Any clean boost will do the job you're asking. The advantage of the EP Booster is its Echoplex flavor. If you just want a louder signal, the Xotic RC Booster or Catalinbread Super Chili Picoso are also great choices. Thanks, PGS
The intro was cranked as you can see but the guitar volume started out backed off to clean up the tone. The yellow dc plug also means we ran the EP Booster at 18volts for increased headroom. The placement is up to you but generally placing the effect before dirt increases gain/comp while after dirt increases volume/boost to your amp. Thanks! PGS
@fend14 - It is a clean boost, which means that it has no overdrive of its own. Just clean gain. It will, however, push your tube amp into overdrive, which is its intended purpose. Hope that clears things up for you. Thanks! -PGS Crew
Back before I knew anything about gear, I traded in my MXR slash octave fuzz for one of these at my local guitar center after seeing this video. I don't know exactly how my ear was tuned to hearing how great this pedal was, but I certainly did not predict that it would literally be my always on pedal for the next 4 years of my life. I don't go anywhere without it, and when people ask for the secret to my tone, I answer them with this.
This pedal makes any kit sound better! If you use a Digital modeler you will be amazed at the warmth & fatness this adds to your sound! I use it with my Tonelab and Trademark 60 for recording. I use it live with my Mesa Boogie and it's never off! Best pedal I've bought in years. Can't recommend it enough!
This pedal is "Butt" simple, as written about, but it gives me a whole new pallet of colors to work with. It makes my guitars volume control an effective tool, without any tone loss. Awesome!
I bought an EP Booster for the new board I just finished building and it is by far the most important pedal on the board. The pre-amp is amazing and the buffer aspect is absolutely needed. If you don't have this one... Get it.. You will not be sorry...
This is the best thing I have found to restore the tone that gets sucked from your sound by using several pedals. I don't care how good your pedals are, they suck tone when you string a few of them together. This booster, just barely on (9:00) restores tone beautifully.
I had one of these on my board and left it on all the time at unity gain for the same reason. It cleaned up the signal through the pedal chain just right. I’m building a different, smaller, board now, but this will be the first thing in the path also, just to add a little sparkle and sweetness.
I just got this pedal today, 100% because of this video, from you wonderful guys at PGS, This is the BEST pedal purchase I've ever made. THANKS FOR THE VIDEOS ANDY!!!
I'd also like to say, that when I ordered this, I also ordered an Earthquaker Disaster Transport Jr., which is GREAT as well, but I ordered some DR strings, that weren't in the package I recieved. Made a quick call to you guys, and within 5 minutes, all was straightened out! You guys over there are fantastic!
@baceace - No. Active pickups require a battery-powered preamp and electronic circuitry to operate. Passive pickups use wire wound around a magnet to do their thing. Very different designs. A pedal cannot make passive pickups active. A google search will turn up some more detailed explanations of the subject. Thanks! -PGS
I actually like this one better than the BB, it would work great for a beginner like me because it's clean and simple, it does the job nicely without a ton of extras I don't need yet.
Proguitarshop.. you are like a good friend that's always there.. with an answer for my questions... you don't care. Morning, noon or night.. proguitarshop.... you are alright.....I love you man!!
This is the only demo I've watched and heard The Jesus Lizard being used,Duane Denison is my favorite guitar player.I have always liked his unique minimalist style.
extremely awesome pedal though. works wonders after your overdrive or in the loop of an overdriven amp! if you read the owners manual with the EP boost explains what the switches do pretty clearly cheers guys. :)
very cool Over the hills and far away... And sweet demo. Was kinda heading towards the MXR Micro amp, but I think I like this one more... I'll take it.
Boosters are cleaner than overdrives when pushing the front end of an amp (even if any pedal will add it's colour to the sound no matter what) boost pedals can also be used as a controllable secondary master volume when plugged into an fx loop overdrives cannot
I bought one upon Pro Guitar shops advice, Love it. I can’t decide to run before or after my drive, I’m torn, either way it probably the best 100 bucks spent, Destin to be a classic sought after stomp box of the future.
Good question, it’s strictly a clean boost that will push an amp into clipping. You can keep it clean at unity gain but still have the voicing of an EP with the internal Hi-Cut switch.
