If you’ve ever been playing live and found that your guitar signal got lost somewhere in the mix, then picking up a trusty boost pedal is an easy solution. These pedals are relatively simple in design, but can make a surprising difference to your tone, making it pop at just the right time for that solo or catchy lead riff.
These pedals offer an additional amplification stage right at your feet, but can also be used in various other ways. For instance, if you want to push your amp to produce an even more saturated distortion. In this guide, we'll help you pick the right boost pedal for your tone, along with a ranking of the top 10 best in the UK on Amazon, eBay and Gear4music!
Quick List - Top Boost Pedals
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As with most guitar pedals, if you spent any time scouring the internet, then you’ll know there are tonnes of options available. Whether you’re looking for a straightforward amplifier stage, or a pedal that offers some EQ as well, we’ll help you make the best decision for your tone.
The first place to start when choosing a boost pedal, is to consider the different styles available. There are four main variations – clean boost, EQ boost, preamp boost and treble boost - and in this section, we’ll look at the pros and cons of each one.
The most straightforward of the four are clean boosts. These pedals are built to push your signal that bit louder, without adding any clipping or other distortion. Usually, these pedals have a signal knob, making them perfect for all types of players as they’re easy to control and understand.
Furthermore, these tend to play well with other pedals in your rig, especially fuzz or distortion. This is because they can alter the characteristics and colour of other pedals, giving you different flavours and sounds. They’re a little one dimensional, sure, but they’re probably the best place to start.
Next, you have the EQ boost pedal. This style allows guitarists to add more sophisticated layers to their tone. Often, these pedals will have a few more controls (something we’ll touch on later) that allow for alterations to specific frequencies, or other parts of their signal.
EQ pedals range from simple to a little more complicated, so they're probably best reserved for intermediate to advanced players. However, that shouldn’t put you off if you’ve got the time to noodle about and learn the stompbox.
Again, these work well with other pedals in a signal chain, and adding them to your other distortion stages can unlock whole different levels of tone potential from what you already have!
The preamp pedal is a more modern incarnation of the boost pedal, often based on classic pieces of audio gear from yesteryear, such as the EP-3 Echoplex or old school Neve consoles. These boxes not only add volume, but provide musicians with a more dynamic and consistent sound by adding compression.
These are a popular option nowadays, as players can recreate the sound of tube amps, without needing to own one. Not only this, but some preamp pedals have multiple channels, providing a guitarists with a few different sounds within the stompbox. Sadly, they tend to be more expensive, and might not be ideal if you only want to amplify your tone.
Finally, you have treble boosters. This is a single transistor booster that gets its name from rolling off a lot of the low-end from you signal. These pedals were famously used by Queen guitarist Brian May, and many others of that era, who were pushing their amps so hard that the sound became muddy.Thankfully, treble boosters were perfect for cleaning it up.
However, these pedals do have their downfalls too. For example, they can be a little noisy when using a germanium-type transistor, and nothing ruins one’s tone like that little buzz that never seems to go away. But if you’re unhappy with how much bass sound you’re getting when turning your amplifier up, then trying a treble booster could save your skin!
We touched briefly on the controls earlier, but it's worth circling back to cover this aspect in more detail. Generally speaking, boost pedals are simple, so seeing one with only one control knob (usually level) shouldn’t put you off.
However, if you want more control over your sound, then you’ll want to look for pedals that come with options such as high and low, frequency, bass, middle, treble and EQ control. Of course, you're unlikely to get all of these options, but having a combination of these can be beneficial.
Although boost pedals will typically be straightforward to navigate, fiddling with the controls will colour your signal from the amp. That's why it’s worth messing with them slowly and in an orderly manner. Otherwise, you could find that you've lost the tone you liked, or the one you started with.
Last but not least, you’ll want to consider the dimensions of the boost pedal. This is important if you’re building up quite an array of different stompboxes, as transporting your gear is often half the battle for a a budding pedal connoisseur.
Thankfully, these circuits are relatively simple, so most pedals will come as either mini or standard versions, but nothing ever too big or heavy. This will make your job of lugging the gear around much easier, as well as not annoying the sound tech or the rest of your band when you turn up with a pedalboard that takes up half the stage!
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | TC Electronic Spark Mini Booster | ![]() | A Modern Classic | |
2 | Walrus Audio Emissary Parallel Boost | ![]() | A Truly Unique Take On the Boost Pedal | |
3 | Xotic Effects EP Booster | ![]() | Popular With Pedal Builders | |
4 | TC Electronic Rush Booster | ![]() | Near-on Indestructible | |
5 | Keeley Katana Mini | ![]() | Inside Switches Change the Flavour | |
6 | Orange Two Stroke Boost EQ | ![]() | A Special Circuit Creates More Headroom | |
7 | JHS Pedals Clover Preamp | ![]() | Recreation of a Cult-Classic | |
8 | Fulltone Ranger Treble Booster | ![]() | Drive Your Amp Hard Whilst Maintaining a Perky Tone | |
9 | Electro-Harmonix LPB-1 | ![]() | From the 60s With Love (And Some Compression) | |
10 | Fender Engager Boost | ![]() | Mids Allow For a Dynamic Range of Boost |
If you're looking for a straightforward boost pedal, without any bells or whistles, that will act solely as an amplification stage, there's no better than the TC Electronic Spark Mini. This compact piece of kit does what it says on the tin, increasing volume without any colouration.
