Following a thread a while back I've picked up a used Boss GE-7 for the purposes of a boost when doing bits of solo's etc. On the clean channel its great, big vol lift adds a bit of bite and together with a bit of knob tweaking, is just what i need.

However on the crunch channel the results are a bit disappointing. I get a lot more drive but not so much volume lift.

I tried using it on my effx loop but there must be a fault in my amp as its works when it feels like working. When it works its spot on! Which brings me to a quick question - effx loop knob goes from dry to wet should it be bypassed if nothing is connected? (Marshall MG100)

Ive got a small gig tonight so that will be the real test and am hoping to cut thru using the eq.

Sadly tonight will be my penultimate gig with this band (re: another thread of mine) as its too much like hard work, people not learning songs, head down strumming away, completely oblivious to what going on. Otherwise i would upgrade my amp.

Bought a s/h bass and may just be a hired hand in future...much easier

Oh well gone off topic a bit but what the hell

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I eat kebabs when i'm sober!

Edited by Dave71 (27/07/12 12:14 PM)

I use this very pedal for this very purpose, to boost mainly the mids for leads. The reason it works well for me is that I place it (next to) last in the chain, after any dirt. The main reason it cuts well is that I'm only boosting the frequencies required for it to sit above anything else, a pure flat boost will bring up all your LF rumble and HF as well which can sometimes be undesirable.

Clearly by boosting your input to the amp you will drive it harder, but I'm guessing that the compression type effect that distortion can mildly add is soaking up your volume boost. What sort of curve are you setting the GE-7 to? You might find that some clever tweaking will boost the lead through without having to push too much volume in.

Can't see that placing it on the fx loop would be a good idea though...

FX loop will work if it's post preamp (overdrive circuit). Is there a way of checking to see where the intermittent fault is?

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Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

Thanks for the replies. Well I've made a bit of progress as while I had my soldering iron and other tools out I stripped the amp down and gave it a service. The fx loop jacks were bent and buckled, as was the circuit board they were sat on so I sorted all that. I had a lot of dirty pots some gave them all a Hoover and squirt with switch cleaner.

Result is that the fx loop is bypassed until a return jack is plugged in and the wet dry knob works again, was the major cause of the issue.

Unfortunately my peers make it hard to just subtly cut thru using a bit of eq as between them they create a right wall of noise, hence the required vol push. I don't use anything else other than a boss tuner and all my distortion comes from the Marshall so sticking the EQ in the front doesn't really do much on the vol boost front. Running it through the fx loop gives a massive boost without more drive so I may try that tonight, which i suppose answers that question - post preamp. Maybe should consult manual for clarification.

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I eat kebabs when i'm sober!

Sounds like it'll work well in that case

Edited by Alfie Noakes (27/07/12 04:22 PM)

I think in these amps you could also use the fx loop with a 1/4 cable looping through it if you have it footswitchable via the Marshall footswitch. You could just jumped a 1/4 in the send/return and set your mix % which will effectively be the boost. The fx channel might also have a on/off switch, so make sure that is set to on.

If not mistaken that amp fx loop is blended in paralel and the "mix" knob picks how much % of effects loop you will run mixed in paralel with the original signal. In this case I will set at 100% or all wet and try to control from the eq pedal.

Let us know if that works.

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www.descentintomadness.com

Edited by 4TrackMadman (27/07/12 10:48 PM)

In general you cannot create a boost in volume "inside" an OD channel, you just drive the circuits further into compression as has been said.

Putting a clean level boost in a standard series FX loop should work but only if the downstream circuitry is not already into overload i.e. you need considerable power headroom to create a significant solo hike but yes, EQ "shaping" can help....But! This is as much a MUSICAL question as a technical one!

If the other bods in the band (I hesitate to call them "musicians"!)had any nonce they would know that during any solo the rest of the band SHUTS UP! Big bands put their brass down for Oscar to tinkle and the drummer just cruises quietly on a hat.

Dave.

Hey - crazy wild idea, but if the volume in the post preamp channel is overloaded, why not try the eq as a "volume down" device, i.e. shape your rhythm sound with the eq on and on lower gain, then by disengaging the eq you should get volume boost.