ANOTHER GREAT PREAMP BOOST IS FROM A WATKINS COPICAT MARK IV TAPE ECHO. I discovered it's superior boost when I noticed my guitars weren't sounding as good with the Copicat out of the chain. Even bypassed it keeps the preamp boost. This circuit is a based around a BC109 transistor. Yes, these subtle effects are what can make a good sound great! The schematic online is pretty hard to read. Wonder if the Copicat's with tube preamps have the same boost quality? I really like the Echoplex boost:)
@bmwz20 - yah you got it - front of the chain after the guitar, end of it is just before the amp. Of course the need for a buffer and it's benefit to your tone will depend on how much cable you are running before the amp. But it is usually a good idea to put the pedal acting as a buffer as close to the guitar in the chain as possible.
RE: @Jazzmaster11 and @william1theguitarwah - Yes, this pedal can be a buffer (to drive long cable runs) and a solo boost - BUT it does more than that. There is subtle compression and EQ'ing (in addition to the buffering) that "sweetens" up your tone. So to use it as a solo boost you would put it at the end of your chain and engage it when needed. To use it as a buffer, you would leave it on all the time typically as the first pedal. I would suggest getting both a dedicated buffer and a boost.
Is it just me thinking this way, but would have been nice to have the dip switches accessible from the outside as opposed to having to use a Philips to take the back off when you have pedal Velcro’d to a pedal board. I’m sure there is a reason why it can’t be done, but it would help a guitarist like me for sure. I’m not being a hater by any means. I love using the pedal and along with a bb preamp.
Mini pedals are generally going to have less space for mini pots on the surface, there's barely enough room for the switch and jacks. Also, the internal controls are more "set and forget" adjustments, just like the record level on a real Echoplex. Thanks!
Good demo. Would have been interesting to hear the dip switch affecting the original tone without BB preamp since I felt ep booster is a bit brighter and maybe has more attack than the original Echoplex, yet very close. I wonder if switching treble boost off wuld have softened the sound just enough.
Hey PGS, I see using this pedal is great for pushing your clean amp into overdrive, but how about using it on a lower setting for treating signal loss? will it color your tone a lot? BTW I love your videos. Andy's the man!
It’s great for fixing signal loss. In addition it adds a nice sparkle to the guitar’s sound. I used to leave my EP on all the time at unity volume and ignored the boost because it sounded nice.
Isaac Vermilion That is exactly why I don't like these new "mini" pedals... They seem to be more for "I only play in my bedroom" guitarists, not actual gigging musicians...
It could. It depends on your setup. Although I think this pedal kind of artificially gives you that high end. Your guitar should have enough high end on its own that's probably being lost in your cables and chain. Look at Creation Audio Labs Redeemer. They make an inline buffer for your board that gives you back your guitar's natural high end by changing the impedance of the signal. Have the circuit version in my Les Paul. Drastic difference. Like taking a thick quilt off my amp's sound.
Hi PGS Would this be any different than just turning the volume up or down on the guitar? thanks and P.s Eddie bought an eq pedal to boost the line i dont think he used this...Great videos!
It’s very different. A pedal with a buffer increases the impedance and then adds enough signal to keep the volume the same. The additional impedance of the buffer improves the highs and preserves them over long cable runs. The volume knob of your guitar changes the load on the pickups which can reduce the highs as you turn it down. The buffer preserves the highs because of the impedance, so the guitar has the fidelity of it being wide open even when turned down. Some people want their guitar to sound darker when they turn it down so YMMV.
I've got the same problem ! Might be the overdrive of the amp , but sounds more like a grounding problem to me . I'm in the process of trying to elimenate it !
Hey great video ! just a doubt, i was wondering if i should get it or not, but one thing thats confusing me is whether if i use this Ep booster along with a blues driver or overdrive pedal, does the sound get very distorted and dirty or do i get a overdrive from the overdrive pedal and just a volume boost from this pedal
Can i say that EP Booster can be used as a signal buffer in front of whole pedalboard like Lovepedal buffer for example? Or it have another working principle? Thanks!
not sure if i like mine--I might return it back to GC because there is such a huge boast even when I have it turned all the way down by just activating it ! there is no subtle boast. I cant imagine it being turned all the up for this demo.
