uit het Boost kanaal van de FD3 van Fulltone. Sommige boosts snoepen je signaal op wanneer ze uit staan. Deze 2B van Fulltone heeft naast een boost ook een buffer. Dat betekent dat wanneer het pedaal uit staat het signaal gebufferd wordt waardoor je gegarandeerd een sterk signaal hebt. De 2B heeft verder ook nog een knop waarmee je al te harde overgangspieken iets muzikaler maakt.
Details
- Price 139 euros
- Buffer yes
- Boost 20 dB
- Control gain & dynamics
- Size mini
- Bypass buffered bypass
- Details boost and buffer in 1 pedal
Wampler dB+
The Wampler dB+ is a clean boost and a buffer. The buffer prevents high frequencies from being lost when you connect many pedals in a row and/or use long cables. On the side of this mini pedal is a small pressure switch with which you can switch the buffer on and off. Furthermore, this is a very transparent and full spectrum boost. It sounds nice and musical, is very robust and it is one of those pedals that you prefer to have on all the time.
Details
- Price: 119 euros
- Buffer: yes
- Boost n.a.
- Controls boost
- Size mini
- Bypass true/buffered bypass
- Details you can switch the buffer on and off separately
Electro Harmonix LPB-1 Power Booster
Electro Harmonix LPB-1 Power Booster is a reissue of EHX’s very first pedal, the Linear Power Booster. The original pedal came on the market in the late 1960s and it was one of the first pedals with an overdrive. At that time, 50 or 100 Watt amplifiers were mainly used and in combination with a Power Booster, this resulted in an enormous sound level. This reissue sounds great, it’s built to last for years and it does what it’s supposed to do. In addition, it does not take up too much space on your pedalboard. Furthermore, it is one of the cheapest boost pedals at the moment.
Details
- Price 51 euros
- Buffer no
- Boost n.a.
- Controls boost
- Size mini
- Bypass true bypass
- Details you can control both gain and volume with the boost button
Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster
The Pickup Booster from Seymour Duncan is a true bypass pedal with a class A circuit and has a very low noise level. The pedal emphasizes the natural sound of your guitar and adds some ‘fatness’. So this pedal is not completely clean. In addition, it has a discrete push-pull output stage that allows you to add some extra gain. With the Gain knob all the way to 0 dB, your guitar will sound cleaner – even with long cables – and it functions as a kind of buffer. Furthermore, this pedal has a special feature, the Res Peak switch. With this three-way switch you can turn your single coil guitar into a humbucker and vice versa.
Details
- Price 123 euro
- Buffer no
- Boost n.a.
- Controls gain / resonant peak
- Size standard
- Bypass true bypass
- Features possibility to make a single coil guitar sound like a humbucker (and vice versa)
JHS Prestige
JHS Prestige is a boost pedal and a buffer. When the boost is set to 0, this mini pedal is a buffer with which your (bass) guitar signal continues to sound good, even if you use long cables. If the boost knob is at 25% you will get a slight increase in volume. With a boost knob between 25% and 50% you get a solo boost that also gives you extra definition and clarity.
Details
- Price 139 euros
- Buffer yes
- Boost n.a.
- Controls boost
- Size mini
- Bypass true bypass
- Details functions as buffer in 0 position
Keeley Katana Clean Boost
The Katana Clean Boost is Keeley’s first pedal and has been completely redesigned. Are you looking for an exact copy of your egluid, but louder? Search no further. In addition to a volume effect, this effects pedal is also a fat and harmonically rich boost with which you give your amplifier a boost. On the side is a button where you set the volume. Pull this knob out and you get an overdrive. The pedal uses 18 volts (internally) but can simply be connected to a 9 volt adapter. This pedal is particularly good at that nice overdriven tube amp sound that we all love so much.
Details
- Price 239 euro
- Buffer no
- Boost n.a.
- Controls volume
- Size standard
- Bypass true bypass
- Details boost and overdrive in 1 pedal
J Rockett Steampunk
J Rockett Steampunk is zowel een boost als een buffer. De boost geeft maximaal 20dB extra aan volume en daarnaast heeft dit pedaal een schakelbare buffer waarmee je ervoor zorgt dat er geen signaalverlies is bij het gebruik van lange kabels of veel andere (true bypass) pedalen. De buffer kan via een interne schakelaar aan of uit worden gezet. Met een LED indicator wordt aangegeven of de buffer aan of uit staat. Verder opereert deze volledig onafhankelijk van de boost. Deze Steampunk kan ook gebruikt worden als akoestische gitaar preamp of als pre amp voor basgitaar, ukulele of banjo.
Details
- Price 139 euros
- Buffer yes
- Boost 20 dB
- Controls output
- Size mini
- Bypass true/buffered Bypass
- Details the buffer can be turned on and off via an internal switch