to boost or not to boost?

[blanik]

little question:
do people who use boosters use it for level boost during solos or do they use it to push an amp into dist (and leave it on all the time?)

i'm asking this cause i totally love my rig, BD-2 --> Twin Reverb, but i can't get it to feedback properly (in a Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop kind of way) i was using a Rat or BMP after the BD to get feedback (the nice one that starts to sqweal 4 bars at the end of a chord...  ) but it just craps the overall sound...

is there some kind of VERY transparent booster or something i could put before the BD-2 to get some nice feedback without turning everything to 11... 0_o

my pickups are Dimarzio Chopper T on my Squier tele and a SD hot-rails on my Fender tele... i'm afraid these pups don't help me on my quest...lol

R.

[jrc4558]

BD is quite low gain. however, your pickups are hot and midrange, as i suppose with side-to-side coiled humbuckers. I woul drecommend the following.
Build a dual microamp from tonepad.com (found here: http://www.tonepad.com/getFileInfo.asp?id=51 )
Wire it so that one microamp goes before the BD and the other - after. Best of both worlds with virtually no coloration to your sound. You can boost it for more gain and more volume this way!

[blanik]

will a clean booster still push my rig to feedback?
or do i absolutly need some sort of clipping from the booster to induce some feedback...?

R.

[brett]

Hi
No, you don't need clipping to get feedback, but high gain helps, and that's hard to do in a 9V pedal without clipping.
I use a Stratoblaster (DIY booster from generalguitargadgets.com), which gives fairly clean boost at low levels, to mild distortion at maximum boost.  I use it at a level that adds a touch of distortion, but drives my amps (Marshall 18W and the clean channel on a JTM60) into moderate distortion.  I'd guess that it's a voltage boost of about 5 x, or 5dB (ie instead of about 200mV p-p on a chord, it's probably throwing about 1V p-p at the amps).
cheers

[petemoore]

will a clean booster still push my rig to feedback?
 This depends alot on the amp and guitar and speakers...seems like the amp should have the capability of doing this, however it may not be the type of feedback tone you desire.
do people who use boosters use it for level boost during solos or do they use it to push an amp into dist (and leave it on all the time?)
 If you have a pre-amp tube or output section that has enough speaker mojo going on, the answer has been known to be yes. However in my case I only like a touch more amp distortion more than what the guitar does on it's own, so for lead use I would use the boost to increase level and gain.
i'm asking this cause i totally love my rig, BD-2 --> Twin Reverb,
 Opamp clipper [milder TS type OD's] into seems to be a staple among twin owners that love the tone !!!
 I'm using an Orange Squeezer Compresser that's bypassable with the TS circuit, I must be jaded because I often like to multiply gain.

[petemoore]

  Twins are known as clean amps, boosting alone tends to bring out the amps sound, just a bit 'more of it's characteristics.
  I'm sure the output section can be made to distort, IIRC that'd require loading down 120w which = Very Loud, I'm not experienced about the use of Twins having never owned one, but a big clean powerful amp will not respond with as much 'tube characteristic' distortion as one with some pre-amp distortion or a heavily loaded output section.
  I'd tend to think what you have that you love, [IOW distortion that is created before the amp w/BD or other stompbox w/'internal distortion'] would be a shorter road to creating distortion @ usable volumes than just boosting a Twin.
  For more intense distortion from your BD, and the ability to test how the amp responds to boost, build a booster !!!

[bwanasonic]

Other variables in this equation are, what volume are you playing at, how close are you to your amp, what guitar and pickups are you using? I think the multiple gain stage approach is a good one (i.e. Rat or BMP into BD2), but maybe turn down the gain of each stage, and crank the amp a bit. I am able to get harmonic feedback at fairly low volumes, by running a Dyna-Comp > Rat> Nobels OD1 into my Rivera's clean channel, but this involves standing in close proximity to the amp, and finding the *sweet spots* of guitar positioning.

Kerry M

[trevize]

With my twin amp i use a sparkle drive and a soulbender for fuzz/distorted tones.