I think you have the first internal dip switch on which gives you +3db. So even with the knob all the way down you boost 3db. I don't know why they say on this video that the first dip switch is a bass boost, but it's not. Check the manual..
+Ludovico Cipriani The video was done in 2009. In the newer version (V2) the DIP switch choices are +3dB On/Off, and Bright On/Off. Bass boost is gone now with V2. So with the +3dB switch in the Off position, 0 on the knob is really 0 - you can still boost with the knob if you want for finer adjustments (my recommendation) but at least you're starting from clean with the range in the knob. 3dB from the get-go is ALOT.
Hi PGS I really like this pedal but I don´t know if it will help me. I play death metal and I use a peavey 6505+. I need something to boost my signal to do the solos. The ep booster will do the trick? or the rc booster? thanks!
@MiLemonPie it had more to do with the 18 volts rather than the fact that it was an adaptor. in fact i would bet if you could get 18 volts from a battery, it would sounded better than the 18 volts from the adaptor.
(2) And their MK4.23 clean boost has a similar redeemer circuit in it. +24dB of gain. The only complaint I've heard is that it's TOO clean. Some people like flavored boosters. But you can run the MK4.23 in front of other overdrives as another gain stage. But you can use it at unity gain (all the way down) to improve the quality of your signal.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Recently got one. This pedal truly is the _secret sauce._
Any clean boost will do the job you're asking. The advantage of the EP Booster is its Echoplex flavor. If you just want a louder signal, the Xotic RC Booster or Catalinbread Super Chili Picoso are also great choices. Thanks,
PGS
I've had this pedal for a couple years. I will never sell it. Probably the most important pedal in my rig.
The intro was cranked as you can see but the guitar volume started out backed off to clean up the tone. The yellow dc plug also means we ran the EP Booster at 18volts for increased headroom. The placement is up to you but generally placing the effect before dirt increases gain/comp while after dirt increases volume/boost to your amp. Thanks!
PGS
The always on pedal. This thing just brings all the beautiful nuances of your tone forward. It’s amazing!
@fend14 - It is a clean boost, which means that it has no overdrive of its own. Just clean gain. It will, however, push your tube amp into overdrive, which is its intended purpose. Hope that clears things up for you. Thanks!
-PGS Crew
Back before I knew anything about gear, I traded in my MXR slash octave fuzz for one of these at my local guitar center after seeing this video. I don't know exactly how my ear was tuned to hearing how great this pedal was, but I certainly did not predict that it would literally be my always on pedal for the next 4 years of my life. I don't go anywhere without it, and when people ask for the secret to my tone, I answer them with this.
Pro trick: watch series at flixzone. I've been using them for watching loads of movies during the lockdown.
@Karsyn Fletcher Yea, I have been using Flixzone} for since december myself :)
Literally never turns off for me
This pedal makes any kit sound better! If you use a Digital modeler you will be amazed at the warmth & fatness this adds to your sound! I use it with my Tonelab and Trademark 60 for recording. I use it live with my Mesa Boogie and it's never off! Best pedal I've bought in years. Can't recommend it enough!
Does it really work with budjet Digital Floor Multieffect?
were in the signal chain? right from the guitar?
This pedal is "Butt" simple, as written about, but it gives me a whole new pallet of colors to work with. It makes my guitars volume control an effective tool, without any tone loss. Awesome!
I bought an EP Booster for the new board I just finished building and it is by far the most important pedal on the board. The pre-amp is amazing and the buffer aspect is absolutely needed. If you don't have this one... Get it.. You will not be sorry...
This is the best thing I have found to restore the tone that gets sucked from your sound by using several pedals. I don't care how good your pedals are, they suck tone when you string a few of them together. This booster, just barely on (9:00) restores tone beautifully.
I had one of these on my board and left it on all the time at unity gain for the same reason. It cleaned up the signal through the pedal chain just right. I’m building a different, smaller, board now, but this will be the first thing in the path also, just to add a little sparkle and sweetness.
Where do you put it in your chain?
im buying anything with a blue LED
It's easy to swap the led to any color you want for any pedal.
