Clean Boost

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Hi,
in a guitar tone tutorial a "clean boost" is put at the beginning of the pedals chain.

In my software stack can I simply replace it by a volume plugin like Reapers JS utility/volume?

Chris

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Thanks, this confirms that it's only volume change to drive the following effects harder.

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In a guitar fx chain, a "clean" boost is not always clean, and never is in my case. I use several different ones, interchangeably, because they each alter the sound slightly differently. My favourite is Dr. Green's Booster Shot, which has a separate treble boost, the others (DOD BiFet Boost, EHX LPB-1, Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster) can all thicken the tone as well as provide a clean boost (at lower gain settings).

The reason I like the tone changed or thickened is to shape the sound through subsequent overdrive/distortion stages, as well as drive it harder or just play louder.

Anyway, rather than a simple volume boost, you may want to look at tilt EQs, low level saturation or even a boost fx (like Monster Boost from PlugAndMix), though I would recommend a colour EQ, like HarmoniEQ from Voxengo or DDMF 6144 and just use the Hi/Lo filters. For free, there is RetroBand.
I miss MindPrint. My TRIO needs a big brother.

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I forgot to mention the very nice Audiffex/Audiffied Pedals. The collection includes a clean preamp and level control. I use them quite a bit.
Last edited by khanyz on Thu Jun 25, 2015 8:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
I miss MindPrint. My TRIO needs a big brother.

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khanyz wrote:In a guitar fx chain, a "clean" boost is not always clean,
In the analog world this is expected. :wink:

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but not always intended :wink: . With guitars it can be.
I miss MindPrint. My TRIO needs a big brother.

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All you would really need is to place a gain plugin before hand just to drive the input harder. If there is an input control on your guitar effects you may not even need to...

If you want a bit of grit as one of the options available to you, I would put the NLS before your guitar effects in the chain.

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You can use the drive to add extra grunt and saturation, optionally add noise, select between 3 different analogue desk types, select between 32 different channels for each desk with each one subtly different, you can even push the output fader for a more subtle saturation effect, but then you can simply push the signal into the red and get another distorted character altogether, it really is quite flexible.

Probably the most flexible pre-gain kind of plugin you will find around.

Potty you just missed the sale, though. But it will be on sale again.

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I also think 'guitar clean boost' can be not so clean :) NLS is one option, my personal preference is Scheps 73. You can drive it more than 'clean' :) Awesome plugin by itself, by far not just a 'booster'. And it is still on sale ;)
Win10 Cubase Pro 9.5

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Have not tried that one yet...

How does its drive component compare with the Neve NLS?? Oh and how does its eq compare with the V-EQs??

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I personally like Scheps 73 drive better than NLS, but I can imagine this is a personal thing. The EQ with V series is different version of Neve EQ (66/68 I think), which it is not better or worse, just different. I find myself using both occasionally for character.
Win10 Cubase Pro 9.5

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Wouldn't a clean boost be some kind of compressor/exciter/enhancer?

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arkmabat wrote:Wouldn't a clean boost be some kind of compressor/exciter/enhancer?
I would say it is something like saturation/compression/distortion.
Win10 Cubase Pro 9.5

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In FX terms, a clean boost is simply an increase in volume (linear gain), during a solo for example. There is no compression.

However, in guitar terms, it can also be a change in tone. This can a tone control, separate treble boost, fat switch (Seymour Duncan Pedal) etc. Also, depending on the components involved it can add harmonics too, but this is usually mild. Read the gibson article.

The boost usually goes before any Saturation/Compression/Distortion/Amp to drive it harder.
I miss MindPrint. My TRIO needs a big brother.

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One other thing to note about guitar pedals is that unless they're properly buffered , which is seldom the case with vintage or boutique units, they will affect each other and also respond differently when changing guitar volume and tone.
This might yield unexpected results that are sometimes sought after .

A boost is often also used to drive a tube amp harder in which case some saturation or overdrive often works well . If you're driving other types of distortion units or just want a volume boost I'd recommend going pretty clean or using an high shelf EQ to boost both volume and pierce through the mix better .

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