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www.descentintomadness.com

Quote 4TrackMadman:

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Hey - crazy wild idea, but if the volume in the post preamp channel is overloaded, why not try the eq as a "volume down" device, i.e. shape your rhythm sound with the eq on and on lower gain, then by disengaging the eq you should get volume boost.

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Indeed. You can do much the same using a simple volume pot and bypass switch in the FX loop. The pot boxes are readily sold as "attenuators" promising heavy rock overdrive sounds from powerful amps at bedroom level? They don't. Some people are duped into buying them assuming (they never QUITE say this!) that they are speaker level, i.e. 100W+ power soaks for 25quid.

But staying with power soaks. They would make a useful "grungy rythm" to solo boost system but I do not know of one with a footswitchable bypass? Could use a heavy duty A/B switch I suppose.

Dave.

Well what i did last night was just stick the eq in the front purely because i didn't have enough longer guitar leads to put it in the effx loop. I tinkered with the eq and managed a slight lift when using the noise channel but looking at the setlist managed to compensate by cranking my amp up then backing my guitar off a bit between songs. On the clean channel it worked a treat. overall a bit fiddly at times but it did the job.

Re musicians - Hmmmmm. Im no real musician by any means but i listen to whats going on and play with the band using my skill and gear to the best of my ability, as opposed to playing against them with head down. Sadly I'm alone on that front.

Does Dakota really warrant the strumming of an open E chord throughout......Saying no more and just walking away instead of causing rifts with good friends. 1 gig to go and as we're being mic'ed up with a competent guitar player engineering the event he may do us a favour



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I eat kebabs when i'm sober!

Quote ef37a:

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Quote 4TrackMadman:

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Hey - crazy wild idea, but if the volume in the post preamp channel is overloaded, why not try the eq as a "volume down" device, i.e. shape your rhythm sound with the eq on and on lower gain, then by disengaging the eq you should get volume boost.

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Indeed. You can do much the same using a simple volume pot and bypass switch in the FX loop.

Dave.

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I place my TC Nova multi fx in the amps fx loop and set the 'rhythm' patches with a lower volume than the 'lead'. You do need to set up by working backwards i.e. start from the loudest lead patch and reduce the other patches but it works a treat. I can also use the Nova's EQ to make sounds cut through and I have a Blackstar HT Dual (boost and distortion) in front of the amp because sometimes you don't need a volume lift as much as a drive boost.

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http://www.random-thought.co.uk/

Never thought of running in reverse, makes sense. Get a nice driven lead sound then switch on eq for a more mellow quieter rhythm. Whats battery consumption like on the ge-7 as I've no mains power yet for my pedals

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I eat kebabs when i'm sober!

It's not bad but I'd still get to Maplin for a wall wart or at least look for a cheap Duracell or Procell provider.

I'd not thought of that surprisingly obvious solution. Let us know how you get on if you try it or Dave's alternative (no batteries).

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Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

Edited by shufflebeat (31/07/12 10:11 AM)

I'll have to credit the idea of the reverse boost to a noob on another forum that wanted to purchase an anti-boost pedal

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www.descentintomadness.com

Hang on, you're still just swapping the output levels into the amp, it's still going to push into overdrive on the hotter signal whichever way you produce it, surely?

He's not wrong, you know.

Boost must be post overdrive or else compression needs to be reined in by other means it seems.

Or

The 'reverse boost' element is a fuzz box (do we still call them that?) of some description with output control.

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Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

The main idea is that if he is overdriving the fx loop too hard going into the power stage, by adjusting the eq to take a few db down, then he can push the last volume stage louder to where he wants the boost to be and use the eq to downshift into rhythm.

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www.descentintomadness.com

Taken a slightly different approach now. Bought a Boss DS2 t'other day and am now switching channels for boost and using the DS2 for the crunch. That with the GE7 produces a nice guitar tone, not perfected yet as i need to tweak while at performance level to make sure i sit in the mix a bit better.

getting there!

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I eat kebabs when i'm sober!