Andy is such a great guitar player... and he knows how to use any pedal!! that makes his demos so enjoyable!
true... ☺
This pedal is great. It just fills in every tonal need. It is very subtle but very important. Cant recommend it enough.👍
I don't really care much for boost pedals, but this one really surprised me. It gives you just what you want without giving too much.
Have you noticed that every pedal that Andy really likes comes with an intro with cool music?
I just got this pedal today, 100% because of this video, from you wonderful guys at PGS, This is the BEST pedal purchase I've ever made. THANKS FOR THE VIDEOS ANDY!!!
saw this one on 4 rig rundowns on a row, im sold
I'd also like to say, that when I ordered this, I also ordered an Earthquaker Disaster Transport Jr., which is GREAT as well, but I ordered some DR strings, that weren't in the package I recieved. Made a quick call to you guys, and within 5 minutes, all was straightened out! You guys over there are fantastic!
You had me at Over the hills and far away ;)
@baceace - No. Active pickups require a battery-powered preamp and electronic circuitry to operate. Passive pickups use wire wound around a magnet to do their thing. Very different designs. A pedal cannot make passive pickups active. A google search will turn up some more detailed explanations of the subject. Thanks!
-PGS
I actually like this one better than the BB, it would work great for a beginner like me because it's clean and simple, it does the job nicely without a ton of extras I don't need yet.
Hendrix? Zeppelin? Jesus Lizard? I want this pedal.
Proguitarshop.. you are like a good friend that's always there.. with an answer for my questions... you don't care. Morning, noon or night.. proguitarshop.... you are alright.....I love you man!!
Yes, any standard 9V adapter will do.
This pedal is inspirational.
Haven't read all the comments to see if this has been mentioned, but I really liked hearing a riff from The Jesus Lizard in a pedal demo!
Brilliant little pedal and a nice cheap alternative to a EP3. Got mine yesterday and can't stop playing it.
This is the only demo I've watched and heard The Jesus Lizard being used,Duane Denison is my favorite guitar player.I have always liked his unique minimalist style.
Nice pedal but nicer Jesus Lizard riff at 5:11!!
extremely awesome pedal though. works wonders after your overdrive or in the loop of an overdriven amp! if you read the owners manual with the EP boost explains what the switches do pretty clearly cheers guys. :)
I love the intro Andy!
One of my favourite Hendrix songs
This thing sounds ridiculously good. I don't own one yet but I have a Telecaster and I can't wait till I do.
Ain't that a magic box? I enjoyed it most with clean sounds. And god I never thought that an adapter could change the tone that much!!
Thank you, enjoy the pedal!
that seems to add some chime and sparkle to the signal. impressive.
Great...now another piece of gear I NEED!...HAHA Thanks again PGS for furthering my lust for gear!
very cool Over the hills and far away... And sweet demo. Was kinda heading towards the MXR Micro amp, but I think I like this one more... I'll take it.
Really diggin' your demos. Very helpful in weeding though all of the crap out there. Thanks Andy!
I was going to buy one today but I think I might wait until tomorrow
Nice Hendrix cover!
I hear The Jesus Lizard riff. Nice!
But what are you playing @ 4:15?
I used one of these with a RAT reissue and a carbon copy delay and that was a pretty good tone
theplourde i want to show a video of this please
I'll be trying that this weekend!
In what order?
In metal context I use one about 11 o clock after a ts808 and wow this little box enchance you sound really really nice.
Just tried one out. it is fantastic.
LOVE THE INTROOOO!
The best booster for me!!
@lanlanbinks oh you added it to a bb later in the video!! nice
I believe Andy had the bass boost switch on in the first clip, and of course a Strat into the Deluxe Reverb. That should put you in the ballpark.
sweet pedal, great review:)
Boosters are cleaner than overdrives when pushing the front end of an amp (even if any pedal will add it's colour to the sound no matter what) boost pedals can also be used as a controllable secondary master volume when plugged into an fx loop overdrives cannot
I bought one upon Pro Guitar shops advice, Love it. I can’t decide to run before or after my drive, I’m torn, either way it probably the best 100 bucks spent, Destin to be a classic sought after stomp box of the future.
Great demo! Thanks for posting it :-)
The Jesus Lizard - awesome choice. The pedal is impressive, reminds me of Z-Vex SHO.