If you already have a few other overdrive pedals and a nice amp, this can help get different sounds out of what you already have. It's a modern classic for a reason, and something we're sure every player can appreciate!
This stompbox from Walrus Audio is a unique boost pedal, with graphics that are quite extraordinary too. It combines two circuits, a JFET (the bright) and an op-amp (the mids), each with their own respective controls. So you're essentially getting two different flavours of boost, rolled into one.
The latter mids section is where the frequency switch comes into play, switching between 800Hz and 1kHz. This, of course, is the frequency in which the signal goes into tube screamer territory!
The Xotic EP Booster is modeled on the Echoplex EP-3, an echo circuit from back in the day. Rumor has it that the echo section would often break on these units, but as the guitarists liked the colouration it gave to their tone, they would leave it in, regardless of its primary function not working.
Whether or not this story holds some truth, we'll probably never know. But, what we do know, is that this is a popular stompbox, with many pedal builders no less, and will remain on many a pedalboard for years to come.
If you're working on a shoestring budget, then we recommend trying this booster from TC Electronic. It works as either a treble or clean booster, and has a discreet analogue circuit that ensures that you'll get a rich, warm tone at all times.
There's a couple of features outside of the tone that we particualrly like about this pedal. For instance, both the input and output are found at the top of the pedal, which helps to maximise space on a pedalboard, and the chassis is near-on indestructible, making it ideal for the gigging musician.
While this is pedal from Keeley is billed as a clean boost, and can absolutely work like that, it also adds approximately 10dB, which can take you into overdrive territory. That said, there's a high cut switch that you can find inside the pedal, that will enable it to work more transparently.
Generally speaking, many players find this an excellent piece of kit for tone conditioning that can take your tone, amp and pedal up a notch. It's a little expensive for a mini pedal, but if you have the money, we're sure you'll be mighty impressed!
With six different knobs, this offering from Orange provides plenty of range for those who want to boost and shape their tone. The oil control in the middle offers a simple boost, so if you don't want to mess with your sound, stick to this. However, there are highs, lows and two frequency options, should you prefer to get a little more from it.
Furthermore, this pedal uses a pump circuit. This specific type of circuit increases the internal voltage, which, in turn, gives you extraordinary headroom, producing a crisper and clearer sound.
The owner of JHS is a known pedal historian, faithfully incorporating his vast knowledge of pedals-past into modern iterations. Here, he recreates the cult-classic Boss FA-1 FET preamp, adding some clever touches that make this pedal go a little bit further, and leave your wallet considerably lighter. So even at this price, it's a more affordable choice.
The Clover offers extra clarity, bite, depth and impact for all musical styles, and works well with a range of instruments, from acoustics to basses. If you're looking for ultimate control and something a little different, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything better.
Fulltone have created this pedal to recreate the classic treble sound of the 60s, and if we're being honest, they've nailed it! The circuit allows you to drive your amp hard, whilst eliminating the woolly output for a perkier, more crisp tone. You'll be shredding those Ritchie Blackmoor riffs in no time.
However, there are a couple things that you may need to think carefully about first. Compared to the other pedals in our ranking, this is by far the most expensive. Additionally, it's also one of the bulkiest.
Electro-Harmonix is one of the most trusted names in the game, and for one big reason - their products offer an excellent balance between affordability and quality. In fact, this pedal was first produced in the late 60s, so they must be doing something right if it's still flying off shelves today.
Thankfully, while the structure and circuitry may have changed somewhat over the years, the company still deliver the goods when it comes to their modern LPB-1 (linear power booster). It's simple and not going to offer anything you wouldn't find anywhere else, but it will keep on getting the job done.
This offering from Fender brings the perfect amount of oomph to your sound. Not only that, but there's a three-band EQ for ultimate tonal shaping. While treble and bass often get all the accolades, it's the mids that give this pedal the most dynamic range, moving from throaty to more subtle.
Moreover, as with a lot of the range of pedals from Fender, we like the light-up knobs, which will allow you to see where you've set the pedal, even in the dingiest of venues. It's a little chunky, and on the heavier side, but if you've got plenty of space on your board, you can do a lot worse than this.
If you've found your collection of pedals has been steadily growing, it might be time to build a custom pedalboard. Not only will this help you discover a world of new tonal possibilities, but can take live performances to the next level!
No. 1: TC Electronic|Spark Mini Booster
No. 2: Walrus Audio|Emissary Parallel Boost
No. 3: Xotic Effects|EP Booster
No. 4: TC Electronic|Rush Booster
No. 5: Keeley|Katana Mini
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