Designed to help you shape and adjust the tone of your precious instrument, guitar effects pedals are a popular piece of equipment that is both beginners and professional guitarist like to use when creating new sounds. There are various types of effects pedals that differ in both design and performance. Some are easy to use, while others require more skill and practice. If you're making your first steps into the creative world of music, then a simple, easy to used pedal such as a modern guitar booster might be the perfect choice for you. To make to most of your boost pedal you should first get familiar with the main features and uses of this practical piece of equipment.
Although boost pedals have a rather basic circuitry, they can still provide various effects which makes them quite versatile and useful tools in different kinds of recording sessions or live performances. They are one of the oldest type of guitar pedals. Earlier models were designed to provide enhanced gain to the signal chain, without altering the nature of the main signal. Through the years guitarists have found new ways in which they can use a guitar booster. In addition to adding more gain to the signal, boost pedals can also be used to create a more defined and clearer signal, which can be very beneficial when playing at a live gig. Guitarists also use them to reach enhanced intensity while cutting through a mix.
Another feature that makes the guitar booster a versatile and practical piece of equipment it its ability to induce natural overdrive. While there are special overdrive pedals for this purpose, they usually provide a tone that can be so loud and aggressive that in some cases can ruin the tone. When used together with a tube amp boost pedals can improve the quality of your overdrive, without producing an overly aggressive tone.
Depending on their design and purpose of use, boost pedals can be divided into three main categories: treble, clean and hybrid models. Triple boosters are focused on increasing the gain at higher frequencies and are commonly used in solo performances to crack up high tones. A clean boost pedal has the purpose to enhance the volume of your guitar, without affecting its original signal. Last, but not least we have the hybrid booster that combines the features of both the clean and triple models and can therefore be used from creating a number of different effects.