Sounds awesome!
it'd be great if the bright and bass switches were on the outside
What's the song Andy plays after the 5 minute mark? Really cool pedal.
Couldn't find an answer anywhere in here...what's the riff at around 2:30? Maybe original by Andy?
I'd like to know also
been trying to find it everytime i come back to this video, someone out there must know
I feel like that could be a Smashing Pumpkins kind of riff.
@@letsgooo1637 Yep, sounded like their single 'Drown'
Does this pedal internally clip or just send a really hot signal to your amplifier?
Good question, it’s strictly a clean boost that will push an amp into clipping. You can keep it clean at unity gain but still have the voicing of an EP with the internal Hi-Cut switch.
@@ProGuitarShopDemos this video is so darn old, yet PGS answered! Yall are the best! Tell Andy he's the man
@@UnremarkableMarx Thanks, I still answer questions on this PGS channel archive!
Andy
Love Xotic effects, will you do a demo on the new SP Compressor?
God! That's fantastic!
5:00 FUCKEN JESUS LIZARD MAN
What song?
Slave Ship.
Its a little like putting a tubescreamer in front probably. I use the rc in front of the bb sometimes. The rc before the ac however is great
ANOTHER GREAT PREAMP BOOST IS FROM A WATKINS COPICAT MARK IV TAPE ECHO.
I discovered it's superior boost when I noticed my guitars weren't sounding as good with the Copicat out of the chain. Even bypassed it keeps the preamp boost. This circuit is a based around a BC109 transistor.
Yes, these subtle effects are what can make a good sound great!
The schematic online is pretty hard to read. Wonder if the Copicat's with tube preamps have the same boost quality?
I really like the Echoplex boost:)
@bmwz20 - yah you got it - front of the chain after the guitar, end of it is just before the amp. Of course the need for a buffer and it's benefit to your tone will depend on how much cable you are running before the amp. But it is usually a good idea to put the pedal acting as a buffer as close to the guitar in the chain as possible.
I really likes this pedal =D
I just played this at guitar center omg it's amazing
GREAT!!!
I can use EP for up my volume ??? (like a headroom boost) ???
sry my bad english.
Thx
Is the Xotic EP Booster considered a buffer used at the very front of your pedal chain, or should I be looking for a buffer as well?
RE: @Jazzmaster11 and @william1theguitarwah -
Yes, this pedal can be a buffer (to drive long cable runs) and a solo boost - BUT it does more than that. There is subtle compression and EQ'ing (in addition to the buffering) that "sweetens" up your tone.
So to use it as a solo boost you would put it at the end of your chain and engage it when needed. To use it as a buffer, you would leave it on all the time typically as the first pedal.
I would suggest getting both a dedicated buffer and a boost.
Gotta wait until tomorrow!!
Is it just me thinking this way, but would have been nice to have the dip switches accessible from the outside as opposed to having to use a Philips to take the back off when you have pedal Velcro’d to a pedal board. I’m sure there is a reason why it can’t be done, but it would help a guitarist like me for sure. I’m not being a hater by any means. I love using the pedal and along with a bb preamp.
Mini pedals are generally going to have less space for mini pots on the surface, there's barely enough room for the switch and jacks. Also, the internal controls are more "set and forget" adjustments, just like the record level on a real Echoplex. Thanks!
@@ProGuitarShopDemos valid points for sure.
I bought it because of this!
This is so clean. I wish i could find something similar at a cheaper price.
You could build a clone
Mosky xp booster
Andy comin thru with that Jesus Lizard riff!
Good demo. Would have been interesting to hear the dip switch affecting the original tone without BB preamp since I felt ep booster is a bit brighter and maybe has more attack than the original Echoplex, yet very close. I wonder if switching treble boost off wuld have softened the sound just enough.
Hey PGS,
I see using this pedal is great for pushing your clean amp into overdrive, but how about using it on a lower setting for treating signal loss? will it color your tone a lot? BTW I love your videos. Andy's the man!
It’s great for fixing signal loss. In addition it adds a nice sparkle to the guitar’s sound. I used to leave my EP on all the time at unity volume and ignored the boost because it sounded nice.
Why are the inside buttons not on the outside? This is a pedal...
to prevent you from accidentally changing it i guess
Henrique Silva If that were the case, all pedals would have them on the inside. lol
Maybe that wouldn't fit on this size of footprint so they had to sneak it inside.
