Clean Boost Pedal Mojo - 

The secret mojo many guitarists overlook

Some guitar players think that there’s nothing a clean boost effects pedal can do that a good overdrive pedal can’t do. While it’s true that overdrive pedals can serve as clean boosts in their lower gain stages, a clean boost pedal can also provide killer mojo into your mojo bag of tricks, offering far more clean gain than overdrives can offer. A clean boost can work in conjunction with your existing drive/distortion pedals, and a hi-gain amp, to kick the mojo out of your amp for tonal greatness.

At Guitar-Zan we’re also tone tweakers, and our quest has given us a little mojo into the world of clean boost.

Do You Even Need a Clean Boost Guitar Pedal?

If you don’t have a clean boost on your pedalboard, you’re missing out. It can be used for much more than just making your guitar louder – A good clean boost pedal can be way more versatile than you might think.

Yes, it can make your guitar louder and it's great for kicking in during solos or for those mojo driven riffs that need to punch through your band’s mix.

Ways one may use a clean boost pedal

Improving High-Gain Tone

Ever wondered why hard rock and metal guitarists have drive pedals in front of their already screaming hi-gain amps? Adding a little extra mojo/volume to a guitar’s signal adds more detail and clarity, more mojo for your amp’s front end. By pushing your amp harder on the input, that makes your tone better than if you just raise the gain control on your amp higher. That’s why you’ll see boost and overdrive pedals in front of most amps on professional rigs. You only need a little boost. 

Preserve your high-end

All guitar cables have capacitance. Have a long enough cable – or drive a big enough pedalboard – you’ll notice that your tone starts to suck and lose mojo, mostly your high-end frequencies – basically, your tone will sound a bit flat.

Solve this problem by putting a clean boost first in line.

Why would this solve the problem, a good clean boost pedal will have a high input impedance value. This means that the pedal’s input will impede signal current and shove your pickups’ magnetic field right back where it should be. Even at very low levels, a good clean boost pedal will make your tone's mojo better. Some guitarists use a clean boost exclusively in this way – Always leaving the pedal on at the lowest setting to make their guitar’s pickups sound the way they should. 

In a Series Effects Loop

The reverse is also true, in that if you put a clean boost pedal after your amp’s pre-amp section – i.e., in the effects loop – you’ll simply make the tone louder. This is great for guitarists who have carefully crafted their tone and want to be able to make it louder, without adding any extra gain to the pre-amp. In both clean and hi-gain amps this is the case, and can really make your leads sing. 

Driving A Phaser or Flanger type Effect

  Adding a clean boost to a filter type effect will take care of those annoying volume drops and add clarity. It’s a drag, but it’s true. That most phasers or chorus pedals that sound absolutely fantastic, but a noticeable volume drop can take the edge off of how impressive it sounds, especially in a live setting.

Solve this problem by putting a clean boost in line with it. A clean boost before or after your effects box allows you to even out any volume drops and makes your mojo greatness sound even more enviable than it was before. 

That's the Mojo & Info on the clean boost revolution, let us know what you think and please share.