The sparkle drive is used as a "not so clean booster", and it does work for a great semidistorted tone,
with the possibility of feedback if you lay loud (i usually have volume between 3.5/4.5).

so i wold probably try "not so clean boosters" like the Mark Hammers one. You definitely need some
clipping, you would not be able to do what you want unless you play with your amp volume on 6, but then you'll loose your clean sounds.

[newbie builder]

At REALLY low volumes I can get feedback with a Dano Distortion dimed and another  overdrive booster on with it. (I think I could with just the dano but it's more fun to use multiple ones and get great feedback )

[slacker]

In my experience using a clean booster with a Twin just makes it louder. Due to the amount of headroom the amp has you have to push it pretty hard before it starts to break up. You probably could get feedback using just a clean booster but you'd probably go deaf in the process.
I use a strat and a tubescreamer with the gain set about half way and at gig levels (about 3-5 on the amp) I can get feedback if I try. I've just started using a colorsound overdriver as well and that works well with the Twin because it can add a bit of grit on its own as well as boosting the amp. Running the overdriver into the TS gives really nice musical feedback without having loads of distortion.

[petemoore]

  It all depends...
  The pickup sends a signal dictated by the string.
  If everything is 'clean' [cable/amp/speaker] in the signal path through the output/driver section [everything], the affair is pretty smooth and uneventful [the only 'events are the motion of the string, amplified], these smooth, fairly well replicated [amplified] events of the string can produce volume levels where 'feedback' occurs...this is when the speaker infuences the air/bodymaterials/STRING...to the point where the vibrating motions of the *string amp speaker air bodywood bridge *string [notice how I started and ended my listing of items in the *loop at the string]..if the volume is enough, sympathetic vibrations powered by the amp...create/set up a 'feedback loop'...all the items in the loop play different roles...
  Air dampens...wants to stay still, sound waves must be powered for air to move
  Wood Dampens...wants to stay still, but vibrates a little when pushed by air or string
  Strings vibrate but are also dampened by the wood, air and bridge
  Speakers...
  Amp...provides the power to everything else in the loop
  Then I talk distortion influence...
  The events that take place during each cycle of the wave when distortion is introduced appear as 'spikey' in comparison to clean which is 'smooth', this can be seen in waveform charts, heard as distortion.
  The 'spikey' events cause the waveform amplitudes to have transient 'jumps'...this causes greater force to be applied to the speaker for a very short period of time, each time the speaker movement gets to that part of the cycle [one outward/inward thrust of the cone represents one cycle, I'm talking about a one pitch tone for discussion]...this transient great force is applied to the air pressure waves [sound waves]...the guitar body and string also...if these great transient forces [spikes] give the string an added push which assists/reinforces it's motion
  I use a swingset as analogy here...by kicking your feet out/in at just the right times in the cycle of swinging, the 'amplitude' [how high you swing] can be sustained or increased...
  It becomes much easier to sustain string motion with a distorted wave adding transient 'pushes' at opportune moments during the cycles..if the volume levels are sufficient to overcome the dampening levels...a pitch-controlled feedback loop has been established [with the string determining the pitch/frequency of the feedback].
  It is possible to get infinite sustain at much lower volumes than I thought were possible...until Jerry' demonstrated his Shiny Axe plugged straight into a GK 'deluxe' guitar amp..at extremely low volume w/high gain...infinite sustain...amazing !!!
  The bass player Can influence your guitars string motion BTW. For better or worse for sustain...if he's real loud, cancellation OR re-inforcement of your feedback loop may result.
   

[blanik]

WOW, you guys are taking this science to an artform!!! lol thanks a lot, i get the picture perfectly now... i already knew how position and surrounding sounds help feedback but i used to have this with a full band and my old JCM 800 with a Les Paul and a DS-1, it was quite easy to control, but with the twin and BD-2, it's dead quiet... and when i was using the second distortion (rat or bmp) i couls get it at very low volumes but it didn't sound good, i think i'll try a new pickup before messing with boosters since i want my overall volume to remain as it is now...

R.

[squidsquad]

Chiming in w/the same ol'...
I use a twin & strat...from tiny dives, backyards, to huge concerts.  Run em around 4-5.  A clean boost will blow your ears out...but just about any type of distortion will make 'er sing.  Of course...I tip em back to spare the crowd...stand right in front...and protect my ears or pay the price....it's high...what?