* they're secret - the audience must not know *
Isaac Vermilion That is exactly why I don't like these new "mini" pedals... They seem to be more for "I only play in my bedroom" guitarists, not actual gigging musicians...
It could. It depends on your setup. Although I think this pedal kind of artificially gives you that high end. Your guitar should have enough high end on its own that's probably being lost in your cables and chain. Look at Creation Audio Labs Redeemer. They make an inline buffer for your board that gives you back your guitar's natural high end by changing the impedance of the signal. Have the circuit version in my Les Paul. Drastic difference. Like taking a thick quilt off my amp's sound.
Buffered or true bypass ? Didn't hear any mention. Important thing to know, or did I miss it ?
True Bypass
What's the song in the background around 0:45? Sounds interesting!
Hi PGS
Would this be any different than just turning the volume up or down on the guitar? thanks and P.s Eddie bought an eq pedal to boost the line i dont think he used this...Great videos!
It’s very different. A pedal with a buffer increases the impedance and then adds enough signal to keep the volume the same. The additional impedance of the buffer improves the highs and preserves them over long cable runs. The volume knob of your guitar changes the load on the pickups which can reduce the highs as you turn it down. The buffer preserves the highs because of the impedance, so the guitar has the fidelity of it being wide open even when turned down. Some people want their guitar to sound darker when they turn it down so YMMV.
Does a good job when playing clean. Does an even better job at boosting noise when using it in distortion mode.
I've got the same problem ! Might be the overdrive of the amp , but sounds more like a grounding problem to me . I'm in the process of trying to elimenate it !
where did you get the lick at 2:28? its really good
just wondering, what are the benefits of a boost over an overdrive? are boosts mainly for the clarity
I'd love to see Andy's pedal board...
Sounds good, but why put switches 'inside' the pedal?
Hey great video !
just a doubt, i was wondering if i should get it or not, but one thing thats confusing me is whether if i use this Ep booster along with a blues driver or overdrive pedal, does the sound get very distorted and dirty or do i get a overdrive from the overdrive pedal and just a volume boost from this pedal
nice hendrix in the beginning
Can i say that EP Booster can be used as a signal buffer in front of whole pedalboard like Lovepedal buffer for example? Or it have another working principle? Thanks!
Very good question. I would like to know too
How does this EP Booster compare to the Keeley Katana? Are they attempting the same thing with each?
not sure if i like mine--I might return it back to GC because there is such a huge boast even when I have it turned all the way down by just activating it ! there is no subtle boast. I cant imagine it being turned all the up for this demo.
I think you have the first internal dip switch on which gives you +3db. So even with the knob all the way down you boost 3db. I don't know why they say on this video that the first dip switch is a bass boost, but it's not. Check the manual..
+Ludovico Cipriani The video was done in 2009. In the newer version (V2) the DIP switch choices are +3dB On/Off, and Bright On/Off. Bass boost is gone now with V2. So with the +3dB switch in the Off position, 0 on the knob is really 0 - you can still boost with the knob if you want for finer adjustments (my recommendation) but at least you're starting from clean with the range in the knob. 3dB from the get-go is ALOT.
+Wes Howard actually, on the new one you either have a bright switch or a bass boost, it's not possible to turn both off.
Maybe i missed it in the video, but remind me what amp you're using? thanks :)
Hi PGS
I really like this pedal but I don´t know if it will help me. I play death metal and I use a peavey 6505+. I need something to boost my signal to do the solos. The ep booster will do the trick? or the rc booster? thanks!
@MiLemonPie it had more to do with the 18 volts rather than the fact that it was an adaptor. in fact i would bet if you could get 18 volts from a battery, it would sounded better than the 18 volts from the adaptor.
please explain the internal dip switches, what are they, are they like 3 pots for bass mid and treble?
Did he invent the Echoplex?
(2) And their MK4.23 clean boost has a similar redeemer circuit in it. +24dB of gain. The only complaint I've heard is that it's TOO clean. Some people like flavored boosters. But you can run the MK4.23 in front of other overdrives as another gain stage. But you can use it at unity gain (all the way down) to improve the quality of your signal.